MIDWEEK ORIENTEERS

The Thursday Mob

Jim Bowling (Enoggeroos, Qld)

The start Jim Bowling

There is an Orienteering institution in Brisbane, which has been around for over thirty years. It began as an Army sports afternoon event that included some R.A.A.F. runners. The average attendance was 12 to 14. Today that event has coalesced into The Midweek Orienteers, or ‘The Thursday Mob’, with regular attendances of 40 to 50. This event owes its birth to some stalwarts of Orienteering who are still active in our sport. Don Bajenoff, Eric Andrews and Brian Coolahan, to name a few, were all serving army officers in Brisbane. Don Bajenoff was instrumental in getting the Army senior staff to encourage Orienteering. With the help of Eric Andrews and Brian Coolahan they soon had a small corps of runners who used a series of early hand-drawn maps, both colour and black and white. By today’s standards some were extremely crude, but they did the job. Although the numbers were small, it was popular with those members who enjoyed a challenge. With the dedicated coaching of such people as Eric Andrews, the Queensland army team managed to win in successive years the Armed Services Orienteering Championships, originally called Mil-O The organization of events was, and still is, kept to the absolute basics. Perhaps some of the long-time orienteers can relate to this more easily than the newer members. A large plastic tub from a two-dollar shop holds all the equipment. One person usually ‘volunteered’ to set and run the event on their own. Today we still run the events the same way. We now have two plastic tubs that we alternate so the next organizer can set the course at their leisure. Orienteering was growing in popularity and a number of service members joined local clubs. This led to civilian runners such as Clive Pope cutting some of his classes and coming along to the mid-week events. These army events continued through to the 1980’s until the inevitable happened. Members were posted away and others retired. The focus of the armed services shifted away from many

Terry Cavanagh

sports and Orienteering was one of the casualties. By that time there were more civilians attending the midweek event then there were service personnel. Brian Coolahan, who was in charge of the Orienteering at that time, asked Clive Pope if he would care to take over. During Clive’s time at the helm the Thursday events quietly rolled along with a steady attendance of mostly older runners who had the time available to regularly attend mid-week events. As most of the competitors were experienced, the courses were, and still are, set at a high degree of technical difficulty. With his usual enthusiasm and efficiency Clive ensured that the midweek events ran smoothly well past the turn of the

Robin Spriggs

century. One much anticipated event is the Christmas break-up party. Preceded by a regular event, the break-up party gives a whole new meaning to the friendliness of orienteers. Chris and Robin Spriggs took over the organising from Clive, and after five years, continue today. For ‘The Thursday Mob’, the emphasis is on enjoyment, so minor distractions such as the control not always being in exactly the right spot, or perhaps a punch missing, are not considered serious. The equipment is minimal so such niceties as tables, chairs, and shelters being used is up to the member running the event on the day. There is a small charge

Clive Pope

of $4 to cover insurance, maps, the Christmas break-up and the occasional replacement of equipment. With the universal adoption of the home computer Orienteering Queensland now has a web based weekly bulletin and the mid-week events are listed on the calendar. Brisbane City Council also encourages outdoor sports and has assisted with advertising and sponsorship through their web site. The mid-week event has grown from a small army sports afternoon with 12 to 14 runners to what it is today; an event that is run every week except for the Christmas-New Year break. With more exposure there has come more competitors particularly during school holidays. To cater for the influx of non-orienteers during these times we now try to run events close to the city on park/bush maps. To our usual three Red courses we try to add a Blue or Green course for these competitors. One of our younger and more enthusiastic members is Matt McGuire. Matt decided that we needed a Mid-Week Championship. In 2007 he organised and ran our first championship with over 57 competitors. Not a person to do things by halves, Matt used the SportIdent system. Naturally there were awards. But being The Thursday Mob they tended to be a bit different. Slowest up the shute; Latest starter, (a large kitchen clock to make sure they weren’t late again) being some of these awards. 2008 saw the championships run on Mt Coot-Tha. Jim Bowling, who set the courses, narrowly avoided being lynched after the competitors found that green meant GREEN, and Mt means MOUNTAIN! A good bar-be-que and a promise not to set the next championships saved him. A number of Queensland juniors were chosen to compete in the New Zealand challenge this year, and the Mid-Week Orienteers were able to donate a substantial amount to the team to help offset some of their costs. The Mid-Week Orienteers continue merrily on their way in 2009. There is an event every week regardless of financial crises, tsunamis, or political upheavals. For anyone coming to Brisbane with a spare Thursday afternoon to spend, look up the web site at www.oq.asn.au to find the location of the event, come along and enjoy a good run, fine company, and naturally great weather.