AUS CHAMPS CARNIVAL

The Grapes of Rock

2004 Australian Championship Carnival

Blair Trewin (VIC)

The Australian Championships came to a region in central New South Wales previously best known for Easter 3-Days in 1991 and 1996. With venues closer to Dubbo than any others previously mapped, an eye was cast to 2007 when JWOC comes to the area.

The busiest Carnival week yet featured, in addition to the regulars, the first Australian Sprint Championships and an AustraliaNew Zealand Test Match. For many there were six races in eight days. There were many highlights, not least being the emergence of several well-performed Juniors who will still be eligible for JWOC in three years time.

David Shepherd, a jump ahead of the rest at the Aust Champs. Photo: Bob Mouatt

NSW Champs

“Ganguddy” was memorable for two things - the terrain and outstanding performances by two of those Juniors. The terrain was spectacular with many cliffs and rock domes and magnificent views from some controls. Some wondered whether the area was appropriate for high-pressure races (particularly after seeing climbing ropes in a couple of places) and the question of how we would have coped had it been wet was left unanswered. It was certainly an interesting orienteering experience, and no-one did too much damage to themselves. Spectacular performances by two South Australian juniors, Simon Uppill and Vanessa Round in their first year of 18s, set a high standard for the week. The word around was that Uppill’s running had improved over winter, but no-one anticipated the extent of his demolition of a field including three JWOC representatives. He won by 13 minutes, against both the 18s and the 20s (who ran the same course), and his time would have put him in serious contention for a place in M21A, whose first loop was the M18 course. Round comes from the opposite background – a fast runner capable of brilliant things but not always consistent. “Ganguddy” did not seem a likely venue for her to impose herself, but she ran magnificently and, like Uppill, would have been competitive in the elite race. On another day Kellie Whitfield’s performance, one of her best in a blossoming career, would have given her a well-deserved victory, but she had to settle for 2nd place, 4 min behind Round. The Carnival finished with the Australian Relays at “Clonalton”, an almost-open area with extensive granite.

Schools Champs

ACT and Victoria tied in the Australian Schools Championships at “Tarcoola”, after a dramatic day which came down to the sprint finish for sixth place in the junior boys’ relay. Queensland’s Ben Freese held off Victoria’s Daniel Creely, preventing the Victorians from taking the title on their own. It was Victoria’s second win and ACT’s first title since 1993. Queensland took third in their best result for a decade. New Zealand, after an excellent day at the relays, won the Southern Cross Junior Challenge by a point. The individual was a day of unexpected results. Only Ineka Booth’s win in the junior girls over Bridget Anderson and Kylee Gluskie was anticipated. New Zealander Jack Vincent comfortably won the junior boys’ race while Heather Harding won the senior girls’ event and Victorian Chris Naunton blew the senior boys’ race wide open to win by an impressive three and a half minutes from Tasmanian Louis Elson.

Sprint Champs

Dave Shepherd and Nicki Taws became inaugural Australian Sprint Champions at the University of Sydney’s Orange campus. An unexpected title for Taws, given she was up against Natasha Key and Hanny Allston – both significant international sprint performers. Allston burst out of the blocks taking a 30-second lead by 7, but lost nearly all of it with a mistake on 8. From then on there was little to separate them and Taws was a single second clear of Key at the finish with Allston three seconds back. There was no close finish for the men. Shepherd won by 27 seconds, a huge margin over such a short course. Julian Dent, who might have got close, lost 20 seconds at 7 and it was New Zealanders Karl Dravitzki and Chris Forne who came through for placings.

Australian Champs

“Seldom Seen” is an area of complex and physically tough granite and many were undone by the terrain. But not Dave Shepherd. He won in spectacular fashion by a record margin of nearly 11 minutes. Critical legs were the fifth and sixth, the first major long legs on the mountain. He was three minutes clear of the field by 6, and although he lost time at 7 and 8, he then pulled further and further away. It was an imposing performance but behind him only 12 minutes separated 2nd and 22nd. Warren Key held on – just – to the end, finishing 2 sec ahead of Rob Jessop to claim an excellent 2nd place at the age of 45. Ranked a distant outsider Clare Hawthorne surprised by taking her first elite national title. She ran consistently in terrain where her challengers blew their chances. Tracy Bluett lost 11 minutes on the long fourth leg, Jo Allison four at 8, and Tania Robinson and Orla Murray five at 9. Natasha Key then lost six minutes at 11 and it was all over. Julian Dent was untroubled in winning M20, his eighth national junior title breaking a record held by Blair Trewin. In M18, Simon Uppill proved his NSW Champs run was no fluke. In similarly tough terrain his run was even better, though Louis Elson pushed him closer than anyone had managed the week before. With JWOC 2007 expected to be in similar terrain it was a deeply encouraging result for Australian prospects in three years time. In older classes the usual suspects come to the fore. Ian Hassall (M70) became the third person to reach 10 national titles, while Maureen Ogilvie’s 11th win took her one closer to Hermann Wehner’s 13.

masoniCare 2004 Australian Championships - route choices made by the M21E placegetters. We will be analysing some route choices, including commentary from the athletes, in Great Legs in the March 2005 edition.

Australian Relays

The Carnival finished with the Australian Relays at “Clonalton”, an almost-open area with extensive granite. NSW and ACT fought out M21A. Though Chris Forne and Darren Ashmore, running for separate NZ teams, led early Rob Preston and Anthony Scott were just behind. Second runners, Eric Morris and Stewart Fishwick, took control sending the last runners out 14 sec apart and five minutes clear of anyone else. Julian Dent and Dave Shepherd came into the spectator control together, but Dent had a shorter final leg and that was that. Victoria was 3rd after three solid legs, without ever challenging the leaders. Tracy Bluett gave NSW an early lead in W21A, a minute ahead of Jo Allison and Hanny Allston, but ACT had the deepest team, taking control on the second leg. Queensland were closest challengers (an excellent year for them) but to close a fourminute gap on Nicki Taws was a tall order for Anna Sheldon and she had to settle for 2nd place.

A solid final leg by Orla Murray gave NSW 3rd place. Tasmania, well-deserved winners of the Junior National League, showed their strength by turning out an M20 team so strong that JWOC representative Lee Andrewartha got relegated to their second team. They won comprehensively. W20 was a lot closer, with four teams separated by less than 2 min at the last change. Amy Gibbens had easily the day’s fastest time to bring Queensland home over South Australia.

Above: Vanessa Round (SA) at the Australian Champs. Right: Victoria’s final leg runner, Chris Naunton, is accompanied by teamates Steven Cusworth and Rob Fell as they won the Senior Boys Relay at the Australian Schools Champs. And they’re racing at Clonalton... Australian Relay first leg runners. Photo: Bob Mouatt