A PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

The search for the golden boomerang

Bob Mouatt

When I was a child (in the 1940s) my favourite radio serial was ‘The Search for the Golden Boomerang’. I had not thought a lot about the program until Orienteering Australia started considering ‘Australian Boomerangs’ as the nickname for the national team. And then last year when I was in Tasmania for the Australian Championships Carnival, when I visited the antiques and memorabilia shop near St Helens, I discovered and bought a copy of the book printed in 1941. Reading the book brought back many pleasant memories. The next episode in this rather long saga occurred on 1st August 2006 at Mindeparken, Aarhus, Denmark. Orienteering Australia had decided to use the opening of the World Orienteering Championships by HRH Crown Prince Frederik to launch the name ‘Australian Boomerangs’ by having the Australian team present Prince Frederik with a boomerang, signed by all team members and coaches, for baby Prince Christian. Two Tasmanian women who were competing in the Sprint Distance event, Hanny Allston and Grace Elson, were selected to make the presentation on behalf of the team. Before the boomerang could be presented to Prince Frederik, Hanny and Grace had to compete in the final and it is now history that Hanny beat the best in the world to win the Gold medal. So the search for our first golden boomerang was over, but we would certainly like more in the future. Since 1999, I have attended a Junior World Championships, a World Mountain Bike Championships, a World Games, two World Masters Championships, and six World Championships. The 2006 World Championships was by far the best, thanks to Hanny Allston’s outstanding run in the Sprint Distance final and Relay, and Jo Allison and Grace Elson who supported Hanny in the Relay. For those who have never been to any of the World Championships it is difficult to comprehend the pressure cooker atmosphere in which they are staged and how difficult it is for athletes to perform at their best. The greatest challenge for Orienteering Australia is how to prepare our athletes to cope with the demands of competing to their potential at World Championships.

The Importance of a National Approach

Aweek or so before the 2006 OA Annual General Meeting Julian Dent said to me, “Bob, what are you going to do when you are president?” My impromptu reply was to say I would continue pursuing the goal I had nearly 10 years ago when I took on dual positions with OA and OACT and that is for Orienteering to be considered a serious sport. A key factor to our sport being taken seriously is to have a national approach in all that we do. Orienteering Australia (or correctly the Orienteering Federation of Australia) was formed in the early 1970s and during the following 25 years or so it has gone through a series of evolutions. The biggest change I have noticed during my years of attending OA Council meetings has been the gradual development of a national perspective, which was not so obvious a decade ago. As I was compiling a mailing list of State Presidents I noted how many were new in their position. Five were elected this year, and I think the other two were elected only last year. So with me being new to the job, and a few new or relatively new directors on the Board of Orienteering Australia, we have a lot of new people, presumably with new ideas. The first among a number of strategies being pursued by the directors on the new Board of Orienteering Australia is to make the OA website much more effective, which they have been doing for some time. You might have noticed the improvements that have already been made. The second is to make the various OA committees and working groups more effective through regular communications and the development and consideration of proposals through the use of e-mails. This is going to lead to a number of proposals being floated over the coming months, as proposals are considered and prepared for the 2006 OA Annual Conference in December. Among the proposals likely to be considered are: • How to improve the National Orienteering League. • How to attract a series of international elite races to Australia, in say the next four (2010) to seven (2013) years. • A revised age class structure for Group B events, ie State

Championships and Badge events. • A national approach to membership fees, etc. • A national display of the results of all events in Australia on the

OA website. • A national participation database, which will provide interesting data for competitors and State associations alike. • A range of other initiatives in respect of promoting and developing Orienteering. Some of these proposals will be put to the various OA committees and working groups over the coming days, weeks, months and even years. In looking at the way Orienteering Australia operates, I would rather it function as a ‘cooperative’, along the lines of community cooperatives that flourished throughout Australia in the 1950s etc, than a federation which sometimes lacks a common perspective. We have to work together for the common good. So when State Associations are considering some of the proposals, especially the more radical ones, I would like them to look at the bigger picture and to consider how obstacles could be overcome rather than to put them up as barriers to progress.

Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority

BOOKS ON ORIENTEERING

There are a great number of books on all aspects of orienteering. For a list and prices contact: Orienteering Services of Australia

Orienteering Australia Development Awards

CLUB DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

Orienteering Australia wishes to award clubs for their development initiatives. Applications are invited for the Awards. Awards will be based on activities conducted within clubs aimed at developing the sport in their local area. Applicants should detail: • A brief summary of the club (e.g. location, member base, recent events, social activities) • The aims of their development project • Successes and set-backs along the way • Step by step summary of running the project • The outcomes of the project • Tips for the future • An idea of their project budget • Photos of the project in action • Image of their club members and logo

Awards

Awards will be decided by a member from each state on the Orienteering Australia development committee (a member from the Top End club (NT) included) and the Development Director. Awarded clubs will have their story appear in The Australian Orienteer and the Orienteering Australia website. From 2008, Orienteering Australia hopes to reward winning clubs with $1000 towards their development project. The financial incentive would be reimbursed up to $1000 against receipts relating to development project after provision and approval of receipts. Two winners will be awarded per year. Applications close: end-January and end-June each year, forwarded to the Director Development.

VOLUNTEER DEVELOPMENT RECOGNITION

Orienteering Australia wishes to further recognise state and local volunteer awards and recipients for their contribution to development of the sport. Nominations are invited for the OA recognition to individuals winning volunteer awards/recognition specifically in the area of development. The recognition aims to raise awareness of state and local recognition schemes at a national level as well as the individual awardees and their great work. Selection of the OA recognition will be based on contributions from individuals towards developing our sport. Nominations should detail: • Name of the volunteer recognition scheme • Details of the scheme (e.g. awarding party, nomination guidelines, scheme aims) • A brief summary of the individual (e.g. location, club, orienteering class normally run) • A justification for the award • Photos of the volunteer in action (where possible)

Awards

Winners of the Services to Orienteering award are ineligible. Awards will be decided by a member from each state on the Orienteering Australia development committee (a member from the Top End club (NT) included) and the Development Director. Awardees and the volunteer recognition scheme will appear in The Australian Orienteer and on the Orienteering Australia website. Two winners will be awarded per year. Applications close:End-January each year, forwarded to the Director Development

IOF World Rankings

The International Orienteering Federation World Ranking Scheme is based on points scored at World Ranking Events, full details of which can be found at http://www.orienteering.org/. The current standings for men and women are given in the following tables:

Men – Foot-O

1 Daniel Hubmann SUI 2 Emil Wingstedt SWE 3 Thierry Gueorgiou FRA 4 Jani Lakanen FIN 5 Valentin Novikov RUS

92 David Shepherd AUS 96 Rob Walter AUS 207 Robert Preston AUS 216 Eric Morris AUS 264 Kerrin Rattray AUS Women – Foot-O

1 Simone Niggli‑Luder SUI 2 Marianne Andersen NOR 3 Minna Kauppi FIN 4 Vroni Koenig‑Salmi SUI 5 Heli Jukkola FIN 6 Kajsa Nilsson SWE

7 Hanny Allston AUS 69 Grace Elson AUS 90 Jo Allison AUS 97 Anna Sheldon AUS

Men – MTB-O 1 Adrian Jackson AUS 228

2 Margus Hallik EST 221 3 Ruslan Gritsan RUS 216 4 Mika Tervala FIN 208 5 Jussi Mäkilä FIN 196

10 Alex Randall AUS 134 25 David SimpfendorferAUS 64 34 Paul Darvodelsky AUS 54 34 Grant Lebbink AUS 54 Women – MTB-O

1 Ksenia Chernykh RUS 253 2 Ingrid Stengård FIN 250 3 Michaela Gigon AUT 229 4 Maija Lång FIN 203 5 Kirsi Korhonen FIN 188

22 Carolyn Jackson AUS 82 31 Barbara Hill AUS 61 31 Melissa Thomas AUS 61

EMBARGOES

Embargoed areas for the Burra to Barossa Easter 2007 Orienteering Carnival

Until after Monday 9th April, 2007: The entire 1986 Worlds End orienteering map, north of Burra Creek and east of the Robertstown‑Burra Rd (first used for the 1986 Interstate relays as part of the Jubilee 150 Carnival) and the area immediately south of this map and of Burra Creek, also east of the Robertstown‑Burra Rd, for a distance of approximately 8km . The entire 2004 Twigham orienteering map, northeast of Hallet, (first used for the 2004 South Australian Championships), and areas of approximately 2 square km each, to the southwest and southeast, adjoining the southwestern and southeastern corners of the existing map . The existing BriGlen, Merridee, and Paradise maps, first produced for the 1990 Australian 3‑days, are not embargoed . Access to these for training purposes must be negotiated with the clubs who hold them, pending landowner permission . Until after Sunday 15th April, 2007: The entire Pewsey Vale orienteering map, current version 2002, (first used for the 2002 South Australian Championships as part of the Outback Orienteering Carnival) . Orienteering access to the adjacent Kaiserstuhl Conservation Park is never permitted . The entire 2006 Ngaralta Country orienteering map, (first used for the 2006 South Australian Orienteering Championships) . On the morning of Friday April 13th, 2007: The town of Nuriootpa, east of the main Barossa Valley Highway and north of the Vine Inn, is embargoed to unnecessary travel (i .e . getting to and from your accommodation, or the ASC Galaxy assembly area, is the only allowable travel) . For further interpretation of these embargoes contact Jenny Casanova, Carnival Coordinator, by e‑mail: jenny .casanova@rgh .sa .gov .au

Embargoes for 2006 Oceania MTB-O Championships / Victorian MTB-O Champs /Australian Selection Trials

1. Nail Can Hill Range, Albury - Generally the western part of the range bounded by the housing estates on the west, Pemberton Street to the south, Ridge Track on the east and north east, and the pipeline track on the north west . 2. Koetong/Shelley - All area within a 10km radius of the Shelley Forest Camp, Murray

Valley Highway, north‑east Victoria 3. Chiltern - All area within a 15 km radius of Chiltern, north‑east Victoria .