NOL UPDATE

Victorian Nuggets on top in

National League

Blair Trewin

The National Orienteering League trophy is all but certain to change hands in 2007. The team competition has been split into men’s and women’s events this year. Both are currently being led, in contrasting style, by the Victorian Nuggets. The Victorian women are dominating, and have opened up an almost unassailable lead of 28 points over the SA Southern Arrows and Queensland Cyclones. The men also hold the lead, but some excellent performances on WOC trials weekend (May 5/6) by the Southern Arrows narrowed the Victorian lead to two points, with five rounds to go. The Arrows’ depth will be tested in Dubbo with their star performer, Simon Uppill, on JWOC Team duties, but it looks like the competition will go down to the wire. The Canberra Cockatoos have dominated for the last decade, but have struggled to get numbers to this year’s events and are propping up the table. Matt Crane has a firm grip on the individual title after winning the Sprint and Long-distance races at the WOC trials in Victoria, giving him six wins for the year. Uppill is his nearest challenger after an excellent season, including a maiden victory in the Middle-distance trial, but would need three more wins to have a chance (and will probably only run two more races). Julian Dent also still has a mathematical chance. Grace Elson has the edge in the women’s competition after a consistent season in which she has only missed the placings once in ten starts, but Kathryn Ewels, Anna Sheldon, Jo Allison, and perhaps Hanny Allston if she runs enough races, are all still in contention. All of these five, except the absent Allston, had wins on WOC trials weekend, with Elson and Ewels producing a dead-heat for first - the first in National League history - in the Sprint. Victoria and Queensland, the only teams to have substantial junior contingents at the early May races, consolidated their positions in the junior competition and look set to take the team titles. Victoria’s lead of 23 points in the junior men’s competition will be hard to beat; Queensland have twelve points in hand over the Victorian in the junior women’s and their depth should see them through, although the impact of JWOC Team commitments in the final rounds is a potential wild-card. Heather Harding has a useful lead in the race for individual honours, with four wins for the season, and probably only needs one more good score to make sure National League standings after Round 10. of the result, but the men’s MEN competition is completely 1 Victorian Nuggets 86 wide open; Tristan Lee heads 2 Southern Arrows 84 a group of six within 37 points 3 NSW Ultimax Stingers 65 of each other in a season which has seen seven different WOMEN winners in the ten races, with 1 Victorian Nuggets 94 no-one succeeding more than 2 Southern Arrows 66 twice. 3 Queensland Cyclones 60

WOC Team

The Australian Boomerangs team to contest the World Orienteering Championships (WOC) to be held in Ukraine, August 16 – 26, was named after the trials in early May. The team is:

MEN: Julian Dent (NSW), Troy de Haas(VIC), David Shepherd (ACT), Reuben Smith (SA), Rob Walter (ACT). Coach – Brett Weihart WOMEN: Jo Allison (ACT), Hanny Allston (TAS), Grace Elson (TAS), Kathryn Ewels (VIC), Anna Sheldon (QLD). Coach – Sue Neve

Seven of the team from last year are back in 2007. Reuben Smith will be making his World Championships debut after an excellent performance in the overseas trials in Sweden, while Julian Dent is back after missing 2006 with injury, and Kathryn Ewels returns after four years away from the team. At the time of writing it had not been announced who was running in each event. Australia will field three in each distance, except for the women’s Sprint where we can field a fourth competitor because of Hanny Allston’s status as the defending World Champion.

JWOC Team

The Junior World Orienteering Championships will be held near Dubbo, NSW, Australia, July 7 – 15. The Australian Team will be:

MEN: Nick Andrewartha (Tas); Rhys Challen (WA); Louis Elson (Tas); Rob Fell (VIC); Morten Neve (VIC); Simon Uppill (SA) WOMEN: Bridget Anderson (QLD); Ineka Booth (ACT); Jessica Davis (TAS); Heather Harding (ACT); Belinda Lawford (VIC); Vanessa Round (SA) COACHES: Hanny Allston; Jim Russell

MTB WOC Team

The 2007 World MTBO Championships will be held at Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, August 5 - 12. The Australian Team will be:

WOMEN: Carolyn Jackson (VIC); Thorlene Egerton (QLD); Kath Copland (VIC); Reserve - Kay Haarsma (SA) MEN: Adrian Jackson (VIC); Alex Randall (VIC); Paul Darvodelsky (NSW); David Simpfendorfer (ACT); David Wood (QLD); Tony Clark (VIC); Reserve - Matthew Hope (TAS) COACH / MANAGER: Kay Haarsma (SA)