NOL PREVIEW
National Orienteering League 2022 Preview BRODIE NANKERVIS – MANAGER COACHING DEVELOPMENT, ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA. PHOTOS BY: EVALIN BRAUTIGAM & TOM DE JONGH
T
he National Orienteering League (NOL) in 2022 is set to be an exciting season, with strong domestic competition expected, with many athletes preparing for the long-awaited return to international racing in 2022. The NOL season commences at the Melbourne Sprint Weekend (MSW), with the addition of a forest Relay sure to spice things up. The season continues in Canberra at the start of April with two forest races, returning to a crowd favourite at the Gib. Two weeks later Easter will be held in the fast granite forests of Kingaroy before an exciting culmination of the season at the Gold Coast. These final events have recently been granted Oceania status, with a World Championships wildcard spot up for grabs for the champion in both the Sprint and Sprint Knockout events! The OA High Performance Management Group has been working hard to make the NOL more accessible, more competitive, and more fun! After the success of similar events in the 2021 season, social events will be held at all rounds and accommodation options suggested. The presentation evening on Sunday night after the final event on the Gold Coast will surely be a highlight, with the addition of a
Round 1
lighthearted best and fairest award planned! The 2022 season will also see a trial of a “Sport” class, which will be offered at Round 2 in Canberra.
Sport Class to be trialled at NOL Round 2 in Canberra! In both women and men, open (21 and over) and juniors (20 and under), there will be an “Elite class” (which exists at the moment) and a “Sport class”. The Sport class replaces the A class used previously and brings it into the NOL competition. The Sport class is designed for competitive orienteers who may have other priorities than just the goal of elite racing on the international level. This could include young athletes, those new to the sport or those returning to orienteering after a break. The Sport classes will be approximately 80% of the distance of their corresponding Elite class, will be hard navigation and will score points (albeit a reduced amount compared to the Elite class). This means that there will be eight NOL scoring classes on offer at NOL Round 2. The Team’s competition for each category will combine scores from both the Elite and Sport class, with the three top scorers from each State being counted.
12-13 March MELBOURNE SPRINT WEEKEND Sat PM Campus (new map) WRE sprint Sun AM Campus (new map) Sun PM Forest Relay (Woodlands)
2022
Round 2
2-3 April AUTUMN CLASSIC, ACT Sat: Middle Distance (The Gib) Sun: Long Distance (The Sandhills)
Round 3
15-18 April EASTER 3 DAY, KINGAROY QLD Sprint, Middle, Long Distance, Multi-day
Proudly supported by Round 4
23-24 April
GOLD COAST SPRINTS, QLD Fri: Night Sprint Relay Sat: Oceania Sprint (Qualification + Final) Sun: Oceania Sprint Knockout
Alastair George
Angus Haines
6 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2022
Aston Key
Emily Sorensen
