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OA NEWS
Orienteering Australia HALL of FAME
The announcement and presentation of Orienteering Australia honours and awards took place at the Australian 3-Days. The following orienteers were announced as inductees to the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame:
Athlete Division: Jo Allison, Carolyn Jackson and Adrian Jackson General Division: Michael Dowling and Rob Simson
Membership of the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame is the crowning achievement of a sporting career in Orienteering in Australia and represents the highest level of peer recognition for an individual’s contribution to Australian orienteering. The Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame recognises and promotes the outstanding sporting achievements of our athletes and officials to acknowledge the rich sporting heritage of Australian orienteering. It is an illustrious group of Australia’s most respected and celebrated orienteers that span the test of time. They are the best of the best, who through their achievements have made a significant contribution to our sporting history and have inspired others to achieve their potential in both sport and life.
Hall of Fame Athlete Division Carolyn Jackson (nee Hooper) (VIC)
Carolyn Jackson has represented Australia as both a mountain bike orienteer at the elite and masters level, and as a foot orienteer at the elite level. Carolyn represented Australia as a foot orienteer at the World Orienteering Championships in 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1985 (in Britain, Norway, Finland and Australia) competing in Individual and Relay events on each occasion. Her best results were in 1978 when she was 23rd in the Individual event and the Australian team finished eighth in the Relay. During her early orienteering career, she won W21 twice at the Australian Championships, and also at the inaugural Pacific Orienteering Championships near Canberra. When mountain bike orienteering was introduced to Australia, Carolyn took up this new sport and was a member of the Australian team at the World Championships in MTBO on seven occasions between 2002 and 2014. Her best results were at the inaugural Championships in France in 2002, when she was 16th in the Long Distance event and 15th in the Sprint, with the Australian team finishing fifth in the Relay. Her greatest international achievements were in the World Masters Championships in MTBO. Between 2012 and 2019, she won 15 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 2 bronze medals in the various events, plus 4 gold medals at a 2016 international event in Portugal, where she was coaching the Australian WOC team. In 2017, she held the number one position in the W60 World Masters MTBO Rankings. Of the seven ranking events she contested that year, she had three first place and four second place finishes. Carolyn continues to be an active competitor in Orienteering in Australia. She is a regular competitor in State and National events in both FootO and MTBO and has won numerous Australian titles in MTBO, as well as the Australian MTBO Series on six occasions between 2013 and 2019. She has been a regular member of the Australian team for the Australia – New Zealand MTBO Challenge. Carolyn is one of the selectors for the Australian MTBO teams, was the coach for the team at the 2016 World Championships, and is a regular course planner for State and National level MTBO events.
Hall of Fame
Athlete Division
Jo Allison (ACT)
Jo Allison was one of Australia’s top elite orienteers for over a decade, representing Australia at eight World Championships between 1997 and 2008, two Junior World Championships (1995 and 1996) and one World Games (2001). She was the first woman to represent Australia at eight World Championships. Her best results in the World Championships were: • Long Distance: 23rd. 2004, Västerås, Sweden; • Middle Distance: 17th. 2008, Olomouc, Czech Republic; • Sprint: 28th. 2005, Aichi, Japan; • Relay: 4th. 2006, Aarhus, Denmark (the best ever result by an
Australian team). Jo has been a noted and highly reliable relay runner, often taking on the challenge of being the first leg runner. She was in the women’s relay team at seven of the eight World Championships she attended, with the teams finishing eighth or better at her last four Championships. Jo was one of the four members of the team to represent Australia at the 2001 World Games in Japan, the first time that Orienteering had been included in the Games. She finished 13th in the Individual race and the mixed-gender Relay team of four was a close fifth, 15 seconds behind third. Her best results in the Junior World Championships were all in Gorova, Romania, in 1996, when she finished 15th in both the Long Distance and Middle Distance events and was in the Australian Relay team that finished 11th. After retiring from international competition at the end of 2008 season to concentrate on having children, Jo returned to national orienteering in late 2013. She made a cameo appearance at the 2017 Oceania Championships in New Zealand winning the W21E class Long Distance final at age 40 and anchoring the Australian women’s Relay team to victory in the W21E class. She used those races to prepare for the 2017 World Masters Championships, winning the gold medal in W40 in the Long Distance event. Jo Allison was one of the top female orienteers in Australia for over twenty years. She won her first National League individual series at age 19 years in 1995 and her fifth and last at age 41 years in 2017.
Hall of Fame
Athlete Division
Adrian Jackson (VIC)
Adrian Jackson has represented Australia as both a mountain bike orienteer at the elite level and as a foot orienteer at the junior level. Adrian’s achievements in mountain bike orienteering are the highest of any orienteer that has represented Australia. Adrian’s successes in MTBO began at the second World Championships which were held in Victoria in 2004, when he won the gold medal in the Middle Distance event and the bronze medal in the Long Distance event. He competed in the World Championships in most years to 2010, winning four more gold medals (2008 – Poland: Middle; 2009 – Israel: Sprint and Long Distance; 2010 – Portugal: Sprint); two silver medals (2010 – Portugal: Middle and Long Distance) and one bronze medal (2005 – Slovakia: Long Distance). He also won the Middle and Long Distance events at a World Cup event in the Czech Republic in 2005. Adrian held the number one position in the World MTBO Rankings for 2008 and 2009. During his MTBO career, he was also the most successful competitor in Australian elite competition, winning the Australian Long Distance Championship on nine occasions, the Middle Distance Championship on five occasions and the Sprint Distance Championship twice. He won the Australian MTBO Series in 2008 and 2009, and was the Orienteering Australia Athlete of the Year in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Prior to his dominance in MTBO, Adrian represented Australia at the Junior World Championships in foot orienteering in 2002 (Spain) and 2003 (Estonia), competing in Sprint, Long Distance and Relay events on both occasions. Following his Orienteering career, Adrian moved to traditional cross country mountain bike racing, his best result coming in 2014 with 3rd place in the Australian National Championships – Cross Country Marathon.
Hall of Fame General Division Michael Dowling
Michael Dowling has been an active orienteer for over 40 years and represented Australia at the 1985 World Championships. He has made major contributions at the State, National and international levels in administration, coaching, mapping and event management. As President of Orienteering Tasmania in 1988 and 2009-11, he led the implementation of a new marketing and promotion strategy to build participation by individuals and families in the 18 - 40 age demographics engaged in the development of participation programs targeting youth, and restructured the associations governance procedures. His contributions within his home State have extended also to mapping and coaching at a high level. His mapping contributions included the 1988 World Cup and the 1992 Veteran World Cup and many national competitions within Australia, and he was also a key course planner in these international and national competitions. He was coach of the Tasmanian schools team from 2011 to 2016, when the team were Australian State champions on four occasions, was Tasmanian Coach of the Year in 2006, 2011 and 2012, and won the Orienteering Australia SILVA Award for Services to Coaching in 2017. He was involved with the management of the Australian national team between 1993 and 1997. He was Director High Performance on the Orienteering Australia Board from 2003 to 2009, continuing as an ex officio Board member since then and recently serving as Chair of the Board. In recent years, Michael has been heavily involved in the International Orienteering Federation, being a member of the IOF Foot Commission from 2005 to 2009, then being elected to the IOF Council in 2009. In 2012 he was elected an IOF Vice President and still holds that position. He was the course planner for the 2013 World Games in Cali, Colombia. His contribution for services to the IOF has been acknowledged through being awarded a Bronze Pin in 2014 and a Silver Pin in 2020.
Hall of Fame
General Division Rob Simson (deceased)
Rob Simson started his orienteering career in Queensland in 1975, beginning a lifelong commitment to the sport as a competitor, mapper, coach of juniors, event official and administrator. His most significant contributions were in the development of schools orienteering at both State and National levels, in particular in relation to the establishment of the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships. The ongoing success and impact of the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships remains his legacy. In 1984 Rob began lobbying to have an Australian Secondary Schools Orienteering Championships as part of the annual Australian Championships Carnival. With the help of Kay Haarsma, he was able to get support from the school sport bodies in five States, and the first Australian Secondary Schools Orienteering Championships, including an Individual and Relay event, took place in Canberra in 1989, under the joint banner of the Australian School Sports Council and the Orienteering Federation of Australia. That year Rob was appointed by the Australian School Sports Council as the National Secretary for School Orienteering. He held that position until 1999, guiding the development and success of the annual carnival as it grew to include all Australian States and to become the highlight of the schools orienteering calendar. It has helped to raise the profile of Orienteering in schools at the national level, and has encouraged many Australian school students to go on to represent Australia at the elite level in world championship events. Rob initiated the Queensland Schools Orienteering Championships in 1976 and was the driving force behind Queensland schools orienteering for the next four decades, convening the Championships from 1976 to 2014. He also organised other interschool relay events, and promoted the formation of a State Junior Squad in 1988, leading to the annual Queensland Junior Camp. Rob started the MiniCyclones squad for younger juniors in 2003, and coached the MiniCyclones until his last years.
In 1979, Rob was instrumental in the formation of the Toohey Forest Orienteering Club in the south of Brisbane before becoming QOA Secretary for 1981 and 1982 and President from 1984 to 1988. During the 1990s and 2000s, he was Chair of Mapping for QOA/ Orienteering Queensland. He was the Manager of two travelling Australian teams for the Australia – New Zealand Challenge (in 1983 and 1989). Rob held a key role in several national or international events held in Queensland, being organiser for the 1982 Australian Championships, course planner for the 1991 Australian Championships, the Asia Pacific Orienteering Championships Relay in 2000, and the 2008 Australian Long Distance Championships. He was the carnival convener, event organiser, mapper and course planner for several Australian Schools Orienteering Championships, his final contribution being as course setter for the Long Distance Event in 2016. He was involved in mapping for at least eight Queensland Championships, the 1987 Australian Three-days at Cherrabah and the 1988 Australian Schools Orienteering Championships, as well as arranging photogrammetry and organising mapping teams for other major events. Rob has been honoured for his enormous contribution to all aspects of Orienteering over the years with several national awards: the SILVA Award for Services to Orienteering presented by OFA in 1995, an Australian Sports Medal and an Order of Australia Medal. Rob Simson passed away on 15 July 2018. The plaque recognising his induction into the Hall of Fame was received by his sons Arnold, Neil and Scott who began orienteering as juniors and remain active in the sport.
Bill Jones has been a long-time contributor to Orienteering at all levels in Australia for decades. He has vast experience as a competitive orienteer and in orienteering administration, having started his orienteering life as an active member of the Waggaroos club in New South Wales, before moving to Canberra in the late 1990s, where he has made a consistently strong impact for over 20 years as an active member of the Red Roos club. He held positions for Orienteering ACT as Secretary (2004) and President (2005 to 2007). He was then President of Orienteering Australia for four years (2008 to 2011) and later joined the OA Board as a Director-at-large from 2017 to 2022. He won the Jim Sawkins Award for Services to Event Management in the ACT in 2007, the Mike Cassells Award for Services to Orienteering in the ACT in 2011, and was inducted as a Life Member of OACT in 2017. He has been a Level 3 Controller for numerous events and carnivals, most recently having controlled the Australian Long Distance and Australian/Oceania Relay events at Cootamundra as part of Oceania 2019, the 2021 NOL Carnival at Broulee and the April 2022 NOL Carnival in Canberra. Extensive professional experience with electronics and radio communications has seen Bill’s major ongoing contribution take the form of working with Orienteering technology. He was pivotal in the adoption of electronic punching in Australia in 2000 and the use of SPORTident radio controls – initially as part of the 2007 ‘Voice of the Forest’ Junior World Orienteering Championship commentary team at Dubbo. Since then he has become indispensable as ‘Mr FixIt’ for OACT for technical issues with event management software and communications hardware. In 2020-21, Bill was the leading contributor to simplify and automate event administration in response to COVID-19 restrictions. Bill’s work enabled Orienteering to be one of the first sports in the ACT to resume competition and social events through initiatives that were recognised by the ACT Government with OACT receiving the 2020 ACT Sport Minister’s Award for Innovation. Bill is a tirelessly willing volunteer in all aspects of social and competitive orienteering, always ready to contribute his time and experience, and apply his invaluable skill and unflappable temperament, for the benefit of Orienteering at the school, club, association and national level.
Community coaching is often overshadowed by the more prestigious high performance coaching yet it is essential for any sport. Barbara Dawson has been awarded the SILVA Award for Services to Orienteering Coaching for her long-term work in New South Wales schools and local club events, as well as for her national contribution through the National Schools Kit Project. Barbara is one of ONSW’s most important coaches working in schools, encouraging students not only to learn about orienteering but to have fun, and to come along to club events. Her extensive experience as a coach in ONSW’s schools development programs made her the obvious person to represent New South Wales at the national level on Orienteering Australia’s National Schools Kit Project. Barbara recognises the importance of newcomer coaching at club events and volunteers her services at many events, whether by previous arrangement or by stepping up when she sees a need. At events she is always quick to approach newcomers, check that everything is in hand and let them know of the opportunities to do more. She has been a stalwart at the southern Sydney River and Bay Orienteering Series (a joint Uringa Orienteers and Illawarra-Kareelah Orienteers activity) as the lead coach for newcomers and has helped other club members to learn what works when helping first-timers. ONSW recognised Barbara’s contributions to orienteering coaching in 2021 with the ONSW Encouragement Award and in 2019 as joint Volunteer of the Year with Graeme Dawson.
Bill Jones presented with the SILVA Award trophy by Jenny Casanova and Bob Mouatt.
Athlete of the Year 2021 Aston Key
The Orienteering Australia Athlete of the Year award recognises the most outstanding performances in elite orienteering competition during that year. The award is determined by the votes of an Electoral College consisting of members of the OA Board and the High Performance Management Groups in Foot and Mountain Bike Orienteering, with a Past President of OA as the Returning Officer. The Athlete of the Year for 2021 is Aston Key. As the Australian Championships Carnival and the Australian Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships were not held in 2021 due to COVID restrictions and no Australian teams took part in international competitions, the 2021 Athlete of the Year was determined on the basis of performances in the National Orienteering League and the Australian 3-Days. Aston won eight of the 10 M21E National Orienteering League rounds in 2021, with an injury preventing him from starting in the other two. The final event was a team Relay in which Aston gave the Victorians a flying start, leading by 5 minutes at the first changeover.
David Hogg Medal for Event Management:
Ian Rathbone
Ian Rathbone has made significant contributions to event management through his skill and knowledge in administration and information technology. Ian is a quiet achiever, whose work is fundamental to the smooth running of Orienteering events throughout Australia. He has contributed to the sport of Orienteering at a National, State and club level for many years. Ian has been the Chair of the National Eventor Working Group since 2016. His work on this group has involved significant requirements analysis, development of specifications, management of testing, and liaison with vendors and stakeholders. In this role he has managed many improvements to Eventor of benefit to all States. In the last two years Ian has spent a significant amount of time developing the OA Reporting system. This provides reports relating to Orienteering membership and event participation for all States and the ACT, drawing from data that is stored in Eventor. State administrators can request access to information on orienteers in their State, as well as statistical information on all States and the ACT. This information is invaluable in satisfying Orienteering’s reporting requirements and grant applications to various funding bodies. At the State level, Ian has served on the Board of Orienteering Tasmania for six years, three as Vice President and three as President. He has been the Eventor manager for Orienteering Tasmania since 2014, setting up the annual calendar on Eventor, creating events, uploading results, maintaining an event archive and managing the OT membership database. For the 2015 Oceania/World Cup events, Ian handled the communication systems that allowed live stream commentary and radio control splits to the world via mobile and satellite networks. He was the Entry Manager for several national events held in Tasmania: Oceania/World Cup 2015, Easter 2018 and the Australian Orienteering Championships that were scheduled for 2020 then for 2021 but were cancelled due to COVID. Ian has also played a key role for Orienteering Tasmania in the establishment and management of its website, its first online Collaboration system (ActiveCollab) and its Access-based membership database.
