JWOC TRAINING CAMP

The 1st JWOC Training Camp (aka Aussie O Tour)

Paul Prudhoe

Competition for most ended under grey skies and heavy showers at the Ultimax Stingers 5 Days at Macquarie Woods near Orange, but many of the junior competitors stayed in town to further refine their orienteering in Australia’s granite terrain, and to become more familiar with the interpretations of JWOC2007 mappers. The Aussie O Tour commenced with a return to Gumble Creek for some Middle-distance training and a chance to again get to grips with Australian granite. The granite was there but the weather had no intention of providing overseas guests with a chance to run in temperatures likely in July. The mercury rose to the high 30’s – an indication of what was to come when Canberra topped the 40 mark. Camp participants came from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Finland, Czech Republic and a contingent of more than 20 from New Zealand. Australia’s junior squad were well represented with almost a full contingent and there were representatives from the NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania junior squads. Over 65 attended the camp. This year is the first time JWOC will be held outside Europe. Attendance at the 5 Days competition and the training camp demonstrated that top European orienteers are not going to take things for granted. Many medal winners from JWOC2006 in Lithuania were there – Sweden’s Patrick Kaarlson (2nd in Sprint, 16th in Middle-distance), Czech Republic’s Jan Benes (1st in Middle-distance, 7th in Sprint), Norway’s Olav Lundanes (2nd in Long-distance, 3rd in Middle-distance). Day 2 went back to Kahli’s Rocks for a morning exercise, then a drive to Canberra in the afternoon. The camp and training events were overseen by JWOC Teams Liaison Manager Nick Dent, with a number of the events organised by Australian elite orienteer (and former multiple JWOC participant) Julian Dent. Australian squad coach Grant Bluett, while taking care of the technical aspects of the Australian squad’s training, also assisted in the training camp event organisation. The morning of Day 3 took an interesting diversion from conventional training with a short “Adventure Race” around Canberra’s shopping centre and nearby parks, giving visitors an opportunity to get to know Canberra better. Later, participants took part in the ACT’s Twilight series event at Farrer Ridge. On Day 4 the convoy headed to Big Badja for more granite. The morning was spent on the recently felled Badja South with most opting to run at competitive speed around a middle-distance length course, and the afternoon spent in pairs for the first half of the course on Badja North.

Candidates for AUS Team

2007 Junior World Orienteering Championships – call for nominations

Orienteers interested in being candidates for selection for the 2007 Junior World Orienteering Championships are asked to express their interest. This year there will be two sets of selection trials: the Australian 3-Days in South Australia (including the prologue), and the National League events on 19-20 May in New South Wales. Candidates for selection will be expected to attend both sets of selection trials. Nominations should be sent to the Chair of the Junior Selection Panel, Blair Trewin, at b.trewin@bom.gov.au or 2/53 Darebin St, Heidelberg VIC 3084. Day 5 was a Sprint event around Canberra’s Australian National University. The 3.5km course was won by Patrick Kaarlson in 14m36s closely followed by countryman Jerker Lysell in 14m39s. Fastest of the women was Norway’s Guru Flatekval in 18m54 with Australian squad member Rachel Effeney (QLD) just behind in 19m09s. Results from all of the training camp events can be found at http://jwoc2007.orienteering.asn.au/News/ Grant had everyone out again in the cool of the evening to practice more “sprinting” at Canberra University. Training was delayed to allow temperatures to drop a little further and for everyone to catch TV footage of the Sprint event on WIN TV’s mid-evening news, with current squad member Heather Harding (ACT) and OA President Bob Mouatt interviewed. Day 6 went to Namadji National Park for a timed long-distance event on Honeysuckle Creek. Temperatures in the high 30’s were not conducive to fast times. Olav Lundanes completed the 10.8km course in 81m57s, with Swedish elite Mats Troeng (travelling with the Swedish juniors) second in 87m04s and Australia’s Simon Uppill just behind in 87m37s. The 6.9km women’s course was won by Australia’s Vanessa Round in 73m56s, with Australian Squad Assistant Manager Suzanne Casanova second in 80m18s, and New Zealand’s Amber Morrison third, just four seconds behind Suzanne. The final day saw a procession of runners take the short walk behind Grant across the road to Black Mountain for a timed middle-distance event. Fastest of the junior men was Sweden’s Jerker Lysell in 25m19s, with Denmark’s Soeren Bobach just behind in 25m24s. Soeren was also a (gold) medal winner from 2006 having tied for first place with the Czech Republic’s Jan Benes in the middle-distance event. The women’s course was won by Norway’s Mali Nielsen in 23m37s, followed by team-mate Ida Marie Bjorgul in 24m25s. Despite the heat the 1st Training Camp proved invaluable to all who attended (including those up and coming juniors not in the Australian squad). Hilary Wood, 2007 Australian Squad Manager, considered the camp to be very successful and was pleased that participants had been able to train and compete across a wide sample of Australian granite terrain. Feedback from the overseas orienteers to Nick Dent indicated that the camp had been thoroughly enjoyed by all, with many positive comments received. Nick reported that the Danes told him they would return home very happy having attended and they would return later in the year with a far greater level of confidence. So, are there any pointers to JWOC in July? Difficult to say, but don’t be surprised if some of the medal winners come from the 1st Camp attendees. Norway’s Olav Lundanes appears to be a very strong candidate for a medal in any one of the three disciplines, and Sweden’s Patrick Kaarlson is also a strong contender. If results from the Training Camp can be used to gauge Australian chances it’s certainly possible for Australia to follow up its’ success in Lithuania with more medals.

INVITATION TO ATTEND MAPPING WORKSHOP BEFORE JWOC

A mapping workshop will be conducted by Queensland mapper, Eric Andrews, near Molong in central NSW on the 4-6 July 2007. The first day will be devoted to GPS mapping including a practical exercise. The final two days will be practical fieldwork in the field on photogrammetry of the “Gumble Pinnacles”, which is a granite area of medium complexity. Nominations and Inquiries: Nominations should be made direct to Eric Andrews at 07-4683 6374, at PO Box 863, Stanthorpe, Qld. 4380, or by email to batmaps@halenet.com.au before 1st June 2007.