ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA

Executive Matters

John Harding – OA Executive Officer

MY first task in taking over from Kay Grzadka as Executive Officer was a meeting with Kim Neilson, the Sports Consultant at the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) responsible for Orienteering. I was accompanied by Kay and by Bill Jones, OA President, who had just come from a breakfast for Presidents and CEOs of national sporting organisations in Australia. The good news from Kim was that Orienteering is considered by the ASC to be a very well run sport with Orienteering Australia (OA) having excellent financial management and a very good High Performance program. OA submits a report to the ASC every six months on a range of standard performance indicators including the on‑going strategic and operational plans. Longer term plans are under a bit of a cloud at present, not just for OA but for all sports receiving funding assistance from the ASC, as a government review of funding of sport will not be completed until the end of the year and the results not known until later. Kim, however, did give us an overview of a number of special ASC programs such as the Active After Schools Communities (AASC) Program where other sports become service providers and this income helps fund development officer positions. She is intending to attend the Australian Championships carnival in Victoria so say “hello” if you meet her at an event. Much is happening at the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) level and a steady stream of IOF email bulletins arrive at the OA office. At its April meeting progress was reported from many working groups. Perhaps the report of greatest interest was a Vision and Objectives statement for Mountain Bike Orienteering, and agreement to produce similar documents for the other Orienteering disciplines. New IOF Anti‑Doping Rules were to come into effect on 1 June 2009. An IOF working group is looking into adventure sports which have an orienteering component to see what the definition and rules are, and to what extent IOF member federations are engaged in or administering adventure sports at a national level, and what possibilities exist for cooperation between IOF member federations and other stakeholders. Australia is well represented on the IOF Council, through IOF Vice President Hugh Cameron, and on IOF Committees. Mike Dowling, a member of the 8‑member IOF Foot Orienteering Commission, was travelling to Europe in July not just to attend Commission meetings but also to represent Australia at the Presidents’ Conference and the Out of Europe Federations meeting. Blake Gordon is a member of the 10‑member MTB Commission.

The Trewin Report

Blair Trewin reports

2009 WOC trials/ACT Championships

The 2009 ACT Championships weekend in mid‑May, which doubled as the World Championships (WOC) team trials, saw results which had a similar look to many earlier races this season. Hanny Allston swept the three races by increasingly large margins, whilst Julian Dent and Simon Uppill continued their dominance of the men’s events. As they had in eight of the previous nine SILVA National Orienteering League rounds, Dent and Uppill filled the first two places in all three events, but this time not in the same order. Uppill ended Dent’s winning streak at nine with a win in the Sprint, and then took the overall honours for the weekend by winning the Long Distance event after Dent lost seven minutes on a major parallel error. In between, Dent took out the Middle Distance event. None of the younger competitors produced a performance which might have made the WOC team selectors think they were worth taking a chance on. The other significant result was the comeback of Dave Shepherd after eight months out with an ankle injury, with third places in the two shorter events. Allston was never seriously challenged in any of the three events, and extended her margin to ten minutes in the Long Distance race. The interest was in those competing for places behind. Shannon Jones was the most impressive of these, taking second in the Sprint and Long Distance events, which was enough to secure her a place in the team. Kathryn Ewels was also consistent with a second and two thirds. The highlight of the junior classes was the tussle between Bridget Anderson and Belinda Lawford, who were not separated by more than 12 seconds in any of the three races. Each won one of the three races, but they were pushed down to second and third due to an impressive run by Aislinn Prendergast in the Long Distance event. The junior men spread the honours around with Max Neve, Josh Blatchford and Lachlan Dow each winning a race. In the teams competition, the NSW Stingers men’s team continued their unbeaten run, although they had their closest challenge yet in the Sprint, where the Victorian Nuggets were eight seconds behind and only 42 seconds separated the first four teams. The Nuggets women’s team extended their lead over the Canberra Cockatoos to 11 points, despite losing some ground when Jasmine Neve injured an ankle in the Long Distance race. The Queensland Cyclones continue to dominate the junior women, and are two points behind the Tassie Foresters in the close junior men’s event.

Mountain Bike Report

Blake Gordon OA MTBO Coordinator

Adrian Jackson World Number One for a Whole Year

It was early in June 2008 when Adrian Jackson started his push to the top of the World MTBO rankings. After a magic four victories in France and Poland, Adrian (280 points) was 6 points in front of his competitors. With gold and two 6th placings at MTB WOC 2008 in Poland he had stretched his lead ‑ and after two victories in the Australian Championships (Queensland) he totalled 380 points, 33 points clear in first place. During the first six months of 2009 he maintained his lead with two more victories in the Mt Gambier AUS/ NZL Challenge events. He chose not to ride in the exciting European WRE’s but did a strenuous week‑long trans‑German MTB stage race. Then the points rush of the European Championships in Denmark, the Czech WRE and Lithuanian WRE results came in – Adrian now on 356, still 3 points clear of Ruslan Gritsan (RUS). What makes Adrian’s golden year even more inspiring is that he competed in just 11 WRE races while his nearest rivals competed in 14 or more of the 37 WRE events. It has been a remarkable year at the top of World MTBO rankings – now the final test at MTB WOC in Israel, August 9 ‑ 16. Could Adrian improve on what certainly has been a brilliant year by any standards? The author says “Yes he can!” Check Adrian’s blog site http://adrianjacksonsblog.blogspot. com/ for the results from Israel.

Victoria dominates National MTBO Series after Round 2 in Mt Gambier

Victoria’s elite M21, W21 and M‑20 riders scored near perfect points to take commanding leads in all four classes in the 2009 National MTBO Series. Adrian Jackson (142) and Alex Randall (127) top the M21Elite, while rapidly improving Heath Jamieson (150) has a perfect score of five wins from five races in M‑20. In the Women 21Elite, Thor Egerton (QLD) lost to Marquita Gelderman (NZL), who jetted over for the Australian Championships and AUS/NZL Challenge, but posted the highest score of 127 after Round 2 followed closely by Victorians Carolyn Jackson (111) and Di Mittag (103), with Melanie Simpson (97) in fourth place. Jasmine Sunley (VIC) scored two wins in Round 1, but will need to ride in Round 3 to assure herself of winning W‑20E. Round 3 takes place in Beerburrum, Queensland, in early September. If Victorian riders finish on the State League ladder in no worse than third place in Round 3, they will claim the honours in all four Elite classes. Currently the combined State standings are: Victoria 149, Queensland 71, NSW 68, SA 27, ACT 9, Tasmania 3.

New Zealand wins 2009 AUS/NZL Challenge

An enthusiastic group of 31 of New Zealand’s best mountain bikers came over “the ditch” in late May to contest the AUS/ NZL Challenge. With pinpoint planning and a terrific two‑week tour of some of Victoria’s best maps in Woodend, Bendigo, Maryborough and Ballarat the Kiwis, led by Di Michels, again showed us a clean set of tyre tracks en route to a 5‑2 Sprint, 4‑3 Long, & 4‑3 Middle victory at Nelson and Mt Gambier. It started with an exciting 2‑person Relay at Maryborough with mixed teams of Kiwis and Aussies, followed by a Long Distance race at Mosquito Flat next day. A week of training rides in wet Ballarat (we turned the water on for them!) put them in the right frame of mind to brave the cold, wet and windy conditions south of Mt Gambier. Outstanding rides from Marquita Gelderman (W21E), Di Michels (W40‑), Vivian Prince (W50‑), Jacqui Sinclair (W50‑), Stu Lynch (M21E), Pete Swanson (M40‑), Rob Garden (M40‑), and Michael Woods (M60‑) assured the Kiwis the bulk of the glassware prizes. South Australian organisers staged the best Australian MTBO Championships yet – and the Kiwis will respond by bringing back more than 40 next year to the 2010 Australian Championships in Central Victoria on 23‑24 October.

2010 National MTBO Series

The June meeting of the State MTBO representatives voted to hold the 3‑round 2010 National Series on: • 20-21 March - Round 1 – NSW - Middle and Long Distance – selection trials for JWOC/WOC in Portugal; • 4-5 September - Round 2 - QLD – Middle and Long Distance – Queensland Championships; • 23-24 October – Round 3 - VIC – Sprint, Middle and Long

Distance – Australian MTBO Championships.

2009 National Ranking Scheme

After discussion from the Easter meeting, it was agreed to rank age classes (M‑12, M‑14, M‑16, M‑20E, M21E, M40‑ , M50‑, M60‑, M70‑ and W‑12, W‑14, W‑16, W‑20E, W21E, W40‑, W50‑, W60‑, W70‑); • On the best two events at State or Australian Middle or

Long Distance Championships; • One of the events ranked must either be an Australian

Long or Middle Distance Championship or a Long or

Middle Distance Championship outside one’s home State; maximum of one Championship event to count from one’s home State Long or Middle Distance Championships (excluding the Australian Championships when held in your home State); • Sprint Championships - results NOT to be used for 2009

National Ranking List.

Junior MTBO World Championship

The MTBO committee is seeking support from all States / State reps at the 2009 December Orienteering Australia Conference for junior representation on the Australian MTB team for the WOC/JWOC in Portugal (July 11‑17, 2010). The key points are: • More potential for medals due to decreased numbers in

MTB JWOC (only 3rd event); • Australian MTBO riders will make the A final in Short,

Middle and Long Distance; • M-20E should not be compared with M21E standard in

Foot‑O or MTBO; • MTB WOC and MTB JWOC are held in the same country, same venue and same time in 2010 making it possible for coach/manager to fill the same roll with junior and senior squads. So please talk with your State Association representatives to the December Orienteering Australia Conference and support a team that includes our best juniors and seniors at Portugal’s MTB WOC in early July 2010.