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ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA
The President’s Page BLAIR TREWIN
his is not the year we expected to be having. It’s been a challenge for many of us to manage a stretch of several months with little or no orienteering (although many found creative ways to do something while there were no events on), and writing on the weekend that the Olympics were supposed to have started is a reminder that many athlete dreams are on hold for now. It certainly hasn’t been an easy few months, although we have fared better than many other sports have. Orienteering in most of the country is now back up and running again (with the bit of the country where I’m currently sitting a rather glaring exception). A lot of work has been done to find ways to make things work given the constraints that we find ourselves under, and for the most part it seems to be working pretty well. Certainly the numbers being seen across the States indicates that our participants haven’t lost their enthusiasm during the enforced break. There’s still a bit of uncertainty as to what might lie ahead. The reshuffling of the major events program has just about fallen into place (the major remaining piece in the puzzle is whether Oceania 2021 will go ahead in New Zealand), and I thank all of the States involved for their willingness to be flexible in the circumstances.
Recent events have given a boost to all sorts of virtual or online activities, and Orienteering is no exception. Virtual courses (through MapRun or other channels) have stepped into the mainstream over the last few months. As I’ve noted here previously, we see “virtual permanent courses” as being critical in getting people involved in Orienteering who might not necessarily want to travel long distances to an event but are looking for something more interesting to do with their exercise, and we will be using some of our Sport Australia participation funding this year to roll out more such programs across all States. One of the things we’ve been trying to do whilst there hasn’t been much orienteering happening has been to update our underlying ‘infrastructure’, with the support of Sport Australia funding (we’re fortunate that most of our funding is for projects we could still go
ahead with). One of the early stages of this will be to build a national product for Sporting Schools, drawing on experiences that all of the States have had to date, and with the help of a consultant who has done this type of work across a range of sports. Sporting Schools has been a bit of a mixed bag for us so far, and these types of programs are never going to result in more than a few percent making the step to mainstream Orienteering, but the easier we can make it for States to run programs or support other people to run programs, the better our chances of getting some results. Our next step is to work on updating the coaching curriculum, a step on the way to getting many more coaches trained and active in the Orienteering community.
The IOF General Assembly, its major meeting which takes place every two years, took place virtually in early July. Running the meeting as a virtual meeting was rather drawn out (mainly because every vote took a few minutes, and an IOF General Assembly has a lot of votes on essentially procedural issues), but it was good to have the involvement of a wider range of countries than is normally possible in person. One item of significance for Australia was the recognition of Mike Dowling’s long service to Orienteering through the award of an IOF Silver Pin, one of their significant individual honours. The nature of international work is that it often doesn’t have a lot of visibility in one’s home country but Mike has been a major contributor to the IOF’s work for many years. (The IOF may seem remote from everyday Orienteering, until you think about the fact that it’s thanks to them that we have a standard set of rules, and map symbols, and control descriptions – I’ve occasionally reflected that it’s a minor miracle that it’s possible to turn up to an event in Hungary or China, not speaking a word of the local language, and be able to understand what’s happening at the event perfectly well). I wish all of you well with whatever orienteering is possible in the remainder of this year. Hopefully things will be back to something close to normal not too many months ahead (and next year’s deferred major events all look worth waiting an extra 12 months for).
Photo: Tony Hill
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SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 3
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w w w. o r i e n t e e r i n g . a s n . a u Orienteering Australia PO Box 3379, North Strathfield, NSW 2137 eo@orienteering.asn.au President Blair Trewin president@orienteering.asn.au Director High Performance Stephen Craig stephen@orienteering.asn.au Director Finance Bruce Bowen finance@orienteering.asn.au Director Technical Jenny Casanova technical@orienteering.asn.au Director Media & Communications vacant Director International (IOF Council) Mike Dowling international@orienteering.asn.au Director Bill Jones directorbill@orienteering.asn.au Director Prue Dobbin secretary@orienteering.asn.au Executive Officer Paul Prudhoe eo@orienteering.asn.au National MTBO Coordinator Kay Haarsma mtbo@orienteering.asn.au OA Head Coach Jim Russell headcoach@orienteering.asn.au High Performance Administrator Ian Prosser hpadmin@orienteering.asn.au Manager Coach Development vacant National Sporting Schools Coordinator Jim Mackay sportingschools@orienteering.asn.au Coach & Controller Accreditation Jim Mackay accreditation@orienteering.asn.au Badge Applications John Oliver 68 Amaroo Street, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650
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STATE ASSOCIATIONS Orienteering Queensland: PO Box 114 Spring Hill QLD 4004. Secretary: David Firman secretary@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: Stephen Goggs, Ph. (02) 6162 3422 office@act.orienteering.asn.au Orienteering Victoria: PO Box 1010 Templestowe VIC 3106. Secretary: Aislinn Prendergast secretary@vicorienteering.asn.au Orienteering SA: 1 Windsor Rd, Glenside SA 5065. Sec: Erica Diment 0408 852 313 secretary@sa.orienteering.asn.au Orienteering Western Australia: PO Box 234 Subiaco WA 6904. Secretary: Eleanor Sansom, oawa.secretary@gmail.com Orienteering Tasmania: Secretary: Julian Roscoe secretary@tasorienteering.asn.au Top End Orienteers (Northern Territory): PO Box 39152 Winnellie NT 0821. Secretary: Susanne Casanova topendorienteersNT@gmail.com
NEXT ISSUE DEADLINE
October 9. Time-sensitive: Oct 16
ISSN 0818-6510 Issue 3/20 (no. 198) SEPTEMBER 2020
CONTENTS T H E P R E S I D E N T ’ S P A G E.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
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, (100023602 for NSW).
JUNIORS................................................ 7
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, 1154 Burwood Hwy Upper Ferntree Gully. Contribution deadline: October 9; Time-sensitive – October 16. 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; MTBO – Kay Haarsma; Official News – Paul Prudhoe. Contributions welcome, either directly or via State editorial contacts. Prior consultation is suggested before preparing major contributions. Guidelines 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 – ericadiment@adam.com.au – tel: 0408 852 313 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.
G R E AT L E G S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6
I M P R O V E Y O U R O R I E N T E E R I N G – PA R T 5 . . . . . . . 1 2 O A 5 0 Y E A R S .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 OV – OUR FIRST 50 YEARS........................ 19 IOF AND OA AWARDS .............................. 20 B B B S U F F E R S M A P L O S S E S .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 HANNY ALLSTON – FINDING MY FEET........... 23 “J E F F ” C A R T O O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 WAS BIKE- O FIRST?................................. 25 2 5 Y E A R S O F M T B O I N S O U T H A U S T R A L I A.. . . . 2 6 H I S T O R Y O F M T B O I N A U S T R A L I A.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 8 TA S S I E I S O - O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 S A L M I & K Ö N I G - S A L M I I N T E R V I E W. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4 N U T R I T I O N T I P S.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7 M A P R U N.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 8 JAMES SHELDON OBITUARY....................... 40 S P O T T H E D I F F E R E N C E .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 O - S P Y.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4 PEO BENGTSSON PROFILE.......................... 45 L E T T E R S .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6 TOP EVENTS........................................... 47 Cover photo: Samuel Garbellini (QLD) at 2020 MSW. Photo: Margi Freemantle. SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 5
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6 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
JUNIORS
W
ith the cancellation of the 2020 Australian Championships Carnival, including the Schools Championships, our Juniors from each State will miss the chance to enjoy the competition which the Carnival provides each year and to catch up with friends from other States. We looked for some way to give recognition and to celebrate our orienteering Juniors who are, after all, the future of our sport. One or two States will be naming Schools Honour Teams later in the year while other States are holding Junior training camps and providing photos and interviews with their high profile Juniors. So, in the September and December magazines we will be featuring some of our Juniors from around the country.
OWA Junior camp
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wenty-one OWA juniors spent a recent weekend enjoying the activities provided at their annual mid-year camp. This year accommodation was at the Swan Valley Adventure Centre which allowed for a much-enjoyed ‘escape activity’, carried out in a blackout zone, as well as customary orienteering activities such as a Sprint Orienteering event and Night Orienteering. On the Sunday the group travelled by bus to the Jorgensen Park event where they were all able to complete their courses before rain forced the event to be cancelled. Fortunately, rain only set in on Sunday night when indoor activities were planned. These included a games night organized by Sarah Richards who demonstrated her coaching skills with several activities that used orienteering skills and team-building activities. Craig and Rachel also led a valuable session on route simplification on the sort of maps school team members might encounter when travelling east in 2021 – (not 2020, unfortunately). Many thanks to Rob, Lois, Rachel and Craig, who were the main organisers and coaches as well as to Moreen, John, Carol, Jan and Ian who helped as coaches and support people. Photos: Rob West
OWA Junior Camp.
OWA Junior Camp - Map Profile - Nic. Jorgensen Park - Asha. SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 7
JUNIORS
OSA Juniors
A
s there is no Australian Schools Championships this year we have not named a team. We had our highest number of nominations yet with many 12-13 year old juniors nominating for the first time. Orienteering SA is still holding a number of events and it is great to see the juniors still coming out to these competitions. In July we had our annual Junior Camp where in total we had over 40 juniors attend. Our juniors are enthused, training hard and ready for the restarting of interstate competitions next year! We are looking forward to our state competitions in September and October. Bridget Uppill
8 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 9
JUNIORS
OTAS Juniors
Bayley Fisher: “My future plans are to keep up the orienteering and hone both my navigation and running skills to be able to improve my orienteering.”
Charlie Cooper:
Ben Poortenaar: “My goal is to get tank and win all the 2021 ASOC events.”
Eleanor McLean: “I’m looking forward to getting back to events after COVID and hopefully moving to university will take me somewhere close to orienteering events.”
Euan Best: “I want to improve my skills and one day represent Australia.”
Eddie Stoner: “My goal is to make it into the Tasmanian schools team next year.”
Will Whittington: “I want to see Tasmania not come second last again.” 10 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
Jack Wickham: “Looking forward to AUS champs and seeing old friends.”
Marcus Degenaar: “I thrive on the challenges of orienteering, and plan to develop my skills over a range of distances and terrains, so I can be better equipped in the next schools team. Ultimately I would love to represent my country in competition. I also enjoy encouraging newcomers to the sport.”
Sophie Best: “My aim is to podium in a national event for my age class.”
Owen Mulcahy: “I am really enjoying orienteering and I plan to continue doing it in the future. I am hoping to try out for the State team next year and would like to go to as many events as I can.”
Julia Powell-Davies: “My goal for orienteering in the next few years is to go to Europe and participate in events such as O-ringen, Swiss O Week or the Scottish 6 Days. As for now, my goal is to improve my navigation.”
Niko Stoner: “I want to make it to JWOC when I’m old enough.” Liana Stubbs: “My goal is to get more confidence in harder terrain, and next year to get into the schools team for Tasmania.” Riley Kerr: “I’d love to get faster with my runs and one day be a team member representing Australia in JWOC.”
Jett McComb: “I’m hoping we can fly to New Zealand for the Oceania Championships in January. I’m staying fit by playing soccer and orienteering around Hobart at the Corona Cup and Dark OFO events.”
Mikayla Cooper: “I aim to continue representing my country.” Left: Young Mikayla
Tara Powell: “My goals for orienteering are to continue to make the Tassie team all the way to grade 12 and to improve my running so I can maybe place higher in my age class.” SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 11
COACHING
How to improve your orienteering – PART 5
Focus and concentration STEPHEN BIRD
Introduction
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o orienteer well we need to focus and concentrate on the important tasks of route choice and navigation. By focus we mean thinking about the right things and by concentration we mean fully committing our minds to those thoughts.
We are all aware of the fact that we need to maintain a high level of these throughout the entire duration of an event, since even minor lapses make us vulnerable to those frustrating errors and losses of time, which can spoil what would otherwise have been a good event. This is because the required decision making and navigation, which are so fundamental to good orienteering, necessitate a lot of mental processing. This mental aspect is one of the reasons we enjoy the sport, but to do this successfully we can’t afford to have our mind wandering off on other thoughts, which at that particular moment are not absolutely vital to our objective of getting to the next control as best we can through the optimal combination of good route choice, effective navigation and physical effort. This means that at all times we need to be entirely focused and concentrating on the current task. This can be more difficult than would first seem, as there are a lot of things happening around us during an event, and these can draw our attention away from what we need to be focusing on. Such distractions include the environment (good views), other competitors, thoughts about how we’re doing today and completely unrelated non-orienteering thoughts. Mentally, we can’t have our attention (focus) on all of these things at once, which means that if our minds drift off on to these other things, 12 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
Stephen Bird (VIC).
we can’t be fully focused and concentrating on the orienteering challenges that are facing us at that moment.
Good orienteers know what to focus on and when; they are also capable of concentrating throughout an entire event, without costly lapses. Whereas orienteers who are prone to lapses of thinking about other things will not be focusing on what they need to, and as a consequence are liable to make errors. I’m sure we’ve all experienced that occasion in an event when we’ve been running (or cycling) along ‘brain in neutral’ or thinking about something else, when we suddenly wake up and realise that we don’t know how far we’ve come since our last collecting feature, and whether that boulder over there is the one we were intending to run (or cycle) past or maybe it was back there or maybe we haven’t got to it yet, …….. suddenly we’re in trouble and losing valuable time. So if you find that you don’t always identify the important things to focus on during a leg, are vulnerable to lapses in concentration, or to focusing on the wrong things at the wrong time, this article will provide some insight and suggestions on how to help you maintain your correct focus of attention, concentrate on what you are doing and restore your focus if you find your mind wandering.
What do we mean by focus and concentration. One distinguishing feature of top class sports people is their ability to focus all their attention on the task and not be distracted by things that are either unimportant or outside their control. Concentration in Orienteering may be defined as ‘the ability to focus on
important cues or signals and to maintain that focus throughout the competition’. These are critical attributes which all orienteers must develop if they are to achieve their full potential.
For some fortunate orienteers these may come naturally or occur automatically without any apparent effort, thanks a combination of their personal traits and years of experience. Conversely, others have to work on maintaining their focus and concentration, as they are prone to think about other things during an event – things that are not important in the event at that instant in time or even completely unrelated to orienteering. Obviously, this state of mind will not help their performance.
If this happens to you, you will need to develop ways of dealing with distractions, bringing your thoughts back to the important aspects of the event (refocusing) and enabling you to concentrate fully on these from start to finish. Such unwavering concentration for entire events is mentally demanding, and when achieved can sometimes mean that the orienteer is not only physically tired after a successful event, but can also feel mentally drained. Although following the event others can report feeling mentally refreshed, as for the entire duration of the event they were in a ‘zone’ fully focusing on their orienteering, free of thoughts about work, study or other commitments – something that we can all benefit from.
terrain (how dense is the vegetation, how rough is it underfoot, is it flat or hilly, would it be easy to navigate through) in order to determine the optimum route choice, you will need to include more factors in your thoughts. This would be a ‘broad’ focus of attention.
At other times your focus of attention may be internal. Before an event you may try to control your inner feelings and calm yourself down. This would be a ‘narrow’ internal focus. Conversely, prior to an event you could study maps of the area and by knowing the type of terrain, decide what would be the best navigational strategies. Since this draws upon your previous experience, knowledge of what you do best and your perception of the event terrain, it would be a ‘broad’ internal focus. These are illustrated in the following table: INTERNAL FOCUS
Broad Focus of Attention
Narrow Focus of Attention
Deciding strategies and tactics for a run, for example, use of longer path runs or direct routes over rough terrain.
Mentally rehearsing your run, such as your exit from the Start – or, for example, what you will do in a Relay mass start (i.e. read the map and navigate, rather than running off with everyone else whilst not navigating). Or calming yourself prior to a run.
Examples of focus and concentration in events Both before and during an event there are many things to notice and much happening which might capture your attention. These include the presence of other competitors on the way to the Start, as well as on the course. Obviously it is impossible to pay full attention to everything, so whilst you may notice many things, the skill is to attend selectively only to those aspects which are important. Focusing on what is important, disregarding what is not, and ignoring what could distract you from concentrating are important mental skills that will help you to make the right decisions, and navigate quickly and accurately. Immediately before and during a competition, the focus of your attention will shift many times. Sometimes your attention will be focused on external factors, such as the terrain. If you are navigating to a specific feature, such as a hilltop in the distance, this will be a ‘narrow’ focus of attention. If, however, you are assessing the general
EXTERNAL Rapidly assessing a complex FOCUS situation, for example, difficult terrain with complex features surrounding your control.
Concentrating on one or two external cues, for example, a significant feature in the terrain, this could be a major and obvious collecting feature or your attack point.
You will switch between internal and external, narrow and broad, foci of attention frequently as you orienteer. This is essential, and just as vital is that what you do focus on is relevant. The following exercise will help you to identify and practise focusing on the important things as you navigate. It will ask you to identify the most important aspects of a leg, and what you should be focusing on, such as important particular features, slopes and distances. In identifying and focusing on these you should be able to ignore other less important features that may distract you from the key one. Like most skills, developing your powers of focus will take some time. Be patient and slowly you will find that you will begin to become more accurate in your map exercises. With time, this ability to focus on the relevant aspects will start to become more apparent in competitions. To monitor this, give yourself a score between 1 (poor focus) and 10 (perfect focus) after every competition. When you score less than 10 ask yourself where you lost focus and learn from this experience. When you begin to attain consistently high scores you will know that your focusing skills are becoming an established part of your orienteering.
SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 13
COACHING
Identifying and practising what to focus on In the text box is the script for this exercise in focusing. Record the script onto an audio file and then use it as part of your regular mental skills training. Repeat the task for 4 – 6 controls each session. Note: Each asterisk (“*”) which appears in the text represents a 10 second pause.
Refocusing, regaining and maintaining concentration Despite knowing what they should be looking for and focusing on, many orienteers are unable to maintain their focus of attention for the whole of an event and are liable to let their thoughts wander away from the competition – a lapse in concentration. For example, you may think about a problem at work, a piece of music or a future social event. On other occasions, you may start to wonder how your rivals are getting on, or an unexpected situation may arise that will capture your attention. Other scenarios would be a fall or making an error, both of which are liable to disturb your focus and concentration, in which case you must deliberately and consciously regain your focus and concentration as soon as possible, otherwise you may make further errors or lose time in the intervening moments. So you need to develop a strategy to deal with these lapses and scenarios. Some suggestions are set out below.
Thought Stopping
Armchair exercise for focusing on the important things whilst orienteering (Can also be used to develop concentration) “For this exercise you will need a map of a course, a sheet of paper and a pencil. This exercise allows you a short period of time in which to study the route to a control. In the allocated time you should note the important features of the route you would take, such as collecting features, an attack point, the control area and exit route. These should include vegetation types, contours, ground features and the position of the control. You will then be asked to put the map down and retain this image of the leg to the control for 30 seconds, before sketching it as accurately as possible on a sheet of paper. First you should get into a relaxed state by using the centring technique described in a previous article. ****** Find the first control on the map in front of you. * You now have 20 seconds to identify and study the route you would choose for that leg. ** Your time is up, so put the map to one side and hold all the information you have collected in your mind for 30 seconds. *** Now draw the leg and control site in as much detail as possible on the sheet of paper. ****** If you have not finished drawing then stop the tape. * Compare the details of the area you have drawn with those of the map area. Did you forget or mis-draw any important features that you would have used in your navigation? ** Remember any points which you omitted and take care to remember the dominant characteristics of this leg. Now take 30 seconds to relax again. *** Find control #2 on the map in front of you …....”
14 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
One way to refocus and regain your concentration is called ‘Thought Stopping’. You should use this as soon as you realise that your thoughts have wandered away from what you should be focusing on, or that you are thinking negatively. The principle of this technique is to use a physical and mental reaction to stop these irrelevant thoughts and bring your focus back to the present. For example, you could slap your thigh and say “Stop it” out loud, or alternatively say out loud “Here and Now”, to bring your attention back to the here and now. Alternatives would be to visualise ‘The Red Card’ or ‘A Red Traffic Light’. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as it shuts down any thoughts about things that are not important in affecting how you are orienteering right at this moment and brings your concentration back to what you should be focusing on. So if your find yourself thinking, “I wonder if XXXXX has finished yet” or “I wonder what I did wrong at that previous control” or “I must remember to pick up some YYYYY at the supermarket on the way home”, say out loud “STOP IT” or “HERE AND NOW”, or use the ‘Red Card’ to break those thoughts and get your focus back onto what you need to be concentrating on to orienteer well.
Regaining and maintaining your focus by verbalising your navigation If you find your mind drifting too often and the aforementioned ‘Thought Stopping’ techniques don’t work for you, another way to ensure that you are focusing on the important things is to ‘verbalise’ what you are doing. That is, to say out loud what you are doing and what you are looking for as you navigate. So for example, whilst you are running, say out loud “….. 80 paces along the big gully, ………….. see the small gully coming in from the left, keep pushing on, ………… 35 more paces, see the rocky knoll on up the hillside, take bearing to hilltop, ………. drop down to cliff to left of hilltop” (or the equivalent when cycling). This works on the principle that if you are verbalising, you have to be thinking about what you are doing and since your mind is focusing on these things you are less likely to have your thoughts drifting off on to other things that are unimportant to your orienteering at that moment in time. If you are verbalising, you probably won’t have the mental capacity to think about anything else and you’ll be concentrating fully on the one thing you are telling yourself. Essentially, you can’t be verbalising one thing whilst thinking about another. Talking to yourself whilst you’re navigating may feel a little strange, but it works, and don’t worry about what the other orienteers around you are thinking – if they’re concentrating on what they are doing, they shouldn’t even notice you talking to yourself.
Ways to train your concentration
Conclusion
The previous sections provide suggestions for identifying what to focus on whlst navigating and maintaining or regaining that focus during an event. In addition to this there are numerous other exercises for training your concentration and preventing your thoughts from drifting. These tasks require you to keep your concentration and focus on what is important whilst ignoring a variety of distracting inputs. The basic principle behind these mental training exercises is that if you can maintain your concentration and focus during these varied ‘armchair’ scenarios, you’ll be better equipped to do so in an event.
Focus and concentration are vital for successful orienteering.
One such armchair training exercise is to use the map studying and route drawing exercise, described previously in this article, but add to this some distraction. This could be in the form of having some music, TV or talking going on in the background whilst you’re doing the exercise. You can use the radio, or record some talking, or get someone to talk at you whilst you do the task. The idea is for you to remain focused on your task and blot out the distractions. If you can learn to do this in your armchair orienteering, you are more likely to be able to ignore the distractions and better maintain your concentration in events.
• Make sure that you focus on the right things at the right time. This could be an attack point, imaging the control site, or assessing the route to the next control. Your focus may switch at times during the event, but avoid thinking about anything that’s not vitally important to your immediate successful navigation to the next control(s). • Always focus on the ‘HERE and NOW’. Avoid thinking about what has happened earlier in the event, for example, an error or a perfect run over three very difficult controls. Thoughts such as “if I keep up this pace it will be one of my best runs” are distracting. Always concentrate on the PRESENT, which may include some appropriate planning ahead, but not at the expense of any concentrating or focus of attention on what is important right now. So plan when the time is right and you can afford the mental focus to do so, such as when running to an obvious feature that you can already see or are not going to miss, such as a track crossing your route. • If you find yourself distracted by aspects of the competition such as problems with crossing points, noise from the finishing area, the presence of other competitors, or non-orienteering thoughts, use thought stopping techniques to restore your focus back to what is important during an event.
• Improve your ability to identify and focus on the right things, and your ability to ignore distractions and concentrate, by practising these skills, just as you would any other aspect of your orienteering.
Granite Hills - Jarrah Day (ACT). SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 15
GREAT LEGS
Cunning, cute, or ???? Exploring the foibles of the ‘Triangle Kiss’
In contrast I won a kisser in the ACT at ‘Collector Hill’ (March 2018), where my M70 time of 1:26 was on the money – with the UK’s Tom Mills 4:39 indicative of the empty purse.
ROSS BARR (NSW)
A
t well over 90% of traditional line courses, both Bush and urban Sprint style, competitors have a reasonable expectation of a standard progression of events unfolding as they begin their course. Start queue, SI stick clear, name/time check, SI stick check, map box, start time beep, the Start triangle, and onto the course proper. Depending on the scale or importance of the event, this progressive ramping up of intensity is often a time of increasing tension and nerves – generally got over when you have map in hand and oriented, and you can be said to be ‘underway’.
For the elites, this ‘underway’ will be in a blur of quick comprehension and speed, for others it might be in a slower understanding of the task ahead, but orienteers of all abilities will be scanning the whole map and their course, and looking ahead.
Generally ‘looking ahead’ means looking and running towards the first control, and getting the orientation and direction right to achieve this. And in most circumstances there is a respectable distance involved (sometimes enormous) and some settling in time involved to get going and ‘into the map’. This is a common expression, and a good feeling after the Start chute nerves.
point of the first control circle. Sounds like pretty close is OK then – especially when there is a run to the triangle from the maps.
So if technically OK, is the very short first leg a trick? A way of disguising or delaying the bigger picture? Entrapment even? You be the judge as we highlight a few choice aspects of course planning and the art of the ‘Triangle Kiss’.
Firstly, and a run never far from my own mind, was Hilary Wood’s excellent NSW State League #1 event at ‘Gardiners Gap East’. Many will remember this area from the adjoining and overlapping ‘Long Swamp’ map used as the World Masters Qualifier #1 in 2009. The area is rich in pagoda formations with the walk to the Start uphill to get you in sight of the coming challenges and on a similar level. All good so far. But check out Course ‘Hard 7’. This is not a kiss, this is a smooch - big time!
16 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
Another great example was Course 8 at ‘Mack Creek’ in South Australia (their 2010 Long Distance Championships). This was a beautiful big A3 map with large almost O-Ringen sized control circles, and on Course 8 had the tip of the triangle completely buried within the control circle, exactly at the #1 feature. The deepest kiss I’ve seen, and another that bought many undone. Bob Allison (RRA) won the leg in 0:43 (one of 11 of the 27 competitors under the minute), in stark contrast to a Tintookie double – Mike Round in 5:13 and Peter Young, a whopping 7:38. I’m presuming Michael and Peter found themselves at number 2 before reality hit, but both retraced and carried on – Michael even winning the Finish chute split. MAP SAMPLE #2 - Mack Creek
MAP SAMPLE #1 - Gardiners Gap East
But occasionally, the course planner pulls on the ‘Triangle Kiss’. A first leg so short as to have the Start triangle and the first control circle touching, or even overlapping! Many have fallen for the trap (including the author) and a few examples might make for amusing cogitation. But first, what are the IOF guidelines here, and is the triangle in the same category as a control? In IOF Rule 19.4 “controls (including the Start triangle) shall not be sited within 30 metres of each other. For Sprint this may be reduced”. So, I’m getting the notion that triangle and control are one and the same in this context - 30 metres. And I’m presuming we are measuring from the centre point of the triangle to the centre
for me, although a fellow M65 did from a similar position – recording a whopping 14:54 on the leg (which incidentally was won in 1:09). I’d read the first control as the triangle, even though I’d passed the triangle. Just somehow joined the two. Well caught here by Hilary, in an event that lingers in the memory. A classic Triangle Kiss.
I took off, passing what I thought was the triangle flag on the way to intense pagoda work and the beautifully sited ‘first’ control. Much puzzlement on finally finding it 9:15 later, but then, what’s this?? It’s control #2 !!! Aahhh, the event is shot. No going back
An event in May last year also comes to mind – the NSW Long Distance Championships at ‘Roseberg State Forest’. Many courses had a very short first leg, uphill from the fire trail start to a bunch of boulders, where a large 5 metre one predominated – and backdropped the control. Except there were other ones. Looking across the courses, I see David Stocks (M16 BSA) taking the lolly here in a spectacular 0:33 opening run (the evergreen Bruce Arthur (M45 MFV) one second adrift at 0:34 – in perhaps an even more spectacular time). In contrast one has immense sympathy for Amanda Mackie (W55 BFN) out on the leg for 8:46 in what I suspect must have been an
overshoot to #2 (like me at Gardiners Gap), possibly reading the first one as the triangle. Peter Dalwood (M70 DRV) at 4:54 was also adrift here, maybe also suffering an initial ‘welcome’ at control #2!
puzzle – maybe all that anxious energy at the pre-start just blew up. And in the opening minutes! MAP SAMPLE #4 - Gudgenby Homestead
Both the control #1 and #2 sites were similar groups of granite boulders and clusters. You can understand the angst of looking at the second for the first when everything looked so similar. Great planning in a great area.
went in several different directions. Some not very far. Hard 4/6/7 were a kiss around the corner to the right, Hard 2/8 were around to the left. I can see Tony Simpkins again on a 0:28 flyer here (Tony must have a mortgage on 28 seconds!), and another runner with a two-minute plus post. With sprinting, you’re gone if you drop that amount of time. MAP SAMPLE #6 - Charles Sturt University
MAP SAMPLE #3 - Roseberg State Forest
One of the aspects of mucking up the initial leg is the negative vibe it gives. You’ve hardly started and you’ve stuffed it. This feeling is intensified if it’s a Triangle Kiss – and especially if leg #2 is a long one. And you’ve plugged along, only to find….!!!
4
In Sprint O, where closer spacing is both within the rules and often practised, a couple of goodies spring to mind. Easter 2019 in Perth saw Day 1 at Scotch College, and for Course 8-1 a crafty short first leg. And at Sprint map scale (this one 1:3000) you are often upon the flag before you’ve got ‘into the map’. Perth local Tony Simpkins (LOW) led the M70’s with a 0:28 first leg, with the majority well under the minute. Pete Gillon (LOW) not so lucky though – 2:34 at the task.
LA TROBE I’ve mentioned the great 2020 Melbourne UNIVERSITY Sprint Weekend event #4 at La Trobe
A couple more are to hand, including the 2017 ACT O League event #2 at ‘Isaacs Ridge’. The Starts were all a long walk up to the top of the ridge line, with courses then crossing back and forth as they descended to the conclusion at the bottom. Some speedy stuff amongst the pines and the rock. The Course 6 plan had an elbow bend from #1 to #2 so shouldn’t have fooled anyone into going straight on – but maybe the short leg distance and the downhill direction did, for times ranged from a winning 1:36 to 3:55. It was a rockface control and many other rockfaces continued past it, lower and lower. A great ‘kiss’.
The Day 1 map at Easter 2010 (Gudgenby Homestead) has a classic short first leg on Course 10 (M60,W50,W21AS), with the triangle intruding into the first circle. This was fabulous granite territory, so you sort of knew at the map box that you’ll be tested, but perhaps not expecting to be quite so first up. Jenny Bourne won this course with a 1:23 first leg, with sister Liz recording a 4:57 post – but still in the game with 7 & 8 minute times from others below her, a huge time range. The first control boulder here is relatively isolated (compared to what followed), so the spread of times is perhaps a
University in a previous AO article. A kissing first leg on Course 5 that saw an 0:18 winning time, and a contrasting split of 2:50 - indicating an overshoot to probably the second control and discombobulation. And this one was in full public view!
Many who have fallen for the Triangle Kiss will remember the event with a shake of the head. How did I miss that?? Was that fair? Was I sucked in? One thing – these little blighters are hard to forget.
So, we contemplate the short first leg. The ‘Triangle Kiss’. A cunning coin in the course planners bank? A cute blocking tactic to ‘getting into the map’? Something too cute, too clever? Brilliant planning – or, entrapment? You be the judge.
MAP SAMPLE #5 - La Trobe University
On the planning front, I have pulled on a couple of shorties myself. Many will remember the 2017 Australian Sprint Championships at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst. I had the map boxes inside one of the buildings there, and on the beep you exited out the door, past the triangle, and
Ross Barr. SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 17
OA 50 YEARS
Celebrating 50 Years
S
ome of your readers may be aware that, now retired, I have had the pleasure of visiting Canberra, to consult on the recent establishment of two national cabinets in Australia but with one chair, the Australian prime minister.
Much of the time I stayed in Canberra where I have relations, some of whom take part in your sport of Orienteering. Sipping my sherry recently, I happened to peruse your magazine The Australian Orienteer. I noted that the event, from which Orienteering in this country today is derived, actually took place 50 years ago from August last year 2019.
However your controlling authority, Orienteering Australia, has resolved to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Orienteering in Australia as 21st April 2020 to commemorate 50 years since it, Orienteering Australia, a committee, was established. Orienteering Australia,
the States, Territories and Clubs now have extensive networks of committees and working groups, creating useful activity and the need for financial support from Orienteering itself and from the public purse.
As a public figure of experience – some of your members may know me from my appearances on television – I applaud this decision. To establish a committee is a great step forward from just a few young people running around on a Sunday many years ago. The decision is indeed a courageous one. Kind regards,
Sir Humphrey Appleby, GCB KBE MVO
Former Permanent Secretary of Her Majesty’s Ministry of Administrative Affairs, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Big fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite them, and little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum. Augustus De Morgan, mathematician, from his book A Budget of Paradoxes (1872)
50th Anniversary in France
T
he peak French Orienteering body, FFCO, has published a 76-page book to mark the 50th anniversary of its founding in April 1970, two years after France’s first O event in March 1968. It is lavishly illustrated with colour photographs and maps, including on page 2 a fullpage advertisement featuring Frédéric (Fredo) Tranchand, our coach-in-residence in ACT (2018-2019) and in Victoria (2019-2020). Readers with some French will be interested to download a free copy from http://www.ffcorientation.fr/media/ cms_page_media/175/OM142-BD.pdf
Content includes notes of various highlights in the history of Orienteering in France and a page on superstar Thierry Gueorgiou, winner of no fewer than 23 World O-Championship medals.
Frédéric (Fredo) Tranchand. 18 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
OV 50 YEARS
OV – Our First Fifty Years
O
rienteering Australia invited State Associations to submit proposals to mark the 50th anniversary of its establishment in April 1970. However the response seems to have been rather underwhelming. The Australian Orienteer knows of but one initiative – A Short History of Orienteering in Victoria. Belinda Dale, of Yarra Valley Orienteers, is the author of an excellent 14-page booklet of significant events in Victoria, many of which had influence throughout Australia. It is divided into sections for each decade from the 1969 event that was the foundation of regular Orienteering up to the present day. Highlights include WOC’85 based on Bendigo and the introduction of Park & Street Orienteering, MTBO and Sprint-O. Extensively illustrated with colour photographs and maps the booklet was designed by Peter Cusworth, graphic artist for this magazine. You can download your free copy as a pdf file at: https://www. vicorienteering.asn.au/orienteering-in-victoria-our-first-50-years/ Recommended. Ian Baker (VIC)
Author Belinda Dale
Victorian legends
2004 World MTBO Championships in Central Victoria.
WOC’85
Street-O
SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 19
NEWS
Orienteering Australia’s Mike Dowling awarded IOF Silver Pin at 2020 IOF General Assembly Paul Prudhoe (July 11, 2020)
C
ongratulations to OA Board member and IOF Vice President Mike Dowling who this evening was awarded an IOF Silver Pin by re-elected IOF President Leho Haldna. The IOF General Assembly was held virtually for the first time due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Mike was first elected to the IOF Council at the 2010 General Assembly in Trondheim, Norway and was elected as an IOF Vice President at the 2012 General Assembly in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is an active IOF Council member with strategic responsibility for the global visibility of orienteering. IOF Pins are awarded to individuals who have made contributions to the development of orienteering and the IOF. A silver pin being awarded to an individual who has previously received a bronze pin and who has made significant contributions through service within the IOF organisation in a Commission, Council or Senior Event Advising role over an extended period of time.
2013 World Games - Gold medal winner Annika Bilstam (SWE) with course planner Mike Dowling.
In making the award to Mike, Leho Haldna thanked Mike for his outstanding contributions over the years, and especially towards the 2020 General Assembly. Leho also noted Mike’s ‘balancing view from Down Under with a touch of humour’. Congratulations Mike on a well deserved award
Orienteering Australia Annual Awards
Paul Prudhoe, (April 20, 2020)
A
t the Orienteering Australia AGM, President Blair Trewin announced the recipients of the 2019 OA Service Awards.
Each year Orienteering Australia recognises the contribution and service by its volunteers through the presentation of perpetual awards, special awards and certificates of appreciation. The 2019 winner’s are:
SILVA Award for Services to Orienteering: Greg Bacon (Newcastle
SILVA Award for Services to Coaching: Paula Shingler
G
F
Orienteering Club, NSW)
(Big Foot Orienteers, NSW)
reg has been a stalwart – and driver – of the MTBO scene in Newcastle and NSW for many years. Greg also started the DuO concept about 7 years ago which has returned to the calendar after a short break. A tireless worker dedicated to getting people onto bikes for a different take on orienteering, Greg has seen the Newcastle BOSS series grow in recent years through his promotional activities. The BOSS series of events has grown remarkably in the last year. Greg has not only done lots of work but led with new innovation, has focused on creating beginner friendly events with lots of support at event registration and special courses, and reached new people though social media campaigns and constant promotion. He’s always looking for new ways to get people into the sport and has started offering a free ride for kids who go with their parents as part of the BOSS. 20 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
Greg Bacon.
Greg will also organise the 2020 Australian MTBO Championships in Newcastle (now postponed until 2021), and has lately taken to e-bikes (another avenue for growth). He has previously organised Australian MTBO Championships and NSW MTBO Championships as well as training and coaching. Orienteering Australia congratulates Greg on receiving this award.
or the past six years Paula has run a weekly, informal interval session mainly aimed at juniors, although seniors (including parents) do come along. Attendance is usually between 10 and 20. Currently Paula coaches 12 orienteers, 8 of whom are juniors and co-ordinates with expert technical coaches to deliver learnings appropriate to the level of student. As a fully qualified physio, Paula provides all her ‘coachees’ with a tailor made, monthly schedule, specially geared towards their age, ability and goals. The success of these individual programs can be seen in the low number of injuries suffered. In her coaching capacity Paula also acts as a listening board for a whole range of problems her team might be experiencing. She regularly arranges other training sessions (both Bush and Sprint) and is invariably available at events for that last minute taping and treatment .
Some of Paula’s recent successes include: Alastair George (JWOC 2018 & 2019), Michele Dawson (WUOC 2018), Aidan Dawson (WUOC 2018), Toby Wilson (JWOC 2017), Emily Sorensen (SA) (JWOC 2019 (Irish team)) and Georgia Jones (JWOC reserve 2017).
David Hogg Award for Services to Event Management: Andrew Lumsden
Orienteering Australia congratulates Paula on receiving this award.
ndrew started in orienteering in the early 1970s in Victoria. Since then he has worked countless hours on Orienteering including controlling major carnivals, course setting and mapping, negotiating landowner access and creating the technical framework that ensures the quality of NSW events.
(Big Foot Orienteers, NSW)
A
Andrew was National Controller for the Australian Championships Carnival at Bathurst in September 2017, however his services to Orienteering go far beyond that. As ONSW Technical Director he is also the backbone of NSW technical standards and accreditation, constantly working on a range of fronts. He shoulders much of the detailed technical work for ONSW. He is also innovative and challenges the status quo. Andrew, pictured here with the 2018 ONSW President’s Award, has given decades of outstanding service to Orienteering in Australia. Paula Shingler.
Orienteering Australia congratulates Andrew on receiving this award.
Andrew Lumsden with ONSW President’s Award.
COVID reading – decipher the message in the titles.
SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 21
NEWS
BBB suffers substantial map losses
A
long with all of the challenges imposed by the impact of the Covid-19 restrictions on their activities, Bullecourt Boulder Bounders (BBB) is also experiencing the loss of many of its favourite maps. Last year, a change in ownership of two properties in the eastern section of the Rosenthal Creek map, north of Dalveen, meant the club could no longer use them (motor bike riding and shooting being incompatible activities). The map of Cherrabah has also proven unusable because of excessive lantana growth and existing and potential conflicting uses such as clay target shooting, two rifle ranges and proposals to mine the area for granite. The Wilmot’s Waterholes map at Applethorpe has also essentially been lost due to some of the area being leased for vegetable farming and significant map changes due to work to stabilise the Glen Niven Dam wall. The latest major loss is the Amiens map which was used for the 2016 Australian Championships and the 2017 Queensland Championships. Due to the severe drought, the plantation suffered the death of between 30 - 50% of its pine trees and these are now being salvaged logged on a major scale. It
Clearfelling at Amiens.
is uncertain what the future holds for these logged areas and even if they are replanted to exotic pine, it will be 20 years before they are suitable for Orienteering again. The rocks and the remnant native forest areas still remain but are probably not large enough to support anything more than training activities.
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service intend to do a control burn of the entire forest on The Cascades map this year and last week attempted to burn the northern section. This was not particularly successful as the ground vegetation was still too damp. If more rain is received over the next month or so, it may preclude the burn from going ahead. As far as can be determined, the area has not been burnt for at least 20 years so there is a substantial amount of fuel on the ground which would pose a bushfire risk in the event of a lightning strike. So BBB will have to increase its efforts to locate more mappable land to make up for these losses and to sustain the club’s activities into the future. Liz Bourne
Cascades map.
22 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
BOOK
Hanny Allston – My Story – Finding my Feet ABOUT THE BOOK
A
t 19, Hanny Allston faces a ‘perfect storm’. Her father is terrifyingly ill. Beside his hospital bed, she teeters painfully on crutches after surgery that could end her sporting career. Her future in medicine is in peril because the university cannot defer her studies. From these depths, Hanny rises, step by step. Knocked back by further tragic losses and a relationship with a false friend – Anorexia - she continues to strive to find her feet. Despite the times of struggle, Hanny’s story glows. The idyllic, unconventional childhood on a small organic farm in Tasmania. The pre-dawn chlorine fumes of swim squad before school. The spirited beauty of wilder adventures with her parents and older brother. The rapid rise to athletic stardom. She becomes the first and only nonEuropean World Champion in Orienteering, and flirts with her potential for the Olympic marathon. The call Hanny eventually answers, however, is wilder. She becomes a champion ultra-distance trail runner, and a coach to others who seek the wild potential inside themselves. Finding My Feet is a luminous story of hope, determination and possibility. Hanny Allston shares her life with courageous honesty. Her goal is that her playful spirit and rise above adversity can inspire you, too, to find your feet.
2006 World Sprint Champion - Hanny Allston.
Published: 1st July 2020, ISBN: 9781925995268, Number Of Pages: 352 Paperback (for shipping within AUS/NZ), available from …. https://www.booktopia.com.au/
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New shipment arrived early March. Get in early to secure your Pretex for 2020. https://goo.gl/t81zFf SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 23
Australian WOC, JWOC and MTBO teams are outfitted by
24 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
MTBO
Was Bike-O First? – perhaps close, but not quite The origins of Bike Orienteering have been traced back to an event held in 1893. Recent research in Austria has turned up information on a Bike-O event held on 24th September 1893. Special thanks for the team who helped to put all this together: Anna Füzy, Noémi Benke and Toth Zoltan.
T
he team found original reports of this Bike-O event in the 1st October 1893 edition of Radfahr-Sport published in Vienna. There were more details given in the 15th October issue in a review of the year. The event took place on Sunday 24th September 1893 as part of the Gaufest bicycle competitions in the Waldviertel region, where the WMTBOC was organised in 2018. It seems that it was an open event, not a military one. There were seven participants on the 5km long course to the previously unknown Finish. The Finish location was announced at the Start where every participant received a map that showed all the roads in the area, and they were free to choose their route. Richard Meidinger (Wiener CyclistenClub) was the winner with a time of 15:50, beating the second placed rider by 2:10. Richard started last and chose a longer route on better roads where he could ride at speed, while the others struggled on shorter but more difficult field roads and mule tracks. This also indicates that the participants did not all start together.
crossing of unknown land with the aid of a map and a compass. The equivalent term in english is “orienteering”. Interestingly, the Oslo event in 1897 was 19.5km long, on which only three controls were placed. The competition was won by Peder Fossum in a time of 1 hour, 47 minutes, and 7 seconds. The actual term “orientering” was first used in 1886 at the Swedish Military Academy Karlberg and meant the
In Australia, the first Bike-O events on record were held in Victoria in November 1975 at Kurth Kiln and February 1976 at Bostock Reservoir, both organised by a club called Action Unlimited. (See extracts from David Hogg’s History Of Orienteering Development In Australia later in this issue.)
This is as close to MTBO as one could expect for an event organised 127 years ago. At this time bicycles used included penny-farthings, three-wheelers and tandem three-wheelers as well as uprights. Today’s mountain bikes did not come onto the scene until about one hundred years later. The find also rewrites the history of Orienteering. So far, the first civilian Orienteering event was believed to be organised in Oslo, Norway, on 31st October 1897 (4 years later), while the first military-only event was organised also in 1893 (28th May) at the annual games of the Stockholm garrison. Nobody thought that a bicycle(!) Orienteering event preceded all the Scandinavian civilian Foot-O events. Up to now the earliest records of today’s MTBO in Germany date from the 1950s with events in the former DDR (German Democratic Republic).
Map from first Australian Bike-O event, Kurth Kiln, Victoria in 1975.
SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 25
MTBO
25 Years of MTBO in South Australia
KAY HAARSMA
Australia’s first official MTBO event was held on June 4th, 1995 on the Mt Pleasant map in the Adelaide Hills. This is a report on the event by organiser & course setter Kay Haarsma.
I
had heard of MTBO happening overseas and thought we should give it a go. I researched and used the internationally accepted rules, which were similar to SkiO, with bikes being restricted to the tracks, with controls placed beside them. The difficulty in MTBO comes in deciding the route choice quickly and in working out when & how to read the map without crashing! The track rich Mt Pleasant map was ideal and three courses of 10, 18 & 30 kilometres were set. These were measured on the optimum riding route, to give the newcomers an accurate sense of their likely time out in the forest.
As the event start time came closer, I worried whether we would get any participants, that is, besides Peter, my MTB riding brother, who had been suitably bribed. The cars rolled in and bikes of all shapes and sizes emerged. This first event attracted 72 starters, a tremendous result. Participants were either MTB racers; social cyclists; retired foot orienteers or current foot orienteers. Most went around in pairs or threes, perhaps using the “safety in numbers” philosophy. However, this almost resulted in divorce for one married couple. “He always headed off in the wrong direction and didn’t listen to my logic” moaned X. Some had home-made map holders on handlebars; while others either put maps in their jerseys or carried them in their mouths!
The excitement on the faces of the finishers summed up the day, with all getting a buzz from the new challenge. Bevan Hill (OHOC) declared “that’s the most fun I’ve ever had orienteering.” John Williams (Tjuringa) impressed in finishing the 18km course on a road bike. Two of my Marryatville High students, Danny Eckert & Joe Quarmby (who competed in the Junior MTB XC Worlds the following year) rode 75 kms to the event and spent three hours to complete the 30 km course. Bike riders were generally beaten by those with orienteering experience, but reckoned they had learnt how to navigate and would reverse the result next time. Above an extract from “50 Golden Years – The History of Orienteering in South Australia, 1955-2005”. 26 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
Who would have foreseen that within 10 years Australia would host the 2nd World MTBO Championships in Victoria and win its first ever Orienteering gold medal of any discipline! After this initial success several other events were held in conjunction with foot O events in 1995. Consequently 5-11 events per year have been on the yearly OSA program. The first SA
State MTBO Championships were held on October 26th 1997, again on the extended Mt Pleasant map. Courses were set by 16-year-old Marryatville HS student Michael Bammann and victories went to Heather Smith & Reuben Smith – no, not related. Meanwhile different event forms emerged in an effort to capture more people to the sport. Kay Haarsma organised a 2-day Bike Adventure 1999 Aus MTBO Champs map – Kuitpo Forest, SA.
rogaine type team event (based on a Czech model) with optional overnight camping, for three years from 2003 on maps at 1:25,000. From 2008 Bruce Greenhalgh orchestrated the annual LDMTBOTC (Long distance team challenges) which were 1-day events on 1:50,000 scale maps, using mostly country dirt roads. In 2016 Bruce rebranded them as Velogaines and arranged for Rogaining SA to take on the administration and these continue on as very popular annual events. 1998 saw the first Australian MTBO Championships held in Creswick, Victoria, organised by Blake Gordon. Inaugural elite winners were the multiskilled Melbourne couple of Natasha & Warren Key. This event was notable for the amusing tale of setter & vetter (Rob Plowright & Keith Wade) both bogging their cars whilst putting out controls the day prior and having to ride back to Ballarat in the dead of night! SA had wins to Troy Merchant (M14) & Kay Haarsma (W35). A memorable quote came from Tom Bammann, disappointedly beaten by a small margin in M18, in his words, “by some small red-haired kid.” This was Adrian Jackson, who, just 6 years later, would be Australia’s first ever WMTBOC gold medallist. Blake would go on to co-ordinate the 2004 World Championships based in Ballarat, which had considerable SA input through Kay Haarsma (coach), and mapping duo Reuben Smith & Andrew Slattery. In 1999 SA hosted the 2nd Australian Championships at Kuitpo Forest. The Tjuringa club organised two great days of competition, with youngsters Claire Davill & Karl Hillyard both course setting and making specific maps MTBO. Phil Davill was a strange sight, having forgotten his shoes, he did a “Cliffy” and rode in gumboots. There were lots of interstaters and the elite individual winners were Paul Liggins (VIC) and Steph Maxwell (ACT). Relay victors were ecstatic with their one metre lengths of Cadbury chocolate!
2014 Aus MTBO Champs in Alice Springs.
1998 Aus MTBO Champs map – Creswick, Victoria
2009 saw SA again host the Australian Championships, based in the SouthEast at Mt Gambier. Most events were held just over the Victorian border near Nelson. Andrew Slattery was the master-mind and it was an AUS
vs NZ Challenge. Great terrain but remembered for the windy, icy weather too. In 2014 SA held the Australian Championships even more remotely, in Alice Springs (Northern Territory), just 1500kms up the road! Andrew Slattery was again the mapper and organiser with Lee Merchant, Steve Sullivan and Paul Darvodelsky being course setters. This time the AUS vs NZ Challenge riders had warm weather and unique terrain amidst the red centre background of the Macdonnell Ranges. SA MTBO has been well served over the 25 years by enthusiastic co-ordinators including Steve Sullivan, Bruce Greenhalgh, Kay Haarsma, Peter Mayer, Lee Merchant and Andrew Slattery. SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 27
MTBO
ADAPTATIONS FROM DAVID HOGG’S
History of Orienteering Development in Australia – yet to be published
Bike Orienteering Prehistory
A
s with foot orienteering, orienteering on bikes went through a prehistory phase before becoming a structured and popular sport on a national scale. During the 1970s, a bicycle organisation in Victoria known as Action Unlimited was listed as a club within the VOA and its leading member, Keith Warburton, introduced Victorian orienteers to the idea of orienteering on bikes.
The first public orienteering event using bikes was held at Kurth Kiln Forestry Camp near Gembrook on 2 November 1975. It took the form of a score event with all controls located on tracks and was open to orienteers on foot as well as cyclists. Over 100 people took part, the majority being on foot, and the three fastest runners, Alex Tarr, Geoff Lawford and Garry Sayer, scored more points on the A course than the winning cyclist, James Lee. That event was held before the time when mountain bikes were developed and also before most keen cyclists possessed bike racks. The event instructions advised cyclists to either tie their bikes upside down to conventional roof racks or to take the wheels off and put the bike in the boot of the car.
Keith Warburton and Action Unlimited organised another bike O event with foot O options at Bostock Reservoir in February 1976. In due course, Keith Warburton dropped out of Orienteering, Action Unlimited ceased to be listed as a Victorian O-club, and Orienteering events involving bikes disappeared from the VOA calendar.
28 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
The Birth of Mountain Bike Orienteering It was nearly 20 years later before orienteering on bikes again caught the interest of Australian orienteers, this time on mountain bikes which had been in development overseas since the mid-1970s and were much more appropriate than conventional road bikes for riding the tracks on orienteering maps. Mountain bike orienteering began in 1987 in France where mountain biking was a popular sport, and spread from there to other European countries. It was originally described as all-terrain bike orienteering (ATB-O) but soon became known as mountain bike orienteering, initially abbreviated to MBO, then to MTBO to be consistent with the commonly used abbreviation for mountain bike. Some early European events were organised through Orienteering organisations, while others were organised independently or through mountain biking groups.
The IOF was initially slow to react to this new activity but, in 1993, its Development and Promotion Committee (DPC) conducted a survey among member countries to gauge the extent of interest in developing the activity through the established orienteering community. The initial reaction was mixed with no strong majority in favour of developing ATB-O (as it was still being described) through normal Orienteering structures. However, orienteers around the world were becoming more aware of it and it began to spread, and in July 1996 the IOF General Assembly voted to approve Mountain-Bike Orienteering (MB-O) as an official IOF discipline.
In Australia, MTBO began primarily through the initiatives of the established orienteering community. Australia’s first event was held on 4 June 1995 on the Mount Pleasant map in the Adelaide Hills in conjunction a minor Orienteering event (see Kay Haarsma’s “25 Years of MTBO in SOUTH AUSTRALIA” in this issue)
About two weeks later, Tasmania conducted a score event on mountain bikes, also in conjunction with a regular event and using a normal Orienteering map. Victoria held its first MTBO events in 1996 and other States soon followed suit. Western Australia held its first event near Mundaring Weir on 1 December 1996, although its next events were not held until 2002. The ACT began with a three-event series organised by Peter Plunkett-Cole and Sue Johnston in early 1997. In contrast to many of the early events in other States, the ACT events were only for bike riders, reflecting a view that MTBO and foot orienteering should be separated for safety reasons. Queensland held its first MTBO event at Springfield in 1998. In most States, once MTBO was introduced, it continued with several events per year.
MTBO enjoyed relatively quick acceptance as a new orienteering discipline in Australia. It had the advantages of being relevant to all States, of having a high component of mountain bike riders among its regular participants, and of having a large number of suitable areas (particularly pine forests) with track networks which were already accurately mapped, if not to the developing international standards for MTBO.
A Serious Sport While many participants saw the early MTBO events as a novelty which provided a change from conventional orienteering, it did not take long for some orienteers and bike riders to treat this new discipline as a serious sport. In Australia the first State Championship events in MTBO were held in 1997. New South Wales was first off the mark with its championships in Penrose State Forest on 2 August on a map prepared to IOF MTBO standards, – the first Australian map prepared to those standards. South Australia followed on 26 October on an extended Mount Pleasant map. The following weekend (2 November), the first ACT MTBO Championships were held in Stromlo Forest. For the first Victorian MTBO Championships, organised by Eureka Orienteers at Lal Lal on 30 November, the course planner, Rob Plowright, revised the map to conform with IOF standards. The next step forward was to take MTBO to the Australian Championships level. The inaugural Australian MTBO Championships were held on 15 November 1998 in Creswick Forest in Victoria with Rob Plowright as mapper and course planner, Blake Gordon as organiser and Keith Wade as controller. Despite a traumatic experience putting out controls, with several car boggings in wet conditions on the day and night preceding the event, the inaugural Australian MTBO Championships went off successfully, with Natasha and Warren Key emerging as Australia’s first W21 and M21 MTBO Champions respectively. A total of 85 competitors from Victoria, South Australia and the ACT took part.
1998 AUS MTBO Championships - flyer front page.
Natasha and Warren Key – the Women’s and Men’s Open winners at the first AUS MTBO Championships.
In 1999, the Australian MTBO Championships moved to South Australia, with Claire Davill and Karl Hillyard setting the courses. The ACT and New South Wales took their turn to host the Championships over the next two years and, by the time the event returned to Victoria in 2002, it was well established on a flexible rotating basis. In 2002, a second race, described as a Sprint, was introduced, although the course lengths were somewhat longer than what became regarded as a Sprint in later years. In 2006, the Australian MTBO Championships were held for the first time
in Western Australia, which had held its first State MTBO Championships in 2003. The MTBO events were held at the end of the regular Australian Championships Carnival, which OAWA was also hosting and, for the first time, featured a full set of Long, Middle and Sprint distance events, the Sprint being held on a 1:5,000 map. The Australian MTBO Championships series continued to rotate around most states except for Tasmania, where MTBO did not have a strong presence. In 2014, the Championships were held in Alice Springs, with most of the organisers coming from South Australia.
2006 Aus MTBO Champs in WA. Paul Darvodelsky winner of M21 Long Championship. Photo: Troy Merchant SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 29
MTBO
World Championships in MTBO By the late 1990s, the IOF was moving towards its first World Championships in MTBO, which were scheduled for 2002 in Fontainebleau, France. While Australia was yet to demonstrate its success at the international level, in 2001 Blake Gordon, in his role as OFA MTBO Convener, convinced the OFA to bid for the second World MTBO Championships in 2004, with a view to staging them in Victoria. The following year, the IOF accepted Australia’s bid leaving two years to plan for the event. Meanwhile, Australia’s top riders were focused on the inaugural World Championships at Fontainebleau. Blake Gordon was the Manager of a team of eight experienced riders and Australia achieved immediate success in the new competition, with Emily Viner winning a silver medal
in the Long Distance event and coming fourth in the Sprint. Alex Randall was the best performed of the men, coming 11th in the Long Distance event. In the Relay, the women’s team finished fifth and the men’s team eighth.
In 2003, the first IOF World Cup events in MTBO were conducted. Round 2 of the series was held in Poland and Australia was represented, gaining its best result through a silver medal to Alex Randall in the Classic race. That result, together with those at MTBO WOC in 2002, established Australia as a force in world MTBO. Australia’s competitive profile on the international MTBO stage was further enhanced in 2004 when the conduct of the World Championships in Victoria came to fruition. Based in Ballarat, it was spread around Central Victoria with events in
Map of 2004 World MTBO Middle Distance Champs at Castlemaine showing the medallists’ routes.
30 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
Emily Viner, long distance silver medalist in the first World MTBO Championships.
Alex Randall had early success on the world stage with a World Cup silver medal in 2003.
Belinda Allison, World Championships middle distance silver medalist in Australia.
Creswick, Castlemaine, Daylesford and Maryborough. With Blake Gordon as Event Director and a strong team of other key personnel, the Championships were an outstanding success in their staging.
Also outstanding were the results of the Australian team with one gold, one silver and three bronze medals. Adrian Jackson won the gold medal in the Middle Distance event and the bronze medal in the Long Distance event. Belinda Allison won silver in the Middle Distance, and both the men’s and women’s teams took bronze in the Relay.
After 2004, WMTBOC became an annual event and Australia supported the event by sending a team on each occasion. Over the next few years, Australia was established as a serious contender in international MTBO due primarily to the achievements of Adrian Jackson. Continuing from his success in 2004, Adrian achieved the following results in his next five WMTBOC appearances:
Adrian Jackson winning the Sprint Gold medal in Israel 2008.
members managed top 20 places over the same period as the competition from other nations became more intense.
• Slovakia 2005. Third in Long Distance and eighth in Middle Distance, after winning both Long and Middle distance races in a World Ranking Event in the Czech Republic a week previously. • F inland 2006. Sixth in Long Distance, seventh in Middle Distance.
• Poland 2008. First in Middle Distance, sixth in both Long Distance and Sprint.
• Israel 2009. First in both Long Distance and Sprint, fifth in Middle Distance. • Portugal 2010. First in Sprint, second in both Long and Middle Distance.
In 2008 and 2009, Adrian held the number one position in the World MTBO rankings after a successful European tour in July and August 2008 involving four World Ranking Events in France and Poland and the World Championships in Poland.
Adrian Jackson winning World Championships gold in Castlemaine in 2004.
Adrian Jackson’s consistently strong performances in all three races perhaps overshadowed the respectable but not outstanding performances of other Australian team members over the same period. In particular, Anna Sheldon achieved a podium finish (sixth) in the Middle Distance event in 2005 and, at the same championships, the women’s Relay team was disappointed by their disqualification after crossing the finish line in third place. Several other team
Adrian Jackson on the podium in Israel 2008.
Junior World Championships in MTBO In 2008, the IOF introduced the Junior World Championships in MTBO, conducting them in conjunction with WOC in MTBO. Australia did not participate initially but, with the urging of the National Coach in MTBO, Kay Haarsma, sent three junior men to the event in 2010. The team’s best result was fifth in the Relay. From then on, juniors became a significant part of the Australian MTBO team, with JWMTBOC usually being held in conjunction with WMTBOC. Early promising results came from Tom Goddard in Italy in 2011, when he finished ninth in the Long Distance and 10th in the Middle Distance. The following year (2012) in Hungary, Chris Firman SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 31
MTBO
finished fifth in the Middle Distance and 12th in the Long Distance. In 2014 in Poland, Angus Robinson was in the team, putting in three solid performances, the best being 10th in the Sprint. In the Czech Republic the following year, he went much better, winning gold in the Sprint as the sole member of the Australian JWMTBOC team.
To this stage, all Australian representatives in JWMTBOC had been male but, in 2016, Lucy Mackie became the first Australian woman to participate. She did so successfully, with a podium finish (fifth) in the Middle Distance event. The following year in Lithuania, she won a silver medal in that event.
World Masters Championships in MTBO A new opportunity for Australians to shine on the international stage opened up in 2012 when the first World Masters Championships in MTBO were held in Hungary in association with the elite and junior world championship events.
Carolyn Jackson won the W50 gold medal in the Middle Distance event and silver medals in the Long Distance and Sprint events. In 2013 Portugal, 2014 Poland and 2015 Portugal, Carolyn did even better, winning all three W50 gold medals on each occasion, followed by four W55 gold medals in Portugal in 2016. In 2017, she moved up in age to W60, winning three silver medals. In 2018 in Hungary, she made a clean sweep of four gold medals in W60, with a Mass Start event having been added to the three established formats. Then in 2019 she elected to drop down an age group to W55, still winning one gold and two bronze medals. Her total medal tally for eight years of international competition between 2012 and 2019 was 15 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze in WMMTBOC plus 4 gold for W55 in the 2016 WMTBO Tour in Portugal’ Carolyn was not the only Australian to excel at the World Masters level. Other Australian medal winners over the same period included the following: 2013. Thor Egerton (W40) won silver in the Sprint and bronze in the Long and Middle Distance events. Peter Cusworth (M60) won silver in the Sprint and bronze in the Long Distance. 32 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
Angus Robinson 2015 Junior World Sprint Champion. Lucy Mackie, Australia’s first female competing in the Junior World Championships won silver in 2017.
2014. Peter Cusworth (M60) won bronze in both the Long and Middle Distance events.
Marina Iskhakova won 3 Gold and a Bronze in Hungary in 2018.
2015. Leigh Privett (M70) won gold in the Sprint and bronze in the Long Distance. Tamsin Barnes (W45) won silver in the Middle Distance and bronze in the Long Distance and Sprint. Kay Haarsma (W60) won silver in the Long Distance and bronze in the Middle Distance.
2017. Kathy Liley (W70) won gold in the Sprint, silver in the Long Distance and bronze in the Middle Distance. Leigh Privett (M70) won silver in the Sprint and bronze in the Long Distance. 2018. Marina Iskhakova (W40) won gold in the Long Distance, Middle Distance and Sprint and bronze in the Mass Start.
Carolyn Jackson has won 15 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze medals competing at 7 World Masters Championships.
ISO-O
Tasssie ISO-O
CATHERINE MCCOMB
COVID-19 restrictions threatened to derail the Tasmanian orienteering season, but some lateral thinking led to a host of new orienteering opportunities being available during lockdown.
In the north of the State, the locals were active with a number of MapRun events set in and around Launceston. In the south, a new isolation racing format emerged. Organisers set the courses, taped the controls and made the maps available on the Tasmanian website. Competitors printed the map, ran the course, uploaded their route to Livelox and entered their time into a Google spreadsheet, where results were calculated overall and by age/gender handicap.
The first series, the ISO 3-Day, was held over Easter, featuring three races on two brand new maps (thanks to some Covid19 enabled spare time!). The success of the ISO 3-Day led to the four event Corona Cup, followed soon after by the Corona Canter and then finally the Recovery Romp. We’re lucky enough to have the complex Pittwater Dunes map within a short driving distance of Hobart so it had a heavy workout in each series. At the time of writing, the latest challenge for southern Tasmanian orienteers was Dark OFO – consoling orienteers mourning the cancellation of the popular Dark MOFO mid-winter arts festival. Over three dark and spooky weeks, orienteers broke out their head-torches for night-time isolation racing at venues around Hobart. The final race was held as restrictions eased on the longest night of the year at Pittwater Dunes. Against all odds, everyone was back before dawn!
The local newspaper The Mercury (with presumably not much else to report), was happy to give us some free promotion so in addition to a large number of existing members it was heartening to see that we had around 100 non-members try out the courses in each of the series.
Dark OFO Pittwater Dunes.
SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 33
INTERVIEW
Tash Key talks with
Janne Salmi & Vroni König-Salmi Chatting with power couple Janne Salmi and Vroni KönigSalmi. Both very high profile orienteers living in Turku, Finland, with their daughters. These guys are great friends of ours and Aston was lucky enough to live with them last summer and be immersed in their family life and orienteering club life. Vroni is Swiss and after retiring from the National team took on a coaching role for many years with the Swiss team, only just retiring last year. Janne also coached the National Finnish team after he retired from Elite racing then went on to many roles within the Orienteering world including still being a commentator for live TV coverages of Orienteering races - (yes, Orienteering is broadcast live in Finland! - a lot!) They both have podiumed numerous times at WOC with many medals between them and are a wealth of experience and knowledge.
How and when did you start orienteering? Janne - Autumn 1976, at the O-school of Turun Suunnistajat. My dad was a member of the club (and still is). First competition was in April 1977, just 500m from home, and LOTS of snow still in the terrain. I got a red Karhu-beanie as a prize. Vroni - My father took me to some small competitions when I was 11. Who were your inspirations/idols as you were growing up? Janne - The first one was Pekka Nikulainen, being in the same club as me (he moved to Angelniemen Ankkuri when I was about 10). Later I admired Kent Olsson for his miraculous skill to be always at his best at the World Championships. Juha Mieto (cc-skiing) and Arto Bryggare (110m hurdles) were my idols too, and all the Finnish long-distance-runners of the 70’s, naturally. (Lasse Viren, Juha Vartainen, and others). Vroni - Ruth Humbel (Switzerland) and Marita Skogum (Sweden). At what point did you get the feeling that you might be good at this sport? (was it a particular race you won that was the turning point?) Janne - When I was about 14-15, but it took quite a long time before I managed to put the pieces together. That happened in 1988-1989, when I managed to perform well at NOC and JWOC. Vroni - During a camp we participated in a national race and I came 2nd in the women’s 13-14 class (it was a big surprise). I think after this my motivation grew and also the results became better and better. What other sports or hobbies did you have other than Orienteering? Vroni - Skiing and biking we always did with my family. During school I was playing handball and volleyball. Janne - CC-skiing, track-and-field, soccer, icehockey. Sucked in all of them except long-distance-running. 34 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
Janne & Vroni punch together at 1996 World Cup in Latvia.
What are some of the differences between WOC/WC races back then to now? Janne - No Sprint, naturally – no Middle/Short either before 1991. That is, all races were long ones. The TV-production of the major competitions has naturally also changed the visibility and looks of the races, bringing in more media and sponsors, etc. Vroni - We had the big events only every second year and otherwise we didn’t meet people from other countries very often. So it was a big thing and also a surprise to see what level everyone was competing at. The preparation was never as professional as it is nowadays. World Cup was often a 10 day trip with only three competitions in three countries. So, long trips and not very good training in between. Is there much difference between how you used to train versus how Elites train now? Janne - The major difference comes from the much shorter races and especially the running capacity needed in the Sprint = gravel/asphalt. I only participated in road-races longer than 10K, never tried to run 3000m or 5000m fast on the track, for example. Also, we had almost a complete break of 4-5 months of orienteering in the winter. There were just no possibilities for orienteering in the winter back then. The lower annual amount of O-training and the very varied quality of the maps in the 80’s – 90’s didn’t make it able for anyone to become as skilled as the orienteers are today so more mistakes were made. Vroni - I think we did not do as many orienteering trainings, specially during wintertime we had only a physical training plan. We were more on our own without any organized training during the year. Single athletes had already many years ago experts on their side, but I think this is more the exception, than the normal case. If you could go back to a younger you, would you tell yourself to train or do anything different? Janne - Well, between 20 and 24 I really made a lot of mistakes in my training, I was more or less overtrained every year. So I would be more careful with the intensity of the training, nutrition, rest and stretching, etc. Vroni - I would work earlier on my speed and injury protection.
What years did you run WOC and your best results? Janne - 1995-2003 = 5 times (only). I got 7 medals, out of which 2 gold. Vroni - 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010. Gold in Sprint 2001, Silver Middle Distance 2008, Bronze Long Distance 2005, Bronze Relay 1997, Gold Relay 2003, Gold Relay 2005, Bronze Relay 2006. Did you have any funny/strange pre-race routines? Janne - I guess slapping on my face (quite hard) 10-15 seconds before the start can be considered funny. Vroni - I had my small preparation program physically and also mentally, but it’s not really funny or strange. What was your most memorable race, best and worst? Janne - Best: WOC Relay in Tampere 2001. Finland had never won the WOC Relay at men’s and we really wanted to do it. I was extremely nervous the whole day and can still recall the feelings and thoughts prior, during and after the race, that we managed to win. A day that I will never forget! Worst: There are lots of big disappointments that have felt really bad back then. Hard to say what could be the worst one ..… WOC Long Distance in Scotland 1999 was a really poor performance, but on the other hand – it gave me the kick to “make a comeback” in the Short-distance and Relay. Vroni - Best: World Cup in Belgium, where I was running like in a dream, just being in the moment … and woke up in the Finish winning the race. Worst: a Long Distance selection race in France, where I was running 180 degrees wrong and about 500m down a slope … when I realized it and I had still to finish the loooooooong race, that was a nightmare. Which WOC Banquet was the most fun? Janne - Switzerland 2003, definitely. There was a swimming pool in the banquet and we jumped in and out all evening with our clothes on. Vroni - Difficult question, but I think they were more fun when I was younger.
Janne Salmi at WOC01.
You have both been coaches of your National teams, Vroni Switzerland and Janne Finland, can you think of a funny/weird thing you’ve had to do when helping an athlete? Lend them your socks because they forgot them or something.. etc? Janne - I was usually in the spectator control and Finish, so I was not involved in any of those hazards. But there are quite a few funny moments to remember when I’ve been yelling to the passing athletes. Vroni - Lending equipment when athletes forgot theirs was quite normal and you prepare for it after some cases. Do you guys notice any big differences between Swiss and Finnish orienteering? Janne - Lots. I will just mention three most important ones. 1. As the training of all the best in Switzerland is based on the National team, their training is really professional. In Finland the clubs and personal trainers are the base of the orienteers, and I don’t see many professional surroundings around here, unfortunately. 2. In Finland the orienteers train much more in the forest (often at slow speed), whereas in Switzerland the intensity of training is much higher, especially on the hard ground. 3. The Finnish terrain is much more technical and slower than in Switzerland. Also, our winters are long and in most areas there is snow for 3-5 months. Vroni - We do not have the orienteering paradises in front of our doors in Switzerland, we have to move around and organize to get to the nice areas. This means our daily training is more focused on the physical part and the technical training takes place in camps and competitions. It’s not easy to learn to understand contours and terrain forms, if you only train in Switzerland. I think the Swiss runners were always very open minded to new things and tried to get fast into a new aspect of the sport. What do you guys do now when you are not orienteering? Janne - Work, family and all kinds of leisure activities, mostly at our summer house or something around Orienteering (coaching, organizing trainings, races, etc).
Vroni at WOC 2006 in Denmark. SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 35
INTERVIEW
Vroni - I started an education to become a masseur and have a part-time job in our local synchronized figure skating club. I thought it’s time to move to the desk (a little) and not only run around in the forest. What do you do now to keep yourselves so fit?
QUICK QUESTIONS FAVOURITE TERRAIN: Janne - Northern Norway and Czech paradise (WOC 2021). Vroni - a detailed, not too tough Scandinavian forest.
Janne - Orienteering, running, skiing, biking etc. Should do more strength training but I dislike it.
FAVOURITE MAP: Janne - Must be the map of NOC 1984 in Steinkjer, Norway. Amazing on its terrain, quality, size and the views.
Vroni - I started to swim in January and hopefully I can sometimes participate in a triathlon race.
SPRINT OR FOREST: Janne – Forest; Vroni – Forest.
How many countries have you orienteered in?
CAT OR DOG: Janne – Dog; Vroni – Dog.
Janne - around 40.
FAVOURITE BAND - (Tash – Janne, pretty sure yours is Depeche Mode! :). Janne - We’ll go with that; Vroni - Dire Straits.
COFFEE OR TEA: Janne – Both; Vroni – coffee.
Vroni - around 33. What is your favourite ‘holiday’ Orienteering event to go to? Janne - MOC! (Mediterranean Orienteering Championships). Sun and fun + orienteering. Vroni - Italian 5 days.
What advice could you give to our younger orienteers, or any of us really? Janne - Chase your dreams – never give up! Vroni - Do what you love to do and concentrate on what you can influence.
Favourite event of the year? Janne - Jukola, naturally. Vroni – JUKOLA.
Slovenian Route Choice Challenge
(from World of O)
Slovenia is known for its tricky karst terrain – but this time we take a look at a very different Slovenian terrain. This terrain contains steep slopes which invite some varied route choice challenges. This is the 17th leg in the SEEOC (South East European Orienteering Championships) Long Distance in 2018.
36 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
Take a look at it and think about how you would attack this leg, then draw the route you would have made and write down comments about why you would choose a certain route.
NUTRITION
NSWIS Nutrition Tips
B
eyond the messages around healthy and nutritious food, mindset is an often overlooked participant in successful nutrition interventions. The concept of fixed and growth mindset can be applied to your diet and nutrition. It can help with how you approach food choices, long term behaviour change and health. Each time you eat you’re making a choice about what you are going to put into your body. This also means that each time you eat there is an opportunity to contribute to your health and work towards a goal if you have one. A fixed or growth mindset plays a role in how you accept this opportunity. Having a fixed mindset can result in being emotional, acting in fear, and continually comparing yourself to others. This can lead to comparing what you’re eating to others as a benchmark for whether your diet is on track. It can mean comparing what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ rather than know what is right for your needs and your body. You can often get held back with excuses; reasons why you can’t eat healthy or why you can’t make changes or do better to reach your goals.
understanding of their nutrition needs through feedback and awareness of the body to learn from how it responds to food to adapt and apply it next time they eat. They take ownership over what they put in their mouth by making the effort to find what’s best for them in the circumstances they are in. Some examples of how a growth or fixed mindset might be presenting in a nutrition context are below:
Conversely, those with a growth mindset believe they can constantly improve and develop lifestyle skills and habits to evolve their diet to be eating in a way that makes them feel the way they want to feel. They can develop an Fixed Mindset
Growth Mindset
I still haven’t lost weight. I’ll never be able to lose weight, so what the point?
I know by working on my habits and making small changes to my diet each day I’ll be able to contribute to my health for a healthy mind and body. Plus I’ll reach my desired body composition or weight in time.
I didn’t pack my food today. My diet plan is ruined.
It’s a little extra effort but I will get myself to that sandwich shop so I can still have a balanced choice. It’s just different to what I had planned.
I heard meat* is bad for me when I eat a lot so I’ll cut it out completely.(*note: or the latest fad)
Perhaps I can learn from this to be mindful of choices and reduce or modify my intake but still include a food I enjoy.
There is birthday cake in the office today so I ate that for morning tea because that’s what we always do.
Last time we had the birthday cake it made me feel tired and sluggish all afternoon. I don’t want to feel like that so I will just enjoy the company of others without the cake.
I ate all that bad food at a party, what a I really enjoyed catching up with my friends and will go waste of all my effort to eat well so far. back to what I’m familiar with tomorrow. I didn’t have a healthy lunch so why have a healthy dinner.
I enjoyed my lunch so won’t let feelings of guilt or regret ruin that, but I will refocus my choices at dinner to continue habits which benefit my health more.
I can’t eat first thing in the morning before training. It makes me feel sick.
I find eating in the morning difficult but if it helps me to train harder I will try something small and build on that. SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 37
MAPRUN
MapRun – DIY orienteering leads to massive uptake of MapRun, and new features Permanent course: New Farm Park, Brisbane.
S
ince the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic, orienteering events around the world have been curtailed or cancelled. One type of orienteering, however, has experienced a massive surge in participation: MapRun. MapRun is a smartphone Orienteering app that uses satellite technology to locate controls, so that the phone beeps as the orienteer approaches the control, and results and routes are automatically uploaded to the internet. This means Orienteering events can take place without flags, SI units, Start teams or Finish tents. In 2019, an average of 1000 individual results were uploaded per month. But with the COVID-19 restrictions, that had increased to over 700 results in a single day in May 2020! By June, 20 to 30 new MapRun courses were being added every day around the world, allowing orienteers to train and compete safely in their local areas. MapRun now has local administrators managing events in 27 countries across Europe, the Americas and the Pacific. Events range from the many Park & Street-O series in Melbourne, to Park-O in North Staffordshire, UK, forest courses in Canada, MTBO in Paraguay, and even Horse-Riding Orienteering in Hungary. Perhaps we will even see a MapRun Ski-O later in the year! MapRun was first developed by Brisbane-based Peter Effeney (Ugly 38 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
Forest course: Upper Thetis Lake (British Columbia, Canada)
Gully Orienteers) in 2016. Since 2017, grants from Orienteering Australia and Orienteering Victoria have supported upgrades and enhancements to the app. It has been widely used for Park & Street-O in Australia and the UK, where use of a familiar technology (smartphone) has been harnessed to attract non-orienteers towards other forms of Orienteering. Organisers have appreciated the drop in workload at club events: they can turn up 15 minutes before the start and leave as soon as the last runner returns, with no need to collect controls. MapRun has also been embraced by MTBO riders, who welcome not having to stop and punch controls, and has proved popular for training sessions, permanent courses, and use in schools. During 2020, many new users worldwide have come to appreciate the possibilities MapRun offers, not only for social distancing, but for quick and easy event organisation: •N ew users can get started in minutes, using their own phone. •E vent options include score/line/ scatter/mass start courses. Events can be open at a specific time or anytime. •U sers can access and compare their results immediately after their run. •O rganisers have the option of tracking runners in real time.
Results screen: Toohey Forest Car Wrecks Challenge, Brisbane. Accurately georeferenced maps using newer GPS devices enables MapRun to be used in the bush.
Start Anywhere This enables participants to choose any control as their Start/Finish control in a course. Very popular during the COVID-19 restrictions as participants do not assemble in the same place.
HITMO If a control did not register correctly on your route, the “Hey, I Think it Missed One” function allows you to submit a revised result for the organiser to check. Features used for MapRun controls are typically able to be identified in satellite imagery (street light, track junction, jetty, fence). This allows “arm-chair” course setting. For bush events where control sites may not be visible in satellite imagery, a visit to control sites with a good-quality GPS receiver may be required to get an accurate fix. Punching tolerance is usually set at 15m, so that a runner will register a control if they are within several metres of it.
Watch running MapRunG
New features include a Watch App, so you can run without your phone Several new features have been introduced in the latest version of the app, MapRunF: MapRunG – install on your watch and run phone-free •Y ou can install MapRunG on an appcapable Garmin watch, and then send the MapRun course from your phone to your watch. •Y ou can then run without a phone and let your watch register the controls. •W hen you finish, MapRun fetches your track from Garmin and creates a result on your phone, as if you had run with your phone.
QuickStart •S et a GPS-based course in minutes on your phone. • No need for a map file. •J ust drop pins on the satellite imagery in the app to position your controls, tap save and go!
Variations in the GPS errors mean that MapRun is not suitable for high-stakes competitions at this stage, but for club events, it’s a great way to enjoy orienteering, anytime, anywhere!
Check Sites Publish a confidential event to the server and receive a 6-digit access code. You’ll need either a KMZ (map) file or a KML (course) file (normally both).
Further information: http://maprunners.weebly.com
Run/walk the course and see your track in relation to the map. Great for course-setters: check the accuracy of your control placement and/ or the map. Check Sites even allows simple shared events if you give people the 6-digit code.
•M ark Clews from the UK sets a course in one minute in this video. https://www.facebook.com/ watch/?v=608241689770790
SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 39
OBITUARY
James Sheldon 19/02/1988 - 11/07/2020
J
ames Sheldon, youngest son of Joan and Derek Sheldon and brother to Anna, Helen and Peter, and partner of Kate Houghton, was tragically killed in a hiking accident on Mt Barney in SE Queensland’s scenic rim on Saturday 11 July, 2020.
For some, Mt Barney is a wild and alluring place; for James, having grown up in the nearby township of Boonah, its ridges and ravines were his backyard. Born and raised to adventure, James was a skilled and experienced hiker, mountaineer, orienteer, climber and cyclist. For him, no peak was high enough, no headwind strong enough - always seeking unique and challenging adventures of the path less travelled. And travel James did, exploring some 62 countries across every continent except Antarctica. Summiting the Bolivian mountain peak Huyana Potosi at 6088m with Kate, was just one of many amazing tales of James’ incredible adventures. In his early teens, a high school trip to South East Asia and a family holiday to New Zealand sparked James’ love of travel, geography and a strong desire to understand and connect with the people living in the places through which he travelled. However, James didn’t just travel. He researched the world, obsessively. He was most fascinated by the natural world and its possibility for adventure, but equally, he sought knowledge about the people and history of those places. James realised early in his travels that understanding the history and culture provided a way of accessing the things that most tourists would never see. Together with Anna, Helen and Peter, exploring the mountains, creeks and lakes of the beautiful Maroon area, where James grew up, was a regular occurrence; on foot, bike, climbing rope or sailboat. James was always the littlest, but always so determined to keep up. It was his older siblings’ job to look after him, so it was in their best interest to make sure he learnt quickly so as not to slow them down.
40 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
It wasn’t long before James was as strong as the rest of them, and the ‘big kids’ had to get creative to stay ahead.
After completing high school in Boonah, James worked a number of casual jobs, with the prime focus of saving money for travel. But after some steady work surveying routes for powerlines in the back blocks of New South Wales and Queensland, James developed an interest in, and subsequently completed, an engineering degree at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. With a keen eye for detail and a penchant for complex problem solving and planning, James had found his profession.
As a graduate engineer, James took his first job with a company constructing water treatment plants. It was clearly a job that James loved, as family members recall almost hostage-like situations where James would spend hours meticulously describing to them the technical challenges of his construction projects. James’ work colleagues recognised and appreciated his high level of expertise and skill as an engineer. Significantly, they respected James for his ability to communicate effectively, and to build honest, open relationships with others.
Whilst not a singular passion, Orienteering was a sport James loved and excelled at. He was a regular member of the Queensland Schools Orienteering team, with 2005 being an exceptional year for him. James won the Senior Boys class at the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships, was a member of Queensland’s winning Senior Boys Relay, and was selected in the Australian Schools Honour team. He continued his interest in Orienteering as an elite Queensland Cyclone where he performed strongly at many National League events, and was selected in National Development squads.
James was a highly valued, lifelong member of Ugly Gully Orienteers, always willing to help organise events and collect controls from distant corners of the map. In 2019, the Ugly Gully President’s Trophy was awarded to the Sheldon family, with the following personal acknowledgment written in the citation. “James is always generous with his time. He was setter for the Queensland Sprint Championship event at Gatton in May and the Ferrar’s Paddock event in August this year. He is a regular setter of NightNavs and is more often than not, the weekly winner of NightNav.” James could perhaps be described as an enduring character, not just because of his amazing physical capabilities, but more so of his enduring relationships with family, friends and loved ones. His goofy smile, his quick-wit, his enduring warmth and companionship, his
limitless sense of adventure. A close cycling friend portrayed James as an ‘anomaly’. A young man who planned exploits with distances and heights with no bounds to what should be considered possible, a young man admired for his unique ability to be both so strongly independent and so deeply loyal, a young man who may have crammed more into his life than the rest of us can comprehend.
At age 32, recently engaged to Kate, his partner for 11 years, and with a promising engineering career, indeed it is a life cut way too short. James was really just getting started. The forest sighs as we grieve for his family and for the loss of James - a beautiful son, brother, friend, lover, brother-in-law and uncle.
SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 41
NAVIGATION
ARMCHAIR – O
Navigation Nightmare Some mental exercise for all, and for Melburnians who live nearby, perhaps some SOLO – O as well. A very small but really hilly suburban area. A 25-control Score course with 100 score points available – your mission is to find the shortest route around all 25 controls.
42 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
SPOT the DIFFERENCE
Summer is not all that far off, and that means SPRINT if we can ever get away from hard borders and lockdowns. For all those who can’t wait (or need to remember how to map read) here’s a Sprint map to test whether your map reading skills are still working. Some of you may recognize it but you won’t have seen the changes we’ve made. The map scale is 1:3000. MAP 1 is essentially a portion of the original map. MAP 2 contains 25 changes. CAN YOU FIND ALL 25 ???
SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 43
O-SPY
remains the Australian benchmark of orienteering prowess in her age group. Two of Joan’s grandchildren, Belinda and Ian Lawford, have been members of Australia’s JWOC team.
O-SPY OQ’s First Centenarian Congratulations Joan Bourne Joan Bourne cuts cake.
H
earty congratulations to Orienteering Queensland life member Joan Bourne who celebrated her 100th birthday on August 27th. Joan is OQ’s first centenarian. She was competing in Orienteering events well into her late eighties and won her age class at the Australian Championships from 1991 to 1996. Joan and her late husband John were amongst the pioneers of Orienteering in Queensland, were foundation members of the Toohey Forest Club, and played a major role in establishing the Bullecourt Boulder Bounders Club. They were active helpers and supporters of BBB events for decades. Their five children were all hooked on Orienteering from an early age and the family participated (and placed) in many State, Interstate and National championships. Joan and John also competed in Scotland at the Scottish 6 Days for several years with Joan placing 2nd in 1991. Their descendants are still making a mark on the sport, being involved in mapping, controlling and organizing many major events. Daughter Liz remains the stalwart of the BBB club, while younger daughter Jenny 44 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
1978 AUS 5 Days
Joan and John retired to The Summit from Brisbane in 1984 to a rural residential property at The Summit where Joan continued an active lifestyle of gardening, birdwatching and involvement in local community and craft groups. She continued living independently at home until late 2019 when a fall resulting in two broken ribs meant she is currently a resident of a local aged care facility in Stanthorpe.
All Greek to us
T
his comes from “Track Stats”:
Andy Milroy quotes two stories from Ancient Greece; a runner named Charmus finished 7th in a race in which there were only six starters, being overtaken by a friend who joined in the race to encourage him, and it was said of Charmus that “if he had five more friends he would have finished 12th.” Another runner named Marcus was so slow that the groundsman locked him in the stadium for the night, having mistaken him for a statue.
F
ound in the archives, the program for Australia’s first 5-Day event in January 1978. Based around the Ballarat area events were held at Bungal Creek, Borhoney Ghurk, Champion Hill, Little Hard Hills and Canadian Forest. Swede Peo Bengtsson brought a tour group of Scandinavians to compete; events started early in the morning to avoid the hot summer sun; and the whole event was sponsored by the CBA Bank.
Another Bolt
U
sain Bolt and his wife are celebrating the birth of their first child last May. The baby girl has been named Olympia Lightning Bolt.
Fredo’s STRAVA art
B
efore he eventually left for France, Fredo gave Melburnians yet more Strava Art courses to run. At first glance it looks easy but try staying on the dotted lines at pace all the way. Not as easy as it might seem.
PROFILE
Per-Olof (Peo) Bengtsson – 87 years young
M
any of us in the older classes will remember back to the mid-1970s when Peo Bengtsson and Roland Offrell came to Australia with some Swedish friends to teach us how to make good maps, to set good courses and to navigate through the forests. We hoped they would tell us the great secret of how to be a good orienteer, but we soon found that there was no magic secret, just a lot of hard work and training. Peo Bengtsson first took part in an Orienteering event when he was 16 years old. He joined the KFUM Kristianstad club in 1949. The club changed its name to Pan-Kristianstad and Peo is still a member. In 1965 Peo and other elite Swedish orienteers formed a group called the O-Ringen to promote and organize a new Swedish 5-Days competition. In the first year there were just 167 participants but the event’s popularity grew rapidly until entries topped 25,000 and a limit had to be placed on participants from Sweden.
Peo Bengtsson. Photo: Johan Modig.
Peo’s thirst for travel and Orienteering led him to organise many tours around the world. His tour groups to Australia helped us get major 5- and 6-Day events established here. It’s always a fascinating sight to see European orienteers coming from cold northern winters hit the bright sunlight of an Australian summer with temperatures approaching 40 degC. Those of us who have joined one of Peo’s European tours will have memories of tight schedules and of Orienteering at any time of the day or night. And it was certainly a great way of getting to events in places you might otherwise never have visited. Peo’s most recent tour in October’07 took 139 orienteers on an odyssey through Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Azerbajdzjan, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and Moldova.
WMOC 2019 - M85 Peo Bengtsson (SWE).
Think of a country, any country, and it’s very likely that globetrotting Swede Peo Bengtsson has orienteered there. Try this for an impressive list – the years in brackets are the first time Peo competed there (translated from Skogssport). EUROPE: Sweden (1949) Norway (1951) Denmark (1959) Finland (1960) Czechoslovakia; Switzerland; Germany (1961) Austria; France; Belgium (1966) East Germany; Hungary (1968) Romania (1970) Great Britain; Bulgaria (1971) Spain; Luxembourg (1973) Poland (1975) Yugoslavia (1977) Italy (1978) Ireland (1979) Soviet Union (1981) Portugal (1983) Netherlands (1984) Greece (1987) Iceland (1988) Liechtenstein; San Marino (1990) Andorra (1991)
Estonia; Russia; Latvia; Slovenia (1992) Lithuania (1993) Czech Republic; Slovakia; Croatia (1994) Ukraine (196) Belarus (1998) Moldova (1999) Turkey; Macedonia (2000) Gibraltar (2001) Albania (2002) Serbia-Montenegro; BosniaHerzegovina (2003) OCEANIA: Australia; New Zealand (1975) Tahiti (1978) Fiji (1984) Tonga (1993) New Caledonia (2005) ASIA: Philippines; Singapore (1977) India; Thailand (1981) Hong Kong; Thailand; Japan (1982)
Israel (1983) China; Korea (1986) Malaysia (1987) Indonesia (1992) Macao (1997) Kazakhstan (1999) Georgia; Armenia; Iran; Azerbajdzjan (2007) AMERICAS: Argentina (1973) Brazil (1978) USA: Canada (1982) Cuba (1987) Paraguay; Chile; Mexico (1991) Ecuador (1995) Uruguay (1997) Venezuela (1998) Colombia; Costa Rica (1999) Greenland (2002) AFRICA: Kenya; Tanzania (1992) South Africa; Swaziland (1993) Morocco (2001)
Peo nears 6000 events. That’s certainly an impressive achievement by a true ambassador for the sport of Orienteering - 89 countries in all. But the number of events that Peo has participated in is even more impressive – 5940, including 95 Ski-O and 5845 Foot-O events. Peo’s first year in 1949 saw him take part in 17 events, but he quickly increased that to average around 84 events over a 71-year span and considerably more in recent years. Now, in 2020 Peo is still going strong though COVID restrictions have limited him to just 10 events so far this year. For comparison, in recent years Peo has completed 100 (2019), 113 (2018) and 136 (2017) events. If it weren’t for the COVID shut down Peo would probably have passed the 6000 events mark already this year. When will Peo stop orienteering? Certainly not yet.
SEPTEMBER 2020 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.
The UK’s Orienteering Magazine Packed with maps, event reports, coaching tips and advice, MTBO, Mountain Marathons/Rogaining, Competitions and much much more.
Dear Editor
FAIR PLAY
Subscribe online using all major credit cards at www.CompassSport.co.uk
T
he survey on fair play in the June 2020 edition reminded me of two episodes which readers would find interesting.
Many years ago at a major event in New Zealand I walked up to the maps and found myself beside a young Swedish lady. Much to my amazement, she immediately picked up her map, turned it over, and started studying her course. The Start official was preoccupied and I wondered what to do. I thought that perhaps such behaviour was normal in her homeland, and didn’t want to offend an overseas visitor, but nevertheless told her gently that course previews were not permitted down under. On another occasion years ago, at a major event in Australia in complex spur/gully, I caught up with another competitor (not a current member) and punched before him. During the next two legs I became convinced that he was simply tailing me and not navigating. I hatched a cunning plan. Halfway through the next (long) leg I feigned tiredness and sat down on the ground with my back against a tree. The look on my shadow’s face was a sight to behold. For a full minute he stared at his map, wondering where he was. Finally he wandered off. I was delighted to be proven right, but would not recommend this procedure if dropping a couple of minutes in the results concerns you!
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RC#5 Fixtures Competitions Know Your Class Leader World Masters Championships Cyprus Orienteering Festival British Sprints and Middles EYOC European University Championships JIRCs Junior World Championships PhotoO Newcomers to O ....and loads more.....
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Enjoyed in 31 countries around the World.
Trevor Sauer (QLD)
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46 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2020
VICTORINOX AWARD This issue’s Victorinox Award goes to Tasmanian, Bert Elson, for his untiring contributions to major events management over many years. Bert will receive a Victorinox Handyman which includes 24 tools and features – retail value $139.
Top Events 2020
July 11-18 Sept 9-13
Sept 12-13 Sept 18-20 CANCELLED CANCELLED
CANCELLED
World Masters MTBO Champs & European MTBO Champs Lahti - Heinola, Finland QLD MTBO Championships Beerburrum, QLD 2020 Australian MTBO Champs Kuri Kuri, NSW, ausmtbochamps.com 2020 AUS Championships Launceston & St Helens,Tasmania www.aoc2020.tasorienteering.asn.au 2020 AUS Schools Championships St Helens,Tasmania
July 17-24 July 18-24 Aug 1-7 Sept 17-19
Sept 25Oct 3
JWOC 2021 Turkey 2021 Swiss O Week Arosa, Switzerland O-Ringen Uppsala, Sweden Scottish 6-Days, Lochaber 2021 Australian MTBO Champs Kuri Kuri, NSW, ausmtbochamps.com 2021 AUS Championships Launceston & St Helens,Tasmania www.aoc2021.tasorienteering.asn.au 2021 AUS Schools Championships Bicheno & St Helens,Tasmania
CANCELLED
2020 Turbo Chook 3 Days St Helens,Tasmania
Sept 28-30
CANCELLED
WMTBOC & JWMTBOC 2020 Loulé, Portugal
Sept 28-30
2021 Turbo Chook 3 Days Bicheno & St Helens,Tasmania
CANCELLED
Alice Springs Masters Games
CANCELLED
JWOC 2020 Turkeyl
Easter
AUS 3 Days Carnival, Queensland 2022 Jukola Relays Mynämäki, SW Finland Sprint WOC 2022 Denmark (near Velje, Jutland) woc2022.dk 2022 World Games Birmingham, Alabama, USA www.theworldgames2021.com/ WMOC 2022 Vieste (Gargano, Puglia) Italy JWOC 2022 Aguiar da Beira, Portugal WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Sweden AUS Championships (& Oceania?) Victoria
2022
POSTPONED Victorian Championships
Dates TBA
Oct 17-18 CANCELLED
Vic MTBO Championships Maryborough
June 29July 3
Oct 17-18
QLD Long Distance Championships Applethorpe, QLD
July 7-17
Oct 23-26
NZ Championships Manawatu, Wellington, NZ
Oct 24-25
ACT MTBO Championships Kowen, ACT
Nov 29
MELBOURNE City Race 2020 Port Melbourne www.melbournecityrace.com.au Xmas 5 Days NSW. Southern Highlands www.onsw.asn.au/
Dec 27-31
2021 January 9-17
OCEANIA NZ 2021 Decision early Canterbury region, New Zealand Sept 2020 oceaniao.nz/ TBC AUS / NZ Secondary Schools Test New Zealand April 2-5 AUS 3 Days Carnival, Easter Orange, NSW April 17-18 Vic MTBO Championships Maryborough, VIC May 13-16 May 22-29
June 10-18
June 19-20 July 2-9
WMMTBOC Slovenia WMOC & World Masters Games Orienteering near Kobe, Kansai Prefecture, Japan www.wmg2021.jp/en/ WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Kuortane, Finland www.wmtboc2021.com 2021 Arctic Circle Jukola Relays Rovaniemi, Finland Sprint & Forest WOC 2021 Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic
July 9-17 Dates TBA
Sept
2023 Easter Dates TBA Dates TBA Dates TBA September
AUS 3 Days Carnival, ACT JWOC 2023 Romania Forest WOC 2023 Flims, Switzerland WMOC 2023 Slovakia AUS Championships Western Australia
SEPTEMBER 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 47
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