The Australian Orienteer – September 2004

w w w. o r i e n t e e r i n g . a s n . a u President: Bob McCreddin Director (Administration): Dave Lotty, PO Box 740 Glebe NSW 2037 Ph. (02) 9660 2067 (w), (02) 9569 2380 (h) orienteering@sydney.net Director (Finance): Kathy Liley, Phone (03) 9802 5834 Director (Development): Bob Mouatt, PO Box W49 Wanniassa ACT 2903 Phone (02) 6231 2463 Director (Technical): Andy Hogg, 23 Aston Crescent Cook ACT 2614 Phone (02) 6251 9777 Director (High Performance): Mike Dowling, 17 High Street Bellerive TAS 7018 Phone (03) 6244 7173 Manager (Coaching Programs): Neville Bleakley, 30 Gledden Street Chifley ACT 2606 Ph (02) 6207 3723 Badge Applications: John Oliver, 68 Amaroo Street Wagga Wagga NSW 2650

STATE ASSOCIATIONS Queensland OA: PO Box 114 Spring Hill QLD 4004 Secretary: Robin Spriggs (07) 3369 0880 (h) qoa@qoa.asn.au OA NSW: PO Box 740, Glebe NSW 2037 Secretary: Dave Lotty (02) 9660 2067 (w), 9569 2380 (h) orienteering@sydney.net Orienteering ACT: PO Box 402, Jamison Centre ACT 2614 Secretary: Bill Jones (02) 6251 3885 actoa@austarmetro.com.au Victorian OA: 332 Banyule Rd, Viewbank VIC 3084 Secretary: Warwick Williams Ph. (03) 9459 0853 voa@netspace.net.au OA South Australia: State Association House, 73 Wakefield Street Adelaide SA 5000. Secretary: Phil Stoeckel OA Western Australia: PO Box 234 Subiaco WA 6904 Secretary: Cath Chalmers (08) 9380 4049 (h) catheoin@ozemail.com.au Orienteering Tasmania Inc.: PO Box 339, Sandy Bay, TAS 7005 Secretary: Warwick Moore (03) 6248 6405 secretary.oti@trump.net.au Top End Orienteers (Northern Territory): PO Box 39152 Winnellie NT 0821 Secretary: Susi Bertei (08) 8981 5841

CONTENTS ISSN 0818-6510 Issue 3/04 (no. 135) SEPTEMBER 2004

The national magazine of Orienteering Australia Inc. ABN 77 406 995 497 Published four times a year: First day of March, June, September, December Print Post Approved PP 236080/00011 Editor: Michael Hubbert, P.O. Box 165, Warrandyte, Victoria 3113 mikehubbert@ozemail.com.au Phone/fax (03) 9844 4878 Advertising and consultant to editor: Ian Baker, PO Box 294, Black Rock, Vic. 3193. ianb@netspace.net.au Phone/Fax (03) 9598 0215 Magazine Design & Assembly: Peter Cusworth, 8 View Street, Avonsleigh, Vic. 3782 Ph. (03) 5968 5254 cusworth@netspace.net.au Magazine Treasurer: Kathy Liley Printer: Priden Printing Services, 21 Century Drive, Braeside, Vic. 3195 Dates for 2004/05 Cover date Contribution deadline Despatch to states

December 2004 22 October 26 November

March 2005 21 January 25 February The date shown for contributions is the last date that matter will be received. Any non-topical matter should be presented as soon as it can be ready.

The policy on publication dates is that normally the magazine is dispatched in bulk from the printer in Melbourne in time for states to be able to have it in members’ hands at the very beginning of month of cover date. This policy was established by all states in conference.

Regular Contributors: Badge Awards: John Oliver; Coaching/Training: Nev Bleakley; Competition: Blair Trewin; Events/Results: Leigh Privett; High Performance: Mike Dowling; MTBO: Blake Gordon; Official News: Dave Lotty; Running the Business: Bob Mouatt; Ski-O: Ian Baker; Nutrition: Gillian Woodward.

Contributions are welcome, either directly or via State editorial contacts. Prior consultation is suggested before preparing major contributions. Guidelines for Contributors are available from the editor or from state contacts.

State Editorial Contacts Qld. – Liz Bourne 07 4683 6374 (h) batmaps@halenet.com.au NSW – Ken Sinclair 02 9639 9675 sicad@ozemail.com.au ACT – Matthew Purcell 02 6231 2121 mattpurc@webone.com.au Vic. – SA – Heather Smith 08 8463 3889 (w) Heather.Smith@state.sa.gov.au WA – Nicole Davis 08 9388 6451 shiraz@fizzyred.com Tas. – Mary Hawthorne 03 6243 8616 (h) editor.oti@trump.net.au Subscriptions: State Association members via State Associations. Contact relevant Association Secretary for details. Other subscribers: Write to The Australian Orienteer, PO Box 165, Warrandyte, Vic. 3113. Within Australia: $36 inc GST. Overseas: Asia/Pacific (inc. NZ) $40, Rest of World $45. Delivery is airmail, there is no seamail option. Please send payment in Australian dollars by bank draft or international postal order, or pay direct by Visa or Mastercard. Quote full card number and expiry date.

Subscription renewals (direct subscriptions only). The number in the top right-hand corner of the address label indicates the final issue in your current subscription.

Opinions expressed in The Australian Orienteer are not necessarily those of Orienteering Australia.

2 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

EDITORIAL....................................... 3 LETTERS.......................................... 5 T H E F I R S T E V E N T .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 A N T I - D O P I N G E X P L A I N E D .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 A P O C 2 0 0 4 K A Z A K H S T A N.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 JWOC 2004 POLAND............................ 14 W M O C 2 0 0 4 I TA LY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 B U S H R A N G E R S I N N E W Z E A L A N D .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 2004 WORLD ROGAINING CHAMPS............ 19 MOTHERHOOD AND ELITE ORIENTEERS....... 20 2004 WOC PREVIEW............................ 22 O X F A M T R A I L W A L K E R .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 A U S T R A L I A N 3 - D AY S 2 0 0 5 P R E V I E W . . . . . . . . . 2 5 U S I N G A H E A R T R AT E M O N I TO R.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6 A U S T R A L I A N M I D D L E D I S T A N C E C H A M P S .. . . . 2 8 NUTRITION...................................... 30 PA R K A N D S T R E E T- O I N AUS T R A L I A . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 SUE HARVEY INTERVIEW....................... 34 G R E AT L E G S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 6 NEWS............................................ 37 DID YOU KNOW?................................ 38 H I G H P E R F O R M A N C E .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 9 J O H N B R A M M A L L I N T E R V I E W.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 0 MTB-O NEWS.................................... 41 M T B - O N AV I G AT I O N T I P S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 M A G I C M A P M A K I N G .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA NEWS............. 46 T R E E AT H L O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 7 Front Cover: APOC in Kazakhstan – Blair Trewin joins the khans.

Photo: Eric Morris

EDITORIAL

What’s in a name?

Well …… quite a lot really.

CATCHY names stick in the memory and are readily recalled. For Orienteering, events with catchy names are more likely to attract entries from those who are less committed to attending every event on offer.

Last year’s “Bendigo to Beechworth Carnival” was aptly named and QB3 is held each year on the long weekend in June. Later this year we have “The Grapes of Rock Tour” in NSW and next Easter we’ll all be at SnowE2005.

Recently in Britain, two rounds of the UK Cup and the British Relays were held on a long weekend in the Forest of Dean, near the Severn Valley. The weekend of events was named “Triple O Severn” – a crafty name play on the location and a well-known super sleuth.

In another example, a series of Sprint-O events held in the south of England was named the “Southern Express”. I had the good fortune to compete in the Southern Express though, in my case, it was more totter than express.

Catchy names for events or series makes good marketing sense. For many people, an easily remembered event name is the first thing that attracts their attention. The “Run to the G” in Melbourne is a good example (this year’s event attracted 5000 entrants).

If the event can also build a reputation for excellence still more people will enter. More participants make for more vibrant and successful events, and so the cycle builds.

So, a message to event organizers, particularly those developing new events and new concepts – think carefully about how you name your event or series. Catchy names are certainly not the only requirement for successful events, but they’re a very good beginning.

Good navigating.

Michael Hubbert

Ian Baker is retiring

No, not from Orienteering, but as editor of The Australian Orienteer.

Ian has been editor for the past eight years and under his stewardship the quality and appearance of our national magazine has improved in leaps and bounds. The magazine now ranks with the best amongst Australian sporting journals and is a show piece for our sport.

Ian has been involved in the administration and promotion of Orienteering in some way since he first took it up in 1971. He’s had two stints as editor and has contributed his considerable promotion and marketing skills to the sport in many ways. We owe Ian a huge vote of thanks and express the hope that he will stay involved in the future.

Attempting to fill those large shoes which Ian has left will be new editor, Mike Hubbert. Mike was one of the participants in that legendary first event at Upper Beaconsfield in Victoria thirty-five years ago (23 August 1969) and has been involved in competition and administration of the sport ever since.

He intends to maintain the high quality of this national magazine; to further its in-depth reporting on issues of broad interest to all Orienteers; and to encourage and foster greater involvement and input from the various state associations who, after all, are the membership base for our great sport.

If you would like to see a particular issue covered within the pages of this magazine then please contribute and your wish will be fulfilled.

In 1974, Ian Baker and John Lewis founded Victoria's O-Gear shop and advertised on control cards.

O-shoes cost $17.95 and the best compass $14.50.

Ian Baker was instrumental in starting Ski-O in Victoria.

Don’t forget your Xmas presence

XMAS 5-DAYS 2004 ARMIDALE , N S W, D E C 2 7 -3 1 www.uringa.nsw.orienteering.asn.au/fivedays.htm SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 3

Winning Partnership The Australian Sports Commission is the Federal Government agency responsible for the funding and development of sport in Australia. Through its two main programs – the Australian Institute of Sport, and Sport Performance and Development – the Australian Sports Commission supports a wide range of initiatives designed to develop sporting excellence and increase participation in sport by all Australians.

Orienteering Australia is one of 85 national sporting organisations that have formed a winning partnership with the Australian Sports Commission to develop their sports in Australia.

www.ausport.gov.au

T H E A U S T R A L I A N S P O R T S C O M M I S S I O N P R O U D LY S U P P O R T S O R I E N T E E R I N G A U S T R A L I A

EDITORIAL

From the President IF you started orienteering when all events were of classic length in the bush and that’s what you want to do each weekend when you ‘go orienteering’, the chances are that you are hurting right now and perhaps even bewildered as to what ‘they’ are doing to ‘your sport’.

LETTERS The Australian Orienteer welcomes letters from members. Preference will be given to letters which are concise and which make positive points. The editor reserves the right to edit letters, particularly ones which are longer than 300 words.

Victorinox letter of the month Allan Whitfield (WA) for his letter on the cost of orienteering.

However, there are now many people who ‘go orienteering’ without leaving the bush tracks or without even going into the bush. We have people who only ‘go orienteering’ in the parks and the streets or only ‘go orienteering’ riding a mountain bike – not to mention those who prefer to have the ground covered in snow – or to use a canoe or swim underwater.

The fundamental principles of Orienteering lend themselves to many environments, different types of event and a variety of course lengths. It was logical that when orienteers chose to try to popularise their sport, they looked at many variations of what it means to ‘go orienteering’.

But why seek to popularise Orienteering and destroy that charming existence of the Sunday morning 7 km. run through some wonderful Australian bush? Well, some people cannot go orienteering on Sunday mornings, some don’t want to run 7 km. and some don’t want to run in the bush – but they do want to orienteer and we need them to orienteer.

We need participants to make our orienteering activities economically viable. We need to attract new participants to continue to justify our receipt of government funding. Government Depts have agendas we must help them fulfill and one is that more people participate in recreational activities. Of course for us, with participation comes sponsorship. We also need participants to become members to ensure the long-term viability of our clubs and associations that administer and conduct Orienteering events.

Since Orienteering was introduced to Australia, our social environment has altered dramatically and Sunday is no longer the family day that it was. Employment patterns have changed for all groups. Community bodies of all types struggle for members to take on voluntary tasks.

Orienteering Australia’s Statistical Summary of Orienteering Activities in Australia 1999 – 2003 provides information for us to consider as we plan our orienteering activities. Two observations stand out for me - the commonality of the demographic data about Members from state to state; particularly the fact that just 11% of Members are ‘Seniors’ whilst 57% are ‘Masters’. Isn’t this a good enough reason for us to attract more younger participants and to convert them to Members?

At international level, the need for diversity in what it means to ‘go orienteering’ has been similarly recognized. There is competition with other sports for sponsorship, for publicity and for a berth in the Olympic Games. This diversity has manifested itself in three sets of world championships in foot Orienteering - long, middle and short – and activities such as the Park World Tour.

These three sets of championships are now incorporated into our national and state event calendars. National rankings for elite orienteers now reflect performances at state championships in all three disciplines. Even the Easter 3-Day for the Elites has been modified to include a sprint component.

While the changes are targeting our elite orienteers, there is a natural flow on affecting the rest of us. Some of the new concepts we will enjoy more than others, but by appreciating why the changes are occurring and adopting an attitude of being prepared to ‘give it a go’, each of us will be working towards strengthening the future of Orienteering.

Keep spiking those controls.

Bob McCreddin

Allan receives a Victorinox Voyager with 20 tools and features including a watch/ alarm/timer, retail value $109.95.

Orienteering is not cheap for a twenty year old WELL done David Bourne for his letter "Orienteering is not cheap for a twenty year old" (June). As a father of twin 18 year olds with great potential, I can only agree with the issues David raised.

The geographic locations of our bush events makes access a real concern for any interstate visitor, particularly those that are in this age group, without licences or the financial means to survive (students etc). It is these locations however that attract many of us to the sport and keep us interested.

The cost and convenience of flying across Australia, or even just across the border is improving all the time, however the entry fees, ground travel and accommodation component are another matter all together.

During the recent carnival in Queensland over Easter, our juniors opted to compete in the elite class on one occasion for some added experience and competition but were required to pay full adult fees. Are they juniors or not?

Camping is also difficult when flying is involved as you may be away for periods of up to ten days and have little opportunity to carry the required equipment to make such an experience at least semi-pleasurable, let alone find a site in close proximity to the event.

Unfortunately I do not have the answers either, but I do agree with the notion of surveying those concerned. So how about it Bob McCreddin, as new national President will you tackle this issue head on and instigate some targeted research?

Allan Whitfield (WA) Bob McCreddin responds: Two topics that Orienteering Australia has long left to individual state associations to decide are the definition of a “junior” and the fees for national events. This letter from Allan Whitfield is one of a series of messages that have reached Orienteering Australia on the issue of entry fees for juniors at national events. The matter will need to be considered collectively by the state associations through Orienteering Australia and due to widely differing state positions on the topic, the resolution will most likely have to wait until the December Conference – but perhaps states discussing fees now for national events over the next year or two will note the concerns being expressed.

Next issue 1 December 2004 Contributions deadlines Time-sensitive 22 Oct All other contributions 15 Oct SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 5

LETTERS Park orienteers are the wrong crowd I WONDER if we are falling into a trap of thinking that Orienteering is better served by catering for local occasional non-members instead of its membership. For example, out of the 61 events scheduled in the ACT for this year, the bulk of which are held on maps within the city limits, I plan to go to 13 only. So my question is where is the value in membership? And a related question is: where is the return to Orienteering for all this activity?

The recent skew towards park Orienteering in the ACT had its roots in catering to school Orienteering. However school participation appears to have dwindled to a handful of kids from just two schools only. The reason these events survive now is because they are really easy to organise and they get good numbers and returns. The problem is that these events are not resulting in a trend to longer term recruitment of members and are consuming a disproportionate component of our limited monetary, mapping and volunteer resources from real Orienteering, out in the bush. So my question is why is park Orienteering our focus?

We are over-catering to the wrong crowd. Park Orienteering definitely has its place during the hotter months and for staged publicity, but real orienteering is out in the bush.

My view is there are two primary characteristics of our sport that attract and keep people to it: being out in nature and having a mental/physical challenge.

These characteristics are being eroded by our overconcentration of limited resources on simple park maps so that when we do venture further out, we a reliant on the same maps and same areas, some of which are over 20 years old now.

Orienteering in the ACT has become predictable and boring.

The small gains achieved in terms of membership from park Orienteering are lost by over-use of the same areas on everdiminishing maps, in terms of accuracy. Turning this around by 6 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

focusing on the strengths of our sport i.e. catering to the reasons why people like Orienteering is where our energies should be applied.

David Baker (ACT) See editorial, June 2004,’ “Where do most people orienteer?” In Victoria it’s “In local parks and streets”.’ Ed.

'The orienteering connection' helps

AFTER busting my achilles tendon at the relays (which I hadn't even entered) on Good Friday at Easter in Queensland, the guys I was with dropped me off at the only medical place we could find, the hospital outpatients, on their way to the Saturday event.

I waited there with others all day till 4 pm when the duty doctor announced that because of emergencies we were all likely to have to wait another five hours. No good for me. I was outside, just about to ride away, when I heard my name called. I raced back in.

And things happened. Within 15 minutes I was being X-rayed, another 15 minutes I was with a doctor (who happened to hail from Tallangatta, Victoria, near Albury, NSW, my home town). He consulted a specialist and I was booked in for surgery at a private hospital 90 minutes later. Easter Saturday night!

All that happened because an orienteer behind the counter had recognised me as I walked out.

Thanks so much to that lady who shall remain anonymous here, because I don't know what I was going to do next. But just to tell you that because of your kind influence, three weeks after the operation I am unsore, unswollen, been bike riding and

abseiling, massaging it three hours a day and planning on making a fast recovery.

Thanks so much again, Leigh Privett (Vic)

was not deterred and we headed up into the Hills the following weekend. This time we found the event, ventured out into the bush and were hooked, joining Yalanga Orienteers.

WHEN I was a young elite orienteer, although that's a fast fading memory now, I never fully appreciated the little things that mean so much when you take a family with young children to an Easter Three Day carnival or an Australian Champs carnival. Things like parking close to the assembly area, a bit of shade, short walks to the start and, most of all, a welcoming place for the younger children to go when the parents are out doing their thing in the forest.

Dad soon launched himself into the administrative side of the sport, and over the years served as president of both Yalanga and OASA. He also assisted in organising many events, including the 1989 Easter 3 Days in Burra. Dad enjoyed the administrative side of Orienteering more than the actual racing. I suspect he was quite relieved when, a few years ago, his back prevented him from running any more. This meant he could legitimately concentrate on his great love of cycling, whilst continuing to dabble with Orienteering paperwork.

This last point in particular really made it for us at Easter in Queensland. What a truly fantastic facility was provided for the children while mums and dads were out on the course.

Sue and I want to really thank all the wonderful people involved in providing the great activities and welcoming environment for our children and all the others who enjoyed themselves at the crèche. It was much appreciated and something that made the kids really look forward to going out to the events each day.

Mum was always a fierce competitor at whatever sport she played, and with Orienteering she was no different. Although she claimed to have numerous ailments preventing her from running, she was certainly the fastest “walker” I’d ever seen. I’m sure those she raced against would agree. Mum was absolutely thrilled with her 2nd place as a W60 at the Oceania Championships. She was even more thrilled to be the current Albury Wodonga Champion eight years after me!

Mike Dowling (Tas)

However, as with Dad, Mum’s real love for Orienteering was

Caring for young children

Dexter and Irina Palmer ON behalf of my sister Heather and myself, I am writing to thank those orienteers who have provided sympathy and support since our parents, Dexter and Irena Palmer, were killed in a car accident on 28 March 2004 on their way home from an Orienteering event near Bendigo.

I had not realised that Orienteering was more than just a sport, but rather a large and extended family.

We became a part of this family back in 1984 when Dad dragged us up into the Adelaide Hills to try Orienteering. Despite not finding this first event, Dad

Irena and Dexter Palmer at an event near Bendigo in the mid-1990s.

LETTERS not racing, but behind the scenes. Mum was passionate about mapping. She thrived on it, making many maps in SA, to the extent that the SA calendar is dominated by events on her maps. Certainly her maps provide an amazing legacy to her contribution to the sport.

Mum and Dad were mad keen birdwatchers; on every map she ever made, she included a bird native to the area – woe be the cartographer who did not draw the bird correctly!

Mum and Dad volunteered many weekends at the Birds of Australia “Gluepot Station” in northern SA. Mum made a map for them and Dad helped coordinate a mallee fowl count.

Thank you to all those who generously donated money towards Gluepot in memory of Mum and Dad in lieu of flowers.

A new accommodation shelter will be named after them.

When Mum and Dad moved from SA to Victoria in 2003, their main criteria for a place to live was it had to be good for orienteering, cycling and bird watching. Dad would often ride out to events to meet up with Mum. At one event, Mum caught sight of a “hot” guy on a bike.

She was amazed that he rode right up to her and shocked when he turned out to be Dad! Mum and Dad were so much in love after 36 years of marriage.

Although they were too young to die, they died instantly, together, doing what they loved – travelling about the countryside on yet another Orienteering adventure. They are buried back in SA, in a small cemetery next to a conservation park. As their coffins were being lowered, two sulphur-crested cockatoos flew over, screeching raucously – Mum and Dad laughing no doubt!

Once again, thank you to our Orienteering family for your friendship. Hopefully we will see you at the SA Champs, being held near Burra on Mum’s last map, “Twigham”. Mum claimed that the terrain was better than anything she had mapped before so it should be great orienteering.

Love Miriam, Heather and our families (Miriam Whittington)

THE FIRST EVENT

Your magazine Congratulations Ian Baker on a job well done!

UNDER your editorship The Australian Orienteer has gained the reputation as one of the best orienteering magazines in the orienteering world, and one of which all Australian orienteers must feel proud.

I am very much aware how over recent years Ian fought doggedly for the magazine and succeeded in persuading the Council of Orienteering Australia to maintain it as a publication to which all Australian orienteers subscribe. It would not be the fine magazine it is now if that battle had not been won!

Thank you Ian for making our magazine such a professional publication, and (in your words) always such “a good read”.

John Brammall (Tas) John Brammall is recently retired President of Orienteering Australia. See page 40.

Great event – poor turn-out SPORTIDENT is certainly making for economical coursesetting and use of terrain. At the end of July I went to the Victorian State Series event at Whroo. My 4,500 metre course with 11 controls was all within an area of 1,350 by 900 metres, just 1.2 square km.

Turnout was very low for a good event. Reasons have to be the long drive two hours from Melbourne and the fact that there was another long journey to Bendigo only two weeks before. The remedy is in event scheduling. Keep distant events well separated on the calendar and make the trip worthwhile by scheduling double-headers with quality events on both Saturday and Sunday.

Otherwise members will vote with their wallets and just say it's not worthwhile.

Ian Baker (Vic)

Orienteering in 1954 - South Australia Jeffa Lyon (SA)

I

N 1921 Lembed Jarver was born in Tallinn, capital of Estonia, an only child. At school everyone took part in Orienteering - that meant being one of a team of six (five had to finish), to locate two controls using a map and return to base.

In 1936 the other students said that Lembed could run like Jesse Owens, famous for winning three Gold Medals at the Berlin Olympics.

This talent led Lembed to university studies in Sports Science. Then came World War II. When Russia annexed Estonia, Lembed avoided conscription in the Soviet Army by hiding in the forests and swamps.

When the Germans advanced and took Estonia in 1941, he joined an Estonian unit in the German Air Force. But in 1944 the Russians came again so Lembed had to get out.

He went west across some islands towards Sweden. With the Russians on his heels he was lucky that a German minesweeper picked him up from the last bit of that island coast. The fate of anyone caught was to be shot. The minesweeper took him to Schleswig in northern Germany where he worked as a waiter till the war ended. With Russia in control of Estonia he could not return; his father had been shot and his mother sent to Siberia. So he went to the Displaced Persons' Camp in Augsburg where he stayed for four years waiting to be processed.

While there he met and married another Estonian in the camp and also found his erstwhile Professor of Sports Science who gave him written evidence of his studies, invaluable later when he was able to use his training. After that four-year wait, Lembed and his wife Aita were allocated berths on the "Oxfordshire" to go to Australia. They were each given $US5 spending money but no papers so they were never allowed ashore during the journey because they were stateless persons. Their accommodation in this ex-hospital ship was in separate dormitories.

That segregation continued when ‘Jess’, as Lembed had become from that 1936 likening of himself to Jesse Owens - was sent to work "making nuts" while his wife was given a job elsewhere. He worked as a builder's labourer while waiting for a job more suitable to a trained athletics coach. In 1952 the National Fitness Council advertised for a training officer. Jess got the job. He set up boys and girls mixed clubs to whom he taught running, tumbling, vaulting etc.

He also coached individuals from the Harriers or the Sth. Australia Western Districts Athletics Clubs. Jess decided that these groups could do the same as he had done at school, orienteering, as a different form of running training.

So, in 1954 the first Orienteering event in SA, and indeed the whole of Australia, took place. This beginning led to the formation of the Sth. Australian Orienteering Club in 1956. But by then Jess was moving on to establishing "sweat tracks", to an involvement in setting up the Heysen Trail and the Youth Hostels Association and to journalism. Now, at 82, Jess still translates sports science articles from Russian or German.

Records were carefully kept of those early years of Orienteering, even through the lull in activities from 1961 to 1974. The when, where, and how of those early orienteering days will be recorded in the archival history on which OASA, and particularly John Williams, is working.

1969 is generally regarded as the year of the event from which Orienteering, as we know it today, developed. Instigator was Tom Andrews, now principal of Silva Compasses in Australia. Tom originates from Lithuania and also spent time as a child in a displaced persons camp in Germany before being resettled with his family in Tasmania. Ed.

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 7

THE FIRST EVENT

It all started 35 years ago

Ron Frederick (now of Nillumbik Emus) won the event in 1hr 45:52.

Graham Moon was third, David Hogg fifth and Mike Hubbert eighth. A young Robbie Wallace finished tenth – his nearly 4 hours on the course must have given him a good grounding because he went on to represent Australia in the marathon.

I

T was 35 years ago last month when the event which started Orienteering in Australia was held. On August 23, 1969, Tom Andrews and Peter Wills-Cooke of the Richmond Harriers in Melbourne organized the first event at Upper Beaconsfield, some 40km east of Melbourne. The terrain was private orchard country situated just 2km south-east of the current Cardinia Reservoir Park map. Assembly and starting point was the Pine Grove Hotel on Stoney Creek Rd. – and it’s still there (Melway 210J9 for Melburnians).

The map was black & white, hand-drawn with a scale of about 1:20,000 (with the emphasis on ‘about’). Controls were 4-gallon drums painted red & white – much later we graduated to orange buckets hung from trees (see photo). The course was just 6.8km but competitors’ times were comparatively slow due to much running in the wrong direction.

A bucket style control marker from an early event.

8 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

The Richmond Harriers formed an Orienteering club which soon changed its name to Red Kangaroos. Much later they merged with the Bayside club to become Bayside Kangaroos. And so it was fitting that Bayside Kangaroos held the 35th Anniversary event last month, not at Beaconsfield but at Bostock Reservoir near Ballan, west of Melbourne.

In keeping with the long times taken by participants in 1969 the anniversary event was a Blodslitet with options for courses of 15km, 10 and 5 (for the ‘ancients’ amongst us). Mike Hubbert set the courses in compact loop formats enabling participants to return to the map change several times where they could recharge their energies on fruit cake and oranges.

Ron Frederick (the original winner) was there to tackle the terrain and found things much easier this time around. Perhaps those 35 years of training have been worthwhile. All agreed that we shouldn’t forget that first event which started it all and are now looking forward to the 40th Anniversary in 2009.

THE FIRST EVENT

Ron Frederick reminisces

upturned red buckets as controls. It snowed heavily that morning covering the tops of the buckets so competitors couldn’t find them.

A more recent highlight was the 1985 Australian Championships which my club organized at Crocodile Reservoir. We had more than 1200 entrants which I think is still a record for any event in Australia.

AO: Your club started as MUMC (Melbourne Univ. Mountaineering Club) and now it’s Nillumbik Emus. What were its other incarnations?

THIRTY-FIVE years ago last month, Ron Frederick won the first Orienteering event held in Australia.

He competes for Nillumbik Emus (NE) in Victoria and has been President of that club since 1999.

The Australian Orienteer spoke with Ron about that first event and his achievements since then.

Ron F: Yes – MUMC and Richmond Harriers were the first clubs. MUMC became EMU (which meant ex-Melb. Univ.), then we absorbed St. Leo’s/Navigators and later Rockhoppers. More recently EMU merged with Nillumbik to become NE. The club has quite a complex history.

AO: Dave Lotty leads the all-time events table with about 1940 events. How many have you run?

Ron F: Nowhere near that many!! I guess I’ve averaged about 10 bush-O events per year over 35 years and perhaps 5 to 10 Park & Street-O events in more recent years. I haven’t kept a tally.

AO: How long will you keep orienteering?

Ron F: My health and fitness are still good so I’ve no intention of retiring for a long time. My family has a history of longevity so I expect to be an M80 at least.

AO: Any major events or trips planned?

Ron F: Looking forward to SnowE’05 next Easter.

Ron Frederick was a law student at Melbourne University. He now practises as a solicitor.

AO: What memories have you of that first event?

First Orienteering Event

Ron F: I dropped my control card between the last control and the finish. The organizers recorded my time then allowed me to go back and find it without any penalty.

In 1897, the first ever public orienteering competition was held in Norway. During its first century orienteering developed from an activity invented in a small corner of northern Europe to a modern, high-technology sport practised by more than one million people in countries all over the world on five continents. World Orienteering Championships have been organized since 1966. Teams from 41 countries participated in the most recent World Orienteering Championships in Switzerland.

I remember one control description was “The clearing with a good view” – I spent quite some time checking the views from various clearings before I found it. Other check points had very helpful control descriptions such as - “In the scrub” and “An old log on the hillside”. I was impressed by the way orchards had been mapped – there was a dot for every tree.

AO: Have you orienteered continuously since then?

AO: Any highlights over the time?

Ron F: Winning that first event was probably my highlight. I did go to APOC’86 in Hong Kong and remember having to avoid stepping on fresh graves along the course.

I became the first Treasurer of the combined VOA/OFA in 1970. Those early meetings at Tom Andrews’ office in Castle Jackson certainly opened my eyes to the corporate way of doing things.

I particularly enjoy Easter events – they take you to parts of Australia you would never otherwise visit.

I was in the 1971 Australian team which competed against New Zealand in ACT. I still have the team badge. I also competed at Lake Mountain (Vic) in the first Ski-O event about 1980.

Recent additions to the OA website: • S elected teams for 2004 WOC and 2004 JWOC on the National Teams section of the Foot-O page.

Added and available for download are: •A new EIG-Ansvar logo for download and inclusion in all State Newsletters, event promotions, etc.

• I nformation and syllabus for the Level 1 Controller Accreditation course.

The Frederick family ran the Sweet Control stall for some years – that certainly taught the kids about profit and loss.

Another memory is of an early MUMC event at Bullarto (in Victoria) when we were using

w e b s i t e

•U pdated Foot-O Competition Rules (effective July 1, 2004).

www.orienteering.asn.au

Ron F: Yes, although when the kids were young my attendance was spasmodic.

• The 2004 version of IOF Control Descriptions.

Ron’s Australian Team badge from 1971

(Visit the ‘What’s New’ section for easy access to the above downloads.)

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 9

FEATURE

Anti-Doping Explained The International Orienteering Federation (IOF) is very clear in its stance against doping – athletes WILL be tested regularly. If a doping offence is detected the person involved WILL be punished.

“The IOF declares that doping is prohibited and the provisions of the IOC Medical Code apply, subject to any necessary changes, to all persons and competitors under the jurisdiction of the IOF and its members.” (IOF Statutes, clause 3.1)

N

ATIONAL teams from 41 countries participated in the 2003 World Orienteering Championships held in Switzerland. Athletes from 13 different countries were tested under the IOF anti-doping protocol.

All the results of tests carried out were negative. The testing program comprised a total of 36 tests, including tests for EPO. The analysis was performed by the IOC accredited laboratory (LAD) of the Institut Universitaire de Médecine Légale in Lausanne, Switzerland.

2004 World MTBO Championships in Victoria

When this event is conducted near Ballarat in October, an antidoping testing program will be conducted under the direction of the Australian Sports Drug Agency (ASDA) and selected athletes will be tested. The program will be supervised by the IOF Anti-Doping Controller, Roger Aerts, who will attend the carnival. He will work closely with ASDA and with Dave Lotty who is the Anti-Doping Officer for Orienteering Australia.

What is Orienteering Australia (OA) doing about anti-doping?

Drug taking in sports has been an item of intense media interest recently. However, it’s probably not widely known that random testing has been conducted at many major Orienteering events in past years (e.g Easter 3-Days in both 2003 and 2004).

OA has recently drafted a new anti-doping policy document.

President Bob McCreddin had this to say: “There is strong endorsement at the grass roots level for Orienteering to be drug-free and all Australian orienteers support every action of the IOF and ASDA in their implementation of rigorous anti-doping policies. We are all pleased to see the adoption of this latest, detailed policy meeting international standards. It’s the next step in the development of antidoping practices in Australian orienteering.

Orienteering Australia’s High Performance Team, with good support from the anti-doping agencies, provide Australia’s elite orienteers with training and advice on drug issues and ASDA has been discreetly testing at national events for many years. Orienteering

Support our sponsors and support your sport

Australia is committed to a drug-free sport and sincerely hopes that with this clear statement of policy, fairly explained and implemented, our elite athletes are being supported in their quest for excellent performances nationally and internationally.”

The Australian Orienteer asked Neville Bleakley - Orienteering ACT’s

anti-doping officer for the last five years - to give some insight into what measures have been taken in Orienteering to prevent drugtaking, how the measures are implemented, and some personal observations. Neville’s comments follow: “Being Head Coach of an elite squad at ACTAS (ACT Academy of Sport), and being the anti-doping officer for Orienteering ACT could be perceived as a conflict of interest. However, I do my utmost not to be put in such a position.

The first question readers might ask is: ‘Could I be drug tested?’

Who May be Tested? The answer is ‘not unless you are on OA’s published national senior list’ (which is a “registered testing pool” for out-of-competition testing), or you compete in the elite class of an event at which ASDA has decided to carry out in-competition testing’ – except if you live in the ACT. A New Policy. Orienteering Australia’s latest (draft) anti-doping policy – redrafted to comply with requirements of the new World AntiDoping Authority - applies to members, athletes, athlete support personnel, and employees and contractors of OA. However, there are many dimensions to this policy, of which athlete testing is but one.

The new policy will be published in OA’s Operational Manual after it has been endorsed at the next OA Conference. In the meantime, drug testing continues under the existing policy (with some interim arrangements).

ACT is Different. ACT is a special case for two reasons. First, all ACTAS athletes – irrespective of age – are eligible to be drug tested.

So ACTAS juniors are eligible for testing, whereas normally juniors would be eligible for testing only when they decide to compete in an open-age event that ASDA has selected for testing. Second, the ACT government requires all athletes who represent ACT in senior competition to be eligible for testing, including members of the Canberra Cockatoos. I found the Cockies’ reaction to this was positive: “Well, at least it shows that the ACT Government recognizes us a fairdinkum sport”. I found the same reaction from ACT MTBO orienteers when I nominated them for testing. I think ACT is the only State that registers MTBO orienteers for testing. Also I think ACT is the only State/Territory to appoint an anti-doping officer for Orienteering.

Drug Education. I am responsible for providing drug education. I don’t do it all myself – I get presenters from ASDA (free of charge). I try to make such sessions as attractive to athletes as I can, sometimes providing free tucker and the like. ACTAS athletes must attend an education session once every year, so – with the permission of ACTAS - I open up such sessions to the Cockies and to ACT MTBO orienteers as well.

National Senior Squad. Jason McCrae, one of my fellow orienteering coaches at ACTAS, organized a similar drug education session for the national senior squad at the national training camp in Tasmania earlier this year. ASDA will go out of its way to support such initiatives by finding local presenters, free of charge. I think that it would be difficult for an elite athlete in any leading Australian sport to claim ignorance of anti-doping requirements these days. In any case, ignorance is no defence.

Recreational Drugs. ACTAS has made efforts to counter problems in the use of recreational drugs too. Two years ago I was a member of a small group of ACTAS coaches who volunteered to undergo training provided by the Australian Federal Police psychologists and drug counsellors with the aim of discussing the use of recreational drugs

10 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

FEATURE with their athletes in team talks and the like. I was astounded to find out what was going on in the ACT recreational drug scene. My first thought was that I was glad our children were now grown up.

With some trepidation, I chose a farewell function for a member of the squad at a local football club to make my debut. In fact, the squad members were very happy to discuss the issue with me. I found the girls were especially savvy about the issue of drink spiking, but many of the boys were unaware of how vulnerable they were too. ACTAS believes that it has a responsibility to foster good citizenship in its athletes as well to help them achieve their athletic potential. It plays an important part in the development of elite orienteers in Australia as role models for younger orienteers.

Selection Processes. How do athletes get selected for drug testing? For out-ofcompetition testing, frankly I do not know. But, once chosen, an athlete cannot but attend at the time and place required, once they receive the phone call from ASDA. Rob Preston asked recently “Has anyone else been selected for testing on their birthday?” For in-competition testing, ASDA obtains the start list from the organizer and arranges a selection on the morning of the event (having ascertained who is actually there). There is no cheating. Names are selected by picking cards arranged upside-down, usually on a convenient car bonnet, with relevant witnesses to the outcome.

Athlete Contact Details. In the past, it was possible for athletes to avoid being tested out-of-competition by ‘going bush’ or taking extended holidays overseas, giving false contact details and the like.

WADA rules changed all that. Now it is a listed athlete’s personal responsibility to advise their contact details to OA’s Anti-doping Officer (Dave Lotty) at regular intervals. Failure to do so constitutes an ‘anti-doping rule violation’, and is punishable under OA’s new antidoping legislation.

Athletes’ Rights. Anti-doping legislation is not a one-way street.

Athletes have rights, including the right to be informed, and the right to have someone accompany them when testing is taking place – to ensure that all the proper testing procedures are being enacted.

Here’s what happens if you are an elite orienteer. You have just finished a race lasting two hours and might be feeling elated/ disappointed, but certainly tired. Someone from ASDA taps you on the shoulder when you stop in the chute and says you must give a sample. You have no choice but to obey. From there on, that person will accompany you wherever you go until your samples are sealed in

the two bottles provided. They must actually observe you passing urine (as athletes have been known to carry another’s urine sample with them and pass it from a tube going down their arm). You drink copious amounts of water to try to ‘go’, but if it’s your first test nothing normally happens for hours later.

Arrangements for the rest of the day often have to go ‘out the window’. If ASDA decides to test at a qualification event in the morning, those athletes chosen for testing might have their preparation for an afternoon final disrupted. Anti-doping officers keep in close contact with their ASDA counterparts to try to minimize those sorts of occurrences.

Intimidating. Drug education seminars don’t just address the “do’s and don’ts” of doping - they try to prepare athletes for what will happen when they are tested, so it will not be too much of a shock to new elites. However, some will find testing quite intimidating. That’s the price any elite athlete must pay these days.

Why? Why do we have to do all this? As in life generally, there are unscrupulous people who will exploit any weakness in systems and/or people, in order to gain an advantage. Possibly there are also those, scientifically-trained, who want to ‘beat the system’ for the thrill of doing it (think computer viruses). Certainly there are pressures on elite athletes to perform. As a coach, I know that different athletes respond to those pressures in quite different ways. Injuries and/or personal problems can tempt an athlete to go down a pathway that they would never normally contemplate. The temptation for a ‘quick fix, just this once’ can be overwhelming, especially if someone says ‘the others are doing it’ or ‘it’s quite safe – they’ve never caught anyone using that yet’.

The barriers between total commitment and blind obsession can sometimes become quite blurred in the most talented.

Clean, so far. The good news is that we’ve never had an Australian orienteer found positive to a doping offence, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve never had one who has tried. Orienteering Australia wants our sport to be known as one that fosters clean sporting competitions. Orienteering Australia accepts its responsibility to support those who are clean, and to punish those who are found to be cheating.”

Neville Bleakley

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 11

AUSSIES OVERSEAS

A S I A - PAC I F I C O R I E N T E E R I N G C H A M P S

Australian Team success in Kazakhstan

These events were preceded by the Open Cup of Kazakhstan, a series of four races starting with a sprint event amongst the parks and apartment buildings of Ust-Kamenogorsk, then moving on to three days (sometimes wet and mostly cold) amidst the rocks and heathlands of the Blue Gulf. No Australian managed to win all four days, though a few went close. Alex Tarr only lowered his colours once, a 51-second loss to fellow Aussie Jim Sawkins on the last day.

In May, a representative Team traveled to Kazakhstan to contest APOC 2004. It was a most successful event for Australia with seven titles won, a great improvement on 2002 in Canada when we only managed one.

Blair Trewin reports: The terrain was some of the most enjoyable to run on anywhere in the world – imagine the Flinders Ranges pine forests studded with complex granite – and the mapping style was quite similar to our own, unlike the more generalized style common in Europe.

The Individual Championships

O

UR only winner from Canada, Eric Morris, successfully defended his M21E title. He made a mistake early but recovered well to be second outright, behind 2003 JWOC gold medallist Dmitry Tsetskov of Russia (from St. Petersburg and hence ineligible for the APOC title which is only open to Russians resident in Asia). It was an Australian quinella, with Blair Trewin two minutes behind Morris and just ahead of Russian Andrei Tolstov.

The most impressive Australian winner was Alex Tarr (M60). He’d had some close tussles during the lead-up races but the APOC classic race was in the most difficult terrain of the carnival and it was an area where one could expect the cream to rise to the top. Alex certainly rose to the occasion and won by almost twenty minutes.

Australians won four of the five age classes from 65 upwards, through John Lyon (M65), Neil Schafer (M75), Janet Morris (W65) and Caryl Woof (W70), and scored five more placings in those age groups. The other winner was Debbie Gale, who took out W55. The younger age groups were dominated by Russians and Kazakhs. W21E was no exception, won by Russian Irina Grigorieva in an upset after her compatriot Daria Smolik had dominated most of the week.

The Relays

Another good day for Australians with two titles won and six placings. Victories came in M65 and W65, with neither team being pushed at any stage. We had hopes for wins in other classes, notably W50 and M21E, but had to settle for minor placings; the W50’s gave away too much ground early and Jacquie Rand’s strong finish was in vain. All three M21E’s had days they would rather forget, finishing behind Russian and Kazakhstan teams. But at least not winning saved us the problem of how to get the enormous trophy home.

Other successes were a second place for our M50 team (two-thirds being the M60 combination of Alex Tarr and Jim Sawkins), third places for our second teams in M65 and W50, and an unexpected third in M21A for a scratch team featuring two M45s (Tony Garr and James Lithgow) and a woman (Jane Pulford).

The Other Events

Other events run in the lead-up to the Championships included the APOC Short Course which doesn’t have championship status (yet) but was treated seriously by most. Six Australians won here; Alex Tarr (M60), John Lyon (M65), Neil Schafer (M75), Jane Pulford (W21A), Val Hodsdon (W55) and Jeffa Lyon (W70). Nikolai Tarasov gave the locals something to cheer about by unexpectedly winning M21E (Eric Morris was third, and second APOC), whilst Russian Daria Smolik won W21E.

12 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

The Rest of the Story

APOC 2004 was not just another Orienteering trip; the choice of venue was enough to raise some eyebrows. Most people asked two questions about Kazakhstan: “where is it?” and “isn’t there a war going on there?”. Intrepid Australian orienteers were not deterred. Our contingent was a pleasingly large thirtyfive, the largest foreign group other than the Russians.

The first challenge was finding how to get there.

Barry Hanlon took on the task, presumably with absolutely no idea of what he’d let himself in for. Plan A came unstuck when Air Kazakhstan went the same way as Ansett. Plan B, which involved going via Moscow, came unstuck because the Russians wouldn’t issue double-entry transit visas, meaning we could get to Kazakhstan but couldn’t get back. That left Plan C, which looked horrendously convoluted but actually worked very well. We went via China, with stops in Guangzhou (southern China), Urumqi (north-west China) and Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. The early legs were on the perfectly respectable China Southern Airlines, and the last leg on the unfortunately-named SCAT. The décor may have been ancient but at least the planes stayed in the air when they were supposed to…

Almaty was the first pleasant surprise. It has a spectacular setting – a 5000-metre mountain range rises directly from the southern suburbs. The city itself was also a surprisingly green and attractive place, lacking the concrete monoliths that characterize so many other former Communist cities. (There are few high-rise buildings of any kind because of the high earthquake risk). It would make an excellent base for exploring the numerous mountain ranges of the area, in a region that deserves to get many more tourists than it actually does. (The most spectacular views of all were on the flight back from Almaty to Urumqi, tracking along the northern side of the main range that reaches over 7000 metres in places).

The next pleasant surprise was the high standard of organization of the APOC week. Past experiences in eastern Europe led us to expect that the ‘in forest’ aspects would be organized well, but that the surrounding infrastructure might have a lot of hitches. As it turned out very little went wrong. The terrain was outstanding, the maps were excellent, and while the course-setting was occasionally patchy it didn’t detract from the enjoyment of the Orienteering experience.

Away from the events, the accommodation and food were a little idiosyncratic but perfectly acceptable, and the transport system worked well (with the assistance of regular police escorts), despite the decrepit state of the local roads and some of the local vehicles, which look like they are about to fall apart any moment but still seem to work. (The Ust-Kamenogorsk bus fleet consists of a mixture of Soviet-era relics and second-hand vehicles imported from western Europe, some of which still bear destination signs for various Stockholm suburbs or ads for Finnish supermarkets).

We had two Russian speakers in our party (Barry Hanlon and Peter Komyshan), but the path in Ust-Kamenogorsk was smoothed considerably by interpreters supplied by the APOC organizers. (The country is fairly evenly split between ethnic Kazakhs, whose language is related to Turkish, and ethnic Russians, but the northeast where APOC was held is mostly Russian). The interpreters were English-language students from the local university and became an integral part of our group during APOC week.

AUSSIES OVERSEAS

A S I A - PAC I F I C O R I E N T E E R I N G C H A M P S

Glenn Meyer in action at APOC

APOC Men’s Elite: 1st Eric Morris (AUS) 2nd Blair Trewin (AUS) 3rd Andrei Tolstov (Russia) Photo: Barry Hanlon Map – APOC MEN’S SPRINT 1. Nikolaj Tarsov (KAZ) 34:00 2. Vitaly Chegarovsky (RUS) 34:47 3. Eric Morris (AUS) 34:58

One day everyone will remember was the opening ceremony. In Orienteering we’re used to fairly nondescript ceremonies with a march past a few bemused locals and whoever is stuck in the traffic jam, followed by speeches you can tell would be boring even if you could understand them. This time, it was a grand production lasting well over an hour, featuring local performers and graced by a crowd of at least a couple of thousand. It was particularly memorable for yours truly. I’d thought that my role as acting APOC Secretary would just be to take minutes at the meeting and was quite surprised to be asked to speak at the opening ceremony. I was even more surprised to find myself alongside the state Premier and Minister for Sport, and to be presented with a traditional Kazakh robe, hat and ceremonial stockwhip for the occasion. (see Cover photo, Ed).

With APOC over; most of us headed off for a week in the Altai region in the far north-east of the country. The mountains here are not quite as high as those near Almaty, but the country is equally beautiful – mountains with seemingly endless rolling meadows, lakes and snowcapped peaks, and streams which would be a fisherman’s heaven (you could catch fish simply by sticking a plastic bag in the direction of the current). Below the mountains were desert areas featuring some spectacularly eroded badlands. It was epic country and featured some epic journeys (No-one will forget the day it took us 13 hours to cover 450 km on roads which were more pothole than surface), but on the good days it was difficult to imagine that there could be many more attractive places on the planet.

Kazakhstan is a country that few of us would have visited had it not been for APOC. Enormous thanks go to Barry Hanlon – without his work in making the trip happen, and overcoming each successive hurdle placed in our path in an unflappable manner, it’s unlikely that more than a handful of us would have made it.

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 13

AUSSIES OVERSEAS

Hanny Allston 12th in World Juniors

JUNIOR WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPS

T

HE team arrived in Poland two weeks before the competition to acclimatise to conditions and to train in the local forests, becoming familiar with the terrain and mapping styles. They enjoyed this time together and were able to settle down well. For a few days before the competition the team stayed in a villa near the Baltic coast and enjoyed some rest time so they were fresh for the competition.

Day 1 Qualification Race Hanny wins her Qualification Race!

The Australians did very well with four reaching the A Final Hanny Allston (25:13) had an excellent run taking 1st place in her qualifying race. Julian Dent (30:42) and Conrad Elson (29:30) finished 14th and 15th respectively. Julia Davies (29:16) also performed well finishing 18th. All were very happy with their runs and stoked about making the A Finals.

Dave Meyer (30:43) just missed out on qualifying for the A Final by 7 seconds. Lachlan Hallett (30:16) was in a very competitive heat and finished just 3:56 behind the winner but was placed 29th. Hanny Allston felt very happy with her run. She kept the legs simple and clean. Erin Post found the running hard as she battled the effects of a cold. Jasmine Neve found the short sharp hills tough and difficult to run fast. Lee Andrewartha (34:37) in his first competition outside Australia ran a creditable time.

Day 2 – Middle-Distance Finals – Hanny 12th in A Final

The annual Junior World Championships in foot Orienteering took place this year from July 4-11 in the Pomerania district of northern Poland, with the event centre in Gdansk. JWOC is for M20 & W20 classes (men & women 20 years of age and younger).

Events were contested by 296 athletes (140 women and 156 men) representing 35 countries, including all the orienteering nations in Europe and Scandinavia, and from much further afield such as Australia and Japan who both sent full teams of 6 men & 6 women.

The terrain was forest-covered moraine hills with many paths and tracks and, generally, very good runnability, so competition was fast and furious.

Team Manager Hilary Wood reports: 14 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

Intermittent sunny periods with cool temperatures made for great orienteering conditions. Top positions were hotly contested with place-getters coming from six different countries, showing the strength of Junior orienteering in Eastern Europe and Great Britain.

Two British girls just missed out on top places.

But the winners were Scandinavians. In Men’s A - Auden Bjerkreim Nilson (Norway) finished in 27:09 followed by Swiss Mathias Merz (27:34) (last year’s JWOC winner) and Lithuanian Simonas Krepsta (27:42). In Women’s A, Helena Jansson (Sweden) took first (28:59) followed by Radka Brozkova, Czech Republic, (30:08), and Finn AnniMaija Fincke (30:30).

Of the Australians, Hanny Allston had another excellent run finishing 12th in 32:53 (just 3:54 behind the winner). She said she would like to have done better but was very happy to have reached her goals of making the A Final and then being placed in the top 20.

She recorded fastest time on some of her splits, showing her potential to compete and succeed with the best. Julia Davies made some costly mistakes leaving her in 59th position.

Julian Dent finished 28th with 31:00 (3:51 off the pace). Conrad Elson finished 52nd, about 7 minutes off the pace. A reliable Aussie source reported the Norwegian Auden Bjerkiem Nilson as saying “to be a world champion you have to be crazy and I just run to have fun!!!” Well I guess that's right - they say when athletes are performing 'in the zone' they are enjoying it and everything feels right.

Day 3 – ‘Classic’ Long-Distance Race

Teams tend to put their best runners out last and Matthias Merz from Switzerland - last year’s 2nd placegetter in the “Classic” and winner of the 2004 Middle-Distance – was one of those with a late start. That made for a very exciting finish and the crowd roared as Merz appeared in the finish chute with just 30 seconds to take first place. The Swiss team urged him to sprint but he looked tired and seemed to amble in. It was just enough for he hit the line one second in front of Martin Johannson of Sweden.

Talking later to Merz (72:19) he said it was just a bit of luck to win by one second but he was very happy. Johannsson (72:20) had a very good race, coming home strongly after running off the map at the second control, costing him two minutes. He recovered and had the fastest splits towards the end of the race. Third place went to Lithuanian Simonas Kreptas (72:29) matching his third in the MiddleDistance race. The men’s course had lots of route choice and challenged the competitors to make quick decisions on whether to

AUSSIES OVERSEAS

JUNIOR WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPS

take straighter, more navigationally challenging, routes or longer track routes with not so much thinking required.

Silja Tarvonsen (Finland) convincingly won the women’s race in 59:51, nearly two minutes ahead of Swiss Veline Stalder (61:48) and British girl Alison O'Neil (62:22). O’Neill was very pleased with her run and put it down to the massages that kept her going over the week. Her main worry was how to get her lovely amber tree trophy home!

Again, plenty of route choice required quick decision-making on the run.

Of the Australians, Julian Dent was the top performer. He felt good at the end finishing 41st in 81:32 (9:13 behind the winner but ahead of Middle-Distance winner Audun Bjerkreim Nilson who ran

the drinks control, costing her dearly. Erin Post finished 116th. She made some big mistakes with route choice and navigation - not one she wants to remember.

Day 4 - Relays Hanny Allston third on first leg!

Hanny had a great run finishing third on her leg of the relay in a time of 37:44. Her team members Julia Davies (45:06) and Sophie Barker (47:30) also ran creditable times though not quite at the same level in the tough competition. Their team finished 16th in a field of 23 national teams. Hanny has gained new confidence in her ability to compete at the highest level. Julian Dent (45:30) also performed very well in the first

Julia Davies heads off on her relay leg.

Photo: Hilary Wood

H ayden Lebbink reaches the last control in the Short final.

Photo: Hilary Wood

Conrad Elson finishing the Middle Distance qualification.

Photo: Hilary Wood

leg of the men’s relay finishing 13th in a field 81:58). Hayden Lebbink in his first trip to JWOC came of 50 starters. There was 69th in 86:04, followed by David Meyer (86:24) in 72nd a problem at the second position. Lachlan Hallett (90:24) in 98th place found the (common) control where going tough and made a route choice mistake which took a crowd of runners its toll. Conrad Elson (100:38) and Lee Andrewartha gathered and jostled for the control. Julian tried (111:17) both found it physically hard, making route to get them to line up choice mistakes and losing contact with the map at times. but it was a bit of a ‘bun Three Australian men finished in the top half of the field. fight’.

The girls performed creditably with two finishing in In the Women’s relays the top half of their field. Sophie redeemed her mispunch the Scandinavian of the previous day where she failed to check a code and countries filled all three finished 53rd in 76:29. She felt a lot happier about her places, but the Czech run with no major errors apart from a poor route choice Republic gave a stunning costing her some time. Hanny Allston (77:04) in 59th performance coming 2nd place admitted she went out too hard, hitting the wall in in the men’s competition the middle of the race. She never quite recovered, feeling and 4th in the women’s.

Julian Dent, 13th fastest on his relay leg. very tired at the end. Time splits showed Hanny was The Swiss men’s team Photo: Hilary Wood winning the race up to the 6th control but then dropped finished 3rd. to 20th at control 7, recovered a little but continued to The Australian men’s lose time dropping to 38th position at control 13 and then 61st at team finished 24th overall and 18th in the official A team control 14. competition. The Womens team finished 22nd. Overall Australia Felicity Brown (81:43) finished 83rd followed by Jasmine Neve finished 16th as a nation out of a total of 35 competing nations.

(81:52) in 84th. Julia Davies was not far behind in 82:14 for 87th Nation results as follows: 1. Sweden, 2.Norway, 3. Finland. The place. Felicity admitted to making a 90-degree error coming out of runner-up nation was Czech Republic.

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 15

AUSSIES OVERSEAS

WORLD MASTERS ORIENTEERING CHAMPS

Asiago, on the southern slopes of the Dolomites in northern Italy, was the venue for this year's World Masters Orienteering Championships held from July 6 - 9. Forty Australians were among the 3,285 competitors entered for the various age classes, spaced at 5-year intervals from 35 up to 90 years old.

The programme for all competitors was two qualification races and a final. Competitors’ performances in the qualification races decided which of the A, B, C etc. finals for which each runner qualified. Only those who qualified for the A finals could become World Champion in their age class.

Alpine areas with fir tree forest and varied amounts of open ground typified the terrain used for both qualification and finals races. Day 1 offered forested steep slopes with stony and rocky areas, whilst Day 2 and the final were run on flatter terrain with a higher percentage of open ground but also more technical detail, especially on the finals day.

Paul Liggins (VIC) reports: 16 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

AUSSIES OVERSEAS

I

N early July, 3,285 geriatric orienteers abandoned their walking sticks and wheelchairs to compete in the annual World Masters Orienteering Championship. This included around 40 home-based Australians, plus a few ‘expats’ who have infiltrated foreign clubs.

The areas used around Asiago in northern Italy were 1200 to 1600 metres high and doubled as downhill and cross-country ski areas in winter. We were greeted by a large 'Kangaroo Hoppet' sign at the assembly area on day 1 and some of the deeper depressions still had snow in them. The region was also the venue for fierce fighting between Italian and Austrian forces in World War I. WMOC took its usual format with two qualifying races and a single day final. The top 80 competitors (or top 50% of the field where there were less than 160 competitors) made the A final, the next 80 in the B final etc. Reflecting the aging Orienteering population the 55’s and 60’s were by far the biggest classes.

The event kicked off with the traditional march and opening ceremony, watched by bemused Asiago shoppers. Highlights included the usual strained English interpretations, fortuitously brief welcomes by minor local dignitaries, and a hastily abandoned attempt by the compere to fire up the assembled septuagenarians by playing "We are the Champions" at 100 decibels.

Qualification day 1 was held in relatively steep terrain with a spattering of rock features and a reasonable track network. The second day and final were held on flatter terrain which had a section of intricate depressions and knolls created by glacial movements.

WORLD MASTERS ORIENTEERING CHAMPS From an Australian point of view the star of the qualification races was Darryl Erbacher, who finished second in his M60 heat and scored a coveted elite-runner bib for the final. In number of other Australian men made it through to the A final, including Ian Prosser in M40, ex-Kiwi Ted van Geldermalsen in M45, Hugh Moore and Robert Rapkins in M55 and Hermann Wehner in M80. Three ‘expats’ – Eddie Wymer, Donald Staudte and Michael Warlters - plus Paul Liggins made it to the A final in M35. Bob Allison surprisingly only made the C final in M55 while John Meeking suffered from mouth lacerations incurred while eating sharp-edged cornflakes for breakfast and only made the C final in M60.

Of the women Karen Staudte and Jeffa Lyon made the A final, with almost all the others slotting into the B. In the final the Australian star was Hermann Wehner who scored a bronze medal in M80, having clearly been taking it easy in the qualification races. France-based Eddie Wymer surpassed that with a silver medal in M35, only a matter of seconds behind the winner and ahead of hot favourite Stefano Maddelena who had easily won both qualification races. However Darryl Erbacher had a poor race by his high standards and only made it to 18th place.

All the other Aussie A finalists finished in the bottom half of their fields, with Hugh Moore, Paul Liggins, Ted van Geldermalsen and Jeffa Lyon doing the best.

Tony Whittaker won the battle of the Australians in the M50 C final with 22nd, and Lyn Stolze led the Australians in the W50 B final in 48th. Other notable performances were achieved by Bob Allison (5th in M55 C final) and Libby Meeking (5th in W55 C Final).

A number of ex-WOC medallists made the podium, with winners including Jorgen Martensson in M45, Urs Fluhmann in M40, Brigite Wolf in W35 and Alida Abola in W50.

Overall Sweden dominated the winners' circle taking M45, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85 and W 40, 60, 65, 70, 75 and 80. Only two champions from 2003 managed to repeat their success - Sweden's Birgit Lang in W65 and Finland's Erkki Lontamo moving up from M85 to M90 (where he was the only entrant).

The technical aspects of the competition - maps, courses etc were very good. The only blemishes were in areas such as parking and transport, which on the second qualification day left a bit to be desired. Cars were not permitted to go to the assembly area but the organisers provided too few buses and had nobody to control parking or queuing. As a result we were treated to the unedifying spectacle of Scandinavian grandmothers eye-gouging and applying half-nelsons in an attempt to queue jump and get to the start on time. For those who chose to walk the advertised 3.3km there were no signs or officials to indicate the way. As a result many people, myself included, actually walked 7.6km, which when combined with the 1km walk to the start, was more than enough of a warm up.

On the other hand, the formal banquet was by all accounts topclass, with about 10 courses of food, unlimited wine, and a hilltop venue with stunning views of the valley below.

If, like me, you're grey and wrinkly, next year’s WMOC will be held in Edmonton, Canada from 22 to 31 July. Check out www.wmoc2005. com

World War I relics.

Both the qualification races and final were held in areas that saw fierce fighting in World War I. In the first qualification race some hills were heavily carved out with trenches and bomb craters, creating interesting control locations. On the walk to the assembly area on the last two days competitors passed dozens of man-made one-contour hills with gun platforms still clearly visible.

Fighting in the area broke out in May 1916 when the Austrians attacked Italian lines. The front moved back and forth marginally over the next month with 11,000 lives lost and tens of thousands injured and displaced. Trench warfare continued until June 1918 when the Austrians made a last desperate attempt to gain ground, but were hampered by a troop rebellion. The Italians were poised to counter attack when Armistice was declared on 4 November.

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 17

AUSSIES OVERSEAS

BUSHRANGERS IN NEW ZEALAND

Bushrangers invade New Zealand T

HE Bushrangers is the Australia A team, an elite development squad for those runners on the verge of making the Australian Orienteering Team for the next World Championships. Special “Test” The Australian team after the final day at Woodhill: L-R: Jason McCrae (Coach), Craig Dufty, Rachel matches have been arranged for the West, Bruce Arthur, Kathryn Ewels, Ian Meyer, Robbie Preston, Reuben Smith, Simon Goddard, Hanny Australian Bushrangers against the New Allston, Orla Murray, Danielle Winslow and Anna Sheldon. Photo: Jill Smith (NZ) Zealand National Team. This year the first …… and from the New Zealand perspective Test matches were held in the sand dune forests surrounding Auckland in New Zealand.

The Bushrangers arrived in New Zealand keen and raring to have a crack at the Kiwis on their home turf in the sand dune forests around EW ZEALAND’S Queens Birthday weekend saw the locals play host Auckland. After some Friday-training, in the rain, in Woodhill forest, to the visiting Aussie Bushrangers team for the second time. As the ‘Bushies’ travelled next day an hour’s drive south of Auckland to with the first visit, the Kiwis ended up victorious over the three days map a named Kelland Road. The terrain was like nothing we have in of competition, but not before some of the Australians showed Australia - steep, lush, farmland in sand dune formations that fell (again) their competitiveness on New Zealand terrain. away steeply to the coast on its edge. While competitors could see a The Aussie women, led by strong performances from Hanny Allston long way the route choice was most challenging, the contour detail and Anna Sheldon, could claim a moral win after drawing with their intricate and the unique Kiwi-approach of not marking fences on the New Zealand counterparts over three days, a victory denied by a map meant you had to be on your toes. It was also pouring down rain. dominant NZ second day performance in coastal sand dunes. Allston The physical nature of the terrain held the female Bushrangers in and Sheldon were 1-2 on the first day, separated by a mere two good stead with Hanny Allston, Anna Sheldon, Danielle Winslow and seconds (the first of a remarkable number of close finishes) and Kathryn Ewels taking 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th respectively to give the pushing NZ’s top-ranked orienteer Tania Robinson down to third Bushrangers a comprehensive victory in the women’s Test match. A place. After a disappointing second day where NZ filled six of the top solid performance from Reuben Smith was not enough to carry our seven places, the Aussie women bounced back on the final day with men over the line with Chris Forne leading NZ to a strong opening Sheldon, Orla Murray, Danielle Winslow and Allston all finishing win. within a few minutes of the last day winner, Marquita Gelderman.

The 2nd day saw the competition move to the famed Woodhill Gelderman won overall, and took out the New Zealand domestic forest north of Auckland. Woodhill can be hard to describe to league title, which also concluded over the weekend. Like a good Australian orienteers simply because we have so little like it here. wine, Gelderman is getting better with age and despite a lack of Think of Pittwater Dunes in Hobart (Day 3 Easter, 1999) with denser physical training can continue to outperform her younger competitors. forest and combine that with sections of coastal terrain reminiscent She reminds the writer of a certain Melbourne bike shop owner who of Cantara Dunes in SA (Australian Champs, 1994). Then imagine you could also perform well in elite grade in his late 30’s on the back of are racing against a team that has orienteered there more often than experience and little else. you’ve had hot dinners and you get an idea of what the Bushrangers The Australian men were well beaten, although there were a few were up against. Despite the challenges our men improved on their individual highlights. Reuben Smith handled the first day well on a Day 1 result with Robbie Preston backing up from a sub-par first day physically demanding farmland map, finishing third while Robbie to produce a scintillating run, winning the men’s class. Young gun’s Preston showed his technical ability with a win and a fourth in the Ian Meyer and Simon Goddard also improved greatly. The women sand dune forest. Overall, Preston was the best of the visitors Bushrangers were not as successful as on Day 1 with only Hanny finishing sixth, 13 minutes down on winner and NZ’s top-ranked Allston expressing some satisfaction with her run. We were, however, orienteer Chris Forne. Full results can be found on the Auckland getting used to the rain.

Orienteering Club’s website – follow the link from www.nzorienteering.

The final day was also at Woodhill and the Bushrangers, as is the com. purpose of the team, improved. The women led the way again taking Australia will have a chance for revenge in the return leg during 2nd (Anna Sheldon), 3rd (Orla Murray), 4th (Danielle Winslow), 5th the upcoming Australian Championship carnival.

(Hanny Allston) and 7th (Kathryn Ewels) to take their Test match The NZ team is: Men: Darren Ashmore, James Bradshaw, Karl comprehensively. This was a great achievement, particularly in Dravitzki, Chris Forne, Rob Jessop, Neil Kerrison. Women: Marquita Woodhill. Victory eluded us again in the men’s Test however another Gelderman, Penny Kane, Amber Morrison, Claire Paterson, Tania good run by Robbie Preston and Simon Goddard and Ian Meyer, Robinson, Rebecca Smith maintaining their gains of the previous day, were encouraging signs.

It also stopped raining for the presentation which was nice.

World MTB-O team named Overall the trip was a resounding success. Although we did not Another team is also invading Aussie shores. With the World return with the Key-Aspin trophy our women managed to tie their MTB-O Championships in the lucky country, NZ has selected a large series against the Kiwis and all Bushrangers gained greatly in terms team after the NZ MTB-O Championships, held recently in Waiuku of international experience and knowledge. We look forward to the Forest (near Auckland). The men will be led by Stu Lynch and Phil next Test matches at the Grapes of Rock carnival in NSW in September Wood, consistently the best MTB-O riders here over the past two where, hopefully, the Bushrangers will teach the NZ team a thing or years, while the women’s team features the selection of remarkable two about orienteering in rock. Oh, and when we flew out it was veteran Di Michels, who proved her worth by winning both open titles raining. at Waiuku.

Jason McCrae, Coach/Manager, Bushranger Team Rob Crawford

Bushrangers Bushwhacked

N

18 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

AUSSIES OVERSEAS

World Rogaining Championship May 2004: Big Lake, Arizona, USA David Rowlands The smiles looked familiar immediately. Who would you expect to meet 1500m below the rim of the Grand Canyon a week before a World Rogaining Championship on the other side of the world? Geoff Lawford and Rod Gray had been in Arizona training for weeks, like many competitors who realised the value of acclimatisation, while enjoying a unique holiday experience amongst the world famous geological sights like Monument Valley and Sedona.

I

was again teamed with the evergreen Greg Barbour. Based in The Hague with Shell, he was as usual in the midst of negotiating a billion dollar deal, this time with a Russian oil company, while in his spare time planning strategy for the largest Macadamia farm in New Zealand and a booming property development business. At 40+ he continues to represent New Zealand in Orienteering, Mountain Biking and even Ski-O world championships.

The World Rogaining Championship is held every two years, rotating between Australia, Europe and North America. With the largest rogaining population outside Australia, and regular events since 1989 sponsored by United States Orienteering Federation, it was no surprise that 394 competitors enjoyed a superb event capably planned by Tucson Orienteering Club. The serious business for us was that this could be a third consecutive world title, which would be unprecedented.

After the 40-degree heat of the 1998 world championship in Canada, USA produced a unique rogaine held at an elevation of 2700 metres. Arizona is in the grip of a nine-year drought, like Australia, with the location chosen to avoid potential fire danger. The start at Big Lake, in the White Mountains near the New Mexico border, was covered in a blanket of snow only a week before, but by event day only a few drifts remained. Competitors enjoyed a picturesque 300 square kilometres of varied terrain: from rocky alpine grassland, to open ponderosa and fir forest, lakes, and a few steep gorges.

The 1:40,000 map scale with 6 metre contours was field worked extensively to accurately represent forest boundaries and the abundance of small tracks. Navigation was rather straightforward due to the broad contour features, many attack points and catching features. There were 64 checkpoints ranging from 30 to 90 points in value, with the winners bagging 55 of them.

Rogaining is a meeting ground of orienteers, adventure racers, trail and ultra runners. History has favoured experience (usually meaning Australians), navigational skill (usually orienteers), or a home ground advantage. But in a relatively immature sport beware the dark horse. In past years, the adventure racers had gained a reputation for “all the gear but no idea”. Perhaps due to the altitude and an easy navigation course the event was won by an adventure racing team from the mountains of Colorado. What did surprise was that this was their first rogaine event.

WORLD ROGAINING CHAMPIONSHIPS The Australian highlights were Geoff and Rod’s third place in the Veterans section and ninth overall. Julie Quinn, who with Kay Haarsma won the Womens title in Czech Republic in 2002, returned to win the Mixed section with David Baldwin, placing eighth overall.

Baby boomers Derek Morris and Ted Van Geldermalsen were standouts with a fantastic fourth overall and second Veterans. Greg and I really felt our age (or the altitude) and hung on for second place by a small margin. The highlight for us was being asked to present our route and tactics on a huge map to a large gathering of fanatical USA rogainers, including the course setters. Someone came up to Greg afterwards and said she learned more from that 45 minutes than from 10 years of rogaining.

The next World Rogaining Championship will be in New South Wales, Australia in mid-October 2006.

Top Results 1. Mike Kloser, Michael Tobin (USA) 3490 points 2. Greg Barbour (NZL), David Rowlands (AUS) 3410, First Veteran 3. Petr Boránek, Miroslav Seidl (CZE) 3240 4. Derek Morris, Ted Van Geldermalsen (AUS) 3190, Second Veteran 5. David Frei, Blake Wood (USA) 3050 6. Todd Holmes, Mikell Platt, Jason Poole (USA) 3040 7. Eric Bone, Vladimir Gusiatnikov (USA) 3000 8. David Baldwin, Julie Quinn (AUS) 2930, First Mixed 9. Rod Gray, Geoff Lawford (AUS) 2830, Third Veteran 10. Trevor Baine, Scott Pennell (CAN) 2820 22. Peter Gagarin, Fred Pilon (USA) 2470, First Super Veteran Men 55. Victoria Campbell, Jennifer Knowles (USA) 2020, First Women 70. Sharon Crawford (USA), Robin Spriggs (AUS), First Super Veteran Women

Subscribe now in Australia Dramatic top-event stories World-class instructions Independent investigations 2-year experience 7 x 52 pages (36 in COLOUR) $98 for seven issues Contact: The Australian Orienteer PO Box 294, Black Rock, Vic. 3193

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 19

FEATURE

Motherhood doesn’t slow Elite women

will be enough to win a medal, but I don’t have any specific goal in terms of results.”

Karolina feels that having the World Championships in her home country Sweden gives her that little bit extra inspiration and motivation to do well.

“My original comeback plan was to return to form for the World Championships this September. I hadn’t thought that I would be able run as well as I did last year”, she said.

Motherhood improved her approach to Orienteering

Back with a daughter in her arms

(Article by Erik Borg from IOF O-Zine June’04)

W

HEN Swedish orienteer Karolina Arewång Højsgaard (33yo) returned to the sport after giving birth to her son Oscar, she suddenly became one of the best orienteers in the world.

Her sporting performances had greatly improved as a result of becoming a mother.

Says Karolina “I received a major boost, both mentally and physically, almost immediately after giving birth”.

Oscar was born on 11 July, 2002. His mother had her best ever season in 2003. She won silver medals at the World Championships in Switzerland in the women’s relay and in the Long Distance race. Her success came when sport was no longer as important for her as before.

“Previously, I had felt that Orienteering meant everything and I put a lot of pressure on myself. If I got good results, I felt that everyone liked me. If I didn’t, then the world fell apart for me. Now I race because I enjoy Orienteering so much. My relationship to Orienteering has become more relaxed. In terms of physical training I don’t train as much as before but the training is high quality. In the years before Oscar was born I had many small injuries whereas now I haven’t had any injuries of any kind. This is probably the explanation for my physical improvement, not the fact that I have actually given birth”, adds Karolina.

Not able to plan everything

How difficult is it to combine the roles of being the mother of a small child and a top athlete?

“The different roles go well together, but it’s not possible to plan everything. If Oscar is ill and has, for example, been coughing all night and it has not been possible to sleep, it might be necessary to skip training the next day, but being a mother is so fantastic. It gives me so much and gives balance to my life”, she smiles.

Oscar is a lively toddler who is always moving around. With two so-active orienteering parents (his father Thomas is an ex-Danish international team member) it is perhaps no surprise where Oscar likes to be most – outdoors.

“He is an outdoors person – he wants to be outside the whole time.

If he is not ill, then he sleeps the whole night”, adds his mother.

No longer working

Karolina plans to combine her two roles of mother and elite athlete until the World Championships this year in Sweden. She worked part-time until this (northern) summer. Oscar was looked after by a childminder when she was working. When she was not working Oscar and Karolina were always together, so that she had to train in the evening when her husband Thomas was at home.

“It was quite a job to get everything to go together”, said Karolina.

The perfect race

What is your goal for the World Championships?

“I want to run the perfect race. I want to be able to say at the finish that I could not have run any better in any way. I hope that 20 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

I

N the beginning of August last year Vroni König-Salmi (Switzerland) took bronze at the World Championships while two months pregnant. Now, Sini is in her arms at championship events - at least when Vroni isn’t running.

The recent European Championships and World Cup events in Denmark last July weren’t in Vroni’s plans, but she did well at the trials in Switzerland and qualified.

“I decided to see what I could do in Denmark, but my main goal is to get in as good a shape as possible for the WOC in Västerås, Sweden. I want to feel the competition air again”, she smiles.

Her husband Janne Salmi was at home in Finland with daughter Miia while Vroni’s oldest daughter Selina travelled with her to Denmark. ”Selina took care of Sini while I was running”, Vroni says.

Sini was born on February 25th, about six and a half months after Vroni’s performance at WOC2003 in her home country, Switzerland.

Sini is a kind daughter and her mother has done an incredibly fast comeback to elite sport. Still, it is only six months since the birth.

AUSTRALIA’S top-ranked female orienteer is also a mother. Natasha Key is ranked 36th in the world and is a mother of two.

She is Australian Middle Distance Champion for 2004 having won the event at The Cascades, near Stanthorpe (Qld) last April.

She says “After having son Aston four years ago I did come back quite rapidly and was competing at my best again some 4 – 5 months later. I seemed to be physically stronger even though I was doing only half as much training. Jensen came along 18 months ago and I haven’t taken part in much competition since. But I still seem to be able to string it together on the day.”

She added, “There doesn’t seem to be any published advice for athletes on how to come back to competition after child-birth. It’s all left to the individual to find how to do it. Now, I’m running quite well and aiming particularly at the Sprint in Sweden. It’s so short and fast that if I can get it all together on the day I should do well.”

Natasha will represent Australia at the World Championships in Sweden this month and, of course, husband Warren and the children will be right there to cheer her on. We wish her well, along with the rest of the team.

You’ll fly, with a Silva Jet! “It’s not by chance that the world’s best orienteers run with a SILVA Jet compass.” says Grant Bluett who runs with a Silva 6 Jet Spectra

SILVA 6 JET SPECTRA

For competitive orienteers who prefer the ultimate in thumb compasses. Features the broad fluorescent Jet needle and the unique time saving ‘Spectra’ colour coded ring. Elastic thumb strap and rubber pad for a safe and sure grip. Map scales in 1:10,000 and 1:15,000.

Available in left and right hand models. $134 from your local O-gear shop at events.

SILVA 5 JET

Features a scratch resistant ‘comfort-fit’ curved back-end baseplate and the unique fluorescent red/white, broad Jet needle. Easy-to-grip housing with enlarged dial. Detachable map scales in 1:15,000 and 1:10,000 and silicon baseplate feet to prevent unintentional slipping on maps. $129 from your local O-gear shop at events.

SILVA 1S JET

Same high-performance Jet needle as in above model. Large magnifying lens in baseplate for enlarging fine map detail. Other features as in 5 Jet. $140 from your local O-gear shop at events.

Buy yourself a Jet at the next event

Photo: Tore Myrberg

JET compasses have the unique super-fast “Rare Earth” broad magnetic needle for the fastest settling and stability when running over rough terrain. Guaranteed to save precious seconds every time you check your bearing.

WOC2005

World Orienteering Championships preview Sweden will host this year's World Orienteering Championships, which will take place in the Västerås region west of Stockholm from 11th - 19th September.

The program comprises qualification races and finals in the four foot Orienteering disciplines of Sprint, Middle Distance, Long Distance and Relay. Organisers predict some 15,000 paying spectators will attend the various events. There will be races for spectators in which participants will run on the championship maps and on some of the legs from the championship courses.

I

N the women’s competition Simone Niggli-Luder (Switzerland) has the best credentials to take the title of World Champion for a second successive year in all three disciplines, though intense competition will again come from Karolina Hojsgaard (Sweden) who seems to be peaking at just the right time.

Others predicted to challenge for the title are Jenny Johansson (Sweden), Heli Jukkola (Finland) and Hanne Staff (Norway).

At WOC2003 in her home country, Simone Niggli-Luder won everything possible – gold in all three distances and also the relay. “This year I will be fighting for medals, though it will be almost impossible to repeat last year’s amazing Can Switzerland’s Simone Niggliresults,” she says.

Luder add to her four gold medals Her performances in won at last year’s WOC? Switzerland generated great attention. By the end of the WOC week Simone could be seen on advertising posters throughout the country and gained extensive press coverage. Later in the year she was awarded the title of Swiss Sportswoman of the Year.

22 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

Amongst the men, Thierry Gueorgiou (France) will be closely challenged by Jarkko Huovila (Finland), Yuri Omeltchenko (Ukraine), and the Norwegian trio of Bjørnar Valstad, Holger Hott Johansen and Øystein Kristiansen with Jamie Stevenson (Great Britain) perhaps the surprise packet at the longer distances following his win in the Sprint last year.

Thierry Gueorgiou was the first French man to win an individual WOC title last year.

In the month following his win in the Medium Distance race he was invited to meet the French President, Jacques Chirac. Now, Thierry is aiming to meet the President again. The title has changed his approach to Orienteering. “I have more confidence in my skills and ability. Now, when I stand on the starting line I am really relaxed”, he says.

“I am aiming to compete in both the Middle and Long Distance races in Sweden. I’m not so interested in the Sprint.

My goals in Västerås are to run Thierry Gueorgiou (France) won the perfect races, not to focus on Middle Distance gold last year. medals”, Thierry asserts. He has spent nearly two months in Sweden getting accustomed to the terrain and maps. He also spends time playing the computer game “Catching Features” which he says helps improve his map memory skills.

Jamie Stephenson was the first British man to win a WOC gold medal. Unlike the Swiss response to Simone Luder’s wins last year, Stephenson’s title has not really gained much attention in the U.K. Recently, he has been training in South Africa. He asserts, “Seeking new surroundings and terrain is vital to our sport. Orienteering is about navigating in unknown terrain. As soon as you master one type of terrain, it’s time to seek new terrain challenges in order to develop as an orienteer.”

Jamie Stephenson winning gold in the Sprint event last year.

The Australian Team for WOC2005 is: Women: Jo Allison (ACT) Hanny Allston (Tas) Allison Jones (ACT) Natasha Key (VIC) The first World Trail Orienteering Danielle Winslow (Tas) Championships will be held at the Men: same venue, with competitions on Grant Bluett (ACT) the 16th & 17th September. Trail David Brickhill-Jones (Tas) Orienteering is a version of the Troy de Haas (VIC) sport created to provide full Eric Morris (NSW) competition opportunities for the Tom Quayle (ACT) disabled.

David Shepherd (ACT) Manager is Christine Brown (Tas) and Coach is Jim Russell (VIC).

O X FA M T R A I LWA L K E R

Aussies beat Gurkhas in 100km Classic

by Mark Phillips A team of orienteers has beaten the crack Queen’s Gurkhas Signals Regiment to win the Oxfam Trailwalker 2004, held this year in mountain country east of Melbourne. On Friday 26th March, 340 teams lined up for this challenging endurance fundraising event. Teams of four must race together (not in relay) to complete a 100km. course through bush terrain in less than 48 hours. For the serious teams there was little walking and a lot of gruelling running ahead.

T

HE event originated in Hong Kong in 1981 as a military training exercise for the Gurkhas Regiment and to raise funds for Oxfam Community Aid Abroad. For this year’s event near Melbourne, a group of Orienteers formed a team named “Groin Sprains Again” to challenge the might of the visiting Gurkhas. Champion marathon runner and Orienteer Peter Mitchell joined Sydney ultra-runner Damon Goerke, mountain runner and Orienteer Mark Phillips and Nigel Aylott, ultra endurance athlete and World Rogaining champion.

Various other teams contained many local orienteers.

Commencing at Jells Park in Melbourne’s east, the route wound through Churchill Park, Lysterfield Lake, north to Belgrave and Ferntree Gully, up the famous Thousand Steps and through the Dandenong Ranges National Park via Sassafras, Olinda, Silvan and Mt. Evelyn. Much of this route was across existing Orienteering maps giving local orienteers some confidence in knowing their position.

Next was the Lilydale-Warburton Rail Trail, through the Yarra Valley to Warburton and finally up Mt. Donna Buang to the finish on the summit. A scenic but very challenging course.

The Gurkhas began very fast through the suburban parklands and quickly disappeared from sight. “Groin Sprains Again” settled into a more conservative pace and soon found themselves in second place, a position they maintained for many hours until near the 75km. point at Woori Yallock. Suddenly the Gurkhas team appeared up ahead.

They seemed to be suffering from their early fast pace and the heat of the day. It wasn’t long before our Orienteering heros overtook them and raced into the lead.

NORWAY • SWEDEN • SCOTLAND

The winning “Groin Sprains Again” Oxfam team: Peter Mitchell, Mark Phillips, Nigel Aylott and Damon Goerke The excitement of taking the lead over of the famous Gurkhas – known for their toughness and endurance – pumped energy to the legs of the weary “Groin Sprains Again”, carrying them at a fast pace to Warburton and then up the mountain. With one kilometer to go the team realized they were a chance to break the 12-hour barrier, a feat not achieved before by an Australian team. They sprinted on pure adrenalin to the finish line in a time of 11 hours 59 minutes 41 seconds, becoming the first Australian team to break the magic 12 hours. The Gurkhas came second in a time of 13 hours 34 minutes promising to return next year to win back their title.

As a result of their impressive win, the “Groin Sprains Again” have been invited to race in the Hong Kong Trailwalker event this November, an event three times the size of that in Melbourne. The course will be around the country parks of the New Territories where APOC events have been held. The team will be sponsored by Asia Miles and will start with the first wave of elite teams. They are looking forward to this next challenge and will be proud to represent Oxfam Australia.

NEW ZEALAND

ORIENTEERING TOUR 2005

Orienteering Tour – January 2005

Unni and Neil Lewis are organising an escorted orienteering tour in 2005.

Unni and Neil Lewis are organising an escorted tour incorporating the Oceania Orienteering Event near Auckland in January 2005.

We will be travelling in a small bus and camping and cooking for ourselves for approx 6 weeks. The trip will include Norway's Sørlandsgaloppen, Swedish 5 day and Scottish 6 Day. The tour also will include several permanent orienteering events, walks, museums, castles, fjord cruise and other spectacular tourist sights and experiences.

We will be a maximum of 12 orienteers so register your interest now and further details will be sent to you.

Unni and Neil Lewis, 58 Pah Rd, Howick, Auckland, New Zealand ph/fax: (access code) 64 9 5345625 email:unni.neil@xtra.co.nz

We will be travelling in a small bus, camping and cooking for ourselves for approx 3 weeks.

The trip will include the 8 O Events, a tour north to the Bay of Islands, Cape Reinga,(vineyards, dolphins, boat trip etc) and south to Waitomo, Rotorua, Taupo (caving, canoeing, thermal wonderland, volcanoes) and other spectacular tourist sights and experiences.

There will be limited numbers so register your interest immediately and further details will be sent to you.

Unni and Neil Lewis, 58 Pah Rd, Howick, Auckland, New Zealand ph/fax: (access code) 64 9 5345625 email:unni.neil@xtra.co.nz

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 23

PREVIEW

SnowE2005 The 2005 Australian 3-Days Jindabyne NSW

T

HE organisers of SnowE2005, the 2005 Australian 3-Days, are aiming to provide a complete Orienteering experience. The decision to stage the carnival outside of Canberra was based on a survey conducted during Easter 2002 that confirmed most inter-State visitors would prefer a change from Canberra and a positive attitude towards Jindabyne.

Jindabyne Sport & Recreation Centre will be the Event Centre and the venue for all events on Day Zero, Good Friday. While there will not be a warm up event as such, organisers are confident all orienteers will find something in one of the four events to suit their needs, starting with the Elite Prologue, the Slologue, the Family and Open Medley Relays or the Open MiddleDistance Relay, which will be a mass start event based on the middledistance course of the medley relay. The organisers will assist with forming teams for either of the Open relays. All Day Zero competitors will go into a barrel draw for ten prizes. They do not have to be present at the draw.

Results with splits and maps with winners’ routes will be on display each evening at the Event Centre.

Alex Tarr is preparing all maps so competitors on Day Zero will get a feel for his mapping, as most courses will take in the variety of granite that will be a feature of the whole weekend. Alex Tarr has said that the venues for SnowE2005 will be the most technically difficult since Big Badja in 1989, but there will still be plenty of options for easier courses.

Day 1 will be north of Berridale, less than 60 kms from Jindabyne and about 30 kms from Cooma, for those who will not arrive on Good Friday. Days 2 and 3 will be at the Buckenderra Holiday Village, 60 kms from Jindabyne.

Sophie Barker (ACT) competing in Poland at JWOC.

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 25

COACHING

Measuring training performance with a heart rate monitor Nigel Davies The aim of this article is to assist the orienteer in achieving maximum athletic performance from available training time. The reader is assumed to be in good health and familiar with basic training principles such as warm up, stretching and cool down.

Part Two in a series. Also see “Measuring performance with a heart rate monitor”, June 2004.

THE goal of every competitive orienteer is to optimise training so that maximum athletic performance potential is achieved. This is difficult enough for the full-time athlete with unlimited training time and a professional coach and harder still for the amateur, who has to fit limited training time around family and work responsibilities.

OK – you are in your running gear, the weather is clement and you have an hour in which to train. Where are you going to run? How far and how fast will you run? Will you run at a constant pace or vary your pace? Will you run hills or flat and fast?

Somewhere in this infinite range of possibilities is the right combination of training sessions for your athletic goals, but which is it, and what guidelines can we use to identify it? There are two common errors in planning training, either of which can prevent athletes from reaching their potential:

increases in intensity so that, over time, we are able to work harder for longer.

There are several guidelines for optimising training intensity by using periodicity (and it should be noted that these are only guidelines, and may not apply equally to every athlete): • Increases in total exertion from week to week should be in the 5% range (see below for a discussion of exertion). However if we increased exertion by 5% every week then by the 52nd week we would be completing eight times more work than in the first week – if we survived that long. To avoid overtraining, schedule an easy week every three weeks – three steps forwards and one step backwards. Your ability to assimilate substantial increases in exertion will also depend on current proximity to your personal limits. Someone starting from a low base may be able to achieve an increase in weekly exertion of 100% or more over one year while an increase of this magnitude may not be achievable by someone who is already training at a high level.

• Schedule an easy day every week, an easy week every month and an easy month every year. As we age, the frequency of easy sessions should be increased as recovery becomes slower. At age 54 I find that performance seems to benefit more from two easy days a week and an easy week every second week.

• The same type of high intensity training session should not be repeated on successive days. You have just broken the one hour mark for 1,000 metres of ascent up Mt Wellington – congratulations! Flushed with success, do you attempt to repeat the achievement on the following day? No, take a weak cup of tea with an aspirin and enjoy a rest day instead.

• Don’t do too much training at a high intensity – heart rate should not exceed anaerobic threshold for more than 20% of total training time over an extended period. Build a training pyramid with a wide base of aerobic exercise at the beginning of the year and later in the year you will be able to complete longer and harder anaerobic sessions as you prepare for championship events.

The best way to track periodicity is to keep a training diary. The writer has done this for several years – for the last 12 months by using the Polar training diary software. A heart rate monitor is worn for each training session and the results downloaded to a computer.

The diary for a typical month is shown in Figure 1.

1. Training is performed at the wrong intensity. We either train with insufficient intensity to improve performance or we train with too much intensity and become sick, and; 2. We do the same type of training every session and fail to develop one or more of the essential physical qualities required for orienteering – endurance, speed, hill climbing ability and so on.

This article describes how a heart rate monitor can be used to assist in training at the optimum intensity and with the right mix of sessions.

Training at optimum intensity Periodicity

Periodicity describes the process of exercising at an appropriate intensity to stress the system a little beyond previous limits and then allowing sufficient recovery time for the body to adapt to the stress and achieve an improvement in performance. This process is repeated with gradual 26 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

Figure 1: Training diary: Training diary software makes it easier to monitor the frequency of sessions. Different sports and types of training session are automatically colour coded and performance statistics maintained. In the right margin is a summary of each week, showing number of sessions, total training time and total distance. A histogram showing the proportion of training time spent in different heart rate ranges helps maintain the right balance of intensity.

COACHING Exertion

Ideally we should not increase total exertion by more than 5% from week to week – but how do we measure this? We cannot use total training time as a measure for the following reasons: • Five minutes running at race pace is approximately six times more stressful than five minutes running at long slow distance pace.

• Long slow distance runs that exceed two hours stress the system 50% more than similar runs of less than two hours.

• Race pace runs longer than one hour stress the system 20% more than race pace runs of less than one hour.

• Exercising for the same period of time at the same heart rate in different sports creates different amounts of stress. This is due to the varying muscle mass used by different sports and the extent to which the sport resists gravity (cross country skiing and rowing are more stressful than running which is more stressful than cycling and so on).

The Polar training diary software compensates for these issues by converting exercise at any intensity and in any sport to a single ‘exertion’ figure. This information can be graphed and used to plan training loads. A graph of weekly exertion over a twelve month period is shown in Figure 2.

Maintaining different types of training

Orienteering stresses several different energy pathways – each of these needs to be developed to an appropriate level: • We need endurance to be able to run for up to 90 minutes.

This is developed by long slow distance training with a one to two hour run each week at about 70% of maximum heart rate.

• We need sustained speed to be able to run for extended periods at a high percentage of maximum heart rate. This is developed by running at anaerobic threshold pace (uncomfortable but sustainable) for up to 60 minutes and by short recovery interval training at 90% of maximum effort over distances of 300 – 1500 metres.

• We need to maintain and raise maximum effort so that 90% of a higher maximum effort results in a faster sustainable running speed. This is achieved by training at VO2 max pace (decidedly uncomfortable and sustainable for no longer than 10 - 12 minutes) and by long recovery interval training at up to 100% of maximum effort.

• We need to be able to run strongly up hills. This is achieved by running long and short hill intervals at either anaerobic threshold or VO2 max pace.

The Polar training diary software can be used to produce a number of customisable graphs that help the athlete review training patterns. This is illustrated in simplified form in Figure 3.

Summary

This article describes how a heart rate monitor and training diary software can be used to balance the intensity and frequency of different types of training to help achieve optimum performance from available training time.

Figure 2: Exertion: Training in the first half of the year (A) was not successful as weekly training loads were increased too rapidly. Some over-long runs (Mt Anne Circuit, Cathedral Mt Circuit) resulted in three periods of extended fatigue and enforced recovery.

Training in the second half of the year (B) was more successful, with gradual increments in training loads leading up the Easter events. The only blemish in this period was in January (C) when six successive days of orienteering races in New Zealand were followed by running the Kepler Track (68km). Had the writer acknowledged the established precedent of resting on the seventh day, then perhaps two weeks of training would not have been lost to illness.

Nigel Davies lives in Launceston, Tasmania, where he is a member of Esk Valley Orienteering Club.

When not running in the bush he runs an IT training and consulting company. He has represented Australia at orienteering and duathlon and the United Kingdom at gymnastics.

Figure 3: running distance per week v average heart rate per session: This graph displays total weekly running distance (the columns) and average heart rate for each running session (the line). The goal is to keep the average heart rate line spiking up at an appropriate frequency to maintain race performance. A, B and C mark periods when there were no high heart rate sessions for up to six weeks, causing a deterioration in race performance. Similar graphs are used to track the frequency and duration of other markers, such as long slow distance runs and hill runs.

His ambition is to beat Hugh Moore (ACT) in the M100 class at the Australian Championships of 2050.

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 27

Australi an Midd le Distanc e C ham pionships 2004 – Th e C a s ca d es Nort h – 1:10 000

M21E 4.6 km 165 m time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Finish 1. Julian Dent ––––– 30:22 1:27 4:08 6:08 8:18 9:54 12:58 14:19 18:58 26:57 28:21 30:00 30:22 1:27 2:41 2:00 2:10 1:36 3:04 1:21 4:39 7:59 1:24 1:39 0:22 2. David Shepherd - - - - - - 30:53 1:47 4:11 7:19 9:29 11:29 14:14 15:31 20:06 27:42 29:10 30:35 30:53 1:47 2:24 3:08 2:10 2:00 2:45 1:21 4:31 7:36 1:28 1:25 0:18

W21E 3.7 km 160 m time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Finish 1. Natasha Key ––––– 31:29 2:10 5:59 8:10 12:00 17:44 19:49 29:05 31:07 31:29 2:10 3:49 2:11 3:50 5:44 2:05 9:16 2:02 0:22 2. Nicki Taws - - - - - - 32:34 2:10 5:18 8:20 13:06 18:53 21:16 29:57 32:08 32:34 2:10 3:08 3:02 4:46 5:47 2:23 8:41 2:11 0:26

28 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

COMPETITION

Australian Middle Distance Championships Stanthorpe, Queensland – 16 April 2004

by Liz Bourne (Qld) This year’s Australian Middle Distance Championships were conducted in Amiens Forest outside Stanthorpe, situated approximately 240km south west of Brisbane.

The Championships were held as part of the Australian 3-Day Orienteering Carnival, a series of nine events from 9 – 17 April which were organised by the Queensland Orienteering Association. More than 410 orienteers from throughout Australia and New Zealand took part in the Middle Distance Championships.

T

HE map used for the event, The Cascades, was first produced for the Asia-Pacific Orienteering Championships in July 2000 by leading mapper, Eric Andrews, who lives just 5km south of the area. It covers an area of 16 sq km of granite country, typified by complex boulder clusters and large areas of bare rock slabs, interspersed with heathlands and eucalypt forest in undulating to steep terrain.

Due to the complex nature of the area, it took Eric 600 hours of fieldwork and 200 hours of cartography to produce the map.

Eric was also the course setter for the Championships while British orienteer, Jon Sutcliffe, was the controller and IOF advisor.

The Middle Distance Championships were conducted on the northern section of The Cascades which contains some of the more complex rock areas and most diverse vegetation. Both the Men’s and Women’s elite courses proved a real technical challenge to those not familiar with granite terrain with their first legs taking them immediately into an area of large boulders and cliffs where fine navigation techniques were essential. As the Championships were part of a series of National Orienteering League competitions for Australia’s elite competitors as well as being used as a selection race for the World Championships team, it attracted a top field with some even returning from their training bases in Sweden to participate.

Up and coming junior, Julian Dent, a 19 year old student from NSW, took out first place in the 4.6km Men’s Elite event in a time of 30:22, just ahead of Dave Shepherd of the ACT in 30:53, with Stewart Fishwick, also from the ACT, placed third in 35:03. Julian had a virtually fault-free run until the final leg when he visited the wrong boulder on his approach to the finish. However, this mistake was not enough to cost him the top place in the race and he was subsequently selected as part of the Australian team for the Junior World Championships (JWOC).

L eft: Tash Key winner of the Middle Distance Champs at Stanthorpe, while Junior, Julian Dent (above) won the Men’s elite class.

In the 3.7km Women’s Elite race, the experience of two former Australian WOC team members came to the fore, with Victorian Natasha Key finishing in first place in a time of 31:29 with Nicki Taws (ACT) in second place in a time of 32:34. Danielle Winslow of Tasmania was placed third with a time of 33:03. Natasha and Danielle were both subsequently included in the Australian WOC team.

2004 Australian Championships Preview Some of Australia’s top orienteers will be back from the World Championships just in time for “The Grapes of Rock Tour” - our Australian Championships Carnival to be held from 25th September to 3rd October in the Mudgee to Orange region of NSW. Will they be able to peak again so soon after WOC? Who will emerge to challenge them? We’ll soon know.

Orienteers who have entered the Carnival may not be aware that they’ll be heading into Frank Gardner country for the Australian Championships. This bushranger was a national celebrity in his own time and pulled off the biggest gold robbery of colonial times - $4million in today’s money.

After a couple of spells in prison he actually moved to California where he ran a saloon before marrying a rich widow and retiring to a ranch. In 1912, two young Americans were in the district digging on top of Wheogo Hill.

Rumour has it that they were his sons digging up buried treasure.

One of his hideouts was Eugowra Rocks. A few years ago we ran on a map named Gardiner's Lookout which was somewhere near Cootamundra.

For further reading before or during the “The Grapes of Rock Tour” look for "Frank Gardiner - Bushranger to Businessman (1830-1904)”, by Alec Morrison, published by Wiley in 2003.

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 29

NUTRITION

Fad diets – beware low carbohydrate regimes Gillian Woodward It is that time of year again when you take off a few layers of winter clothing to expose your white flesh to the milder conditions. Are you disappointed that about the amount of extra flab hanging over the belt of your summer jeans? I hope you are not going to embark on one of the many fad diets that have pervaded the media, especially women’s magazines, in recent months.

O

ne of the worst for athletes in training, or anyone who is active for that matter, has to be the high protein, low carbohydrate diet.

Call it what you like – Atkins Diet Revolution, Sugar Busters, Scarsdale, Protein Power, Slim Forever – they all promote the same theme. Eat as much protein and fat as you can, but avoid carbohydrates at all costs.

We need carbohydrates

To a sports dietitian or exercise physiologist, this avoidance of carbohydrate goes completely against the grain. After all, carbohydrate is our major supply of readily available energy, being stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. When these stores are depleted, we feel lethargic, fatigued and generally unable to exercise with the usual power. Our bodies need at least 100 g of carbohydrate per day (and much more if we are active) to stop us burning more valuable nutrients for a supply of glucose (like muscle protein). But athletes who train for an hour or two a day, need much more than this – more like 5-8 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight. For a 70 kg athlete, that amounts to at least 350-560 grams per day! A far cry from the 20-90 grams per day promoted by many of the high protein, low carbohydrate diets.

Side effects

Side effects of long term high protein diets can include fatigue, headaches, bad breath, loss of lean body mass (muscle tissue), constipation, nausea and ketosis. Losing muscle mass puts you at a particular disadvantage, as muscle burns energy at a much greater rate than fat. This is why when you go back to eating a more balanced diet, you can gain weight easily, because you now have a lower muscle to fat ratio.

If you do embark on a low carbohydrate diet, you are instructed to avoid or at least severely restrict most of the basic food groups. All bread and cereals, biscuits, pastas, rice, fruit, starchy vegetables (potato, corn, pumpkin, peas), legumes, milk, yoghurt and soymilk products are off limits. Also of course there would be no sugar, jam, honey, fruit juices, sports drinks or soft drinks of any kind allowed.

You are left with only meat, eggs, fats (butter, cream, margarine, oil), tea, coffee (without the milk or sugar of course) and some alcoholic drinks like wine and spirits. A few non-starchy vegetables like leafy greens, tomato, broccoli and cauliflower are also allowed.

How boring, you might say! Even most of the fats are useless to you on this diet, as there is no bread or biscuits to put them on and no potatoes to fry in them!

30 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

You are so restricted in the foods allowed to be eaten, that you eat less overall for the day, ending up in energy deficit (consuming less kilojoules or calories than your body requires). This is how all successful weight loss diets work.

Certainly protein is satisfying to hunger. A large piece of rump steak or six slices of roast lamb will make you feel full. But it also provides you with excess protein that your body doesn’t need, so you have to break it down and get rid of the extra nitrogen via the kidneys, putting extra strain on them.

People do report quite fast weight loss on these diets (at least initially anyway). This is understandable, because without carbohydrates coming in via the diet, you deplete all your glycogen stores. With every gram of glycogen used up, 3-4 grams of water are also released. Losing 500 grams of glycogen thus results in the bathroom scales showing a 2 kg weight loss – very exciting at first.

But this rate of weight loss is not maintained.

Studies on high protein diets, particularly the Atkins method, have shown that those who manage to stay on them for three months, can lose weight successfully in the short term, but at no greater rate in the long term than those on higher carbohydrate, lower fat, moderate protein weight loss regimes. The drop-out rate from high protein diets is also very high, due to the boredom/ restriction factor.

Nutritional concerns

What is more of a nutritional concern however, is the lack of certain vital nutrients on these diets. They are low in vitamins A, E, B6, folate, and thiamin. They also provide insufficient quantities of the minerals calcium and magnesium, as well as being deficient in fibre and potassium. The antioxidants and phytoestrogens are also missing. The diets are low in plant products which have been consistently shown to reduce risk of diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, osteoporosis and bowel disease.

It is well known from research that after heavy exercise athletes can experience temporarily depressed immunity. Scientists refer to this as post exercise immunosuppression or PEIS. Studies have shown that in athletes who train with low glycogen levels after being on low carbohydrate diets for several days, there is a greater release of stress hormones compared to those who have had a higher carbohydrate diet. The more stress hormones released, the lower the immune function.

Consuming carbohydrates during exercise has also been shown to be beneficial in terms of reduced stress hormone release. Cyclists fed 30-60 grams of carbohydrate during two and a half hours of strenuous cycling did not show a drop in immune cells, unlike their counterparts who had no carbohydrate during the same exercise.

Carbohydrates are a valuable fuel and keep us healthy

So it seems that carbohydrates are not just important to provide a readily available fuel source to muscles, but also help to keep us healthy and avoid disease as well. So keep the carbs in your daily diet, but not in massive quantities, and avoid the ‘fast release’ or high GI and sugary foods (see article on GI in Autumn 2003 issue) if you need to shed kilograms. Base your diet on plant foods like vegetables and fruit, grainy cereals and breads. Have a little more protein rich foods if you like, but make sure they are low in (saturated) fat. Choose lean meats, skinless chicken, grilled fish and low fat milk, yoghurt, cottage or ricotta cheese as well as eggs.

Make sure that your new healthy ‘summer look’ eating regime is sustainable and is accompanied by plenty of daily exercise. Then you will be on a sure path to successfully fitting into those swimmers by the height of the season, and of course be able to compete at your peak in orienteering.

More specific guidelines in the December issue will help you to control your body weight in a sensible way.

COACHING

NEWS

Practise running on your compass

Vale – Hans Steinegger, 1948 - 2004

You may say: Of course I do know that the compass is always right.

All the same I usually wind up too far left on compass runs, not so often too far right. What is the cause and how can I fix it?

The compass needle always points to magnetic north unless there is some metal near the needle or some local magnetic anomaly in the terrain. Mistakes are usually due to how you use it. There are many causes - in the heat of competition we may fail to set the bearing accurately for the direction we want to go, or we don’t line the compass up accurately with the north lines on the map. Sometimes we do not allow the compass needle enough time to settle or in the forest we just glance at the compass and do not check the direction properly.

If we are not using a thumb compass, but just put the compass on the map to determine which way to go, everything becomes even more uncertain. It’s difficult to try to read the compass while running; it’s just about impossible to hold the compass so it is completely still.

Accurate compass running is not elementary and like everything else it needs to be practised. Many orienteers are not wholly confident in using the compass because they haven’t learned to use it correctly, that is they haven’t practised. Now and again it’s worthwhile training by running ‘from tree to tree’ to gain confidence in the technique and experience that it really works!

Some tips for compass running: •O n long compass runs it’s worthwhile taking extra care in the way you use the compass. Be especially careful with a thumb compass.

• I n aligning your compass, especially when you have the compass lined up on the map, don’t just turn your hand but your whole body, so that you are looking straight ahead in the correct direction. (Thinking “I need to go a bit to the right or a bit to the left” is always uncertain).

• F or a compass run in open terrain, stop still and aim for a distinct distant object, instead of running off and taking several quick looks at your compass.

• S o long as the bearing is correct, orienteering is relatively simple in complicated terrain too.

It only becomes difficult if you don’t really know whether you are too far to the right or the left.

(Abridged) Brigitte Wolf in OL (Switzerland). Printed with permission.

Brigitte Wolf winning Gold in the Relay at last year’s World Champs.

THE world orienteering community was saddened to hear of the sudden and untimely passing of Han Steinegger. Hans died from a heart attack after competing in a fun relay with club OLG Basel in Switzerland on Saturday 19 June 2004.

Hans single-handedly revolutionised the drawing of orienteering maps with the development of OCAD software. From a small beginning as something of a hobby OCAD grew into the driving force behind the digital production of orienteering maps and a thriving business. Map drawing, which had previously been the preserve of a few skilled in the use of pen and ink on film, now became available to anyone with basic computer skills and a bit of enthusiasm thus spreading the map production load. In recent years OCAD has also played a significant role in the booming growth of maps for non-traditional forms of the sport such as Park & Street and Mountain Bike Orienteering.

One of the outstanding qualities of OCAD software was how well it was written, and a package that offered so much and was adopted both within and outside the orienteering community, was compact, didn't demand huge computer resources and was priced to make it affordable to clubs and individual map makers. It was a great success story of programming where the needs of the users were foremost.

We are thankful for the enormous contribution Hans made to our sport, and wish the remaining OCAD team every success in continuing to make Hans' vision a reality.

He will be sadly missed by his colleagues and friends within the orienteering community, and our deepest sympathy goes to his partner, family and friends.

Noel Schoknecht

Maze Orienteering in Russia TO make Orienteering a more attractive sport for spectators and for media, a club in Moscow has devised a new version of the sport, Maze Orienteering!

A short course running time about two minutes - is constructed of a maze of tapes secured to posts. In the corners there are control points, many more than the competitors are to visit.

For example the course could be: Start - 9 – 10 – 11 – 12 and so on.

The course can continue on a normal Orienteering map.

This sort of Orienteering has proved to be exciting and attractive for spectators. At the first event in Moscow only 12 out of 38 starters punched all the maze controls correctly.

Azimut, Russia 2004/1

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 31

PARK & STREET-O

Urban Orienteering – Park & Street Orienteering Around Australia, Part 1

by Debbie Dodd (VIC)

A

Queensland:

Park & Street Orienteering is relatively new in Brisbane – the Tuesday evening Southside series, run by Toohey Forest Club, is four years old, and the Wednesday evening Northside series, organized by the Enoggaroos, commenced just two years ago. The Sunday morning program of park events also started four years ago. Events are run in Brisbane suburbs and regional towns (last summer these included Townsville, Bundaberg, Buderim and Toowoomba).

The Southside series runs for 8 weeks from October to December, and the Northside has two 6-week series from November to February.

The events are Scatter-O format, and the 20 controls used are metal plates chained to light poles. Mass starts are at 6.30pm, with 2 minutes allowed for route planning. Queensland’s lack of daylight saving means these events are run in the dark. Competitors choose one of three courses – 3 km (8 controls), 5 km (12 controls) or 7.5 km (18 controls). There are classes for men and women in Junior, Open and Veteran age groups. Participant numbers average around 60 for each series. Spot prizes drawn just before the start, provided by sponsors for the Northside series, have helped attract more competitors recently. Awards are given at a sausage sizzle at the end of each series.

Every second Sunday of the month in the season, every Brisbane club and most regional clubs have a local CATI (Come and Try It) events, mostly in parks, providing around 48 park events per year.

Formats vary between events, and competitors choose their own distance regardless of age group. Bike events are often run as well.

The park events currently attract an average of 40 participants, with higher numbers at some events due to free entry – subsidized by Brisbane City Council’s ‘Active & Healthy Parks’ programme. Events are publicized in local papers, fliers, posters, club newsletters, Brisbane City Council brochures, and the Courier-Mail newspaper.

LL over Australia, on summer evenings, Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings, people of all ages and athletic abilities are taking to their local streets, armed with a map and a control card. For some, it’s simply a way of keeping fit between bush competitions, for others it’s a healthy social exercise with friends or family, and for many it’s a highly addictive contest in its own right. Park & Street Orienteering is often their first taste of a navigation sport, with some competitors progressing into the forest through club, then state competition.

Participant numbers are increasing around the country. Each State runs a Park & Street competition in some form, with more and more events being added to fixtures to cater for growing demand. However, there is no standard format, which makes for an interesting State by State comparison.

New South Wales:

Participation rates on the rise in Sweden

single events for more than ten years, but the idea of a series was only taken up in 2001.

Swedish orienteering magazine Skogssport reports that 2003 saw a 14% increase in participation over the 2002 figure. This was the second consecutive year of increasing numbers (13% increase from 2001 to 2002). Not since 1992 has the number of participants been as high as in 2003 with over 500,000 entries recorded.

After the record highs of the mid 1980’s the trend of declining numbers through the 1990’s seems to have finally turned since 2001.

Nearly one-third of entries in 2003 were young people under the age of 16. The number of young people becoming involved in Orienteering 32 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

is increasing significantly. It seems that the image of Orienteering has improved amongst young people and even those who don’t orienteer themselves see it as a ‘cool’ sport.

Swedish officials believe there are a number of factors behind these positive statistics. They feel the upward trend represents increased activity at the club level, especially with more development of youth leaders as well as growth in participation in small local events close to home.

Town-O is growing in Switzerland Stadt-OL (or Town-O) is growing in popularity in Swiss regional cities.

Town-O has been organised as

The Sydney Summer Series programme has around 23 events from mid-October to late March. Events are held every Wednesday, with starts any time between 4.30 and 7pm. The start time flexibility and the score format are very popular features. Events are held in Sydney suburban parks, streets and bush areas, with a preponderance on the lower north shore area and inner west. There is always a beachside event as well. The events are run by the five metropolitan clubs.

Colour maps are used for Score format events using 30 controls.

The controls are red and white painted flower pots with the control number and a letter code painted in black on them. Competitors mark the code on their control cards with a pencil they carry. There are several 'sets' of pots which are mixed to stop anyone remembering the

The Swiss orienteering magazine OL reports that gone are the days when there was a ‘quiet’ season in the Swiss program. Town-O has filled the gaps between major events though attendances do not yet rank with the numbers at forest events. In 2001 a series known as the Town-O Cup was introduced and its popularity soared. “Whenever I put new rankings for the Town-O Cup up on the Swiss federation web site, in a flash we got 200 or more hits,” said Hansjorg Graf, the man who initiated the series.

Events have been held in Buelach, Vaduz, Basel and Zofingen. Leaders after the Basel event were

Hansruedi Kohler and Monika Ammann. Monika doesn’t like missing forest events but she also loves Town-O. “In the forest I run unsure of myself – less decisive.

But in Town-O I can use all my running abilities. Control points are always clear and route choice less ambiguous”, said Monika.

Kohler was formerly a road runner.

“I can go fast in the streets but I can also lose time, especially in the middle of towns with lots of control points – accurate map reading is very important. Town-O is almost a different kind of sport.”

This version of Orienteering is rapidly growing in popularity in Switzerland. It seems the fascination of local Park & Street-O is spreading across the world.

PARK & STREET O

Roskilde Park map from recent Danish 5-Days

orienteers, rogainers and to running magazines. It is also posted on the 'Cool Running' website. There are event posters and banners and a great T-shirt 'Navigation on the Run'. Prizes and badges in all categories are awarded at the end of the season with the best 12 scores counting for the scoring totals”.

In mid-June this year a trial one-off “Not the Summer Series Event” was held, giving Sydneysiders a chance to try street Orienteering by night. This may lead to a mini winter series in the future. Park & Street Orienteering is also growing in regional NSW, with events held in Newcastle, Orange, Wagga and Armidale.

Participation rates average from 20 to 50. codes! There is a 45-minute time limit and a point penalty for being late back. Mens and Womens age groups are junior (under 19), open (19-39), veteran (40-54), super veteran (55-64) and masters (65+).

Ross Barr has been one of the driving forces behind Park & Street orienteering in Sydney. “There was a programme that petered out in the early 80's (it used to be called 'daylight saving orienteering'). The concept was revived in the 1989/90 summer with two events and has been slowly building from there. The growth curve has been strongly upward in the last couple of seasons as we have migrated out from just the “O” brigade to a wider spread of runners and rogainers. Last season we averaged just on 150 starters – a 25% improvement over the previous season (which in turn was up on the one before). Given that many 'starters' or 'registrants' go out in twos or groups (mum and a few kids being common), we are often now getting 175 to 200 people attending. Our biggest single event attendance last season was 180 starters and we will be hoping to hit the magic 200 in 04/05”.

Demographically speaking, about 10% of participants are juniors, 25% are veterans or older, and the remaining 65% are under 40 (this figure goes against the general trend in Orienteering around the country of vets well and truly outnumbering younger age groups).

The male:female ratio is about 2:1.

Ross explained, “Publicity is primarily through a dedicated website, www.sydneysummerseries.com.au, where the program, news and progressive results are posted. The program is distributed to

South Australia:

South Australia’s summer series has been running for 6 years, with 10-14 events during the season, which runs from December to March.

Events are usually held on Friday evenings in various areas around metropolitan Adelaide. There is also a smaller Saturday afternoon winter series, which is put on by aspiring juniors.

The summer series is run by a coordinator who allocates course setters, managers and helpers from junior ranks. Each event offers a scatter and three line courses, and controls consist of lockable plates.

Attendances have been increasing and vary between 60 and 100, depending on how hot it is at 5pm on a Friday evening (35 degrees is not uncommon!) There are no age groups, or divisions for walkers, at the moment.

Events run in Victor Harbour, a seaside town about an hour’s drive from Adelaide, have been very popular, offering interesting orienteering in a country environment. SA has also run Come and Try It promotions over summer, giving out showbags and free entry vouchers to future events, but with only limited success. Adelaide’s Park & Street Orienteering is popular with converted orienteers.

Attracting newcomers is also not difficult and they enjoy the experience, but converting them into regulars, club members and volunteers is a challenge – a familiar story for most of us! However the potential is definitely there.

Thanks to Nola McIntyre (Qld), Ross Barr and Dave Lotty (NSW) and Lee Merchant (SA) for the information provided.

Next issue: Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 33

INTERVIEW

“IOF is constrained always by the need to be democratic ...”

Sue Harvey gives an interview to Jan Skricka of O-Sport AT the January meeting of the International Orienteering Federation Council, IOF president Sue Harvey announced that she will not be applying to prolong her presidency in the IOF General Assembly this September. This means that the 10-year-long-period of her presidency will come to an end. In this interview, we asked her things that, despite being of significant importance for orienteers around the world, are not frequently mentioned – such as the IOF’s publications, its budget for organisation, PWT / IOF relations, event applications, her vision of the future of our sport, and more.

?

I have a somewhat visionary question to start with: What are your expectations for 2004 in regard to orienteering?

High class World Championships in Foot, Mountain Bike and Trail Orienteering. I am happy to note in this connection that a very successful World Championships in Ski Orienteering has already taken place.

New heights of visibility for the sport in the international multi-sport arena through the General Assembly of International Sports Federations (GAISF), whose annual Assembly takes place this year in Lausanne in May. Increased visibility also with sports people generally through coverage of the World Championships.

?

Of course, finance is always a hot topic …but, is it still possible to say what the IOF total annual budget is and what things are financed with it? Does any of the money return directly to orienteering in order to support the sport in its development?

IOF’s first job is to provide the structure for the international sport – rules, a programme of events etc. What it can do in addition depends on the funds available.

The budget of the IOF is approved by the IOF’s biennial General Assembly. The sources of funding of the IOF are the national federations. Most of the federations want to use their money to develop the sport in their own country, so they have only a minimum to spare to pay fees to the IOF. It should also be borne in mind that it is the national federations that pay the expenses of their representative and experts who work within the IOF. Most of IOF’s budget therefore goes on paying for the Secretariat, a Secretariat which now serves 63 countries with no more staff than when it served just 32 countries two decades ago.

IOF does what it can to develop the sport in both member and nonmember countries e.g. with the help of the IOC a clinic was held in South America in 2003. However, much development work is also done by national federations themselves through bilateral action or other programmes, e.g. the Swedish O-Ringen Clinic.

?

I would like to consider the presentation of our sport through official IOF media – such as O-Zine, Orienteering World, and the IOF website at www.orienteering.org . All of these, except for O-Zine, seem to be far behind what is generally considered a standard in the field. I would take the website as an example, 34 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

Photo: Pirjo Valjanen, Finland

specifically its design, updating, and structuring …things that can definitely be done better, as many orienteering websites have already proven. Or is this just my point of view?

IOF’s publications serve an important purpose by providing reliable information to the whole orienteering world. There are plenty of commercial websites and magazine-type websites that thrive on sensation and controversy. This is not IOF’s role. IOF must put a premium on accurate facts in all its publications.

IOF has a minimum budget for publications. The federations would hardly view it as good value if their member fees to the IOF were spent on flashy magazines. At the same time, the IOF must provide a shop window to other sports and governments and to organisations like the IOC, so the content of IOF’s magazine, for example, is aimed primarily at the outside world and non-orienteers. Indeed, Orienteering World, IOF’s magazine, is very highly regarded among international sport leaders as a model shop window for the sport.

?

I have another object for consideration: the situation surrounding last year’s JWOC applications, though the same in fact applies to all other applications for organising IOF elite events. JWOC 2004 applications may have needed to have been decided in a hurry; but still, do you think that just announcing the following is enough? "We believe that Poland has the expertise to handle the event even at this short notice. The local club WKS Flota Gdynia has organised several major orienteering events, among them the 1994 edition of the JWOC and the European Youth Orienteering Championships in 2002, says Brian Porteous, Chairman of the IOF Foot Orienteering Commission.”

Wouldn’t it more fair to other applicants to announce in what ways the Polish candidature was better than those presented by other countries, and also which other countries had applied? With this and similar things in mind, would you describe the IOF as a transparent organisation?

The application procedure for allocation of events takes place according to clear fixed rules, with specific dates for receipt of applications, specific requirements to be fulfilled by the application and a procedure by which applications are evaluated.

INTERVIEW The Council is the body elected by the General Assembly to make decisions on organisers of its events on behalf of IOF’s members (except for the elite World Orienteering Championships, where the decision is made by the General Assembly).

In the case of Junior World Orienteering Championships, once the Foot Orienteering Commission has made its recommendation, Council approves the appointment. Reasons why the unsuccessful candidates are not usually given, not least because orienteers are mostly volunteers and it would be unnecessarily demotivating for IOF to publicly list the failings of, say, the Czech application. Any federation that wishes to improve its application for the future is encouraged to start a dialogue with the appropriate Commission to ensure that attention is being paid to the important issues. (While the Foot Orienteering Commission deals with Junior and Masters Championships, the Elite Events Commission is responsible for advising on World Championships applications).

?

In O-Sport 8/2003, we asked the PWT president, Michael Thulin, about Park World Tour / IOF relations. I would like to ask you the same. Why is co-operation between the PWT and IOF almost nonexistent, despite the fact that there are definitely things in PWT that have proven to be working both to attract TV and other media, as well as to create new, challenging urban O-disciplines? To be honest, it sometimes seems almost irrational not to use this know-how in IOF races, to ask the PWT for assistance and closer co-operation?

It is clear that the role of the IOF and that of the PWT are very different. IOF is constrained always by the need to be democratic, to operate always within its own rules, and to take account of the wishes of its 63 member federations. IOF must above all respect its own procedures and especially with regard to fairness. The PWT, on the other hand, is free to innovate much more rapidly, can choose who it invites to its competitions and can, to some extent, write its own rules. PWT can make changes to its programme later on, and can at times be thoroughly commercial in a way IOF can never be.

This does not mean the two cannot work together. On the contrary, both can learn from each other. At the same time, there is a limit to the closeness of any co-operation due to the different ways of working and the different objectives of the two organisations.

?

Sue Harvey

Getting our sport into the Olympics seems to be an ever-green issue. But, what specific steps has the IOF taken since the last Congress in 2002, and how much closer have we got? How long a course do we still need to run?

Sue has been involved with orienteering for 38 years, competing, mapping and organising at all levels from club through to World Championships. She has worked in the organisation of the sport at national and international level for 32 years.

Since becoming IOF President in 1994, Sue has also been active in international multi-sport organisations. Sue speaks six languages - Swedish, French, Russian, German, Arabic and English.

The Olympic Games are a keystone for world elite sport. Naturally all sports strive to be part. Currently some three winter sports are seeking inclusion in the winter programme and 14 in the summer programme. As no new sports will be added in Athens and few if any in Beijing, it is hard to get a new sport into the programme.

The way in which sports will be accepted for the programme of the Olympic Games is changing also.

The IOC is beginning to move to make the process more transparent, and it seems likely that in future an attempt will be made to have a sort of rotation of sports, with some removed and others included on the basis of a proper evaluation. But don’t expect quick results. Changes will come very slowly. Meanwhile orienteering needs to qualify by reaching a membership of 75 countries in the IOF. IOF membership has increased from 50 to 63 in the last 10 years, but there is some work to do yet before foot orienteering is eligible even to apply for a place in the summer games.

Competitive career in orienteering: World Championships 1968, 1970, 1972 for Britain (best placing 24th), British Champion 1971 (W21), 197980 (W35), 1986 (W40) Organising and planning events: Jan Kjellstrom Trophy (UK Easter Three Days) 1971 and 1990 – planner, WOC ‘76 General Secretary, Scottish 6 Days ‘77 and ‘85 Coordinator Mapping: Many maps including Jan Kjellstrom Trophy 1971 and 1990 and WOC 1976 (with Robin Harvey) International multi-sport bodies: International Masters Games Association (IMGA) - Governors 1994; Association of IOC-Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF) - Council 2000 – 2001; International World Games Association (IWGA) - Executive Committee 2001; European Masters Association (EMA), Vice President 2002

The criteria for the winter games are different. Orienteering (as ski orienteering) already fulfils the criteria. After IOF’s application for inclusion in the 2006 Winter Games was rejected, IOF made a number of changes in response to comments made on that application, and IOF now has a new application already with the IOC seeking inclusion in the 2010 games.

?

As the current IOF president, what is your vision of our sport, let’s say over the next 10 years?

A vision is a hope and at the same time a goal to strive for. It is also something that may prove impossible to achieve because of circumstances outside one’s control.

For me, the future lies with both the grass roots of the sport and the elite athletes. There is new interest in physical activity in the developed world now because of the bad effects of lack of sufficient exercise on health and well-being. This is an opportunity for orienteering which, unlike so many other sports, can be enjoyed throughout life. Masters sport, the World Masters Orienteering Championships, and the World Masters Games, have an important role to play in providing goals for older athletes to aim for. At the same time, orienteering is finding a place in schools in more and more countries, giving youngsters a chance to start early in a sport they need never quit. In this the elite has a significant role to play. The elite provide the heroes that can inspire youngsters and stimulate recruitment. For this to work, we need publicity for our elite competitions and elite athletes. Obtaining this publicity is a challenge and an opportunity for the coming decade.

Printed with permission SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 35

GREAT LEGS

by Bruce Arthur

Surfing the Map

Kelland Road, New Zealand – 2004 Elite Test Match #1 Runners on the M21E course were presented with this challenging route choice after already competing for over an hour on the steep coastal grazing lands south-west of Auckland. The terrain allowed for fast running, except for numerous fence crossings (not marked on the map), stiff headwinds and many energy-sapping climbs.

Control 23 to 24

TIME

TOTAL

––– Bruce Arthur (VIC) 15.31 1.41.42 ––– Craig Dufty (WA) 16.40 1.41.52 ––– Simon Goddard (VIC) 25.24 1.52.32

Approaching control 23, Bushrangers team member, Simon Goddard, was caught by 3 minutes by a New Zealand team member.

Wanting to try to make this time back up, Goddard decided on a radical route choice down the cliffs to the coast. He estimated the total climb to be similar and the map reading would be easier, so he could simply just put his head down and run fast.

Unfortunately for Goddard, there was no beach at the base of the cliffs. The tide was up, and he spent much of his time wading and dodging the crashing waves. He almost lost his map a couple of times in the surf! Once he decided to ascend the cliffs, he had trouble once more negotiating the unmarked thick vegetation. The mappers had never thought of orienteers running up and down the coastal cliffs, so had not spent much time with marking the detail on that part of the map!

This one route choice decision certainly cost Goddard much valuable time. Apart from this one decision he had an otherwise good run.

Rock Fest at Barrambogie Mt Barrambogie, Victoria – Queen’s Birthday, Day 2, Badge event Day 2 of this year’s QB3 ventured into Victoria, to re-visit the site of last year’s Australian Championships.

There was healthy competition in most classes, with good representation from Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT. Interesting courses were set by Rob Lewis and Michael Magasanik. All of the courses avoided the steep slopes that were used at last year’s championships. Perhaps they are being saved for the 2005 Victorian Championships. Here are some great legs from the M21A course.

3-4 Distance

Warren Key (VIC)

6.20

1279m

Blair Trewin (VIC) 7.08

1149m

36 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

9-10 Distance

Blair Trewin (VIC) 12.51

2069m

Bruce Arthur (VIC) 13.27

1882m

NEWS APOC 2006 The Asia-Pacific Orienteering Championships in 2006 have been awarded to Hong Kong.

World Masters 2009 GAISF (the General Assembly of International Sports Federations) recently announced that the host city for the 2009 World Masters Games will be Sydney. This will almost certainly mean that the World Masters Orienteering Championships will be held in conjunction with the Games.

The Orienteering Association of NSW is in communication with the NSW Major Events Board (organisers of the Games) and Orienteering events will probably be held in the Lithgow area.

The timing is understood to be a clear week after the Australian Orienteering Championships in 2009 which is allocated to Victoria.

2005 Oceania Carnival 6-16 January, 2005, New Zealand Auckland is the location of the next major event in New Zealand, the Oceania 2005 Orienteering Carnival, 6 - 16 January 2005, in Auckland. The carnival will include one score event, six days of traditional Orienteering (incorporating, on two days, the Australia/New Zealand Challenge Individual and Relay) and one day of Mountain Bike Orienteering (incorporating the ANZ Mountain Bike Orienteering Challenge). There will also be an Australia/New Zealand Schools Challenge.

Terrain includes two days on a new map of detailed sand dune type pine forest terrain on a sloped area, three days of detailed gully/spur pine forest and fern covered terrain, two days of technically demanding forest and coastal strip sand dunes and one day on intricate farmland with NZ native bush.

All levels of orienteers will be catered for including elites, juniors and veterans and a large international field is expected.

Five of the days will count towards the overall Oceania Five Day results with the four best results counting.

Albury-Wodonga Run, another record Albury-Wodonga OC hosted a record crowd for the fourth year in a row at their annual Nail Can Hill Run, topping 1000 entries for the first time. In 2001 entries were 700, then 800 in 2002 and topped 900 last year. The event just continues to grow thanks to support from all sections of the community from the business sector to local government, volunteer organisations and of course the general public.

There has only ever had one wet Nail Can (1996) in the 28 times the event has been run. An indication of the growth of the event is the number of sponsors; in 1998 there were 16 official sponsors, and now there are 25, all local businesses, including newspaper The Border Mail. The event is AWOC’s principal fund raiser, generating finance for quality maps which might not otherwise be possible.

Tash runs second Natasha Key was second woman home in the Melbourne 10 km “Run to the G” (Melbourne Cricket Ground) on Sunday 24 May. About 5000 took part. Tash covered the course in 37.45, behind Claire Fearnly.

Men’s winner was Lee Troup in 29.57. Tash has been selected for this year’s World Orienteering Championships in Sweden.

Events like this have been part of her training programme.

two key reasons: the risk of people being lost from time to time and also to enable participants to blow for help should they be injured.

Sports injuries cost $1.83 billion The Sports Injuries Report for 2004 surveyed 650 Australians. It says sport can be both expensive and painful with the cost of injuries rising $300 million since last year to a bruising $1.83 billion. All codes of football were the most common source of injury, followed by tennis, netball, walking, running, basketball, yoga, then golf, volleyball, hockey and cycling.

Ankle, foot and achilles injuries account for 20% of the total, with back and spinal problems at 9%. The surprise was that 25% of people surveyed had been injured during yoga. The reason is attributed to failure to warm up properly.

The Age (Melbourne)

GPS in WA OAWA have recently bought a GPS (Global Positioning Satellite device) to help with mapping. The positioning data from the GPS can be imported into OCAD (Orienteering Computer Assisted Design) mapping programme and altered without the need to trace over the lines of a template. Initial use is likely to be in plotting tracks for MTB-O maps.

World University Championships

World Games promotion

The 2004 World University Championships took place in Plzen, Czech Republic, on 21-25 June. The event was dominated by the hosts, who took five of the eight gold medals on offer (with a sixth going to Slovak Marian Davidik). Australia was represented by Simon Goddard and William Hawkins, who both achieved midfield results with 42nd and 47th respectively in

‘On your marks, the Games are coming’ is the theme of a billboard advertising campaign for local promotion of the multisport World Games 14 – 24 July 2005 in Duisberg, Germany. The Rhein-Ruhr area is one of Europe’s most densely populated. Some 500 roadside billboards will remind millions about the countdown to the biggest multi-sport event ever held in the region.

the Long-Distance event.

Blowing the whistle Orienteering Tasmania has determined that all orienteers must carry a whistle. There are

Orienteering is one of 30 sports in the programme. Australia’s Grant Bluett was the World Games 2000 Men’s champion in Japan.

European Championships This first series of World Cup events for 2004 opened at Roskilde in Denmark on July 10–17. Australian highlights came in the Sprint, where Grant Bluett was 19th, and the LongDistance, where Tom Quayle was 22nd. Hanny Allston reached the Sprint final in her senior international debut, and Danielle Winslow had a solid week in the lead-up to her first World Championships.

US club measures hits on its website San Francisco’s Bay Area Orienteering Club reports that its website has about 500 visitors a day, about ten per cent of whom come from search engines. Hits are highest on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The high web traffic led the club to consider whether to cut back on its printed newsletter to save money, but a decision was made to keep it going for now.

International relationship with military sport The International Orienteering Federation has traditionally had an exceptionally good relationship with the International Military Sports Council (CISM). In midJune a new form of cooperation was established. On the initiative of the Finns, an Event Advisors’ Clinic with both military and civilian participants was organised at Niinisalo, Finland. Participants acquainted themselves with the organisation of two events – the Forssa Phone Games, a MiddleDistance event with some one thousand participants, and the Jukola Relay with more than 12,000 runners – and had the chance to take part.

Captain Eduardo Olivieara from Brazil was amazed at the size of Jukola. “Until now I wasn’t even able to imagine that an orienteering event can be this big. I find it absolutely amazing that everything works so well despite the enormous number of runners and spectators.”

O-zine, IOF electronic newsletter

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 37

DID YOU KNOW? Orienteering Australia has a new e-mail address. You can contact Dave Lotty - Director (Administration) at orienteering@sydney.net Grant Bluett (NSW) has been living for several years in Sweden working as an instructor in an Orienteering school. This year he hopes to score a medal at the World Championships in September. At the end of the year he will be moving to Canberra in preparation for WOC 2005 in Japan.

When is a SportIdent ‘stick’ a ‘dibber’ ?

When you’re orienteering in the UK. Everyone there knows it as a ‘dibber’ so it follows that the act of punching a control must now be known as ‘dibbing’.

Only the British could dream up such terms.

Tasman including two at Invercargill, at the south of the South Island, on a latitude of 46.26 degrees south. He wonders if this is the most southerly orienteering area in the world.

Looking at the atlas, there’s about 1200 km of South America further south than this, but it’s not known whether there’s any orienteering in those parts.

Incidentally, 46 degrees north is just about the Italian- Swiss frontier in Europe and corresponds with the Great Lakes in North America.

World class marathon runner Peter Gitura (best time 2.11.06) from Kenya was introduced to Orienteering by Sweden’s O-missionary Peo Bengtsson.

Peter has taken part in some Park World Tour races and in Sweden’s monster five-day O-Ringen.

Wine label OAWA has been making an attractive offer to members as a fundraiser, a case of white, red or mixed quality wines for $115.

That’s just $9.50 a bottle; normal retail would be about $15.

OASA are promoting a special wine for the state championships, “Morialta Shiraz” at $13 a bottle or $120 a dozen.

Some may remember that in the 1970’s Victoria had a similar deal with Hardy’s to market wine to members and to raise a few dollars.

Tash Key with sons, Aston, 4, and Jensen 18 months, and husband, Warren (recently retired national coach), were off late August on a round-theworld trip, paid for with reward frequent flyer points from many previous journeys.

Top Kiwi Jenni Adams had a baby due in August. She and partner Carsten Jorgensen, top Danish orienteer placed fourth in last year’s World Championships Classic distance race, headed overseas after Easter and the baby might be born in Denmark.

First stop was Washington DC, USA, to visit Warren’s brother Steve who, when still living in Australia, was lead mapper for WOC ’85. Steve now works in the US Patent Office, researching applications. Then across the Atlantic for a week in Finland as a build-up to WOC in Sweden in September.

Events Tally

The two boys’ names – Aston and Jensen – come from quality British performance cars. Vroom!

Dave Lotty (NSW) leads the all-time events tally with 1940 events completed (or organized) since he started Orienteering in the early ‘70’s. New Australian Orienteer editor, Mike Hubbert (VIC), has 1846 events and former editor, Ian Baker (VIC), 1830 events. Can anyone else match these tallies? Let us know.

World Games The 7th World Games 2005 will be held in northern Germany with Orienteering events on July 16 &17 in the Köllnischer Wald at Bottrop, near Duisberg.

Host city for the 8th World Games 2009 has just been confirmed as Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan. The program will run between July 16-26.

Bob Smith (SA) writes in SA newsletter that at Easter he was on a business trip to New Zealand so took part in several events the other side of the

38 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

He says that training in Kenya you need to take care not to encounter wild animals. “A lion sounds like thunder, and it seems the animal is only 50 metres from you, but it’s not true, it can be as far as three kilometres. The lion is king of the forest and when you hear his sound it has only one meaning: Run away!

“There is no way to get away from a leopard. People may be good runners but a leopard is a much better runner! If you can climb a tree, the leopard can too. So there’s no way to get away from a leopard.”

O-sport Annette Woodward, former member of Victorian club Tuckonie, competed at the Athens Olympics last month in pistol shooting.

Soccer star Gary Linecker gave a classic answer, when asked to describe the game, “The ball is round, a game lasts ninety minutes and at the end the Germans always win.” Not true any more, of course.

Swiss magazine OL has adapted the quote, “The courses can vary in length, but when you’ve been right round, the same Swiss woman always wins!”

Budget flights in Europe 25 airlines are on the budget internet site www.EuropebyAir. com/ covering 170 cities in Europe. Just click on the city you want and a map shows the routes to and from. You can book online.

Also check www.easyjet.com and www.ryanair.com

E-mail Newsletters Tasmania’s newsletter asks members whether they would be happy to receive the state newsletter in downloadable electronic format, instead of a mailed copy. AO will report the response when available from Orienteering Tasmania.

We asked all states if they have a regular email newsletter (not the printed publication for all members). Responses as received are: The ACT e-newsletter also goes to 60 non-members. Vic has a separate e-bulletin for nonmembers. No responses received from SA or from Tasmania.

Some clubs in Australia give members the option of an electronic club newsletter instead of a print-out.

State Email Frequency Number % of n/letter? of reg members Qld Y Weekly 250 80% NSW Y Weekly 250 56% ACT Y Weekly 300 60% Vic Y Weekly 235 89% WA No

O-zine, new issue A preview of the 2004 World Orienteering Championships in Sweden is the theme for the June edition of O-zine, a free on-line colour newsletter published by the IOF. There are features on the 2003 star, Simone Niggli-Luder of Switzerland and on Thierry Gueorgiou of France (see his winning 2003 route in The Australian Orienteer, June).

You can receive an e-mail notification each time O-zine is published. To register, just fill in the form at www.orienteering. org/headline. htm and press the ‘Subscribe’ button.

See advertisement on page 35.

HIGH PERFORMANCE

Mike Dowling, Director, High Performance

across the board to remove anomalies, bring us into line with new international procedures and address the growing popularity of shorter forms of Orienteering. In addition, we hope to achieve a greater clarity of the National League guidelines to address issues that have arisen as we moved decisively forward in developing our major national elite competition program in foot-Orienteering.

High Performance Manager

T

HE main international competition season is well underway as I write this, with JWOC just complete and the first series of the 2004 World Cup being well underway. Congratulations and well done to all athletes and their coaches who have assisted the athletes represent their sport on the international stage. While all this is going on planning is well advanced for 2005, which is the culmination of our current High Performance Strategic Plan. As such it is the end-game of the plan and we hope one that will bring us some ‘top notch’ outcomes from the 2005 foot World Championships in Japan and the 2005 MTB-O World Championships in Slovakia.

Preparation Planning for Japan 05

The High Performance Management Group (HPMG) is well advanced with our planning for the 2005 World Championships team. We will assist athletes attend training periods in Japan in November of this year and in March 2005. The March 2005 period also presents an ideal opportunity for us to support our overseas based squad athletes to return to Australia for the Easter Carnival period and take in training opportunities in Japan on the way. In addition, we will be taking the National Senior Squad to New Zealand next January for a squad training camp in conjunction with the Oceania Championships. This also presents an ideal opportunity to train in soft, steep terrain of the type that is likely to be found in Japan. To bring this all together our national coaching team of Jim Russell and Geoff Peck are working hard in ensuring we make the best use of these opportunities.

Allied to this, a review of selection guidelines and procedures will have been conducted to refine our selection processes for both squads and national teams. The aim here is to further enhance certainty and transparency to the selection process. It is important to acknowledge the hard work of our various selection panels for both foot and mountain bike Orienteering. It is often a thankless task always fraught with the potential for controversy and one where everyone has an opinion. We can be assured that our panels conduct themselves with a great sense of duty and fairness.

MTBO WOC in Ballarat

A great sense of anticipation is building with the rapidly approaching MTB-O World Championships. We have a squad of very keen athletes who have been working in partnership with national coaches Kay Haarsma and Paul Darvodelsky. We will have a most competitive team with great chances to do well on home terrain. I’m sure all of us wish the team when selected every success and that our athletes can achieve their own personal goals.

Bushrangers - a Continued Success

It is now well over six months since the appointment of Jason McCrae as our Manager, High Performance. There is absolutely no doubt in the world that our elite programs are much healthier since Jason’s appointment and his work across the board has been particularly appreciated by all involved in high performance Orienteering activities. Some of the highlights of Jason’s work have been in working to fill key coaching and managerial positions, managing financial matters as they relate to national team and squad matters in conjunction with Team Mangers, working particularly hard with state based coordinators to foster improved training outcomes for high performance athletes at a state level, developing a webbased communication board as a means of keeping our high performance athletes updated with training and event information etc. and managing this year’s National League program.

Giving Our National Teams an Identity

We have the Bushrangers as an identity for our second tier elite foot orienteering team. What about a suitable identity for our other teams? The High Performance Management Group values your suggestions for our teams. We are currently canvassing options for our national senior foot-O team. How does “The Warrigals” or “The Dingoes” sound, or what about “The Boomerangs”? Do you have an idea for an identity? What about “The Quokkas” for the JWOC team or what about “The Darters for our MTB-O team? You get the idea.

Do you have an inspirational idea? Get in touch with your Director High Performance, at mdowling@tassie.net.au, with your suggestions.

Books on orienteering There are a great number of books on all aspects of orienteering. For a list and prices contact: Orienteering Services of Australia 44 Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill VIC 3068 Phone (03) 9489 9766 Email info@macson.com.au

OR I ENTEER I N G PUB LI CATI ONS

The Bushrangers, our second tier elite foot-Orienteering team, have become an integral part of our national team program with another very successful “test” series against our New Zealand friends in June. Thanks to all the athletes who represented us and also thanks to Jason McCrae, our High Performance Manager, who travelled with the team as coach. In 2005 we anticipate a “test” as a part of the Oceania Championships and hopefully as a part of the October national carnival in Tasmania. The goal here is to make it an annual event where we travel to New Zealand at least once in a calendar year. It is anticipated that in the future a June New Zealand based test series will become the general norm.

IOF Publications

Australian Publications

International Specifications for Orienteering Maps . . . . . . . . . . $11.00 Competition rules for IOF events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11.00 Control Descriptions. . . . . . . . . . . . $11.00 Simple Maps for Orienteering . . . . $11.00 Trail Orienteering (BOF book) . . . . . $30.00 Trail Orienteering (booklet). . . . . . . . $8.25 Trail O (leaflet) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $0.70

Elementary Orienteering Instructors Manual. . . . . . . . . . . . . $13.20 Level 1 Coaching Manual. . . . . . . . $22.00 Level 1 Coaching Syllabus . . . . . . . . $3.90 Level 2 Coaching Syllabus . . . . . . . . $4.40 Level 3 Coaching Syllabus . . . . . . . . $4.40 Among the Best Orienteers (video).$19.75 Sponsorship & Advertising, 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . available from states Club Guide, available on disc.

Competition Rules Reviewed

Prices include GST and postage within Australia for single copies.

Prices for bulk orders available on request. Orders should be addressed to Orienteering Australia, PO Box 740, Glebe, NSW 2037, with cheques made payable to Orienteering Australia. Email: orienteering@dsr.nsw.gov.au

Thanks to the magnificent work of our new OA Technical Director Andy Hogg many orienteers involved with event organisation will know a review of our sport’s competition rules has been undertaken

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 39

INTERVIEW

An interview with John Brammall Reflections on his Presidency At the 2004 Annual General Meeting, John Brammall stepped down from the role of President of Orienteering Australia after a fouryear term, bringing an end to seven years of involvement on the national executive. He had previously been Vice President Development for three years.

The Australian Orienteer talked with John about his time as President.

?

Why did you decide to call it a day?

It wasn’t an easy decision, because I so much enjoy my involvement in Orienteering administration at all levels. I felt I had been in the position long enough and that there needed to be a change of leadership. We have an energetic and dynamic leadership team, and there has to be some turnover among our office bearers to keep that dynamism and bring in fresh approaches and new ideas.

?

Are you satisfied with what you achieved during your Presidency?

Well, what was achieved can’t be regarded as my achievements – they are the achievements of the Board and the Council – a strong team of committed volunteers. And yes, I feel really satisfied with what the Council and Board achieved over the last four years.

?

What would be the highlights of those achievements?

Actually I looked back on an article in The Australian Orienteer just after I was elected. In that I listed some goals that I wanted to aim for. They included a review of our management structure, a need to move away form the “them-and-us” culture that had tended to permeate Council meetings and was prevalent among our elite orienteers, and the necessity to get some younger blood into the management of Orienteering. We certainly achieved these. The review of structure expanded the size of the Board and gave Councillor status to the representative of our elite athletes. The revised structure has enabled a much better focus on the high performance area through the new position of Director, High Performance, and also the appointment of a new contract officer as Manager, High Performance. And with Mike Dowling and Jason McCrae in those positions (respectively), we have some younger blood and dynamic people driving the HP side of things.

I feel particularly satisfied that we achieved the culture change that we did. The “them-and-usness” has gone. The energies of those at the Conference are now much more purposefully directed, and the elites, too, have a much better perspective of their place in Orienteering Australia.

?

This magazine carried a couple of articles over the last year that seemed to suggest that the review of management didn’t achieve much other than cosmetic changes.

I felt those articles were pushing a particular point of view, and maybe the writers weren’t as well informed as they could have been about the actual changes that were made and the flow on from those changes.

?

Why wasn’t there a response from the Board or Council on this issue?

40 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

I did write a letter to the editor following the second article. Maybe if the issue had been raised in less critical terms we might have pursued it, but it would have been difficult to do that, especially when the criticism was so ill-founded. I think that maybe the aspect of this that bugs me most is that the articles were written by people who have had a long and distinguished involvement in Orienteering Australia. If they really had a concern about management, why didn’t they express it formally to the Board or Council? If they wanted the Board to consider a particular course of action such as seeking an external reviewer, why didn’t they put proposals to Council?

?

What are the positives that you feel you have gained from your experience as President?

I’ve found the job immensely rewarding. I’ve already mentioned what I see as the main achievements over the last few years, but on top of that I’ve had the experience of working with a really great team. I can’t speak highly enough of the Board team of Dave Lotty, Kathy Liley, Bob Mouatt, Bob Allison, Hugh Cameron and Mike Dowling. My reward has been working with these, our contract officers and the many other volunteers within our sport as colleagues and friends.

?

There must have been things you wanted to accomplish, but didn’t …?

Oh, for sure. There is always room for making management more efficient, for improving communication, and I think we really need to do more to recognise our human resources – our elite team members, our administrators, coaches and controllers at all levels. There are still policies to be refined and developed – various government departments will make sure of that. Grappling with their demands is not easy – but we do it and we do it well. Orienteering is regarded as a really well administered sport in Australia.

?

And where to for you, now that you have stepped down?

Life is certainly quieter – and that’s maybe just as well as it’s giving me the break to come to terms with a reconditioned hip. It’s going well, and hopefully I’ll be back to running almost in time for Aust Champs this year!

I still have an involvement at the IOF level as a member of the Events Program Group, and I will be an Australian delegate at the IOF Congress in Sweden in September. I’ve also been nominated to the IOF Council – but getting elected will be pretty hard, I think. Apart from that, I’m the Controller for the 2004 Australian Champs in Tasmania – among other things.

?

Finally - anything else to add?

Yes – three things. First, it was a real thrill and honour to be awarded the Silva Trophy for Services to Orienteering at the presentation dinner at Easter. But the award to me was really to the whole team of Board and Council members and volunteer administrators throughout Australia with whom I’ve had the privilege to work with over the years. Thank you all.

Second, I want to wish Bob McCreddin well for his term in office. I know Bob will give it his all, even though he’s probably wondering just what he’s let himself in for. I have distant memories of that frightening learning curve when I suddenly found myself President.

Good luck Bob! And can I also congratulate Andy Hogg for taking on the position of Director (Technical). I didn’t succeed in handing the Presidency over to someone from a younger generation, but with Mike Dowling and Andy as Directors on the Board, that average age is starting to come down!

Third, I have to admit that at times I let the presidential tasks take control of my life – well Valerie’s and my lives! Over the years there have had to be plenty of compromises in the Brammall household.

Fortunately we both love our involvement in Orienteering, and we still regret that we didn’t find the sport until about 1986 – all those wasted years before that! But without Valerie’s love and support I couldn’t have maintained my energy and commitment over the last seven years, and especially the last four as President. Thank’s love!

MTB-O

THE MTB-O PAGES SUPPORTED BY WARREN AND TASH KEY FROM THE MELBOURNE BICYCLE CENTRE, CLIFTON HILL

World MTB-O Champs Preview

Blake Gordon

Countdown to the World Championships With less than two months to go before the 2004 Mountain Bike Orienteering World Championships in Victoria’s Central Highlands preparations are on target.

The four training area maps (Canadian Forest, Creswick Forest, Nerrina and St Georges Lake) are ready. To “add value” for international teams, ten control locations are being plotted on each training map by the WOC course planners. This will give competitors a taste in the training camp of the kind of route choices they will face during the four races (Long-Distance qualifying, LongDistance final, Middle-Distance final and Relay final).

The mapping program was on-schedule for the event advisers’ visit in early August. The “best mountain bike area I’ve seen yet”, to quote one of the course planners, gives hope for some really challenging route-choice problems for the world’s best while they cope with some hilly, lung-busting terrain. With significant winter rain (finally for the first time in several years) tracks may be softer than those experienced at last year’s Australia-New Zealand Challenge. Also the controlled burning in some areas (notably Nerrina and Canadian Forest) has given riders the added distraction of being able to see other riders in the bracken-free blackened forests.

Who will be on the podium in October?

It is assumed that the "locals" (Aussies and Kiwis) have a home terrain advantage. But remember WOC1985 when we watched Sallinen, Thon, Kringstad, Volden, Maartensson and others run through our forests and scramble over Kooyoora’s rock faces to claim all the medals. How do the “locals” stack up for 2004? The Kiwis are training hard and will be racing at the September 4th and 5th trials in Bendigo alongside the strong Australian contingent led by our silver medallist’s Emily Viner and Alex Randall. Christina Renhart will lead the NZ women’s charge with Marquita Gelderman and Claire Heppenstall close on her heels. Stuart Lynch will lead the New Zealand men closely followed by Neil Kerrison and Darryl Taylor.

A common problem for the ‘downunder’ mountain bike orienteers is the lack of strong head-to head competition at top-flight standard.

This year the top four Australian women – Belinda Allison, Carolyn Jackson, Julie Quinn, and Emily Viner – have each had their share of wins in state, national and international competition. They know how to win and have been pushing each other, lifting their standard to new heights. The other two places are up for grabs with Mary Fein, Melissa Thomas, Els Northey, Narelle Ash, Anna Sheldon and Tanya Beacham nominating for selection. The men have also been sharing the honours around with Adrian Jackson, David Baldwin, Alex Randall and Tom Walter having notable wins. Good results in the September trials will be crucial for other contenders such as Grant Lebbink, Anthony Darr, Paul Darvodelsky, David Searle, Tony Clark, Tim Northey, Steven Cusworth, Richard Mountstephens, Guy Andrews, Novak Thompson, Andrew Rowe and Gary Sutherland. There is a new intensity to training and the squad believes that ‘top 10’ placings are possible in October. The Australian MTB-O 6 women and 6 men teams will be selected in September after the two trials. Most other national teams will not be announced until early October.

Women at the Top The Finns, Czech Republic and French will certainly go in as favourites to repeat their podium finishes from 2002 (1st World MTB-O Championships in Fontainebleau, France). Laure Coupat (France) has to be the red-hot favourite in any race she contests. With gold in the Sprint (2002) and a comfortable first in the 2003 World MTB-O Cup 7-race series, Coupat should led a strong French women’s team of Caroline Finance, Magalie Coupat and Aurelie Ballot.

Finland’s Paivi Tommola’s gold in the Long Distance race in 2002 and two wins in the 2003 World MTB-O Cup (second over-all to Coupat) makes her a real medal prospect. Teamed with Kirsi Korhonen and Mervi Vaisanen, Tommola anchored the Finn’s Women’s Relay team to gold in 2002 and is a strong possibility to repeat in Australia. With the addition of Ingrid Stengard (6th in 2003) the Finnish team has the depth to dominate the top ten placings in individual events.

The Czech Republic girls led by Marie Hrdinova (5th in 2003 World Cup) will compete strongly and good results can be expected from Marketa Jakoubova and Hana La Carbonara (9th and 10th in the 2003 World MTB-O Cup). Recent form at the Sopron World Ranking Event (May 2004) indicates that Jakoubova (2nd in Middle-Distance, 5th in Long-Distance) and Michaela Lacigova (5th in Middle-Distance and 6th in Long-Distance) will perform well in October.

Other strong chances for medals are Michaela Gigon (Austria), Christine Raber (Switzerland), Anna Fuzy (Hungary), and Anke Dannowski (Germany). In the recent World Ranking Event races in Sopron, Hungary, Gigon dominated the Women’s results with convincing firsts in the Long and Middle-Distance races in an event that did not attract the Finnish or the French team riders.

Medal Chances for the Men In the men’s competition the top five nations on present form would include France, Finland, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Russia with Slovakia, Latvia, Italy and Australia rounding out the top ten. The 2003 World MTB-O Cup was dominated by four Finns – Mika Tervala (1st), Jussi Makila (2nd), Matti Keskinarkaus (9th) and Mikko Tommola (11th). The French had Benjamin Midena (5th) and Herve Clor (6th) while the Czech Republic’s Ctibor Podrabsky (4th), Lubomir Tomecek (14th) and Jaroslav Rygl (15th) were Mika Tervala, Finland their best placed. Russia’s Victor Korchagin (3rd) and Maxim Zhurkin (13th) should ride well in the more technical terrain in Australia. But the recent results from the 2004 World Ranking Event in Sopron favour the Swiss and Czech Republic teams. Again with no riders from France or Finland the results only tell part of the story for 2004 form. Switzerland’s Simon Seger (3rd in Middle-Distance and 2nd in Long-Distance) has improved on his 2003 World Cup 19th standing while Remy Jabas’s (SUI) 1st in the Long-Distance at Sopron was a great ride. Radovan Mach (CZE) looks like his good Sopron form (4th Middle-Distance and 3rd in Long-Distance) should improve on his 14th (Long-Distance) and 15th (Sprint) placings at Fontainebleau in 2002.

Other strong chances for medals in Australia could come from Mikulas Sabo (Slovakia), Alain Berger (SUI), Beat Schafner (SUI), Pavel Wohanka (CZE), Ivan Gasperotti (Italy), Markus Hallik (Estonia), Michele Mogno (Italy) and Ants Grende (Latvia). With over 100 men riding in Australia the winners will be hard to pick.

And, of course, the top Australian riders, both men and women, will be looking for medals too.

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 41

MTB-O

MTB-O National Squad – update Kay Haarsma The pleasing aspect of the 25 person squad is the variety of backgrounds from whence they have come into MTB-O. Eleven are former foot-Orienteers; two still are primarily foot-Orienteers; five have an adventure racing background; five are from triathlon and two from mountain bike racing. All are very fit individuals.

J

ULIE Quinn and David Baldwin have won both the World and Australian Rogaining Championships this year; while Guy Andrews, Novak Thompson and Gary Sutherland have had international success in adventure racing. Many others have been on the prize podium for mountain bike crosscountry races; 3 to 12 hour endurance races; the Polaris and other multi-day races.

The squad’s main quest in the last few months has been to get enough racing or simulated racing practice. There is great depth and I am confident that our 12 person World Championships team, when

selected in early September, will produce some tremendous performances.

Bike equipment is forever changing and most people are obsessed with getting lighter and lighter bikes or componentry. The web site http:weightweenies.starbike.com is the authority on this subject.

Paul Darvodelsky even carries around a small hanging scale to weigh up different wheels, tyres etc. He had trouble recently when his tubeless tyre “burped” when hitting a rock. In layman’s language this meant that it lost air.

Physical training

Mountain Bike Orienteering is quite unique in its physical demands. The solo riding on mostly good surfaces means that it is similar to a road time trial. However its stop-start nature also relates well to the intensity and changing speed demands of criterium racing. The single track and rougher sections obviously require technical skills used in crosscountry racing. This is all good news for the bike orienteer, as it means that there are multiple energy systems and skills that must be trained, so this lends interesting variety to their training.

Preferably both road and mountain bikes are used for training, and even some track sessions would be appropriate. Training on road bikes, especially during winter, has the added advantage of less damage (and expense) to your mountain bike in wet conditions.

Indoor trainers are another good option for winter. While a big endurance base of kilometres is beneficial, the majority of sessions leading into the major races will stress speed and power intervals and time trials or races that simulate the intensity of MTB-O races.

If you’re in it, you can WIN All you have to do is take part, and you are automatically in the draw to win: All Australian registered orienteers who take part in three or more official MTB-O events in Australia June 2004 – Queens Birthday weekend, June 2005.

KHS MBC 1500 Technical Features: Light weight 7005 Alloy frame, Shimano XT 27 speed, Hayes hydraulic disc brakes, Rockshox Judy SL travel adjustable suspension forks, double strength alloy wheels, all alloy components.

This is a MTB-O dream bike. It features the most powerful and low maintenance disc brakes available from Hayes, the premier brake supply brand. A must for those last minute navigation changes of direction.

The latest Shimano XT 27 speed gear offerings with full Shimano drivetrain with sealed bearings for long wear.

To improve the bike’s handling it is now equipped with the latest Rockshox suspension forks. One major bonus feature of the shockers is the "on the fly" ability to adjust the amount of travel available from 80 mm to 100 mm at the turn of a dial. Brilliant for changing event conditions, from open or fire-road blasting to skilful single track control.

Top to bottom this bike is oozing with quality alloy parts and the attention to the little details is of particularly high standard.

The model is a special edition designed by Warren Key at Melbourne Bicycle Centre in conjunction with KHS USA for cross country racing and, of course, MTB Orienteering.

MELBOURNE CENTRE

see MBC catalogue

Special offer to orienteers, just $1000

RRP $

1799

including free freight to anywhere in Australia GEN UIN ELY L IMITED AVAIL ABIL ITY

All Australian registered orienteers M/W19 or older in 2005 who take part in both the Australian Individual Championships 2004 and in the Australian (Easter) Three Days 2005.

PLUS

Map Board RRP $139

4 back packs 5NL Turbo compass Competition baseplate model with quick needle dampening. Hand contoured baseplate with sure-grip rubber feet. Front end map scales, !:10000 and 1:15000. Valued at $68.

22 litre, padded harness, padded back, adjustable waist belt. Zippered opening, front pocket.

Promotion rules – 1. The promotion starts 1 June 2004 and runs until and including Queens Birthday Weekend 2005. 2. Prizes are as described on page 7 of The Australian Orienteer, June 2004. They must be taken as offered and are not exchangeable for cash. No person may win more than one prize. 3. The draw for prizes will be conducted by Orienteering Australia. Winners will be notified and names will be published in The Australian Orienteer, September 2005. 4. Eligibility for prizes is: mountain bike and MTB-O map board– all registered orienteers who take part in three or more official MTB-O events in the promotion period. Other prizes – all registered orienteers M/W19 or older in 2005 who take part in both the Australian Individual Championships 2004 and in the Australian (Easter) Three Days 2005.

42 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

MTB-O

THE MTB-O PAGES SUPPORTED BY WARREN AND TASH KEY FROM THE MELBOURNE BICYCLE CENTRE, CLIFTON HILL

Let’s consider the specificity of MTB-O races. These include numerous mini-stops at controls and the need to accelerate again afterwards. Because the terrain ahead is unknown, often the rider decelerates or backs off the speed coming around a corner or when going over rough ground or across small gullies or creeks. They then need power to accelerate again. So there will probably be 50 to 100 of these accelerations demanded in an event. We need to simulate this in training by doing 30-second power surges and also 1 to 8 minute intervals to develop more sustained power.

Then there are the hills! The logic is simple – if you race up and down hills, then you must practice them in training or else your legs will be ‘cactus’ (Ed. technical term) quite early on. Hills can be incorporated into long training rides or done specifically as short or long intervals.

Like foot-Orienteering, training for MTB-O requires a periodised training plan to maximise the benefits.

Without proper planning riders tend to spend most of their time training their strengths rather than their weaknesses. Endurance, speed, power and strength all need to be covered, but with priority given to the weaker areas. Heart rate monitors certainly enable riders to measure their effort and training load.

However, the new tools on the block are power cranks or monitors.

These can measure the output in wattage from individual or both legs. In mountain biking this would be useful for measuring the wattage needed in climbing hills efficiently at particular gradients.

Then you can use this information to train riders to be able to produce that wattage. They are quite expensive for individuals at the moment, but we plan to use them in the future.

Future

There is a huge future for MTB-O if we can be entrepreneurial enough to tap into the rapidly growing adventure market. This year’s Mont 24-hour event in Canberra attracted the entry limit of 1600 riders in just 10 days, more than three months ahead of the event.

Some 600 riders pay $100 each to participate in the 2-day Polaris, which is similar to a bike rogaine. Multi-day stage races like Wildside (Tas) and the Central Australian Challenge get big numbers. MTB-O has a niche market to fill, as many mountain bikers like variety. The ideal format for them on Sundays would be a choice between a crosscountry event one Sunday, an adventure race the next; then have a pack ride with friends, or do an MTB-O event.

MTB-O should be seen as an exciting adjunct to the foot discipline of Orienteering, rather than as a threat to it. We should celebrate the differences.

Continued from page 45 – Magic Map Making Contacts: ACT ACT Planning and Land Authority www.actpla.act.gov.au/actlic/digitaldata NSW Land and Property Information www.lpi.nsw.gov.au/maps/digital.html NT Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment www.lpe.nt.gov.au/info/mapping/topo.htm#digital (availability of DXF data unknown) QLD Natural Resources, Mines & Energy www.nrm.qld.gov.au/property/ mapping/dtdata/ SA Mapland www.environment.sa.gov.au/mapland/eshop.html#Mapland TAS Land Information System Tasmania www.thelist.tas.gov.au/docs/ pricing.html VIC land.vic www.land.vic.gov.au WA Department of Land Information http://www.dola.wa.gov.au/corporate.nsf/web/Digital+Mapping+Data Some short notes on importing and using DXF data in OCAD are available on the OCAD section of Big Foot Orienteers web-site: http://www. bigfootorienteers.com

Technical Tips for Mountain Bike Orienteering Navigation

By Paul Darvodelsky with additional material from James Lithgow Many people with years of foot-Orienteering experience find they still make mistakes when Mountain Bike Orienteering (MTB-O). Why is this? Surely it’s much easier to follow tracks than interpret contours, rock or gold mining details for example. Or is it?

T

HE two key parts to MTB-O navigation are route choice and way finding. Contrary to people’s first impressions the route choice is more difficult in MTB-O where not only do you have to consider contours to choose your route but you have to consider the vastly different speeds you can achieve over different terrains. Way finding is similar to foot-O, although you stay on the tracks. I’ll discuss each of these aspects of MTB-O navigation separately.

Route Choice Route choice has to consider both the terrain – hills or flat – and the track surface, and there are no easy answers. Consider how fast you can go on different surfaces and gradients. If, as in last month’s article, you can go 3 times faster on the flat than up a steep hill, try drawing a route on a map which is 3 times longer than another. You will see this looks like a lot of extra riding, and in the middle of a race it takes a lot of confidence to make the longer choice!

During a race it is important to make route choices early. Normally at the start you have at least a minute to mount your map and get organised. Use this time to determine your route to the first couple of check points before you go anywhere, even if it means not beginning to ride immediately the start beep sounds. As you commence riding, look at the rest of the course with the aim of determining your complete route in the first third of the event while your mind is fresher. Continue to review your choices to ensure you didn’t miss anything and increase your confidence in the route you have chosen.

For example in a recent event at Astleys Tower near Newcastle would you notice while riding at speed with a bouncing map that the small track indicated with an arrow did not join up with the road on the way to control 12?

When to make route choices is important.

If you attempt to look at route choices when you are trying to find your way there is a high probability that you will miss a turn or junction. And don’t slow yourself down by trying to look at your map too much whilst charging downhill! Look ahead for places on the course such as straight tracks and easy riding where it is easier to SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 43

melbournebikes.com Gary Fisher Marlin

MTB-O look at the map. With an overall plan decided early in the race these are the areas that can be used to finalise all your choices.

See The Australian Orienteer, June 2004, page 46, for an analysis of this.

SAVE $400 $

599

FEATURES: The lightweight Gold Series RRP $999 butted aluminum frame comes with a limited lifetime warranty. Genesis Geometry Performance lets you climb, descend and manoeuvre better. The reverse arch Manitou Six suspension fork offers greater steering precision.

24-speed Shimano drivetrain: Reliable Deore derailleur and shifters.

On smooth flat trails or riding more slowly uphill the map isn’t bouncing around as much as when you move fast and this is a good time to look at your map. Try and remember that when riding hard uphill and in oxygen debt your decision-making ability will be diminished.

Consider all the possibilities Look at all possible route choices for a leg before choosing one.

Consider the straight options first, then left and right. Are there any more combinations, how much shorter is it over the hill? Are there any very wide routes, which avoid climb or slow tracks? Once you’ve identified all the possible routes choose one and stick to it. Changing your mind along a leg increases the chance of mistakes, may mean stopping to recheck, or worse having to turn around, all of which loses you time. A committed approach to a leg rarely loses much time, even if it isn’t the absolutely best route.

Way Finding Now you’ve chosen the best routes make sure you execute them properly. This is a bit of a trick with MTB-O because it’s very easy to fall into the trap of thinking the navigation is easy, because you’re only on tracks. Wrong! Navigation on the bike is probably harder than when on foot. You move much faster, you can’t hold the map as steady and you can’t hold the map as close to your eyes, never expect tracks to be easy! Consider also that in foot-Orienteering if you make a mistake it is often possible to change your route choice in the middle of the leg. With MTB-O it is not permitted to go cross country so missing a turn may require a completely new route choice.

As with choosing a route, you need to read your map on the easier terrain. The problem is you often need to read the map now, not on the next easy bit of track. Don’t compound the problem, slow down or stop.

MBC SUPPORTING MTB ORIENTEERING

MELBOURNE CENTRE

37 QUEENS PDE CLIFTON HILL

03 9489 3555

Ring Warren or Natasha for a special deal

melbournebikes.com

A technique you can use to help way finding is to improve your map memory by doing some armchair exercises. Take short glances at legs on a map and try and draw the critical information and then compare it to the original map. Would someone else have been able to follow your map?

On the bike, make a habit of looking at the map as often as you can.

Even if you know where you are going and you are going fast downhill. A short glance at the leg you are on keeps your eyes and brain focused on the part of the map you are using, it will make it easier to find your place on the map. To prevent their eyes losing the place on the map some people make a pointer out of electrical tape, a pin or a blob of ‘blu-tak’ which you can use to track your location on the map as you complete the course.

A technique which can improve your speed is to practice riding fast down tracks which end in a definite feature, such as a T-junction.

When the check point is on a track and you make the final turn onto that track, don’t slow down or stop to double or triple check you are on the right track, check carefully once and then ride hard.

Remember, the golden rule for MTB-O navigation is always check your map before going down a hill! It can take 5 minutes to come back up a hill that takes 30 seconds to go down!

For an example, would you have seen the choice made by Mika Tervala in the MTBO World Cup race in Poland in 2003? See The Australian Orienteer, March 2004, page 37.

MTB-O

THE MTB-O PAGES SUPPORTED BY WARREN AND TASH KEY FROM THE MELBOURNE BICYCLE CENTRE, CLIFTON HILL

Magic Map-making

By Andy Simpson During the middle of 2002 a few Big Feet (from Big Foot Orienteers – NSW) decided that it was about time that the club staged a mountain bike orienteering event. We decided to have a look at the Jenolan State Forest, over the road from the foot orienteering map Billenbenbong.

This map had been used for mountain bike orienteering by the club in 1998 when Jock Davis (who didn’t own a mountain bike and ran around the area) set courses that were a little too demanding for most competitors.

We rode around the area using the NSW Land Information Centre 1:25000 topographic maps. These seemed to be pretty accurate, although managing three 1:25 000 sheets on a windy day was tricky.

The area has a fairly dense network of forestry roads, in various states of maintenance combined with numerous steep-sided valleys to provide plenty of route choice.

After lining up a target event (NSW championships 2003) and obtaining permission to use the area from State Forests, we then had to face up to producing a competition map. Our major challenge was to do this with as little field-work as possible, since Map 1: Part of the topographic the area was almost three hours map drive from Sydney and none of us wanted to sacrifice a significant amount of our spare time.

We decided that we would try to use data from the NSW Land Information Centre’s Digital Topographic Database to produce a basemap in OCAD. If we were really lucky, having converted the digital data to OCAD symbols we would have a usable map. This type of data is also available from the equivalent authorities in other states and territories.

The area that we wanted to map required sections from three different 1:25 000 sheets. For each of those sheets we wanted drainage, contour and transport/cultural data. Data for each of these “themes” is supplied separately for each map.

OCAD will happily read and display files in a format called DXF. This is one of the formats available from the mapping agencies. At this point in time, the objects being displayed (contours in the case of map 2) are not mapped to orienteering features, although they do each have an associated type (or “layer”). OCAD can do this transformation from DXF layer to orienteering symbol if you provide it with a key telling Map 2: Contour data imported into it what OCAD feature it should OCAD use for each layer.

After importing all of the maps and assigning suitable orienteering symbols to each DXF layer, we had something that looked like an orienteering map, albeit less readable than the map we first started with. Figure 3 shows a sample of the base map after importing all three of the data types (contour, drainage, human) and converting to orienteering symbols. At this stage I converted every forestry track into the symbol for “track (easy riding)”.

Many months had passed by now, and the year of the event was upon us. Jonathan McComb (the planner) and I set off to field check the map, pretty confident that we’d just spend a weekend or maybe two wandering around the area, congratulating each other on what a great job we’d done. Alas it wasn’t to be. We knew that we Map 3: Orienteering symbols would have to classify the track assigned to imported data network according to the IOF MTB-O mapping standards, which would involve walking or driving round about 70km of tracks. We also wanted to check that each track junction was mapped accurately, as this is an important feature for MTB-O competitors. The IOF map symbols changed during the mapping, but a more time-consuming problem was caused by the local trail-bike riders. Every time we were confident that we’d finished a part of the map, we would discover a small trail-bike path, not captured in the base map. Eventually we’d covered over 100 km of track network and spent far too many winter days up on the plateau.

The base data from the Land Information Centre was broadly very sound. Most of the forestry tracks were very accurately marked. There were areas where the base data and reality diverged, either because the track network had grown over or just because there was an error in the original data (which also existed on the 1:25 000 sheet). These kind of errors can also be seen in dedicated photogrammetric plots produced for orienteering when there is a thick forest canopy. The additional tracks made by trail bike riders may have shown up if we’d had our own photogrammetry, but they were pretty faint.

Producing a usable map from scratch would have been beyond our capability - as volunteers, we simply don’t have that kind of time available. The map we did produce did have some problems, but these related to the efforts and skills of the cartographer rather than to the quality of the base data. By varying some of the colours, future editions of the map should be more Map 4: The map after fieldlegible (even in the middle of a working severe electrical storm).

At the NSW Championships the race winner, Anthony Darr, was equipped with a GPS receiver and logger. After the event we were able to plot his course on the map. There were only two points where his GPS track and the track on the map diverged - both of them were on paths added from the ground survey rather than from the base data.

I’d recommend anyone producing maps at this level of detail to consider any equivalent data where it is available and affordable. On behalf of the club, we’d like to thank the NSW Land Information Centre for their assistance with this project.

Prices for digital data sets vary wildly between states and territories, from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. In theory if the data is held in a single database, it should be possible to provide data for a specific area, rather than on a mapsheet-by-mapsheet basis - this may provide a justification for reducing fees at the higher end of the scale. At the upper end of the charging scale, the costs charged are not competitive with the cost of producing base data from a custom photogrammetric plot. Hopefully as more noncommercial users use these datasets, the higher prices will fall, or they will be placed in the public domain as is the case for the United States.

See page 43 for list of contacts.

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 45

ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA

Official News

• p arents are not involved and they are crucial to getting young people into Orienteering Dave Lotty, Director (Administration)

Australia – New Zealand Challenge 2005 This will be held in conjunction with the Oceania Championships in January 2005 near Auckland New Zealand. As the travelling nation Australia determines the classes to be contested and these are expected to be all the Oceania Championships classes (M and W -16, -18, -20, 21, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65 and M70).

The Australian Team will be selected following the Australian Championships in October with the selection trials being the Australian 3 Days 2004 and Australian Championships 2004. You MUST nominate by advising Blair Trewin in writing by 15 September (2/53 Darebin Street HEIDELBERG 3084 b.trewin@bom.gov.au).

The Team Manager is still to be appointed and OA is seeking applications for the position. Contact Dave Lotty (Orienteering Australia PO Box 740 GLEBE 2037 orienteering@sydney.net) by 15 September if you are interested. The Board hopes to make an appointment by 1 October.

Running the Business

Bob Mouatt, Director (Development)

The 2004 National Development Conference (NDC), staged in Canberra on 25-26 May, enabled a delegate from each State involved in promoting and developing Orienteering to exchange ideas and to form conclusions on matters of mutual concern. It also gave the new President, Orienteering Australia, Bob McCreddin the opportunity to get a feel for the issues challenging the grass roots level of Orienteering.

The 10 to 12 topics discussed covered a wide range of matters, some in a lot of detail, much more than I can cover in this column so I will mention just a few.

The Australian Sports Commission is requiring national sporting organisations to develop national strategies on: • Risk management • Member protection • Junior Sports Framework The Development and Participation Committee will have carriage of developing the Junior Sports Framework, using the ASC template.

States will be consulted over the next 12 months as the Framework starts to take shape. Failure to have the strategies in place by the end of 2005 could impact adversely on ASC Sport Development grants.

Mention Schools-based Orienteering and you will get mixed responses. The NDC delegates agreed that Orienteering receives little direct return for its investment in Schools-based programs, but all agreed that it had a very important role in developing the sport because: • i t gives young people experience in the correct version of Orienteering •m any new orienteers say that their first Orienteering experience was at school •m any others have a positive attitude towards Orienteering through their schools-based experience • it helps raise the profile of the sport All agreed that they would like a better return from the Schools-based programs but acknowledged the difficulties arising from: 46 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004

• t his difficulty is exacerbated when children from non-English speaking families or parents with a cultural aversion to sport are involved • teachers using the program are not necessarily promoting the sport Target groups is another contentious issue. The ASC and State government sporting authorities often encourage sporting organisations to target specific groups, eg women, juniors, nonEnglish speaking, youth at risk, low income, indigenous, aged people, etc. The NDC delegates concluded that there was little return from targeting specific groups, but rather target the general population with an emphasis on recruiting families. Thus local Orienteering programs should be geared to ensuring that events cater for all members of a family.

The NDC looked at the statistical summary of Orienteering activities in Australia over recent years. Total memberships continue to rise, reaching 1,723 after dropping to a low of 1,454 in 1999. The number of members remains over 5,000. The number of events remained in the 850s, but the number of participations continues to soar, breaking the 80,000 barrier (80,760) for the first time in 2003. This is a significant increase on 63,559, just four years ago and 49,394 in 1993. The number of accredited coaches is also healthy again with a total of 201 at the end of 2003, compared with just 133 in 2000.

So all of the quantitative signs are good, but NDC delegates considered that the statistics did not tell the whole story. While participation numbers are soaring, the huge increase is in ‘convenient recreational’ Orienteering, and in some areas traditional bush Orienteering was stagnating or declining. This creates tension between the ‘recreationalists’ and the ‘traditionalists’, an issue that will be taken to the 2004 OA Annual Conference. More on the matter next year.

Speaking of next year, States have been encouraged to participate in the 2005 National Orienteering Day, the first Sunday in May, by ensuring that there are events suitable for new orienteers on that day. Help Orienteering grow by encouraging a friend to ‘Give Orienteering a Go’.

OA Badge Scheme For further information contact John Oliver, 68 Amaroo St, Wagga Wagga 2650.

Ph 069 226 208 (AH) email oliver.family@bigpond.com.au ACT Pat Miethke PO.A W55 Gold Geoffrey Stacey PO.A M16 Gold Western Australia Jim Mann BO.W M60 Gold Joan Wright BO.W W50 Gold Georgina Mann BO.W W12 Gold

Bill Mann BO.W M10 Gold NSW Lynn Dabbs WH.N W45 Gold Kevin Williams WH.N M55 Bronze Basil Baldwin GS.N M60 Gold Jean Baldwin GS.N W60 Gold Thomas Carter GS.N M12 Bronze Mark Freeman GS.N M35 Gold

Entry Deadlines

Date Event 7 Nov NSW MTBO Championships 27-31 Dec Xmas 5 Days

Bev Parton Kevin Parton Liam Parton Matthew Parton Heidi Read Max Read

Nearest town Oberon NSW Armidale NSW

GS.N GS.N GS.N GS.N GS.N GS.N

W45 M50 M16 M18 W55 M65

Bronze Silver Gold Gold Gold Gold

Entries close 8-Oct 1-Dec

Orienteering Australia photo archive PETER CUSWORTH (Vic), graphic designer of this magazine, maintains an archive of the digital photo files which have been used in The Australian Orienteer. These orienteering photo files can be made available for press releases or special promotional projects.

Any material costs will be passed on to users.

Contact Peter on 03 5968 5254 or cusworth@netspace.net.au

MORE NEWS

Orienteers compete in Australia's First Treeathlon Nicki Taws Graham Turner and Julia Minty have become Australia's first ‘Treeathlon’ Champions! So, what is a Treeathlon, you may ask? As the name suggests, it is similar to a triathlon except that the swimming leg is replaced with tree planting.

The event was jointly organised by Orienteering ACT, Greening Australia and ACT Forests at Pierces Creek Forest, 20 km west of Canberra. This area was used in 1994 for the Australian 3-Days Orienteering Carnival, and was regularly used for local club events and training. The entire area was totally destroyed by the bushfires of January 2003, so ACT Forests and Greening Australia have been collaborating on a number of projects to re-establish native trees along the streamlines.

Member of Legislative Assembly, Bill Stefaniak, fired the gun and the 37 competitors started by riding 1.5 km along fire trails, followed by a 3.2 km run to the tree-planting area. They then had to dig holes and plant 50 trees through an area 1 km long. The tree planting was very tough physical work, and took most competitors between 50 and 80 minutes. The final leg was a 4.3 km ride around the Sugarloaf, a spectacular, fire-scarred hill in the middle of the area.

Above: Kevin Paine starting the ride-run-plant, Treeathlon.

Left: Julia Minty and Graham Turner first Treeathlon Gold Medallists.

Below: Rob Walter busy planting his 50 trees.

Photos: Bob Mouatt

Graham Turner ploughed his way to the lead on the tree planting leg, after a backbreaking effort planting his 50 trees in only 46 minutes.

In the women’s division, Julia Minty also dug her way to the lead on the tree planting leg, and then kept in front despite having no bike and being forced to run both the cycling legs. The event was considered to be a very tough challenge, and there were quite a few sore backs and blistered hands to show for it.

Nearly 2,000 trees and shrubs were planted by the competitors, helping restore one of Canberra’s favourite orienteering areas. In total about 60 orienteers donated their time to this great event.

O-Snap!

Give your event a

B O O S T !

Event advertisements in The Australian Orienteer go direct to the homes of registered orienteers in all states of Australia and give a widespread boost to perception of your event.

The special advertising rates are modest and would be covered by just a few extra entries.

Mike Hubbert, Editor and Advertising PO Box 165, Warrandyte, Victoria 3113 mikehubbert@ozemail.com.au Phone/fax (03) 9844 4878 “Oh, what a feeling…”

Brian Austin, WOW club, enjoying the 2004 WA club relays.

Photo: Judy Hill SEPTEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 47

I T ’ S E A S Y T O F I N D Y O U R WAY T O T H E B E S T I N S U R A N C E !

EIG-Ansvar • Annual premium income over $80 million • Established in Australia since 1961 • Part of the world-wide Ecclesiastical Insurance Group

EIG-Ansvar and Orienteering • Every policy sold helps Orienteering Australia to fund official teams • Reduces levies on states and members • Be sure to identify yourself as an orienteer when contacting us Ask about our hassle-free monthly payment scheme

Call your State office on 1300 650 540* E-mail: insure@eigansvar.com.au *Be sure to tell our customer service officer that any policy effected is to be entered on the Orienteering Australia account number 03 31 These insurance products are issued by EIG-Ansvar Limited ABN 21 007 216 506 AFS Licence No.237826. You can obtain a Product Disclosure Statement for Household and Motor Vehicle insurance from EIG-Ansvar Limited by calling 1300 650 540.

You should consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding to acquire or continue to hold these insurance products.