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MELBOURNE CITY RACE
Melbourne skyline from Williamstown.
MELBOURNE CITY RACE WEEKEND 2022
The perfect way to extend your stay!
Coming to the AUS Championships in Victoria? Looking for an add‑on to your orienteering holiday? Look no further! The Melbourne City Race Weekend, now in its third year, will take place on October 8 and 9 – just a week after the AUS Champs concludes. Make the short trip down to Melbourne, take in some sightseeing and shopping, and come along to our famous Summer Series (Monday‑Thursday evenings). Then gear up for some fantastic urban action, and be part of Australia’s only City Race! City Races are long distance events in Sprint style – complex urban areas, short legs, lots of direction changes and route choice – but over 3‑10 km. They feature colour maps at Sprint scale, and SPORTident/SI Air punching. The double header lead‑in races will be a Sprint and an urban “Short”, to get your brain and body prepared.
Race 1 – Waverley Stadum (Saturday morning)
A new urban map featuring the famous Waverley Park, this is a must for sports history buffs, and fans of complex Sprint courses. The oval and stadium are heritage listed. “Arctic Park” was home to AFL teams Hawthorn and St Kilda during the 1990s. It played host to some of the biggest names in rock & roll, and World Series Cricket day‑night matches were held there in the heady days of the Packer‑led rebellion. Nowadays it’s a compact residential area with numerous narrow streets and small open spaces, with the famous stadium as its centrepiece – just made for Sprint orienteering! Mapper and course planner: Damian Spencer.
Race 2 – Tatterson Park (Saturday afternoon)
A short distance south lies a fascinating pocket of woodlands and wetlands, sporting pavilions, a unique bug‑themed playground, and safe, quiet streets linked by pocket parks and chains of lakes. But the main attraction is the notorious “tree maze”. The format will pit you against your rivals head‑to‑ head, in a demanding test of complex park racing. Mapper: Fredrik Johansson; Course planner: Toby Cooper. Choose any of the three courses on offer for these two events. A car is strongly recommended, as public transport to the southeast suburbs is limited.
Race 3 – Melbourne City Race at Williamstown (Sunday morning)
Pick up your map and set off on a voyage of discovery, taking in the wonderful seaside sights, sounds (and smells) of the historic township of Williamstown, in Melbourne’s inner west. The 2022 Melbourne City Race will be an incredible mix of urban navigation, coastal scenery, maritime history, and the bustling village atmosphere that the area is famous for. The new colour map will take in everything from Point Gellibrand to Jawbone Sanctuary, including The Strand, the piers, the Timeball Tower, the Botanic Gardens, and Williamstown Beach. Mapper and course planner: Ricky Thackray. Choose any of the five courses on offer – Long Hard, Medium Hard, Short Hard, Moderate, or Easy. The arena is easily accessible via a short train trip from the CBD by train, or a quick drive over the West Gate Bridge. There is plenty of parking, and toilets near the arena. Afterwards, enjoy the local Sunday market, grab lunch in one of the numerous cafes or pubs, visit Scienceworks, hit the beach, ride the Bay Trail, try some ship spotting, or just soak up the spectacular views across Hobsons Bay. And don’t forget to stick around for our amazing random prize draw!
Enter now via Eventor – entries close in early October. Keep up with all the Race news at www.melbournecityrace.com.au
