SOUTHERN CROSS SERIES

Southern Cross

Series

Bruce Arthur

Southern Cross Series Director

A triumphant Vic Country team

WHILE the SILVA National Orienteering League continues to go from strength to strength, the level of elite competition at State level in Victoria has been only modest in recent years. Although many top class orienteers reside in Victoria, it was rare for more than five or six orienteers to compete in the State Series competitions. With minimal competition, and long, lonely courses, the level of enjoyment was often not enough to encourage top orienteers to attend regularly. Surely, with so many elite orienteers, top coaches, great maps and technical terrain, a better product could be presented for bush orienteering at the State level. So in 2009, the Southern Cross Series was created. The objective of the Southern Cross Series is to provide high performance orienteers with regular opportunities for competition within Victoria, and to prepare orienteers for the SILVA National Orienteering League. A series of twelve races was created, utilizing mostly existing scheduled events for a team‑based competition between Victoria Metro, Victoria Country and the Interstate Raiders. The Interstate Raiders team is open to anyone who represents a State other than Victoria, but given the large number of elite orienteers that have relocated to Victoria from interstate, the strength of each of the three teams is actually very even. Usually Orienteering is an individual sport, but one of the key components of this Series is the team aspect. Each team has a captain who nominates seven runners in their team before the race across open men, open women, junior men and junior women classes, forming seven match races. The winning team of each race is determined by awarding points; 3, 2 and 1, according to the placings in each of the seven match races. Thus the competition between the 7th seeded runner in each team is just as important as the top seeds. Innovative formats and courses are encouraged. SportIdent is used in all races which allows mass start and head‑to‑head

Match race sprint course with 3 runners starting together

Rob Preston and Hanny Allston – two Interstate Raiders

match racing formats with multiple loops and butterflies in small technical areas. On many occasions, multiple races are scheduled on the same weekend, or even two races have been scheduled on the same day; usually a Sprint race following the State Series race. This provides further incentive for elites to attend and get maximum value for their travel and time. The additional races have been setup in and around the assembly areas using existing controls, with minimal extra effort. Spectator involvement is also a major feature, demonstrating fast and exciting racing to the public. After 7 races so far this year, the success of the Series has been fantastic. Top orienteers from all over Victoria have embraced the Series. Competition in the open classes has been unprecedented, with around 25 men and up to 20 women competing in each race. This has helped lead to a resurgence in attendance at the Victorian bush event State Series this year, defying recent trends. The team competition is also proving to be exciting and close with only a handful of points separating all three teams mid‑ way through the series. Interest has spread interstate, with several orienteers from South Australia traveling to compete in several of the races. Going forward, the invitation is open for orienteers from other States to travel and compete for the Interstate Raiders. Many of the national women’s team has been involved, and they enjoy racing the men often and even beating most of them on many occasions. For 2010, the Southern Cross Series will look for clubs to bid to organize races in the Series, encourage teams to obtain distinctive uniforms, and hope to attract a naming rights sponsor. Further information and results can be found at http://www.vicorienteering.asn.au/highperf/southerncross/