NEWS

THE Australian team for the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) has been announced. Following the Australian 3-Days competition selectors named the team:

Men: Julian Dent, Conrad Elson, Louis Elson, David Meyer, Ryan Smyth, Simon Uppill. Reserves: Matt Parton and Chris Naunton.

Women: Hanny Allston, Ainsley Cavanagh, Zebedy Hallett, Jasmine Neve, Erin Post, Vanessa Round. Reserves: Kellie Whitfield and Heather Harding.

JWOC will be held in Switzerland, July 11-16.

Manager for WMTB-O Team

ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA has appointed Paul Darvodelsky as manager of the Australian team for the 2005 World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships in Slovakia, September 5-11.

AROC 24-Hour Endurance Race – March 5, Canberra

ORIENTEERS did extremely well in this event, winning both the open male and female categories. Rob and Peter Preston had won all four sprint lead-up events they had contested in Sydney and Canberra, pairing up with other NSW Stingers team-mates David Meyer, Andy Hill and Richard Mountstephens at various times. However, they wisely recruited Aussie MTBO team member David Baldwin as their third team member for this event, as David knows every track and termite mound in the ACT.

The Cockatoos trio of Grant Bluett, Dave Shepherd and Rob Walter had combined to win a recent sprint event, and female reps in Alison Jones, Cathy Talbot, Rebecca Minty and Jo Allison had also been amongst the placegetters.

The 24-Hour event required navigating to control points in the 18 various “legs” of paddling, swimming, tubing, mountain biking, running/ trekking, and even two bus journeys. The start and finish point was at the National Museum and took teams north to the Gungahlin and Mulligans Flat O map, south to Lake Tuggeranong and through every bit of bush in-between. The start was in wet, windy and cool conditions and only got colder.

There were whitecaps on Lake Burley Griffin, as 50 teams took to the water in the specially designed 3-person kayaks. Kay Haarsma was teamed up with fellow orienteer Susanne Casanova and ACT triathlete Terri Moore, whom they first met 30 minutes before the start. Susanne and Terri were new to paddling and got a rough initiation.

Teams were required to carry mandatory equipment at all times, including a mobile phone. Kay’s team didn’t own one between them, so it was pretty impressive of Ann Scown to lend hers knowing that it would be going for a swim or two. After the second kayak leg both Susanne and Kay got badly hypothermic and the organizers thought they wouldn’t continue, but the addition of some thermals got them moving again.

One funny incident happened on the Black Mountain footO section when Susanne commented that, “the next control will be right next to the dead kangaroo.” (She had seen the kangaroo a week before while out training.) A member from another team travelling with ours then asked, “what symbol is used for a dead kangaroo?”

The Preston/Baldwin team took the lead early on and maintained it throughout, despite stopping for drinks and food at the various café and Sushi bar control points along the way. The Haarsma/Casanova/ Moore team was 2 hours quicker on a night mountain biking leg than their opposing women’s teams, came through to the lead at 2 am and kept it.

So victory in the inaugural 24-Hour Canberra adventure race to two teams of orienteers. Kay Haarsma

National Training Centre

DANIELLE WINSLOW has been offered and has taken up the first NTC scholarship to ACTAS. The offer is subject to OTAS paying a $500 fee to ACTAS. If OTAS declines, then Danielle may opt to pay it herself. The scholarship is tenable during 2005.

Danielle is eligible to all the services that ACTAS is able to offer (i.e. in effect, she will be a full squad member), but will not receive cash assistance from ACTAS squad funds for travel etc. She is also not eligible for assistance from SRACT if she makes the WOC team. She will run for the Tassie Foresters in the National League.

Julian Dent: Orienteering Association of NSW has agreed to pay the fees for Julian Dent (NSW) to join the ACTAS Strength and Conditioning Program at ACTAS until he goes overseas to compete in the Junior World Orienteering Championships in Switzerland. Julian has said he intends to link with ACTAS more closely when he returns from overseas in October: preferably as a NTC scholarship holder from NSW.

Strength and Conditioning coach for the ACTAS squad is Cory Middleton. Cory was a noted Australian-ranked middledistance runner some years ago, who competed against the Quayle brothers in the mid 90s. Cory is also a qualified sport psychologist, employed by the AIS, and his programs show a mix of mind/body emphasis. They are not just strength sessions - they are designed to challenge orienteers to use muscle groups in the correct way to increase performance - and to have the right mind-set to persevere under stress.

Lauren Shelley in London Marathon

LAUREN SHELLEY (BK-V) finished 21st in the women’s section of the 2005 London Marathon, won by Paula Radcliffe. Overall, some 35,000 people took part. Lauren’s time was a very creditable 2:41:42, just missing the Commonwealth Games “B” qualifying standard of 2:40:00. Lauren plans to have another try in the Gold Coast marathon on 3rd July.

Lauren rugged up for the London Marathon. Photos: Steve Rowland

Vroni König-Salmi in Ski-O WOC

ONE of Switzerland’s most successful Foot-O competitors, Vroni König-Salmi, competed in the Ski-O WOC events at Levi, Finland. In the Middle-distance event she was second Swiss home in 21st place and in the Relay she helped her team to 6th placing. In 2001 Vroni König-Salmi was World Sprint Champion in Foot-O.