JWOC 2008 – Sweden

from The Australian Orienteer – September 2008

FAIR PLAY

Testing Times and Experience for our Young Juniors

Hilary Wood – Team Leader

Oscar Phillips feeling the hustle and bustle of the Relay start. Photo: John Anderson

The Australian Junior Team this year was remarkable in two ways: The first was the number of Queensland representatives - 5 in total; and the second was the number of young team members - 7 team members are eligible and have the opportunity to be selected for 2009. This needs to be kept in perspective when reviewing the performance of this team and looking towards future JWOCs. The leadership team looked to this year’s team for performances and to provide them with experience in very unfamiliar terrain. Glacial orienteering terrain is very rare in Australia and so the week’s training camp prior to the competition was all our team had to adapt to this terrain. Some had come over early and gone to the Jukola Relays in Finland and also taken advantage of Australian elite runners, Dave Shepherd’s and Jo Allison’s advice and training in the week leading into the official training camp. Laurina Neumann was the only member who had visited Sweden last year and trained in the Goteburg area. Features of maps in this region are large areas of marsh and swamp in forest and a lot of contour detail featuring rock and bare rock which may be mapped as either yellow or using contour detail to delineate it. The maps also tend to have a lot of features on them making the task of reading the maps challenging, to say the least. Competitors need to take in lots of information as they run along and also know which details are relevant to take heed of rather than trying to read everything. We are happy to say the team rose to the occasion and was able to adapt reasonably well given their limited training opportunities. The team was also plagued with some unfortunate issues in preparation. Bryan Keely was forced to withdraw in early June due to a diagnosed stress fracture requiring plaster and crutches. As he was one of the top performers in the selection trials this was a particularly severe blow to the strength of this year’s boy’s team. Fortunately Geoff Stacey was able to make last minute arrangements to join the team and flew into Goteborg on the first day of the training camp. He came to support the team in the Relay and did not disappoint in this race being the best performing Australian male. Oliver Mitchell’s preparation was interrupted by a knee injury which required surgery in May and so his fitness was not what he desired. He tried very hard to do some last minute training at Jukola and also was able to take advantage of the week before the training camp to put in some extra yards. The team enjoyed staying in a typical Swedish Orienteering clubhouse just south of Goteborg. Access to a map was right on the doorstep and regular training was to be had in the surrounding forest on a variety of map scales. Training concentrated on familiarisation with the terrain and running in the softer terrain which resembles running through sand dunes but is wetter underfoot. The Goteborg region has lots of rocky outcrops and these varied in how they were mapped - some as bare rock and others just as contours and yellow with some high points. To develop team harmony and spirit groups were allocated for cooking meals and shopping trips. The team had some fun going into the city centre to do some sightseeing and the boys chose to go to the movies on the day leading into the competition. The event centre for JWOC was in an Army camp and had security on the gate which was interesting for the first few trips in and out. The Australian Team shared a floor with the Danish Team and we had access to a kitchen and lounge with a TV in it. The teams checked each other out in the dining hall and much fun was had in talking about others. Food had to be supplemented as is quite usual with some people not enjoying some of the Swedish army cuisine. The team enjoyed running around the camp on a small map of the area which featured some typical Swedish terrain and resident deer. The competitions were held in close proximity to Goteborg and so travel time was much less than usual and made for a more relaxing feel to the competition days. The Swedish organisation was very casual - competitors were able to retain their maps after finishing their course though the start and finish were separated on each day. Unfortunately for spectators it was a pretty bland affair even though we were fortunate to have a large contingent of Aussie supporters in the form of parents and friends of team members. No spectator controls were at any of the events and the IOF Liebnitz Convention was generally ignored by the Swedish organisers. On the plus side the courses were technically challenging and excellently designed and the team enjoyed the challenges they presented even though many were not happy with their performances. We have a young group of very enthusiastic orienteers to consider for selection next year for JWOC in Italy. Sample maps show they will need to do some hill training for the steep slopes in the north of Italy.

Monday 30th June – Sprint Final

This year’s Sprint was in a mixed urban area with residential apartments surrounded by open parkland and interspersed with patches of typical Swedish glacial terrain. Apartment blocks in various formations: squares and interlocking L shapes made decision making hard in picking the fastest route as the red line invariably went through a number of buildings. Some creditable performances were shown in the Sprint race from the young members of the team; Lachlan Dow being the best of the Aussie boys and Bridget Anderson showing improvement as the best of the Aussie girls. Belinda Lawford again showed her promise being only seconds behind Bridget Anderson. Krystal Neumann held herself back to maintain contact with her map and was a little afraid to “go for it all out”. We are sure that with experience and building confidence she will improve in the next races. Rachel Effeney was about half a minute behind Belinda and unable to keep the pace up for the entire length of the course. Aislinn Prendergast got a little stumped in the circle at the 4th control in the first bit of forest – trying to pick the difference between the bare rock, rock face and a boulder - this cost her at least a minute, a long time in a Sprint race. This can be a common confusion as these features, although they sound distinct, can blend together in the heat of the moment. She was unhappy with her result. In the boy’s Lachy Dow showed us his promise and finished within 2min 30secs of the winner when the challenge was to finish within 2mins of the winner for this young first-timer. Nick Andrewartha ran most legs well but is cursing himself for missing the 7th control with a brain fade and the forest terrain taking him south and not south-east as was needed. Oscar Phillips ran steadily for the main part with a couple of offline diversions at 78 and 13-14; otherwise safe and sure with his route choices. Geoff Stacey put in a solid navigational run however admitted he just didn’t run fast enough and perhaps chose less swift route choices on some legs. Oliver Mitchell was also solid navigationally but he too needed to run faster and was still recovering from a cold from Jukola. Unfortunately equipment failures of one kind or another plagued Laurina Neumann and Leon Keely. Laurina failing to take her bib number and top to the start after going over this procedure many times beforehand and thus unable to start in the race, despite last ditch efforts by the manager and Laurina. She was pretty devastated and upset about this and vowed to ensure all her equipment would be with her next time. The difficulty lay in the fact that the bibs have a chip identifying the runner and time in them this year making it essential for the runners to ensure they are attached firmly to their racing tops with eight pins! Leon started the race well and was running well however a slight fall on a rock saw his compass disintegrate in his hand and then he had to navigate by map features without a compass. As a substantial part of the Sprint was in forest this made the next leg tricky and slow for Leon as he was drawn south off his line by forest and buildings. He regathered himself for the next legs but had to take safe and sure track routes when forest routes may have proved shorter and faster with a compass. As mentioned before many JWOC’ers this year had family watching and they were second only to the Danes in spirit in the finish area raising encouraging cheers for our runners as they ran into the sports arena and around the finish chute.

Wednesday 2nd July – Middle-distance Qualification

the A final. The race finished in the Hogsbro Pistol range which was full of nettles except where they had mowed around the finish area and nation tents. The map is a remap of an old area with a different mapping style from the previous mapper making it barely recognisable from the pre-race competition map. Some sad and sorry stories again plagued some of the team’s results. Oliver Mitchell was the best of the Aussies boys, managing to make the B final, but regretted his lack of fitness due to a stunted preparation with a knee injury earlier in the year. Lachlan Dow was very disappointed in his race as he misread 11 to 12 as 12 to 13. The boy’s team morale was a little low after this race with the young ones finding it a bit tough. Leon Keely and Nick Andrewartha both had a couple of bad legs costing them valuable time in the race. Geoff Stacey and Oscar Phillips also struggled to find competitive race times but had better races technically than Leon and Nick. Laurina Neumann was a little unlucky to be in a faster qualifying heat missing out by two places - if she had run the same time in a different heat she would have qualified. Krystal Neumann and Aislinn Prendergast were also within reach but just a little too slow to qualify. Belinda Lawford failed to be careful enough in reading her control numbers, looking for 36 and finding 46 in a parallel error. Rachel Effeney also found the green and technical terrain a challenge. The girls were a little disappointed and hoped to have good runs later in the week to restore some confidence in their orienteering ability. Competition pressure gets to the best of them and the experience will help them to understand what is required for the future. Coaching advice has been to go out, have fun and enjoy the challenge in the finals.

Thursday 3rd July 2008 – Middle-distance Finals

Bridget Anderson had a very good race in the A finals at Hogsbro. Finishing 28th in a very competitive field of 60 competitors is a promising result for 2009 in Italy where Bridget is going to work towards a podium finish. The terrain was rough and tough with open clear and bare rock on the ridges interspersed with complex gullies and tiny marshes in the green. Picking your route was one challenge and then being able to approach the circle and read within the circle accurately and quickly was the next challenge. Bridget was able to do both reasonably well. Nick Andrewartha and Rachel Effeney were able to clear some ‘demons’ from the previous day to come up with better runs in their races. Nick finished 4th in his C final but knows where he lost time on the 6th and 12th controls. Oliver Mitchell had a steady run finishing 8min 41sec behind the winner in the B final. Aislinn Prendergast and Oscar Phillips showed potential with some fast splits but still made costly mistakes on some controls. The Middle-distance race is about accurate sharp navigation and minimising mistakes. This terrain is unforgiving and when one loses contact with where one is it is very costly in terms of relocating - a couple of the Aussies have found this out. Leon Keely and Laurina Neumann struggled in this complex terrain.

Saturday 5th July 2008 – Long-distance Finals

Laurina Neumann came good in the Long-distance race with a 25th place and a very good run after spending time talking with her parents on Skype the night before her race and clearing her head. This was the race she was keenest to perform well in and her determination shone through with a solid performance. Leon Keely showed his potential with a reasonable time for his first JWOC only to take a drink on the butterfly loop and then fail to punch the control and was thus disqualified from the results. His fast running and good navigation in challenging terrain will

stand him well for future JWOC’s. Nick Andrewartha showed he was the best performing Australian male junior but was 23mins behind the winner. Nick will need to work hard if he wishes to be competitive in the senior elite classes next year. The top spots were closely contested with just seconds separating the first five places. The steep terrain of the Partille-Gunillise area and its rocky crags interspersed with marshy areas with vague contour detail tested the best of them. The Long-distance race is a tough race physically and mentally requiring very high levels of physical endurance and also very good concentration for a long time. Oscar Phillips, Lachlan Dow and Oliver Mitchell were each in the early hundreds and found the experience tough but educational and now know how challenging this race is if one wants to be competitive.

Sunday 6th July 2008 – Relay Races

The Relay teams were largely determined by the team members’ performances in the Long-distance and Middle-distance races. Some discussion about having a younger relay team and an older one was set aside after Nick Andrewartha was the best performing Aussie boy. Again the terrain was tough, vague contour detail and rough underfoot which had the potential to lead one off-line. In the girls’ teams Laurina Neumann led out on the first leg and unfortunately made a big error and cost the team severely. Rachel Effeney had a solid race and beat Laurina back. Bridget Anderson was second leg runner and gave a reasonable result for Aislinn Prendergast to give her best effort as last leg runner in Australia 1; however this was not good enough to beat the Australia 2 team of Rachel Effeney, Krystal Neumann and Belinda Lawford. In the boys Geoff Stacey had his best run of the week to bring the second boys team home. Leon Keely had an excellent first leg finishing in 12th fastest on his course.