COMPASSES

products made with precision and feeling

Olle Bergman

COMPASSES, COMPASSES, COMPASSES – small, large, antique, modern. I thought I knew everything there is to know about compasses. Standing in front of a display case in the Silva premises in Sollentuna I start to feel nostalgic thinking of my first compass, purchased from my club in 1976: an angular base plate compass with aluminium housing and a reliable magnifying glass. I never treated myself to a step counter.…..

Wide assortment

My energetic host, Christer Svensson, takes me back to reality. He’s eager to show me the assortment of today, which includes everything from marine instruments and GPS equipment to compasses with built in whistles and can openers. Our attention quickly focuses on the products that were there when it all started for Silva in the late 1920’s – orienteering compasses. Christer starts to describe the production, and it hits me how little I actually know about the instrument which has been my guide in darkness and in marshes. To produce a standard compass is certainly not simply putting a magnetic needle in a plastic can and filling it up with paraffin oil! No, it’s a production that requires precision and knowledge of the materials.

A lot to take into consideration

Christer shows me the frictionless suspension, where the sapphire stone hub rotates on the pin in the housing. He tells me about the liquid, ‘a petroleum product that resembles paraffin oil’. The liquid has to remain clear and uncoloured. He explains how important it is that the plastic wall of the housing has the exact amount of flexibility to allow for the volume changes of the liquid – no cracks caused by summer heat, no bubbles caused by cold weather in the winter. When Christer talks about balancing the compass needles, because of the vertical direction of the earth’s magnetic field, we reach the hard hitting question: why are the speedy orange needles of the Jet compasses so much more expensive than the classical red needles? Do they really differ all that much? I’ve been asked the same question so many times: why does a compass cost around $140? The answer is - it’s made by hand!

Different manufacturing

Conventional compasses, with a needle punched out of steel plate, are rather simple to mass-produce, whereas the more modern orienteering compasses require a more complicated process. “This production must be made by hand”, Christer Svensson explains. “It cannot – with reasonable investment costs – be automated. Every single compass is balanced and glued by hand.” The main difference is that the Jet compass does not have the traditional compass needle. Instead it is structured on a small square magnet on to which a plastic needle has been attached. The compass needle requires manual balancing (see picture), unlike the metal needles which are punched out of a set form.

Electronics in the future

More and more of the Silva products will be electronic, but to make a simple electronic compass suitable for orienteering at a reasonable price is not so easy. The problem lies in the vertical factor of the earth’s magnetic field. Cheap electronic compasses are extremely sensitive to tilting – to the extent where they are useless to orienteering. Another problem is the practical use of an electronic compass. How do you set a compass course when you can’t see the map and the north lines or turn the compass housing. However Silva is preparing for an electronic future for the sport. “We think – and hope – that GPS will not be allowed in orienteering, but we think that the electronic compasses will be allowed. Speaking for myself I would like to see more interesting supplementary sports to get more people interested in orienteering, e.g. GPS orienteering”, says Christer Svensson, who himself has tried geocaching with great pleasure. What kind of gadgets our kids will take with them out in the forest is hard to tell, but it’s very likely that some of the gadgets will be branded Silva.

Olle Bergman is a Swedish freelance writer. First published in Skogssport 2/2006.

’Standard’ compass needles punched out of steel plate. The needle is magnetised by a strong magnetic field as the compass is being put together. If the compass is to be used at Scandinavian latitudes, it will be slightly heavy at the back. This is to stop the Earth’s magnetic field to tip it forwards/ downwards.

The Jet compass is more complicated than you may think. If you look very carefully you can see the transparent dampening disc that settles on the needle a second or so after it is aligned to north.

Silva Services to Orienteering –

Neville Bleakley

THE 2006 Silva Services to Orienteering Award goes to Neville Bleakley for his long and dedicated service to Orienteering Australia, not only as a coach but for developing the strategies for the High Performance program and for completing the curricula for the National Officiating Accreditation Scheme Level 2 and Level 3 officials’ (controllers) courses.

Neville Bleakley came to Orienteering in the early 1980s after years of being a successful coach in other sports. For many years he was content to be just a competitor, but in the early 1990s, he regained his enthusiasm for coaching. In 1992 he was appointed ACT Orienteering Director of Coaching and Training (a voluntary position). At about the same time he became Head of Dept Sport and Fitness at the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT), after working for a number of years in curriculum development. In 1994, he undertook study to be a High Performance coach. To gain more understanding of the intricacies of coaching in orienteering, he undertook to be the coach of the 1995 JWOC team that did so well in Denmark. The team was the 9th nation in overall standings, Australia’s best result, only equalled in 2002 in Spain, and achieved seven top-30 placings, a result unsurpassed so far.

Neville Bleakley worked at the Australian Coaching Council for a short period in 1996 under a ‘return to industry” program for TAFE teachers. In December 1996 he was appointed the OFA National Director of Coaching (NDC) (then a voluntary position). In 1998, he was accredited as a High Performance Coach, the first and only orienteering coach to achieve this level. In April 1998, he left his position at CIT to take up two paid part-time orienteering positions, National Director of Coaching and ACT Academy of Sport (ACTAS) Orienteering Head Coach. He remained in both positions until 31 October 2005.

In 1999, Neville Bleakley identified a need to create a High Performance program under the control of a Director (High Performance) and overseen by a Manager, High Performance. Recruiting people for both positions took some time, but his vision meant that Orienteering Australia was well placed in early 2001 when the Australian Sports Commission required all national sporting organisations to have a High Performance Strategic Plan and structure. Within three weeks, during January 2001, he and Bob Mouatt created OA’s first HP Strategic Plan, which was good enough to satisfy the ASC.

When, in 2003, Orienteering Australia decided that it wanted its controller accreditation scheme incorporated into the ASC National Officiating Accreditation Scheme, Neville Bleakley agreed to extend his duties to include Officiating and to write the curricula for the Levels 2 and 3 controllers’ courses. This enabled Orienteering Australia to implement full NOAS accreditation for all of its officials (controllers).

While his role as Head Coach at ACTAS was predominantly an ACT position, he always took a national perspective which led to many benefits accruing to the national HP program. The most significant came as he was standing down, when ACTAS agreed to National Training Centre scholarships being granted to two orienteers, living in the ACT, without the requirement to compete for the Canberra Cockatoos.

Neville Bleakley’s greatest strengths in orienteering are his holistic approach, his ability to operate at a number of levels and his ability to communicate effectively with people from all walks of life. He has the rare ability to be both an ‘administrator/official’ and a ‘practitioner’ at the same time. As with many innovators, Neville Bleakley had visions that were not always shared by all of his colleagues and he had to use all of his considerable communicative skills to bring about change, which was ultimately recognised as being the smart thing to do. His greatest contribution to orienteering in Australia has been his insight of what was required to improve the situation, and his preparedness to work tirelessly to execute the necessary changes. He also possesses an almost unrivalled ability to ‘network’ with people of influence. He is held in very high regard both within and outside orienteering. He has been an inspiration to the orienteering coaching community, and given orienteering coaches a new belief in themselves. He was the epitome of what every National Coaching Director should be.

ORIENTEERING PUBLICATIONS

IOF Publications

International Specifications for‑Orienteering Maps .......... $11.00 Competition rules for IOF events ................. $11.00 Control Descriptions ............ $11.00 Simple Maps for Orienteering .... $11.00 Trail Orienteering (BOF book) ..... $30.00 Trail Orienteering (booklet) ........ $8.25 Trail O (leaflet) ................. $0.70

Australian Publications

Elementary Orienteering Instructors‑Manual ............. $13.20 Level 1 Coaching Manual ........ $22.00 Level 1 Coaching Syllabus ........ $3.90 Level 2 Coaching Syllabus ........ $4.40 Level 3 Coaching Syllabus ........ $4.40 Among the Best Orienteers (video) $19.75 Sponsorship & Advertising, 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . available from states Club Guide, available on disc.

Prices include GST and postage within Australia for single copies. Prices for bulk orders available on request. Orders should be addressed to Orienteering Australia, PO Box 740, Glebe, NSW 2037, with cheques made payable to Orienteering Australia. Email: orienteering@dsr.nsw.gov.au

Orienteering Australia photo archive

Photos that appear in The Australian Orienteer can be made available in a digital format for press releases or special promotional projects. Contact Peter Cusworth on 03 5968 5254 or cusworth@netspace.net.au Any material costs will be passed on to users.