J U NE 2 0 14
Grace Crane
- 2013 Athlete of the Year
RRP $8.50 inc GST
SILVA National Orienteering League Event Program 2010
Round 1 – Brisbane, Queensland
Sprint Weekend
Saturday February 22 (AM)
Mixed Sprint Relay
Saturday February 22 (PM)
Sprint Qualification
Sunday February 23 (AM)
Sprint Final
Round 2 – Victoria
Middle & Long Weekend
Saturday March 22
Middle Distance (Yackandandah)
Sunday March 23
Long Distance (Kangaroo Crossing)
Round 3 – NSW
AUS 3-Days Carnival
April 18–21
Easter - Sprint, Middle, Long & Relay Distances
Round 4 – NSW
Relay & Long Weekend
Friday April 25
Mixed Sprint Relay
Saturday April 26
NSW Long Distance Championships
Round 5 – Victoria
Ultra-Long (Kooyoora)
August 31
Sun - AUS Ultra-Long Championship
Round 6 – Western Australia
AUS Championships Carnival
September 28 – October 5
Sprint, Middle, Long & Relay Distances
All race details can be found at www.orienteering.asn.au www.silva.se
SILVA is represented in Australia by FISKARS BRANDS. australia@fiskarsbrands.com
ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA
The President’s Page Blair Trewin
A
s I write this, we’ve just come from another generally successful set of national events, hosted by New South Wales in the Central Tablelands (although I’m not sure if that geographical term is in quite such widespread use outside the weather game as it is within it). Major events are the showpiece of our sport, both internally and externally; this is something which will come into even greater focus when the World Cup and Oceania Championships take place in Tasmania at the start of next year. People will go a long way to a good-quality, well-promoted event (and, increasingly, they’re being selective about what they go to – the national carnivals are doing well, and so are events at the local scale, but in a lot of States it’s the events in between which are struggling for numbers). While the overall numbers at Easter this year were fairly similar to other Easters in the southeast in the last decade, I was particularly pleased to see the continuing increase in the size and depth of the Elite fields – it’s getting a lot harder for someone like me, who’s not getting any younger or faster, to get into the top 25 for National League points than it was even a couple of years ago. The 51 starters we had in M21E in Rylstone were, I think, the largest open men’s field we’ve had in Australia since the 1980s. Major events place a big focus on event quality. Those of you who have followed the international scene this year will know that there have been some well-publicised problems at World Cup level (most memorably when the European Championships Long Distance Final had to be reset overnight after the map and course were posted by mistake on the event website the day beforehand) – when things go wrong at that level, people notice. The World Cup issues have also illustrated that we’re not the only ones who find it a challenge to put on a big event – and numerous experiences during my own international career demonstrated that the “big” countries can sometimes run into trouble too. It’s illustrative that both the 2017 and 2018 World Championships failed to attract any bids by deadline (organisers for both have since been found), although that is about money as well as organisational capacity. (Much as I’d like to see Australia host another WOC one day, as things stand we would need at least half a million dollars, probably closer to a million, in external money to make it happen, and it’s hard to see where that would come from). We’ve mostly managed to avoid anything going wrong on the scale of Spain and Portugal in April – it’s more than a quarter of a century since there has been a no-race at an Australian Long Distance Championships – which is testament to a lot of effort being put in by organisers and controllers, but we’re never far from being reminded how exacting standards can be at this level.
The Sprint can be especially demanding, because the nature of the event is that small amounts of time and small features can be critical, and Sprints tend to be in places which change at the last minute, where building works can sprout overnight and critical gaps can cease to exist. Putting on successful major events is a very demanding exercise, and in many States it stretches our available pool of volunteers thinly – something that occasionally shows. It’s a reasonable standard to aspire to for a few times a year, but we don’t have the human resources available to do it all the time. For most of the year, there’s only one real fundamental for an enjoyable Orienteering experience – that the controls are in the right place – and as long as that happens then it doesn’t matter if the event has few other bells and whistles. The Saturday afternoon events that Bendigo club in Victoria has been running for many years are a fine example of this; no doubt other States have their examples too. I sometimes hear it said that there are too many events for the available volunteers, but I think running lower-level events in a way that’s easier to organise is the real solution to that. One of the other challenges we face is that the people who have been our core event officials for many years aren’t getting any younger – we seem to have mastered the art of getting people to work until they’re 70 long before Joe Hockey thought of it - and a lot of them are going to find it increasingly challenging to continue to fill those roles, particularly the in-forest ones, over the next decade. It’s essential for our sport’s future that we find ways of bringing new people into those roles. Easter in Canberra in 2010 was one place where that happened, but it also needs clubs and States to be proactive in bringing their younger members into the loop. My experience, when I was working with junior squads in the ACT and Victoria in the 1990s, is that there are plenty of young orienteers who can do an excellent job of setting courses with a bit of guidance, if only someone would ask them. (It’s worth remembering that Morten Berglia, later to become a world champion himself, set the 1978 WOC courses in Norway while still a junior). We’ll be keeping a close eye on developments on the broader Australian sporting scene. By the time you read this, the federal Budget will have been delivered, and it’s only guesswork at the time of writing what it might contain (although the Audit Commission report doesn’t appear to have contained any major recommendations relating to government support of sport). Irrespective of how much money is around to fund them, the Australian Sports Commission is in the process of revamping the way it supports promoting sports participation and we look forward to working closely with whatever they may come up with. JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 3
Winning PartnershiP
The Australian Sports Commission proudly supports Orienteering Australia The Australian Sports Commission is the Australian Government agency that develops, manages and invests in sport at all levels in Australia. Orienteering Australia has worked closely with the Australian Sports Commission to develop orienteering from community participation to high-level performance.
AUSTRALIAN SPORTS COMMISSION 4 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
Orienteering Australia is one of many national sporting organisations that has formed a winning partnership with the Australian Sports Commission to develop its sport in Australia.
www.ausport.gov.au
w w w. o r i e n t e e r i n g . a s n . a u Orienteering Australia PO Box 284 Mitchell ACT 2911 President Blair Trewin Director High Performance Lance Read Director Finance Bruce Bowen Director Technical Jenny Casanova Director Special Projects Robert Spry Director Media & Communications Craig Feuerherdt Director International (IOF Council) Mike Dowling Executive Officer John Harding National MTBO Coordinator Kay Haarsma National Head Coach Nick Dent Badge Applications John Oliver
orienteering@netspeed.com.au w: 02 6162 1200 oa_president@netspeed.com.au h: 03 9455 3516 lancer@hillbrook.qld.edu.au orienteering@netspeed.com.au h: 02 6288 8501 orienteering@netspeed.com.au m: 0427 605 167 rbspry@gmail.com craigfeuerherdt@gmail.com 0438 050 074 oa_international@netspeed.com.au orienteering@netspeed.com.au 02 6162 1200 m: 0427 107 033 kayhaarsma@hotmail.com 08 8337 0522 nickdent7@gmail.com 02 4384 3627 68 Amaroo Street, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650
STATE ASSOCIATIONS Orienteering Queensland Inc: PO Box 114 Spring Hill QLD 4004. Admin Officer: Melissa Bowman admin@oq.asn.au ONSW: PO Box 3295, North Strathfield NSW 2137. Admin Officer: Paul Prudhoe, Ph. (02) 8116 9848 admin@onsw.asn.au Orienteering ACT: PO Box 402, Jamison Centre ACT 2614. Secretary: John Scown, Ph. (02) 6162 3422 orienteering.act@webone.com.au Victorian OA: PO Box 1010 Templestowe 3106. Secretary: Don Fell, voa@netspace.net.au OA South Aust: State Association House, 105 King William St Kent Town SA 5067. Sec: Erica Diment (08) 8379 2914 secretary@sa.orienteering.asn.au OA Western Australia: PO Box 234 Subiaco WA 6094. Secretary: Ken Post Ph. (08) 9246 2552 kpost1@bigpond.com Orienteering Tasmania Inc.: PO Box 339, Sandy Bay, TAS 7005. Secretary: David Marshall, Ph. (03) 6260 4300 secretary@tasorienteering.asn.au Top End Orienteers (Northern Territory): PO Box 39152 Winnellie NT 0821. Secretary: Zoe Radford topendorienteersNT@gmail.com
NEXT ISSUE DEADLINE
July 11. Time-sensitive: July 18
ISSN 0818-6510 Issue 2/14 (no. 174) JUNE 2014
The national magazine of Orienteering Australia Inc. ABN 77 406 995 497 Published four times a year: First day of March, June, September, December. Print Post Approved PP 236080/00011 Editor: Michael Hubbert, P.O. Box 165, Warrandyte, Victoria 3113 mikehubbert@ozemail.com.au Phone (03) 9844 4878 Magazine Design & Assembly: Peter Cusworth, Ph. 0409 797 023 pcusworth53@gmail.com Magazine Treasurer: Bruce Bowen Printer: Ferntree Print Centre, 1154 Burwood Hwy Upper Ferntree Gully. Contribution deadline: July 11; Time-sensitive - July 18. Deadline dates for contributions are the latest we can accept copy. Publication is normally planned for the 1st of March, June, September & December. Copies are dispatched in bulk to State associations in the week prior to that date. Regular Contributors: Competition - Blair Trewin; High Performance - Lance Read; MTBO - Kay Haarsma; Official News - John Harding; Nutrition - Gillian Woodward; Training - Steve Bird; Coaching – Hanny Allston. Contributions are welcome, either directly or via State editorial contacts. Prior consultation is suggested before preparing major contributions. Guidelines for Contributors are available from the editor or from state contacts. State Editorial Contacts QLD: Liz Bourne – batmaps.liz@gmail.com NSW: Ian Jessup – marketing@onsw.asn.au ACT: John Scown – scown@light.net.au SA: Erica Diment – diment@adam.com.au – tel (ah) 8379 2914 VIC, WA and TAS – vacant Subscriptions: State Association members via State Associations. Contact relevant Association Secretary for details. Other subscribers: Write to The Australian Orienteer, PO‑Box 165, Warrandyte, Vic. 3113. Within Australia: $40 pa. Overseas: Asia/Pacific (inc. NZ) $A49, Rest of World $A58 pa. Delivery is airmail, there is no seamail option. Please send payment in Australian dollars by bank draft or international postal order, or pay direct by Visa or Mastercard. Quote full card number and expiry date. Subscription renewals (direct subscriptions only). The number in the top right-hand corner of the address label indicates the final issue in your current subscription. Opinions expressed in The Australian Orienteer are not necessarily those of Orienteering Australia.
CONTENTS T H E P R E S I D E N T ’ S P A G E.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 EASTER CARNIVAL................................... 6 A U S O T E A M S A N N O U N C E D .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 N AT I O N A L O L E A G U E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 2015 OCEANIA CHAMPS & WORLD CUP....... 16 O A 2 0 1 3 A W A R D S .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 B L U E S PA R K S D E V E L O P M E N T S U C C E S S . . . . . . . 2 0 O B I T U A R Y – J o h n C o l l s.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 COACHING........................................... 24 TURKEY TROT....................................... 26 M E L B PA R K & S T R E E T C H A M P S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 8 SUCCESSION PLANNING.......................... 32 MTBO IN THE ALICE .............................. 38 O - S P Y.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 L E T T E R S .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 C O U R S E S E T T I N G .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6 TOP EVENTS......................................... 47 Cover photo: Grace Crane – 2013 Athlete of the Year. Photo taken by Mike Hubbert at the AUS Relay Championships in ACT.
JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 5
EASTER CARNIVAL
2014 Easter Orienteering Carnival
Sprint Relay mass start. Photo: Karen Blatchford
Clandulla NSW
Women’s Elite placegetters: Jo Allison, Hanny Allston and Shannon Jones. Photo: Karen Blatchford
The Trewin Report Blair Trewin
O
ne message was clear from Easter in New South Wales Hanny Allston is back. 2013 was the year in which she made the first steps of her return to competitive orienteering; her results last year may not have been as spectacular as some of those she achieved in and around her World Championship year of 2006, but she had made it clear that she considered 2013 principally as a staging post. Her results so far this year show that she has taken a further step up. We will see in Italy whether that advance carries through to the international level, but if Easter is anything to go by there is a lot to work with. She was especially dominant on the last two days, which she won by eleven and six minutes respectively; on the final day she won 17 out of 19 splits. Only in the first half of the Saturday Middle Distance, when there were a couple of wobbles in the most technical of the weekend’s sandstone, did she put a foot wrong. 6 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
Elite Junior placegetters. Photo: Karen Blatchford
In the absence of Allston’s two major rivals from 2013, Grace Crane (expecting her first child later this year) and Lizzie Ingham (otherwise engaged at the NZ Championships), the closest challengers were two of the more experienced Australian female orienteers. Jo Allison was right in touch after the first two days, winning narrowly on Saturday, and while Allston was too good for her over the last two days, she was better than any of the rest. Having also been second to Allston in the Long Distance at the WOC trials, she is in her best form for some years. Shannon Jones, making her return to serious competition, got off to a good start with third in the Friday prologue, and then backed up with two more thirds on Sunday and Monday. Both did more than enough to show that they would be useful assets to the Australian World Cup team next year, if they want to be. The Elite men’s race followed a vaguely similar pattern. Simon Uppill’s technical skills have tended to make him a Middle Distance specialist over the last few years, but with the Long Distance being the most likely vacancy in Italy, he has been training for that over the summer, and the Long Distance day on the gully-spur terrain of Prosser’s Reef on Sunday was decisive. He wasn’t as dominant as Allston that day, or as dominant as he had been when he came out of the Long Distance WOC trial with a margin just short of double digits, but a gap on the day of four minutes was still more than enough to set up his overall victory. Behind him, Lachlan Dow took a step up and enhanced his own
Lachlan Dow. Photo: John Harding
Hanny Allston.
Matt Doyle.
Photo: Karen Blatchford
Photo: John Harding
WOC claims by narrowly winning the first two days on his way to second place overall, while a good Long Distance day by Matt Crane gave him just enough in hand to hold off a fast-finishing Dave Shepherd for third. The pattern of an overall victory set up with a decisive win on the Long Distance day also looked to be playing out in the Junior women’s event, where Lanita Steer won by six minutes on Sunday, to overcome a slightly wobbly Middle Distance and give herself what looked a useful lead going into the last day. It was not to be enough, though; she lost time at the fourth control that day to bring Michele Dawson back into the contest, and then the long leg back to the arena settled it – Steer came back hard on the final loop, but by then it was too late and Dawson won by a minute. It was one of only three classes where the lead changed hands on the final day. Nicola Blatchford made it a NSW pairing in the placings after stringing together four consistent days. The Junior men also promised to have a close race, and no-one was disabused of that notion when the Prologue brought a dead heat between Matt Doyle and Brodie Nankervis. Doyle, though, has taken a big step up this year, and from Saturday onwards he took control of the race to score in the end by seven minutes. Only a mistake on the third-last control on Monday prevented him from sweeping all four days. Oscar McNulty pushed him hard on the Long Distance day, and got enough of a break on
the rest of the field in the process to set up second overall, while Nankervis held onto third despite Henry McNulty’s last-day win. The cast of characters may have changed over time, but there is nothing unusual about M60 providing Easter with its closest contest, and such was the case again in 2014. The top three were covered by less than 90 seconds, and Paul Pacque, having had his nose in front for most of the last day, had seen his lead dwindle to 13 seconds at the second-last, before David Marshall lost time at the final hurdle to settle it. W55 was also a close contest; the grouping of Liz Abbott, Jenny Bourne, Carolyn Jackson and Sue Key, all of them former national representatives at World Championships level, have had many great battles as they have moved up through the ranks. This year, it was the turn of Abbott to come through on the last day; starting two seconds in arrears, she opened up a useful lead early which was widened further when Bourne dropped three minutes at #7. The gap narrowed a bit over the final controls but Abbott still had more than three minutes in hand, with Jackson in third. The biggest last-day reshuffling was in M45. Tim Rogers, making his first appearance at this level, surprised the audience with a first-day win against higher profile opposition. He was still two minutes ahead after two days, but lost significant time on all three of the long legs on the last day and ended up missing the placings altogether in a class where just over four minutes covered the top four. Mark Freeman and Peter Annetts were one second JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 7
EASTER CARNIVAL
M12A podium: Mason Arthur, Andrew Kerr, Chun Hei Chan. Photo: John Harding
Simon Uppill.
Hannah Goddard.
Photo: Karen Blatchford
Photo: Karen Blatchford
apart in second and third at the start of the last day and were still separated by a single-digit margin with three controls to go, but Freeman’s loss of three minutes on the long #12 back to the arena was decisive, leaving Annetts to take the win. Ruhi Afnan, with an even better last day, came through from fourth to squeeze Freeman out of second. Big Foot – on their way to the Champion Club trophy – had three in the top six through Freeman, Rogers and Paul Marsh.
There were also a few clean sweeps in the older grades. No-one would have been in the least bit surprised that two of them were achieved by Jim Russell (M50) and Geoff Lawford (M55) – Lawford narrowly won the contest between them for the larger winning margin, 12:22 to 11:56. Su Yan Tay stretched a comfortable margin into a big one when she was six minutes clear of anyone else in the sandstone on the last day in W50 (and Feaver, Hancock, Brown and Marshall is not the worst collection of names to leave in one’s wake), while another to win three out of three in an age group of reasonable size was Jenny Enderby in W45.
W20 was not the only Junior women’s class to be close at the front. W16 was an unusual result in an age group not always noted for its consistency; Winnie Oakhill won all three days, but none of them by more than 84 seconds, and her total margin over Georgia Jones (who had a trio of second placings) was less than three minutes. W14 was one of only two A classes with a margin under a minute, with Ellie de Jong recovering from some early wobbles on the last day to turn a two-second overnight lead into a 39-second overall win over Zoe Melhuish. In contrast, the Junior men’s classes saw a succession of big wins, with clean sweeps in all of M16, M14, M12 and M10. Ewan Barnett was especially dominant in M16; in the absence of Patrick Jaffe and Simeon Burrill, both trying their luck at higher levels, no-one was able to get within ten minutes of him on any of the three days. M14 was a closer-run thing but Patrick Miller was still comfortably clear of his Bushflyers clubmate Noah Poland. 8 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
Falling just short of the sweep, but overcoming small first-day deficits to achieve ultimately comfortable wins, were Lynn Dabbs in W60, and Toy Martin in W65. Alex Tarr also stretched his lead on the last day in M70 – not for the first time, this was a Yarra Valley quinella with Tim Dent in second place – but the pattern of that race was somewhat different, with Dent prevailing on the flatter gully spur of the second day and Tarr having substantial wins on the more technical sandstone of Days 1 and 3. Not all the short-priced favourites won. Kjell Winther looked like he was on his way to another big win in M65 when he was three minutes in front after the first day, but vague gully-spur with few non-contour features is a terrain type which has caught out some of those of Nordic origin before (the double-digit mistakes of Bjornar Valstad and Hanne Staff at Sunset Mountain in the 2000
Michele Dawson. Photo: John Harding
Andrew Barnett. Photo: Karen Blatchford
M14A podium: Dante Afnan, Patrick Miller, Noah Poland. Photo: John Harding
Su Yan Tay. Photo: Karen Blatchford
World Cup being exhibit A), and ten minutes dropped at one control at Prossers Reef on the second day left him five down on Tony Radford going into the last day. He did his best to make it up, getting within two minutes with two controls to go, but Radford was equal to the challenge and held on for the win. At the oldest end of the spectrum, Kevin Paine was the most senior winner in taking out M85, while Eino Meuronen joined his clubmate with a win in M80 (it was a pity they were not running against each other – they were just two minutes apart over three days on the same course). Maureen Ogilvie added another to her long list of wins, this time in W80. The weather was kind to the competitors (except perhaps for the campers who had to contend with near-zero nights) and the terrain was mostly reasonably kind, too, providing New South Wales with a successful event – the first time for a few years that they have hosted a major national carnival. The national scene now moves on to the Australian Championships week in Western Australia in late September. Before then, there will be national teams going to the World Championships in Italy, and the Junior World Championships in Bulgaria, with the latter team being named just after Easter.
JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 9
EASTER CARNIVAL
Olivia Sprod. Photo: Tony Hill
Asha Steer. Photo: Tony Hill
Jasmine Neve.
Mikayla, Nea & Tommy.
Photo: Karen Blatchford
Photo: John Harding
Sunday 31st August 2014; in conjunction with the Wildfire Sports Victorian Long Distance Championships; following the Victorian Middle Distance Championships (same venue, 30/8/14) Format: Multi-loop
23 & 24 August Wivenhoe Dam, Brisbane Valley
Organiser: Eureka Orienteers and Bendigo Orienteers Terrain: Kooyoora State Park, complex granite, 1985 World Championship terrain! Winning times: M21E 2.5hrs, W21E 2hrs, M20E 2hrs, W20E 1hr45, all other classes have normal long distance winning times
Major Prize for elites: return flight to Europe in 2014/5 + entry to European event of choice (e.g. Oringen), total value $2500 Winner of major prize will be decided between elite class winners by a handicapped adjustment of elite class km rates, based on Scandinavian ultralong km rates
Other Prizes (not just for elites): Over $1500s other prizes (many random draw) sponsored by:
www.wildfiresports.com.au
orienteering apparel
orienteering/sports equipment and accessories
Early Bird Prize: enter the Wildfire Sports Australian Ultra Long or the Wildfire Sports Victorian Long Distance Championships before August 1st for your chance to win a pair of Inov-8 X-Talon 212s or ORocs or equivalent - courtesy of Wildfire Sports! Entry via Eventor.
Contact details: Jenny Bourne, Geoff Lawford, email: gjlawford2@bigpond.com
10 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
This year’s two day Qld Championships will be held at Sheepstation Inlet beside the Wivenhoe Dam in the Brisbane Valley, situated 60 mins away from the Brisbane CBD. The area is predominantly open, runnable eucalypt forest in steep to undulating gully/spur with some areas of scattered rock. Being close to both Brisbane and Ipswich, there are a range of accommodation options. The closing date for online entries will be Wed 23 July. Start times on the Saturday will be from 12.30pm and from 9am on the Sunday. Further information and online entries are available from www.oq.asn.au/events/815
ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA
2014 National teams announced Orienteering Australia congratulates members of our National teams recently selected for major international championships in 2014. WOC team
JWOC team
WUOC team
WMTBOC team
The team to represent Australia at the World Orienteering Championships in Italy, July 5-12, is:
The team to represent Australia at the Junior World Orienteering Championships in Bulgaria, July 21-27, is:
The team to represent Australia at the World University Orienteering Championships in Czech Republic, August 12-16, is:
Women: Hanny Allston (TAS) – Sprint, Sprint Relay, Long, Relay, Reserve Middle
Girls: Michele Dawson (NSW) Lanita Steer (VIC) Anna Dowling (TAS) Nicola Blatchford (NSW) Asha Steer (VIC) Olivia Sprod (SA)
Women: Bridget Anderson (SA) – Sprint, Sprint Relay, Long, Middle, Relay
The team to represent Australia at the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships in Poland, August 24-31, is:
Boys: Matt Doyle (VIC) Brodie Nankervis (TAS) Oscar McNulty (WA) Henry McNulty (WA) Oliver Poland (ACT) Ashley Nankervis (TAS)
Belinda Lawford (ACT) – Sprint, Sprint Relay, Long, Middle, Relay
Felicity Brown (NSW) – Sprint, Reserve Sprint Relay Rachel Effeney (QLD) – Sprint, Sprint Relay, Reserve Relay Jasmine Neve (VIC) – Middle, Relay, Reserve Long Vanessa Round (SA) – Long, Middle, Relay Men: Julian Dent (NSW) – Sprint, Sprint Relay, Middle, Relay
Manager: Karen Blatchford Coach: Hanny Allston
Lachlan Dow (ACT) – Sprint, Relay, Res Sprint Relay, Res Long
Lachlan Dow
Junior Men: Tim Jackson (VIC) Angus Robinson (VIC) Karl Withers (QLD) Coach: Piotr Czajkowski Manager: Murray Withers
Krystal Neumann (QLD) – Sprint, Long, Middle, Relay Men: Andrew Barnett (ACT) – Sprint, Long, Middle, Relay, Reserve Sprint Relay
Todd Neve (VIC) – Sprint, Long, Middle, Reserve Relay
Simon Uppill (SA) – Sprint, Sprint Relay, Long, Relay, Reserve Middle
Due to the IOF’s new WOC format in 2014 Australia is only entitled to one entry in both the Long and Middle Distance events for the Men, and two entries in the Long and Middle Distance for the Women. There is a Mixed Sprint Relay comprising two women and two men to be held at WOC for the first time. Also as the Relay counts double points towards the team’s position in the country table, a reserve for the Relay will travel with the Team.
Lauren Gillis (SA) – Sprint, Long, Middle, Reserve Sprint Relay, Reserve Relay
Bryan Keely (VIC) – Sprint, Sprint Relay, Long, Middle, Relay
Chris Naunton (VIC) – Reserve Sprint, Reserve Relay
Coaches: Wendy Read & Tom Quayle
Elite Men: Callum Fagg (TAS) Chris Firman (QLD) Alex Randall (VIC)
Murray Scown (ACT) – Sprint, Sprint Relay, Long, Middle, Relay
Asha Steer
Coach: Tom Quayle Manager: Nick Dent
Chris Firman
Henry McNulty
Bryan Keely
Angus Robinson
Anna Dowling
Belinda Lawford
Tim Jackson JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 11
SILVA NOL
Canberra Cockatoos dominating SILVA National Orienteering League Blair Trewin
T
he Canberra Cockatoos are dominating the SILVA National Orienteering League in 2014. With twothirds of the 15 rounds completed, they lead the men’s competition by 14 points, and the women’s by 20, leaving them in an excellent position to repeat their victories of 2013. The Cockatoos’ already strong women’s team has been further bolstered by the return of Jo Allison and Shannon Jones, who were second and third respectively at Easter, to the top levels of competition. The depth which this has given the Cockatoos has meant that they have been able to cover gaps which a less deep team might have struggled with, such as the absence of Lizzie Ingham over Easter when she was at the New Zealand Championships. The Victorian Nuggets are next in line, but have been unable to challenge as strongly as they did last year, when they were in contention until the last control of the last race; the loss of Kathryn Preston for the season has hurt them, although that has been partially covered by Clare Brownridge having her best year and the continued improvement of several of their younger team members. The Nuggets look set to have a close battle for second place with the Queensland Cyclones, who got off to a good start on Shannon Jones. home ground with a win in Photo: Karen Blatchford the Sprint Relay in Brisbane, and have continued to have a strong competitive core, despite the off-season loss of Bridget Anderson to the Southern Arrows.
Hanny Allston. Photo: Karen Blatchford
pointy end. The NSW Stingers have had their moments and hold third place.
Jo Allison.
Hanny Allston has put herself in an all-but-impregnable position in the individual competition, although she will need one more win to be mathematically certain of overall victory. She got the season off to a winning start in the Sprint in Queensland and has won six out of eight individual races in total to give herself a 46-point lead over Jo Allison and Jasmine Neve. Allison and Neve have won a race each – Neve’s being the Middle Distance at Rowdy Flat in Victoria, the only time this season when Allston has missed the placings – with Allison also coming second to Allston on four different occasions. Lizzie Ingham, with only four races so far, is another who might challenge for the placings, although she may struggle to get a full set of scores.
Photo: Karen Blatchford
Except where mispunches or absences have brought them undone, the Cockatoos men have been even harder to beat, taking maximum points from all six races during the Easter week (including their share of a convincing win in the mixed Sprint Relay in Lithgow). They fill four of the top six individual places; Lachlan Dow has Simon Uppill. taken a further step forward and has won three Photo: Karen Blatchford of the eight individual races, Dave Shepherd has made a successful comeback from foot and knee injuries, and while Matt Crane has not been at quite his being in the Long Distance level of last year he has still been a major contributor. Again the WOC trial at Kangaroo Victorians have been the best of the rest; as has been the case for Crossing in Victoria when he the last couple of years, they have great depth (fourteen Victorians was almost ten minutes clear have scored points this year), but a lack of contenders at the of the rest of the field. He leads by 15 points from the 12 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
Simon Uppill looks the likeliest winner in the men’s competition. After a period when he has had many placings but few wins, he has won four times this season, the most impressive of them
Dave Shepherd. Photo: Karen Blatchford
AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
ORIENTEERING CARNIVAL 2014
SEPTEMBER 27 - OCTOBER 5 WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Cottesloe Beach
EARLY BIRD ENTRIES CLOSE 30TH JUNE
WA Long Distance Champs Bindoon Northam
Perth
Aust Middle Distance Champs (WRE NOL)
STAY IN WA FOR ANOTHER WEEK OF SPRINTS & MTBO:
Aust Sprint Champs (WRE NOL)
Sprint the South West Series - 7 & 8 October
Aust Schools Indiv. Champs & Public Bunbury Busselton Margaret River
Aust Schools Relay Champs & Public Aust Long Distance Champs (WRE NOL)
4 Races over 2 days in and around Bunbury, Busselton & Margaret River. www.facebook.com/sprintthesw
WA MTBO Event Program - 10 & 11 October
WA Long Distance MTBO Champs (NOL), MTBO Sprint Event (NOL), WA Middle Distance MTBO Championship (NOL). All near Margaret River 275km South of Perth. http://wa.orienteering.asn.au/
Fabulous Fre-O - Anytime
Aust Relay Champs (NOL)
A free orienteering discovery activity in historical Fremantle.
www.2014ausochamps.com improving Dow, who got maximum points three times during the Easter week, while Shepherd – whose best result was a win on the highly technical Rowdy Flat – is a further 18 points back. Those three look the likeliest to fight out the title, although there are a number of others close enough to challenge – for a placing at least – if they get on a hot streak at the end of September.
21 from Brodie Nankervis. Oscar McNulty and Oliver Poland are also still in with a chance but would need to finish the season very well.
The closest competitions, both team and individual, are in the Junior women’s. The NSW Stingers and Tassie Foresters are tied at the end of the Easter week, and it seems likely that the battle between them will not be resolved until Australian Relays day. The individual competition is also tight, with five within 35 points of the lead. Easter winner Michele Dawson has her nose in front with a 12-point gap over Anna Dowling, but Nicola Blatchford and Lanita and Asha Steer are all still in contention. Regardless of what happens with the women, the Foresters will almost certainly have at least one Junior title to their name – the Junior men are 20 points clear of their nearest challengers, the NSW Stingers, with Brodie and Ashley Nankervis leading the way, and Jarrah Day and Oisin Stronach providing useful support. Matt Doyle’s commanding performance over Easter, which he continued into the NSW Championships the next weekend to make it four wins from five starts, has put him in the box seat. He leads by 19 points from Henry McNulty and
Henry McNulty
Anna Dowling.
The season continues with the first Ultralong National League event, at Kooyoora in Victoria at the end of Ashley Nankervis. August, before culminating with the four Australian Championships events in Western Australia at the end of September. Events in Western Australia are always a test of depth but the leading teams have indicated that depth is one of their strengths. JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 13
More on The Adventures of Jeff !, by Duncan Currie. Jeff is an orienteer in need of more than a little help.
The Australian WOC JWOC and MTBO teams outfitted by Trimtex
14 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
XMAS 5 DAYS 2014
XMAS 5 DAYS
comes to the big smoke Ian Jessup – ONSW Marketing & Communications Officer
S
ydney’s glorious harbour and cityscape will be on full display when the annual Xmas 5 Days carnival breaks with tradition and comes to the “big smoke” this year. Usually centred on a regional town with easy access to quality bush maps, the 2014 Xmas International 5 Days will, for the first time, have a distinctly urban feel. With many European elites and interstate visitors en route to the World Cup / Oceania carnival in Tasmania immediately afterwards, we hope you’ll spend a few days in Sydney to stretch your legs, take in the sights and maybe even stay for the world-famous New Year’s Eve fireworks! The 5 Days will offer four different formats, so there’s something for everyone. We also hope the mostly central Sydney locations will lure more Sydney Summer Series regulars into line Orienteering and to develop a taste for Bush O. All events are easily accessed by public transport and offer visitors plenty of sightseeing opportunities.
Our closing event at Centennial Park will be completed by 11am and is 15 minutes drive to Sydney Airport for those wishing to leave straight away for Tasmania.
THE PROGRAM: SAT DEC 27 (PM): Long Sprint at Georges Heights. Part of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, Georges Heights has some of the most stunning vantage points anywhere on the harbour with uninterrupted views across to Manly, Vaucluse and the CBD. Take in Taronga Zoo or a harbourside trail walk through this former military site.
Accommodation in Sydney Pyrmont
TUE DEC 30 (AM): line courses in the bush at Lapstone (map = Darks Common). Take the train further up to Katoomba for a tour of the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains. Visit The Explorers’ Tree, The Norman Lindsay Gallery, The Three Sisters and Echo Point, the Scenic Railway, not to mention the magnificent bush trails. Georges Heights
SUN DEC 28 (AM): Sprint on Cockatoo Island. Enjoy a ferry ride to and from Sydney’s largest island. Off limits for more than 100 years, experience first-hand the pivotal role Cockatoo Island has played in Australia’s convict, shipbuilding and industrial history. You can even camp overnight!
Lapstone
For caravan or camping, try: sydneylakeside.com.au at Narrabeen (northern beaches) sydneyhillsholidaypark.com.au at Dural (far northern edge) www.sydneygateway.com.au at Parklea (western suburbs) www.sydneytouristpark.com.au at Miranda (southern suburbs) www.woronoravillage.com.au at Woronora (southern suburbs) For camping within a national park, go to www. nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/Stay and search for ‘Sydney, NSW’. Likewise, for accommodation within a national park, go to www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/ Stay# and search for ‘Sydney, NSW’. For hotels, motels, backpackers, there are thousands of rooms available online. www. onsw.asn.au/xmas-5-days-2014
Flights: Sydney to Tasmania
Cockatoo Is.
MON DEC 29 (PM): 45-minute Sydney Summer Series score event at Pyrmont. Once a vital component of Sydney’s industrial waterfront with wharves, shipbuilding yards, factories and wool stores, Pyrmont has recently experienced redevelopment with an influx of residents and office workers. Explore Darling Harbour, the Maritime Museum and soak up stunning views of the CBD.
WED DEC 31 (AM): Ultra Sprint at Centennial Parklands. Sydney’s great urban park is the ideal location for this micro version of Orienteering. There will be competitors criss-crossing everywhere. The course setter promises something a-maze-ing as a bonus. Afterwards, enjoy the myriad of recreational opportunities in the park or head on down to the harbour to grab a picnic spot for the fireworks.
Qantas to Launceston: Dec 30, Dec 31, Jan 1: 0710, 1100, 1810 Qantas to Hobart: Dec 30, Dec 31, Jan 1: 0615, 0925, 1710 www.qantas.com.au Virgin to Launceston: Dec 30, Dec 31, Jan 1: 0915 Virgin to Hobart: Dec 30, Dec 31, Jan 1: 0740, 1430 www.virginaustralia.com Both airlines also have lots of flights via Melbourne.
Ferry: Melbourne to Devonport, Tasmania: Centennial Park
Dec 30, Dec 31: 2130 Jan 1: 0900, 2100 www.spiritoftasmania.com.au
JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 15
FUTURE EVENTS
Kelvedon Hills
2015 OCEANIA CHAMPIONSHIPS & WORLD CUP
Constable Creek extract
T
he Tasmanian orienteering community is so looking forward to welcoming interstate and overseas orienteers to the Oceania Championships Carnival in January 2015 which will also include the opening round of the 2015 IOF World Cup. With 7 events in 9 days, centred on the city of Launceston and Tassie’s East Coast, orienteers will be promised a feast of great Orienteering and awesome holiday activities in and around the competitions. In addition, with three IOF World Cup races in Sprint, Middle and Long Distance there will be ample opportunity to cheer on Aussie’s best as they compete against the world’s best on “home” soil. Entries are now open on the Australian Eventor system for all Oceania Carnival events except for the World Cup and the Australia/New Zealand Schools Test Match. Entrants to these will do so with a separate entry process. All the details about how to enter are to be found on the Entry page at oceania2015.com. In addition, we have a high quality souvenir Siven orienteering top available to remember Oceania 2015. At $35 it represents excellent value. Intending participants in Oceania are reminded of the need to book your travel and accommodation early to get your preferred option. January in Tasmania, like lots of Australian places, is a popular holiday time. Check out the Travel Info page at oceania2015.com for our accommodation suggestions and links to accommodation service providers. In addition, don’t forget to book your transport through our car/campervan rental partner AutoRent Hertz for the best deal on offer. Visit our Car/ Campervan Rental page at oceania2015.com for more information. Course setting and mapping is well on schedule. All maps have been produced, preliminary courses set and are in the process of detailed analysis and review. Course setters and mappers are all most excited with the terrains on offer; combining wonderful technical challenges, brilliant scenic views to distract you at times and wonderful varied terrain over the week.
Spikey Bridge (pic Chris Brown)
Carnival participants should make sure they are in Launceston on January 2nd for the start of the Carnival which kicks off with the World Cup Sprint Prologue at the First Basin in the Cataract Gorge Reserve just west of Launceston’s city centre. This is a spectacular setting to open the Carnival and an ideal opportunity to see how the world’s best go in getting a good start slot for the World Cup Sprint the following day at UTAS Launceston. When the Oceania carnival ventures to the east coast of Tasmania you will be in one of Australia’s most recognised holiday and tourism locations. According to Australian Traveller magazine, a road trip along the East coast of Tasmania is regarded as one of Australia’s best holiday experiences. Well, mix it in with some awesome Orienteering that will beckon during our Oceania Carnival and it must the top of the tops then. With two events right on the coast at Coles Bay and just south of Swansea you will surely see and discover why such an accolade is so obviously true. And that’s not all. With an event near St Helens to finish off the Oceania Carnival, it is just a short hop across to the amazing white powder sand beaches and granite headlands of the Bay of Fires. Lonely Planet described this part of Tassie as one of the planet’s great coastal experiences. The organising committee are also very pleased to advise that they will be holding a Pan-Pacific Junior Challenge for our 14 and under competitors during the Oceania Carnival. Add that to the Australia/New Zealand Challenge and the Australia/New Zealand Schools Test match over Oceania and you have an absolute feast of trans-Tasman and beyond challenges and rivalry. So don’t delay any longer, book your travel and accommodation and enter for Oceania 2015 in Tasmania next January. Keep up to date by regularly visiting oceania2015.com or follow us on Facebook at Oceania2015OrienteringChampionships.
The Hazards-Coles Bay (pic Mike Dowling) 16 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
It’s everything you could ever want!
ENTR OPENY
TASMANIA AU S T R A L I A 2 -1 1 J A N UA RY 2 0 1 5
o c e a n i a 2 015 . c o m Friday January 2
Tuesday January 6
Thursday January 8
World Cup Sprint Prologue
Oceania Middle Distance Championships A/NZ Challenge
Wednesday January 7
World Cup Middle Distance A/NZ Schools Test Match - Individual Public Event
A/NZ Schools Test Match - Relay Public Event
World Cup Long Distance
Saturday January 3 World Cup Sprint Oceania Sprint Distance Championships A/NZ Challenge
SaturdayJanuary 10
Sunday January 4
Sunday January 11
Oceania Relay Championships
Oceania Long Distance Championships A/NZ Challenge
A/NZ Challenge
want to see
cape wildestarcitstyhees re.
Your
st
the best? let the locals show you.
accommodation, tours, transport, expert advice and bookings - it all starts here. Talk to our local travel professionals and let them take the stress out of your holiday. Call 1800 651 827, scan the Qr code to download the app to your smartphone or visit our website, and start something special in Launceston. 68 Cameron St, Launceston T 03 6336 3133 Freecall 1800 651 827 destinationlaunceston.com.au
Launceston’s breathtaking natural masterpiece is the spectacular Cataract Gorge, a startling contrast to the bustling city environment just minutes away. From vibrant streetscapes to inner-city wilderness – it all starts here. Talk to our local travel professionals, download the official Launceston app to your smartphone or visit our website, and start something special in Launceston. 2015 OCeania OrienTeerinG CarnivaL • 2 - 11 January 2015
destinationlaunceston.com.au JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 17
ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA
Orienteering Australia Awards 2013 Athlete of the Year – Grace Crane
T
he 2013 Athlete of the Year recognising outstanding international achievement is Grace Crane (Tasmania). Grace’s achievements in 2013 include: •J anuary 2013 World Cup in New Zealand: 18th in the Sprint and 16th and 18th in the two World Cup Middle Distance races.
SILVA Award for Services to Australian Orienteering 2014 – Christine Brown
C
hristine Brown (Tasmania) has received the 2014 SILVA Award for Services to Australian Orienteering after many years of outstanding service at the State, National and international levels. Award for Services – Christine Brown.
• 2013 Easter 4 Days: 1st Australian W21E •2 013 Australian Championships: 1st in Middle Distance, 2nd in the Long Distance. •G race was the leading Australian W21E in the 2013 SILVA National Orienteering League. • 2013 IOF ranking of 61 and World Cup ranking of 44.
SILVA Award for Services to Coaching 2014 – Ian Dalton AWARD CRITERION
P
ersons considered to be worthy of an Award would normally have rendered meritorious services to Orienteering coaching at club, State association and National / international level over a period of many years.
2013 Athlete of the Year – Grace Crane receives her award from OA President, Blair Trewin.
Award for Coaching – Ian Dalton.
Nominated by Orienteering Western Australia, Ian Dalton has been: • Accredited Level 1 coach since 1995; • Qualified secondary school teacher; • Attended Level 1 MTBO Coaching Course, VIC, 2011; Grace starting the 2013 Australian Sprint Championship.
•A ttended Level 2 coaching course in VIC, 2012 – completed sport specific component of accreditation; •A ttended Sport Medicine Australia courses on athlete leg injuries for professional development. Since gaining his coaching qualification in 1995, Ian has coached members of Perth metropolitan clubs via the OWA coaching system. He has also helped to run several summer training camps for the Bunbury-based SWOT club. Ian is a long-time member of the OWA Coaching Committee and has contributed to State level coaching of individuals and groups, juniors and seniors, and foot and MTBO participants. Examples include:
18 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
•A ttended multiple WA Junior Camps since 1996 as a coach including some summer training camps in Bunbury for SWOT; •W A Schools Team Coach 2002 and Team Manager/Coach 2003-2011, 2013; • Ran WA MTBO training clinics 2012; • I ndividual coaching of an elite WA athlete in navigation for MTBO, 2012-2013. Ian also served on the OWA Council for 11 years as the Schools Convenor and was the School Sport WA Orienteering representative for 10 years. Ian has contributed to national level coaching with an emphasis on two areas of particular interest to him, Schools and MTBO. Examples include: •A ustralian Schools Orienteering Team Coach 2007, 2009 and 2013; • Australian MTBO coach 2012 and 2013; • Ran Australian MTBO training camp, VIC, April 2012; • Assisted in MTBO training camp, Beechworth, VIC, 2013. As the coach of five national teams representing Australia in international competition, Ian’s coaching efforts and support assisted team members to achieve creditable results in a highly competitive and stressful environment. His combined experience as teacher and coach made him a successful coach of Schools teams, a challenging role requiring effective interpersonal skills. Over the past 18 years, Ian Dalton has made a significant contribution to Orienteering coaching in relation to juniors, seniors, MTBO and foot Orienteering. His combined coaching and teaching qualifications have enabled him to coach Schools teams at the State and National level and to run training activities / camps. In recognition of his contribution to coaching in WA, he was twice nominated for the prestigious WA Sports Star Awards Coach of the Year (2012 & 2013). Ian is a worthy recipient of the SILVA Award for Services to Coaching.
David Hogg Medal for Services to Event Management: – Ross Barr
O
rienteering NSW nominated Ross Barr of Garingal Orienteering club for the 2013 David Hogg Medal. It is believed that Ross started Orienteering in 1989, as this is the first time he appears in result lists. He was primarily nominated for the work he has David Hogg & Ross Barr. done in Sydney with the now famous Sydney Summer Series (SSS) of events that are staged every Wednesday evening in Sydney during daylight saving hours. The SSS is now in its 22nd year, and continues to go from
strength to strength under Ross’ direction and guidance. In 2011 the format was used as part of the ASC’s participation expansion program to create two new series in Sydney in the South and in the West. Ross assisted with the organisation of two new programs by finding suitable areas, clubs and organizers to conduct the first series. A Wednesday evening daylight savings series had existed before the SSS came about but fizzled out due to lack of support. When Ross resurrected it as the SSS there were only about five events with a similar number of competitors as the previous daylight saving series. He was responsible for changing to the current popular format, introduced a point scoring system and appropriate age groups, made sure it received good publicity (yellow sheet initially), plus the Pork Pie Guides “event results”. He also established a basic set of rules and provided awards for each class at the end of the season - all personally funded by Ross. This has led it to being the very successful Series it is now. The series today consists of 27 events with approx. average attendance of around 200 per event. Since 2002 Ross has continued to organise the Sydney Summer Series, been involved in mapping, and organised, planned and controlled events as follows:
Sydney Summer Series This involves liaising with the ONSW event planning team, finding individual event organisers and planners, production of the yellow event sheet, overseeing event quality and rules, keeping the SSS website up to date. He also provides a website post-mortem on each event, as well as a number of issues of his Pork Pie Guide to the Series, and arranges trophies to the successful “nags” at the end of the season. In early 2002 the Sydney Summer Series News reported having the first event with over 150 entries. Now the average entry for an event is approx. 190, with some events having over 220 entries, and sometimes even reaching the 250 mark. The Sydney Summer Series has become a great introduction for runners to Orienteering and an important source of income for the club and ONSW. As part of his long involvement in Orienteering, the SSS, and events in general, Ross has had the following roles: 1993 NSW Long Distance Champs organiser, Baal Bone Gap; 1996 Australian 3 Days (Orange) Day 1 Planner; 2002 Metroleague 3 Controller, Westleigh; 2003 SSS #18 Org/planner, Bedlam Bay; 2004 SSS #18 Org/Planner, Looking Glass Bay; 2005 SSS #17 Org/Planner, Bedlam Point; 2006 SSS #23 Org/Planner, Shrimptons Creek; 2006 Club Event Vetter, Balls Head; 2007 SSS #19 Org/planner, Whale Rock; 2007 NSW Badge Event Controller, Seldom Seen; 2008 Park Series #5 Planner Gladesville Hospital; 2008 SSS #20 Org/Planner, Glebe Point; 2009 SSS #21 Org/Planner, Rozelle Bay; 2009 NSW Night Champs Controller, UWS Penrith; 2010 SSS #7 Org/Planner, Berrys Bay; 2011 Sydney Sprint Series #6 Org./Plan Gladesville Hospital; 2012 Sydney Sprint Series #9 Org./Plan, Macquarie Hospital; 2013 Sydney Sprint Series #9 Org./Plan, Glebe Point. Ross has more recently been involved in searching for new areas to map for future major events in NSW. JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 19
DEVELOPMENT
A Pathway for Development Success David Poland (ACT)
BLUE SPARKS
orienteering ACT Maggie 9 years and Holly (black shorts) 10 years Aranda Primary
O
rienteering ACT has been learning a great deal from seven successful years of the Blue Sparks Squad for Primary School children. 2013 saw the team crank it up another notch with a formal structure to engage families, called the ‘Family Pathway’ - integrating the whole development pathway from child to adult. 2014 will see this progress even further with the ‘PIPs’ – Parents, Integration, Pathway.
P
Parent training – For any kids’ programme to be a success the parents have to be rewarded. Moving parents from taxi drivers to active participants is the key to long term commitment. Rewards for parents require flexibility.
I
Integration within the adult calendar - Mentoring kids is work enough for a coach without having separate events from the club’s usual programme. The Blue Sparks coaches concentrate on making an existing event feel kid friendly – banners, prizes, teams, communication, whilst letting someone else do the course setting, organising and controlling.
P
Pathway – Finally, there must be a pathway so the children make it into the mainstream Orienteering community. Too many kids’ events are held in isolation as if they are an end in themselves so Blue Sparks developed the “Bundles of Fun” concept.
Dylan 10 years Grammar Primary
Bundles of Fun Twice a year the Blue Sparks team sets aside six weeks of activities. We call these Bundles of Fun. They are heavily promoted as a package to schools, Scout groups, and via an email network. Picking the quiet time of the year when soccer is not so prominent helps get parents’ attention; in the ACT February, May and November are the best months for this. In November the first four weeks of an existing Orienteering Twilight Series are used to hold kids activities called Map Mates, followed by a weekend Bush Training Camp which parents must attend with their children. In the sixth week is the ACT Primary Schools Championships. Finally, for the next four weeks there are some low key 15 minute training sessions at the start of each Twilight event.
20 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
Targeting the whole Family. So far so good for Primary School kids but the Blue Sparks team really wanted to capture the whole family. This has been done through “Family Pathways Programme� which is heavily promoted in all family communications. But there was still a significant amount of work and this workload was limiting further expansion. The team came up with another innovation - a coaching scholarship to attract a high quality senior orienteer to provide some extra elbow grease. An attractive package of bursary, free entry to ACT events and hosting by ACT families was the offer. Lukas Funk from Switzerland was the winner of that first scholarship. In return he provided coaching sessions to members, school children and their families, producing special training maps (contours only, window maps and polka dot maps) at normal Twilight events. He delivered a new service to members who commented that this was the first time in many years that OACT had offered adult training as well as high quality events. Importantly the coach taught families and adults not the school or elite team.
Alissa 11 years Aranda Primary
Tahli 11 years Campbell Primary
Turning taxi drivers into Participants Rewards for parents require flexibility. Some welcome parent navigational workshops in tandem with kids training, some take on volunteer roles and some get a kick out of giving their kids team bonus points if they compete as well. Experience shows parents of 9-13 year olds are the ones most likely to volunteer.
Ivy and Molly both 11 years Majura Primary
JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 21
DEVELOPMENT
The Carnival Infection Welcoming families into the community, making sure they are well coached and have access to quality events is important. There is another element which has great potential for attracting people to the sport and enthusing them about the serious competition like no other – major Carnivals. Infect a newcomer with the excitement and challenge of a Carnival and frankly you have them! Recognising this the Blue Sparks team created the Pan Pacific Sub-Junior Challenge designed as a junior point score alongside the 2013 Australian Championship Carnival (see The Australian Orienteer, March 2014). A fun filled low-key Challenge that seamlessly fits into an existing event. It encourages kids to network and make friends outside their State. It seems to have worked; several families are more involved and one new inexperienced family has even taken on the role of Blue Sparks email secretary. Ben 11 years Campbell Primary
Body and Brain Workouts
Rebecca 11 years Majura and Zoe 10 years Grammar
There has always been a low level of demand from schools in ACT wanting Orienteering taught in schools. Recently we have seen this increase possibly due to the requirements of the new national school curriculum (Orienteering ticks lots of boxes). Whilst public schools have been cautious about spending money private schools have embraced the opportunity to have an overseas coach visit their school. We prefer a mini series of classes over four weeks.
22 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
Andrew 11 years Radford College
OBITUARY
John Colls 19 4 4 –2 0 13
J
ohn, his wife Sheila and their two young sons David and Stuart, arrived in Victoria from Scotland in November 1981. John and Sheila were both very experienced orienteers and John had served as Scottish Orienteering Association (SOA) President from 1976–78 and British Orienteering Federation Vice-Chairman from 1978–80, as well as being one of the co-founders of the biennial Scottish 6-Day Event. Soon after their arrival, the family joined Dandenong Ranges O Club before transferring their club allegiance to Yarra Valley in 1990. In May 1983, John was elected treasurer of the Victorian Orienteering Association, a position he held for the next three years. This was undoubtedly the busiest period in the history of the VOA (or Orienteering Victoria as it is now known), straddling the lead-up to and conduct of the 1985 World Orienteering Championships in Bendigo, the first time they had been held outside Europe. John was an actuary by profession – he was a principal in Mercer’s when he retired – and the VOA benefitted immeasurably from his financial expertise, as well as from his SOA experience. To mention just one example, he implemented a complete restructuring of the VOA’s finances, establishing a budgeting system that not only ensured that the VOA had “neither too little nor too much money for our needs” but underpinned the extensive WOC 85 mapping program in Victoria. John had two hip replacements, in 1996 and 1998, and though they did not diminish his enthusiasm and determination for competing in his age class, naturally affected his competiveness. It is important to note then, just how good an orienteer John was before his hip troubles. Two M35 results clearly demonstrate this: 1983 Australian Champion at North Stockton Dunes and 1984 A Few Surplu s Maps Victorian Champion at Mt Alexander, both very complex areas being used for the first time. John was a member of the Australian Team for the Australia-New Zealand Challenge in 1984 and was very proud of the fact that he had represented both Scotland and Australia in Orienteering.
After his retirement in 1999, John renewed his hands-on association with Orienteering in Scotland, regularly controlling one day of the Scottish 6-Days and undertaking the role of Finance Director for JK 2012 (the equivalent of our Easter 3-Day event) in Perthshire. Typically, his final contribution to Australian orienteering was a substantial one as Chief Organizer of last year’s Easter 3-Day event based in Bendigo. In the end, a generalised and incurable health problem claimed his strength and his life. Lucid till nearly the end, he welcomed visitors to talk of cricket, Scotland, his wide travels, a little of his early life in Yorkshire and, of course, Orienteering. John died on 12 December 2013. Those close to John extend to Sheila, David and Stuart, their families, and John’s sister Barbara, our thoughts and best wishes. Barry McCrae & Peter Searle
Milestone mom ents from those known as the once “Three Wise Men” 1978 – John Colls: Highland ’77 … tremendous scoop was for Scottish oriente a impression is that ering. My we have create d a captive audience throug hout the UK for similar events future and we in the have put oursel ves in the exploit the interna tional market should position to we so wish 1985 – Brian Porteo us: Our role, as at AGMs, is to ensure the quality we always say and continuity the series and of to ensure that the maximum possib benefit is obtain le ed for Scottish orienteering 1987 – Sue Harvey : The Scottish 6-Day 10 years old. It Event is is now nearly four times the size it was in 1977 in terms of compe titors. It is of prime significance … because it funds 40% of the cost the SOA’s Develo of pment Officer
n Colls
A FEW SURPLU
John was very much a person of integrity and principle. When in 1998 the IOF requested that Orienteering Victoria organise the 2002 World Masters Orienteering Championships as part of the multi-sport World Masters Games, John as Event Director did an enormous amount of work in negotiating an agreement which set out the roles and responsibilities of Orienteering Victoria on the one hand and the overall umbrella group, the Melbourne World Masters Games Committee, on the other. However, once things got underway, John felt that in a number of important areas, the umbrella organization was not honouring the spirit nor the letter of the signed agreement. And, as he could see no prospect of a change in attitude, he tendered his resignation as Director. His reasons for his leaving were well understood and respected and the ultimate success of the event was still very much due to the early structural work laid down by John.
compiled by Joh
1995 – Donald Wallace: We are fortunate that the company contin ues varied background to attract individuals from a with an experience Issues are debate d openly and constr to match. decisions taken in the best interes uctively with ts of the event and orienteering in Scotland
MAPS
2010 – Business Plan the Scottish Oriente (to 2018): The overall aim of ering 6-Day Event our position as is to maintain one of on the world circuit the major multi-day events …the sporting be supplemente programme will d with a social programme which builds the Scottis h experience
S
1999 – Dick Carmic hael: The Scottis … was initiate h 6-Day Event d out two decades ago. of a World Championships over It that Scottish oriente is therefore very appropriate ers bring the creatio circle by holding n full the 1999 event in conjunction WOC99 with
A Few Surplu The
the story of
Scottish6Days
s Maps
Orienteering Even
t
John Colls
One of John’s impressive recent achievements was compiling a compresensive book that chronicled the history of the Scottish 6 Days event with reports, maps, photos and statistics on every event.
JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 23
COACHING
In the footsteps of our Coaching Fathers Hanny Allston
O
ver the years I have had my fair share of niggles and big learning curves. As a younger athlete I always thought more was better and that my body was tough enough to cope with a mess of speed, volume and strength all thrown in together. Thankfully none of these niggles have progressed to true injuries and I believe that I can truthfully track this back to a series of outstanding coaches who put me on the safe track over the years. These were Max Cherry, Barry Magee and Dick Telford. Over the last 18 months, I have become increasingly aware of their influence on my running and coaching, particularly when it comes to injury prevention. In this article I am going to explore the importance of buffering injuries through periodization and the value of investing in an aerobic base by exploring the methods of my coaching mentors. To do this, I begin with Arthur Lydiard.
‘Lydiard holds all the Keys to running success’ – Barry Magee Potentially the Father of formalized base training, New Zealand’s Arthur Lydiard (1917 – 2004) rose to fame through his coaching of running legends, Peter Snell, Murray Halberg, Lorraine Moller and Barry Magee. Lydiard’s coaching foundations have become an integral part of many coaches’ current approaches to endurance training. In recent years, the likes of Nic Bideau, Dick Telford and Barry Magee have endorsed Lydiard’s ideas. His theories are also an evident part of the Kenyan Way. It was Barry Magee whom I trained Arthur Lydiard under during my year of study in Auckland and who introduced me to the principles of Lydiard. I remember sitting in his lounge room watching him draw Lydiard’s Pyramid of Performance. For most of the year, Magee would send us off tempo running around the grassy volcanic cones of Auckland. Every weekend we would head to the Waitakere Ranges to run the famous Lydiard 22 mile hilly loop. It was only immediately prior to our key races that Magee embarked us on the higher intensity, shorter duration training sessions. Following the Lydiard Way, Magee determined that all athletes, irrespective of their age or distance specializations, required a substantial aerobic base to protect them from injury and to sustain their maximal performance ability. Without this aerobic foundation and as running speeds and intensity increased 24 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
closer to races, a myriad of yo-yo performances, injuries and disrupted training could occur. In my latter years, and without the direction of a coach, I fell into the trap of increasing my anaerobic training to the detriment of my aerobic base. Niggles and underperformance ensued. As Magee reiterated with us, Lydiard believed that injury prevention and performance lay in the development of a long aerobic training base otherwise known as cardio or base training. That is, running should be conducted frequently and at intensities low enough for the oxygen intake to adequately meet the energy demands of the working muscles. In practical terms, in a fit athlete this type of running can be maintained for many minutes or hours and focuses on lower heart rates (generally between 60 & 80% of your maximal heart rate). Following long base periods, Lydiard and Magee required their athletes to move into a transition phase characterized by hill resistance and leg-speed training. The purpose of this phase was to continue to maintain the aerobic base but to strengthen the leg muscles in preparation for the anaerobic training that was soon to follow. Lydiard’s hills were not classed as intervals like we often carry out here in Australia, but rather bounding, springing and bouncing up the hills to define the muscles and running technique required to run fast. Lydiard’s alternative was to conduct this training in a gym setting with a focus on leg strength and plyometrics. Prior to my move to Auckland, a highly influential Tasmanian distance coach, Max Cherry, coached me. Cherry came from Percy Cerutty’s running school at Portsea. The Percy Cerutty approach was to train like a Spartan throughout a season and an integral part of Cherry’s coaching was large training volumes interspersed with plenty of bounding, springing and intervals. Cherry emphasized that these sessions would prime our legs for the demands of track running which were carried out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The key difference between Cherry and Magee’s training was that Magee isolated the hills to a specific block whilst Cherry would intersperse them constantly through the season. However, both coaches would always ensure their athletes had the cardiovascular base behind them before participating in this type of hill training.
Lydiard believed that only after his athletes had completed their aerobic and resistance training phases were they ready to move on to true anaerobic or speed work. He determined that without the earlier two training phases, the athlete was at risk of systemic acidosis, a body state in which the cellular mechanisms that allow for balanced chemistry and recovery within the muscles are compromised. In simpler terms, Lydiard used to refer to anaerobic training as ‘tiring, exacting work’ that degraded the body (as apposed to aerobic training that upgraded the body). The anaerobic training was carefully interspersed with recovery training and rest days to ensure that the repair process generated a stronger body & mind. His athletes would perform numerous bouts of high speed work with just enough recovery to get through the workout holding good form, but in doing so create the desired training effect of an increased ability of the body to chemically ‘buffer’ the lactic acid. This training has also become known as VO2 max training and would lead an athlete into the taper period before his or her main race. I currently train under the influence of the renowned Canberra distance coach, Dick Telford. Dick is another who buys into the Lydiard Way. Telford’s training is strongly influenced by the environment of Canberra, utilizing the hills and bushlands to develop our aerobic base before approaching speed training on the track during specific parts of the summer. Hills are Telford’s greatest friend and some of his sessions have been a key feature in my training partners’ programs since they were 14 years old. Telford keeps the most intense training to the end of the season when our bodies are fully primed for it. Very few of his athletes appear to ever be injured. However, from where I sit as a coach, the modern ‘Australian Way’ of training for distance events is a bit of a jumble for most runners. There is often a mish-mash of long runs, jogging, cross training, very high-speed intervals and occasionally strength training all in the same week and all year round. There often appears to be no thought to periodization and the supplementation of running with strength-building training. This is particularly true of my adult runners who seem to fall into three categories. The first are those who just duck out the door in their moment of spare time for a run, moving by feel and training hard or easy, depending on the amount of time they have available. Their training is often one-hit-wonder’ish with large or fast bouts followed by numerous rest days until the next session can be squeezed in. The second are those who love to run
but prefer to plod out the door and just continue on plodding until an event pops up that they wish to enter. The third are those individuals that want to get fast faster. Every session they do is conducted at high intensities or large volumes, with little thought given to rest or recovery. Gym sessions are tough, swims are tough, and runs are long and tough. Eventually their body or mind snaps. Perhaps this ‘Australian Way’ comes back to our ability to train all year round. Unlike the Europeans who have snow forcing them to take a bit of downtime, we can continue to run and run and run all year. Add to this the overly full calendar of running events and we seem to just move from one race to another without thought given to periodization. In other words, we love to run and thus even when our bodies are screaming out for a rest we simply say, ‘but one more dawn run can’t hurt?!’ The result of all this is that in 2013, more than 80% of runners in Australia experienced an injury. Despite wisdom and experience, last year I fell into this trap. I returned from racing at the World Orienteering Championships in Finland knowing that I needed to develop more speed and endurance. I jumped straight into strength training, track running, hill intervals, fartlek, Parkruns and a streak of races. More speed, more speed! What I failed to remember at the time was that my body was run down from the races and that before I should begin my speed preparations I needed to slowly rebuild my aerobic base and strength to a point where my body was strong enough to handle the degrading anaerobic work. A niggling Achilles and hamstring ensued.
Training hard but smart can be your ultimate weapon Wiser now, my training has returned to the Lydiard Way and the coaching principles of Magee, Cherry and Telford. My training is focused around building my aerobic base via: long slow runs over the Canberra hills; increasing my jogging miles in the mornings; replacing speed training with tempo runs of around 10-16km conducted at marathon pace; and working on overall body strength in the gym. This phase lasted for around 12 weeks in total. In April I initiated a hill specific phase focused on hill intervals, leg speed running and plyometric training in the gym. During this time I still aimed to maintain my long runs and easy jogging miles to ensure that the aerobic system remained strong. Finally, when the body feels fully prepared, I will re-enter my last phase of training that includes race specific and speed training. This will be interspersed with lots of jogging, long runs and additional recovery days to counterbalance the intensity. In conclusion, in order for us to achieve our greatest levels of performance and avoid injuries, we need to be prepared to take our time. Rushing the development of our aerobic base or failing altogether to periodise our training can lead to a mash of training that can ultimately lead to underperforming on race day or degrading the body to a point of injury. For a lasting experience in the sport, I believe we need to run in the steps of our coaching fathers, that of Lydiard, Magee, Cherry and Telford. As they have influenced on me, training hard but smart can be your ultimate weapon.
Coach Percy Cerutty leads up the famous sand hill at Portsea. JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 25
2014 TURKEY TROT
Sydney Metropolitan Turkey Trot – 10 years running
Western & Hills Orienteers (WHO) will reach a milestone on 6th July 2014, running the 10th consecutive Sydney Metropolitan Turkey Trot (TT). This unique event caters for a range of fitness levels and has provided some classic competition over the years. It is a mass start, multi-map event, which leads competitors through bush tracks, reserves and connecting streets of suburban Sydney. The premier (long) course is approximately 20km, however 12km (middle) and 8km (short) courses provide alternative distances for those who still want to be a part of the action.
T
he Sydney event was the brainchild of club stalwart Barry Hanlon, who came across the mass start, multi-map concept in New Plymouth, New Zealand. The Egmont Orienteering club (now Orienteering Taranaki) had devised the Turkey Traverse in 1993, as a mass start event across several maps with linking insets. The Turkey name was chosen in homage to the winning 1991 Katoa Po (all night relay) team, the Taranaki Turkeys. Barry fondly recalls his experiences in NZ: “The race started in the foothill farmlands, then downhill all the way through the suburban reserves and streets, crossed a major river and ended at the beach. Dick Ogilvie broke an ankle slipping on muddy grass and spent a week in the local hospital.” No doubt Dick’s unfortunate accident made the event even more memorable for Barry as he contemplated introducing the idea to Sydney. The Sydney version was born in 2005 and was run from Castle Hill to Parramatta Park. Barry drew most of the maps and connected the Orienteering maps with recommended routes overlaid on street maps. The event was well received and after assisting Barry to run the first TT, Ian Miller set the next eight. Currently up to his neck in TT#10, Ian undoubtedly already has ideas in mind for TT#11. “When setting, I run each of the three courses to have a participants’ perspective but it would be great one day to compete. I love the course setting challenges and have learned a lot about map making and course setting from my involvement” says Ian on reflection. He has 26 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
had two very able partners – Ted Mulherin, building the maps, and Chris Crane, organizing. Together, they have accumulated a wealth of knowledge in regards to setting, organizing and mapmaking for long events. The TT attracts people for different reasons. Graeme Hill, who is looking forward to his 10th consecutive event notes, “It provides a nice long run along some of the finest bush tracks in Sydney. It is also excellent value at around $20 for the long course. You’d pay over double that amount for the privilege of running around the streets in a fun run of similar length and you wouldn’t even get a map as part of your entry fee!” He also has been caught saying that the TT is his favourite event on the Orienteering calendar. Graeme clearly loves a long bush run with a map! The TT has provided some memorable moments and classic competition over the years. In 2010 the entire field missed a turn
only 100m after the start and proceeded to run off the map. An obviously concerned Ian Miller was very relieved as one by one they turned around and got back on track. Surprisingly, a number of the mens’ long races have been decided by the thinnest of margins after an hour and a half of tough running. Glenn Horrocks dead heated with Jock Davis back in 2008, squeaked in by 9 seconds in 2012 and Richard Mountstephens just held him out in a photo finish in 2013. The TT’s most successful female competitor, Lisa Grant jokingly exclaims “Who wouldn’t want to do a run with a turkey in the name of the event?!”. Lisa was first convinced to try the event after hearing horror stories from Michael Free about how difficult and exhausting it was likely to be. Lisa’s masochistic side revelled in the challenge, winning the event on three occasions. Glenn Horrocks is a man that knows the TT better than most. He has competed in every event and more recently dominated it, winning five consecutive titles 2008-2012. When asked why he keeps coming back he answers “It is a fun event, as simple as that. Orienteering is a fun sport but is sometimes quite lonely as you are out there by yourself and you only see other competitors occasionally, and when you do it is best to ignore them and focus on your own run. The Turkey Trot takes the idea of Orienteering and turns it into a head-tohead race against the person next to you. It is not only running and navigation, but also a battle of wits.” More often than not a pack of several runners of similar speeds may form, with each runner having their own strengths and weakness. Lisa agrees that the mass start and multiple maps add something extra to a regular O event because “when you turn the map over you only have one piece of the puzzle out of five. And you have to wait another 4km before you get handed the next installment ..… the
2012 Long course over 5 maps
street sections allow for planning but then you also need to keep your concentration up so you don’t just switch off and get lazy (did I just pass two streets or three?).” Glenn sums it up best as he anticipates the future “I am looking forward to this year’s event, as ever. Who knows what this year will give us - every year it is a different course with different faces jostling to be first over the line. I have no idea what cunning will be required; all I know is that it’s going to be exciting to be in the thick of it!” To enter and find out more about the Turkey Trot go to sydney.turkeytrot.asn.au JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 27
URBAN-O
2014 Melbourne Park & Street Championships Vic Sedunary punches the final control.
T
his Championships Final is held once a year in March with two main purposes: To bring together representatives from all of the Melbourne, Geelong and Macedon Summer Series and showcase the best Park & Street Orienteering talent across a wide range of age groups. It’s also an incentive for contestants to join clubs since club membership is a condition for qualification to the Final. Event Director, Ray Howe, said: “Some people just need a little extra incentive to actually join up.” After a gruelling series of qualifying events involving nine races spread over six regional Summer Series, contestants in the 2014 Park & Street Championships headed to Kensington in Melbourne’s inner west. The 90 contestants who had qualified in 16 divisions for the Championships Final joined other regular participants in this Melbourne Western Series event on the Kensington Banks map – a complex area of suburban apartments built on the former sales yards. Narrow twisting streets, complex stairs and cobble stoned alleyways called for more intense concentration than usual and several contestants showed clear signs of geographic embarrassment during the event. Reading detail, fine navigation, planning ahead, and quick decision making were all more important than pure speed. It was a mass start at 7pm with all Runners’ courses being the Scatter-O format whilst Power Walkers contested a 60 minute Score event. Bryan Ackerly’s course setting was widely regarded as outstanding. Some event planners said it couldn’t be done in such a small area but Bryan’s course setting skills created several options on a 10km course for the Course A runners. The first seven placegetters in the Course A Scatter-O each omitted a different control. (They had to visit 22 of 23 controls). This is a standard that will be hard to beat in future Championship Finals!! And for the Power Walkers, no contestant managed to visit all controls in the allotted time. Men’s OPEN winner, Phil Torode, was closest in dropping just two 2-point controls. He was closely followed by Andrew Hunter and Stephen O’Connell who both dropped three 2-pointers. Reasons for choosing Kensington Banks for the Championships Final were two-fold – the area was suitably complex to test the navigational skills of the best Park & Street orienteers, and it was also readily accessible to all those who had qualified for the Final. The success of this event showed that one “showcase” event each year is an enjoyable way for the wider Park & Street O community to celebrate urban Orienteering.
28 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
Bruce Arthur won Men’s Open.
JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 29
URBAN-O
Angus Robinson won Junior Boys title.
Carolyn Jackson won Women’s Super Vet title.
Lanita Steer won Junior Girls title.
The Orienteering Victoria web site reported results this way:
RUNNERS
2014 CHAMPIONS
JUNIORS - Girls
Lanita Steer (Dandenong Ranges)
JUNIORS - Boys
Angus Robinson (Bayside Kangaroos)
OPEN - Women
Rachel Johnson (Nillumbik Emus)
OPEN – Men
Bruce Arthur (Melb Forest Racers)
SENIORS – Men (35-44 years)
Tim Wardrop (Yarra Valley)
The Women’s Open Final was a titanic affair between Rachel Johnson and Josie Yeatman. Rachel managed to overtake Josie in the run to the Finish punch and retain her title from last year.
VETERANS – Women (45-54 years)
Janine Steer (Dandenong Ranges)
VETERANS – Men (45-54 years)
Ted van Geldermalsen (Yarra Valley)
SUPER VETS – Women (55+ years)
Carolyn Jackson (Melb Forest Racers)
2013 champion, Tim Hatley, comfortably claimed the Men’s Super Vets title. Warwick Davis finished strongly to take the silver and Tony Bird the bronze.
SUPER VETS – Men (55-64 years)
Tim Hatley (Bayside Kangaroos)
ULTRA VETS – Men (65+ years)
Peter Kempster (Nillumbik Emus)
The Junior Girls title was retained by Lanita Steer from sister Asha with Geelong junior Celestine Larmah running well for the bronze medal. Angus Robinson repeated last year’s win in the Junior Boys Championship over an improving Nick Collins with Tim Jackson pipping Matt Heritage for third.
POWER WALKERS
Bruce Arthur defended his Men’s Open title with a clear win over Peter Hobbs and Andrew Rowan. Tim Wardrop outlasted more fancied competitors Alex Ikin and Fredrik Johansson in the Men’s Seniors event. The Men’s Veterans Championship was dominated by three orienteers running below their age groups with Ted van Geldermalsen holding off Ron Scholes and Phil Giddings.
The Women’s Veterans Final was a Janine Steer gold medal with the consistent Janet Johnson a clear second and a final surge to the finish punch by Anne Robinson edging out Debbie Dodd for third place. World Masters MTBO champion, Carolyn Jackson, demonstrated her versatility by comfortably retaining the Women’s Super Vets title with Denise Pike and Deb Sutherland collecting silver and bronze respectively. The wily Peter Kempster outfoxed his contempories to win the Men’s Ultra Vets Final with Roger Slade and Peter Dalwood claiming the placings. Six new Power Walker Champions emerged with late finishes proving critical in the final results. The 2014 Men’s Open (PW) champion is Phil Torode with a 2-pt victory over Andrew Hunter and Steven O’Connell who were separated only by finishing order. Jo Torr won the Women’s Open (PW) event with a 3-pt margin over Annie Hollaway and 2013 champion Maria Main taking third place. 30 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
OPEN - Women
Jo Torr (Bayside Kangaroos)
OPEN – Men
Phil Torode (Dandenong Ranges)
SUPER VETS – Women (55-64 yrs)
Prue Dobbin (Bayside Kangaroos)
SUPER VETS – Men (55-64 years)
Bernie Holloway (Bayside Kangaroos)
ULTRA VETS – Women (65+ years)
Gwennyth Baker (Bayside Kangaroos)
ULTRA VETS – Men (65+ years)
Barry Giles (Nillumbik Emus)
One point separated winner Bernie Hollaway and Ian Mclean in the Men’s Super Vets (PW) Final with Len Budge picking up the bronze medal after incurring a heavy late penalty. One point also separated Prue Dobbin and Sylvia McLean in the Women’s Super Vets (PW) Final with Ros King a further 2 pts back in third place. Seventy five (75) points was enough for Barry Giles to take the Men’s Ultra Vets (PW) title for 2014 ahead of Michael Hayward (73 pts) and Ron Frederick (72 pts). Gwennyth Baker scored 71 points to just beat Sandy Burgoyne (70 pts) and Pat Mews (66 pts) and become the Women’s Ultra Vets (PW) champion for 2014.
SPORTIDENT
SPORTident Tip! Colin Price
Has your SPORTident unit stopped working?
I
n most cases the cause is a flat battery, which can impact on your event, but you get plenty of warning so here are a few indicators to prevent this problem. Check the control unit’s specifications by using the Service / Off stick which is purple.
If the battery is low you will see a small “Low battery” icon on the left of the display and you will also see the estimated battery level. If low you can also check in SI Config. Here is an extract from Sportident.ca which I think is interesting: “In a previous post it was mentioned that if the voltage drops below 3.3V, it indicates that battery end-of-life is getting close. I briefly want to elaborate on this. Below is a diagram of the battery discharge based on current draw. It is published by the battery manufacturer, for the battery installed in BSF-8 controls (BSF-7 batteries have similar looking profiles).
As can be seen, the voltage level is extremely stable and only drops off near the end of the battery’s life. The green curve best describes the SI control’s profile when the control is active with punches from time to time during an event. I have been assured by the SPORTident engineering department that you can expect to have a reserve of 20 – 30 working hours after the low voltage battery alarm signal is triggered. Therefore there should be no risk to finishing an ongoing event should the battery drop below the low voltage threshold. A control measures the voltage when it switches from standby to active mode. If at this point the voltage is 3.1V or
less, the low voltage battery alarm signal sounds. 3.3V was based on the above diagram and should be construed as a guideline. Maybe 3.2V or even 3.15V can be reached with no worries. I believe that all three indicators (voltage; remaining capacity; battery date) should be interpreted together to determine when the battery should be replaced. If you have any questions about any SPORTident gear, or need repairs such as batteries, beepers, LCD or seals, please contact Colin Price at Aussieogear.com.
aussieogear.com
The unit will only stay on for 10 minutes while you check such things as the software programs, time, the unit’s service mode (control, start, etc) as well as the battery status.
AUSTRALIAN AgeNT foR
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www.aussieogear.com
JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 31
ADMINISTRATION DEVELOPMENT
Succession Planning Lee Smith (Enoggeroos, QLD)
What do we fail to look at? – Part 1
W
e often focus on the sporting and technical aspects of Orienteering. It’s easy to overlook the people, the organisation and the things that make it operate (or not!) It can be good to step back and look at these. Without them running well, the sport does not run well. These can affect the sport, the organisations, the clubs and most importantly the orienteers - the people and the volunteers that make it run. If we get these things right we end up with a growing sport that is people focussed, enjoyable and challenging. A sport that should be great to be part of. Get it wrong and it’s not hard to lose sight of the main goals and this has adverse effects on Orienteering overall but most importantly its members.
It’s about People First This is about looking at O from a new perspective. It’s a management approach that relates to what is important for orienteers, volunteers & members. It is based on one State, but more than likely many or some of these issues are generic. They will relate to other States, possibly in slightly different ways; or to other clubs. This article looks at the methods that can be used to get to the bottom of the organisational aspects, the people aspects, and look at ways to move O forward.
•T raining or Mentoring to fill management roles in O - Club and State Levels; • Impacts of Succession Planning - Club and State Levels. How long have you undertaken key roles in Orienteering? (based on number of years in sport): • % of time filling Club Management Roles = 40% (average) … 70% + (max ) • % of time filling State Management Roles = 48% (average) … 90% + (max ) Opportunities for Feedback on…< these provided valuable inputs for the consultants> • What are the main causes (if any) of succession issues / problems? - Club and State levels; • What are the main solutions to any succession issues / problems? - Club and State levels; • Other Comments on potential effects of Succession Planning on Orienteering.
Why a Succession & Transition Plan? The need for succession planning was to ensure that: (1) skills for key roles and management positions are passed on; (2) new people are trained or mentored to fill key roles; (3) people feel comfortable, competent & skilled to take on new roles; (4) new ‘blood’ and ideas are regularly injected into O; (5) people do not occupy positions as ‘personal fiefdoms’ to the detriment of the sport; (6) people who make long term commitments to Orienteering are not overused or burnt out; (7) the sport grows through sound administration by its volunteers, who are trained to fill key roles.
The findings of a review in Queensland will make interesting reading for all orienteers interested in where the sport could be going (or should be going).
Consultants: ‘Way To Be’ specialises in Sporting, Volunteer & Tourism organisations. It was engaged to conduct the review. It was led by Dr Chris Schmidt (Uni Qld) and Dr Donna Little (past head of QORF- QLD Outdoor Recreation Federation). Project processes included interviews & workshops with orienteers.
Organisation Review – Background:
Succession Issues:
The casual comment by a President of a local Club: “I’m 70 and still President ..… what’s wrong? Where are the next generation of O leaders? They’re not stepping up!” was the initiator. Realising this was not uncommon led to discussions with the President of OQ and a proposal with OQ support to prepare an application for a Brisbane City Council “Sporting Development Grant”, via a local club, Enoggeroos. The grant application required quotes from possible consultants. During these discussions they revealed that “ Succession Planning“ was the principal issue for volunteer sporting organisations. Grant applications ask for justification ..... Why is this an issue? A short survey of a cross-section of experienced orienteers was arranged to collect this data. The outcomes were dramatic and underlined the need for this project. They highlighted problems to be addressed if Orienteering was to move forward. They were confirmed by the later findings of independent consultants.
Succession Survey Findings: Feedback was obtained from a cross section of experienced Orienteers Overall: 88% - 100% of respondents saw the following issues as Moderate to Very High Problems: • Succession Planning - Club & State levels; • Filling key roles to administer / manage Orienteering - Club & State levels; 32 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
Core Issue
Components
Changes in Society
People are time poor; Different approach to volunteering ( required for next Gen).
Lack of People
Too much done by too few; some tasks are too large and complex; Not enough new or young participants / volunteers; Lack of social interaction.
Organisational Focus
Events are too complex; Lack of focus on interpersonal elements of volunteering, with most attention focused on technical delivery; Too busy delivering to focus on development.
Lack of Skills
Lack of technical knowledge on how to set courses; Unhelpful criticism is offered from some long-term volunteers; High skills - people are expected to know everything; Lack of incremental training programs to develop volunteers.
Lack of Volunteer Supports
Lack of rewards/recognition of volunteers; No structured approach to manage volunteers; Roles need to be accessible, enjoyable & not daunting; People need help to learn the basics; ‘Wrong’ people sometimes in roles of authority.
Causes of Succession Issues – Club and State level:
Supporting and Managing Volunteers Key to succession planning is retaining volunteers. It requires recognising the value that volunteers bring to the Clubs. In essence ..…
Club Level
State Level
Lack of understanding of the task – time & commitment needed
Strong & difficult personalities at the management level
(1) Understanding volunteers & their motivations;
Being trapped in the position
Some people have held positions of power for too long & dominate
(3) Supporting and supervising volunteers via mentors and quality opportunities;
Participants prefer user pays - no added responsibility
Dysfunctional meeting protocols & complex rules
(4) Rewarding and Recognising volunteers – informal and formal ways, regularly and authentically;
Existing volunteers feel overworked; lack of helpers
Ageing population of volunteers creates resistance to change & innovation
(5) Involving volunteers in decision making;
High level of technical knowledge to volunteer
Small pool of willing volunteers – too many ‘passengers’
Lack of young people willing to volunteer
Finding people with the ‘right’ skills willing to take on roles
Fostering Integrated Communication & Administration:
Those with skills too time poor to train others;
People are time poor
“Organisations rely on trust and good communication to thrive. In a volunteer delivered sport such as Orienteering positive communication is central to ensuring the volunteers who are involved are cherished, informed, empowered and working toward common goals.”
High levels of criticism can be Unwillingness to adapt event evident from some ‘knowledgeable’ types / schedules / organisation to members reduce workloads Key Concerns: The issues and causes can be condensed into …… • ‘ Gatekeepers’ who control systems and technical expertise; may have trouble in sharing or communicating this information with others. •C ommunication pathways - lack of sharing of information & good practice; ways to encourage new volunteers to get involved; record of activities, roles, policies. • I dentifying and prioritising volunteers - focus on high level technical skills and/or long term commitment to Orienteering, to the exclusion of other aspects of Orienteering. •R esistance to change - concern that change will shift the focus from ‘bush’ O (‘real orienteers’) to newer more innovative forms of O. None of these issues are unusual, nor are they insurmountable.
Transition Planning: Key stages are …… Generational Change: “With societal changes and different expectations, it is likely that the next generation of leaders may be less interested in carrying on business as usual and it has been demonstrated that Gen X and Gen Y volunteer leaders are likely to evoke change such as: restructuring executive roles, creating more collaborative or shared leadership models, and seeking ways to create a healthy balance between their work related roles and their leisure” (The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2008).
Volunteering does not just happen Succession & Transition Planning Framework: It needs to allow for …… Building Volunteer Capacity “Volunteering does not just happen. To have a successful, continuing and evolving volunteer base, Orienteering needs to attract, coordinate, train and manage volunteers to perform the various roles of each Club. There are key technical volunteers in Orienteering; there is also a need build a diverse, expansive and capable volunteer group. It requires attracting, recruiting, informing, supporting and rewarding volunteers.”
(2) Attracting new people;
(6) Creating social opportunities to build friendships and relationships; and (7) Clear and consistent roles, rules and responsibilities that are not changing & people can grow into their jobs.
“… communication can also be streamlined and managed. Currently Orienteering is lacking some pathways for internal and consistent communication – both within Clubs and between Clubs and Orienteering Queensland.” “Core to succession planning is a culture of positive communication ..… key information to be centrally stored and updated, and strong lines of two-way communications between individuals, Clubs and the peak body.”
Conclusion: We often focus on the sporting and technical aspects of Orienteering. It’s easy to overlook the people, the organisation and the things that are needed to make it operate. Sports are in a competitive marketplace. We need to understand what attracts people, what makes them volunteers. If we fail, then people move to more attractive sports (or those better organised for participants & volunteers). We need to recognise changes in society – what attracts the new generation? The way we did it in the past is not a good way to head into the future if we want our sport to grow; we need to be at the front of the train looking forward not on the caboose looking back. It’s about a vision, good governance for our sport, building up volunteers, a healthy culture & good communications. The first stage is often to step back and get outside ‘fresh eyes’ to help us look at ourselves. This includes where we are failing our members as well as positive directions to support new & existing members. Consultants can assist greatly. The first part of this Orienteering Succession article has focused on Exploring the Review process, Succession issues and the Framework for change ... Part 1. The second part of this Orienteering Succession article will focus on Volunteer Management, Valuing Volunteers, Codes of Behaviour to care for members, Ethics to underpin organisations, Mentoring and Change stages ... Part 2. Both parts explore ways for Orienteering at State & Club levels to prosper. It’s about People First!
JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 33
PROMOTION
Indoor-O
The older style building with narrower corridors of Day 2.
View of main arena looking up the run-in. Note the man-made obstructions.
Photos by Alice Törnlund
In the early days when we were promoting Orienteering to groups like the Scouts and Guides, and other community groups, we regularly organised indoor courses in places like Scout halls, basketball stadiums and sports grandstands. We used little cardboard control plates like the one in the photo (right), placing them high and low in not-too-obvious positions. The kids especially liked racing around inside the building and finding those elusive control plates. No doubt the Scandinavians organised much the same sort of promotional events, but now they’ve taken the concept to a much higher level. Multi-floor buildings with complex corridor and room networks, very detailed maps, and SI control units now make the events more appealing to a wider range of participants, newcomers and regular orienteers alike. CompassSport magazine has reported on the recent 2014 Stockholm Indoor Cup held over two days in a couple of large school complexes. This extract is from CompassSport: David Hector is an M20 from Snattringe SK & Fredika Bremer OL Akademi, Stockholm, and was one of the two main organisers who mapped and planned. Here is what he had to say …...
and how to show the staircases. We decided to draw each level separately and place them in line on top of each other. To show which staircase leads where, a letter, and a colour was used. The stairs with the same letter and the same colour are the same stairs.
“Orienteering indoors - how can that be possible? Can it really be fun and difficult? Can you organise a competition in it? Yes, you can! And the courses turned out to be very technical as well!
Then came the course planning. The aim was to make as hard courses as possible, and I believe we succeeded. Try to figure out how to get to the controls on the map shown! I saw several people standing, sitting and even discussing how to get to the next control while running. Even top Swedish ranked #1 runner Gustav Bergman found it challenging! To make the courses more difficult, we closed some doors. This was drawn on the map as an impassable wall. On top of that, some forbidden passages were added. This tricked a lot of people and, together with the difficulty of reading in several layers, made the courses really hard. Although the courses cannot have been much more than 1.5 - 2 kilometres, the winning times were around 20 minutes! Each day attracted almost 300 orienteers, which to us is a great result.
There have been smaller indoor competitions before in the Stockholm area, but last year the concept was taken to another level. The idea was to rent two big buildings during a day each, and host a competition with a total result. The competition was very popular, so this year Emil Wipp and I took on the project to organise the 2014 event. With little experience from event organisation, this turned out to be a big, and exciting, project. First of all, we had to find places that would house the competition. After a lot of conversations, we found two schools that could help us. There were, of course, no maps available so everything had to be done from scratch. Carrying a laptop we walked the corridors of the schools and studied tables, doors and even aquariums to get the exact location. As a building has several floors, the question comes as to how to show the different levels 34 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
It is a great way to introduce Orienteering as well - you can’t get too lost in a building! Maybe your club has contacts with a big school, a shopping centre, or some other strange building? A tip is to try to find buildings with several floors, and/or a building
JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 35
PROMOTION
Emil Wipp on download. The older style Buidling of Day 2’s race can be seen here with the more enclosed corridor
Assembly arena, run-in and download on Day 1.
The spiral staircase of Day 2.
More time was often spent thinking about routes than actually running them.
with many different corridors. And don’t be shy to try something spectacular during the course!” For more info check out https:// www.facebook.com/StockholmlndoorCup The Editor of CompassSport, Nick Barrable, was lucky enough to experience SIC2014. Like any O obsessive, he says he likes a complex Sprint and has done many over the years. However, what brought this event to a new navigational level (and him to a standstill for far too long at times) was the 3-D nature of a multilevel building. He said: “Of course, just like in the forest, your basic terrain provides you with the general level of navigational difficulty, but in a building, even if it is a little simple, with careful planning and blocking off areas/doors, etc, you can actually create something really quite difficult, and harder than anything experienced outside in the 2-D world. Even the Barbican Centre in London becomes trivial with its 3 layers. Everything is so intense and only a short dash away. Controls just a short distance away might need you to climb, traverse, descend and climb again, just to get to them. It becomes a real maze. Speed of thought is what counts. Swedish Gymasium Schools provide ideal O arenas. They are usually large multi floored/roomed structures with numerous staircases. You could even put a maze into any large expanses 36 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
of bare space if you wished. The map shown is in Southern Stockholm from a relatively new school built in the last 10 years. Day 2 was in an older more central Stockholm school with longer, narrower corridors. There were no injuries or damage during the event. If numbers grow in 2015, they can extend the start block. This year you had 90 minutes to start when you wanted. What was interesting to note however was the lack of older runners. Maybe because it was being put on by an Orienteering Gymnasium many of the participants were teenagers. Many Orienteering parents just watched saying it wasn’t their thing. I thought this was a sad loss on their part as the challenge was really more cerebral than physical. I’d love to do some more of this type of O. It is a great sharpener.” Have a close look at some of the legs and you will see the complexity of the course. For instance – Start to #1, #11 to #12, and #22 to #23. With the cooperation of some of our major schools, for instance, we should be able to introduce this type of event to Australia. This format would well complement our rapidly growing programs of outdoor Sprint events.
NUTRITION
Healthy eating doesn’t have to break the bank Top tips and foods for staying healthy on a budget: Bananas: High in potassium and fibre, bananas are a simple, portable and healthy snack. Plus, bananas may help support normal blood pressure, healthy bones, and gastrointestinal health and protect against atherosclerosis and heart disease.
Brown rice: the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants are some of the benefits, but one of the biggest advantages may be that the high amount of fibre in brown rice helps slow digestion and fills you up for a longer time. Brown rice also helps to spread the food dollar because it’s a component of meals that can help you make a fulfilling dish. Frozen vegetables: buying fresh vegetables in season is an inexpensive way to get them, but frozen vegetables are a good option too. They’re picked at the peak of freshness when their flavour and nutrition level is highest. Choose leafy greens, such as broccoli and spinach, which have lots of nutrients per calorie and help protect against inflammation and disease. Nuts: packed with healthy fats, protein, vitamin E, magnesium and other essential micronutrients, nuts, when eaten in moderation, can help lower your risk of heart disease. Great choices are walnuts, almonds and cashews.
Beans: Whether you choose kidney, black, lentil or other varieties, beans are a high fibre, high protein food that is inexpensive and versatile. Dried beans will give you more for your money (and expand to three times their volume when cooked, turning three to four cups of dry beans into nine cups when cooked!) but canned varieties (choose low- or no-sodium versions) are still a great bargain. In addition to being high in fibre and a good source of protein, they are low in fat and sodium and have minerals such as iron, potassium, magnesium, copper and zinc, as well as folic acid, thiamine, niacin and B6.
Potatoes: these versatile vegetables can be added to casseroles and used in a variety of ways, and they’re every bit as nutritious as coloured vegetables. They contain a high percentage of the recommended daily nutritional intake of vitamin C, as well as fibre and potassium, a mineral that regulates blood pressure. They’ve been found to have the lowest cost source of dietary potassium. But keep in mind that many of the nutrients are found in the skin. Choose smaller potatoes for more nutrition. Tofu: whole soy foods, including tofu, contain phytonutrients that can protect against cancer. An inexpensive alternative to meat, tofu provides B vitamins, iron and calcium, and is very versatile - use it in everything from stir-fries to smoothies.
The UK’s Orienteering Magazine Packed with maps, event reports, coaching tips and advice, MTBO, Mountain Marathons/Rogaining, Competitions and much much more. Subscribe online using all major credit cards at www.CompassSport.co.uk 52 pages, full colour, 6 times a year £44 World Subscription
Vol 32
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October 2011
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CompassSport Britain’s
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Know Your Course Leader European MTBO Champs Junior European Champs CompassSport Cup Final World Trail-O Champs World Championships Peter Palmer Relays Björkliden Arctic MM London City Race Route Choice #5 Informal Formats World Cup Final Fitness Training Out of Control Tio Mila Story Competitions Reviews Photo-O
This issue......... Know Your Course Leader Saunders Lakeland MM Route Choice #5 Scottish 6 Days Fitness training Swiss O Week World Masters Out of Control Competitions JK Report Harvester Reviews Jukola
www.CompassSport.co.uk
Holiday O Guide
Calendar Know Your Copeland Chase Class Leade r Route Choic Original Moun Fitness Traini e #5 ain Marat ng Out of Control Comp hon A Perfect Run etitions Reviews
.uk www.CompassSport.co
www.Com
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‘A luxury you can afford.’ JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 37
MOUNTAIN BIKE ORIENTEERING
2014 AUS MTBO Championships – 14 to 16 June
Mountain Bike “O” in the Alice Brett Merchant
aus tr al i an
& o ce a n ia
MT B O c h a m p i o n shi p s 20 14
ALICE
W
ith the exciting prospect of Mountain Bike Orienteering forging a new path into unknown territory, three Merchant’s packed bikes into boxes and took the Flying Red Kangaroo to Alice Springs in late March. Lee Merchant (Dad) is earmarked to set the Long Distance event as a part of the Australian Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships from the 14th to 16th of June, and Mum and I were set to be his guinea pigs for 3 days of exploring. Flying steadily north we intersected vast salt lakes, sand dunes, rugged ranges and open plains cut by snaking, dry river beds. The incredible Macdonnell Ranges came into view as we made the descent into the arid landscape of Alice Springs and I immediately drew comparisons to our beautiful and rugged Flinders Ranges. Taking an easy shuttle bus ride from the airport we checked into our spacious and comfortable room at the event centre, The Chifley Hotel. The bikes were assembled and the leashes let loose on three fresh and keen mountain bikers ready to explore eastern Alice Springs. What followed in those next few days blew me away. I’ve been to some amazing mountain bike destinations like Melrose in
SPRINGS
NT
the Southern Flinders and Rotorua in New Zealand, and Alice Springs has an incredible mountain bike trail network to rival the best. The effort put into sustainable trails by the Council and community quickly became evident as I glided up and down the fast, flowing trails. I had doubts and visions of Alice Springs being an arid place with flat terrain, little vegetation and slow, boggy and sandy tracks. What greeted us was far from that. The tracks were fast and rideable for all abilities, the vegetation plentiful, the terrain undulating without being too steep and the views from the myriad of ridges and knolls, breathtaking. The more we rode around, the more we realised that navigation was going to be a challenge for those having too much fun on the single tracks. It’s easy to get too absorbed in the flowing trails and miss another single track intersection. Navigation was something to do on the fast fire trails for those not wanting to stop. The friendly kangaroos didn’t seem too interested in us and the big flocks of green budgerigars flew over, starkly contrasting with the vivid blue sky. Local mountain bikers were plentiful and friendly, having a genuine interest in what we were up to with our odd
Competitors may be tempted to stop and gaze at the view. 38 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
Expect some sandy tracks.
looking map boards and protruding helmet mounted GoProâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Things were looking good until.... We decided to ride into town to get some repairs from our major sponsor bike shop Ultimate Ride. We set off from a set of lights, turning right into the Stuart Highway with me in the lead and were comfortable riding near the gutter in the left lane until a 4WD and big trailer came a bit close. I was suddenly hit by the mudguard of the trailer and sent flying over the gutter into the dirt. One of the first to pull over was a doctor, conveniently. Two ambulances, one paramedic car and two police cars later I got a neck brace, was put on a stretcher and taken to hospital. Thankfully nothing broken after two x-rays - just bruising and some big grazes on my back. I was unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time but very lucky that it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t turn out worse. From then on it was to be very short, light rides for me while Dad slogged it out to top 130km over the three days, managing to check all the control sites. We were very impressed with Alice Springs as a whole. We found it easy to get cheap and tasty tucker close to and at the hotel, and the town seemed to have a positive and bustling vibe about it with tourist buses zooming around and many happy faces out for walks, runs, rides and gatherings on the green lawns of the Todd River. Most of the basic facilities were within easy walking distance from the hotel. It was sad to be leaving Alice Springs after such a short stay in the knowledge that so much was left unexplored, however the trip has whetted our appetite for more Alice Springs mountain biking. June will no doubt have some beautiful cool weather without too many of the orifice homing bush flies. I can thoroughly recommend to everyone to take the trip to Alice Springs to experience this amazing area. Make a holiday out of it and join up with one of the many tours running from Alice Springs. The outback awaits!
Looks like Lee Merchant, one of the course setters, has found a tree. Could this be a control location?
Custom O Tops & Bike Jerseys from $45* each For clubs, teams, special events or individuals, feel a part of it in your custom made top. We can design something for you, or use your own design. Free design service for quantities over 20. Quantities from 1 to 100+
*for quantities over 20
Contact: Peter Cusworth pcusworth@bigpond.com Ph 0409 797 023 JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 39
SPOT the DIFFERENCE
With a host of Sprint events coming up in the next few months Spot the Difference brings you a complex Sprint map to help you brush up on your map reading skills in complex urban terrain. Here, in two otherwise identical map sections, we have created 25 differences. CAN YOU FIND ALL 25 ???
40 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
This will take quite a bit of study to sort out.
On this solutions map each flag position is shown by a very small circle and a letter. The correct circle (if any) is filled in and the correct answer is shown after the control number and at the end of the control description. For example, Control #5 had five flags (marked as solutions A – E) and the correct flag was B. For Control #4, answer Z is the Zero solution – no correct flag, and a small X shows where a flag would have been for a positive answer. The decision point for each control, where competitors must stand to make the decision, is shown by the elongated cross.
e bring you another of the Trail-O courses from WTOC 2013 held in Vuokatti, Finland, in conjunction with WOC. Competitors were presented with a standard “line” course but, at the control sites they were confronted with a number of control flags. Their task was to decide which flag (if any) was in the position indicated by the control description.
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TRAIL-O CORNER
TRAIL-O CORNER
JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 41
WORLD CUP IN SPAIN – Vanessa Round 9th in Middle Distance and 13th in Long Distance
I
n a recent round of the World Cup, held in Spain, Vanessa Round recorded two high class performances. The Long Distance event was 10.9km with 445m climb and the winning time was set at 76 minutes. Vanessa had a very good run finishing 13th in a field of 48 in a time of 101:43. The winner was Sweden’s rising young star, Tove Alexandersson, in a time of 87:43, which is over 11 minutes outside the expected winning time. Vanessa had a very steady race and to be placed 13th in a Long Distance World Cup event so early in the European season is a very encouraging performance. The first leg on the course was over 2km long and provided the runners with some interesting route choices.
O-SPY HOW TO GET THE HEART RACING
D
uring the Sprint weekend in Brisbane, I received a telephone call just on dark, on Saturday afternoon. The caller told me that he was from ‘Security’, but he did not identify from which institution he was from. He advised me that a couple of his security guards had picked up and brought two control stands, flags and SI units that they had found around the buildings back to ‘Security’. Because all three events had used similar numbers, it took a few frantic phone calls to work out which institution we were dealing with. Eventually, we determined that the security patrols were collecting the stands as quickly as they were being put out late on Saturday afternoon. It meant a 5:30am start on the Sunday to check that everything was back in place.
Vanessa followed up with an even better performance in the Middle Distance event, finishing an excellent 9th in 38:50, only 2:40 down on the winning Swede Lena Eliasson. These are great results for Vanessa and her Middle Distance splits indicate a very consistent performance with no red controls. Vanessa commented after the weekend “ It was a great weekend, the terrain was Vanessa at WOC 2013 tricky and tough how I like (photo: Erik Borg) it, and it was just heaps of fun to enjoy Orienteering so much again and do a decent job of it. Somehow I wasn’t even sore or tired after the Long. I am now though.” (Courtesy of Attackpoint)
SPRINT MAPPING / CONTROL DESCRIPTION ISSUES
A
lesson which came out of the Brisbane weekend of Sprint racing was the poor knowledge of some of our orienteers regarding the control descriptions used predominantly in Sprint events, and also the interpretation of colours, in particular the differing symbols which can be used to represent ‘out of bounds’, ‘uncrossable’ and ‘underpass’. Mapping for Sprint maps is quickly getting in front of what the IOF Mapping Commission has intended. I will be asking mappers who make Sprint maps in South East Queensland, to attend a practical workshop next year, to discuss the depiction of overpasses and underpasses and how and when differing levels can best be displayed on our Sprint maps. I will also raise with the IOF Mapping & Foot Commissions a means by which some of the mapping/ control description issues can be resolved. Eric Andrews
Well done Vanessa, a great weekend of Orienteering. Vanessa continued her international competition along with Felicity Brown, Evan Barr and Julian Dent in the European Orienteering Championships held in Portugal on the following week. In the Middle Distance Final Vanessa took 64th place in a time of 38:41, some 7:56 behind the winner Signe Søes of Denmark while Felicity was a further 1:43 back in 77th place. In the Men’s Middle Distance Final Julian finished in 50th place in a time of 37:21, just 4:58 behind the winner, Switzerland’s Daniel Hubmann.
Time for some caffeine.... Eric Andrews
CONTROL AID
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH
T
o paraphrase Oscar Wilde – When I was young I thought Orienteering was the most important thing in the world. Now that I’m older, I know it is.
CLASSIC SLOGAN
I Here’s an easier way of putting out controls as used for a recent MTBO event in Queensland.
MELBOURNE’S ICEBERG SERIES MELTS
n what seems to be an acknowledgment of global warming Melbourne’s long running mid-week Iceberg Series is no more. Instead, the Autumn Classic Series now extends to July and is quickly followed by the Spring Carnival Series. Winter (and icebergs) is officially off the Melbourne Park & Street Orienteering program.
42 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
Seen recently –
ND MORE TREES A : N A PLANTS ME Better Lunch Breaks
CHANGES TO CORPSE COURSE PLANNING SOFTWARE
A
few improvements have been made recently to Corpse course planning software. If anyone has other issues when using the software, please advise Eric Andrews at batmaps.andrews6@gmail.com Measuring Tool – A straight line measuring tool has been added to measure optimum distance, street events and MTBO events. It shows as a Blue line.
E
NATIONAL SPORTS MUSEUM
ver since it opened in 2008 at Melbourne’s MCG the only mention of Orienteering in the National Sports Museum (NSM) has been in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame where Tom Andrews is acknowledged for his role in bringing the World Championships to Australia in 1985. Until now …….
Next to the “Registration Points” button in the toolbar is a new button called “Measure Length”. Click on this button and you activate the ruler. Click at every turning point and you will draw a bunch of connected lines. Down in the Status Bar, next to the zoom status and X, Y coordinates, is the total measured length of the line segments. As soon as you deactivate the measuring ruler (e.g. by clicking on “Add control”/ “Select”/ “Move control” buttons), the line segments will disappear and won’t be recoverable. English Control Descriptions split into two Columns – The ability to use two columns when using IOF control descriptions was already available. This facility has now been added for use with English control descriptions. Map Zoom – An additional map zoom selection has been added to the “View” menu. This makes three different places that the “Zoom” functionality can now be accessed. Additional Scale Options when Importing a Map – Although a custom scale could already be entered for the scale of the map that you were using, additional scale options for 1:20,000 and 1:25,000 have been added. Exporting Corpse Coordinates to a .kmz file to enable them to be loaded into a GPS We are still working on creating this facility. In memory of Rex Saye, the orienteering software which he designed and wrote (OTrack and Corpse version 7 with new features) is now available free of charge at
www.o-ware.com
Advertise your event You can have a 6 x 9 cm event ad for just $50 In colour, if we have room, otherwise black & white Send artwork to The Editor: mikehubbert@ozemail.com.au
Orienteering takes its place in a special short-term exhibition titled Stories of our sporting medals where your Editor, who is a NSM volunteer, is shown with his medals from an Asia-Pacific RadiO Championships in 2003. Accompanying text explains the difference between RadiO and other Orienteering events: “In Orienteering competitors are given a very detailed map as they start. On the map is a series of small circles each of which shows the approximate position of a control marker. The competitor’s task is to navigate to the area of each circle and then to locate the control marker by use of a definitive control description. By contrast, in RadiO Orienteering there are no circles on the map or control descriptions. Instead, each control marker has a radio transmitter that sends out a signal which identifies the control. Control markers transmit for short periods of time in regular succession. The task of each competitor is to locate the approximate position of each control marker by standard triangulation techniques using a portable antenna and receiver which indicates both direction and distance, and then to find each control marker by zeroing in on the radio signal. The medals displayed are from the 2003 Asia-Pacific RadiO Orienteering Championships (World Region 3), held near Ballarat, Victoria. The medals were awarded in the M60 class when I managed to beat several Japanese and Chinese competitors. The certificate shown is from the 2011 New Zealand Sprint Orienteering Championships held at Hastings, New Zealand, and awarded in the M65 class. I’m quite proud of that achievement too since I was still recovering from a hip replacement.” ( Michael Hubbert JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 43
NEWS
New Zealand Course Setter falls into Sinkhole
W
hen she fell down a 10m deep sinkhole and landed on the remains of dead animals, Jill Clendon’s first thoughts focused on whether she had broken any bones. After discovering a few cuts and bruises, she turned her attention to what she was sitting on. “There was definitely a small cow, so maybe a calf and a sheep and wetas and stuff like that. They were well dead, mainly just bones. It wasn’t too bad, it was just cold - really, really cold.” The Nelson, NZ, doctor had been out on Takaka Hill, near the Ngarua Caves, checking out a course for an Orienteering event when she came across the sinkhole, which was much larger than she thought. “We found this site where we were planning to put a control so I went down to put my little tag there and lo and behold it turned into a bit bigger than a little depression.” The 44-year-old fell suddenly and couldn’t grab anything to hold on to. “I fell straight into the hole and screamed,” she said soon after her rescue. Her friend Karen Monahan walked on ahead unaware of what had happened. “Karen wandered off to check something. I don’t know if she heard me scream or not, but she came back to look for me and heard me down there, so it’s lucky I wasn’t knocked out.”
44 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
Dr Clendon checked herself for injuries and was amazed she wasn’t badly hurt. “I’m really lucky. I might need stitches to the knee, got a good bash to the head and some cuts and scrapes and bruises, but otherwise I’m all good. The first thing I thought was, ‘I haven’t broken anything’, then, ‘That’s a bit sore, so maybe I have’.” Dr Clendon was carrying a personal locator beacon in her backpack and set it off, and then put on some warm clothes. And while she waited for help, she bandaged her knee. Leo Viersma was one of six cavers who came to her rescue. “A lot of the caving community have been out and about doing caving so there are very few left in Nelson, but we cobbled together six cavers.” Mr Viersma said one team member was sent down the tomo to assess the situation and put Dr Clendon in a harness. Three lines were thrown down - one for the rescuer, the second for the haul system and the third as a backup. Mr Viersma called instructions from the surface but could not see anyone until they were 2m from the surface. “I had to make sure it was all going right and nothing was getting caught up, as well as checking there was no slack in the line - so if something went wrong she wouldn’t fall very far.” He said it took only about 20 minutes to get Dr Clendon out, but much longer to set up and dismantle all the rescue equipment. courtesy Warwick Daily News
Letters
The Australian Orienteer welcomes letters. Preference will be given to letters which are concise and which make positive points. The editor reserves the right to edit letters, particularly ones which are longer than 300 words.
Printed START TIMES at major events While I am as environmentally aware as anyone, and can appreciate the desire not to waste paper, I value being given a complete Start list and would suggest there are good reasons for organisers to continue to give Start lists to all competitors. Of course, competitors can be told they would need to print out their own list, but this would probably use more paper than if the organisers printed a list for each competitor (or family) using small type on doublesided paper. It is also logistically much simpler overall for one person to print 600 copies than for 600 people to each print one. I do believe, therefore, that this service is more appreciated by competitors, and less harmful, than might appear at first glance. One could also consider a few relativities. The paper used surely pales into insignificance compared with the environmental impact of merely getting from one’s home to any major event, plus the travel out and back each day. Trevor Sauer Sunshine Orienteers, Qld.
Access to O should be EASY for ALL
W
hat sort of bubble do Eventor evangelists and cheerleaders live in ? Not everyone has e-mail, laptops, smartphones or printers. Not everyone has the means (or desire) for electronic banking; or even the circumstantial need. At present I am precluded from pre-entry events such as my own State Championships. My
frustration caused by yet another must-have, can’tlive-without computer program (not unlike those which have cost Australian and State taxpayers hundreds of millions $ for what turns out to be simply snake oil elixir) is somewhat alleviated by EOD (enter on day) courses. Enter on Day means I have nonChampionship status, but so what ! At least I get to go out there.
J
Great Magazine
ust got the AO March magazine and while it is hot on my mind I comment as follows:• r eal good and newsy mag by Peter and Mike, including content, pics and appeal; probably best I have seen, well done; • f or once the majority does not feature elites - it features the age groups of the majority of orienteers. Leigh Privett Albury Wodonga Orienteers, Victoria
In ‘Spot the Difference’ I can only find 21 differences. Perhaps its is my eyesight, but, will you let us know what the differences are?? Lovely journal! Keep up the good work! Hermann Wehner Weston Emus, ACT
I Poor Jeff!
A
Jeff!
was thrilled to see ‘Jeff!’ in print in March’s The Australian Orienteer. I have received a lot of great feedback from people and it was very exciting.
But are EOD courses available at all major events? Not everyone is a menudriven click geek. Elitism is both a betrayal and contradiction of participation by all principles.
perusal of the small map he uses I find that the contour interval is 3.14159.........., namely “pi”, known from geometry. If the distance between controls is ‘D’, then he could run in circles since D x pi = circumference of a circle. Poor Jeff!
musing snippet in the last issue of The Australian Orienteer: Learner Jeff has problems! On closer
Many thanks, Duncan Currie
Facilitate entry and access to this great sport – do not erect discriminating barriers! Gary Aitken Co-founder OAWA (1974), and LIFE MEMBER of OAWA.
I
Back cover advert
enjoy reading the OA magazine keeping in touch with the elites and MTBO activities. However there is always an advertisement for SILVA headlamps on the back page surrounded by eight runners but not one of the runners is wearing a headlamp. Is this the standard of the headlamps they are so good they cannot be seen? Ross Duker Garingal Orienteers, NSW (Ed: - Yes - the headlamps have a cloaking device which renders them invisible. The real reason is that SILVA only pays for half a page, so the surrounding “decoration” does not necessarily relate to the advertisement and is there to promote Orienteering.)
VICTORINOX AWARD The Victorinox Award goes to Blair Trewin for his detailed articles covering recent competition carnivals which regularly appear in editions of this magazine. Blair will receive a Victorinox Handyman which includes 24 tools and features – retail value $119. JUNE 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 45
COURSE SETTING
Mulgrave Madness T
he clock ticked down to the mass start at 7pm. Participants at the summer Park & Street event turned over their maps to quickly plot an optimum route to the first few controls. Time was of the essence – any hesitation and the rest of the field would be off and you would be playing catch-up. But this time no-one moved. They stared at the map. The control circles stared back at them. How could you possibly plot the shortest route through these controls? For the runners – which controls to drop?? And for the Power Walkers – how to get the highest points score?? Oh well ….. nothing ventured …. !! Some went for #2 first, others for #17, still others went straight to #16. Can you find the best route choice for each Course? In the comfort of your armchair you may be better placed to decide the optimum routes for each course, but remember the tension and urgency at play in the real event. And are you sure that your chosen routes are the best? Good luck !!
46 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2014
TOP EVENTS 2015
2014 au s t r al i an & o ce a n ia
MTBO
June 14-16
c ha m p i ons h ips
2014
Alice Springs, NT
June 27-29
June 27-29
July 5-13
July 20-25
July 19-26
July 21-27
August 1-5
August 2-10
Aug 24-31
Sept 27Oct 5 Oct 11-19
Nov 1-8
Dec 27-31
AUS & Oceania MTBO Championships, Alice Springs, NT www.ausmtbochamps.com ICE-O 2014 Iceland www.orienteering.is 2014 Norsk O-FESTIVAL Norefjell, Norway www.o-festivalen.com WOC 2014 Trentino, Italy www.woc-wtoc2014.com O-Ringen 2014 50th Anniversary Rinkaby, Skåne, Sweden. www.oringen.se SOW 2014, Swiss O Week Zermatt, Switzerland www.swiss-o-week.ch JWOC 2014 Borovetz, Bulgaria www.jwoc2014.bg OO CUP Kamnik Savinja, Slovenia www.oocup.com 2014 Canadian Championships Whistler, British Columbia Canada. http://coc2014.ca WMTBOC, JWMTBOC & WMMTBOC Bialystok Poland www.wmtboc2014.pl Karrak Karnival, AUS Champs Carnival 2014, West Australia wa.orienteering.asn.au/karrak-karnival Race the Castles 2014 Scotland www.racethecastles.com WMOC 2014 Porto Alegre, Brazil www.wmoc2014.org.br/ XMAS 5 Days Sydney NSW. www.onsw.asn.au/ xmas-5-days-2014
Jan 2-11
Jan 13-16
April 3-6
July 1-5 July 5-12
June 8-14
Oceania Championships 2015 & World Cup, Tasmania oceania2015.com The Hobart Shorts near Hobart, Tasmania oceania2015.com Australian 3 Days Carnival 2015 Jamestown ~ 200km N of Adelaide South Australia MTBO 5 days 2015 Pilsen, Czech Republic JWOC 2015 Rauland, Norway www.jwoc2015.org WMMTBOC 2015 Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal
July 19-24
O-Ringen 2015 Borås, Sweden. www.oringen.se
July 25 Aug 1
WMOC 2015 Gothenburg, Sweden www.wmoc2015sweden.se
Aug 1-7
WOC 2015 Inverness, Scotland www.woc2015.org Scottish 6 Days 2015 Inverness, Scotland www.scottish6days.com WMTBOC, JWMTBOC 2015 Czech Republic AUS Championships Carnival 2015 Ballarat region, Victoria www.vicorienteering.asn.au AUS MTBO Championships Victoria www.ausmtbochamps.com
Aug 1-8
Aug 14-23 Sept 26Oct 4 Dates TBA
2016 Dates tba July 24-30 Dates tba Aug 20-26
JWOC 2016 Engadin, Switzerland WMTBOC, JWMTBOC 2016 Aveiro-Coimbra, Portugal WMOC 2016 Tallinn, Estonia www.orienteerumine.ee/wmoc2016 WOC 2016 Stromstad – Tanum, Sweden www.woc2016.se/en/
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