The Australian Orienteer - June 2016

JU N E 2 0 16

Arenas or Assemblies?

Easter 2016 Park & Street O Melbourne Sprint RRP $8.50 inc GST

2016

Round 1

2

3

4

5

Event

Date

Location

1. Sprint

Sat 12th March

NE Melbourne

2. Sprint (WRE)

Sat 12th March

NE Melbourne

3. Sprint

Sun 13th March

Geelong, VIC

4. Sprint

Sun 13th March

Geelong, VIC

5. Elite Prologue (WRE)

Fri 25th March

University Canberra

6. Easter Day 1 - Middle Distance (WRE)

Sat 26th March

Isaacs Ridge, Canberra

7. Easter Day 2 - Long Distance

Sun 27th March

Primrose Valley, ACT

8. Easter Day 2 - Relay

Mon 28th March

Primrose Valley, ACT

9. Middle Distance

Sat 23rd April

Wilpena Pound, SA

10. Ultra Long Distance (WRE)

Sun 24th April

Wilpena Pound, SA

11. Middle Distance

Sat 28th May

St Helens, Tasmania

12. Long Distance (WRE)

Sun 29th May

St Helens, Tasmania

13. AUS Champs - Sprint (WRE)

Sat 24th Sept

Griffith Uni, Southport, QLD

14. AUS Champs - Relay

Sun 25th Sept

Beaudesert, QLD

15. AUS Champs - Long Distance (WRE)

Sat 1st Oct

Stanthorpe, QLD

16. AUS Champs - Middle Distance (WRE)

Sun 2nd Oct

Stanthorpe, QLD

WRE = World Ranking Event

All race details can be found at www.orienteering.asn.au

ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA

The President’s Page Blair Trewin

W

e are coming out of a very successful start to the Australian orienteering season. The highlight has been a wellattended and well-run Easter in Canberra, but there have been many positive developments in many parts of the country, encompassing the full range from major events at the National League level, to local-level evening events bringing large numbers of new people into the sport. Included in the first few months of the 2016 season have been visits to Snow Hills (for the NSW Championships) and the Flinders Ranges, both of which would feature on my list of five essential areas to take an international Orienteering visitor to (I’ve long been rather disappointed that the “101 Orienteering maps to run on before you die” series fizzled out after the first few).

When those running single days and those entering on the day were included, we had over 1000 participants at Easter, taking us back to numbers previously seen only on a couple of occasions in the 1980s. Whilst the terrain may not have been super-technical, it provided an orienteering experience which most people liked, and the best people still (mostly) won. It’s sometimes said in the ball sports that the best umpires/referees are the ones you don’t notice, and the same can probably be said for event organisers, because if you don’t notice them it means that (almost) everything has gone smoothly. The ACT’s orienteering community, with a mixture of old hands and newcomers to major event planning, did themselves proud.

Easter, of course, has not been the only event we’ve had this year. Successful Summer Series (or similar) urban programs have been winding up for the season in several States, with excellent turnouts in many places. Tasmania (where numbers at the southern twilight events have regularly topped 250) has been a particular highlight. The Melbourne Sprint Weekend, probably the most ambitious of its type so far attempted in Australia (six events in three days, including four National League events and a World Ranking Event), also went very well.

Something we’ve always been proud of is the way that Orienteering is a sport which can be enjoyed by the young, the old and everyone in between. Four of the top five in my class at Easter, M45A, were running in M16A at Wagga at Easter 1985 (with the same winner, Steve Craig, on both occasions), and it will come as no great surprise if a reasonable number of the M/ W16 field this year are still fronting up come 2047.

The OA Annual General Meeting took place at Easter. The highlight was in the annual report, which showed that we achieved a target that we’ve been aiming at for some time, an annual participation total in excess of 100,000. We’ve now been consistently growing at 5% or so per year for four years now, which is a tribute to a lot of good work being done at State and club level (some of it supported by Australian Sports Commission funding, some of it separate). Growing the number of people who are involved in our sport is our number one goal at Orienteering Australia, and is at State and club level as well, and we are very pleased at the signs that we are making good progress there.

The members of the Board will all be continuing (but we still have a vacancy if anyone is interested), but we saw the departure of two long-serving holders of OA positions – Bert Elson as chair of the Development and Participation Committee, and Ian Dalton as National Secretary for Orienteering for School Sport Australia.

Both have made a great contribution to their areas and will be sorely missed.

It was very pleasing at Easter to be able to recognise some of the great contributors to Orienteering in Australia through the inauguration of the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame. Our first six inductees – Grant Bluett and Jenny Bourne as athletes, and Tom Andrews, Barry McCrae, David Hogg and Alex Tarr in the general division – have all made outstanding contributions to the sport over a period of decades, and there are many other worthy candidates who we expect will be added over the coming years.

I’ve long thought that as a sport we don’t always respect our own history in quite the way that other sports do (perhaps that’s because I’ve grown up as a follower of cricket, where there’s always some obscure precedent in 1909 for something that’s happening now), and hope that the forthcoming 50th anniversary, in 2019, of Australian orienteering in its current structure will be an opportunity to address that whilst most of the key players from the early years are still with us.

JUNE 2016 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, supports 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 2016

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 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: PO Box 114 Spring Hill QLD 4004. Secretary: David Firman admin@oq.asn.au Orienteering NSW: PO Box 3379 North Strathfield NSW 2137. Admin Officer: John Murray, Ph. (02) 8736 1252 admin@onsw.asn.au Orienteering ACT: PO Box 402 Jamison Centre ACT 2614. Secretary: Phil Walker, Ph. (02) 6162 3422 office@act.orienteering.asn.au Orienteering Victoria: PO Box 1010 Templestowe VIC 3106. Secretary: Carl Dalheim, voa@netspace.net.au Orienteering SA: State Association House 105 King William St Kent Town SA 5067. Sec: Erica Diment (08) 8379 2914 secretary@sa.orienteering.asn.au Orienteering Western Australia: PO Box 234 Subiaco WA 6094. Secretary: Peter Komyshan o_map@iinet.net.au Orienteering Tasmania: PO Box 339 Sandy Bay TAS 7005. Secretary: Peter Cusick secretary@tasorienteering.asn.au Top End Orienteers (Northern Territory): PO Box 39152 Winnellie NT 0821. Secretary: Susanne Casanova topendorienteersNT@gmail.com

NEXT ISSUE DEADLINE July 15. Time-sensitive: July 22

ISSN 0818-6510 Issue 2/16 (no. 182) JUNE 2016 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 15; Time-sensitive – July 22.

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 PA G E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 A S S E M B LY O R A R E N A S ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 MELBOURNE SPRINT WEEKEND................. 12 SYDNEY SUMMER SERIES ....................... 18 M E L B O U R N E PA R K & S T R E E T C H A M P S . . . . . . . 2 3 EASTER 2016....................................... 26 N AT I O N A L O R I E N T E E R I N G L E A G U E . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 PA R T I C I PAT I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 AUS MTBO CHAMPS 2016 ....................... 37 MTBO NEWS ........................................ 38 SETTING THE COURSE ............................ 40 SPOT THE DIFFERENCE ........................... 42 MAPPING ............................................ 43 O-SPY ............................................... 44 VALE JOHN DISLEY ............................... 45 LETTERS ............................................. 46 TOP EVENTS ........................................ 47

Cover photo: Ian Lawford. Photo: Roy Meuronen.

JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 5

DEVELOPMENT

Assembly areas or Arenas?

David Jaffe Photos by Susan Guinane, David Jaffe, Kim Nankervis & Michael Hubbert

2015 AUS Schools arena.

T

hese days at major events we have come to expect interesting forests or sprint areas, high quality maps and great course planning. We set the bar pretty high in Australia and deliver all of those great things in nearly all major championships. Despite being volunteers we continue to set a terrific standard, of technical events in my opinion.

However, as we have come to expect those things it starts to be other things that make events memorable. The X-factor for major events for me is the atmosphere and excitement that we create around the Finish. We are so lucky that we have experts in things like radio controls, results broadcasts, satellite tracking, big screens and results displays that we have started to use. So it’s now about how we use those things to create great arenas and atmosphere. The bar for organisers, planners and controllers has just gone a little bit higher because those technologies impact how we plan and organize our courses and arenas.

for spectators, competitors and the media.

They had a buzz and allowed parents and the two thousand plus in the public events to be involved with the JWOC races.

At each site they had clearly worked hard to create a great arena as the IOF Leibnitz Convention would have us all do (it’s in our rules as well). The commentators oft repeated cry of “and here comes Olli Ojahano (or Sara

2015 JWOC-Partick Jaffe strides up the hill.

The Norwegians designed Arenas, not just assembly areas I was lucky enough to be at JWOC last year to see how the Norwegians organised their arenas. Now its important to say straight up that they weren’t assembly areas, they were arenas (and I think the distinction is important). They were great 6 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

2015 JWOC Sprint -Tim Robertson.

Hagstrom) into the Arena Passage” will live long in the memory. Perhaps we need to drop the term ‘assembly area’ from our planning processes and only use the word “arena” to focus our minds.

Nearly a year later the JWOC arenas still provide some great memories. The Sprint arena had a spectator control within 150m of the Finish and the Middle Distance and Relay events had run throughs that let you cheer on your

JWOC 2015 Relay W20. Map courtesy of World of O

team part way through their courses. The Middle Distance run through included a wicked 100m of brutal up-hill climb with spectators and cow bells urging the competitors on. The pictures don’t do it justice - it was a fearsome ski slope masquerading as a run through.

They also made great use of the technology. So when New Zealand’s Tim Robertson went off as the last runner in the Sprint, they projected his satellite tracker head-to-head with the “clubhouse” leader who had finished an hour earlier. It was like watching head-to-head racing and the spectators were enthralled.

The Relay was just as good with all leading teams tracked and everyone watching as the lead in the girls’ race changed hands four times on the last leg. The ooh’s and aahs of the Norwegians as their girls lost the lead twice made that memorable.

Of course we’ve had some good Arenas in Australia. The Oceania Championships at Rowdy Flat raised the bar with the first ever “large screen”, run-throughs and great views of quite complex controls. Sprint events at last years’ Australian Carnival, and the recent Easter Day 1 were, in my opinion, great arenas. Grandstands and amphitheatres have been embraced for many Sprint races and they had run through spectator controls (an Arena Passage to use the European term).

Last year’s NOL races in Canberra also included an arena passage with a pivot control (a.k.a the fridge) and Easter 2014

in South Australia had a Middle Distance arena with amazing views of controls in a spectacular canyon where you could watch the route choices of the elites.

New technology presents new challenges for event planners We’re also very lucky in Australia that through the efforts of people like Christopher “Toph” Naunton,

Jim Russell and others, we have some great technologies available and our commentators can now give us far more information. This technology however presents new challenges and decisions for event organisers and course setters alike. If it’s an afterthought, it won’t be used well and won’t add to the arena buzz.

I don’t think we’ve quite got the hang of it for all our major events. I know that at last year’s Australian Carnival in

2015 JWOC arena & big screen.

JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 7

DEVELOPMENT

Victoria we got it right a few times, like the Long Distance event, but didn’t always. I also know there is a ‘debate’ about the technical quality of courses and legs without navigation to create “arena passages”. It is hard to find areas where we can bring competitors close to the Finish and then send them out on another loop but I suspect the problem occurs because we don’t consider these things early enough in our planning processes. We also need to consult with people like Toph and Jim who understand the technical restrictions of radio controls and satellite tracking.

To help the commentary team, the radio controls need to inform of the action to come. So, Jim wants radio controls at the one-third and two-thirds distance and to warn the commentary team of someone approaching the run through or run in. If the runners are already in sight by the time the commentary team have picked up a split, it’s too late. Jim also suggests a spectator “leg” rather than just a control. Canberra’s recent Easter Sprint allowed spectators to see runners for an entire leg with many options.

It’s not always easy to get the coverage the technologies need in the remote areas where we want to have events. We’ll have to work out what we can compromise on. Perhaps that will prevent us using some really remote maps at future Carnivals but that may be a reasonable price to pay. Sometimes there are ways to find a technical workaround - Toph set up a transmitter on a hill a kilometre from one Finish but he had plenty of time to find that solution. Let’s have the debate on locations and involve those with the technical expertise early.

2015 AUS Schools Individual.

JWOC 2015 Middle Final W20. Map courtesy of World of O

“There is a great Arena” We were fortunate with the Schools’ events at last year’s Australian Carnival that overall event organizer, Mark Hennessy, suggested using Sandon forest because, in his words, “there is a great Arena”. So the availability of the arena drove the selection of the area. For those events the course planners decided on the spectator controls before they worked on others aspects of the courses. The spectator controls were so close that we had commentators at them calling the action as well as a range of radio controls.

So, perhaps there is a refined planning process that we can go through for all major events that also helps us embrace the technologies we have. May I suggest these seven questions that can help:

8 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

1. Where can we have a great Arena?

2. If I were just there as a spectator what would make it interesting for me?

3. Could we have an “arena passage� and where can we have really exciting spectator controls or spectator legs?

4. Where shall we have multiple radio controls to feed splits and the commentary team and how can we help them make it exciting and interesting?

5. Where can we use a big screen to most effect?

6. How can we make a great run in?

7. Can we have results and catering also close by?

I know some controllers, organisers and planners are already doing this but I’d hope that all future Carnivals will think about this. I look forward to sharing many great “arena moments� with everyone in the future.

David Jaffe is Vice President of Orienteering Victoria

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JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 9

2016 AUS CHAMPIONSHIPS

It’s not just a carnival, it’s an adventure Escape the chill and get ready for 9 days of not-to-be-missed Orienteering in breathtaking South East Queensland.

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he 2016 Australian Orienteering Championships will take place from Saturday 24 September to Sunday 2 October.

Hosted by Orienteering Queensland, the nine-day Carnival will cover the picturesque landscape of South East Queensland, from the Gold Coast to the Granite Belt.

THE CARNIVAL Everyone’s Invited The Australian Orienteering Championships is the pinnacle event in the Australian Orienteering calendar, crowning National Champions across Secondary Schools, Sprint, Relay, Middle and Long Distance. Don’t miss the spectacle of competition for young and old, participants and spectators.

If competition is not your thing, you’re still invited to participate and enjoy the sunshine, nature and culture of your surrounds. There’s even a public race and fun events like “Race the Kids” and “Billy Goat 2 Step” for everyone to enjoy.

AUS vs NZ Test Match Love a bit of Trans-Tasman rivalry? The Australian Championships host three Australia vs New Zealand Test Matches for Sprint, Middle and Long Distance. Embargoes are on for mentioning the underarm bowl, pavlova and Crowded House for these races.

THE ADVENTURE Gold Coast Sprint events kick off on the Gold Coast, where you can check out world-renowned beaches and soak in the sunshine. Stay a little longer and enjoy your rest day with muscle-soothing ocean swims. If the Orienteering isn’t adventure enough, check out one of the four theme parks or countless tourist attractions on offer.

Scenic Rim Take a short road trip to the beautiful Scenic Rim for Individual and Relay Events. You will be surrounded by six National Parks and World Heritage listed rainforest; the perfect location to relax and take in a different side of Queensland.

Griffith sprint map

Cotswold

Mundoolun

The Cascades

Gold Coast – Rollercoaster 10 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

Gold Coast – Burleigh Cove

Granite Belt You will end up at the Granite Belt in the picturesque Southern Downs Region for the Middle and Long Distance Championships.

Spoil the senses with the sensational food, wine and culture that the region is known for and wonder at the spectacular granite boulder landscape.

Amiens

EVENT SCHEDULE Sat 24 Sept

Event 1

Sun 25 Sept

Event 2

Mon 26 Event 3 Sept Event 4 Tue 27 Sept Wed 28 Event 5 Sept

Thu 29 Sept

Fri 30 Sept Sat 1 Oct

Sun 2 Oct

Australian Sprint Championships. Griffith University – Gold Coast Campus, Southport. This will include an AUS/NZ Test Match and a NOL race. This event is a WRE race for M/W-21E and M/W-20E Australian Relay Championships, including a NOL race. “Mundoolun” north east of Beaudesert. 1 hour from Southport. Open grazing land in undulating gully/ spur terrain. Some erosion detail.

Australian Secondary Schools Sprint Championships, Gold Coast Public Race – Sprint Event Rest day

Australian Secondary Schools Individual Championships. Rathdowney, between Beaudesert & Boonah. Open grazing land in undulating to steep, gully/spur terrain. Some sandstone rock features.

Event 6 Race the Kids Event 7 Australian Secondary Schools Relay Championships, Rathdowney, between Beaudesert & Boonah. Open grazing land in undulating to steep, gully/spur terrain. Some sandstone rock features.

Event 8 Billy Goat 2 Step Event 9 Model event for Australian Long Distance Championships.

Event 10 Australian Long Distance Championships. Amiens, 20 mins west of Stanthorpe. Granite terrain. Scattered to complex granite terrain in pine plantation and eucalypt forest. Includes an AUS/NZ Test Match and a NOL race. This event is a WRE race for M/W-21E and M/W-20E Event 11 Australian Middle Distance Championships. The Cascades, 20 mins from Stanthorpe. Scattered granite with areas of former tin mining plus open grazing land and eucalypt forest. Includes an AUS/NZ Test Match and the final NOL race for 2016. This event is also a WRE race for M/W-21E and M/W-20E.

For further information and to register online visit: australianorienteeringchampionships.com

Scenic Rim – Waterfall

Scenic Rim – National Park.

Granite Belt – Food and Wine JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 11

MELBOURNE SPRINT WEEKEND

Nicola Blatchford.

12–14 March 2016 Debbie Dodd Photos by Susan Guinane, Debbie Dodd & Michael Hubbert

T

he Melbourne Sprint Weekend was inspired by Duncan and Ross Morrison’s “Sprint the Bay” event in New Zealand which a number of MSW organising team members attended in 2014.

Duncan said he was happy for us to copy their format (six Sprint orienteering races in three days), “as long as you don’t call it Sprint the Bay”. Western Australia’s “Sprint the Southwest” in October 2014 and the “Hobart Shorts” in early 2015 generated further enthusiasm to organise a Sprint carnival.

We developed a program comprising six Sprints in three days over Victoria’s March long weekend at venues in Melbourne and Geelong. Venues were selected not only for their suitability for Sprint orienteering, but for ease of access to the airport for interstaters. We had a lot of trouble deciding a name for the event that reflected the venues being in both Melbourne and Geelong, and, ironically, “Sprint the Bay” would have been a good option.

A number of creative names were suggested but in the end, sadly for Geelong, it became simply the “Melbourne Sprint Weekend”.

The “best of five” format chosen for the overall scoring allowed course planners, event advisors and organisers to compete (in fact three of our course planners went on to win their classes).

In early 2015 we became aware that Orienteering Australia’s National Orienteering League (NOL) management was looking for a State Association willing to host a NOL Sprint round in

12 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

February or March 2016. An application was submitted to OA for the first four events of the Sprint weekend to be a NOL round and this was discussed at the OA Events Committee meeting at the Easter 3-Days carnival in South Australia. OA was keen for the program to include a World Ranking Event (WRE) and a Sprint Relay. We were persuaded to make one of the races a WRE but resisted the idea of a Sprint Relay as it did not seem compatible with our overall event format. OA advised that the WRE/NOL races would also serve as selection trials for WOC, JWOC, and the World University Championships. At the very last minute (a couple of weeks before the event) Australian University Sport also sanctioned the WRE race at the University of Melbourne to double as the Australian University Sprint Championships.

Organising a Sprint carnival is just as complex as organising a Bush carnival. Yes, the races are short and the venues don’t require long hours of travel. However, venue owners/management often comprise several layers of officials to negotiate with carefully and patiently. Constraints include sensitivities around such things as parking, toilet access, and garden beds (you have no idea how many rolls of out-of-bounds tape we used!)

Venues are usually open to the public during competition and several venue managers were much more insistent on seeing our risk management plans and insurance certificates than is usual

University of Melbourne – Course 1

Brodie Nankervis.

Su Yan Tay.

for bush events. Maps cannot be finalised until the last few days before the event and even this can be too soon. At RMIT, construction fences were changing almost daily – one fence, which had been in place for months and affected a route choice, was dismantled three days before the race, just after maps had been printed. Organisers had to tape off the whole area, to match the out of bounds area shown on the maps. Controls cannot be placed until on the day, and must be secured, which is time consuming.

Add to that the detailed logistical planning required to ensure all the gear is set up, operating, then packed up and transported to the next venue, in a short window of time. These days, this includes a raft of electronics. Start intervals of 1-minute keep the Start teams on their toes; and the constant stream of finishers gives no “downtime” in the Finish tent to resolve problems.

Thankfully, reliable internet access generally allows official results, splits, and progressive scores to be uploaded within 10 minutes or so of the last finisher crossing the line, ready for TV screen display as competitors arrive at the next event.

We were delighted to host 300 competitors in total. There were over 100 senior and junior Elites from all over Australia, plenty of locals, and a healthy number of interstaters who felt the Carnival was worthwhile travelling to Melbourne. All age groups

from under 10 to over 70 were catered for. We worked hard to encourage juniors along, and were pleased to have over 30 young sprinters take part (besides the under-17s who ran in 20E classes).

Many of these had participated in last year’s “Sprint into Spring” series. The often sparse M/W40 fields were well represented; M/ W50 and M/W60 were very popular, and M70 was also well subscribed. As you would expect, fields were dominated by the big Victorian clubs – Bayside Kangaroos, Bendigo, Dandenong Ranges, Melbourne Forest Racers and Yarra Valley – but several interstate clubs had good contingents, particularly Garingal, Newcastle, Ugly Gully, Onkaparinga Hills and Parawanga.

Race 1 – RMIT Bundoora West (NOL). Mapper Geoff Adams; Course Planner Fredrik Johansson; Advisors Barry McCrae and Kathy Liley; Organiser Margi Freemantle and Yarra Valley Orienteers.

RMIT Bundoora West was first used for the 2015 Victorian Sprint Championship, so locals had a little familiarity with the map.

In M21E, Victorian coach-in-residence, Ralph Street, started off the way he meant to continue, with the first of his five wins.

Compatriot Peter Bray was second, with Brodie Nankervis third.

In W21E, Tash Key was another looking to stamp her authority early, winning from Rachel Effeney and Aislinn Prendergast.

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Bruce Arthur

Vic Sedunary

Two more telling performances were seen in M/W20E, where Patrick Jaffe began his campaign with an emphatic win ahead of Will Kennedy and Ashley Nankervis. Lanita Steer had to work harder, claiming victory by only 1 second from Winnie Oakhill, with Tara Melhuish a mere 2 seconds further behind.

In other age classes, the closest result was W50, where Su Yan Tay and Wendy Read tied for first; Mason Arthur’s winning margin in Junior Boys was 4 seconds. At the other end of the scale, Milla Key was 10 minutes clear of her nearest rival in W10, and Ruth Goddard was fastest by 4 minutes in W70. However, overall results were based on finishing position rather than accumulated time, so everything was reset for Race 2.

Race 2 – The University of Melbourne, Parkville (NOL, WRE, Australian University Championships). Mapper and Course Planner Geoff Adams; Advisor Ted van Geldermalsen; Organiser Margi Freemantle and Tuckonie/Nillumbik Orienteers.

We’ve known for years the potential of this map, but until recently it hasn’t been possible to obtain permission to stage an event, so previous versions were only used for occasional training events for a handful of orienteers. Final signoff wasn’t obtained until a couple of weeks beforehand, but the University was 14 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

very supportive and delighted to host the Australian University Sprint Championships. The campus was overflowing with other users – there was even a wedding party in the cloisters of the Law building! The buildings were generally large and regular-shaped, so the main challenges were making the right route choices while keeping speed high on the long legs, and then adjusting quickly for the detailed garden area near the end.

Ralph Street once again took out M21E, but this time Ian Lawford took second, securing his win in the Men’s University Championships. Peter Bray was third. Tash Key again won W21E from Rachel Effeney, but Michele Dawson took third, and the University Championships Women’s title. Matt Doyle won M20E from Patrick Jaffe and Aston Key – the latter two separated by only a second - while in W20E, Tara Melhuish was only one second clear of Lanita Steer, and Winnie Oakhill was third. Close rivalries on the junior elite courses were already being established.

Repeat age class winners from the morning were Milla Key, Felix Corcoran, Zoe Melhuish, Carolyn Jackson, Tim Hatley, Chris Norwood, Ross Barr, and Ruth Goddard. Remarkably, Su Yan Tay and Wendy Read tied for the win AGAIN! There were some incredibly narrow margins, indicating final results were not going to be cut and dried.

Amphitheatre at Kardinia.

Kardinia International College – Course 2 part 1

Kardinia International College – Course 2 part 2

Race 3 – Deakin University Waurn Ponds (NOL). Mapper Geoff Adams; Course Planner Chris Norwood; Advisor Warwick Williams; Organiser Anne Robinson and Eureka Orienteers.

Day 2 was based in the Geelong area, an easy drive from the Melbourne CBD. The Waurn Ponds map was first used for the Victorian Sprint Championships in 2014. Courses were generally focused on the more complex residential area, rather than the campus proper. The terrain was more open and a little hillier, so at the halfway point, physical fitness would be a contributing factor, as well as the inevitable mental fatigue brought about by a series of intense and absorbing races. While it was no surprise to see Ralph once again top the M21E leaderboard, this time the placings went to Leon Keely and Henry McNulty. Rachel Effeney scored victory in W21E, with Liis Johanson second and Bridget Anderson third. In M20E, Patrick Jaffe and Matt Doyle reversed the Race 2 result; Simeon Burrill moved up to third. Once again Lanita Steer and Tara Melhuish were neck and neck, with Lanita the winner by 8 seconds; Asha Steer was third this time after threatening for a place in the first two races.

Interestingly, the age class winners were almost universally different to those from Day 1, with only Zoe Melhuish and Ross Barr able to maintain their streaks. Sophie Arthur won W10, and

Duncan Currie.

Olivia Moon had a convincing win on W12. The Junior Boys was incredibly close, with only 1:22 separating first from seventh!

Kayleen Morrison won W40, while Martin Steer’s 3 second win over Tim Hatley was notable on M50. Su Yan Tay finally broke clear of Wendy Read on W50, winning by 12 seconds. Adrian Uppill and Denise Pike were first time winners on M60 and W60 respectively, and Rosie Salvaris won W70.

Race 4 – Kardinia International College (NOL). Mapper Geoff Adams; Course Planners Philippa Lohmeyer-Collins and Stephen Collins; Advisor Jim Russell; Organiser Anne Robinson and Bayside Kangaroos.

Kardina was the surprise package of the weekend. It was the only completely new map, and it offered many quirky features, as well as myriad narrow paths and corridors, multiple levels, fences, walls and courtyard gardens, all in minute detail. Courses 1-3 had a mid-course map changeover. The arena was a steep amphitheatre which offered fabulous views of Corio Bay. Elites started at 30-second intervals from the stage, which elicited plenty of friendly sledging. The Finish was also adjacent to the stage, which was exciting for competitors and spectators alike. Racers had to switch modes from the morning’s open fast running, to the intricacies of this terrain. Small navigational errors soon JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 15

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Sophie Arthur.

compounded. For those heading home after this race, it was a wonderful finale to the NOL round.

Once again Ralph Street proved unbeatable, and this time Henry McNulty and Simon Uppill were the placegetters. Rachel Effeney, followed by Tash Key and Michele Dawson were the W21E placegetters. M20E saw familiar names at the top of the list, with Patrick Jaffe earning his third win, Matt Doyle second, and Simeon Burrill third. W20E saw another win to Tara Melhuish, with Winnie Oakhill second and Anna Dowling third.

Hannah Adams had a narrow win on W10. Callum White won M12 from Felix Corcoran, making it two wins each. Mason Arthur and Glenn James tied on Junior Boys, while Zoe Melhuish made it four in a row on Junior Girls. Ed Steenbergen took his second victory on M40, while Carolyn Jackson returned to the top of W40. Tim Hatley was another repeat winner on M50, and Su Yan Tay cemented her position on top of W50. M60 went to Chris Norwood, while Julia Prudhoe won W60. Ross Barr and Rosie Salvaris repeated their wins in M/W70.

Race 5 – Victoria University St Albans. Mapper Geoff Adams; Course Planner Tim Hatley; Advisor Bruce Arthur; Organiser Clare Brownridge and Melbourne Forest Racers.

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Numbers were still strong although some interstaters and locals had other commitments; the quality of Day 3’s maps, courses, and organisation was undiminished, and the racing remained intense as overall honours were on the line! VUSA is the most familiar map to locals, having been used twice during our regular “Sprint into Spring” series (which returns in October this year with another great selection of maps on offer). However our course planner was able to put a new slant on it. The first leg was a standout, luring a number of people into a parallel error as brains were growing as tired as legs.

Peter Bray returned to the podium, in second behind Ralph and ahead of Leon Keely on M21E. Tash Key returned to the top of W21E ahead of Bridget Anderson and Belinda Lawford. There was no stopping Patrick Jaffe on M20E as he moved closer to a perfect overall score; Jarrah Day and Angus Haines took the places. Tara Melhuish won W20E from Lanita Steer and Zoe Dowling, making the overall results very close indeed.

Other age classes saw some first time winners – Luca Bogdanovits in W12, Torren Arthur in Junior Boys, Paul Benson in M40, Ian Davies in M50, and Helen Alexander in W70. Meanwhile Zoe Melhuish and Ross Barr won their fifth consecutive races to take unassailable overall leads.

Olivia Sprod.

Milla Key.

All eyes on the results screens.

MSW Elite winners.

Race 6 – Parade College. Mapper Fredrik Johansson; Course Planner Ralph Street; Advisor Blair Trewin; Organiser Clare Brownridge and Dandenong Ranges Orienteers.

The race of truth! Many of us were in survival mode by now, making us vulnerable to simple mistakes (or was that just me??).

I thought I knew this map pretty well but still got caught out in several places. All courses had a map change half way through.

The pressure was on first to get the courses ready in time for the first start time at 3pm, then to wrap up with presentations as quickly as possible after the last finisher. Today’s technology allowed us to announce overall winners within about 10 minutes of race completion, which those catching flights certainly appreciated.

Ralph’s course planning duties opened the door on M21E, and Leon Keely emerged the winner, from Peter Bray and Simon Uppill. Liis Johanson also scored her first win on W21E, from Tash Key and Aislinn Prendergast. M20E went to Patrick Jaffe, Jarrah Day, and Sebastian O’Halloran, while Lanita Steer capped off a great weekend with a win over Asha Steer and Zoe Dowling.

There weren’t too many surprises in other classes, but there were a couple of new names at the top. Jensen Key won Junior Boys, and Sarah Davies broke through on Junior Girls, while Tony Simpkins finally ended Ross Barr’s dominance of M70.

Overall, some classes were won with perfect scores of 500 – Ralph Street, Patrick Jaffe, Ashley White, Zoe Melhuish, Ryan Davies, Carolyn Jackson, Su Yan Tay, Chris Norwood and Ross Barr. Others went down to the wire with wins by only one or two point margins – Lanita Steer, Sophie Arthur, Callum White, Claire Adams, Mason Arthur and Mariann Fossum. Remaining winners were Natasha Key, Andras Bogdanovits, Tim Hatley, Julia Prudhoe, Ruth Goddard and Daniel del Dot. The Victorian Nuggets dominated in all four classes to convincingly win the NOL Round.

Full results, splits, overall standings, competition maps, and hundreds of photos can be viewed via www.parkstreeto.com.au/msw2016/ Video footage thanks to Living It Live: https://youtu.be/NAITi1NTqLc

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Sydney Summer Series Celebrates 25 Years Ross Barr (aka Pork Pie)

Twenty-five years ago, putting a couple of events together as a way of keeping ‘in touch’ over the summer seemed like a good idea. Who would give credit for what has happened since then – the greatest Summer Series of cunning running events in the nation, indeed, the world! Growing, galloping, gyrating, gasping – the Sydney Summer Series has become a force of nature, and a weekly ‘must do’ for hundreds of Sydneysiders. Make that thousands!

How on earth did it begin?

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ummers, in the ‘old’ days, were almost an Orienteering-free zone – with the winter Bush O season (book-ended by the Easter and Aussie Championships Carnivals) sort of ending the fun with map and compass in early October. Summer was a time to chill and swim, to tend the Christmas trees (Ron), to air the whites and adjust the box (Jesso), and to think about the tennis and the tendons – the ham and the hammy.

There had been a couple of summer ‘one-off’ events prior to our Series beginning, with the main precursor perhaps the Big Foot daylight saving event (line course, mass start) at Ryland Ridge (St Ives) on November 21, 1990. I thought we could do a bit more, and cajoled and badgered fellow Garingal members to pitch in. The picture took shape over the 1991 winter. The pencil flirted with the blank sheet, a sketch formed, the venues nodded, the ‘fingered’ ones made suggestions – and Barry Pearce, bravely, joined the mix with an offer of Scarborough Park. Apart from this one-off from Kareelah, the first three seasons were practically all Garingal venues/events, with seemingly little interest from other clubs, that is, until Terry Bluett (bless him) brought Bennelong to the party in 1994/95. Five events in each of the first two summers became eight, then 11, then 13, 17, 20, 22 (for several years), until we banged on up to the full one a week during daylight saving (26) in 2008/09. What a ride, and with all Sydney clubs now on board, long may it continue!

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For this anniversary season and the anniversary event, I’d like to concentrate on the early year(s), and to celebrate the 29 runners who joined us in the first Series – and are still with us! The ‘Rusted-Ons’ are not only still slipping into their New Balance and Nikes, but are also kicking a*** – even winning their (somewhat older) age categories. Sensational devotion.

The first Series flyer in the summer of 1991/92 was titled MID WEEK SERIES in vertical black capitals, with ‘Daylight Saving Orienteering’ in a more discreet serif. The programme offered both 30- and 45-minute score events, and mass start line course options for orienteers wanting to ‘test their speed’. All courses were hand drawn onto the map by the competitor, as was the style of the day, with weird and wonderful checkpoint tallies and scores.

Balls Head (event 1) for example, had 23 checkpoints worth variously 2, 5 or 10 points – and a total score of 98. Long Reef (event 3) had only 10 checkpoints, Boronia (event 4) had 16, and Macquarie (2) somewhat in the middle with 11 – and a winning score of 26 points.

The modest initial series saw 145 runners front the till, with the first two events attracting 19 each, and the biggie at Boronia Park with 49 (22 running the mass start, and 27 the Score – including Mel Cox in his only 91/92 summer outing, and mysteriously coming last!). The feedback was sufficiently encouraging to go again, and in 1992/93 go again we did. This was another fivesetter, with the (still) vertical DSO heading now in light capitals and joined with the bold subtitle ‘Including Mass Start Options’.

Long Reef (Jim), Balls Head (Bev) and Boronia (Janet) got another outing, and joined for Season two by Ron on the Duffy’s Forest map (before the golf course ruined the great quarry stuff there) and Stuart at Curl Curl – where the northern bits and pieces of

Line start

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that map were recently under the SSS boot again at Steve Ryan’s great Dee Why holiday flog.

Terry Bluett set Berry Island in the next (93/94) Series, that now expanded to eight events – including the horrendous black & white ‘Comenarra’ map authored by Pork Pie. Stuart also worked us over at Artarmon for the first time. Balls, Boronia, Curly, Mac and Long all got the nod again – with our timing advertised as 5.30 to 6.30pm. Early days indeed. The 11-event 94/95 programme strangely appeared in pink, and still only featured GO and BN offerings – including several with rather sweet couples in charge – Judy & Paul Shea at Balls Head (how we love that map), Sue & Greg Cave at Comenarra (more b&w horrors), Bryony & Tim Cox at Mac, and Frank Best & Jim Merchant (don’t ask) at the Reef. WHO and Uringa both joined in for the 95/96 season with one event apiece – perhaps testing the water. WHO with Parramatta Park (Chris Crane the man), and UR at Homebush Bay with Judge and Mrs Murphy holding the gavel and key.

The programme title had altered to ‘Daylight Saving Cunning Running’ in a neat four-line stacked serif cap block, and the come-on blurb mentions not having to navigate a course in ‘bush country’ and that drinks are for sale (a feature for many seasons, where the can price always seemed to be a dollar – long after their purchase cost, even chasing discount offers, was way above this).

The 1996/97 programme (17 events, now two each from WH and UR – the rest BN and GO), was the first to mention prizes – with awards to be in four categories, Open Men & Women (to 39 years) and Veteran Men & Women (40+), and awarded at the last event at West Chatswood – with progressive results on display, and eight counting in the final tally. Many will remember this was the initiative of Graeme Hill, who used to lug the results board over each week with the pages affixed. Very different to the almost instant revelations of ‘its-damp’ and the musings (inane, inspired

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or otherwise) of a certain commentator. In 97/98 we again altered the title to include the words ‘Mini Rogaines’, and also expanded the prizes offered to include the Super Veteran age group. Big Foot finally got the picture, and joined in with the updated St Ignatius map at Riverview – still one of our favourites. ‘The Dentist’ was the course planner there, and administered the setting ‘drill’ with no mercy. Many have still not recovered!

1998/99 is the first programme titled ‘Summer Series’, following a suggestion from Big Foot’s Paul Darvodelsky, and this remained our offer until the 2002/03 season, when our fully branded ‘Sydney Summer Series’ logo superimposed over the mysterious runner took hold. I think this is also the year when the yellow banner was produced (and the sub-text ‘navigation-onthe-run’ came in), and was used for most of the pre-SI era events to signal our assembly whereabouts. It seems somewhat primitive now, with all clubs a-furl and a-flutter in alarmingly colourful bunt and flag. No missing what’s happening here – as members of the public often asked.

Things continued to build, and build, with the introduction of ‘tourism’ highlights to the event programme in 2005/06 - an ambitious development. Who can recall the highlights at ‘The Spit Bridge’ where visiting ‘Radio Avenue – the only one in Sydney’ got a mention, or Rob Spry’s ‘Gore Cove’ event noting the ‘Curvy Wollstonecraft railway station’ as a highlight, or Larry’s ‘Blues Point’ run, complete with the Whiteley ‘Tea Pot’, and noted as THE EVENT OF THE SEASON – in capitals! Some of this was a great hoot, but the repetitive nature of our venues soon dampened the originality of the ‘highlights’, and they disappeared in 07/08 – giving way to the current ‘yellow’ sheet format, perhaps in its last gasp in Season 25.

There is much more to the SSS story, including acknowledging the massive amount of work done by the course setters and club

crews every week, but in our anniversary year, let’s return to that first season.

Bill Maclean set our opener at Ball Head (27.11.91), on the old two-scale map long before BP had gone and the ‘botanists’ from North Sydney Council had arrived. Interestingly, all but one of the 23 controls were on natural features – including the eight scattered about the Waverton streets. We were still in Bush O mode in a sense, with the errant #6, the ‘man made object east corner’, perhaps a hint of things to come. Eric Morris (Richard’s brother) won with 93 of the 98 points on offer, your author an audacious second with 77 in 44.15. My map notes ‘climbing the cliff’ from a low-level track on the south-western point, now long out-of-bounds – sounds like fun. Chippy, Gordy, Karl Spackman and J Seabrook were there, as were Bryony, Mike Hooppell - and Ian Froude, up from Cronulla (the pulling power of the Summer Series awakens!). Nineteen punters altogether. We were off and running.

Next up was the original SSS deluge on December 11. A wet horror on the big old (pre motorway) map at Macquarie Uni set by Brian Johnson, that included two line-course controls across the Lane Cove River. A post event report from Garingal’s newsletter is titled ‘Paddle-O’, and notes four days of rain descending on the area, with Bev convinced nobody would show up ‘except Chippy’. But, Neil Schafer fronted at five, and 18 others followed – including the said Chippy, and Terry Bluett who ran with daughter Tracy just under the time limit for NO points!

My map notes have me ‘swimming’ back after being ‘trapped’ in the green wet north, and by the river. Sue Clark (an early SSS fan, now living in Queensland) won after finding a 1.5m deep crossing point, and ‘only’ being 20 minutes late. There were many minus scores, with Max Barr (my nephew in his one and only O event) on minus 17, and Andrew Lumsden taking the lolly with

minus 18. The soggy Boronia from last season was somewhat akin.

Event three in January 1992 was at Long Reef, where ‘Sir Ronald of Cabbage’ deployed ten controls, and half the field went Score and half went Line. Ian McKenzie and Heiko made first appearances – both opting to score, something they have been doing ever since. Grant Bluett and Mounty chased each other around the 6.3km course, Grant prevailing by a minute and a half in 28.21 – over ten minutes faster than dad Terry, and over 20 minutes up on Judge Murphy, also in his first series appearance (but not wigged or gowned as I remember). Wiz fronted, as did Rod ‘The Parking Fine’ Parkin – both for the first time, and realised how life was never going to be the same again.

The second event in the new year (#4 on February 5) was at Boronia, where a great roll-up of 49 competitors was again almost split evenly by the two options. Chippy set this one; one that is well remembered by the ‘misplaced’ control and the ‘missing’ control. The former was the first control on the Line course (cliff foot), and you can imagine the confusion as the randy mob flailed about under one cliff, then another – the language sounding like a day at the old outcry stock exchange.

My event notes said I couldn’t find it, most others the same. The notes also mention #9 missing, and in post-race red biro upon the tattered A3, it all being a ‘bit of a shambles’. The Line was subsequently declared a no-race, understandably, but a pity as the field included Eric Morris, Mounty, Grant Bluett, Jock, Anthony Scott and three runners from Sweden - it would have been a cracker. Curiously, the Score results were posted despite including the miss and the missing controls. Graeme Hill and Ian Mac are shown winning with 20 points, the late Graeme Mitchell with 18, Mike Weller with 12, Connie McNamee with 2, and Mel Cox with MINUS 8! (I kinda went into caps mode here Mel, sorry about

Michele Dawson.

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Histroric brochures

that). What an evening – and the perfect event to reprise for our anniversary 25 years later. No missing controls this time though – a wistful PP sadly muses and rues.

Completing the first season, our 5th event was held a week later on February 12 - Barry Pearce bringing out that great contour-free flattie at Scarborough Park. Numbers dropped back to 26, but included many from the southern suburbs for the first time – in a precursor to the development of a Series all their own in more recent years. Anyway, Bazza’s event had the two different time score course offers (no line) – Graeme Hill winning the 45 and Margaret Elcombe (a great orienteer, sadly not seen out these days) the 30. ‘The Alphabet’ was there, Peter Shepherd and Glenn Flack ‘Helmet’ were there, Stuart and Rod Eckels were there (the only GO-ers) – and Steve ‘Firing’ Blanks the only Foot. No Bennies. Not sure of the weather, as PP failed to complete the series, falling at the last hurdle – despite having engineered the whole shebang! Maybe I was overseas, or in conversation with royalty – as your SSS reporter often is.

The 1991/92 series then; five events on the A4 yellow sheet, fine weather and foul, our first outing - and 145 of Sydney’s finest coming out to give it a go. Something was underway.

And so, to round off this anniversary report, to reprise the first series, to remember and to celebrate – a listing of the 30 competitors from the original 145 WHO ARE STILL RUNNING is demanded, and makes the perfect encore. Runners still with us, still scoring, still working the singlet and string, still working the body and brain, still wondering why the clock speeds up after 45 minutes – and still finding room for that Wednesday afternoon ‘meeting’ so common to those bitten, bit and brought up on summer cunning running. You are all our original SSS heroes, so let’s hear it for: Stuart McWilliam, Rod Eckels, Simon George, Janet & Richard Morris, Graeme & Andrew Hill, Terry &

Aidan Dawson leads the Line course pack.

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Cheryl Bluett, Andrew Lumsden, Ron Junghans, Gordon Wilson, Julian Ledger, Bryony Cox, Terry Murphy, Andrew Wisniewski, Ian McKenzie, Heiko, Mark & Ken Schaefer, Rod Parkin, Mike Hanratty, Ian Miller, Jim Forbes, Sue Thomson, Connie McNamee, Mel Cox, Richard Mountstephens, Chippy Le Carpentier and yours truly. What a bunch!

And so to the 25th Anniversary event on February 3rd which went off with a bang. A beautiful afternoon at Boronia Park, a massive roll up (close to 250 entries) – and the course setter from 1992, Chippy, amongst us. 41 runners lined up for the mass start line course and were led out on the gun by Aidan Dawson. It was James ‘The Ink Bottle’ McQuillan who first appeared however, winning the approx. 7km flog in 35:11 to take the champers and fastest male cup from Richard Morris (an original) by 40 seconds – Aidan a couple of minutes back. Michele Dawson won the fastest female cup in 39:55, just holding off Lisa Grant and Paula Shingler. Chippy, getting a bit of his original medicine back, ran home in 32nd place (53min) to just pip another brace of originals (McWilliam, Bowerman, Eckles, Miller and Junghans) – feeling every bit of the intervening 25 years! The score course went to Aurelien Penneman with 570 points (of the 600 on offer), Glenn Horrocks twenty back.

Course setter (and the ‘ghost’ of Chippy on the day), Dan Redfern, had put up the perfect double - a classic evening and a couple of great courses. A very worthy acknowledgement and celebration of 25 years of the Sydney Summer Series.

Now, as to the next 25 years ……….

Melbourne Park & Street Championships 2016 Debbie Dodd (photos Debbie Dodd & Michael Hubbert)

The 2016 Park & Street Championships were the fourth conducted, and the Final has become a much anticipated part of the Summer fixture. As in previous years, a series of qualifying races were held in February across all six Summer Series, including Geelong and Macedon. The aim of the Championship is to bring the best competitors from each Series together to race head to head, once a year.

Tony Bird – 1st Men’s Ultra Vet.

in the southeast suburbs, was carefully selected for its proximity to two freeways, making travel easier for those venturing across town and from far. It’s also unusual for a Melbourne Southern Series map because it offers significant climb! It has a convoluted street layout with no busy roads to cross, and the terrain varies from flat parklands along the Dandenong Creek, to steep grassy slopes as you clamber up under the power pylons. The Start location had plenty of parking and toilets, along with expansive views of the surrounds.

Experienced course setter and former club President, Ian Greenwood, was invited to set the courses. Ian has something of a reputation for what some might deem “going to unnecessary lengths” - but he is also The start.

S

eventy qualifiers were invited to take their place in the Final.

Classes offered were Mens Open, Senior, Veteran, Supervet and Ultravet; Womens Open, Veteran and Supervet; Juniors (under 19); Mens Power Walkers Open, Supervet and Ultravet; and Womens Power Walkers Open, Supervet and Ultravet. Categories are selected to represent the demographic of the Park & Street summer series.

However, unlike normal competition where everyone chooses the course they want to do regardless of age, qualifiers had to compete in the right age group – which created some previously untested rivalries during the qualifying races.

Clubs take it in turns to host the Final, and this year it fell to Dandenong Ranges. The map, Gladeswood Spur

The scatter.

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meticulous in his planning. Ian was assisted by Ray Howe as course vetter.

Being a “Scatter course” event deciding on the correct first control turned out to be crucial – a wrong choice potentially added significant distance. The courses were a true test of smart thinking, quick decision making, and physical endurance – in other words, a fitting Final. Champions were declared in nine running and six power walking classes. Finishes were keenly contested, with three of the PW titles decided by a point.

The Mens Open winner was Bruce Arthur (MFV) who remains unbeaten The Finish.

Northern Series. In the Power Walking categories, winners were Dave Stillwell (NEV), Len Budge (BKV), Ron Frederick (NEV), Anne Robinson (BKV), Jo Torr (BKV) and Gwennyth Baker (BKV).

Next year’s Championship will be held on a Wednesday as part of the Melbourne Eastern Summer Series.

The discussion.

in four years. Bruce, of course, has a fearsome reputation as not only a very fast runner, but a very smart navigator who rarely makes an error. Second and third were Andrew Hester (DRV) and Peter Hobbs (DRV), continuing a friendly rivalry that has persisted all season. Mens Seniors was won by Simon Rouse (DRV) who has been in terrific form this summer, ahead of Bryan Ackerley (BKV) and Blair Trewin (YVV). Up-and-comer Steve O’Connell (BKV) has also had a strong summer, and he took out Mens Veterans from Geoff McLean (BKV) and Warwick Davis (TKV). The least predictable class was Mens Supervets. Tim Hatley (BKV) emerged the winner over Colin Pearce (DRV) and Ian Davies (DRV). Mens Ultravets was won by Tony Bird (DRV), Vic Sedunary (BKV) and Roger Slade (BKV).

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Rachel Johnson (NEV) has consistently been the strongest female Park & Street orienteer for a number of years, and has now won all four Womens Open titles. However she began this season with a foot injury, and had to work hard on her fitness to get back up to speed. Rachel claimed victory over Helen Walpole (DRV) and Janet Johnson (NEV). Janine Steer (DRV) was a repeat winner on Womens Veterans, from Josie Yeatman (NEV) and Philippa Lohmeyer-Collins (BKV).

Carolyn Jackson (MFV) also replicated past wins, taking out Womens Supervets from Denise Pike (DRV) and Debbie Dodd (DRV).

The combined Juniors class was won

by Brody McCarthy (YVV). Brody has been in top form since winning a Hill Climb jersey in “Sprint Into Spring”, then regularly competing in the

Organiser – Ray Howe.

Course setter – Ian Greenwood.

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The Trewin Report p

EASTER 2016 Photos: Roy Meuronen & Tony Hill

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he Australian 3-Days in 2016 took place in Canberra, with one of the best turnouts for many years. The event was focused on areas not too far away from Canberra.

Saturday took us to Isaacs Ridge, a remarkably underused area on the edge of the Canberra suburbs, whilst the remainder of the weekend saw a return to Primrose Valley southeast of Queanbeyan (now under a new name), last used for Orienteering a generation ago. Whilst it might not have been, outwardly, the most technically demanding of Easters, there were still enough traps in the small rocks and steep slopes of Isaacs Ridge, and the parallel-error-prone, pure gully-spur (a bit greener than it once was) of the last two days, to catch out the unwary.

The history of the maps meant some tales from the old hands, and the women’s elite event turned out to be one for the old hands (although none of them were old enough to have actually run a race of consequence at Primrose Valley), with the three placegetters all eligible for W35 or beyond.

Shannon Jones led things off with a convincing win in the Sprint prologue at the University of Canberra, but thereafter it was Jo Allison’s weekend as she won all three forest days in a very impressive performance. Three errors

26 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

on the Saturday left Natasha Key five minutes in arrears and with too much to do for the win, but she emerged from the pack with second places on the last two days to move into second. Anna Sheldon held onto third despite falling away on the final day, just ahead of Belinda Lawford who achieved her best result at this level.

The men took a while to sort themselves out, with Swede Emil Granqvist taking a surprise win on the Saturday. The Long Distance day on Sunday is often when the pack sorts itself out, and so it proved this year, with Matt Crane and Simon Uppill emerging with a clear break over the rest.

Crane’s eight-second Sunday win gave him a 29-second

JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 27

AUS 3-DAYS 2016

day and ended up a bit under five minutes back overall. For three days it looked like Aston Key was going to make it a clear sweep for Victoria, as he went into the last day less than two minutes behind Jaffe, but injury ended his campaign and instead it was Jarrah Day, with four solid runs, who completed the minor placings.

There was no such predictability for the Junior women with four different day winners. Not for the first time this year, Lanita Steer and Tara Melhuish dominated the Sprint (Steer’s time would have placed her third in the Seniors), with Melhuish edging to the lead overall after a second day won by Jo Anna Maynard. At that stage, only about two minutes covered Melhuish, Steer, Maynard and Anna Dowling, but a small lead on the shorter days can quickly vanish on the Long Distance day; both Melhuish and Maynard lost their chances there, and Dowling Jo Allison – Women’s elite winner

Simon Uppill topped M21 over the 3 days

victory in W14 too, but Joanna George edged away from Ella Cuthbert through the last day’s course, to turn a 23-second deficit to Ella Cuthbert into a 54-second win in one of the weekend’s closest results.

The closest results of all came in the youngest classes, where Jamie Marsh led four within 49 seconds in M10 and the Melbourne Forest Racers duo of Sophie Arthur and Milla Key were separated by 33 seconds in W10, whilst also worthy of mention was Oskar Mella coming through from fifth to first on the last day in M12.

Many of the masters classes featured dominant performances by competitors with significant past history; especially noteworthy was Allison Jones’ 17-minute

break over the South Australian going into the final day, but it was not to be enough, as Uppill had cleared that deficit by the end of the (long) second leg and held a narrow but consistent lead through the rest of the course to score by just over a minute. Leon Keely’s second place on the last day was enough for him to get clear of Henry McNulty – an impressive performance from a junior – and Granqvist, and add a third place to the same result from last year’s Australian Long Distance Championships.

Four wins from four days may make it look like Matt Doyle did it easily in the Junior men’s. In fact, he was pushed all the way by Patrick Jaffe, who was never more than two minutes behind on any

Emil Granqvist

Eino Meuronen.

28 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

emerged in front after a close win over Steer. A 32-second lead didn’t look a lot in such a fluctuating race, but a major error by the Victorian at the first control on the last day left Dowling in a commanding position which she carried through to the Finish. Steer eventually dropped to fourth, just behind her sister Asha, with Winnie Oakhill, who impressed at JWOC last year, climbing to second with a last-day win.

Many of the M/W16s found the step up to hard courses at national level challenging, but two who did not were Tristan and Patrick Miller, with Tristan edging out his older brother by just over a minute in a class where the Bushflyers club swept the placings; no-one else was within 26 minutes. For two days it looked like it might have been a Bushflyers

Jenny Bourne – a clean sweep in W60.

M20E podium.

sweep of a strong W40 field, in which the top five had all represented Australia at WOC or JWOC level (although she might have had to have worked harder for the win had her fellow member of the class of

W20E podium.

1976 run her own age group). Others to do a clean sweep included Bruce Arthur in M40, Warren Key in M55, Steve Craig making a strong return to Australian orienteering in M45, Anthea Feaver in W55 and Jenny Bourne in W60.

The classes from M60 to M70 are no stranger to some quality competition and this year was no exception. Ted van Geldermalsen and Chris Norwood fought a high-standard duel in M60, which was not settled until they traded small errors on the final controls on Day 3; van Geldermalsen ended up with a margin of 30 seconds or so over his fellow Victorian on each of the three days. Tim Dent, who had lost time on the second day, came from third place to pull in a four-minute deficit against Terry Bluett in M70, whilst Tony Radfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sunday win set up an overall triumph in a somewhat up-anddown M65 class. Toy Martin ran away from the field on the last day in W65 to turn a small margin into a substantial one, Jenny Hawkins did similarly in W70 to turn a moderate margin into a more substantial one, while Jennifer Enderby

Lily McFarlane.

(W45) and Nicola Dalheim (W50) could not quite manage to win all three days but still had overall margins well into double digits.

Conrad Elson making a big sprint finish in M21 Sledge.

JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 29

The Australian WOC JWOC and MTBO teams outямБtted by Trimtex

30 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA

Blair Trewin Photos by Ilze Yeates

T

he Victorian Nuggets have made a good start in the National Orienteering League, leading three of the four divisions outright and being level in the fourth. Their cause has been helped by the first five rounds of the season being Sprints (four of them on home ground), with the Juniors adding useful depth to their Senior teams – especially the women – but they are still in a good position to take the honours with more than half the season’s scoring races run.

The Nuggets’ senior women have dominated the season. Both the leading teams from last season, the Nuggets and Queensland Cyclones, have lost a Neumann overseas this year, but the Victorians have been able to cover that gap better than the Queenslanders and have established a strong 18-point lead. The Canberra Cockatoos, led by Jo Allison, were very strong at Easter but not fielding a full team at the other weekends left them with a huge gap to plug.

International runners have had a strong influence on the Senior Men’s competition. First, Ralph Street and Peter Bray made major contributions to the Nuggets taking maximum points from the first four rounds, then at Easter it was the turn of Emil Granqvist and Theo Fleurent to boost the Canberra Cockatoos (we count Matt Crane as being one of ours these days).

The Cockatoos led after Easter, but did not send a full team to South Australia, allowing the Nuggets to regain an

Mass start - W21E.

11-point lead. The Western Nomads, led by the McNulty brothers, are having arguably their best-ever senior season and are in third place.

The Nuggets also lead the Junior Men’s division overwhelmingly, where Matt Doyle, Patrick Jaffe and Aston Key have achieved clean sweeps three times. In the Junior Women’s, the Nuggets are level with the Tassie Foresters. The Foresters will be looking to get some good points out of their forthcoming home fixtures, but there is every chance that that contest will go down to the final race of the season.

The dominance of Sprints early on reshuffled the normal individual order of things a bit. Simon Uppill only had one top-four place from the first five rounds, but three good races over the Easter weekend took him to a useful lead, which Leon Keely then closed to five points with two wins in South Australia. Ralph Street won all four races of the Melbourne Sprint Weekend but is now back in the UK and (presumably) will not add to his score, while Matt Crane could be one to watch later in the season if he runs enough races after a good Easter. Natasha Key

overhauled Rachel Effeney’s early lead with solid results in South Australia, and Jo Allison is also likely to be a strong contender once she has a full set of scores, while Belinda Lawford’s two wins in the Flinders have lifted her to third.

The Victorian pair of Matt Doyle and Patrick Jaffe have completely dominated the Junior Men’s season so far. They were first and second in seven of the first eight rounds, with Doyle having five wins to Jaffe’s two.

Doyle then added two more wins in South Australia to move into the lead. It has been a much more even season for the junior women, with five different race winners and the top six separated by only 37 points; the first race, where the top three were three seconds apart, was symbolic. Lanita Steer’s four wins have given her a twopoint lead over Tara Melhuish, who has had a string of good Sprints and only one bad day, with Anna Dowling a further nine points back.

2016 JWOC Team

T

he Junior World Orienteering Championships will take place in the Lower Engadin region of Switzerland on 9th-15th July, with the Event Centre located in the resort town of Scuol.

The team to compete at JWOC is:

Women: Anna Dowling (Tas) Zoe Dowling (Tas) Tara Melhuish (ACT) Winnie Oakhill (Qld) Asha Steer (Vic) Lanita Steer (Vic)

Men: Simeon Burrill (Qld) Matt Doyle (Vic) Aston Key (Vic)

Mass start - M20E.

Jarrah Day (Tas) Patrick Jaffe (Vic) Henry McNulty (WA)

Manager: Karen Blatchford.

Coaches: Julian Dent and Nick Dent JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 31

PARTICIPATION

A leads to B leads to C leads to D

camp at Sydney Lakeside Holiday Park at Narrabeen (on Sydney’s northern beaches) in March 2016. They had done the usual high-ropes, bushwalking, etc, activities in previous years and were looking for something more engaging. I mentioned that the Garingal club had a map of the area and it should be fairly easy to construct a longer course based at the park. The park manager was okay with having a few controls inside the park and so I planned the activity.

Ian Jessup, Orienteering NSW

Remote Start 2

This article is about how one small event led to another and another, and how such random connections can help grow our sport.

Remote Start 1

I

n November 2015 we were contacted by a father seeking an Orienteering birthday party for about 20 boys aged 10.

As they lived at Mosman, we hosted it at Georges Heights on a Bennelong Northside map we use often for school groups.

The format for our parties is: map orientation and introduction; short map walk to two controls; brief planning time; pairs then do a 45-minute Score course. Parents are stationed on the perimeter of the course – or at important junctions or points - and bring in controls when time runs out.

All up it takes 90 minutes. As the boys set off on their Score course, the father (a merchant banker) mentioned to me in a somewhat astonished and rhetorical tone, “This is actually quite educational, isn’t it?”

I replied, “The best thing is the kids don’t realise it because they’re running around, having fun exploring.”

Afterwards the mum approached us and said such an activity would be ideal for the school’s Year 5 father-son

32 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

A

bout the same time we were asked to put on the party, Jules Bellamy from the Coastal Environment Centre (a Pittwater Council organisation based inside Sydney Lakeside Holiday Park) emailed to ask if we could put together an activity that primary school groups could use.

The CEC hosts thousands of students each year, schooling them in all aspects of water ecology. Now they wanted to broaden their reach and tap into other sections of the social science curriculum.

After some discussions and site visits, we agreed to make a photo-O course of Bilarong Reserve, a narrow strip of parkland between Wakehurst Parkway and Narrabeen Lagoon. Right in the middle was the 1st Elanora Heights Scout hall – allowing us to spread the word even further.

The Scouts and CEC decided to co-fund the project. Jim Merchant mapped it, we finalised a course of 20 controls that could be used in Line or Score format, and tested it on the cubs and scouts with great success.

Feedback was positive and so the project was completed with a few minor revisions. With regular reporting back to ONSW by the CEC, we have the potential to add hundreds if not thousands of participations per year to our tally.

The benefit of a photo / Q&A course is we avoid the expense, familiarity of and possible damage to fixed controls, while saving time on having to set out flags each time. The Scouts and CEC also have a blank copy of the map to design their own courses if they wish.

BILARONG RESERVE ORIENTEERING ACTIVITY Point Description

Question

1

Sandy area

Name 3 animal sculptures in here

2

Boulder

How high is this boulder? (The map is 30cm wide)

Teacher Answer Sheet A

B

C

30cm

60cm

1m

17

3

Man-made feature

How many slats are in the table top?

4

5

6

4

E man-made feature

How many horizontal beams on the eastern gym?

7

8

9

5

Man-made feature

The horizontal beam on the sign is…

Blue

White

Yellow

6

Track/watercourse junction The branches on the palm tree are…

Spiky

Smooth

Holey

7

Man-made feature

How many bicycles are on this signpost?

1

2

3

8

Man-made feature

The last 3 digits on this water meter are…

9

Man-made feature

What is wrong with this bench?

Nothing

Graf¿ti

Broken

13

6

10

Man-made feature

This bench is dedicated to the...

Dodgers

Wonders

Donders

11

S man-made feature

The last 3 digits of the emergency number are…

058

085

850

12

Forest

Name 3 animals that might use this as a habitat

Rat / Mouse

13

Man-made feature

The scouts use this area for a

Toilet

Campsite

Rubbish

14

Man-made feature

Dogs should be…

On A Leash

Banned

Free

Possum / Owl Birds / Lizards

15

Pipe

This is a ……………… pipe

Stormwater

Sewage

Bag

16

Garden bed, N end

The tree on the corner is a

Gum

Pine

Banksia

17

Pole

The initials painted on the pole are…

BJ

IB

JB

18

Building, SW corner

Name the three ¿gures on the scout club logo

19

Man-made feature

What should be put in this pipe?

20

Man-made feature

On the shower, Bathurst's area code is…

21. Stormwater pipes (like at #15) carry water to the lagoon to prevent Àooding in our streets. How can we stop rubbish getting into the lagoon?

1

Palm Tree

Tent

Person

Food

Rubbish

Fishing Line

063

036

083

22. Estimate the distance from #7 to #8 (in metres) 80 m

7

14

3

23. What direction is #12 from #15?

NW

INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDENTS 1.

2.

3.

4.

Using the map, ¿nd your way to a control point and read the question about it.

Circle an answer from the 3 options, or write your answers in the empty boxes.

For the photos, write the number of the matching control in the corner box.

Questions 1-20 and the photos are worth 1 point for each correct answer (33), questions 22-23 are worth 2 points each and question 21 is worth 3 points.

JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 33

PARTICIPATION

Connection 1

Connection 2

A

A

nd so to the father-son outing …… we had roughly one coach per 20 participants. Because each boy was with his dad, we didn’t need course marshals. Coaches could rove and assist anyone who needed a quick refresher. We set four controls inside the park (#1, #3, #13, #16 and the Finish) and another 16 outside it. We used the verandah of the CEC as the results hub. The format, as we often do with one-off requests and a short amount of time, was: map explanation, short map walk, planning time, Score course.

About 85 people participated, using SPORTident, and had a great time. Adding a little unexpected drama to the event, a music festival was on near the Start area and a wedding photo shoot was happening at #12! Several participants commented that they intended to come to a club event sometime soon, and that the school may wish to involve us more formally.

bout a fortnight later – and just a week before the April school holidays, the manager of the Sydney Lakeside Holiday Park rang to ask if, at very short notice, we might be able to put on something for the park guests on consecutive Mondays in the holidays. (The Park laid it on for the guests.)

The park is on the GO Turimetta map but marked as OOB. How can we do it? Thank goodness for Purple Pen. This free software is so easy to use that within two hours I had the project done without leaving home! A quick visit to check control locations, a touch-up of the course and we were ready. All you need for Purple Pen is a pdf as a base map. The rest is intuitive and simple to do.

Big Foot’s Rebecca George, one of the NSW Junior squad, conducted the two sessions. We had 50 people show up for the first one, and about 35 for the second. They were a mix of parents and kids. Everyone was very enthusiastic and had fun, even if they did seem to run around in circles a lot of the time!

For each of the activities we charge enough to pay the coaches and SI people (if used) for their time, the organiser for the hours spent in preparation, and a small margin for ONSW. The fee usually works out around $10 per participant. This is a bargain compared with comparable activities for kids (the movies, tenpin bowling, etc) and allows us to fulfil our objectives.

Participants are offered a summer or winter booklet, free entry vouchers as prizes, and perhaps bumper stickers as well. We very rarely have any disgruntled ‘customers’ from such activities. Many parents who say they ‘did Orienteering’ at a school camp or in Scouts years ago (ie take a bearing and walk x paces – aaaarggghh!!) comment on how much more practical and enjoyable this latest offering is.

While we may not see a lot of these people at subsequent club events, we are nevertheless (1) continuing to spread the word in fun, friendly formats; (2) growing our pool of Level 0 coaches; (3) adding to annual participations (which are tied to ASC funding); and (4) making more and more valuable contacts outside our sport.

Next time you get a request from left field, don’t think “This is too hard.” Sit back and say “Yes, we can.” You never know where it might lead.

34 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

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Disabled Bathroom Shower Laundry

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Laundry (Room Guest Only)

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Clothes Line

Palm Bungalow

Bathrooms

Landing Valve Sullage Dump Point (Black Water) Portaloo/Cassette Disposal Recycle Bins

Gas BBQ

Bus Stop

Camp Kitchen

Tourist Information

Wireless Internet

After Hours Check-in

Games/TV Room

Playground

Phonebooth

Waterpark

JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 35

COACHING

What Athletes See (adapted from an article in “The Atlantic”)

Researchers studying the “quiet eye” technique argue that the visual trick is a key part of coordination.

W

hy can some orienteers spot a control flag, or a feature, way off in the distance while others take longer to recognise them? It may be explained by better peripheral vision or by a better ability to visualise the terrain around them. But this difference between athletes of otherwise similar abilities may well come down to a concept known as ‘quiet eye’, a new way of understanding how people perform precise motor-skill tasks like shooting a basketball, flying a jet, or spotting a control flag.

Until recently most sports coaches viewed the skills in terms of coordination and reflex, believing that those who were consistently better at these skills had superior physical awareness and dexterity. But in the past few years, a small group of neuroscientists have identified a new way of understanding coordination, one that focuses on visual and cognitive skills over physical prowess.

The concept, known as the ‘quiet-eye’ theory, is deceptively simple - Before you perform an action, you focus your gaze on the salient aspects of your goal - the basketball ring, the cricket stumps, the terrain ahead, and so on. In recent years, using eyetracking technology, researchers have found that locking onto the relevant stimulus during the right time frame - typically the few hundred milliseconds before, during and after the movement greatly improves your chances of success.

“When your eyes provide the data, your motor system just knows what to do,” says Joan Vickers, a cognitive psychologist 36 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

at the University of Calgary and one of the originators of the ‘quiet-eye’ theory. “Your brain is like a GPS system. It detects target, speed, intensity, and distance.”

But ‘quiet eye’ encompasses more than vision; it’s about attention, too. The gaze is a key factor in the brain’s ability to concentrate on the essential details rather than ancillary noise. In a study published last year by researchers at the University of Exeter in the U.K., the scientists found a clear link between a person’s ability to store information in short-term memory - a good measure of the ability to focus - and their ability to use the ‘quiet eye’ approach.

Some evidence indicates that the ‘quiet-eye’ technique stimulates the dorsal area of the brain, which regulates focused, goal-directed attention.

It may also suppress activity in the ventral region, which oversees stimulus-driven attention - the kind that keeps track of a scattered, fluid set of variables. There’s probably more to it, though.

Mark Wilson, a psychology professor at Exeter who studies ‘quiet eye’, points out that training in the technique tends to change a range of physiological measures, including heart rate and patterns of muscle movement.

All of this might seem obvious - after all, “keep your eye on the ball” isn’t exactly a new idea. But it’s only recently that scientists have had the technology to fully grasp the value of intense visual focus. And it turns out that locking on to the right visual variables is not so simple.

“People often think they’re looking somewhere, and they’re wrong,” says the University of Exeter psychologist Sam Vine, who collaborates with Wilson. “Doing this right is not as easy as it may seem.” Often, he says, the difference in focus time between a beginner and an expert is as small as a fifth of a second.

While it may be difficult, ‘quiet eye’ is a teachable skill. Vine and Wilson say that so far, their research has shown that ‘quiet-eye’ exercises may improve performance in basketball shooting, golf, marksmanship, and surgery. Vine has trained professional golfers, Olympic athletes, and soldiers in the technique.

It may even help ease recess angst for uncoordinated kids.

In May 2015, Vine, Wilson and several colleagues published a paper showing that ‘quiet-eye’ training can improve throwing and catching in children with developmental coordination disorder, a condition characterized by poor overall motor skills. For the study, the researchers asked 30 kids with the disorder to catch a tennis ball after throwing it against a wall. The subjects all received instructions for improving their throwing technique, and half were also given ‘quiet-eye’ training to help them track the ball in flight.

After the training, the members of the ‘quiet-eye’ group took more catches. The technique-only kids, by contrast, caught fewer balls than before, possibly because they were paying more attention to their form and less to the ball itself.

‘Quiet eye’ could also help with another common motor-skill issue - the decline in performance as the tension and urgency increases. ‘Quiet-eye’ scientists say choking occurs because pressure triggers anxiety, which degrades attention. The result you don’t look in the right place at the right time.

‘Quiet eye’ can help counter this tendency, Vine says. “We can definitely train people to get better at this. It makes a real difference in how they perform.”

Or, as Obiwan Kenobi once said – “Use the Force, Luke.”

MOUNTAIN BIKE ORIENTEERING

West Australia to host 2016 AUS MTBO Championships Ricky Thackray – Carnival Organiser

O

rienteering WA is proud to be hosting the 2016 Australian Mountain Bike Orienteering Carnival on the weekend of 14-16 October. All events are within easy driving distance of the town of Dwellingup, which is approximately 90 minutes from Perth airport. The carnival incorporates a ‘warm up’ on Friday 14 at a popular trail loop at Turner Hill. This event is intended as a Score event to allow interstate riders a chance to get used to WA terrain and the mapping style to be used in the championship events, all of which will be on new maps.

Saturday morning will host the Sprint Championships in and around the town of Dwellingup, incorporating trail bike tracks, the railway, urban areas and parkland. The Middle Distance Championships on Saturday afternoon will have riders exploring the old POW camp at Marrinup where you’ll get to see native WA bush at its finest in spring flowering season. This event also

incorporates the popular Marrinup single track loop and the old Dwellingup golf course.

Sunday morning will move to Murray Valley, east of Dwellingup, where the terrain is hillier and includes pine plantation - both old and clear felled forest - and native bush. There will be courses suitable for all ages.

For riders wanting more action, the iconic Cape to Cape MTB event is held the following week so why not make a holiday of it. More information can be found on Eventor in Bulletin 1. Bulletin 2 and entries will be available by early July.

Long map sample

Middle map sample

Sprint map sample JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 37

MOUNTAIN BIKE ORIENTEERING

BIKE SHORTS 2016 Australian MTBO Series #1

T

he first round of the series, the Victorian MTBO Championships, was held over the weekend of 16-17 April around Beechworth. Local riders were joined by many from interstate and New Zealand to make around 90 entries.

The Middle Distance event took place at the Indigo Winery south from Beechworth. Course setter Rick Armstrong had got quite creative with competitors receiving a double-sided map at the start showing two distinct maps areas.

First up was the Flametrees map that comprised MTB single tracks, rail trail and dirt roads. Some of the single track was marked as directional, so competitors had to carefully plan their routes.

Competitors then made their way back into the winery property and the map turnover. Much of the Indigo map had been used before, but had been extended to include all of the grassland and pastures surrounding the vineyard, and this time, competitors were permitted to ride anywhere! However, they were not permitted to cross over vine rows or climb over fences. This added a new dimension as competitors were able to use some skills more common with foot orienteering.

Marina Iskhakova (NSW) had a mere 10 sec victory over Carolyn Jackson (Vic) in W21, and Ricky Thackray orienteered well to take out M21.

The Sprint event was held in Beechworth on a new map on the old Mayday Hills estate. Course setter Thor Egerton had competitors heading at a fast and furious rate through a variety of terrain including tracks, roads, around buildings and across open land. World Junior Sprint champ Angus Robinson was back in his forté taking out the M21 title by over 2 minutes from Ricky Thackray. Carolyn Jackson had a steadier ride to finish in front of Marina Iskhakova this time.

On Sunday it was back to Stanley for the Long Distance event. Organiser/setter Leigh Privett had extended this map into new previously unused areas and included many single track sections that tested riders’ technical skills as well as their navigation. Carolyn Jackson had a clear 10 minute victory over Thor Egerton in second place.

Ricky Thackray won M21 from junior Fergus Mackie with Angus Robinson third.

Many thanks to the Albury Wodonga and Bayside Kangaroos clubs for running the events.

Duncan Sullivan (WA) finishing the Long Distance event at Stanley.

2016 WMTBOC Team

T

he World MTBO Championships will take place in Águeda, Portugal on 24-30 July. Both Senior and Junior Championships will be contested.

The Australian Team will be: M21 Angus Robinson, Victoria Ricky Thackray, West Australia M20 Fergus Mackie, NSW W20 Lucy Mackie, NSW For the first time Australia will have a competitor in the Junior Women’s class, with Lucy Mackie selected. And her younger brother Fergus Mackie was selected for the M20 class.

Reigning Junior Sprint Champ, Angus Robinson will be competing for the first time in the Elite Senior class with WA’s experienced Ricky Thackray making a return to the Aussie team. Fergus will join Angus and Ricky to make a Men’s Relay team.

Team Coach is Carolyn Jackson (VIC).

John Gavens (Vic) powering to the finish at Indigo Winery.

38 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

Fergus and Lucy Mackie selected for their first Junior World Champs. They both competed well in the Elite classes at the Victorian Champs in April.

Win a tRicky Experience!

World Masters MTBO Series

C

S

ongratulations to Ricky Thackray (aka: tRicky) who has been selected to represent Australia in the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships in AveiroCoimbra, Portugal in July this year. There is not much time until Ricky is flying over in his new Green and Gold MTBO uniform and I am sure we all wish him the best in his endeavors on the world stage.

To help support Ricky with the costs of his travel and accommodation for this race Orienteering WA are holding a raffle to Win a tRicky experience! It is $10 per raffle ticket and you may buy as many raffle tickets as you would like. All proceeds will go to Ricky’s travel costs and any funds raised that exceed his costs will be passed on to the remaining Australian MTBO team for the Worlds.

What is in it for me - You ask? Well you choose the prize you want (within reason); a few training sessions with him, his help with your school homework or maybe you would like him to come to your house and do a list of your household chores, or some landscaping? Possibly he could come to your workplace for the day as your personal assistant? Interested?

Buy a ticket here: orienteeringwa.bigcartel.com

eems there will be more Aussies heading to Europe for this year’s World Masters Championships in Lithuania.

The World Masters Series is developing well each year with the Series Working Group taking into account the needs of riders from downunder so we can have a realistic chance of taking part. It was great that the 2016 Masters series included the Australian MTBO Championships at Anglesea and now the 2017 series will include the New Zealand MTBO Championships next November.

Whilst the 2017 program is yet to be confirmed, the working group is looking at a cluster of events that would enable any Aussies or Kiwis heading to the 2017 World Masters Championships in France in late July to also take in the Czech 5 Days in early July and a weekend of events in Austria in the middle of July.

Riders competing in those four rounds would have 9 races in the 2017 series with your best 7 scores to count. A veritable MTBO feast in Europe in July 2017 awaits us.

Check out the MTBO Commission’s website which has a list of the events in the 2016 Masters Series and will also list those for the 2017 when they are confirmed. www.mtbo-commission.com/world-masters-series.html

Ricky Thackray

Current Masters Series Standings Here is a link to the current standings in the series after three rounds and 6 races with many Aussies featuring strongly after the two Australian Championships events at Anglesea. www.astrois.hu/mtbo/2016/WorldMaster2016Scores.htm

E

xciting news from across the ditch with the New Zealand MTBO Championships to be held over the weekend of 18-20 November around Rotorua in the North Island. Events will kick off with some Warm up Mini Sprints on the Friday, followed on Saturday with the Sprint and Middle Distance Championships and concluding on Sunday with the Long Distance event.

The Middle and Long Distance races are part of the 2017 World Masters MTBO series.

On the previous weekend the Auckland region MTBO Championships (12-13 November) will be held, which will enable riders travelling from Australia to get a full week’s racing in.

A L IA

NZ MTBO Championships, Rotorua, 18-20 November 2016

AU S T R

Custom design O Tops, Bike Jerseys & nicks now also O pants For clubs, teams, special al events or individuals, feel a part of it in yourr custom made gear.

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There will also be a group MTB ride on Wed 16th November to the Moerangi MTB track at Whirinaki, which will help fill in between the weekends of MTBO. More details here: www.vicorienteering.asn.au/mtbo/ events/?EventID=3753

Contact: Peter Cusworth peter@worthcycling.com Ph 0409 797 023 JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 39

MOUNTAIN BIKE ORIENTEERING

Setting the Course Anthony Jones (BKV)

Heading south towards the start triangle

I

’d been collecting controls after races for a while and felt I wanted to do more to help out. You generally see the same people doing the bulk of the work and with a small sport such as MTBO it can eventually lead to the sport’s demise if more people don’t pitch in. I’d spoken to a bloke, whose name eludes me, from Tasmania at the AUS MTBO Championships and he told me that there is no MTBO in Tasmania as it was the same people doing the organising all of the time and with very small numbers it just became unsustainable. So, when the event organiser, Peter Cusworth, e-mailed me wondering if I was interested in helping organise the Gembrook event, I jumped at the chance.

I was sent a map of the area and spent a couple of hours drawing up the four courses required, using a piece of string to get the approximate distances. I had to do a big change to courses 1, 3 & 4 after I found I’d routed them through the Scout camp which we weren’t using due to them wanting to charge an exorbitant fee. What was left was to actually go to Gembrook and ride the tracks; we also expected to find new single track in the NW corner (see map).

There were difficulties organising a recon for January so when I had a free Sunday I headed out by myself on a day that was hitting the mid to high 30’s, cool at first it eventually warmed up. I soon found that a few tracks that I wished to use had been removed by Parks Victoria, in what was a very destructive way. I also had a track that was so overgrown I needed a machete to get through; it took me a long time to navigate this track dragging the bike through vines that seemed to catch and tangle up in every part of my bike. Needless to say that track is marked as difficult.

The situation was looking dire and I even managed to ride off the map and get lost for a little while when I rode clean past a very obvious turn.

I then headed off to the NW corner and despite more removed tracks I also found plenty of new single track that I could thankfully use for courses 1 & 2. The terrain would be too difficult and far from the Start for the other courses. For the day I was out there nearly six hours, with quite a bit of stationary time, covering a slow 52km but with a significant amount of climbing at nearly 1500m. When I got home I wrote up a full report on every control while it was still fresh in my mind.

Next step was for Peter to update the map using my GPS trace and then there was a reconfiguring of the courses. I said to him that I felt like courses 3 & 4 needed jazzing up but maybe they don’t want to be jazzed up. Speaking to people after the race it seems I had it right and we shouldn’t get too fancy with trying to make courses 3 & 4 difficult.

40 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

Peter and I had another ride to test out the reconfigured courses. We tested alternate routes between checkpoints, each of us going a different LEGEND way so we could fine tune checkpoint fast medium slow difficult placement by offering permitted genuine to difficult-to-decide-on route ride choices. Some routes turned track: out 1.5 to m be much faster than others and if you didn’t look path: very closely 1.5 mat your map then you could easily take the slowest sealed route.road We/ tried to tempt people to take open land slower routes by having a shorter more route that crossable obstacle or difficult gate definitely took more time; it seemed Peter got the short end of the not permitted to ride straw more often than not. We also found some more single track forbidden route / out of bounds towards the NW but it was difficult to ride, only really suitable forest / rough open / settlement on a motor bike. I did manage to ride off an unexpected drop at other symbols one stage, thankfully not coming off. We left a track along this / boulderthe / gate section as unexplored fence and marked track as a <1.5m difficult, manfound made object no one would want tobuilding ride it./ I’d another track last time / mound that I didn’t have timecontours to explore, so despite Peter flagging (he’d damevening / creek before), / watercourse done the MTBO race the we rode up this tough single track; it was thankfully rideable so we promptly sent course 1 along it. After about five hours we figured we had done enough and there was a little reconfiguring and map updating to do.

Peter did one more ride out there to clear some small logs, track gardening between checkpoint #40 & #41 as well as riding up a track from checkpoint #42 that had been significantly improved since the last map update. We also changed the Start as a lack of helpers meant it was easier to have the Start closer. I

found this confused some people who didn’t orientate themselves properly from the Start. A few people took off from the physical start heading south to the Start triangle 200m away and instead of heading west from there they kept going south. It’s always good to take a moment at the Start to ensure you know what point of the compass you are heading for.

The day went well, good weather and a number of on-the-day entries boosted numbers to 55. A friend of mine along for his first MTBO event placed 4th in course 3 and really enjoyed it. I did my first stint as a starter and must say it gets quite hectic at times with greater numbers it must be a nightmare.

Hopefully everybody enjoyed riding the courses as much as I enjoyed setting them and I would like to do it again in the future, wife and kids permitting. I also couldn’t have done it without Peter’s mentoring; he provided invaluable tips and suggestions as well doing all of the map updating.

Anthony Jones at the Aus MTBO Champs at Anglesea

Kurth Kiln Park Cartography: Rob Plowright, Peter Cusworth. Updated April 2016

© Bayside Kangaroos Orienteers

2016 Vic MTBO Series #1 Course 1

scale 1:20 000 contour interval 5m

SHEPH E R D S C R E E K R OA D OAD

HIN

BEENAK ROA D

G P LA C

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JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 41

SPOT the DIFFERENCE

With the BushO championships season not far away itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good time to test your skills at reading a complex bush map. This is a map of typical spur/gully terrain with intricate gold-mining features. The scale is 1:10,000 and there are 25 differences in the two otherwise identical map sections CAN YOU FIND ALL 25 ???

4422 THE T E AUSTRALIAN TH AUSTR AUST AU US STR STR TRA RA ALIA LIAN N ORIENTEER OR O RIEN RIENTEER IENTE IENTEER TEE EER ER R JJU JUNE UNE UN U NE N E 2016 2 6 20

MAPPING

Caught in a pit Eric Andrews – Chair, OA Technical Committee

U

nderstanding the difference between pits and depressions has caused orienteers problems ever since Orienteering became a sport. Of course, everything depends on the way in which the fieldworker preparing the map approaches the task and how they interpret the advice provided in the notes of the International Specification for Orienteering Maps ie: “Large depressions are shown with contours or form lines.”

“Small depressions are shallow natural depressions and hollows which cannot be shown to scale by contours and are represented by a semi-circle.” Minimum diameter 2m and minimum depth 1m.

“Pits are holes with distinct steep sides which cannot be shown to scale by the earth bank symbol.” Minimum diameter 2m and minimum depth 1m.

So the major difference between the two features is the difficulty for orienteers in getting into and out of a pit. If you need to use your arms, then it is probably a pit.

What makes a depression a depression?

When I make a map, I ask myself, can you run into and out of the hole in the ground. If the answer is yes, then the hole can be mapped as a depression. On the other hand, if the answer is no, that it is necessary to climb into and out of the hole, then it is a pit.

The other aspect of Orienteering controls using pits (brown or black) is that control stands have to be placed on the edge of the feature so that it not hidden below ground. I still remember the wild old days when the (Mexicans) south of the New South Wales border used to place the flag in the bottom of a pit and the less agile would wait patiently by the hole until a younger orienteer came along to whom they could hand over their punch card to have it clipped.

JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 43

O-SPY

running speeds have an anaerobic component, although at speeds slower than the LT, that contribution is negligible.)

Since the LT represents your fastest sustainable pace, the longer the race, the more important your LT.”

O-SPY New Olympic Sport ??

I

n July at least 25 national teams will descend on Frankfurt, Germany, for the Quidditch World Cup. Australia will be represented by the “Drop Bears”, a formidable combination that will give other national teams some fierce competition.

Registered Teams will represent: Australia, Ireland, Pakistan, Spain, Austria, Italy, Peru, Sweden, Belgium, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, Canada, Netherlands, Slovakia, Uganda, Catalonia, New Zealand, Slovenia, United Kingdom, France, Norway, South Korea, USA, Germany Team members ride broomsticks but flying is forbidden and the Golden Snitch is a team member wearing a bright yellow jersey. There doesn’t appear to be a round-robin stage, so every match is a knock-out one. The Quidditch World Cup is held every two years and suggestions are that Quidditch could become an Olympic sport within 10 to 15 years.

Orienteering Ear Rings

F

or the woman orienteer who has everything else - cute control flag earrings for fans of Orienteering.

Available at http://etsy.me/1WH8Ezi or contact Kirsten Baade at Orienteering Queensland.

Lactate Threshold – the best measure of efficient training?

T

raining with Lactate Threshold as a measure is becoming much more widely discussed in the running community and advances in technology are enabling more runners to measure and benefit from its testing.

Commonly described as “the intensity of exercise at which lactate begins to accumulate in the blood at a faster rate than it can be removed” Lactate Threshold (or LT) is a tipping point or metaphorical line in the sand and the problem of crossing that line is that the build-up makes you want to slow down or stop (your body’s defence mechanism to normalise lactate levels), this is not beneficial to your fitness goals!

The importance of LT is highlighted by Runners World – “From the time of the classic study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise in 1979 by some of the most prominent names in exercise physiology (Farrell, Wilmore, Coyle, Billing, and Costill), research has shown that the LT is the best physiological predictor of distance running performance. This threshold demarcates the transition between running that is almost purely aerobic and running that includes significant oxygen-independent (anaerobic) metabolism. It represents the fastest speed you can sustain aerobically. (All 44 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

Garmin have opened this “golden metric” up to the masses by developing a watch that can calculate it while you train, and update you almost every time you go for a run. The Forerunner 630 now has the ability to, either guide you through a short (but difficult) workout or auto-calculate after you’ve been for a few runs of varied intensity. The watch simply calculates and displays your Lactate Threshold Pace (T-Pace displayed in min/ km) and Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR displayed in beats per minute). These data can then be used to influence your training to ensure you are getting the most performance gains from the time you put in.

For a demonstration watch: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=s5rfUINphFQ

Garmin 630

SilverSport scheme offers WA seniors financial help to get moving

A

pilot project to provide financial support to eligible seniors who join sporting clubs or attend physical activity classes has been announced by the West Australian Government. The seniors program will target adults aged 60 and over who hold a Health Care or Pension Card.

Sport and Recreation Minister Mia Davies said the program would be trialled in Belmont, Kwinana, Northam, KalgoorlieBoulder and Coolgardie. She said those areas were chosen because they had a high percentage of seniors and significant recreation facilities. “There are wonderful opportunities for people to get active. They shouldn’t be prohibited from participating and enjoying the benefits of being part of a club or coming down to your local community centre simply because [they] can’t afford to.” Ms Davies said the program would provide up to $200 towards fees, uniforms and equipment for sport and recreation activities.

O Speak

W

e commenced this investigation of Orienteering jargon in the December 2015 edition of the magazine. The challenge was for readers to respond with more of their own idiosyncratic Orienteering terms and acronyms. Sadly, no-one has felt the urge to respond as yet, but the invitation still stands.

Meantime, here’s a few more: Boomerangs – the Team name for Australia’s senior elites competing at the World Orienteering Championships (WOC).

Bushrangers – the Team name for Australians competing in Australia vs New Zealand test matches.

WRE – a World Ranking Event sanctioned by the IOF. Elite competitors can obtain points for their placings which contribute to their IOF world rankings.

Drop Bears

R

ecent reports of Drop Bears being sighted moving into urban areas in search of food have been described by experts as exaggerated.

VALE

John Disley (1928 – 2016)

J

ohn Ivor DISLEY CBE (b. 20 Nov 1928 Corris, Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire) died on February 8 at the age of 87. He is probably best known in this part of the world for his book “Orienteering” written in 1967 when the sport was just being established in Britain, and just two years before Tom Andrews organised the first event in Victoria. A cartoon near the Contents page says it all “….. Orienteering is not a treasure hunt.”

John Disley had many notable achievements. Coached by Geoff Dyson, he became Britain’s first world-class steeplechaser for 15 years when he set four British records at 2 miles and five at 3000m, in the former taking the record from 10:12.6 in 1950 to 9:44.0 in 1952 and the latter from 9:18.4 in 1950 to 8:44.2 in 1955. He smashed through the 9-minute barrier at the 1952 Olympics, when he improved from 9:11.8 to 8:59.59 in the heats and to 8:51.94 for the bronze medal in the Final. Four years later in 1956 he entered the Melbourne Olympic Games as Britain’s No.1, and nearly matched his best with 8:44.6, but with that he was just sixth in the Final won by his teammate Chris Brasher. He competed for Wales in the 1954 and 1958 Empire and Commonwealth Games at the mile and 3 miles, there being no steeplechase in the programme at that time.

Educated at Oswestry High School in Shropshire, Disley said in an interview in Athletics Weekly in 1951 that he had

never seen an athletic track until he came to Loughborough College as a student in 1946; there he ran a mile in the Freshers Sports. Before that his running had been confined to annual cross-country runs and school sports. He was AAA champion in 1952, 1955 and 1957 and won Welsh titles at 1 mile in 1949, 1951, 1954 and 1958. He ran for London AC and was a schoolmaster in his running days before becoming the first chief instructor at the CCPR’s flagship mountaineering and outdoor pursuits centre, Plas y Brenin in Snowdonia.

He helped Brasher to promote Orienteering in Britain from the mid1960s and, with Brasher, formed the Southern Navigators club in 1965 becoming its first Chairman. He then succeeded Brasher as chairman of the British Orienteering Federation 1969-72 and was a member of the International Orienteering Federation 1972-78. He was awarded the CBE in 1979 for his work in outdoor education, and was vice-chairman of the Sports Council 1974-82. He was also chairman of British Olympians 19962002.

Again working with Brasher, he played a vital role in setting up the London Marathon, first run in 1981, from their visit to the New York Marathon in 1979.

He was a director of the organisation and

then chairman of the London Marathon Trust from 2006, remaining an active member of the London marathon family throughout its 35 years. As Nick Bitel, Chief Executive of London Marathon Events Ltd said: “John was the architect of the original London Marathon route.

Every runner of the race since 1981 owes him a great debt for the vision he realised alongside Chris Brasher. The fact that we are celebrating our millionth finisher this year is a testament to the conviction John had that this would be an event to span generations of runners. He will be greatly missed by all of us at the London Marathon.”

John Disley was a Ranelagh Harriers member for several years running mainly cross-country events. In 1979 he led the Ranelagh over-50s team of himself, Chris Brasher and Ray Dare to third place in the Over-50s race at the Southern Veterans Cross Country Championships at Milford, despite Disley and Brasher arriving late and missing the start. The same trio went on to win silvers at the National event a few weeks later at Parliament Hill, where Disley just missed an individual bronze.

Then in 1981 Disley, Ken Powley and Don Martin took the Southern Over-50s team title at Lloyd Park Croydon, with Disley 6th this time. (with thanks to Athletics International and Ranelagh Harriers)

‘…orienteering is not a treasure hunt.’

JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 45

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.

Map Scales

I

read with some bemusement the recent article on mapping standards and the rationale behind only allowing major bush events with a map of 1:10,000 or 1:15,000. Are the powers that be aware of how ridiculous this level of pedantry is?

Thinking back to the Creswick Forest events at the 2015 Australian Championships last year I was not the only one to think that the level of detail in the gold mining warranted a scale of 1:7,500 or less. Orienteering is not a sport where those with the best eyesight win.

Internationally it would appear that others share the same level of bemusement regarding the archaic stance of the IOF. None other than Thierry “King of the Forest” Gueorgiou had this to say in his Attackpoint blog on Monday 8th February after a Long Distance World Ranking event in Portugal (which he won): “Also for IOF … or better to say to the members of IOF mapping commission. Most of those guys are offered 1:7,500 scale at competition. According to the rules they set, we have to run in those terrains with 1:15,000, and today I spent 99% of the time reading my map with the magnifier glass stuck over the map. In some places, I didn´t even know what I was looking for (2nd, 23rd), or couldn’t even read the map (to the 15th). Well, for me, Orienteering is not a competition about who have the best visual acuity. I am not blaming the mapping style which was great today, and it was also a good Long Distance course with different route-choices. But I will always support the idea that the map scale should be adapted to the terrain. Not the opposite.”

Orienteering does not help itself at the best of times, and these sorts of archaic rules definitely do nothing to help bring the sport into the 21st century.

Toby Cooper (Eureka Orienteers, VIC)

Paradoxes and Conundrums We received a long letter from Gary Aitken, co-Founder of Orienteering WA. It’s far too long to reproduce here, so these are just a few of the points Gary makes: 1. Why is Orienteering Australia so keen on increasing participation numbers? (Perhaps OA can answer that in the next edition of the magazine.)

2. What is OA doing to encourage increased Membership, as distinct from participation? Members help grow the sport whereas Participants just come and go.

FOR STOCKISTS CALL 1800 808 971

www.victorinox.com

VICTORINOX AWARD This issue’s Victorinox Award goes to Anthony Jones for his excellent article on setting a MTBO course (pages 40 & 41) in this magazine. Anthony will receive a Victorinox Handyman which includes 24 tools and features – retail value $139.

Pretex is readily available!

The choice of Champs for maps & bibs

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0 4 11 1 2 5 17 8

3. Sprint O might seem to be the future for some but Bush O is the equivalent of the “SLOW FOOD” ethos – authenticity and the right ingredients.

4. In-house e-promotion of events and e-results only reach the committed. Why hide our sport? Publicity in the open media is far better promotion and marketing.

5. Orienteering cannot progress without a pipeline of new maps.

But the trend towards casual participation suggests there will be fewer and fewer Members contributing to that pipeline.

6. Finding ways to navigate through these conundrums and paradoxes is crucial.

MAPPIN G & COURSE SETTIN G SOFT WARE

OCAD 12 Orienteering is here!

Order from ocad.com.au/shop Australia & NZ OCAD reseller

PO Box 625 Daylesford VIC 3460 46 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2016

Ph. 03 5348 3792

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TOP EVENTS 2017

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June 11-13

QB111 Coffs Harbour NSW

June 18-19

Jukola Relay 2016 Lappeenranta, Finland www.jukola.com/2016/ JWOC 2016 Engadin, Switzerland www.jwoc2016.ch/ 5th Tour O Swiss Switzerland www.tour-o-swiss.ch Swiss O Week 2016 Engadin, Switzerland

April 14-17

2016 y

April 22-29

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Nov 18-20

Dec 27-31

May (dates tba) June 10-12 June 17-18

June 30July 7

Oceania Carnival near Auckland, New Zealand WMOC 2017 near Auckland, New Zealand worldmastersgames2017.co.nz 10Mila Göteborg, Sweden www.10mila.se AUS 3 Days & QBIII, NSW Jukola Relay 2017 Joensuu, Finland www.jukola.com/2017 WOC 2017 Tartu, Estonia www.woc2017.ee

O-Ringen 2016 Sälen, Dalarna, Sweden. www.oringen.se WMTBOC, JWMTBOC 2016 Aveiro-Coimbra, Portugal

July 5-9

Czech MTBO 5-Days Pilsen, Czech Republic www.mtbo5days.eu

July 9-16

CROESO 6 Days, South Wales, UK www.croesomultiday.org.uk Asian Orienteering Championships & Asian 4 Days Chia-Yi, Taiwan asoc2016.tw WMOC 2016 Tallinn, Estonia www.wmoc2016.ee WOC 2016 Strömstad â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Tanum, Sweden www.woc2016.se/en/ City of London Race www.cityrace.org 2016 AUS Championships Carnival Gold Coast to Granite Belt SE Qld www.auschamps2016.com WMMTBOC 2016, Kaunas, Lithuania www.mtbo.lt

July 9-16

JWOC 2017 Tampere, Finland www.jwoc2017.fi FIN5 2017 Tampere, Finland

XXVIII SUUNTO GAMES 2016 Haanja, Estonia www.woc2017.ee/suuntogames Alice Springs Masters Games Alice Springs, NT alicespringsmastersgames.com.au AUS MTBO Championships Dwellingup WA www.ausmtbochamps.com Venice City Race Weekend Venice, Italy www.orivenezia.it NZ MTBO Championships Rotorua, NZ www.obop.org.nz Xmas 5 Days, Newcastle area NSW www.onsw.asn.au/xmas-5-days-2016

July 22-28

O-Ringen 2017 Arvika, Värmland, Sweden. www.oringen.se July 25-27 The World Games Wroclaw, Poland July 29WMMTBOC 2017 Orleans, France Aug 4 www.mtbo17.fr July 30Scottish 6 Days Aug 5 Deeside, Scotland August 19-27 WMTBOC & JWMTBOC 2017 Vilnius, Lithuania. www.mtbo.lt Sept 232017 AUS Championships Carnival Oct 1 Hill End, Bathurst, NSW www.onsw.asn.au/auschamps2017 Dec 27 - 31 Xmas 5 Days, NSW www.onsw.asn.au/xmas-5-days-2017

2018 March 30April 2 July 6-13 July 8-15 July 21-27 Aug 4-11 Aug 4-12 Dates tba Dec 27 - 31

AUS Easter Carnival, Tasmania www.tasorienteering.asn.au WMOC Denmark JWOC Hungary O-Ringen 2018 Höga Kusten, Sweden. www.oringen.se WOC 2018 Riga, Latvia http://woc2018.lv WMTBOC, JWMTBOC, Austria AUS Championships, South Aus Xmas 5 Days NSW www.onsw.asn.au/xmas-5-days-2018

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JUNE 2016 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 47

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