MTB-O NEWS

Blake Gordon OA MTB-O Coordinator

Vale Peter Jackson

The Aussie team of 6 men and 3 women (see AO-June’07) selected in April was significantly reduced when three Victorians could not make the trip. With the death of Peter Jackson, Carolyn and Adrian Jackson withdrew from the team in late July and Kath Copland had previously been forced to withdraw. I have included the message the Jackson family sent to orienteers: “We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all those wonderful orienteers who have supported us throughout our ordeal. To those who gave us practical support, those who visited Peter while he spent long months in hospital and all those cards and messages both during his illness and after Peter’s passing. Last of all, a huge thank you to the countless number of orienteers who came to Peter’s funeral to both support us and celebrate his life. Your love and care has made such a difference and helped us to get through. We will never forget what you all have done.”

2007 National Championships near Newcastle, NSW

With organiser Paul Darvodelsky overseas at the World Championships in Czech Republic, Andrew Slattery (mapper) and Terry Bluett (event adviser) have made this brief report on this year’s nationals. Areas: near Newcastle Events – Middle-distance Sat morning November 3 - Sprint Sat afternoon – Long-distance Sun morning November 4 Maps: Middle-distance (1:15 000) – complex track network with motor bike and vehicle tracks from fast to slow riding, numerous open areas and linking tracks; terrain is undulating to hilly. Sprint (1:10 000) – adjacent to the Middle-distance area Long-distance (1:15 000) – numerous motorbike tracks linking well-used vehicle tracks; tracks vary from rocky to clay and sand; track rideability - easy to medium with difficult on motor bike tracks; large open areas easily crossable; terrain varies from hilly to undulating. Website: Entry form and website should be available in late August Status: three national ranking events in two days (similar to WA in 2006). This event will be two World Ranking Events for the Men and Women Elite classes – so a great chance for elite riders to improve their ranking on the world list.

2008 National MTB-O Series

Plans are well underway for the next step in the development of MTB-O in Australia. 2008 will see a national series with 8 events distributed over 3 rounds. The national series is a simple extension of the current selection trial / state championship model: Round 1: Middle, Sprint, Long – April 19th & 20th in Victoria (Ballarat and Maldon areas) Round 2: Middle, Sprint, Long – September 30th & October 1st in Queensland (Maryborough area) Round 3: Middle & Sprint – November 1st and 2nd in ACT (Corin Forest area) These national events will bring together the best fields of competitors in all age classes. The series aims to develop interest in MTB-O competition across the year – rather than only in November. The competition in 2008 will focus on individuals in Men 21- and Women 21- classes. The IOF WRE point scoring system will be used with 40 points to the winner, 36 to 2nd place, 32 to 3rd place and so on down to 25th place. Ranking in M-16, W-16, M-20, W-20, M40-, W 40-, M50-, W50-, M60-, W60-, M70-, W70- will be calculated with future State teams competition in 2009 or 2010 in mind. The competition model for 2008 will be tested at the 2007 National Championships near Newcastle, NSW. This series will build on the present strength in Elite and Masters classes and encourage Junior participation at the national level. The pathways to the 2008 MTB-JWOC and future MTB-WMOC will be established in NSW at the 2007 National MTB-O Championships.

Australia / New Zealand Challenge

The National Championships in Newcastle will now be the 3rd Australia / New Zealand Challenge. Michael Wood (NZOF MTB-O Convenor) has nominated M21 Elite, W21 Elite, Men 40-, Women 40-, Men 50-, Women 50-, and Men 60- as the classes that New Zealand will contest. NOTE: Australian MTB-O orienteers who wish to be selected in the Australian team should notify Peta Whitford, Chairperson of Selectors, by September 10th at voa@netspace.net.au The main aim of the event is to get participation numbers as high as possible – over 160 would challenge the record set in Queensland in 2004. So underline these dates on your calendar now and plan a full week (NSW Championships are scheduled for the 27th and 28th of October – the week before the Nationals) of MTB-O action! Australia won the first Challenge in 2003 – New Zealand won the second in January 2005. Will you influence the result in 2007?

2008 World MTB-O Champs – introducing the MTB-JWOC!

The August 2007 IOF meetings in Czech Republic will add detail to planning the inaugural MTB-JWOC at the same time and venue as the senior MTB-WOC, August 24th to August 31st in Ostroda, Poland. The selectors strongly encourage Junior riders in the M-16, W-16, M–20 and W-20 age classes to compete in the 2007 National titles as the first step toward representing Australia at the 2008 MTB-JWOC. So write these dates down in your training diary for 2008 – the year of the first MTB-JWOC.