APOC 2006

Hong Kong welcomes you to APOC 2006

24 December 2006 to 1 January 2007

APOC is a biannual grand occasion in the Orienteering world. This year the event will be held in Hong Kong in December over the territory’s most beautiful outskirts areas. This time the event is listed as a World Ranking Event and it is expected that most top runners from around the world will come to enjoy Orienteering in Asia’s most prosperous city.

Brief information about APOC

This is the third time that Hong Kong hosts an APOC carnival. APOC, which originated from Pacific Orienteering Championships, provides an opportunity to improve the competitive standard of Orienteering in the Asia-Pacific region and encourages interaction among orienteers in this region and the rest of the world. Asia-Pacific titles are reserved for those from Asia or countries bordering the Pacific Ocean (since 1992, this has been interpreted to exclude those from the European part of Russia), but the event itself is open to all. A full range of age classes is offered.

Orienteering in Hong Kong

Orienteering is a small sport here in Hong Kong, but not in terms of number of participants. Every year there are over 15 open events held during the competition season (October to May), including Annual Championships, Ranking Events, Colour-Coded Events, Sports Festival Relay Events, etc. Each event attracts several hundred or even thousands of competitors. The largest ever event in Hong Kong, the MSF Orienteering Competition, attracted 2400 participants in 2005. The Orienteering Association of Hong Kong was established in 1981 and now has 40 affiliated clubs and 839 individual members.

Typical terrain

You will encounter mainly hilly areas with some steep slopes. Most competition areas are very runnable open area (yellow), or dense scrub (dark green) with extensive paths/roads network.

New Area, New Experience

Even those who participated in APOC 1996 in Hong Kong will still enjoy a completely new experience at APOC 2006 because we offer completely new competition areas this time:

Tai Po Waterfront Park (Hong Kong Championships – Sprint)

• this 22 hectares park, where the symbolic Spiral Lookout Tower is located, is the largest park in Hong Kong. (Parks in Hong Kong are always crowded so park Orienteering events are seldom organized).

Ngau Liu (Hong Kong Championships – Middle-distance)

• a popular area for camping and hiking, this area contains a typical mixture of terrain in Hong Kong, including “white” forest hills, steep slopes, open swampy area, dense scrub, etc.

Braemar Hill (Hong Kong Championships – Night)

• THE best location to view the beautiful night scene in Hong Kong Island. (It is exactly the reason why we arrange night Orienteering here).

Yuen Long – Tai Tong, Tai Shu Ha (APOC – Sprint and Middle-distance)

• contains the largest “white” forest area of all Orienteering areas in Hong Kong. This area is described as one of the most technically demanding for Orienteering in Hong Kong.

Lantau – Lo Fu Tau, Tung Wan Tau (APOC – Long-distance and Relay)

• next to Discovery Bay (famous resort and low-rise residential area) and Hong Kong Disneyland. You may also have a chance to run next to Discovery Bay Golf Course.

Join the festival!

Asia Pacific Orienteering Championships 2006 is not only a major international Orienteering event; it is also the greatest ever Orienteering “carnival” in Hong Kong. From Christmas Eve to New Year, there will be 7 competitions in the 9-day period. No matter whether you are a novice in Orienteering or an elite runner, you may enjoy the fun of Orienteering close to a major world metropolis, find your direction using compass and map, and run with the topmost runners from all over the world. Come to join us! APOC 2006 is waiting for your participation! You may visit our website http://www.apoc2006.hk for the latest event news. You may also contact the Office of Orienteering Association of Hong Kong (OAHK) for event leaflets and entry forms: Address: Room 1014, Olympic House, 1 Stadium Path, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Phone: (852) 25048112; (852)25048111 Fax: (852)25775595, Email: info@apoc2006.hk

APOC PROGRAM

Date Event

24 Dec 2006 (SUN) Hong Kong Championships – Sprint Course 25 Dec 2006 (MON) Hong Kong Championships – Middle-distance Course 26 Dec 2006 (TUE) Hong Kong Championships – Night Orienteering 27 Dec 2006 (WED) Registration for APOC 2006 28 Dec 2006 (THU) Model Event Opening Ceremony 29 Dec 2006 (FRI) APOC 2006 – Sprint Course(World Ranking Event) 30 Dec 2006 (SAT) APOC 2006 – Middle-dist Course (World Ranking Event) 31 Dec 2006 (SUN) APOC 2006 – Long-dist Course (World Ranking Event) 01 Jan 2007 (MON) APOC 2006 – Relay Closing Ceremony

APOC – International Orienteering close to home

David Hogg

Typical terrain in Hong Kong - hilly area with some steep slopes, most areas are runnable rough open area (light yellow).

Dense scrub (light green/dark green) with extensive path/road networks are also commonly found here.

ONE of the great attractions of Orienteering is the opportunity to use it as an excuse to see the world. Sooner or later, most committed orienteers take the opportunity to travel to other countries in order to experience popular and memorable events such as the World Masters Orienteering Championships, the Swedish Five-Days (O-ringen) or the spectator events attached to the World Orienteering Championships.

Some runnable forests (white) can be found in Hong Kong, but they look quite different to those in Scandinavia.

The first “Asian Cities Orienteering Championships” held in 2004 here is a milestone of orienteering development in this region.

Map is of Pak Sha, venue for the APOC’86 Relay.

Australia has its own home-grown international event, the Asia Pacific Orienteering Championships (or APOC) which began near Canberra in 1980 as the Pacific Orienteering Championships (POC). At that time Australia, together with the other Orienteering nations in the Pacific region (New Zealand, Japan, USA and Canada) were very much in the developmental stage in terms of international competition. POC was initiated to provide an opportunity for orienteers from those nations to compete amongst themselves at their own level. It also had a second agenda, namely to provide local experience in organising an international event and particularly to demonstrate to the International Orienteering Federation Australia’s capabilities in support of its bid to host the 1985 World Orienteering Championships.

POC’80 was a success in all respects, although the international competition came mainly from New Zealand, with a few Japanese entrants and nobody from North America. It nevertheless inspired Japan to conduct the event again in 1982, and from there it has continued on a regular biennial cycle.

With Hong Kong entering the Orienteering scene, the event’s name was changed to the Asia Pacific Orienteering Championships when New Zealand hosted it in 1984. Hong Kong hosted APOC in 1986 and again in 1996, Canada in 1990 and 2002, and it returned to Australia in 1988 and 2000, to New Zealand in 1994 and to Japan in 1992. Two of the most memorable APOCs for those who attended were in China in 1998, when the Orienteering itself was fairly basic but the other experiences were fantastic, and in Kazakhstan in 2004, a country which is unlikely to have been high on one’s travel agenda, were it not for the Orienteering.

Particularly in the cases of China and Kazakhstan, APOC offered the opportunity for the host nations to stage an event for international visitors without necessarily being subject to the technical and financial rigours associated with an IOF-sanctioned event. Most APOC carnivals, however, are nevertheless conducted to a very high standard. Combined with the travel experience to places such as the Canadian Rockies, the Great Wall of China or the mountains of eastern Kazakhstan, APOC offers a trip which most would look back on with much satisfaction.

The competitive standard of APOC depends largely on where the event is held, with the toughest competition usually experienced when it is held in Australia or New Zealand. In contrast to the World Masters or O-ringen, however, competent Australian orienteers need not fear being consigned to the middle of the field behind dozens of Scandinavians. While Europeans also attend APOC, they are usually the ones who are there for the travel experience rather than for the competitive glory. In any case, the formal titles of APOC Champion are reserved for residents of the region.

One of the successful aspects of many previous APOCs for Australian orienteers has been the organisation of tour groups. In particular, the late Keith Curry organised many successful tours for Australians (sometimes with a few New Zealanders) to those countries where making your own arrangements is not always easy. Barry Hanlon overcame many difficulties in arranging a successful trip for Australian orienteers to Kazakhstan in 2004. Others have also organised tour parties on occasions. It is normal practice for participants from Japan and Hong Kong to travel en masse, and Sweden’s Peo Bengtsson has organised European groups to many past APOC events.

APOC 2006 in Hong Kong

In December 2006, APOC will be in Hong Kong for the third time. The political scene has changed significantly since APOC was last held there, with the former British colony reverting to Chinese control, but Orienteering keeps going. As described in a separate article, at least some of the terrain will be quite new to previous APOC visitors, with two days of competition held on Lantau Island. Most of the other days will be in the New Territories where the terrain, while different from what most Australians are used to, can still provide challenging competition. Apart from the Orienteering, Hong Kong has much to offer the visitor, as one can find out from travel guides or the internet. It is also a relatively easy place to visit from a language viewpoint, with English being widely spoken.

At this stage, I am not aware of anyone with plans to organise a tour group, but am willing to act as a contact point for anyone thinking of going to Hong Kong who would like to co-ordinate with other Australian visitors. My e-mail address is dhogg@homemail. com.au or phone (02) 6254 2325 of you prefer to talk directly. If anyone is interested in organising a tour, please let me know, as there should be many potential takers. The event organisers are offering some accommodation and local transport options for those who wish to travel independently.

The Future of APOC

The international Orienteering scene has changed significantly since the days of POC’80. The nations for which the event was originally established have become increasingly competitive at the international elite level, and more active in organising major competitions for the IOF. On the other hand, there are many new Orienteering nations emerging in the Asia Pacific region, and some of these may have desires to host international events in due course. APOC can continue to serve the needs of these developing O-nations in providing such an opportunity without extreme expectations by competitors.

The competition to attract international participants is also becoming more intense, with the annual World Masters Orienteering Championships catering for what has become the main visitor participation base of APOC, namely the older orienteers who have the time, money and relative freedom from other commitments to make overseas trips. The World Masters tends to move between the stronger Orienteering nations, which have the resource base to meet IOF expectations, while APOC has the flexibility to travel to some of the smaller countries, which may be more exotic in both an Orienteering and a travel sense.

At the elite level, the IOF is developing the concept of regional championships. This may sometimes fit comfortably with the APOC concept, although the APOC region is different from the IOF regions. When (A)POC first started, there was a strong emphasis on elite competition, but this has declined over time. The IOF regional championship model has the potential to restore elite interest.

APOC should continue to prosper if, but only if, there are nations willing to host it and orienteers willing to travel to it. The issue of hosting is of some concern, as to date there is still no confirmed host for 2008, although a couple of the newer Asian Onations have expressed some interest. Eastern Russia (Vladivostok) has been suggested as a possible future venue, and the USA is the only one of the original partners not to have hosted APOC. In the longer term, there are several South American nations fronting the Pacific that have joined the IOF recently, although whether their international ambitions are likely to reach across the ocean rather than within their own continent has yet to be determined.

Whatever its future, APOC has played an important role in the development of Orienteering outside Europe for nearly 30 years, and brought some memorable experiences to many Australians and other orienteers within the region.