11 minute read
NATIONAL ORIENTEERING LEAGUE
Hanny Allston, and three on Anna Quayle, there. Given some of her performances in the last year coming back from two minutes down was certainly not beyond Allston, but she never quite managed to get herself back into the contest and had to settle for second. It was Elson’s first senior national title. Consistency was the key further down the list, with the last spot or two in the World Championships team possibly up for grabs. Susanne Casanova had her best result of the week to come third, with Danielle Winslow in fourth, and Felicity Brown achieving her best senior result with fifth.
The junior classes were weaker than Easter as some moved up to race against the seniors instead, but M17-20E still turned on a fine contest as Chris Naunton and Ryan Smyth took up where they left off at Easter. Smyth led for the first half but lost time at 10, giving Naunton a narrow lead over Murray Scown which he held to the end, with Smyth in third. Clare Brownridge won her first national title at any level, pulling away from Ineka Booth over the second half, whilst Jess Davis finished well to just miss out on second.
It was the first time since the early 1990’s that a Middle-distance national championship had been contested in other classes. Many of the fields were smaller than might have been hoped for, particularly amongst the juniors, and close finishes were surprisingly hard to come by. It was, instead, a day for master classes by some of Australia’s best technical orienteers in the tricky terrain. Geoff Lawford partly made up for his Easter disappointment by finishing nearly five minutes ahead of Paul Pacque in M50, whilst Tim Dent (M60), Jenny Bourne (W45) and Sue Neve (W50) all repeated their Easter wins, in some of the event’s larger fields, with margins of five minutes-and-something.
Canberra and Tasmania finish the week on a high note,
The Canberra Cockatoos and Tassie Foresters finished the week on a high note with convincing wins in the National League Relays on the final Sunday near Bendigo. The Tasmanian women have hardly dropped a point all season and went in as heavy favourites, after filling three of the first four places at both Easter and the Middledistance Championships. Grace Elson and Anna Sheldon came in four minutes ahead of the field, and with Queensland having juniors on the last two legs the Foresters never looked in danger after that. They were five minutes ahead after Danielle Winslow’s second leg, and Hanny Allston added another four to that with the day’s fastest time. The most interest was behind them. Four teams went out in just over a minute at the start of the last leg, but it was Kathryn Ewels who prevailed as she led Victoria into second place ahead of Canberra. The Southern Arrows were fourth, whilst Orla Murray’s last leg lifted the Stingers into fifth and got them some important points.
Canberra’s win in the men’s race didn’t look as much of a sure thing beforehand as the Tasmanian women did, but with Grant Bluett and Dave Shepherd running the last two legs, as long as Gareth Candy could bring them back somewhere near the lead they were going to be hard to beat. Candy did exactly that, coming back with Queensland, NSW and Victoria in the lead group; Bluett opened a four-minute lead on the second leg and after that it was never in doubt, although Shepherd made sure of it with the day’s fastest time. David Meyer gave NSW enough of a break in the battle for second to give Eric Morris an edge which he never surrendered, whilst third came down to a sprint finish between Rune Olsen and Simon Uppill, in which Olsen just prevailed for the Victorians.
The small junior men’s field produced one of the most memorable relay finishes seen in Australia for years. All four teams hit the final section together; Nick Andrewartha (Tasmania) led into the last control but missed it slightly and missed the placings altogether, whilst Leon Keely sprinted clear to give the points to the second Victorian team. Victoria also had the only finishing junior girls’ team.
NSW lead a close four-way battle in the National League
Blair Trewin reports:
The NSW Stingers are narrow leaders in the 2006 National League after nine of the 16 rounds. They hold a three-point break over the Canberra Cockatoos, whose chances were damaged when Jo Allison’s injury left them with only two women for the last three days of Easter. The Tasmanian women have hardly dropped a point all season, which has been enough to put them in third place despite only limited contributions from their men. The Victorian Nuggets complete a top four separated by only 18 points, the closest season for years, and all four teams have at least some chance of winning. Grace Elson and Hanny Allston look set to fight out the individual title. Elson has a 20-point lead at present, but Allston has four wins to Elson’s three and should close the gap once her Round 3 DNF falls out of her leading scores. Eric Morris holds a six-point lead over Grant Bluett in the men’s competition, but the two most likely winners are behind them, providing they can post some good scores in the later part of the season. David Shepherd has won all five rounds he has contested so far, while Julian Dent, who missed the Easter carnival through injury (stress fracture), has two wins and a second from his three events. Victoria, with the benefit of home-ground advantage over the Easter week, has taken over from early leaders Queensland in the junior division, but with Queensland having two home rounds to come they still look the team to beat. Simon Uppill is in a very strong individual position after winning five rounds on end, whilst Kellie Whitfield leads a well-contested series from Heather Harding and Clare Brownridge.
Kellie Whitfield (WA) is leading the Junior Women’s National League and will also be a part of the Australian team at JWOC.
NUTRITION Buy yourself a JET this year!
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.
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.
$138 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.
$133 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.
$145 from your local O-gear shop at events.
Teams for the World Championships
Three Teams of Australian Orienteers are in the final stages of preparation to run for Oz in World championships.
The AUS Team for WOC in Denmark in August will be:
MEN WOMEN
Julian Dent (NSW) Sprint & Middle Jo Allison (ACT) Sprint, Middle & Relay Troy De Haas (VIC) Sprint Hanny Allston (TAS) Sprint, Long & Relay Eric Morris (NSW) Sprint & Long Grace Elson (TAS) Sprint, Middle & Relay David Shepherd (ACT)Middle, Long & Relay Anna Sheldon (QLD) Middle & Long Rob Walter (ACT) Middle & Long Danielle Winslow (TAS) Long Brett Weihart Men’s Coach Sue Neve Women’s Coach Two other runners for the Men’s relay will be chosen on performances closer to WOC. Grace Elson and Anna Sheldon will be competing in their first WOC event.
The AUS Team for JWOC in Lithuania in July will be:
MEN: Simon Uppill (SA), Chris Naunton (VIC), Ryan Smyth (TAS), Matt Parton (NSW), Murray Scown (ACT), Evan Barr (VIC). Reserves: Morten Neve (VIC), Loius Elson (TAS) WOMEN:Hanny Allston (TAS), Jasmine Neve (VIC), Vanessa Round (SA), Kellie Whitfield (WA), Ainsley Cavanagh (QLD ), Sophie Barker (ACT). Reserves: Heather Harding (SA), Clare Brownridge (VIC) Coach: Gareth Candy, Team Managers: Hilary Wood & Nick Dent The team will be producing a calendar to promote the 2007 JWOC being held in Dubbo, NSW. It will be available for sale in June and all proceeds will go towards subsidising the substantial costs of the Juniors to travel to and compete in Lithuania.
The AUS Team for WMTBOC in Finland in July will be:
MEN: Steven Cusworth (VIC), Paul Darvodelsky (NSW), Adrian Jackson (VIC), Alex Randall (VIC), David Simpfendorfer (ACT). WOMEN: Carolyn Jackson (VIC). Grant Lebbink (Vic) was also selected but has declined the offer. The first relay team will be Adrian and Alex plus the best performed of the other three in the Middle-distance final.
Carolyn Jackson’s selection in the MTB-O team marks 30 years since she was first selected for an Australian WOC team to go to Scotland in 1976. That’s surely a record which will never be broken.
Carolyn photographed here during the selection race near Cessnock in March. Photo: Peter Cusworth
21Sledge –
An Orienteering Mirage?
Aaron Dodd
For a more or less washed up ex-junior, the prospect of a 14+ km middle day provides more than enough evidence to boycott the Australian Easter 3-Day Carnival. Especially when you haven’t had quite enough time to do that extra training you were talking about, or in fact, any training at all. If I had any doubt in my mind that I was in no way prepared for this Easter Carnival, dry-reaching and then vomiting as I hopelessly tried to compete with the men’s elite Prologue field was a clear sign. My only remaining hope for enjoyment this Easter was the phenomenon that is 21Sledge. M21AS or 21Sledge as it is affectionately known is the only class where regardless of ones age, sex, fitness or ability there is the opportunity to have a damn good time. Sledge embodies the elements of orienteering that most of us enjoy - camaraderie, competition, navigation, being in great places with friends and, thank goodness, not having to train hard and run long courses. Sledge has all the fanfare of the Tour de France, lacking only the toned bodies and lucrative sponsorship deals. Sledge 2006 proved to be no exception to the norm. Day One began with the traditional mass start and saw a field of almost 30 old boys, bandits, hacks and sledgers racing off into the forest at a pace that would be sustained until only about halfway to the first control. As the field spread out across the course, smaller competitions were getting underway. Like Le Tour, the competition for the classification leader’s jerseys, or in the case of 21Sledge, the coveted boxer shorts were already heating up. Despite a truly valiant effort, the overall leader at the end of Day One, Pat Saile, was soon to find himself as a passenger in the battle for the yellow “race leaders” (head bandit) boxers (and hat). The close battle between perennial bandit David Colls and Matt Schepisi was developing behind him, with only five seconds separating the two going into Day 2.5. Collsy was a DNS at the evening event and so was a dubious winner the following day, putting more time into his lead over Matt Schepisi, to take out his second 21Sledge victory. The polka dots, normally the realm of the gravity assisted gentleman, were dominated by Stuart Fell who put in two storming downhill legs on the first two days and never looked to be challenged. Likewise, the green “sprinters” shorts were again held firmly by Aaron Dodd who had a handy lead out on Day One and managed a tidy 18sec split for the 150m finish chute on Day Two. Making his return to orienteering as part of the Melbourne University crew, ex-ACT junior Darren Southwell rather conspicuously shadowed David Searle (the ideal sledger) around the course, taking out the purple ‘sledger’ shorts for the first two days before Searlooo miss-punched on the final day. If competing at Burra in 2007, Darren will be the new ‘ideal sledger’. Toward the back of the field the complex gold mining terrain of the second and third days were taking their toll. Relative newcomers to Orienteering, Robert Lee and Jose Zapata, found the going tough and seemed locked in their own personal battle for the black pigs (biggest mistake) and cup of life (most places lost) shorts. Robert Lee should be congratulated on completing the three days after having never orienteered before. His times clearly reflect that he enjoyed himself more than anyone else. So despite a relatively abrupt beginning to my Easter campaign, 2006 proved to be one of my most enjoyable. Believe me, 21Sledge provides an atmosphere that surpasses those of other classes and gives people the opportunity to simply have a go. Sledgers may not be the pin-up’s of the orienteering scene, but I’m sure they have the most fun. So next time you’re walking to the start and you hear some banter from a bloke in a funny looking pair of shorts, know that he is a sledger, and having a darn good time. Bring on Burra 2007!
