KAY HAARSMA INTERVIEW

Kay Haarsma retires

Kay Haarsma is retiring from MTBO coaching and administration positions with Orienteering Australia. Marina Iskhakova interviews Kay.

1. How have you started with MTBO in Australia? What was the main attraction? What convinced you that it had a future in Australia?

I had heard about MTBO happening in the Czech Republic and got some copies of maps from there. The organisation looked quite easy, with controls only on tracks, and thus could utilise South Australian pine forest areas. I had been increasingly into the various disciplines of cycling and thought this would be another option. I also believed it would be attractive to mountain bike riders and thus open up a whole new market for Orienteering. Soon after I ran the first events in SA Blake Gordon initiated MTBO in Victoria, running both State & Australian Championships successfully and it grew from there. He also master minded the 2004 World Championships in Ballarat and has been a long-time driver of the sport.

2. You devoted a couple of decades to MTBO. How would you define the MTBO? What do you believe are key features of MTBO as a sport?

I guess you can define MTBO as “nav on wheels.” MTBO is both a type of Orienteering and a different modality of cycling. It is unique in that competitors can come into it from either sport, or even adventure racing. Also, its useful to still compete in foot O / cycle racing to enhance one’s skills but also for variation. The importance of navigational expertise and mental coolness, rather than physical fitness specificity, can be seen by the fact that, for the moment, the best elite riders do well in Sprint, Middle & Long Distance and Mass Start. Ebike and pair categories also need to be embraced by our sport as there is more than one avenue to the elite pathway.

3. You have been Australian MTBO Coach for many years? How did that come about? What were your WMTBOC countries/years?

As a PE & Outdoor Education teacher I had a strong affinity for coaching different sports from a young age. Initially being a runner, I started off as an athletics coach. My O coaching started after my elite foot O career got curtailed by injury. I

Kay at the 2015 World Masters MTBO in Portugal. Photo: Joaquim Margarido

KAY’S AUSTRALIAN MTBO TEAM SERVICE

2002 WMTBOC 2004 WMTBOC 2007 WMTBOC 2008 WMTBOC

France team member Australia Coach Czech Rep Coach Poland Coach 2009 WMTBOC Israel Coach 2010 WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Portugal Coach 2011 WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Italy Coach 2015 WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Czech Coach 2017 WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Lithuania Coach 2018 WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Austria Coach

was privileged to be co-WOC coach in 1985 and then JWOC coach/manager six times from 1991-2003. I competed in the first MTBO WOC in 2002 in France and was inspired by the whole scene. Australia was awarded the 2nd Championships in 2004 and I saw a need to coach & co-ordinate a squad to maximise our chances of success. I even spent that year in Canberra as that was where most team members were based.

4. What are the most critical qualities for Elite MTBO? How would you define a winning formula for MTBO rider?

A good supply of intricate maps of various terrains are critical for elite MTBO. I believe the navigational demands of MTBO are often under-rated, especially by foot orienteers. Complex maps make route choices especially important, with climb, distance, your riding strengths, track rideability and direction of entering & leaving the control all important. SI AIR at 1.5m distance means you can race through controls, rather than having a slow approach & using that time to read the map. Unlike in foot O, you can’t just cut through the forest if you have made a mistake. All elites can be physically capable. But the best are often quicker decision makers and also have a cool head on their shoulders to read and adapt to the nuances of the map, terrain and other uncontrollables. With fitness being equal then I rate in importance: Navigation as 45% and Mental Coolness 55%.

5. Please could you share some unforgettable success stories from your coaching experience?

In MTBO Adrian Jackson won 10 medals over six WOCs and was the dominant male rider of the era. He started MTBO as an elite after having competed at JWOC in foot O. He always prepared thoroughly, had navigational smarts, and remained cool under pressure. I don’t think I taught him a lot but as an efficient coach I ensured he had good training exercises and knew exactly what was happening in Championship races. At the exceptionally hot WOC in Israel I had ice vests for him to put on before and after races. If nothing else, it made his rivals jealous! We first took juniors away to MTBO JWOC in 2010 in Portugal. Marc Gluskie (TAS), Luke Poland (ACT), Chris Firman (QLD) struggled initially but then put consistent rides together to snare the 5th podium place in the Relay much to everyone’s delight. Other well deserved JWOC highlights were Angus Robinson’s Sprint gold in 2015 and Lucy Mackie’s Middle Distance silver medal in 2017. I believe that individual one-on-one coaching is crucial, but we don’t do enough of it in Australia in either foot O or MTBO. I’m very proud of coaching foot orienteers Vanessa Round & Amber Tomas from School O to JWOC & WOC teams. In 2007, before JWOC in Dubbo, Vanessa had a leg injury that curtailed her training. Thus, I got her to warm-up and cool down on an exercise bike to limit the time on her feet.

6. You have been an elite athlete for many years yourself! What is still your main thrilling win or result you remember through the years?

In 2002, after MTBO WOC, I competed in and won the elite female division of Bike Adventure, in the Czech Republic,

Marina Iskhakova riding with Kay at the opening parade for the 2017 World Masters MTBO in Orleans, France.

despite being 48 years of age. This was a huge event and very prestigious as many of the top elites competed. It was a 2-day rogaine type event for pairs. I asked a Czech friend to find me “a decent rider, not some old slow veteran.” I was paired up with a Czech girl who had recently retired from the Czech MTB elite cross-country team! She was better technically on the bike and faster initially than me but hadn’t been training, so had to draft behind me for the last hour each day. She couldn’t read a map and didn’t speak English, so I learnt a few Czech words of “left; right, slow, faster.” We had fun.

7. What has been your favourite WOC and overseas experiences?

Israel 2009 is my favourite and most countries agree on this. It was way above expectations. They didn’t have a strong background in MTBO or high-profile riders, so I was worried about what standard it would be. It really set the benchmark with outstanding terrains that were just so specific to the different disciplines. They even had the foresight to have most Finishes, given the hot temperatures, at local swimming pools. And all done with limited volunteers – the same people seemed to be at the breakfast, Starts, Finish and presentations. All this done with war occurring in the country. One Bulletin stated: “do not be afraid to come to Israel – the range of the rocket fire will be at least 5 kilometres from any maps.” A good incentive not to ride off the map. Czech 5 Days near Pilsen occurs every two years and attracts huge fields. Most people camp or stay near the event centre and all events are rideable to the Start, as there is lots of

forest nearby. You can be riding to and from with families with small children or with a world champ, all equally friendly. Lots of fun activities in the evenings too. Pre-WOC training camps overseas are always fun and often we have had other nations join our group which often results in great friendships. Saki from Japan did so for several years and it was great to subsequently meet up with her for a ride in Japan. Since 2008 we have often trained with some of the Russian team, with their coach Natalia, being very generous in sharing her time.

8. How do you see the Development of MTBO in Australia and its future?

MTBO had a fantastic early development, both hosting the 2nd ever WOC and having really strong Australian teams in the 2000’s. These teams were mostly made up of elite foot orienteers who had transitioned into MTBO as were our JWOC medallists Angus and Lucy. It was somewhat unfortunate that we had a very reduced team to Israel in 2009 because of the uncertain war activity happening there and our numbers of elites have dropped off since then. We have good mappers, technical officials and event organisers but are attracting fewer elites and juniors. I once asked a Finnish rider why they always had big and successful teams. She said: “Well we get good support from our national federation, as they consider that all WOC medals are equal, whether they come from Foot, MTBO or Ski O. So, orienteers are encouraged to do any or even all the disciplines.” The Finns have been successful through the whole 20-year history of MTBO WOC and it is only recently that Norway & Sweden have joined in the medal fight. This same equitable philosophy needs to be evident in Orienteering Australia and the State bodies rather than treating MTBO as a sideline activity. Foot & MTBO are the same but using different modes of travel. There needs to be more affirmative action to promote MTBO. Many juniors drop out of foot O whereas they could find enjoyment in MTBO.

9. How do you see / how could you define the future trends in World MTBO in 2020-2040?

a) I see MTBO rapidly moving ahead technologically. Riders will have ipad type electronic maps instead of paper on map boards. This will enable riders to change the scale as they go for better readability when needed. b) I visualise gravel type bikes could be used for some terrains, especially for urban sprints. Riders might bring two bikes to a Championships, which will make logistics hard and favour the wealthier European type nations even more. Presently there is no limitation on the type of bike to be used - so perhaps we might have to rule one bike only, or limit tyre widths. c) More and more people are riding bikes. Hopefully this will translate (with promotion) to more mountain bike orienteers.

10. If the resources are not limited, what would you see as the first 3 priorities for MTBO development in Australia?

1) Promotion, Promotion, more promotion. Get it done professionally, at least to show us how. Orienteers throughout Australia organise fantastic events but do little promotion to attract new blood. 2) More equitable financial support for MTBO including a) Part time paid coach / development officer; b) more training camp opportunities. 3) States should consider more rogaine type events, even using suburbia and have pair categories. This means no-one gets the dreaded DNF and having pairs is more sociable and makes it attractive to adventure racing types.

11. The news on your retirement from MTBO governance was very sudden and sad. Could you share what are your main dreams and aspirations?

I’m well along the way of my planned “wearing out rather than rusting out.” A failed knee replacement & shoulder hassles limits my exercise to cycling. I’m trying to ride most of the mountain bike parks in Australia, but they keep making new ones! Also planning on doing more bike packing on dirt and making new routes for others to use. Basically, just letting loose the inner explorer. Kay Haarsma