Orienteering Australia Annual Report 2022

2022 ANNUAL REPORT

Aston Key - 5th Sprint Distance World Championships

Photo - William Hollowell/IOF

IOF/William Hollowell

IOF/William Hollowell

A message from the Chair of the Australian Sports Commission – Josephine Sukkar AM

Sport has a place for everyone and delivers results that make Australia proud. This is the Australian Sports Commission’s (ASC) vision as we embark on a defining era in Australian sport over the next decade and beyond. We are setting out to lead, support and provide opportunities for all communities to be involved in sport, while growing elite success and representation, inspiring future generations.

Our role, as the Australian Government agency responsible for supporting and investing in sport at all levels, is to increase involvement in sport and enable continued international sporting success. We do this through leadership and development of a cohesive and effective sports sector, targeted financial support and the operation of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). We play a unique role in the sport ecosystem and tackle the big challenges and opportunities with and for the sector. We’re proud to do so and through our vision, we aim to bring out the best in everyone involved in sport as we establish Australia as the world’s best sporting nation.

The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games provided a perfect launch pad for our athletes to shine. To finish on top of the medal table with 67 gold and cement our status as the most successful nation in the event’s history sets us up brilliantly as we look to host the next Games in Victoria 2026. These Games, uniquely hosted in regional areas, will be another opportunity to inspire Australians to get involved in sport, and to champion the role sport can play in engaging every Australian.

This is a defining era for Australian sport. We have begun the Green and Gold decade to Brisbane 2032, and we are focused on building sustainable success for decades to come. The sporting strategies, programs and facilities we deliver now have the capacity to shape Australia’s long-term prosperity, well beyond sporting boundaries. A thriving Australian sport system is enormously influential to a thriving Australia.

We will advocate for sport and its positive influence on Australia, promote and support inclusive and diverse sporting environments and drive thought leadership and innovation to inspire world’s best practices. We will build the capability of sport and the people involved through projects like our Sport Volunteer Coalition Action Plan which outlines a new approach to foster positive, safe and fulfilling experiences for sport volunteers, and our Women Leaders in Sport programs which champion equal representation in sport.

It has been great to see the AIS site buzzing with activity again after a challenging few years due to COVID-19. We continue to welcome sports and athletes back to the campus, who are all keen to use our facilities to prepare for major sporting events.

Our aim is for sport in Australia to be world’s best so we will optimise our facilities to advance sport and use them to showcase sport at its best. This is an incredible opportunity to unite and inspire Australia through sport as we capitalise on the calendar of major sporting events on the road to a home Olympic and Paralympic Games.

On behalf of the ASC, thank you to everyone who contributes to Australian sport with the aim of making it better for all.

Josephine Sukkar AM

SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS

Acknowledgement of Country

Orienteering Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands where we conduct our sporting activities.

Orienteering Australia extends this acknowledgment to all the Traditional Custodians of the lands and First Nations Peoples throughout Australia and would like to pay its respects to all Elders past, present and emerging.

Orienteering Australia recognises the outstanding contribution that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make to society and sport in Australia and celebrates the power of sport to promote reconciliation and reduce inequality.

From the Chair

After the continued disruption of our orienteering activities through 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was pleasing we were able to return to some sense of “normality” in 2022. We conducted a very successful Easter 3 Days in Queensland and held all rounds of our National League and had a most successful Australian Championships carnival week in Victoria with very positive attendance. The legacy of COVID though had an impact on our trans-Tasman engagement with the unfortunate cancellation of the Oceania Championships in the South Island of New Zealand in January. All was not lost on the Oceania front, as Tasmania successfully put in a bid to the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) to conduct an Oceania Championships in January 2023 using the maps prepared for their twice cancelled Australian Championships.

2022 also saw our elite level athletes return to the international stage. What return it was for Australian orienteering. We sent a very young team to the first Sprint World Championships in Denmark in July, where they acquitted themselves really well and gained a lot of experience in competing at the top elite level. Aston Key showed what a great orienteering talent he is by taking a 5th place in the Sprint, the best male individual result by an Australian male orienteer at World Championships level. Aston was also a semi-finalist in the cut and thrust of the KnockOut Sprint World Championship. We had Australian orienteers competing in all rounds of the IOF World Cup with a big team taking on the considerable challenges of the terrain in the round in Estonia. Many of these team members also took part in the World University Championships in August in Switzerland which we view as an important elite development competition. We sent a team to the 20202 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, United States which was an exciting experience for our athletes to take part in a large multisport games. Our Junior World Championships (JWOC) team had to deal with the challenges of extreme heat in Portugal in July alongside the presence of COVID-19 in the championships. This saw the cancellation of the forest format races which were rescheduled to November. Fortunately, many of our junior team were able to return to Portugal to take part. At both JWOC events, the team acquitted themselves with admirable intent and promise.

2022 also saw some changes to the Orienteering Australia (OA) Board and administration. Long serving Technical Director Jenny Casanova and Bill Jones left the Board. On behalf of the Australian orienteering community, we owe a great deal of thanks to Jenny and Bill for their service to our sport. Clare Hawthorne, Anna Sheldon, and Troy de Haas joined the Board and all have made very positive contributions to the activities of the Board through 2022. The Board was delighted to appoint a new General Manager in Arpad Kocsik in March which has had a very positive impact on the operational capability of OA. In October, Andrew Lumsden left the board. I want to express a profound appreciation to Andrew for his amazing contribution to the OA Board. When we were unable to obtain a General Manager through the second part of 2021 and into 2022, he effectively took on the role of a General Manager to ensure the Board continued to effectively function as well as considerable other Board duties. Thank you, thank you Andrew for your work.

Major activities achieved by the Board through 2022 have included the commencement of updating the OA Operational Manual to a new edition, adoption of terms of reference for the OA Athletes Commission, establishment of structures to manage and implement the second tranche of the Moira Whiteside Bequest, implementation the Sport Australia National Integrity Framework through our National Integrity Unit led by Andrew Shipton (ACT), implementation of the new Coaching Framework, continued work to update our Officiating Accreditation framework, reviewed the future of The Australian Orienteer in conjunction with a survey of readers, conducted a community competition as a stimulus to develop an updated brand identity for OA which will inform a Communication and Social Media plan through 2023, submitted a bid for orienteering to be included in the 2026 Commonwealth Games, agreed with Orienteering New Zealand as to the future organisational structure of the Oceania Championships, conducted a series of online workshops for member States in lieu of an in-person National Conference and engaged with Member States/Territories through online meetings about mutual operational matters.

Looking ahead to 2023, the Board will have a number of tasks to undertake among which will include the long delayed finalisation of the transition to a company limited by guarantee to follow on from the adoption of the updated constitution in November 2022, to work with Member States/Territories and Sport

Australia to finally develop a national Participation Plan for orienteering in Australia in alignment with a structured Learn to Orienteer program, to develop a Communications and Social Media Plan that includes a promotion and marketing strategy to promote engagement with our sport as a following on from the rebranding of OA, to implement our updated Controller Accreditation framework and developing learning materials of this and our Coaching framework, to continue to improve the acquittal of project funding provided by Sport Australia, finally improve the usability of Eventor, update OA’s risk register and to continue to enhance our operational procedures to both align with Sport Australia governance requirements and continue to improve our operational efficiency.

In 2022, I wrote that I had a vision for our orienteering organisation and structures across Australia to continue to work together and achieve an agreed common understanding across our ways of working in the conduct and administration of our sport. That is, to work to further identify common approaches to reduce duplication and simplify as best we can for the benefit of all of us to further enjoy orienteering at whatever level we choose to do so. We have made progress on that front but there is more work to do in some areas, namely a common national membership structure and a coherent and well understood implementation of the National Integrity Framework across all levels of Australian orienteering.

In closing, I would like to sincerely thank everyone, at all levels of our sport, who have contributed to the success of orienteering in Australia through 2022. It was again a challenging year in many respects but also a positive year on many fronts. Orienteering is getting back to where it was in 2019 before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and I am confident that we remain on a positive trajectory for our wonderful sport of orienteering through 2023 to go forward, and to further develop and provide opportunities for many more people in the Australian community to enjoy what we know in the most wonderful sport you can do.

Michael Dowling Chair

Management of Orienteering Australia

Orienteering Australia (OA) in 2022 was managed and administered by:

• A Board of seven, then eight members headed by Chair, Michael Dowling. In anticipation of his retirement from his International Orienteering Federation (IOF) role in late June, the ex-officio title he was previously appointed to the Board under was no longer necessary and he was elected to the Board at the 2022 Annual General Meeting.

• Part-time paid officers: General Manager (from March), Head Coach, High-Performance Administrator, Manager Coaching and Development, the Editor and the Graphic Designer of the Australian Orienteer, Manager of Coaching Development, Website Administrator, Manager Coaching and Officiating, Sporting Schools Administrator, Project Administrator. The last three positions are with one person.

Membership of the Board

Board members and Board support for the 2022 year were:

Michael Dowling - Chair.

Richard Mountstephens - Director, Finance.

Brett Weihart - Director.

Craig Steffens - Director Operations and MTBO.

Anna Sheldon - Director, Technical. Elected at the 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM) upon the retirement of Jenny Casanova.

Troy de Haas - Director, Marketing and Communications. Elected at the 2022 AGM.

Clare Hawthorne - Director, Performance and Coaching. Elected at the 2022 AGM.

Bill Jones - Director. Retired from the Board at the 2022 AGM.

Blair Trewin - Director. Appointed as an ex-officio member of the Board upon his election to the IOF Council in June.

Andrew Lumsden - Director and Board Secretary. Resigned from the Board in October.

Robert Spry - Minutes Secretary. Appointed to support the Board in June.

Michael Dowling

Board Meetings

The Annual General Meeting was held virtually in April. A Special General Meeting in November and a preparation workshop in May were held to finalise the constitution. A series of virtual workshops were held, in November and December with all Member States/ Territories represented. The Board held monthly meetings by Zoom as indicated in Table 1 except meeting 169 which was an in-person meeting held in Sydney.

Table 1: Board Member Meeting Attendance 2022

Note: Jenny Casanova and Bill Jones stood down from the Board at the AGM. Troy de Haas, Clare Hawthorne and Anna Sheldon were elected to the Board at the AGM. Arpad Kocsik joined the Board as General Manager in March. Blair Trewin joined the Board in August upon election to the IOF Council in July. Andrew Lumsden left the Board in October. Robert Spry joined the Board in June as Minutes Secretary.

Staffing and Officers

Paid staff (part-time) were Arpad Kocsik (General Manager from March), Natasha Key (Head Coach), Fredrik Johansson (High Performance Administrator), Jim Mackay (Sporting Schools National Coordinator, Projects Administrator and Manager, Coaching and Officiating), Mike Hubbert (Editor, Australian Orienteer), Peter Cusworth (Australian Orienteer Graphic Designer), Shane Jenkins (Web Administration), Linda Burridge (e-News editor), and Brodie Nankervis, (National Manager, Coaching Development).

Various people and organisations were contracted by OA and Member States/Teritories to undertake projects funded by the Sport Australia Participation Grants.

Remuneration range of OA staff (includes superannuation guarantee contribution).

Major Board Undertakings During 2022

After the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted, 2022 was a busy year for the Board and staff and progress was made on multiple fronts. The detail for each area is documented in the respective Portfolio areas within this Annual Report.

Chair: Michael Dowling as Chair took the lead role in starting the updating of the Organisation Manual, creating the Orienteering Australia (OA) Activity Plan and Strategy, governance reform development, development of a proposal for a new financial model betwen OA and our Member States/Territories, led discussions with the States on constitution changes and contributed to the annual Sport Australia requests and coordinated a joint effort to apply to include orienteering in the 2026 Victoria Commonwealth Games. Chaired meetings of the Board via Zoom in addition to being Vice President of the IOF for the first part of the year. Led discussions on re-scheduling of major OA events because of the impact of COVID-19 on the postponed 2021 and 2022 Australian Championships to have been organised in Tasmania.

International: Michael Dowling’s International Orienteering Federation (IOF) Vice President tenure ended in June. Blair Trewin was elected to the IOF Council as a member for the period of 2022-2026. Fredrik Johansson was nominated to become member of the IOF Map Commission after the retirement of Adrian Uppill. Brett Weihart was elected member of the Foot Orienteering Commission with responsibilities focused around Junior World Orienteering Championships, European Youth Orienteering Championships, IOF Fair Play Working Group, Senior, Junior and Youth Regional Championships (outside Europe), and Athletes Commission contact.

Finance: Richard Mountstephens, Director Finance, provided regular reports to the OA Board on annual expenditure to date, the performance of the calendar budget and the forward budget; led Annual General Meeting and Board discussions on budget development; introduced MYOB; prepared annual accounts for auditing; provided the Sport Australia with audit and acquittal statements and budget figures as requested; and undertook the day-to-day payment of invoices. Released improved financial reports.

Moira Whiteside Bequest: The wording of the Terms of Reference and Application form were finalised and two Committees were established. The call for applications and was advertised by the Bequest Committee and the Finance Committee invested the funds.

Head Coach: Natasha Key, led the Australian National team to the first ever World Sprint Orienteering Championships held in Denmark and brought home fantastic results including a 5th place in the Sprint.

Technical: Anna Sheldon stepped in in April to fill the shoes of Jenny Casanova.

Media and Communications: Troy de Haas took the role in April and contributed in the submission of the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games application. Liaised with the Victorian Government, the IOF and Commonwaeth Games Organising Committee.

Sport Australia Funded Projects: The Board undertook a review of Sport Australia funded projects in light of the disruption to operational actitities durng the COVID-19 pandemic to realign projects with new priorities with the approval of Sport Australia.

2022 Special Workshops:

• High Performance

• Coaching

• Participation, Communications & Marketing

• Technical, Events, Mapping

• Governance, Finance, Membership

Michael Dowling

New Orienteering Australia Branding Guide and Logo: A Graphic Designer was engaged to create an updated and modernised OA logo and Branding Guide from the community based logo design competition as a precursor to developing an updated Orienteering Australia Communication Plan and Social Media strategy in 2023.

National Integrity Framework and National Sports Tribunal: OA adopted the National Integrity Framework (NIF) developed by Sport Integrity Australia. Andrew Shipton prepared the NIF, Anti-Doping Policy and National Sports Tribunal (NST) documentation. OA received funds for legal assistance to complete the policies and onboard the States.

Coach in Residence Program: The program was restarted after the international travel ban was lifted and candidates were able to submit applications. Francesca Taufer from Italy and Wataru Teragauchi from Japan were the first coaches to come to Australia within the framework of the Coach in Residence Program.

Athlete’s Commission: Michael Dowling proposed that OA follow the IOF model where athletes have a voice within a Commision structure to represent their interests. The Commission was established and working well in partnership with the High Performance Management Group.

Australian Sports Foundation: Donations were a major part of the financial support that OA could provide our national team athletes and officials throughout 2022. More than $10,000 was donated through the ASF portal to orienteering which was equally distributed among the participants at major events.

Coaching Framework Update: Brodie Nankervis prepared the updated framework and the implementation of the framework proceeded through 2022 will be developed into an eLearning platform in 2023.

Foot Orienteering Rules Update: Jenny Casanova prepared the updates required due to changes in the IOF FootO rules. They were adopted with minor changes.

Meetings with Sport Marketing Australia: The General Manager and Secretary met the representative of the Sport Marketing Australia (SMA) to discuss a potential partnership in order maximise event participation and reduce marketing costs by tapping into rural local government funds through SMA.

Website Upgrade: A company was hired to prepare a new and modernised OA website after scoping work by the Website Redevelopment Working Group. Work was commenced and will continue through 2023 .

The Australian Orienteer: The Board conducted a survey among the readers of the magazine which concluded that there is a need for the printed version and the online version as well. The Editor, Mike Hubbert, resigned after many years of service and a new Editor, Hania Lada was engaged to commence work in 2023.

Commonwealth Games 2026 Bid: OA in partnership with Orienteering Victoria and the IOF submitted an application together with a short video presentation to include orienteering in the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games. The effort was unsuccessful but proved that the organisation can work together with the States and individuals to achieve a goal and the exercise was a success in this regards. The process stimulated an ambition to host a major IOF event by 2030 in Australia.

Sport Australia Grants: OA submitted five projects for the next funding period. These projects were aimed to increase participation with the creation of a Participation Plan by a new National Participation Manager, to create an e-learning platform with the ASLC, to create a beginner product known as Learn to Orienteer, to start a Coaching for Everyone project and to hire a Project Administrator.

Infectious Disease Policy Update: Mark Freeman, the OA Medical Officer was asked to update the Orienteering Australia policy to reflect post COVID-19 changes for athletes participating at national or international events.

Controller Accreditation Framework and Controller Curricula Update: Craig Steffens led the redrafting process of these documents vital to keeping event officials up-to-date with the latest changes in practice. This project will be completed by early 2023

Orienteering Australia Awards: David Hogg was appointed as Manager, Awards early in 2022. The Hall of Fame Committee was restructured to become an Awards Committee. Several amendments were made to the OA Operational Manual to include volunteer recognition and a new design for medals. Certificates of Recognition for key organisers of major events in Australia were reinstituted with Certificates of Recognition being presented at the 2022 Australian Championships.

Administration

In March a new General Manager took over the role that had been sitting empty since June 2021. The lack of a proper handover process left the new General Manager with a lot of processes to learn while fulfilling the dayto day routine administration tasks of the role. Support was provided by the Board Secretary, Andrew Lumsden until his resignation from the Board in October.

A major task of the General Manager has been to get the new constitution in shape for submission to ASIC and move OA to a Company Limited by Guarantee. All the expected and unexpected changes in the Board pushed back the submission of the documentation, including the ASIC Form 202, to 2023.

Arpad Kocsik

General Manager

Finance

Financial Statement Summary

Following is an executive summary of financial outcomes for Orienteering Australia (OA) in 2022. Please refer to OA’s Audited Financial Accounts reports for details.

Operating Income & Expenses

Summary

While the accompanying Profit & Loss statement for OA Inc. show a slight surplus in 2022, the effective operating net outcome is a deficit of $43K. The difference is due to a reconciliation of funds tracked as ‘unspent liability’ in OA’s accounting software with annual acquittals provided to Sports Australia.

The net outcome modestly exceeds expectations of the forecast budget of a $51K deficit. The plan to operate a deficit in 2022 was based on a combination of one-off and recurring factors:-

• COVID-19: An unexpected surplus in 2021 due to the cancellation of international events was factored in to 2022 planning. Conversely the event levies originally forecast at $90K were reduced to $70K as levies for the first half of 2022 are calculated on event participation in the second half of 2021. It is anticipated events will return to normal for 2023 participation. Actual levies received was below forecast at $65K

• OA Operating Costs: Staff costs to operate OA have risen in recent years and the budget has been adapted accordingly.

Financial Health Assessment

Operating Expenses

A review of OA’s financial statements was performed by Sport Australia against benchmarks in June 2022. The review indicated that OA’s financial risk remains in the “Lower Range”.

Budget planning for 2023 however highlights that a structural deficit remains with one-off occurrences removed. As such a discussion paper has been prepared for discussion in 2023 on how to achieve the strategic objective to return OA’s budget to surplus within 3 years, and to ensure that OA remains within the ‘lower risk’ ranges of the Asset & Liquid reserves of Sport Australia’s ‘Annual Sport Financial Snapshot’. (Thresholds to be confirmed).

Liabilities

OA’s primary liability are grant funds for the purpose of participation projects held in cash. Project execution capability gaps has seen OA underspend in recent years against the $100K provided annually from Sports Australia. 2022 has seen an improvement on this trend with $78K spent on participation related initiatives.

Balance Sheet

OA’s balance sheet remains within the “lower range” of risks. To note is that an historical reconciliation of grant liability tracking with acquittals provided to the Sport Australia’s offsets to an extent the impact to net assets of 2022’s deficit.

Whiteside Bequest

The Whiteside Bequest was finalized in 2022 with the executor of Moira’s estate providing $940K to OA for the purposes outlined in Moira’s bequest.

An Investment Committee has been successfully established, and $923K transferred to the Netwealth platform for management aligned to investment goals and targets documented in the Committee’s terms of reference.

Portfolio value at year end was $929K which represents a strong result compared to overall market performance in 2022. Asset allocation remains within targets agreed.

The establishment of a Disbursement Committee is planned for 2023 to manage the long-term allocation of funds in accordance with bequest goals.

2022 Income & Expenses Overview

Income callouts include:-

• $65K in event levies received against a budget of $70K (reduced from $90K due to COVID).

• Donations of $11K exceeded expectations of $5K – an excellent result and one to focus on for the future.

• Public liability insurance was slightly cheaper than forecast, but will increase in 2023.

Expense callouts include:

• OA hired a General Manager only in March, reducing cost against full year budget. To note is that a portion of the General Manager’s time is allocated to Participation Grant projects and funded accordingly in the order of $25K.

• Junior World Championships costs were higher than forecast due to a rerun of the forest events in November.

• Physical meetings are beginning to return for the OA Board and the IOF with some travel costs the result.

2023 Budget Overview

The OA budget for 2023 forecasts a deficit of $32K. Key callouts include:

• A 5% increase to staff contract rates and pay

• An assumption of events returning to pre-COVID levels

• A CPI increase to State Registration fees based on 2022 figures.

• An increase of Public Liability costs in the order of $5K

• An additional cost for the Australian Orienteer editor with a handover period from the retiring Michael Hubbert and incoming Hania Lada

• Funding for General Manager across the full year

• An increase in IOF levies in the order of $2K

Richard Mountstephens Director (Finance)

National Integrity Unit

In late 2021, the Board appointed Stephen Goggs (ACT) and Andrew Shipton (ACT) to form the National Integrity Unit with the aim to work in concert with government to implement the National Integrity Framework (NIF) and other policies for the benefit of orienteering. As a result, 2022 was a significant year for policy development and implementation for Orienteering Australia (OA). Policies relating to the safety and protection of our members and participants, as well as promoting fairness in our sport, were adopted.

The Sports Integrity Australia (SIA) National Integrity Framework is a suite of policies that modernised OA’s previous member protection policies. They ensure:

• alignment with changes in administrative law (complaints and sanctions),

• alignment with local and international laws/ agreements/treaties (anti-doping, use of medicines), and

• seek to match or exceed community expectations in key protection areas (harassment and bullying, safety in sport, inclusiveness, and child and vulnerable person protection).

OA’s adoption of the Framework means we, orienteering, are meeting the same high bar as other professional sports, well-resourced or otherwise, Olympic and nonOlympic. We are stating that we take the protection of our members and participants seriously, and acknowledge that our sport is better when we are inclusive, promote fairness in and out of competition, look after our people regardless of whoever they are, and vow to continue to develop and be better.

Another related body of work completed in 2022 are the policies relating to the National Sports Tribunal (NST). The Tribunal provides a means for OA to refer complex issues/cases for mediation or arbitration through a legally robust system that empowers OA to resolve issues at the lowest possible level, avoiding angst, emotion, and significant cost. Where required and appropriate, the option exists to use the Tribunal to resolve complex issues fairly, independently and expediently. While history indicates little likelihood of OA needing to use the services of the Tribunal, as a largely volunteer organisation, our signing up to the Tribunal means that complex issues can be resolved

at little cost to all, thereby preserving our limited resources to planning and executing exceptional activities and competition that progresses our sport.

Implementing change is never easy. Through the broad consultation that was conducted in 2022, that we as a sport have great administrators, coaches and volunteers with the best interests of the sport at heart at all levels. Some of the change creates additional work. In some cases, it changes some processes when historically we have had no issues or difficulty within a particular policy area. But remaining stagnant in a changing world, especially in the areas of member protection and specifically child protection, presents risk and sees us collectively behind community expectations. OA takes seriously our role in the development and protection of our youth and will continue to invest energy into ensuring we are doing all we can in this area. The support of States and clubs is critical to ensuring that the work and focus of the NIF filters throughout the sport. We sincerely thank those who have personally invested in this area of work in the best interests of orienteering in Australia.

2023 presents an opportunity to consolidate the work of 2022. It is expected that the National Integrity Framework will continue to be developed; it is not a stagnant body of work. OA will work to ensure that the Framework and other policies permutate through all of OA’s policies and procedures in the coming year. The intent of the Integrity Unit is to facilitate development of policy, liaise with stakeholders, and support implementation. Both Stephen and I look forward to progressing this body of work, and being available to States, clubs and members to work collaboratively.

We commend to all the resources available within OA and at the Sport Integrity Australia website relating to the aforementioned policies.

Andrew Shipton National

Integrity and Complaints Manager integrity@orienteering.asn.au

OPPORTUNITIES

Membership

Total orienteering membership, Tables 1a and 1b, across Australia declined by 7.7% in the 2022 calendar year from 4,229 members to 3,905 members. It was significant that this was the first year in a number of years that the non-renewal rate nationally was above the benchmark 20% figure to sit at 25.7%.

The non-renewal rate varied considerably across States from a low of 10.7% in Victoria, to highs of 31.1% in Queensland and 32.2% in New South Wales. Through 2023 Orienteering Australia (OA) will need to work with States to understand why the non-renewal rate of membership was so high in those jurisdictions. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this may in part be due to other sports not being able to operate in their normal fashion during the COVID-19 pandemic, wheras orienteering was largely able to proceed due to its naturally non close proximity personal contact nature. As the pandemic subsided and sporting activity began to return, it is posisble that previous people were able

to return back to their previous sport. Another related issue could have been the inflationary pressures many families began to feel though 2022 and people were having to make financial decisions to reduce their discretionary expenditure.

It was pleasing to see a small growth in total membership in South Australia and West Australia and a 12.2% growth in total membership in Victoria.

Victoria has had a simplfied membership structure that is inexpensive to become a member in that state. OA has embarked on a project with Member States/ Territories to adopt a unified approach to membership and it is anticipated that all States at this stage, bar South Australia, will have adopted this unfied model from 2024. OA plans to work with South Australia through 2023 to better understand the complexities of their existing membership structure in the hope of a unified national membership model being in place by 2025 at the latest.

Table 1a: Membership by Year, 2020 to 2022

Table 1b: Membership by Member States/Territories, 2022

Table 2: Registered Orienteers, 2020-2022

Source: Eventor and data provided by Member States/Territories.

The total number of registered orienteers has continued to hover around the 40,000 year mark over the last three years. 2022 saw both a decline in the number of full financial members, non-members in club events and non-members in corporate/scout and school events but an increase in permanent course users. This suggests that while people are still going orienteering nationally, they are lookng for ways to experience the sport in a more flexible manner. If this trend continues OA and its Member States/Territories and affiliated clubs will need to look at ways to adjust to this trend

Further work is required to imrprove the integrity and accuracy of this data. Unfortunately, some clubs in a few Member States/Territories are still not putting their event result data into Eventor, the national event and membership system. This requires a lot of extra work in compiling the data to get an accurate picture of who is going orienteering across Australia and results in data that may not necessarily be 100% accurate. OA and its Member States/Territories will need to work with clubs to overcome perceived barriers to data entry.

Events and Participation

The three year tracking of events and partcipation data, as shown in Table 3, reveal a bounce back in the total number of participations through 2022 as the sport emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. The total number of events reached a three year high in 2022 and we saw an increase of 6,384 participations in 2022 compared to 2021 and an increase of 127 events nationally in the same period.

Over the three year period the average participation rate per event has declined from 79.1 in 2020 to 71.6 in 2020. The data shows the rate of average participation in events from 2021 to 2022 declined significantly in the ACT and NSW, there was a small decline in SA/NT and TAS, a small increase in WA and pleasing increases in both QLD and VIC.

It was great to see a significant bounce back in the total number of partcipants in events in VIC in 2022 from the imact of COVID-19 on events and participation in that State in 2021 such that VIC recorded the most number of particpants from the most number of events in an OA Member State/Territory. An aspect of the participation rate in VIC is the extensive street orienteering program that runs in and around Melbourne throughout the year. The partcipation rate in VIC was also helped by the conduct of a very well attended and successful Australian Championships week after this had been cancelled due to COVID-19 in both 2020 and 2021.

NOTE:

Table 4: Events and Participations by Age Category and Gender - 2022

NOTE Event data from Eventor and Member States/Territories. Some event data may be missing

Sporting Schools

The number of Sporting Schools participants, Tables 4 and 5, was maintained in 2022 from the surge in 2021 with over 16,000 students again taking part. The number of programs was down from 178 to 163 which is a drop of over 9%, but larger programs saw a slight 1% increase in participations from 16,750 to 16,933.

2023 will see the launch of the new Sporting Schools booking system and subsequently better reporting statistics from Sport Australia (SA), but until then actual statistics reported by Orienteering Australia (OA) will be listed with SA statistics.

Table 5: Sporting Schools Programs and Participation by Year

High Schools Programs and Local Club Representatives

The successful introduction of High School orienteering programs in 2021 has continued into 2022 with approximately one third of all programs for Years 7 and 8. Sporting Schools continue to investigate expansion into Years 9 and 10 with Orienteering Australia applying for an upcoming pilot project in Term 3 of 2023.

The findings from the Club Connect pilot programs in 2021 and 2022 has resulted in new plans to allow schools to engage with a local club representative as part of the Sporting Schools booking process. This will be implemented later in 2023.

Jim Mackay OA Sporting Schools Coordinator

Map Run

The use of the MapRun run application has continued to grow in 2022 from 26,613, as reported in the 2021 Annual Report, to 29,109 as indicated in Table 7 below. This is a 9.4% increase. All Member States/Territories are using MapRun as a way of attracting participants to orienteering, either as a single day activity or on a fexible basis.

In QLD and VIC, the MapRun application is proving to be a most useful tool for the conduct of orienteering events in urban settings where the “location” of the control point may be indicated by a physical flag with the added indication of the correct location by MapRun using GPS data. Increasingly in these urban settings MapRun is soley being used to confirm the corrrect location of a control point.

The use of MapRun also grew most significantly in the ACT through 2022 when looking at State by State data.

MapRun is also a great tool for enabling participants to experience orienteering on an anytime basis through permanent courses, and States are encouraged to futher develop growth in this form of orienteering.

Many thanks to Peter Effeney for assisting in providing the 2022 data

Table 7: MapRun Participations by State, 2018 - 2022

2026 Victoria Commonwealth Games Bid

In late August 2022, Orienteering Australia (OA) and Orienteering Victoria (OV) representatives, in partnership with the International Orienteering Federation (IOF), submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) along with a range of other sports to be a part of the 2026 Commonwealth Games to be held across regional Victoria. While it was understood that 16 sports were confirmed for 2026, there were 5 additional sport spots available through the EOI process.

As part of the EOI, Living it Live prepared an outstanding promotional video showcasing the excitement of international orienteering and how it could effectively connect with Victorian regional centres that will host the 2026 Victoria Commonwealth Games. This video can be viewed on YouTube by searching for Orienteering - Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games, Nomination The strength of the orienteering EOI was that we could showcase the landmarks and tourist sites of regional Victoria in a unique way. Other strengths were that orienteering doesn’t require a stadium or facility (low cost) and we have recent proven experience in running world class events in Australia. Orienteering also ticked the box of having athletes that are “world class” given the performances of athletes from the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia in recent World Championships, World Cups and Junior World Championships. The bid also mobilised strong support from local councils. OA and OV especially thank both the City of Greater Bendigo for their support, and the Bendigo Orienteering Club who have a positive relationship with traditional owners of the land in the Bendigo region.

The EOI proposed to run the three sprint formats as featured in the 2022 World Championships. That is, an individual sprint, a knockout sprint and sprint relay.

While the EOI was unsuccessful in getting orienteering into the 2026 Victoria Commonwealth Games, it was a valuable learning experience between OA and OV. It demonstrated how a state member and the national sport organistion could work at short notice in a cooperative way striving for a common ambition. The bid received much positive feedback from the Victorian Government Organising Committee for its quality and how orienteering could showcase regional Victoria.

The bid process had a positive flow on effect in that it has further stimulated active discussion within OA and among sections of the broader Australian orienteering community as to how and when we should host a major international orienteering event. As a part of this stimulus OA has formed a working group to examine the feasibility of a bid for a Sprint World Championships in Australia in 2030.

Sport Australia Fundes Participation And Devcelopment Projects

As outlined in its 2021 Annual Report, Orienteering Australia (OA) continued with participation growth and membership projects developed and managed by the States in cooperation with OA. The first half of 2022 consisted of projects that were started in 2021 second half. A new agreement was signed for the 2022-2024 period segmented into two years and four tranches. These projects will be discussed in the second part of this report.

The level of funding received from Sport Australia for 2022-2023 was maintained at previous levels of $100k and split into two tranches ($75k and $25k), while the 2023-2024 period remained unspecified in terms of level of funding.

Some projects were carried over, along with the funds allocated in previous years and are still to be finalised. During 2022, the Board reviewed the range of ongoing projects funded by Sport Australia which resulted in some projects being repurposed or stopped with agrement from Sport Australia.

OA submitted the following list of core funding projects for 2022 (January to June based on the previous funding agreement) and were presented in the 2021 report:

Develop more efficient administration and event management processes to free up volunteer time.

Develop more efficient administration and event management processes to free up volunteer time. A project plan in place and being delivered by all States and Territories by 30 June 2022. Increase in the number of event participants by 3%

Engage website & social media consultant & two pilot schemes to market orienteering to wheelchair and small-town regional communities.

Employment of a Project Administration Officer to support current and future Orienteering Australia Participation Projects.

Findings conveyed to clubs & States and 100 new participants in pilots by 30 June 2022

$76,000 Commenced in the second half of 2021, continued through 2022. and into 2023. The ongoing challenge in completion this project has been to secure an appropriately skilled Project Manager. The Board expects a resolution to this challenge to enable the project to finally go forward in 2023 with more activation.

A review and update on the status and opportunities for key OA projects to the OA by 30 June 2022.

Commenced in 2021 and continued in 2022

from previous 6

The list of projects started in 2021 and carried over into 2022 and breakdown of first half projects is to the left.

2022 Core Funding Projects Progress

Project To Provide Updated Resource Material To Complement Recently Updated Coaching Syllabi

Background

The 2020 Coaching Syllabi project identified that the updated syllabi did not include the provision of new coaching materials and that once that project was endorsed, a new project for the delivery of new coaching materials should be started in 2021.

Status

The project was commenced late in the financial year of 2020-2021 and carried over into the 2021-2022 financial year. A final adjustment to the update syllabus documents was made first and these documents made publicly available in 2022. Therefore, at the end of 2021 the resource materials required had been identified, the objectives of each resource material documented, in the way of performance standards for the coaching courses, but the creation of the resource materials was yet to commence. The project was then carried over into 2022 and as shown in the table above it has been completed.

Sport Ident – Modernise Orienteering Equipment

Background

Time keeping is done with a system called Sport Ident. Parts of this system needed upgrading, new batteries, sometimes a total replacement as they get stolen or thrown into the bush and are never found. The funds allocated have been spent on new units.

Status

Completed.

Employ Project Officer

Background

and Status

The growing number of projects to be managed by Orienteering Australia called for an increase in personnel. After advertising the position a suitable candidate was selected and appointed for the position for both terms.

Website Update

Background

A website & social media consultant was contracted to create the new OA website. Due to initial budgeting issues and funds reorganisation the project has commenced with significant delay. OA is expecting to have a partial completion of the project in the second quarter of 2023.

Funding Arrangements 2022/24 (Ongoing)

In July 2022 OA signed the current funding agreement for the 2022 2024 period.

In doing so, Sport Australia provided an increased flexibility in the use of Core Participation Funding to ensure that NSOs could invest in priority activities that will help to maintain their workforce and organisational capability.

The list of projects submitted for the second half of 2022 are shown below.

Unallocated Sport Australia Grant Funding

Orienteering Australia at the end of 2022 is carrying an approximately $89,000 liability in unallocated Sport Australia participation and development grant funding. The Board determined that new projects that address a particpation and developmet need to be completed or intiated though 2023 would be the new OA Branding Guide and logo, the implmentation of the updated Controller accreditation curricula into the E-learning platform and the development of course setting E-learning materials.

Arpad Kocsik General Manager

E-learning Establish sub tenancy agreement with ASLC and create an e-learning platform. Appoint a project manager to lead the incorporation of the Orienetering Australia coaching syllabi into the platform.

To be modifed to support orienteers to become accredited under the new Orienteering Australia coaching framewrok to deliver structured assistance to new orienteers.

In progress, on track,

Volunteer Recognition and Awards

During 2022, the management of Orienteering Australia (OA) awards was reorganised through the appointment of David Hogg to the new voluntary position of Awards and Trophies Manager and an extension of the role of the former Hall of Fame Selection Committee to include determination of the three OA service awards. Those awards are the Silva Award for Services to Orienteering, the Silva Award for Services to Orienteering Coaching and the David Hogg Medal for Services to Event Management. With four of the former Hall of Fame Selection Committee members having served their maximum term of eight years, a new Awards Committee for 2023-24 was appointed consisting of Bruce Arthur (Chair), Greg Barbour, Jenny Bourne, Clare Hawthorne (Board representative) and Robin Uppill.

The composition of the Electoral College that elects the Athlete of the Year has been expanded to include relevant ranking officers and additional elite team officials in Foot O and MTBO. Blair Trewin was appointed as Returning Officer for the Electoral College voting.

The relevant parts of the OA Operational Manual have been revised to reflect the above changes and provide additional guidance on service award and Hall of Fame nominations.

The 2022 winners of the Silva Medal and the Athlete of the Year Award are to receive medals bearing the new Orienteering Australia logo that is in development from the OA Branding Guide project. A supply of those medals, as well as medals for the event management award, will be maintained for the foreseeable future.

The practice of presenting Certificates of Appreciation to key national event officials and national team officials, which was introduced several years ago but subsequently lapsed, has been revived, with the first of the new batch of certificates presented at the 2022 Australian Championships Carnival.

David Hogg Manager, Awards

RELATIONSHIPS

International Relations and International Orienteering Federation

International orienteering returned to something close to a normal schedule in 2022 after two heavilydisrupted years. After the first few weeks of the year, most events outside of Asia went ahead as planned, with the first Sprint World Orienteering Championships in Denmark being a highlight of the year, although participation in events such as the World Masters Orienteering Championships has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. The International Orienteering Federation’s other activities also returned to a more normal state.

The International Orienteering Federation (IOF) adopted a new set of strategic directions, with four major strategic initiatives:

1. Actively improve the performance and sustainability of the IOF and member federations.

2. Improve the IOF brand and orienteering’s visibility.

3. Develop the IOF’s global competition program.

4. Upgrade governance further.

Becoming part of the Olympic competition program is no longer an explicit strategic goal of the IOF.

Australia continues to play a substantial role in IOF activities. Michael Dowling stepped down at the General Assembly in July as IOF Vice-President, after serving for 12 years on the IOF Council. He was awarded an IOF Gold Pin at the General Assembly in recognition of his service, one of only 13 to receive this honour.

Blair Trewin was elected at the General Assembly to fill one of the Council vacancies. Australians also serve on a number of IOF Commissions and other bodies. Brett Weihart replaced Blair Trewin on the Foot Orienteering Commission, and Fredrik Johansson replaced Adrian Uppill on the Map Commission, while Barry McCrae continues as a member of the Rules Commission. Christine Brown was appointed as one of the members of the new Disciplinary Panel. Australia also has one of the world’s larger groups of accredited IOF Event Advisers.

Leho Haldna continues as President of the IOF until his term finishes in 2024. There were some substantial changes in the IOF Office. Tom Hollowell, who

subsequently became a Vice-President, retired as Secretary-General early in 2022. This role was split into two positions, with Henrik Eliasson appointed as CEO and Sondre Gullord as Secretary-General. There is also no longer a physical IOF Office with staff working from their home locations. Apart from the General Assembly and associated Commission meetings during WOC in Denmark, most IOF meetings in 2022 were virtual, although there is a return to more physical meetings planned for 2023. It is expected that the Council will have two in-person meetings per year in future with others being virtual.

The IOF has emerged from the pandemic in a generally sound financial position. The broadcasting of orienteering continues to be a growth area, with uptake of live coverage of major events through the Live Orienteering platform well above expectations, and continuing presence on broadcast TV in parts of Europe. Responding to the consequences of the war in Ukraine has occupied significant attention. Council suspended the IOF membership of Russia and Belarus shortly after the invasion – a decision which was subsequently ratified by the General Assembly – which also led to the exclusion of competitors from those countries from IOF events.

Closer to home, in the Oceania region, Australia continues to engage closely with New Zealand on matters such as the conduct of Oceania Championships. It was pleasing to see a substantial New Zealand presence return to the Australian Championships week in 2022, including the return of New Zealand teams to the Australian Schools Championships. While the restart of normal orienteering programs has been slower in Asia than elsewhere in the world, it is now under way and there are likely to be opportunities for us to engage more closely with that region over the coming years.

Blair Trewin Member IOF Council

Digital Media and Communication

Orienteering Australia (OA) has five digital based media communication tools; Facebook, Instagram, the national website, the Issuu online publishing platform and the monthly e-News bulletin. Due to some historical quirks there is not a lot of close integration between the four systems resulting in duplication of work and a lack of a consistent, coherent approach to effectively communicating with the orienteering community and the wider general community.

OA plans to develop and implement a Communication Plan and Social Media strategy through 2023 to improve alignment of digital communication systems and a more strategic approach to communication via digital media.

Facebook

The most popular post of @OrienteeringAustralia in 2022 was the announcement that OA had submitted a bid for the inclusion of orienteering into the 2026 Commonwealth Games on August 22. This post had a reach of 5,300, 297 likes, 28 comments and 16 shares.

It was notable that in 2022, page reach and page visits substantially increased to indicate greater engagement with community interest in orienteering via the Facebook platform.

issuu - The Australian Orienteer

issuu.com/orienteeringaustralia is the online magazine repository of primarily The Australian Orienteer digital edition. In addition, the site hosts Orienteering Australia Annual Reports and some state based digital documents such as the Orienteering Victoria Yearbook. Every issue of The Australian Orienteer is on the issuu platform from the June 2004 issue. There are two earlier issues of the magazine available on the platform from June and September 1997.

A data comparison shows that less people accessed magazines on the platform in 2022 compared to 2021 but those who did read more articles and clicked through content at a slighty increased rate.

Instagram

The Orientering Australia Instagram page @ orienteeringaus continued to grow its audience and reach looking at the three metrics shown in the accompanying table through 2022. The page is very much targeted towards posts and stories connected to the range of our elite program. Thanks to Brodie Nankervis for his administration of the page and its contributors through 2022.

Orienteering Australia Website

The OA website at orienteering.asn.au is the principal means by which the NSO communicates and holds repositories of key organisational material.

It is acknowledged that the existing website lacks aspects of functionality and usability. It is noted elsewhere in the Annual Report that a project is underway to develop a new website experience for end users that also improves integration with OA’s social media channels. This is expected to go live now in the second quarter of 2023.

The data below shows the number of page views, users and views per user. Google Analytics was activated in October 2021 to track user engagement with the website, hence data for 2021 is not an accurate picture for that year.

The 10 most accessed pages on the Orientereing Australia website in 2022 are shown below.

eNews Bulletin

The Orienteering Australia (OA) eNews Bulletin is an electronic newsletter sent out monthly to over 6000 subscribers. Its readership has increased again through 2022 by being shared via some State eBulletins as well as on the Orienteering Australia Facebook page.

It has a wide variety of content – upcoming events (state, national, international), event reports (state, national, international competitions), human interest (interviews, successes, achievements, awards), technical (mapping, course formats), International Correspondent, technology (apps, updates), studies (medical, parenting, scientific), newspaper coverage, coaching, OA/IOF (meetings, announcements, surveys) and humour/interest articles.

The OA eNews is a valuable communication tool within the organisation, providing up to date information to the Australian Orienteering community. Its monthly release ensures that state and national events and organisational material can be disseminated quickly and accurately.

The Editor welcomes contributions from all members of the orienteering community – especially advertisements and information on upcoming events and trainings opportunities, championship reports, and stories relevant to the orienteering community.

Website Redevelopment

The Orienteering Australia (OA) Activity Plan item to build a new national website finally kicked off in mid2022 with the formation of a project team. A Scope of Work was produced to build a site that would showcase and promote the sport, the opportunities for getting involved and provide a reference point for rules, coaching and competitions for state bodies, clubs and members. A design firm was then engaged and the initial discovery stage of the build was started with outcomes including:

• A highly visually attractive site with easy click through tiles & images that is appealing to its main audience.

• A more intuitive menu structure.

• A search function that provides logical results when keywords are searched.

• A multi-site platform to enable OA carnival sites to be easily pulled up and kept for historical value. A design skin is required for the carnival pages.

• Interaction with OA’s social media channels.

With the imminent release of the new OA logo, branding and style guide in early 2023, the build will continue to progress towards it’s conclusion, hopefully in the first half of 2023.

Orienteering Australia Rebranding

In September 2022, the Board decided that it was time for a brand refresh for Orienteering Australia (OA) with a new logo and associated branding. It was the view of the Board that with the redevelopment of the updated national website finally underway it was timely to begin this process, bearing in mind the existing logo and brand identity have been in place for a considerable period and was now beginning to look dated.

The Board agreed that to develop a basis for a new brand identity it would open the process to the broader Australian orienteering community by calling for all orienteers in Australia to submit ideas for a new logo. Upon submission of logo ideas, a commitee of Board members and the Athletes Commssion selected three logos to be put to a community vote.

The requirements for the submisison was that a logo must be in colour, be capable of being displayed as a greyscale image, be capable of being a scalable vector format file and be capable of being used in both digital and print formats.

The logo chosen by our community would be the basis for the new logo (brand identity) of OA and be passed to a graphic designer to refine the selected logo and produce an associated branding guide. The branding guide would include the final logo in a rnage of formats, new logo identities for MTBO and the National League, colour palette, fonts, templates for offiicial communcation and suggestions for how the branding could be utilised across a range of marketing collateral.

In the community votes, 247 people voted, with 75% votes cast, selecting the logo concept by Vanessa Smith of West Australia.

As the winning designer of the community vote, Vanessa received a free entry to the next major Australian Carnval she would like to participate in. As a West Australian, Vanessa has taken up the option to take part in the 2024 Australian Championships carnival which are being conducted by her home state.

A graphic designer was engaged in early December to take Vanessa’s logo as a basis for refinement to a new Orienteering Australia corporate logo and the associated branding guide. It is expected that the new branding guide and associated collateral would be available for the Board to approve in the first quarter of 2023.

Eventor and Digital Systems

Eventor, OMaps and RevSPORT are the main digital systems. Work on enhancing Eventor usability will finally restart in 2023 as the Board activly seeks a Project Manager to manage this process.

OMaps is the national digital orienteering maps repository and RevSPORT is used to track and manage accreditation for Controllers and Coaches.

Vanessa Smith - Logo Concept

The Australian Orienteer

Reader Survey

Around mid-year, Orienteering Australia created an on-line survey asking respondents for their opinions on the magazine and its content. The results were revealing.

Of the 182 respondents, 61.5% read the magazine in its print format and 19.8% read both the print and digital formats.

Do you read The Australian Orienteer as the:

Looking to the future, 68.1% preferred the magazine to be published in both print and digital formats and another 7.7% preferred just the print format.

Would you like the see The Australian Orienteer continue to be published as a:

The age range of respondents is also revealing. Orienteering is a multi age class sport and it’s clear that the majority of respondents were in the mid to older age classes. They are the backbone of our sport and we need to keep them happy. Without them we would not have volunteers, organisers, older competitors, mappers and the like.

Age Range

In terms of content, a summary of responses showed a wide range of preferences:

Most Like about The Australian Orienteer

The areas that were mentioned more than once were:

• Leg/course route analysis

• Info about the sport/promotes the sport

• Events - national reviews/summaries

• Maps

• Print/magazine format

• Production quality

• Quality/breadth of articles/content

• Events - international

• Adventures of Jeff

• Events - previews

• Photos

• MTBO

• People profiles

• Spot the difference

• Nothing/very little

Michael Dowling

Most Disliked about The Australian Orienteer

The areas that were mentioned more than once were:

• Too much elite focus

• Out of date content

• Digital format hard to read

• Content not orienteering relevant

• Too much MTBO

• Cartoons

• Lack of context at times / lifestyle information

• Inconsistent photo quality

• Spot the difference

• Waste of resources/paper

Advertising

When magazine circulation numbers were around 2,400 it was enough to attract a few interested commercial advertisers and revenue was brought into the sport from these commercial advertisements. But it was somewhat of a revolving door because few realised

any benefit from their advertisements. We were on the bottom rung of a tall ladder.

When free digital download of the magazine was established circulation numbers of printed magazines plummeted to around 800, a level which was of no interest at all to commercial advertisers and thus the revenue flow from outside the sport ceased. The only advertising which remains for the magazine is now for major events and equipment. These advertisements are all funded from within the sport.

New Editor

Lastly, after 75 editions of the magazine and nearly 19 years in the role of Editor, I will be handing over to a new Editor, Hania Lada, in early 2023. I’ve really enjoyed my time as Editor and hope that Hania gets as much enjoyment in her new role. I wish her well.

Michael Hubbert

Managing Editor, The Australian Orienteer

EVENTS

Overview

The Technical and Competition areas for Orienteering Australia (OA) fall under the portfolio of the OA Director, Technical, and are overseen through the following committees:

• Technical (2022 Chair - Blair Trewin).

• Mapping (2022 Chair - Neil Barr).

• Events (2022 Chair - Greg Hawthorne).

Other relevant support personnel include the OA Badge Scheme Secretary, John Oliver, and the Manager Coaching and Officiating Development Jim Mackay. Elite rankings were maintained by Bruce Arthur, non-elite rankings by Darryl Erbacher and National Orienteering League points by Ian Prosser. The work of the above people and of the committee chairs in 2022 is acknowledged.

Technical – Foot Orienteering

The Technical Committee met in April, August and December 2022, with meetings well attended by state representatives and interested parties. In person meetings have been replaced with online meetings (via Zoom) which have been successful in providing a format where relevant state representatives can meet on a regular basis and enable discussion and progress with relevant technical issues.

OA rules and documents referred to below are maintained on the Orienteering Australia web site, either in the Operational Manual or the Technical Pages. Organisers, course planners and controllers are encouraged to seek clarification from state and national technical directors regarding the interpretation of the OA rules and their appendices and of the NOL Guidelines, which are primarily overseen by the High Performance Management Group with input from OA Technical.

Updates to the following rules and event structures were made, with details provided below:

• Change to the structure of Oceania Championships to split Forest and Sprint.

• Equalisation of winning times for men’s and women’s classes.

• Changes to the rules regarding placement of water on courses.

• Introduction of Sport classes in the National League (NOL).

• Formalisation of Middle – Long – Relay structure for Australian 3-day.

• Removal of Prologue from overall time for elite classes for Australian 3-day.

• Changes to requirements to offer sub-junior and moderate classes.

• Change to winning time & distance requirements for easy and very easy courses in sprint.

• Revision of rules regarding maps scales to align with IOF rules and simplify options for organisers.

• Controller curricula for foot and MTBO were updated.

• General rules update to align OA rules with IOF rules and clarify issues that may have arisen since previous update.

Oceania Championships

There was agreement between Australia and New Zealand about changes to the structure of the IOF Oceania Classes to split the sprint championships (in particular the classes where individual WOC places were available in sprint) to conduct Forest races in odd years and Sprint races in even years. This coincides with the current rotation between sprint and forest WOCs. Current agreed rotation starts with NZ hosting Sprint in 2024 and Forest in 2025, followed by Australia in 2026 (sprint) and 2027 (forest).

2023 was the first year of conducing the IOF Oceania Regional Championships in classes from M/W16, 18 and 20. Competition was successful, acknowledging that New Zealand participation was limited by travel costs. This issue is expected to resolve in future as flight availability and relative cost returns to pre-covid levels.

Equalising Distance Winning Times

Winning times have been equalised between men’s and women’s classes for IOF elite classes. In order to bring Australian rules into alignment it has been proposed to equalise winning times between men and women across all age classes. For the Long distance it is proposed to:

• Equalise the winning times for men and women in long distance events. This winning time will be 25 minutes for M/W12, 35 minutes for M/W14, and the current men’s winning time for all other affected A and E classes (noting that all classes from 45+ already have equal winning times).

• Where an E class is offered, the A class will be 65-75% of the E course length, and AS 40-50% of the E course length. The specifications for the A class match those used to date for the Sport class and the A class may be marketed under the ‘Sport’ name.

• Where an E class is not offered, AS to be 45-55% of the length of the corresponding A class (as at present), except for M/W20 and 35 in long distance events where it will be 40-50%.

• This follows the IOF changes for events within its jurisdiction (including WMOC, which is a change which has been decided more recently). The changes for AS classes are designed to preserve them at no longer than their existing length.

These changes would take effect from 1 January 2024.

Water on Courses

The rules relating to provision of water on courses were updated to allow organisers the option to provide water on tracks or other locations that are not control sites. Provision of water at control sites is still allowed and encouraged. Provision of water must still meet the same requirements relating to the estimated running times along the duration of the courses. Where water is provided on tracks etc, it should be positioned so that the runner need not deviate from their route choice to obtain water.

Sport Classes for NOL

The use of Sport classes in the NOL competition was extended in 2022 at the request of the High Performance Management Group. Participation in these classes has been variable so far. It is anticipated

that there would be more demand for sport classes in standalone National League races than as part of Championship events.

Updates to Structure of Australian 3-days

A change in the rules regarding the day winning times for the Australian 3-day was adopted to formalise the option to have middle – long – relay length courses as an option so that organisers need not apply for a rule deviation. This format has been utilised successfully for several years for the 3-days. This format also allows consistency between elite class formats and other age classes. Three days of equal (reduced long distance) winning times also remains an option for non-elite classes.

Update to Status of Easter Prologue

In 2022 the Australian 3-day format was also altered to remove the Prologue from the overall time for elite classes. This was done to reduce the administrative burden on organisers relating to the elite Prologue. The Prologue remains as a stand-alone NOL race for elites and public prologue or family relay for other age classes.

Sprint Formats in NOL Calendar

In 2022 the NOL included the first knockout sprint and night sprint relay. Both formats were well received in the NOL calendar. Knockout sprints have previously been held as non-NOL races associated with NOL rounds to provide runners and organisers familiarity with the format.

Map Scales

It is proposed to allow the use of 1:7500 scales in forest events and 1:3000 in sprint events for the following classes:

• All Masters classes from M/W35 upwards

• All AS classes

• All classes on moderate or easy courses (1:7500 or 1:5000 are already allowed for very easy courses under existing rules).

A guidelines document will be prepared on situations where it is, or is not, appropriate to use a larger scale

(e.g. 1:7500 may not be suitable for a particularly long course because of the size of the map print required).

This brings the Australian rules into line with IOF rules for events under its jurisdiction (noting that AS and moderate/easy courses are not covered by IOF rules).

These changes would formally take effect in the 2024 rules but requests to follow them at events in the remainder of 2023 would be viewed favourably.

Moderate, Easy and Very Easy Classes at National Events

It is proposed that that the required set of classes at the Australian Long Championships and Australian 3-Days be reduced to M Open B, W Open B and Open Easy. This does not preclude organisers from offering other classes (e.g. Junior B, Open Very Easy).

This is intended to bring some consistency, as offerings in these categories at recent national events have been very inconsistent.

Updates to OA Rules

OA Rule changes which were agreed during 2022 and are to be implemented during 2023 are itemised in the following table:

Rule/Item Change

Numerous minor editorial changes throughout document (including replacement of ‘Chairperson’ with ‘Chair’ and ‘he/she’ with ‘they’ where appropriate).

1.6 Event website added to definitions.

2.11 Procedure for amendments brought in line with OA decision-making process.

2.13 (deleted) Automatic Covid waiver for rule deviation notice period allowed to expire.

3.3 (and elsewhere) Reference to OA Annual Conference removed.

3.5 Explicit requirement for supporting public events to be held at the same venue as the Australian Schools Championships removed.

8 Changing terminology to Bulletin 1 and Bulletin 2 (replacing invitation and program) for consistency with IOF rules, and allowing these to be distributed on the event website/Eventor, removing requirements for other channels of distribution (e.g. Australian Orienteer).

8.7 Requirement for Schools Championships team lists to be published in main carnival program removed, but specific schools program (if produced) should be made available online.

11.3 (deleted) Removal of duplicate rule about model events (already allowed for under 11.1).

12.4 Wording generalised to also provide for events with multiple races on the same day (e.g. knockout sprint) and chasing starts.

12.6, 12.7 Now applies to all levels of events, not just Group A (noting that Member States/Territories can amend for Group B/C events should they wish to).

12.8 Allows for seeding in multi-day events.

12.10 Knockout sprint removed from provisions about qualification race start sequence.

13 (and elsewhere) Event name changed from Australian Secondary Schools Orienteering Championships to Australian Schools Orienteering Championships.

14.5 Wording amended to allow for conditional embargoes (e.g. access allowed but no training with map).

15.7 Wording generalised to provide for printing of maps on waterproof material.

16.9 Reference added to guideline lengths for Easy and Very Easy courses.

16.9 Australian 3-Days (in non-elite classes) can now be run either with three equal days or with a middle/ long/relay distance format.

16.10 Australian Relay Championships deleted from table (now covered by 16.13).

16.11 Rule allowing for National League management to vary winning times extended from the World Champonships selection trials to all NOL events.

16.13 Changes to relay winning times, now expressed both as a fastest leg and winning team time.

16.19 Broadened provision on B classes to provide for classes not tied to a specific age group.

19.8 Refreshments being at controls/compulsory crossing points now recommended rather than mandatory.

20.4 Requirement for competitors to have the opportunity to practice punching system removed.

23.5 Provision for timing to 0.1 second removed (following IOF rules).

23.7 Published finishing times in mass start races may be altered to preserve finishing order (e.g. where the first and second runner have the same time, adding 1 second to the time of the second runner).

23.8 Duplicate provision relating to Member State/Territory rules removed.

23.9 Extension of requirement for first aid facilities to urban events (unless the event is in close proximity to medical facilities).

24.5 Removal of requirement to publish details of protests with event results (is still covered by rule 32, post-event reporting).

24.14 (deleted) Redundant as results booklets are no longer published.

26.10, 29.9 Clarification of wording on disciplinary procedures.

30.6 Amended wording on appeals.

33.1 (deleted) Prohibition of hard liquor/tobacco sponsorship removed from Competition Rules (is covered by other OA policies).

34.2 (deleted) Detailed requirements for media service removed.

Appendix 1 Amendments to guideline lengths for Easy and Very Easy courses (particularly Sprint Distance).

Appendix 1 Australian Relays course/class combinations and guideline lengths updated to reflect new rules.

Appendix 6 Various amendments to bring into line with current OA procedures and event formats.

Appendix 8 Minor editorial changes, updating references to underlying rules, and correction of title of part 6 (KnockOut Sprint).

Technical – MTBO

The mapping specification for MTBO was updated in January 2023.

Controlling – Foot & Mountain Bike Orienteering

The work of the following OA Level 3 controllers for Group A Foot events in 2022 is acknowledged.

March 12-13 Melbourne Sprint Weekend NOLs in Victoria

Sprint IOF EA: Barry McCrae

Sprint: Chris Norwood

Sprint Relay: Geoff Adams

April 2-3 NOL Canberra

Middle: Ann and John Scown

Long: Bill Jones

April 2-5 Australian 3-Days Kingaroy QLD

Level 3 controller overseeing the carnival:

Anna Sheldon

Day controllers:

Ben Schulz (Prologue), Lance Read (Days 1 & 2), Tony Bryant (Day 3)

IOF EA for middle and long distance WREs: Anna Sheldon

April 24-25 Gold Coast Sprints NOLs (ANZAC weekend)

Sprint Relay: Rachel and Peter Effeney

Sprint: Daniel Gray (Qualifier) and Tim McIntyre (WRE Final)

Knockout Sprint: Juliana de Nooy

IOF EA for sprint distance WRE: Anna Sheldon

Australian Championships Sept 25 – Oct 2, Victoria

Technical Director: Warren Key

Middle IOF EA: Chris Norwood

Sprint IOF EA: Kathy Liley

Long IOF EA: Tim Hatley

Relay: Blair Trewin

Australian MTBO Championships 25-27 March 2022 Newcastle

Mass Start: Andrew Power

Sprint: Andrew Power

Middle: Michael Roylance

Long: Shane Jenkins

Controller Accreditation –Foot Orienteering

Two Level 3 controllers’ workshops were held during 2022: the first in Perth in October, presented by Jenny Casanova with assistance from attendees, with focus on controlling for the upcoming 2023 Australian Championships and the second in Sydney in October with focus on accrediting controllers for the 2024 Australian Championships in NSW. The Sydney course was presented by Blair Trewin and Anna Sheldon with assistance from course attendees.

Controllers’ Curricula Update Project

The Controller Curricula for Foot levels 1, 2 and 3, and MTBO levels 1 and 2 updates were completed in 2022. Craig Steffens was contracted by Orienteering Australia to oversee this project; the working group also consisted of Kathy Liley, Robin Uppill, Jenny Casanova. A draft common Framework for controller education and accreditation was presented to the Technical Committee meeting in 2021 in Molong. Subsequently, foot-O Curricula for Levels 2 and 3 have been developed with some substantial changes to the process for educating and accrediting Level 1 controllers. MTBO controller curricula at levels 1 & 2 have also been updated. The updated curricula have been adopted in controlling courses at state and national level.

OA acknowledges the substantial contributions of the committee updating the controllers curricula.

Events Committee

The Events Committee is chaired by Greg Hawthorne (TAS) and consists of representatives of all Member States/Territories under the supervision of the Director, Technical. The Committee is responsible for the allocation of major Australian FootO events and oversight of the major event program for Australia, including the IOF Oceania Regional Championships, taking into account the agreed rotation between Member States/Territories. The MTBO Commission has responsibility for the allocation of Australian MTBO Championships.

Table 1 indicates the planned rotation of the Australian 3 Days and the Australian Championships. During 2022, Orienteering New Zealand and Orienteering Australia agreed to a restructure of the IOF Oceania Regional Championships to align with the World Orienteering Championships. This alignment better enables Oceania athletes who gain individual places as title holders in World Championship formats to be the form athletes to contest the World Championships.

Mapping Committee

• Update to guidelines on mapping complex structures was updated in January 2023.

Mapping visit and recommendations from IOF.

• The planned sponsored visit by IOF MC member was conducted in September 2022 and included attending the Australian Championships carnival and visiting key maps representing Australian terrain, including Rowdy Flat.

• The visit focused on issues mapping Australian terrain with a focus on granite and gold mining.

• Key advice was that granite was generally well mapped, although there was a general tendency to over map gold mining, and that extremely detailed areas such as Rowdy Flat would be better mapped at sprint scale.

• It was also observed that with use of lidar updating old maps was generally a waste of time due to distortion and that it was better to start the drawing process from scratch.

Table 1: Proposed Schedule of Major Orienteering Events - 2023 to 2031

Controller Accreditation

The numbers of accredited coaches on 31st December 2022 is listed below with equivalent figures from previous years.

There has been a decrease of nearly 3% on 2022, with female numbers continuing to increase gradually for the 3rd year in a row.

Anna Sheldon Director, Technical with assistance from Jim Mackay - Controller Accreditation Greg Hawthorne - Events Committee Neil Barr - Map Commitee

Table 2: Accredited Controllers by Gender, 2013 - 2022

Table 3: Accredited Controllers by State Level 1 to Level 3,

Table 4: Total Accredited Controllers, 2013 - 2022

PERFORMANCE

The year 2022 finally brought things back to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic. We had a great domestic National League (NOL) season during the autumn and finally we were able to send teams overseas to attend all the international competitions. We had full teams at JWOC, WOC, World Cup 2 and WUOC which was fantastic to see, as well as a large traveling group of Australian juniors competing in other events in Europe.

We also saw our best result ever by an Australian male at the World Championships - Aston Key 5th in the Individual Sprint.

High Performance Management Group

The leaders of the High Performance Program form part of the High Performance Management Group (HPMG), chaired by the Orienteering Australia (OA) Director High Performance. This group also includes the Head Coach, Manager High Performance Administration, Manager of Coaching Development, Administrator of Coaching Development, and OA Executive Officer. It acts as a bridge between the OA Board and national high performance and coaching operations. Meetings were held every month during 2022.

High Performance and Coaching Committee

This committee includes the HPMG and two representatives from each state/territory association. Its purpose is to develop and coordinate high performance and coaching across Australia. The committee met 3 times in 2022 (April, August and November).

National Orienteering League

The National Orienteering League (NOL) continues to be the premier series of events in the national elite competition. Although the focus is on elite racing, high quality competitive events run in conjunction with NOL are also enjoyed by age-group orienteers, including many interstate competitors.

In 2022, NOL competitions were conducted over the first half of the year, culminating with a final weekend specifically organised for the elite competition (not held in conjunction with another major event). Two rounds highlighted the sprint format, to prepare athletes for

the World Championships in Denmark. Social events were also conducted at each round.

In total, 12 NOL races were held over four rounds across three different States (VIC, ACT, QLD). A feature of the program was the exciting sprint weekend season finale on the Gold Coast.

In 2022, 174 different athletes competed in the NOL: 56 senior men, 42 senior women, 43 junior men and 33 junior women.

Team winners were:

• Senior Men: VIC Vikings

• Senior Women: CBR Cockatoos

• Junior Men: NSW Stingers

• Junior Women: QLD Cyclones

Individual winners were:

• Senior Men: Aston Key VIC

• Senior Women: Grace Crane ACT

• Junior Men: Ewan Shingler NSW

• Junior Women: Nea Shingler NSW

A NOL survey was conducted after the end of the season.

Sport Class

At Round 2 in the ACT, a trial of a new ‘sport’ class was held. The sport class is designed for competitive orienteers who may have other priorities besides training and racing, and who don’t (or no longer) aspire to represent Australia at the international level.

Sport Class courses were approximately 70% as long as the corresponding elite courses (+/-10%). The HPMG worked with race organisers to implement the trial at the ACT round.

The following is breakdown of elite and sport classes by race in Round 2:

International Races

Selection Panels 2022

WOC, World Cup, WorldGames

Fredrik Johansson Chair

Natasha Key Head Coach & WOC Coach

Bruce Arthur Selector

Tracy Marsh Selector

Brett Weihart Director HP & Coaching

JWOC

Fredrik Johansson Chair

Natasha Key Head Coach

Cathy McComb Selector

Warren Key JWOC Coach

Bridget Uppill Selector

2022 World Orienteering Championships

The World Orienteering Championships were held in Denmark 26th-30th of June, 2022. The Australian team had a 2-day training camp in Kolding before moving to the official accommodation for the competition days.

(39%)

Based on these promising numbers and feedback from the 2022 NOL survey, it was decided that the Sport Class would be included for all forest races in 2023.

Guidelines for the Sport Class in 2023 can be found here: https://orienteering.asn.au/index.php/nationalleague/nol-information/

In the Sprint Relay, our very young team performed creditably, considering their lack of international experience. For two of the team members it was their first ever international race, while the two other team members had only previously run JWOC.

Unfortunately, a mistake by Australia’s final leg runner under extremely high pressure caused a team disqualification. However, the experience was invaluable and the race was a great learning experience for all.

In the Knockout Sprint, Aston Key was the only Australian to qualify for the quarter final round, a spectacle event in which runners had to choose their own heats. In a thrilling finish, Aston made it through to the semi final round, along with a Commonwealth contingent of Ralph Street (United Kingdom) and Tim Robertson (New Zealand), who also qualified inside the top 3.

There were also some very promising performances from other team members, some of whom only just missed out on making it through to the quarter finals in this cut-throat event: Ewan Shingler missed out by 5 seconds, Angus Haines missed out by 31 seconds and Nea Shingler missed out by 45 seconds.

In the Individual Sprint, Aston was again our only finals qualifier, making it through by just 1 second.

Once again, there were some very solid performances from the young team members: Alastair George in 21st (46 seconds off qualifying) and Nea Shingler in 19th (49 seconds off qualifying).

In an extremely exciting final, Aston finished in 5th place - the best place ever by an Australian man in a WOC final and a ‘podium finish’.

Not only is Aston’s result a wonderful personal achievement, it is a show of strength for Australia’s high performance program. Hopefully, it will inspire current and future elite orienteers to train, compete and achieve at the highest level.

Team Members

Women:

Mikayla Cooper

Nea Shingler

Emily Sorensen

Olivia Sprod

Caitlin Young

Men:

Alastair George

Angus Haines

Aston Key

Brodie Nankervis

Ewan Shingler

WOC Coach: Natasha Key

Assistant Coach: Mary Fleming

Local Assistance: Mikkel Kaae-Nielsen

2022 Junior World Orienteering Championships

JWOC was held in Portugal in July, with the team arriving 5 days prior to the event. The team stayed in joint accommodation for training with the New Zealand team and then moved to official accommodation in Trancosa with other nations.

Unfortunately, after a week of very high temperatures and dry conditions, the forest races were cancelled at the last minute due to a nationwide total fire ban. Faced with this crushing news, there were some very upset and frustrated runners!

Our team had really been looking forward to the forest races, particularly as the terrain felt quite similar to a lot of Australian granite. Given their understandable disappointment, our coaches and managers were extremely impressed by how our juniors handled themselves and made the best of a bad situation.

Fortunately, the Individual Sprint race was still able to go ahead. Australia’s best results were Nea Shingler in 46th place and Sam Woolford in 58th.

IOF-Donatas Lazauskas

IOF-Donatas Lazauskas

Under considerable time pressure, the JWOC organisers put on a Sprint Relay using the same map as the Individual Sprint. Despite the short notice, the IOF ratified this event as a JWOC medal event, even though it was not originally on the event program. Unfortunately, we had a mispunch on the last leg of our first team, but cumulative times placed us in the top half of the field. Our second team finished in 40th place.

An unofficial Urban Relay race was also held, using one of the training maps. Despite being billed as a ‘fun event’ - which it definitely was! - this race provided our juniors with valuable experience gained from head to head racing at the international level.

The postponed forest formats were held in November 2022 on the original maps. OA was fortunate enough to be able to send a team of 6 runners, with Brett Weihart again taking on the role of team official. The team produced some very solid results, despite less than ideal preparation, which is very promising for this group of dedicated juniors.

Generous donations to the JWOC fund through the Australian Sports Foundation greatly assisted some of our young athletes team to travel to Europe a second time and gain valuable forest racing experience.

Team Members

Women

Mikayla Cooper

Erika Enderby

Julia Gannon

Joanna George

Mikaela Gray

Nea Shingler

Men

Ryan Gray

Jensen Key

Ethan Penck

Ewan Shingler

David Stocks

Sam Woolford

JWOC Head Coach: Warren Key

Assistant Coaches: Brett Weihart, Natasha Key

World Games 2022

The 11th World Games were held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA in July 2022. After missing out on a qualifying spot in the last few World Games, Australia qualified to send a team of two men and two women.

Aislinn Predergast was the appointed official Team Manager for the World Games, as the team included one under-18 representative, Milla Key.

All expenses were covered for the athletes on the ground by the Games host.

The competition consisted of an Individual Sprint, a Sprint Relay and a Middle Distance race.

The Australian team finished 9th in the Sprint Relay - a great result for the team. Aston Key placed 7th in the Individual Sprint, narrowly missing out on a podium position.

Other results were:

Aislinn Prendergast 32th Individual Sprint 20th Middle Distance

Milla Key 29th Individual Sprint

Mason Arthur 34th Individual Sprint 36th Middle Distance

IOF/William Hollowell

World University Championships 2022

Australia sent a team of 6 men and 6 women to the World University Championships, held in Switzerland in August 2022. Brodie Nankervis and Renate Leuenberger were the appointed team leaders.

Some solid and promising results were seen at WUOC, with numerous top 50 placings and a very exciting Sprint Relay. Unfortunately, a mispunch on the finish line meant a potential top 10 place was not to be.

In the Individual Sprint, Aston Key finished in 5th, while his three teammates made it into the top 50 in a super competitive field: Angus Haines - 28th, Ewan Shingler - 39th and Mikayla Cooper - 49th in the women’s race.

In the Long Distance, Angus Haines finished a very commendable 27th, Alastair George finished 30th and Ryan Gray finished in 50th position. In the women’s race, Julia Gannon finished in 49th place.

In the Middle Distance, Aston Key narrowly missed out on a medal by 3 seconds, finishing in 4th place. Alastair George again cracked the top 30 with a 29th place, while Emily Sorenson finished in the top 50 with a 44th pace.

Team Members

Women

Mikayla Cooper

Julia Gannon

Joanna George

Emily Sorensen

Asha Steer

Caitlin Young

Men

Alastair George

Ryan Gray

Angus Haines

Aston Key

Ewan Shingler

David Stocks

World Cups

Orienteering Australia also sent full or partial teams to World Cup 1, World Cup 2 and World Cup 3 - an excellent showing and a wonderful return to international racing.

Thank you to all the athletes who put in the hard work and achieved such fantastic performances, and the team officials who gave up their valuable time to wrangle, assist, support and encourage the teams.

Australia vs New Zealand Elite Test Matches

No test matches were held in 2022, partly due to lingering travel restrictions, and partly due to the post-COVID-19 high cost of travel. We are hopeful that as things continue to return to normal, these valuable opportunities to race against our Kiwi rivals will continue.

National Squads 2022

The new squad members were named late last year. We are fortunate to have been able to appoint exAustralian team member Julian Dent as a squad leader for the HP squad. Julian has just returned to Australia after many years in Sweden, and has a huge amount to offer in terms of athlete support and encouragement.

The High Performance Group is committed to supporting the States to provide a squad structure to athletes who are hoping to excel at national and international level events in junior, senior or masters categories.

We recognise that there is currently a gap in junior development, and we encourage States to support all the junior and young senior athletes who narrowly missed out on National Development Squad selection.

The 2022 National Squads were selected by our selection panels after Australian Championships 2022.

National High Performance Squad

This squad supports high level athletes aiming to excel at the world orienteering championships in 2023 and 2024.

This squad operated under the leadership of Julian Dent (NSW), Grant Bluett (ACT), and Tash Key (VIC).

National Development Squad

This squad supports developing athletes who are aiming for senior representation at World Championships or World Cups from 2023-2025.

This squad operated under the leadership of Paula Shingler (NSW), Jock Davis (NSW) and Tracy Marsh (NSW).

Training Camps

The following training camps were organised in 2022:

A HP training camp was held in early Jan 2022, primarily aimed at members of the squads formed at the end of 2021. It was well supported by a mixture of squad members, parents and a few other interested orienteers and held over 3 days, 24th-26th January, in the Beechworth area. We would like to thank those leaders that helped: Tracy Bluett, Jock Davis, Paula Shingler, Warren Key, Natasha Key and Fredrik Johansson.

A senior training camp was held in Flims, Switzerland, in August 2022 as preparation for WOC 2023. This camp was also used as final preparation for the World University Orienteering Championships. It was attended by members of the WUOC team, as well as Brodie Nankervis and Evalin Brautigam (USA). Thanks to Brodie Nankervis for coordinating this camp and Renate Leuenberger for her on the ground support.

A junior development training camp was held in Tasmania in early January 2023, preceding the Oceania Championships. The camp was moved from the December timeframe to minimise the travel burden with many likely participants travelling to Tasmania for the Oceania Championships. The camp was attended by 32 participants and 12 coaches, some of which also participated in some training sessions. Thanks to Brodie Nankervis for coordinating the camp and Esk Valley Orienteering Club and Orienteering Tasmania for their assistance.

Rollout of Coaching Framework/Syllabus

The new coaching framework document and updated coaching accreditation syllabi documents were published in January 2022. This led to the rollout of this new framework with several tasks, led by Brodie Nankervis as contractor (outside role as manager of coaching development). This was the continuation of a revised project approved and commenced in the 2nd half of 2021.

The tasks completed in 2022 included:

1. Dissemination of information about the new framework - OA news story, OA website, Australian orienteer, OA E-news.

2. Transition of current accredited coaches to the new framework.

3. Curation and creation of delivery materials for the new courses. Materials for Learn and Play Orienteering Coach and Orienteering Instructor were published in November 2022. Materials for Competition and Performance Orienteering Coach will be published in the 1st quarter of 2023.

4. Liaising with Sport Australia over several months and then successfully signing onto the Australian Sport Learning Centre.

5. Assisting States to deliver Learn and Play Coach and Orienteering Instructor courses.

Michael Dowling

6. Advertising for Competition and Performance Orienteering Coach course which will commence in 1st quarter of 2023

7. Proposed allocation of further budget from Sport Australia Participation funding to create E-learning material on the Australian Sport Learning Centre for the 4 courses within the Coaching framework. Approved by OA and advertising commenced in late 2022.

Learn to Orienteer Project

The Manager of Coaching Development, Manager of Coaching Accreditation and the OA General Manager proposed allocation of some of Sport Australia Participation funding towards a project to create a nationwide beginner orienteering program, based on the Victorian pilot ‘Learn to Orienteer’ in 2021. Sport Australia approved this proposal and a project scope + EOI was created and circulated in late 2022.

Disordered Eating in Sport Guidelines

Brodie Nankervis had planned to put an OA guideline together based on the Sport Australia template. This project has been on hold while the focus has been on Coaching Framework, with a revised timeline of December 2023.

Clare Hawthorne Director, Perfomance and Coaching with assistance of the High Performance Management Group

IOF/William Hollowell

Coach Accreditation

The numbers of accredited coaches on 31st December 2022 is listed below with equivalent figures from previous years.

This is the first year where the latest accreditation framework levels have been used, so the historic tables show a combination of the old and new accreditation levels. Comparisons between the old and new frameworks are not easily made as a coach can have multiple accreditations in the new framework.

Under the new Orienteering Australia Coaching Framework the following levels are defined as:

• OI = Orienteering Instructor

• L&P = Learn & Play

• Comp = Competition

• Perf = Performance

The following tables track coach accreditation by gender, state and year.

Table 1: Coach Accreditations by Gender at Year End 2022

3: Coach Accreditations Totals at Year End 2022

MOUNTAIN BIKE ORIENTEERING

Overview

2022 saw Orienteering Australia (OA) approve the formation of the new MTBO Commission. Member States/Territories have the opportunity to nominate representatives to focus on the Terms of Reference which include:

• Encourage the growth and development of MTBO in Australia.

• Provide advice and recommendations to the OA Board for MTBO in Australia.

• Be a source of information and advice on MTBO matters for OA state members and clubs who wish to run MTBO events.

• Maintain the standards which underpin MTBO in Australia, including MTBO competition rules, mapping standards and Australia/New Zealand Challenge rules.

• Monitor changes in International Orienteering Federation (IOF) standards and rules and update Australian practices as appropriate.

• Liaise with overseas MTBO communities and entities, including Orienteering New Zealand and the IOF.

• Oversee the allocation of the National MTBO Championships, National Team Selection Trials and National Series rounds.

• Liaise with OA Directors, staff, officers, committees and the Athletes Commission and with OA State Members, clubs, officials and coaches.

With most MTBO active States represented, the Commission has begun the process for National Series forward planning, MTBO rules review, discussing mapping standards and communicating with stakeholders.

The MTBO scene post COVID-19, is taking a while to recover, with travel costs still quite high and a range of other factors meaning there has not been the same number of events since the lockdowns and lifting of border closures.

Unseasonably wet weather experienced by the east coast States, especially at the Australian Championships in Newcastle, also had an effect on attendance.

2022 World MTBO Championships

The 2022 WMTBOC was held in Falun, Sweden during July. Australia sent 2 representatives, Ricky Thackray in the Elite Men and Will Whittington in the Junior Men. The competition was strong but slightly weakened by the omission of the Russian team die to that nation’s suspension by the IOF

From an Australian perspective the event went well with Ricky finishing all events and placing as high as he ever has, that is, just in the top 50. It was Will’s first international MTBO event and he coped well with the step up in competition and map complexity. He finished all events bar one, in which he did not ride close enough to the control, so it did not register on his primary stick and was recorded as a mis-punch. His results were not as good as hoped, with all of his finishes in the bottom 20%.

ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA AWARDS

Athlete of the Year:

Aston Key - VIC

SILVA Medal: Marina Iskhakova - NSW

SILVA Award for Services to Orienteering: Bill Jones - ACT

Bill Jones has been a contributor to orienteering at all levels in Australia for decades, initially based at Wagga Wagga in New South Wales and since 2000 in the ACT.

He has been an office bearer at state and national levels, rising to serve consecutive terms as President, first of OACT from 2005 to 2007 and then Orienteering Australia from 2008 to 2010. He has just retired as a Director of the OA Board.

He was pivotal in the adoption of electronic punching in Australia in 2000 and in the use of SPORTident radio controls, initially as part of the “Voice of the Forest” commentary team for the 2007 Junior World Orienteering Championships in Dubbo.

His knowledge of technical issues with event management software and communications hardware remains indispensable.

SILVA Award for Services to Coaching: Barbara DawsonNSW

Barbara Dawson of New South Wales was awarded the 2022 Silva Award for Services to Orienteering Coaching in recognition of her long-term work in schools in New South Wales and at local club events, and her national contribution through the National Schools Kit Project. She has been a stalwart at the Southern Sydney River and Bay Orienteering Series as the lead coach for new participants and in helping other club members in instructing first-timers.

David Hogg Medal for Services to Event Management: Ian RathboneTAS

Ian Rathbone of Tasmania was awarded the 2022 David Hogg Medal for Services to Event Management in recognition of his significant contribution in event administration and information technology at the national and state level.

He has been Chair of the National Eventor Working Group since 2016, helping to develop and manage this technology for the benefit of event organisers and participants throughout Australia at the national and state levels.

More recently, he has spent a significant amount of time developing the Orienteering Australia Reporting System, which draws on data stored in Eventor to provide information for use by state associations for their own management purposes and in satisfying reporting requirements to various national and state funding bodies.

Hall of Fame: Athlete Division

- Jo Allison - ACT

Jo Allison represented Australia at eight World Championships (between 1997 and 2008), two Junior World Championships (1995 and 1996) and one World Games (2001).

She won the W40 class in the 2017 World Masters Orienteering Championships in New Zealand. She has won five National Orienteering League individual series between 1995 and 2017.

Hall of Fame: Athlete Division - Adrian Jackson - VIC

Adrian Jackson’s achievements in mountain bike orienteering are by far the best of any Australian at the elite level. Between 2004 and 2010 he won 5 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 2 bronze medals at the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships, as well as 2 World Cup events.

He held the number one position in the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Rankings for 2008 and 2009.

Hall of Fame: Athlete Division - Carolyn Jackson - VIC

Having previously been a member of four Australian World Championship teams in foot orienteering, Carolyn Jackson represented Australia at the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships on seven occasions between 2002 and 2014.

Her greatest international successes were at the World Masters Championships in Mountain Bike Orienteering, winning 18 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 2 bronze medals between 2012 and 2019.

She held the number one position in the W60 World Masters Mountain Bike Orienteering Rankings for 2017.

Hall of Fame: General Division - Michael Dowling - TAS

Michael Dowling has been an active orienteer for over 40 years, making major contributions at the state, national and international levels. As a former President of Orienteering Tasmania, His contributions have extended also to mapping and coaching at a high level, winning the Silva Award for Services to Coaching in 2017.

He was Director, High Performance on the Orienteering Australia Board from 2003 to 2009, continuing as an ex officio Board member since then and currently serves as Chair of the Board.

He has been a member of the International Orinteering Federation (IOF) Council since 2010, having previously served on the IOF Foot Commission, and has been an IOF Vice President since 2012.

Hall of Fame: General Division - Rob Simson - QLD

Rob Simson started his orienteering career in Queensland in 1975, beginning a lifelong commitment to the sport as a competitor, mapper, coach or juniors, event official and administrator.

He was associated particularly with the growth of schools orienteering, both in Queensland and at the national level, and was primarily responsible during the 1980s for the establishment of an official Australian Secondary Schools Orienteering Championship. That event was first held in 1989, when Rob was appointed by the Australian School Sports Council as the National Secretary for Schools Orienteering.

OA Shield

Interstate competition based on the results of the Australian Long Distance Championships.

Victoria

Xanthorrhoea Trophy

Interstate competition based on the results of the Australian Relay Championships.

New South Wales

Champion Club Trophy

Inter-club competition based on the placings at the end of day two of the Australian 3-Days.

Red Roos ACT

National League (Senior)

Interstate competition based on the team results of all senior events in the National League.

Women: Canberra Cockatoos

Men: Victorian Vikings

National League (Junior)

Interstate competition based on the team results of junior events in the National League.

Women: Queensland Cyclones

Men: New South Wales Stingers

National Series (Senior)

Interstate competition based on the individual results of senior events in the National League.

Women: Grace Crane ACT

Men: Aston Key VIC

National Series (Junior)

Interstate competition based on the individual results of junior events in the National League.

Women: Nea Shingler NSW

Men: Ewan Shingler NSW

Australian MTBO Championship Plaque

Interstate competition based on the results of the Australian MTBO Sprint, Middle and Long Distance Championships.

New South Wales

MTBO National Series

Interstate competition based on the individual results of senior events in the MTBO National Series.

Women: Carolyn Jackson VIC Marina Iskhakova ACT

Men: Ricky Thackray VIC

Australian 3-Days - Kingaroy (QLD)

W21E Grace Crane ACT

W20E Julia Gannon QLD

M21E Aston Key VIC

M20E Ewan Shingler NSW

W10 Tessa Radajewski ACT

W12 Lisa Richards QLD

W14 Alice Radajewski ACT

W16 Lilja Lehtonen NSW

W18 Eszter Kocsik NSW

W40 Marina Iskhakova ACT

W45 Tracy Marsh NSW

W50 Jennifer Enderby NSW

W55 Nicola Dalheim VIC

W60 Gayle Quantock NSW

W65 Debbie Davey NSW

W70 Lynda Rapkins QLD

W75 Jenny Hawkins NSW

W80 Ann Ingwersen ACT

M10 Luca Schulz QLD

M12 Hayden Dent ACT

M14 Miles Bryant QLD

M16 Cooper Horley NSW

M18 Torren Arthur VIC

M35 Ken Laws QLD

M40 Matthew Crane ACT

M45 Bruce Arthur VIC

M50 Grant Bluett ACT

M55 Geoff Lawford ACT

M60 Warren Key VIC

M65 Ted van Geldermalsen VIC

M70 David Marshall TAS

M75 Steve Flick NSW

M80 Alex Tarr VIC

M85 Barry Hanlon NSW

Australian Sprint Distance Championships - Sunbury (VIC)

W21E Caitlin Young ACT

M21E Aston Key VIC

W20E Milla Key VIC

M20E Alvin Craig NSW

W10 Tessa Radajewski ACT

W12 Ella Clauson TAS

W14 Alice Radajewski ACT

W16 Kate Braid ACT

W18 Zoe Carter SA

W35 Hania Lada VIC

W40 Kathie Dent ACT

W45 Rachel West WA

W50 Jennifer Enderby NSW

W55 Paula Shingler NSW

W60 Ana Herceg ACT

W65 Jenny Bourne ACT

W70 Alison Radford VIC

W75 Jenny Hawkins NSW

W80 Helen Alexander VIC

M10 Luca Schulz QLD

M12 Hayden Dent ACT

M14 Elye Dent ACT

M16 Cooper Horley NSW

M18 Torren Arthur VIC

M35 Daniel Stott VIC

M40 Matthew Crane ACT

M45 Bruce Arthur VIC

M50 Craig Dufty WA

M55 Geoff Lawford ACT

M60 Tim Hatley VIC

M65 Eoin Rothery NSW

M70 Paul Hoopmann SA

M75 Steve Flick NSW

M80 Alex Tarr VIC

M85 Lloyd Gledhill NSW

Australian Middle Distance Championships - Blackwood (VIC)

W21E Grace Crane ACT

M21E Aston Key VIC

W20E Mikayla Cooper TAS

M20E Alvin Craig NSW

W10 Layla Dent ACT

W12 Ella Clauson TAS

W14 Margot Marcant TAS

W16 Kate Braid WA

W18 Tara Powell TAS

W35 Briohny Seaman NSW

W40 Marina Iskhakova ACT

W45 Allison Jones ACT

W50 Cathy McComb TAS

W55 Paula Shingler NSW

W60 Toni Brown ACT

W65 Jenny Bourne ACT

W70 Alison Radford VIC

W75 Ruth Goddard VIC

W80 Dale Ann Gordon VIC

M10 Euan Shedden NSW

M12 Hayden Dent ACT

M14 Elye Dent ACT

M16 Cooper Horley NSW

M18 Torren Arthur VIC

M35 Andrew Slattery ACT

M40 Matthew Cohen TAS

M45 Rob Walter ACT

M50 Craig Dufty WA

M55 Geoff Lawford ACT

M60 Robert Vincent NSW

M65 Rod Gray VIC

M70 Gordon Wilson NSW

M75 Ross Barr VIC

M80 Trevor Sauer QLD

M85 Barry Hanlon NSW

Australian Long Distance Championships - Maldon (VIC)

W21E Grace Crane ACT

M21E Aston Key VIC

W20E Nea Shingler NSW

M20E Ewan Shingler NSW

W10 Lucinda Barnes QLD

W12 Alma Walter ACT

W14 Amy Dufty WA

W16 Liana Stubbs TAS

W18 Eszter Kocsik NSW

W35 Briohny Seaman NSW

W40 Marina Iskhakova ACT

W45 Jo Allison ACT

W50 Cathy McComb TAS

W55 Alison Inglis ACT

W60 Carolyn Jackson VIC

W65 Jenny Bourne ACT

W70 Alison Radford VIC

W75 Jenny Hawkins NSW

W80 Dale Ann Gordon VIC

M10 Euan Shedden NSW

M12 Hayden Dent ACT

M14 Elye Dent ACT

M16 Owen Radajewski ACT

M18 Jamie Woolford NSW

M35 Daniel Stott VIC

M40 Simon Louis TAS

M45 Rob Walter ACT

M50 Grant Bluett ACT

M55 Mark Freeman NSW

M60 Greg Barbour NSW

M65 Jeff Dunn TAS

M70 Adrian Uppill SA

M75 Steve Flick NSW

M80 Alex Tarr VIC

M85 Lloyd Gledhill NSW

Australian Schools Sprint Distance ChampionshipsKyneton (VIC)

Individuals

Junior Girls Liana Stubbs TAS

Junior Boys Euan Best TAS

Senior Girls Nea Shingler NSW

Senior Boys Alvin Craig NSW

Teams

Junior Girls New South Wales

Junior Boys Tasmania

Senior Girls New South Wales

Senior Boys New South Wales

Australian Schools Long Distance ChampionshipsHarcourt (VIC)

Individuals

Junior Girls Liana Stubbs TAS

Junior Boys Euan Best TAS

Senior Girls Nea Shingler NSW

Senior Boys Alvin Craig NSW

Teams

Junior Girls New South Wales

Junior Boys Queensland

Senior Girls New South Wales

Senior Boys New South Wales

Australian Schools Relay Championships - Chewton (VIC)

Junior Girls Australian Capital Territory

Junior Boys South Australia

Senior Girls New South Wales

Senior Boys New South Wales

Australian Schools Championships - Overall

1st

New South Wales

2nd Australian Captital Territory

3rd Tasmania 4th Victoria 5th South Australia

6th Queensland 7th West Australia

Australian Schools Southern Cross Challenge - Overall

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

New Zealand Haruna

NZ Karahiwi

New South Wales

Australian Captital Territory

Tasmania 6th Victoria 7th

South Australia

8th

Queensland 9th

West Australia

Australian Schools Championships - Honour Team

Junior Girls

Lilja Lehtonen NSW

Ruby Phillips WA

Liana Stubbs TAS

Savanna Sweeney NSW

Junior Boys

Euan Best TAS

Eckart Bosman WA

Miles Bryant QLD Hayden Dent ACT

Senior Girls

Erika Enderby NSW

Justine Hobson ACT

Eszter Kocsik NSW

Nea Shingler NSW

Senior Boys

Alvin Craig NSW

Cooper Horley NSW

Callum White VIC

Sam Woolford NSW

Australian MTBO Sprint Distance ChampionshipsStanford Merthyr (NSW)

W21 Marina Iskhakova ACT M21 Fedor Iskhakov ACT

W12 Harriet Thompson NSW W14 Ariadna Iskhakova ACT

W16 Maya Bennette VIC

W40 Cassandra Thompson NSW

W50 Carolyn Matthews NSW

W60 Heather Leslie VIC

W70 Jacquie Rand QLD

W80 Ann Ingwersen ACT

M12 Alon Bar Gudes NSW M14 Kai Metcalfe NSW

M40 Gavin Bennette VIC

M50 Greg Barbour NSW

M60 Duncan Sullivan WA

M70 Rick Armstrong VIC

Australian MTBO Middle Distance ChampionshipsPelaw Main (NSW)

W21 Marina Iskhakova ACT M21 Ricky Thackray VIC

W14 Ariadna Iskhakova ACT

W16 Maya Bennette VIC

W40 Debbie Gordon QLD

W50 Carolyn Matthews NSW

W60 Heather Leslie VIC

W70 Jacquie Rand QLD

W80 Ann Ingwersen ACT

M14 Kai Metcalfe NSW M20 Lachlan Young ACT

M40 Fedor Iskhakov ACT

M50 Greg Barbour NSW

M60 Robert Vincent NSW

M70 Leigh Privett VIC

Australian MTBO Long Distance ChampionshipsNeath (NSW)

W21 Marina Iskhakova ACT

M21 Ricky Thackray VIC

W12

Veronika Iskhakova ACT

W14 Ariadna Iskhakova ACT

W16 Maya Bennette VIC

W40 Debbie Gordon QLD

W50 Nicole Haigh NSW

W60 Heather Leslie VIC

W70 Jacquie Rand QLD

W80 Ann Ingwersen ACT

M12 Alon Bar Gudes NSW

M20 Lachlan Young ACT

M40 Fedor Iskhakov ACT

M50 Craig Steffens QLD

M60 Robert Prentice NSW

M70 Leigh Privett VIC

Australian MTBO Mass Start Championships - Neath (NSW)

W21 Marina Iskhakova ACT M21 Tim Doman NSW

W12 Veronika Iskhakova ACT

W14 Ariadna Iskhakova ACT

W16 Maya Bennette VIC

W40 Debbie Gordon QLD

W50 Nicole Haigh NSW

W60 Heather Leslie VIC

W70 Jacquie Rand QLD

W80 Ann Ingwersen ACT

M14 Kai Metcalfe NSW

M40 Fedor Iskhakov ACT

M50 Craig Steffens QLD

M60 Robert Prentice NSW

M70 Rick Armstrong VIC

Australian MTBO National Series - Overall

W21 Carolyn Jackson VIC Marina Iskhakova ACT M21 Ricky Thackray VIC

W14 Ariadna Iskhakova ACT

W16 Maya Bennette VIC

W40 Debbie Gordon QLD

W50 Carolyn Matthews NSW

W60 Heather Leslie VIC

W70 Jacquie Rand QLD

W80 Ann Ingwersen ACT

M14 Isaac Adams QLD

M20 Lachlan Young ACT

M40 Gavin Bennette VIC

M50 Craig Steffens QLD Hamish Mackie NSW

M60 Andrew Power NSW

M70 Leigh Privett VIC

M80 Keith Wade VIC

NATIONAL TEAMS AND SQUADS

World ChampionshipsKolding, Denmark

Women

Mikayla Cooper TAS

Nea Shingler NSW

Emily Sorensen SA

Olivia Sprod SA

Caitlin Young ACT

Men

Alastair George NSW

Angus Haines SA

Aston Key VIC

Ewan Shingler NSW

Officials

Mary Fleming - Manager VIC

TASh Key - Coach VIC

Mikkel Kaae-Nielsen - Assistant DEN

Junior World Orienteering Championships - Aguiar de Beira, Portugal

Women

Mikayla Cooper TAS

Erika Enderby NSW

Julia Gannon QLD

Joanna George SA

Nea Shingler NSW

Men

Ryan Grey QLD

Jensen Key VIC

Ethan Penck SA

Ewan Shingler NSW

David Stocks ACT

Sam Woolford NSW

Officials

Warren Key, Coach VIC

Brett Weihart, Manager SA

World Cup

- Boras, Sweden

Women

Olivia Sprod SA

Men

Aston Key VIC

Official

Brett Weihart - Manager SA

World

Cup

- Rakvere, Estonia

Women

Mikayla Cooper TAS

Michele Dawson NSW

Julia Gannon QLD

Emily Sorensen SA

Olivia Sprod SA

Caitlin Young ACT

Men

Alastair George NSW

Angus Haines SA

Aston Key VIC

Tristan Miller ACT

Brodie Nankervis TAS

Ewan Shingler NSW

World

Cup

- Davos/Klosters, Switzerland

Men

Brodie Nankervis TAS

World Games - Birmingham

Alabama, USA

Women

Milla Key VIC

Aislinn Prendergast VIC

Men

Mason Arthur VIC

Aston Key VIC

World University Championships - Magglingen – Biel/Bienne, Swizreland

Women

Mikayla Cooper TAS

Julia Gannon QLD

Joanna George SA

Rebecca George NSW

Emily Sorensen SA

Caitlin Young ACT

Men

Duncan Currie NSW

Alastair George NSW

Ryan Gray QLD

Angus Haines SA

Aston Key VIC

Ewan Shingler NSW

Officials

Brodie Nankervis TAS

Renate Leuenberger SUI

National High Performance Squad

Women

Grace Crane ACT

Aislinn Prendergast VIC

Nea Shingler NSW

Emily Sorensen SA

Olivia Sprod SA

Asha Steer VIC

Caitlin Young ACT

Men

Matt Doyle ACT

Alastair George NSW

Angus Haines SA

Pat Jaffe VIC

Aston Key VIC

Henry McNulty WA

Brodie Nankervis TAS

Ewan Shingler NSW

National Development Squad

Women

Zoe Carter SA

Erika Enderby NSW

Julia Gannon QLD

Joanna George SA

Mikaela Gray QLD

Justine Hobson ACT

Milla Key QLD

Natalie Miller ACT

Sophie Taverna VIC

Men

Alvin Craig NSW

Ryan Gray QLD

Toby Lang ACT

Oskar Mella NSW

Ethan Penck SA

Leith Soden SA

David Stocks ACT

Sam Woolford NSW

KEY OFFICIALS - NATIONAL EVENTS

Australian Three Days: Kingaroy RegionQueensland

Event Director

Mark Petrie

National Controller

Anna Sheldon

Prologue

Controller Nicholas Burridge

Course Planner Ben Schulz

Mapper Geoff Peck

Day One

Controller

Lance Read

Course Planner Riley de Jong Mappers Eric Andrews, Geoff Peck

Day Two

Controller Lance Read

Course Planner Wendy Read Mappers Eric Andrews, Geoff Peck

Day Three

Controller

Tony Bryant

Course Planner Krystal Neumann Mapper Geoff Peck

Australian Sprint Distance Championships: SunburyVictoria

Event Director

National Controller

Warwick Williams

Warren Key

Day Organiser Debbie Dodd

Controller Kathy Liley

Course Planners Clare Brownridge and Dion Keech

Mapper Geoff Adams

Australian Middle Distance Championships: BlackwoodVictoria

Event Director

National Controller

Warwick Williams

Warren Key

Day Organiser Ron Frederick

Controller Chris Norwood

Course Planner

Mapper

Neil Barr

Fredrik Johansson

Australian Long Distance Championships: MaldonVictoria

Event Director

National Controller

Warwick Williams

Warren Key

Day Organiser Julie Fynn

Controller Tim Hatley

Course Planner Roch Prendergast

Mapper

Neil Barr

Australian Relay Championships: Campbells Creek - Victoria

Event Director

National Controller

Day Organiser

Warwick Williams

Warren Key

Ruth Goddard

Controller Blair Trewin

Course Planner

Russell Bulman

Mapper Alex Tarr

Australian Schools Sprint Distance Championships: Kyneton - Victoria

Event Director

National Controller

Day Organiser

Warwick Williams

Warren Key

Wendy Taverna

Controller Dennis Trewin

Course Planner

Mapper

Aston Key

Roch Prendergast

Australian Schools Long Distance Championships: Mt Alexander - Victoria

Event Director Warwick Williams

National Controller Warren Key

Day Organisers Anne Arthur & Nicola Dalheim

Controller Rob Edmonds

Course Planners Toby Cooper, Mason Arthur & Jensen Key

Mappers Steve Key, Alex Tarr & Warwick Davis

Australian Schools Relay Championships: ChewtonVictoria

Event Director Warwick Williams

National Controller Warren Key

Day Organiser Blake Gordon

Controller Don Fell

Course Planner Aislinn Prendergast

Mapper Alex Tarr

National Orienteering League: Kilmore - Victoria

Event Director Margi Freemantle

Technical Director Ted van Geldermalsen

Controller Barry McCrae

Course Planner Ricky Thackray

Mapper Neil Barr

National Orienteering League: Manor Lakes - Victoria

Event Director Margi Freemantle

Technical Director Ted van Geldermalsen

Controller Chris Norwood

Course Planner Bruce Arthur

Mapper Ted van Geldermalsen

National Orienteering League: Greenvale - Victoria

Event Director Margi Freemantle

Technical Director Ted van Geldermalsen

Controller Geoff Adams

Course Planner Kerrin Rattray

Mapper Warwick Davis

National

Orienteering

League: Braidwood - New South Wales

Event Directors Sue Garr & Andrew Cumming Thom

Controllers Ann & John Scown

Course Planner Jon Glanville

Mapper s Bob Allison & Hugh Moore

National

Orienteering

League: Bungendore - New South Wales

Event Director Bob Mouatt

Controller Bill Jones

Course Planner Rob Walter

Mapper s Hugh Moore

National Orienteering League: Coomera - Queensland

Event Director

Technical Director

Controllers

Brenton Grey

Brenton Grey

Rachel & Peter Effeney

Course Planner Su Yan Tay

Mapper s Mark Roberts

National

Orienteering League: Griffith UniversityQueensland

Event Director

Technical Director

Controller

Course Planner

Brenton Grey

Anna Sheldon

Tim McIntyre

Lorenzo Calabro

Mapper s Mark Roberts

National Orienteering League: Helensvale and Upper Coomera - Queensland

Event Director

Technical Director

Controller

Course Planner

Brenton Grey

Anna Sheldon

Juliana de Nooy

Brenton Gray

Mapper s Mark Roberts

OFFICE BEARERS

Board

Chair

Michael Dowling TAS

Secretary Andrew Lumsden

Director (Finance)

Director (Events)

Director (Events)

Director (Operations & MBO)

Director (Performance)

NSW To Oct 22

Richard Mountstephens NSW

Jenny Casanova SA To Apr 22

Anna Sheldon QLD From Apr 22

Craig Steffens QLD

Clare Hawthorne TAS From Apr 22

Director Bill Jones ACT

Director Brett Weihart SA

Director (Opportunities)

Paid Officers

General Manager

Head Coach

High Performance Administrator

Manager, Coaching & Officiating Accreditation

Administrator, National Sporting Schools

Manager, Coaching Development

Troy de Haas VIC From Apr 22

Arpad Kocsik

NSW From Mar 22

Natasha Key VIC

Fredrik Johansson VIC

Jim Mackay

Jim Mackay

NSW

NSW

Brodie Nankervis VIC Manager, Website

Shane Jenkins

Contracted Officers

Editor, The Australian Orienteer

Graphic Designer, The Australian Orienteer

NSW

Mike Hubbert VIC

Peter Cusworth VIC Editor, Orienteering Australia E-News

Linda Burridge QLD

Volunteer Officers

Public Officer

Anti Doping Medical Officer

Ranking Officer – General

Ranking Officer – Elite

Badge Scheme Secretary

Manager, Awards

Coordinator, Facebook

OA HP Instagram

Bob Allison ACT

Mark Freeman NSW

Darryl Erbacher ACT

Bruce Arthur VIC

John Oliver NSW

David Hogg ACT

John Harding ACT

Brodie Nankervis VIC

Committee/Commission Chairs

Technical

Coaching

Blair Trewin VIC

Brodie Nakervis TAS

Events Greg Hawthorne TAS

Mapping

MTB Orienteering Commission

Neil Barr VIC

Andrew Power NSW

Selection - Junior Fredrik Johansson VIC

Selection - Senior Fredrik Johansson VIC

Selection - MTBO

Craig Steffens QLD

Coaching and Team Management

HP Squad Coaches

Development Squad Coaches

Manager, MTBO World Championships

Coach, World Championships

Manager, World Championships

Coach, Junior World Championships

Manager, Junior World Championships

Coach, World University Championships

Manager, World University Championships Manager, World Cup

Jo Allison ACT

Grant Bluett ACT

Matthew Crane ACT

Tracy Bluett NSW

Paula Shingler NSW

Jock Davis NSW

Hamish Mackie NSW

Tash Key VIC

Mary Fleming VIC

Warren Key VIC

Brett Weihart SA

Brodie Nankervis TAS

Brett Weihart SA

Brodie Nankervis TAS

3/6 Kennedy Street, Kingston ACT 2604

PO Box 4237, Kingston ACT 2604

Orienteering Australia Inc

ABN 77 406 995 497 Financial Statements

For the Year Ended 31 December 2022

P 02 6171 9550

E ncaca@ncaca.com.au W ncaca.com.au

ABN 34 646 697 109 Liability

Orienteering Australia Inc

Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Orienteering Australia Inc

We have audited the accompanying financial report, being a special purpose financial report, of Orienteering Australia Inc (the Association), which comprises the Committee's Report, the Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2022, the Profit & Loss Statement for the Year then ended, notes comprising a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information, and the Statement by Members of the Committee.

Committee's Responsibility for the Financial Report

The Committee of Orienteering Australia Inc is responsible for the preparation of the financial report, and has determined that the basis of preparation described in the Notes to the Financial Statements is appropriate to meet the requirements of the Associations Incorporation Act (Australian Capital Territory) and is appropriate to meet the needs of the Members. The committee's responsibility also includes such internal control as the committee determines is necessary to enable the preparation of a financial report that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Auditor’s Responsibility

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial report based on our audit. We have conducted our audit in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards. Those standards require that we comply with relevant ethical requirements relating to audit engagements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial report is free from material misstatement.

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial report. The procedures selected depend on the auditor's judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial report, whether due to fraud or error.

In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the Association's preparation of the financial report that gives a true and fair view, in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the association's internal control.

An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the Committee, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial report.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

Opinion

In our opinion, the financial report of Orienteering Australia Inc presents fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Orienteering Australia Inc as at 31 December 2022 and its financial performance for the Year then ended in accordance with the accounting policies described in the Notes to the Financial Statements, and the Associations Incorporation Act (Australian Capital Territory).

Basis of Accounting and Restriction on Distribution

Without modifying our opinion, we draw attention to the Notes to the Financial Statements, which describe the basis of accounting. The financial report has been prepared to assist Orienteering Australia Inc to meet the requirements of the Associations Incorporation Act (Australian Capital Territory). As a result, the financial report may not be suitable for another purpose.

Nikki George National Capital Accounting Pty Limited

Dated 22 March 2023

Orienteering Australia Inc

Trading, Profit and Loss Statement

For the Year ended 31 December 2022

Income

Uniform and Badge Sales

Less Cost of Goods Sold

Opening Stock Purchases

Closing Stock

Gross Profit from Trading

Less Expenditure

Accountancy and Audit Fees

Australian Orienteer Expense

Bank Charges

Development Projects

Employee Costs

Eventor & Other Software Licences

High Performance Insurance

IOF Levies & Meetings

Office Expenses

Promotion

Sporting Schools

Total Expenditure

Plus Other Income

Australian Orienteer Grants Received

Receipts from States High Performance Items Interest Received

16,357835 609 4,351 36,216 217 52,262 51,565 28,966 31,849 15,183 10,116 4,179 5,481 5,847 246,232 36,998 62,686 196,540 5,489 216 301,929 56,306 (15,522)

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements. These financial statements have not been subject to audit or review, and should be read in conjunction with the attached Compilation Report.

Orienteering

Australia Inc Statement of Appropriations For the Year ended 31 December 2022

Orienteering Australia Inc Balance Sheet

As at 31 December 2022

Equity Represented by:

Current Assets

CBA Cheque Account #6687

CBA The Australian Orieenteer #8098

ING Savings Account #3543

CBA Term Deposit #1276

Accounts Receivable

Prepaid Expenses

Team Uniforms for Sale

Total Current Assets

Total Assets

Current Liabilities

Sundry Creditors

Unexpended Grants

Superannuation Payable

GST Payable PAYG Witholding Payable

Accrued Expenses

Income in Advance

Current Liabilities

2021 $ 383,752 383,752 265,151 1,665 200,520 83,443 55,296 17,193 15,522 638,790 638,790217,070 1,444 19,736 3,15113,637 255,038 255,038 383,752

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements. These financial statements have not been subject to audit or review, and should be read in conjunction with the attached Compilation Report.

Orienteering Australia Inc

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the Year ended 31 December 2022

1

Significant Accounting Policies

The financial statements are special purpose financial statements prepared in order to satisfy the financial reporting requirements of the Associations Incorporation Act (Australian Capital Territory). The committee has determined that the association is not a reporting entity.

The following material accounting policies, which are consistent with the previous period unless otherwise stated, have been adopted in the preparation of the financial statements.

Basis of Preparation

The financial statements have been prepared on an accruals basis and are based on historical costs unless otherwise stated in the notes. The accounting policies that have been adopted in the preparation of the statements are as follows:

(a) Income Tax

No provision for income tax has been raised as the association/company (as the case may be) is exempt from income tax under Division 50 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.

(b) Goods and Services Tax (GST)

Revenues, expenses and assets are recognised net of the amount of GST, except where the amount of GST incurred is not recoverable from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). In these circumstances, the GST is recognised as part of the cost of acquisition of the asset or as part of an item of the expense. Receivables and payables in the balance sheet are shown inclusive of GST.

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements. These financial statements have not been subject to audit or review, and should be read in conjunction with the attached Compilation Report. - 6 -

939,027.68

939,027.68

4 March 2023

National Capital Accounting Pty Ltd

c/- Nikki George

PO Box 4237

Kingston ACT 2604

Dear Ms George,

Pursuant to your request and in connection with your audit of Orienteering Australia Inc for the financial year ended 31st December 2022, we submit the following representations, after making the appropriate inquires and according to the best of our knowledge and belief:

General

1 We acknowledge our responsibility for the fair presentation of the financial statements and the appropriate disclosures of all information required by the statute.

2. All financial records and related data have been made available for inspection. All material transactions have been properly recorded in the accounting records underlying the financial statements.

3. There have been no irregularities involving any member of management or other employees that could have a material effect on the financial statements of the association.

4. There have been no:

Contraventions or possible contravention of the Corporations Act or regulations in relation to the association or

Indications that the financial position of the association may be, or may be about to become unsatisfactory. Assets

5. There were no deficiencies or encumbrances attaching to the title of the association's assets at balance date other than those reflected in the financial statements.

6. There are no agreements to repurchase assets previously recorded in the accounting records as sold.

7. Adequate provision has been made in the financial statements for any permanent diminution in the value of the fund and any non current assets.

Liabilities

8. All liabilities which have arisen or which will arise out of the activities of the fund to the end of the financial year have been included in the financial statements.

9. There were no contingent liabilities, including guarantees, as at balance date which is not disclosed in the financial statements or the notes thereto.

Other

10. No events have occurred subsequent to balance date which would require adjustment to or disclosure in the financial statements.

11. Other than detailed in the association's financial statements the association is not aware of any breach or non compliance with the terms of any contractual arrangements, however caused which could materially impact on the association which would have an effect on the financial statements.

12. The association has an established procedure whereby the adequacy of insurance cover on all assets and insurable risks is reviewed on a timely basis. This review has been performed, and where it is considered appropriate, assets and insurable risks of the fund are adequately covered by insurance.

13. The minutes of meetings made available to you are a complete and authentic record of all meetings during the financial year. All statutory records were properly kept during the period.

14. Records maintained during the period were in accordance with the Australian Taxation Office requirements.

15. We have responded fully to all enquiries made to us during the course of your examination.

16. Nothing has come to our attention that would indicate that the financial statements are inaccurate, incomplete or otherwise misleading.

President – Michael Dowling

Treasurer – Richard Mountstephens

Photos - Photos by Tom, IOF/William Hollowell, IOF, IOF/Donatas Lazauskas, Michael Dowling, The Australian Orienteer

PO Box 339, North Strathfield NSW 2137

p: 0418 287 694

e: gm@orienteering.asn.au

w: www.orienteering.asn.au