NEWS

Grant Bluett Wins ASC Scholarship

GRANT Bluett has accepted an offer of study from the Australian Sports Commission. He will study part-time on the Graduate Certificate in Applied Science (Sports Coaching) offered by the University of Queensland via the world wide web and attendance tutorial blocks at the AIS. The total costs of tuition, including tutorials, are approx $3,500. All costs will be paid by the ASC. The ASC will arrange further tutorial assistance too, if such is needed. As Head Coach of the ACT Academy of Sport orienteering program, Grant also has $500 at his disposal to spend on his personal development. It’s a great start to Grant’s coaching career in Australia. Neville Bleakley

BJ to run for Britain

DAVID Brickhill-Jones (BJ) has announced his intention to compete as a British orienteer from 2006. BJ has been living in Scandinavia for several years, and has shown great potential, particularly in sprint races, winning a silver medal in the UK round of the World Cup this year. In making his announcement, BJ said: I wish to announce that from January 1st 2006 I will no longer be available to compete for Orienteering Australia. I have dual nationality with Australia and Great Britain and have decided from 2006 onwards that I will compete as a British orienteer. This decision is based on my personal circumstances, being based permanently in Europe, and the support available to me from British Orienteering to support me in my goal of becoming World Champion. I recognise the huge amount of support which Orienteering Australia has given me, and the major role they have played in my development as an elite orienteer, which has made this decision extraordinarily difficult. While I will be competing for Great Britain, Australia is still my home, and I intend to put time and energy back into repaying Orienteering Australia for the support they have given me, starting by volunteering to help at the National Junior Training Camp in January. I have been very proud to represent Australia and wish to sincerely thank everybody from Orienteering Australia who have assisted me in the past. BJ’s final races for Australia were the Park World Tour held in China in November. (reproduced from the Orienteering Australia web site). See interview with OA Manager-High Performance on Page 31.

BJ Australia’s best performer in 2005 World Cup

IN his last series of races for Australia before moving across to run for Great Britain in 2006, David Brickhill-Jones was Australia’s leading performer in the 2005 World Cup pointscore. He set himself up for a good result with a historic second place in the sprint event in Britain in May, but got enough points in the later events to finish in 23rd position overall. With Australia only having a limited involvement in the two non-World Championship World Cup rounds, the only other Australian in the top 50 was Hanny Allston, whose performances in Japan were enough for 42nd. In the relay pointscore, the Australian men were 16th and the women 13th. Four Australian men ran in the final rounds in Italy, with the best performances being a 24th (middle) and 15th (sprint) by Brickhill-Jones; Julian Dent and Eric Morris also made finals. In a clash of two World Champions, Andrei Khramov (Russia) just edged out Thierry Gueorgiou (France) by seven points, whilst Simone Niggli (Switzerland) was an easy winner over her compatriot Vroni König-Salmi. Switzerland also took out the women’s relay, whilst France just edged out the Norwegian men. Blair Trewin

Hanny Allston to have Surgery

DURING the Long-distance qualification race at WOC2005 in Japan Hanny felt something go wrong with her ankle. Though she didn’t know it at the time she had ruptured the anterior tabofibular ligament in her right ankle. Hanny went on to finish 6th in the WOC Long-distance final and later won the W21E Australian Championship in Tasmania. All on an ankle requiring surgery.

1086 Competitors at WMOC’05

HELD in Canada last July, WMOC”05 had a large number of Scandinavian entrants. Some 50% of all those who entered were over the age of 60 and the largest age classes were M60 (~120 entrants) and W60 (~70 entrants). Those Australians associated with the running of WMOC’02 in Victoria will readily relate to some of the problems encountered by WMOC’05 organisers in their dealings with the Masters games organization. Event Manager Geraint Edmunds commented, “We had a great deal of problems to establish cooperation within the Games. Their database didn’t work, their volunteers didn’t show up, etc. Finally we preferred to rely on our own people.”

Lifetime Most Courses Tally

DAVE Lotty (NSW) and Mike Hubbert (VIC) are locked in an epic struggle at the top of the Most Courses Tally. At time of publication Mike had just inched ahead with 2075 courses completed since he commenced Orienteering in 1969, whilst Dave was close behind with 2068 courses since 1971. Former AO editor, Ian Baker, had completed 1903 courses since his first event in 1970.

Red Roos (ACT) turns 30

OCTOBER 2005 saw the 30th birthday for the Red Roos club in ACT. John Walker had been a Red Kangaroo in Victoria and when he moved to Canberra he formed the Red Roos. In what became something of a tradition, when another Red Kangaroo, Larry Sykes, moved back to New Zealand he formed the Red Kiwis. Congratulations to the Red Roos for reaching that milestone.

Grey O-mads

DUBBING themselves the Grey O-mads, after a particularly foul weather day, a small group wove its way around five Tasmanian orienteering events, under the influence of good Tasmanian food and wine. The tour followed in the wake of the Australian Championships at St Helens, and by all accounts the group from ACT, NSW, Victoria and Queensland enjoyed a memorable week of Orienteering on offer on a wide variety of terrains from “St Helens to St Clair”, the east and west coasts and the Midlands, as well as indulging in a range of culinary delights. The tour was the initiative of Valerie and John Brammall, supported by Orienteering Tasmania, with the aim of providing low key event organisation, challenging courses and a range of terrain experiences, together with low cost accommodation and an emphasis on Tasmanian produce and experiences. Meals featured fine dining at Angasi at Binnalong Bay near St Helens, plus high quality hotel meals at the Man O’Ross at Ross and the Bronte Highland Village. Pre-dinner drinks and nibbles were totally Tasmanian and provided by local supplier Findocs at St Helens. Control placement and collection was shared by different participants each day with the minimum of effort required, leaving plenty of time for sightseeing and the inevitable cafe and bakery visits between venues. The format appears to have been very successful so watch out for further Grey O-mads tours in the future. John Brammall

Chinese Recruits

ORIENTEERING may not be on the 2008 Beijing Olympics program but the Chinese national team is busy recruiting top athletes to their Orienteering Squad. 20-year-old Mingyue Zhu is a top athlete with just two years Orienteering experience. In her fifteenth-ever event, the Middle-distance race at WOC2005 in Japan, she became the first Chinese orienteer to qualify for a World Championships final. Compatriot Li Ji is a 10,000metres runner who finished 7th in that event at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and has run 2hr 32min for the marathon. She competed in the Sprint at WOC2005 but did not make the final. She, too, has only two years Orienteering experience.

WOC2006 – Denmark

To MicrO or not to MicrO – that is the question.

IN an attempt to create wider recognition for the World Championships and to increase media coverage, the WOC2006 organisers proposed to include MicrO in the Middle-distance Championships. The IOF agreed to the proposal but imposed several stringent milestones which had to be achieved. One of these milestones was that a secure contract for TV coverage be signed by the end of September ’05 (later extended to mid-October). Although negotiations had reached an advanced stage no contract had been signed by the due date so the WOC2006 organisers withdrew their proposal. The IOF is now expressing regret that MicrO will not be included in WOC2006.

Award to Jenny & John Sheahan

THE VOA Annual Award for Services to Orienteering was presented to Jenny & John Sheahan of Bayside Kangaroos by VOA president, Blair Trewin. The Sheahans have been tireless workers over many years in promoting Orienteering in Victoria, especially of the Park & Street-O variety, and this recognition of their efforts is a timely reward.

Did I punch that last Control?

Ian Baker, Bayside Kangaroos, VIC.

HAVE you ever finished your course and then been flabbergasted to discover that somehow or other you’ve missed one or more controls and so you get the dreaded DNF? This happened to me earlier this year at The Balt Camp in Victoria, when I trotted blithely past number four and did not realise my lapse until I downloaded my SPORTident stick at the Finish. And of course two members of the Australian team at WOC this year in Japan were DNF’d for omitting controls. The introduction of SPORTident electronic punching has made this all too easy to do, since there is no visual record of what leg of the course you are on; with a punchcard you can just check the pin-marks in the numbered squares. In addition, SPORTident has meant that courses often involve loops, so the chance is increased of misreading where you are. Pending the introduction of an updated electronic stick with a visual display to show the leg number, there is something we can do to help prevent this mistake. Your digital watch Many orienteers still have a Casio digital watch with stop watch/lap function. This shows lap (leg) number, lap time since last control and total time since the start. So when you punch the control with your SPORTident stick, make a habit of also pressing the watch to update the record of your progress along the course. Another cross-check is of course to keep tabs on which control you’ve reached on your description (‘clue’) sheet. You should always look at it anyway as you approach the control marker to check the control number code to be sure you’ve got the right one.

Feelmax® Toe Socks

Feelmax® Toe Socks are the most comfortable socks in the world. Designed in Finland and sold in 16 countries, they are now available in Australia.

Why toe socks?

Toe socks are designed to fit the foot’s natural shape, eliminating the extra material around the toes that tends to bunch and rub against the skin, causing irritation. Blisters are amongst the most common sports injuries experienced by runners and walkers and are almost always caused by friction and rubbing against socks and shoes. Combined with excessive moisture from perspiration, this friction increases the likelihood of blister formation.

Feelmax® Toe Socks use DuPont Coolmax® fibres. When the foot perspires Coolmax® fibres wick moisture away from the skin to the outer layers of the fabric where it can evaporate. Toe Socks with Coolmax® fibres dry up to four times faster than regular cotton sports socks. And they look cool too! Now available at Paddy Pallin stores and David Jones.

For more information check out www.feelmax.com.au

Contact: Hazel Kotro Kat K Australia PO Box 51 Magill SA 5072 Mobile: 0400 878 071

Xmas gifts for Orienteers

SILVA K120 Elastic Polyamide mesh with Kevlar reinforcement. the latest “shoe-within-a-shoe” design. Unbelievable comfort. $179

SILVA K100 Only 300g. Unique Scholler Keprotec uppers. Great strength and elasticity. Reinforced arch to reduce pronation. $149

SILVA K80 Super wide last. Durable, waterrepellent, light weight. Reinforced arch and heel for excellent stability and comfort. $119

SILVA K40 Lightweight shoe with rubber studs but no metal cleats. Extremely lightweight. A tough shoe for beginners. $89

orienteering gear makes a much appreciated gift for Christmas for the orienteer in your life. Here are a few ideas.

SILVA ‘Eclipse’ running tops in lightweight Swedish polyamide. Airy, durable, negligible water absorption, quick drying. Blue/white or black/white/yellow. S, M, L, XL. $47.75

SILVA ‘Navigator’ trousers in same Swedish material as tops. Black or royal blue. $42.75

AVAILABLE FROM:

the following O-shops and Orienteering Service of Australia 44 Alexandra Pde., Clifton Hill, Vic 3068 Tel (03) 9489 9766

NSW - Peter Shepherd 9525 3703 ACT - Anthony Scott 6251 0303 VIC - Kevin Maloney 9544 4469 WA - Andrew Martin 0419 900 233 TAS - Mike Dowling 6244 7173 SILVA 6 Jet Spectra with the super fast settling and stable fluro broad Jet needle colour-coded ring. LH or RH models. $133

SILVA 5 Jet baseplate model with interchangeable map scales and fast Jet needle. ‘Comfort-fit’ curved back end. $133