JWOC 2009

Junior Team tackles the Italian terrain

The Australian Junior Orienteering Team was made up of some ‘old’ hands, Bridget Anderson, Belinda Lawford, Krystal Neumann, Aislinn Prendergast, Lachlan Dow, Leon Keely and Oscar Phillips and some new young blood: Sarah Buckerfield, Lilian Burrill, Josh Blatchford and Max Neve. We arrived in Venice on the Friday and spent a good day in the ‘City of Canals’, even going for a little run around the streets of the old city on the Orienteering map of the area, ending in St Marco’s Square.

JWOC 2009 – July 5-12 – Primiero, Dolmiti, Trentino, Italy

Text and Photos: Hilary Wood (alias ‘Hill Top Woods’) – Team Leader

WOC Team at Passo Rolle. From left: Sarah Buckerfield, Callum Fagg, Lilian Burrill, Max Neve, Belinda Lawford, Lachlan Dow, Bridget Anderson, Leon Keely, Krystal Neumann, Josh Blatchford, Aislinn Prendergast, Oscar Phillips.

MUCH gelato was consumed and we finished the day with a visit to Lido on the beach and some sampled the sea - a vast flat expanse of water which was pleasantly warm and inviting. Some spectacular thunder and lightning storms made for an interesting sleep that night. The Team commenced its ‘Italian job’ in the hills near Asiago, staying at La Pineta, a guest house in Cesuna. The Danish senior team shared the accommodation and we shared the kitchen with them. Some delicious meals were prepared and enjoyed by the Team and they could go for training runs right outside the door in a mapped forest. Ian Anderson kindly helped out with some massages and with training in the forest. With plenty of garlic in the food most remained healthy although Lilian Burrill had a cold early in the week followed by Oscar Phillips coming down with a cold leading into the competition week. Bridget Anderson had suffered with a bout of tonsillitis leading into the training week but was raring to go and compete come the JWOC week. We had several good maps representing the Primiero terrain to train on nearby. The Team visited Primiero on the Wednesday prior to the competition week and did some training on Dismoni after we got some inside info about it being similar to the Middle Distance terrain. We enjoyed a hot chocolate afterwards at a conveniently located restaurant on the map. We then travelled up the mountain and had a peek at the Dolomite peaks on Passo Rolle snapping a team picture (just off the Long Distance map). Then on to Tonadico to practice some Sprint training through the winding streets of an old town mixed with some cross country running. The setting for JWOC this year was undoubtedly a most beautiful and spectacular part of the world. The towering pinnacles of rock above steep slopes of alpine meadows and pine forest dotted with a mix of rock features made for a challenging set of maps to be conquered by this year’s contestants. One would think the terrain is very similar to the Swiss terrain of 2005 when JWOC was in Locarno. The similarity stops at the steepness of terrain as Locarno had mostly deciduous forest and this year’s JWOC was more pine and coniferous fir trees interspersed with rock of different types. The clinking of cow bells as one negotiated the alpine meadows was a familiar and pleasant sound. The team settled into some very nice 3-star hotel accommodation, Hotel Eden, located between the event centre and the bus stop - a most convenient place. Shops within walking distance and the town square very close too. The event attracted over 3000 public entries to the Dolomite 5 Days and a very substantial Australian presence of parents and others. In fact over three quarters of the Team had a relative attending to lend their support and barrack for the Aussies!

The Sprint Race - Mezzano-Imer

The arena for this was the athletics track in Mezzano. It made for a very good arena with good weather for this first race. The stand was full of Aussie supporters and the team were somewhat nervous for their first race. The arena was very spectator friendly with views over the back of the stand to controls and four controls visible from the Finish. This put pressure on the competitors to be on guard for the correct control at the end of their courses with different controls for the men and women being close to each other. Unfortunately Oscar Phillips fell victim to the pressure at the third last control and punched the girls’ control rather than his own. Aislinn Prendergast was very happy to be the best performing girl in the Aussie Team and although she had some hesitations was pretty happy with her run. Lachlan Dow was also a good performer for the boys and that gave him a good confidence

boost. Josh Blatchford was not far behind and the time lag of just over 2 minutes behind the winning time in 59th position shows the strength of this World Class competition. A few seconds hesitation can count against you and the value of smooth and sure control punching becomes very important. As one can see, they have to be able to run fast to compete with the world’s best as well as navigate well. The distance given is deceptive as they had to negotiate around buildings and out-of-bounds areas to complete their courses. The areas were typical old town laneways interspersed with long legs across some fields and roads. Route choice was complicated by lots of out-of-bounds areas of private land.

Photo Aislinn leaving last control in the Sprint

Long Distance Race – Passo Rolle Sud

The Long Distance race was held up high on the Passo Rolle pass and made for a magnificent backdrop of soaring mountains and flattish meadows with forested steep and complex hill sides which punished the runner who did not keep track of the height of the controls on the hillsides. The day was also a mix of weather and started out a little cool and damp but developed for the middle runners into almost blizzard conditions with driving rain and sleet and dramatic drops in temperatures. It was at this point in the day the coaching zone was empty! The day finished quite balmy with the sun coming out although always remaining wet and muddy underfoot. These conditions favoured the early runners and the later runners although those in the middle may have hurried more to get out of the appalling conditions more quickly. The Long Distance race is traditionally the most demanding physically and mentally and this race proved to be in line with that tradition. Results for the Australian men have improved this year with Lachlan Dow in 35th position and Josh Blatchford, in his first JWOC, finishing in 57th position ahead of Leon Keely in 66th. Max Neve struggled physically and was caught in the worst of the weather ending up very cold and exhausted when he finished. He was sent back down the mountain early in a warm car to recover. He later claimed “That was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life”. Oscar Phillips struggled with the dense contours and the technical difficulty of the course. The 1:15000 map was very busy with lots of complex contour details and rock features in dim coniferous forest. A competitor could not avoid climbing steep hills for the fastest routes. In fairness the Long Distance course wasn’t set as a Long course usually is with long legs giving route choice. The boys had 27 controls over the 9.5km. On average about 1 control every 300 metres. The girls also found the going tough; Sarah Buckerfield, Lilian Burrill and Krystal Neumann were out in the worst of the weather. However Bridget performed the best of the Aussie girls in this race with Krystal Neumann coming in close behind and Lilian Burrill having a good shot at the Long Distance event in her first JWOC.

Middle Distance Qualification Race - San Martino, Nord

The Middle Distance qualification proved to be a tough race on the steep hillsides of San Martino de Castrozza. The distances, deceptively short, covered up the toughness of the terrain. Sarah Buckerfield was the best placed Australian followed by Aislinn Prendergast, in terms of time behind the winner and place.

MEN Q1 (58) 4.4km 150m 15 controls

1. Martin Hubmann (SUI) 26:20 27. Josh Blatchford 32:06 (+5:54) 41. Max Neve 34:25

Q2 (58) 4.4km 155m 16 controls

1. Matej Klusacek (CZE) 26:17 30. Lachlan Dow 33:17 (+7:00) 36. Callum Fagg 34:22

Q3. (58) 4.5km 155m 16 controls

1. Mathias Kyburz (SUI) 26:43 40. Oscar Phillips 35:22 (+8:39)

Leon Keely mp

WOMEN Q1 (42) 3.3km 90m 12 controls

1. Jevne Arnesen (NOR) 25:19 23. Aislinn Prendergast 31:47 (+6:28) 28. Bridget Anderson 33:45

Q2 (40) 3.4km 90m 14 controls

1. Ivana Bochenkova (CZE) 25:53 21. Sarah Buckerfield 31:28 (+5:35) 28. Krystal Neumann 33:14

Q3 (42) 3.5km 100m 14 controls

1. Signe Klinting (DEN) 27:20 24. Belinda Lawford 37:05 (+9:45) 27. Lilian Burrill 37:30

Middle Distance Final San Martino – Centro

Bridget Anderson was extremely disappointed to miss out on the Middle Distance “A” Final but Sarah Buckerfield went out with the intention of improving on her performance in the Long Distance and just missed out on the “A” final in 21st position (first 20 qualify). Josh Blatchford and Lachlan Dow continued to be the most consistent runners and out performed the other boys although missing out on the “A” finals. Experience says that one must run a time under 30 minutes to have any chance of qualifying for the “A” finals. Leon Keely tried to show what he’s made of and unfortunately, although he believed he had punched the control, it failed to register on his stick and he was disqualified. He reported that he had made a mistake in that leg and so remembered visiting this control however the proof is always taken off the SI stick and it didn’t show any registration for the missed control. Needless to say he was pretty devastated about this result. Unfortunately, this year no Australian made the top-20 grade to run in the Middle Distance final. As a result the coach, Nick Dent, encouraged them to do their very best in the “B” and “C” finals and try and make the Australia #1 Relay team. The challenge for the Aussies was to get as close to the top of the “B” and “C” finals as they could. The four girls did not disappoint in their efforts. Belinda had her best race of the week so far and Krystal, Bridget and Aislinn turned in pretty good results. The boys were a mixed bag on this day. Josh continued with his consistent good performance with Callum Fagg coming in close behind. Lachlan had a blow-out and Max Neve, although finishing in a good time of around 22 minutes, unfortunately mis-punched on a control on the adjacent spur in the forest and did not take the time to check his number. Leon Keely had some good splits but then made some costly mistakes leaving his time behind the top runners in the “C” final.

Lachlan Dow approaching the coaching zone and spectator control in the Long Distance Race. Josh approaching the spectator control in the long race.

View from the last control in the Long Distance race

Relay - Val Canali

The team leaders’ job in choosing the optimum Relay team combinations is always a difficult one when the team shows some promise and inconsistency in performances over the week. We usually have competitors who have traditionally run the first or last leg of the Relay in school teams or State Relays and so can be somewhat thrown by being asked to run second. A Relay depends on consistency over the three runners so the leadership went for those who had shown the most consistent and better performances over the week. Injuries as reported were taken into consideration and morale of each member was also taken into consideration. Oscar Phillips had been suffering from a cold all week so was not in peak form. Leon Keely was nursing a sore bruised big toe from the Middle Distance qualification race. Max Neve had suffered badly from fatigue in the Long Distance race. Lachlan Dow and Josh Blatchford had been the best of the boys and Callum Fagg had marginally out performed the other boys in the Middle Distance races and had finished all the races. For the girls Bridget Anderson and Aislinn Prendergast had been reasonably consistent and were keen for their last race at world level in the junior ranks. Krystal Neumann had been consistent over the week and shown an improvement on last year. Belinda Lawford, although having a good race in the “B” final, had been out performed by the others in the Long and Middle Distance qualification. Lilian Burrill has shown some promise for the future and Sarah Buckerfield also has potential for some good performances in the future. Some may think a controversial choice in light of the results. However the time between the finish of the Middle Distance race and when teams are required to submit the Relay teams and running order is short. Discussion was held with all team members and order was decided mostly by consensus unless a decision had to be made between runners who could not reach an agreement about running order. All runners did their best under a lot of pressure to perform well and not let other team members down. Unfortunately Callum Fagg succumbed to the excitement of the Relay day. He also went over on his ankle and had to limp home. Max Neve also tried his very hardest and, because of so much hillside running, aggravated his ITB and was in a lot of pain when he finished. Lachlan and Josh showed their consistency and had the best times of the Australian boys. For the boys, times under 45 minutes were required to compete at the highest level. The girls tried their best too but the competition was too good and times under 40 minutes were needed to be anywhere near the top teams. Bridget performed the best and sprinted down the finish chute so hard she was overcome. Belinda also showed she has the potential to perform at the top level with a good solid Relay run.

MEN 43rd place - Australia 2, 3:02:54

(time, time behind, leg place) Max Neve 57:59 (+14:39) (47) Leon Keely 66:37 (+24:51) (47) Oscar Phillips 58:18 (+17:08) (37)

48th place - Australia 1, 3:16:25

Callum Fagg 90:32 (+47:12) (55) Josh Blatchford 54:57 (+13:11) (33) Lachlan Dow 50:56 (+9:46) (23)

WOMEN 24th place - Australia 1, 2:11:56

(time, time behind, leg place) Aislinn Prendergast 43:59 (+10:31) (24) Krystal Neumann 47:47 (+12:52) (25) Bridget Anderson 40:10 (+7:30) (16)

29th place - Australia 2 , 2:38:14

Sarah Buckerfield 53:05 (+19:37) (30) Lilian Burrill 61:56 (+27:01) (31) Belinda Lawford 43:13 (+10:33) (23)

The Team enjoyed the terrain although very steep. The scenery was magnificent and the Italian hospitality warm and welcoming. The food available at the hotel was excellent this year with a wide variety of salads available and pasta and meat dishes. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies were well done with entertainment European style, fascinating and enjoyable. JWOC 2009 finished with the party and disco which all the team enjoyed. The Aussie Team made a great attempt at the ‘Italian Job’. Performances have improved from last year and that augers well for Denmark in 2010. We are in the fortunate position of having

many juniors wanting to have the JWOC experience and the competition for places in the Team will be hot at Easter 2010 in Canberra. Denmark terrain has open beach, sand dunes and flat forested areas with negative terrain for the Long Distance race. Fine contour reading will be required and ability to run in sandy hills and to count them as you run. The Middle Distance races will have pine and spruce forest in flat areas with many contour details and tracks. The Relay will be very hilly with open vegetation and more obvious contours. If you’re keen get training, both physical and technical!

Bridget Anderson and Josh Blatchford at the spectator moose!

Australian supporters at the Middle Distance final

The Australian team having fun in Venice

RESULTS

SPRINT Women

1. Jenny Lönnkvist Sweden 13:34 2. Ida Bobach Denmark 14:02 2. Tereza Novotna Czech Rep 14:02 4. Fiona Kirk Switzerland 14:15 5. Mari Jevne Arnesen Norway 14:16 6. Sarina Jenzer Switzerland 14:26 29. Aislinn Prendergast Australia 15:26 64. Belinda Lawford Australia 16:44 68. Bridget Anderson Australia 17:03 87. Lilian Burrill Australia 18:03 90. Krystal Neumann Australia 18:33 98. Sarah Buckerfield Australia 19:30

Men

1. Matthias Kyburz Switzerland 14:43 2. Milos Nykodym Czech Rep 14:56 3. Martin Hubmann Switzerland 14:58 4. Florian Howald Switzerland 15:00 5. Søren Bobach Denmark 15:01 6. Severin Howald Switzerland 15:04 40. Lachlan Dow Australia 16:34 59. Joshua Blatchford Australia 17:00 98. Max Neve Australia 17:56 111. Leon Keely Australia 18:29 146. Callum Fagg Australia 21:09

Oscar Phillips Australia mp

MIDDLE DISTANCE “A” Final – Women

1. Tove Alexandersson Sweden 23:24 2. Britt Ingunn Nydal Norway 23:42 3. Ida Bobach Denmark 23:59 4. Fiona Kirk Switzerland 24:11 5. Bettina Aebi Switzerland 24:54 5. Julia Gross Switzerland 24:54

“B” Final

4. Belinda Lawford Australia 27:29 6. Krystal Neumann Australia 28:40 7. Bridget Anderson Australia 28:46 9. Aislinn Prendergast Australia 29:48 15. Sarah Buckerfield Australia 32:58 21. Lilian Burrill Australia 35:49

“A” Final – Men

1. Olli-Markus Taivainen Finland 26:21 2. Philipp Sauter Switzerland 27:00 3. Ulf Forseth Indgaard Norway 27:39 4. Martin Hubmann Switzerland 28:05 5. Søren Bobach Denmark 28:24 6. Albin Ridefelt Sweden 28:36

“B” Final

28. Joshua Blatchford Australia 29:47 31. Callum Fagg Australia 30:10 44. Oscar Phillips Australia 32:37 53. Lachlan Dow Australia 35:05

“C” Final

28. Leon Keely Australia 26:51

Max Neve Australia mp

LONG DISTANCE Women

1. Ida Bobach Denmark 54:12 2. Jenny Lönnkvist Sweden 55:33 3. Marika Teini Finland 56:28 4. Elen Katrine Skjerve Norway 56:37 5. Julia Gross Switzerland 57:41 6. Kristin Löfgren Sweden 58:17 65. Bridget Anderson Australia 1:19:42 66. Krystal Neumann Australia 1:20:43 75. Lilian Burrill Australia 1:27:08 77. Aislinn Prendergast Australia 1:29:05 83. Belinda Lawford Australia 1:33:38 102. Sarah Buckerfield Australia 1:56:36

Men

1. Gustav Bergman Sweden 1:05:55 2. Søren Bobach Denmark 1:09:19 3. Martin Hubmann Switzerland 1:09:25 4. Lauri Sild Estonia 1:10:03 5. Rasmus Thrane Hansen Denmark 1:14:56 6. Torgeir Nørbech Norway 1:14:57 35. Lachlan Dow Australia 1:29:26 57. Joshua Blatchford Australia 1:34:17 66. Leon Keely Australia 1:37:36 93. Callum Fagg Australia 1:45:55 99. Max Neve Australia 1:47:44 122. Oscar Phillips Australia 2:01:22

RELAY Women

1. Switzerland 1 2. Norway 1 3. Denmark 1 4. Sweden 1 5. Czech Republic 1 6. Sweden 2 24. Australia 1 29. Australia 2

Men

1. Sweden 1 2. Switzerland 1 3. Denmark 1 4. Sweden 2 5. Norway 1 6. France 1 43. Australia 2 48. Australia 1 1:44:42 1:46:29 1:46:39 1:47:28 1:51:12 1:52:54 2:11:56 2:38:14

2:08:51 2:09:34 2:12:03 2:12:23 2:15:44 2:16:00 3:02:54 3:16:25

Belinda Lawford at the final control in the Sprint

Callum Fagg in the Sprint

JWOC 2009 MIDDLE FINAL – WOMEN

Bridget Anderson – Middle B Final

Josh Blatchford – Middle B Final Sarah Buckerfield – Middle B Final

Leon Keely – Middle C Final