HIGH PERFORMANCE

Mike Dowling, OA Director, High Performance

Readers of this column in the previous edition of The Australian Orienteer will remember that this is my final column as Director, High Performance before retiring from the Board at the upcoming Annual General Meeting of Orienteering Australia. In my last column I discussed some of the achievements of the last six and a half years and for this edition, as promised, I shall discuss some of the challenges and ongoing issues facing us into the future.

Funding

Funding has always been our greatest challenge in promulgating an effective High Performance program and more so since the advent of annual World Championships and the development of Mountain Bike Orienteering. That is one of the principal reasons Orienteering Australia proposed to the IOF at their 2008 Congress for a return to World Championships every two years. It also means we are unable to provide the level of support we would like to for development activities that can further develop our international competitiveness.

Coaching

While we have a number of very keen and dedicated coaches working at all levels of our sport it is fair to say we have a lack of depth among our coaching ranks. Often we struggle to fill our national coaching positions and therefore lack the necessary support to enable our orienteers to achieve their true potential. Coaching is a rewarding role but at the same time requires a lot of commitment in time and energy. In some circumstances this effort is under-appreciated by a few overly self-centred and self-absorbed athletes who think they know best and act to the detriment of an effective team environment. It is a very rare athlete who can achieve their true potential in any sport without recourse to the guidance and mentoring of a coach. In addition, the increasingly and seemingly ever increasing complexity of our daily lives means it is difficult for many people to put in time and energy to this role. The increasingly legalistic approach to sport in terms of governance and accountability placed on national sporting organisations can place a barrier to individuals wanting to take on significant coaching roles on a voluntary basis. Having said that, we as a sporting organisation have to demand the highest level of integrity of our coaches especially when there is a significant age difference between coach and athlete. In an ideal world we will need to work toward the employment of a full time national Head Coach to provide the level of strategic direction and leadership in coaching and to work with our national teams and squads.

Culture Change

One of my main goals as the Director, High Performance has been to work toward bringing about a culture change in our national teams. One aspect of this is to inspire in our juniors an appreciation of the level of commitment that is to be expected in representing your country as a foundation for future success in senior competition. We are fortunate that our national junior coaching/management team in Nick Dent and Hilary Wood also share this vision. They are gradually bringing about a change of culture in our talented juniors as a basis to building pride, commitment and improving international competitiveness in our best young athletes in return for the significant level of support we provide for High Performance within our limited budgetary framework. Too often in the past there has always been one or two athletes selected in our Junior teams who give the impression that making the team was a higher priority than actually seeing this as a step along to way to the main game of representing their country to the very best of their ability. This will be a continuing challenge and I look forward to the day when we are left in absolutely no doubt that all our athletes who have the privilege of representing their country in World Championships understand the level of commitment we as a sporting community expect.

Junior & Young Adult Participation

Nationally the level of participation in this age demographic continues to bedevil Orienteering in Australia. It was very noteworthy to see at the World Championships in the Czech Republic in 2008 that the largest level of participation in the supporting events for spectators were in the younger age categories. This is the complete opposite to that experienced here in Australia. As a sport we need to work on increasing the level of participation of young people as they will be the future organisers of our sport. We need to look at innovative ways to make Orienteering more attractive to the young.

The Future of Our Sport

Across our nation we can see a slow decline in the level of participation in the “traditional” bush format of our sport. Like many, I find this of concern as it is my main centre of enjoyment in our sport. However, it is hardly surprising in one of the most urbanised societies in the developed world and where the mythology of the bush is one of a remote place with all sorts of hidden dangers. In addition, the “desire” to seek out “new” areas sees us on occasions going to ever remote locations far from main population centres in search of the “perfect” terrain. In a society of time poor individuals with changing social structures this is hardly surprising. We are also perceived as being an “irrelevant” sport by some sporting bureaucracies and a “celebrity obsessed” media. They seem to see sport as only having relevance if there is success among the privileged sports who gain Olympic medals. In terms of a High Performance focus, one option we need to seriously consider is some sort of national Sprint series as a means of capturing interest in our sport amongst urban populations and to showcase the marvellous experiences that our sport offers.

Closing Comment

My family is looking forward to me spending less time in the near future wading through emails and fielding phone calls about all manner of HP related activities. Do I have any regrets about taking on this voluntary role that has occupied a significant amount of my mental energies? The answer is absolutely not. I have a firm belief that Orienteering is an awesome sport for all ages and abilities and at the HP level I regard it as a true “elite” sport with its physical, mental and technical demands. In closing I’d like to especially thank the people who I have had the privilege to work with and get to know. Firstly, all my fellow Board members over the years who do so much to ensure that our sport is where it is today. Our Executive Officer Kay Grzadka, who is always ready with an answer and for whom nothing is ever too much trouble. Our current Manager, High Performance in Robbie Preston and our current Manager, Coaching & Officiating, Dave Meyer for their work that often takes up so much more time than they are actually paid to do. I’d also like to pay a special thanks to Jason McCrae who was Manager, High Performance back in the early days of this role.

Silva Medal

2008

The Silva medal for 2008 has been won by Alex Tarr (YV.V) for the fourth time. Alex was one of the inaugural winners. In 2008 the Silva Medal award is based on points for participating and placing in the following events: Australian 3-Days (each day considered as a separate event); Australian Sprint, Middle Distance and Long Distance Championships, and State Championships associated with national carnivals. Each orienteer who completes 6 of the above events in M/W16and above is eligible for the Silva Medal. Points are awarded as follows: 4 for 1st, 3 for 2nd, 2 for 3rd, and one point for finishing. One point is allocated for finishing if there are fewer than 4 starters. Maximum score achievable is 24 points. This year, two orienteers scored 23 points. Alex won on a countback from Laurina Neumann (EN.Q) based on winning margins. OA Statistician, Darryl Erbacher, interviews Silva Medal 2008 winner, Alex Tarr. Statistician: Congratulations Alex, you are the winner of the Silva Medal for 2008.

Alex: Thanks

S: Alex, you have had a long and illustrious career. You ran for Australia when you were an Elite, you have won many championships, and now you have won the Silva Medal for the 4th time. How do you do it?

A: It was a good year for me. In February my daughter Sandra and I spent a week walking into and climbing Federation Peak and we both had put in a big effort to get specially fit. This was followed by mapping in Tasmania. The result of all this exercise was that this Easter I was fitter than I had been for years. The Australian Carnival was missing some of my major competition (Tim Dent overseas, Darryl Erbacher injured). So luck comes into it. There are no secrets to orienteering well. Just keep heading towards the next control, use the appropriate techniques and concentrate on map reading during competition. The main thing is to avoid injury and enjoy the challenge.

S: I have run a place behind you more times than I care to remember. I will use some of those techniques when next we meet.

A: Unfortunately when we compete it is easy to be distracted. Most competitors have the skills to have a mistake free run. If all my competitors have a good run I count myself lucky to get a placing.

S: You have made many maps and set many courses. Do these activities contribute to your skills?

A: Mapping provides me with my basic fitness level and reinforces map reading skills. In particular it can make you much more flexible in interpreting someone else’s map. This is because you know there can be a variety of ways of mapping features, all of which are legitimate.

S: I love your courses (although I don’t get to run against you on them). We now have three different disciplines in Orienteering. Do course setters address the nuances appropriately in Australia?

A: Good courses meet the IOF specifications for the type of event. We seem to be setting very good Sprint and Middle Distance courses. Long Distance courses are very uneven, they are meant to provide an emphasis on route choice. Elite courses should be based around a number of legs of up to three kilometres giving extensive route choice. Long Distance course setting for older age groups should be set in the same style as the elites. In a five kilometre course we should expect at least two major route choice legs of up to a kilometre. It is route choice that makes an event memorable. All too often I go to a Carnival and get nothing but Middle Distance style courses where straight line is both the obvious and the quickest route. The M65 course at the recent Australian Championships was a good example of a well set Long Distance course. The route choice problems certainly caught me out, which is a great reminder to concentrate on map reading and basic skills.

S: If I can get a period of injury free running I will try to reduce your winning margins in the future. Once again, well done, Alex.

A: I look forward to seeing you again Darryl.

High Performance continued from page 14…

Jase was an absolute legend to work with and gave so much of himself in such a passionate manner for HP Orienteering. And finally, I’d especially like to thank our former President Bob Mouatt for his passion, enthusiasm, guidance, support and friendship. Like Bob, I have a passion for our sport to gain its rightful place and level of recognition for the fantastic opportunities Orienteering can and could offer to the Australian community.