Sport Australia is the Australian Government agency that develops, supports and invests in sport at all levels in Australia.
Orienteering Australia has worked closely with Sport Australia to develop orienteering from community participation to high-level performance.
Orienteering Australia is one of many national sporting organisations that has formed a winning partnership with Sport Australia to develop its sport in Australia. www.sportaus.gov.au
Our 2023 orienteering season is now in full swing, and our National League will shortly draw to its conclusion with the final round in Victoria, which by the time you read this issue will be done and dusted. By all accounts, the Sydney Sprint Weekend was a superb round of sprint-format-based orienteering and not only for our National League competitors. I am aware that during and after this event, orienteers within our community are asking the question: “When will Australia hold a major world event again such as World Championships?" As it happens the Board is also pondering this question, following on from our experience of bidding for a place of our sport in the 2026 Victoria Commonwealth Games with Orienteering Victoria. One of our strategic tasks in our 2023 Activity Plan is to “develop a plan for the hosting of future IOF major events by 2030”. What do you think? Is it feasible? What about a World Championships? Sprint or Forest? JWOC? MTBWOC? World Masters? Where, if we did?
The Board has put together a small working group to start this process and has been having some early preliminary discussions with the IOF as to what are the key requirements for different events.The Board would love to hear your thoughts. Drop us a line via me at chair@orientereing.asn.au if you wish.
Our recent Easter 3 Days was a great success in the high country of southern NSW hosted by Orienteering ACT.The orienteering and the weather were challenging. As I have written before, such great events only happen because of massive amounts of volunteers’ effort to allow us to enjoy our sport.Thank you so much to all the people
who worked so hard to ensure Easter was the success it was. And thank you again to everyone out there across our country who are doing the work to put on events for all of us to have the chance to enjoy our great sport.
On the Board front, we recently held the Annual General Meeting where the Board shared with our member states/territories and meeting observers the work of the Board on behalf of all of you through 2022, our financial position, the budget for 2023 and the activities planned for 2023.Two of your Directors, Craig Steffens, and Richard Mountstephens stepped down, and Andrea Harris of Queensland was elected. We welcome Andrea to the Board. Andrea shares Craig’s passion for MTBO and brings a diverse skill set to the Board. I want to pay a special huge thank you to Craig and Richard.They worked tirelessly on improving the way the Board operates both operationally and strategically. Craig has led many of the key operational matters the Board has engaged in, including but not least, the recruitment of project staff, and leading both the Controller Curriculum and website development projects. Richard has been a fantastic Finance Director with a wonderful handle on ensuring the Board is financially prudent and developing great systems to improve our strategic and operational efficiency in the finance area. It has been a great privilege to have had the opportunity to work with both.
Keep enjoying finding those controls. In my 47th year of orienteering I am still searching for that elusive “perfect” execution. The challenge continues.
During its meeting on March 10 the IOF Council decided to not move forward with a proposal of creating an IOF Team for athletes that have emigrated from countries where the membership of the national orienteering federation in IOF is suspended. The discussion was actualized by the fact that the war in Ukraine and consequent suspensions of the IOF members in Russia and Belarus might last for a long time and the current suspensions exclude many athletes from participating in IOF events. The IOF has also followed the discussions and consultations taking place within the Olympic movement related to the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international sports. Based upon this, the IOF decided to initiate an open process to investigate the position of its member federations and athlete representatives on the topic.The IOF Council drafted a proposal containing potential conditions for a neutral IOF Team which was sent out for consultation in January. The proposal contained strict conditions with athletes having to have emigrated from a suspended member country and providing a formal statement that they would fully respect the
IOF Statutes and any sanctions in place. In addition, the athletes would only be able to participate in individual competitions and neutrally on the “IOF Team”.
The responses received during the consultation process from member federations and athlete representatives showed very clear majority in advising to not change the current sanctions against Russian and Belarusian sport and athletes. The IOF Council agrees with the advice provided by its members and has therefore decided not to move forward with the proposal. The IOF approach regarding the war in Ukraine and the suspension of the members in Russia and Belarus is strengthened by the very clear message from its members. The Council asks all member federations to respect the suspension of the Russian and Belarus members including restricting the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus.
The IOF Council would like to emphasize the continued solidarity with Ukrainian orienteering and the Ukrainian Orienteering Federation and support the demand for ceasing aggression and a lasting peace.
There is a worldwide movement encouraging people to spend more time in nature to appreciate it and be inspired to preserve it. Many, if not all, orienteers seem to care about the environment and the native species inhabiting it. Australian ecosystems have been smashed by many stressors including destructive land and water use, climate change and invasive species. Environmental weeds, such as blackberry and gorse, outcompete indigenous plants, degrade native habitats, provide shelter for feral animals, and reduce productivity of farmland.They are also a nuisance for orienteers. Have you ever got entangled in a gorse thicket or donated your body tissue to a blackberry shrub?
Blackberry, Rubus fruiticosus species aggregate, was introduced to Australia, mainly for fruit production (Weeds Australia, 2023) and to control bank erosion (Victorian Blackberry Taskforce, 2023). Blackberry is listed among the ten worst invasive species in Australia based on the criterion of the number of threatened species it negatively impacts (Kearney et al., 2019). Lantana, Lantana camara, is the only other plant in the invasive top ten. Gorse, Ulex europaeus, belongs to the pea family, Fabaceae, and comes from Europe (CRC for Australian Weed Management, 2003). It was imported to Australia as an ornamental and hedge plant. Blackberry, gorse and lantana are classified as weeds of national significance (Parliament of Australia, 2023), and land managers, conservation practitioners, farmers and orienteers all have good reasons to support weeding efforts.
Orienteering is affected by thorny weeds, both before and during events. Occasionally event organisers need to slash paths through blackberry or gorse thickets to make passages for competitors. Dark green areas have to be added or enlarged on maps when the thorny shrubs proliferate between events. Sometimes these weeds overwhelm previously runnable areas. Forests and woodlands are bush orienteers’ sporting facilities that do not require maintenance jobs such as fixing lighting or resurfacing playing fields. We don’t leave rubbish behind, and we take precautions to not spread Phytophtora cinnamomi, a plant pathogen, the second worst invasive species in Australia. Should orienteers go further and attempt to improve the environment they compete in, not just strive to avoid damaging it? There are a number of reports on the Orienteering Australia website (2023) showing that orienteering has a relatively low environmental impact but I am unaware of any conservation projects cosponsored by orienteering organisations in Australia. Orienteering would be diminished without our
natural environment, so maybe as a sport we could endeavour to help with the conservation efforts in our forests, woodlands, shrublands and heathlands?
However, it is not as simple as deciding that weeding is a good idea. Many issues need to be considered such as obtaining permission from land managers, safety, feasibility, and effectiveness of actions. Is there an appetite to organise a weed-removal group as part of an event or would it be too challenging logistically? Should event organisers ask land managers about weeding, and if they obtain permission, include “weeding is encouraged” in the event information? Would this be viewed as a sign to bring gardening gloves to events? By the way, do you have a pillow case and gloves in your car in case you come across an injured or orphaned animal, for example a joey in a dead marsupial mother’s pouch? Even if it is impractical to organise a working bee, perhaps some of us could just pull out (with land managers’ blessings) some plants that we are sure are weeds, especially where solitary noxious weeds begin to colonise new areas. Another way orienteering could aid nature conservation is by sharing maps showing new infestations, in particular where they are away from roads and less likely to be noticed by land managers.
If you would like to offer suggestions or provide answers to some of the questions posed here, you may use the link https://forms.gle/37ixhvcmKzaKJat36
PS. Australia’s ten worst invasive species are: European rabbit (affecting 321 threatened-with-extinction species), Phytophtora plant disease (236), feral pig (149), feral cat (123), feral goat (116), European red fox (95), lantana (95), blackberry (47), black rat (42) and feral cattle (39) (Kearney et al., 2019).
References
CRC for Australian Weed Management (2003). Weeds of National Significance. Weed Management Guide. Gorse – Ulex europaeus. https://nre.tas.gov.au/Documents/Gorse_CRC_bpmg.pdf
Kearney SG, Carwardine J, Reside AE, et al. (2019). The threats to Australia’s imperilled species and implications for a national conservation response. Pacific Conservation Biology 25, 231–244. Orienteering Australia (accessed 2023). Environment. https:// orienteering.asn.au/index.php/environment/
Parliament of Australia (accessed 2023). Appendix 9 - The list of weeds of national significance. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_ Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/ Completed_inquiries/2004-07/nationalparks/report/e09
Victorian Blackberry Taskforce (accessed 2023). Blackberry: the problem. https://vicblackberrytaskforce.com.au/blackberry-theproblem/
Weeds Australia (accessed 2023). Rubus fruticosus aggregate. https:// profiles.ala.org.au/opus/weeds-australia/profile/ Rubus%20fruticosus%20aggregate
ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA BOARD
Chair & Director – International (IOF)
Director – Finance
Director – Technical
www.orienteering.asn.au
PO Box 3379, North Strathfield, NSW 2137
MikeDowling
RichardMountstephens
AnnaSheldon
Director BrettWeihart
Director Coaching & High Performance ClareHawthorne
Director Media & Communications TroydeHaas
Director – Ex Officio BlairTrewin
Director AndreaHarris
Secretary RobertSpry
ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA STAFF AND OFFICERS
Head Coach
Manager of High Performance Administration
Manager of Coaching Development
Participation Manager
Manager of Coaching & Officiating Administration
NatashaKey
FredrikJohansson
BrodieNankervis
BrodieNankervis
JimMackay
National Sporting Schools Coordinator JimMackay
Chief Medical Officer MarkFreeman
Editor OA Enews
LindaBurridge
Badge Scheme Secretary JohnOliver
Contact details are available on the Orienteering Australia website.
Can you match some of the orienteers mentioned on this page with their results at the Australian 3 Days 2023?
2nd in M21E, 7th in W21E, 1st in M50A, 3rd in M50A, 7th in Sledge, 10th in Sledge, 11th in Sledge, 4th in W45A, 5th in W45A, 13th in M60A, 3rd in M80A, 7th in M70A, 3rd in W21E on Day 3 and 1st in W50A on Day 2 and 11th in W21E on Day 1, 8th in M60A on Day 1, 5th in M50A on Day 3, 5th in M65AS on Day 1, 2nd in W21E on Day 1.
Orienteering Queensland: POBox275,FernyHillsDC,QLD4055.Secretary:SueCampbell secretary@oq.asn.au
Orienteering NSW: POBox3379NorthStrathfieldNSW2137.AdminOfficer:GayleQuantock admin@onsw.asn.au
Orienteering ACT: POBox402JamisonCentreACT2614.Secretary:StephenGoggs office@act.orienteering.asn.au
Orienteering Victoria: POBox1010TemplestoweVIC3106.Secretary:AislinnPrendergast secretary@vicorienteering.asn.au
Orienteering SA: 1 Windsor Rd, Glenside SA 5065. Secretary: Fi Pahor secretary@sa.orienteering.asn.au
Orienteering Western Australia: POBox234SubiacoWA6904.Secretary:CeriPass oawa.secretary@gmail.com
Orienteering Tasmania: Secretary:KlaasHartmann secretary@tasorienteering.asn.au
Top End Orienteers (Northern Territory): POBox39152WinnellieNT0821.Secretary:SusanneCasanova topendorienteersNT@gmail.com
NEXT ISSUE DEADLINE July 14. Time-sensitive: July 21
The national magazine of Orienteering Australia Inc. ABN 77 406 995 497
Published four times a year: 1 March, June, September, December. Copies are dispatched in bulk to state associations in the week prior to that date. Print Post Approved PP 236080/00011, (100023602 for NSW).
Editor: Hania Lada, P.O. Box 165, Warrandyte, Victoria 3113 magazine@orienteering.asn.au Phone 0493 615 203
Magazine Design & Assembly: Peter Cusworth, Phone 0409 797 023 pcusworth53@gmail.com
Printer: Razer Graphix, Factory 6/15 Stud Road, Bayswater.
Contributions welcome! Prior consultation is suggested before preparing major contributions. Guidelines available from the editor.
Regular Contributors: Competition – Blair Trewin; History & Awards –David Hogg; Spot the Difference – Michael Hubbert
Subscriptions: State Association members via State Associations. Contact relevant Association Secretary for details. Other subscribers: Write to The Australian Orienteer. Within Australia: $40 pa. Overseas: Asia/Pacific (inc. NZ) $A49; Rest of World $A58 pa, delivery only via airmail. Please make payment directly into the account of The Australian Orienteer. Details are provided on the subscription form available from the magazine webpage on the Orienteering Australia website https://orienteering.asn.au/index. php/magazine/
Opinions expressed in The Australian Orienteer are not necessarily those of Orienteering Australia.
Afantastic weekend of sprint orienteering began with 370 punters fronting the starter’s gun at Sydney Uni, and continued across three other campuses in fine and warm weather. Sydney finally muscled into the sprinting weekend action, so ably pre-ordained by Ted and Margi’s fantastic biannual Melbourne Sprint Weekends (MSWs) – and before them, the inspirational Sprint the Bay (STB) series in NZ put on by the Morrison family.
The four MSWs, and indeed the STBs, were all “six packs” that utilised the holiday Monday, whereas we made do with four events – adding a military tickle at Middle Head for those that stayed on. Despite the four-pack squeeze, the event organiser Mark Shingler and his many lieutenants managed an outstanding series of races across 21 classes. Individual, relay and knockout events were all on show, as were Australia’s elite talent at both senior and junior levels.
And given that all races were NOL rounds, and race 1 a world ranking race, this was the place to be to watch our best and brightest. No Aston, sadly (injured), but the full fields didn’t disappoint. They were flying, roaring, racing – none more so than at the very exciting semifinal and final of the knockout at Western Sydney University (WSU). Here, runners at warp speed meant “stand back spectators” as the racing reached its apogee.
Competitor numbers, being well above expectations, had the event crew in very active mode – and I think a shout-out for them all is worth including in this report: Paul directing technical (and Rosscoe); Andy, Ron and Hamish inside the results tent; The Kennedys inside another tent; Miles behind the wheel; Árpád behind the microphone; Peter printing; Jo and Airdrie corralling starters; Paula and team working the knockout choices without the booths! And our brilliant designer, Stuart, creating another visual feast. “Wow” and “wonderful” are the words. There were a couple of course planners and controllers with hands in the SSW mix but we can give them a rattle later.
Not quite sure how Mark settled on the four venues, but visitors would have hoped for a bit of sandstone and slope, with the two big unis happily fitting that bill on Saturday. WSU’s reputation as one of Sydney’s best sprint venues, made it another “must”, with St Gregory’s College providing the Sunday padding – and more slope (something Ted liked as a contrast to the many flat campuses down south). A great venue lock then, a world ranker, a great competitor list that included many interstaters (and not just in the NOL ranks), and fine weather. Whoo hoo, this looks hot stuff. Let’s have a closer look.
“Was going to uni ever such a blast?”Callum White followed by Elye Dent, Cooper Horley and Xavier Scott, M20E. Mixed Relay Mass Start. Junior Elite Mixed Relay. ROSS BARR Race 1 planner PHOTOS: TONY HILL
Planner: Ross Barr
Controller: Paul Prudhoe
Organiser: Amanda Mackie / Paula Shingler
The larger Camperdown side of the Sydney Uni campus was the focus, with a remote start, and a finish in front of the Great Hall adding to the sense of occasion. The seemingly never-ending schedule of demolition, rebuilding, maintenance works, out-of-bounds, etc. meant that plans evolved and changed more times than anyone wanted or needed – as MSW’s Ted and Margi have said “welcome to our world”. One of the many casualties was the arena passage plan that is such a feature of overseas sprinting. It was in our early thinking, the out the door via the purple. In the end, we all had fingers crossed that we would not encounter any more fences or “lolly pop” signs on Saturday morning, and thankfully that was the case.
As noted in the course notes, and expounded in my March 2023 article in The Australian Orienteer, European practice of longer legs, fewer controls, travel legs, barriers, map flips, etc. saw some interesting running routes on the long legs, with every leg permutation seemingly being run. The barriers helped to balance those familiar with the campus to those new, and many reported that they did add to the puzzle equality. The tickle at St Paul’s College also added a touch of new to courses 1, 2 and 3. Sadly, there was a bit of strife with security that compromised one road block, although our best talent ran the barrier as they saw it on the map, not as they saw it on the road. Bless them all.
Pretty fast stuff on the SSW opener, with all courses, except course 3, recording winners under 15 min – courses 1 and 2 with 15 timely flyers the best of them. W20E’s Nea Shingler’s blistering 12:59, and Callum White’s M20E win were the standout of these standouts, with nearly everyone in the 12–15 min window [apart from Nea] recording fourteens. Nearly, because also on course 2 was senior boy Liming Zheng – home in 13:45! The Garingal youngster seemingly arriving on the scene fully formed. A brilliant run.
Many others seemed to enjoy their morning, Fred in M50, Warren in M60, Layla in W12 among them, although too many course 5 champions misread the barrier wall on the 1–2 leg and lost their races before they had hardly begun. Should have sanctioned 1:3000!
Planner: Shane Doyle
Controller: Nick Dent
Organiser: Airdrie Long
This great campus has the right scale for international sprinting and comes with a serious slope mid map. The assembly area in the main quadrangle was at the foot of this major elevation change, and you got the sense early on that an ability to run fast up or down the stairs might determine a result or two. The quad lawn was perfect for the assembly, relay race changeovers and spectator viewing, with Shane’s race planning including a very Euro arena passage for the elites there. To watch them roar into the quad mid race (to the roar of the crowd), and then to watch on as they blasted up the rainbow stairs. Phew, so good, so exciting – although the older contestants might have hoped for a less public encounter on their own courses. Which they did get. Mercifully. Because this was relay running for the elites, most courses followed a racing format. Some good left/rights and nothing too tricky was the order of the day – speed moving up the dial in place of hide and seek. Perhaps similar thinking to the morning at Sydney Uni.
Once again Árpád (Australia’s Per Forsberg), in the commentary tent, added to the fun and excitement, as we got to watch on the womanman-man-woman format that is such a feature of international orienteering at the elite level. Fast, furious, fantastic, with split forkings and that final downhill leg blasting out of the tunnel into the tag and ping.
New South Wales cornered the senior elite market here, with Team 1 (Bec, Ewan, Ali, Briohny) coming home to win, but not before a great contest with the dead-heating (+0.37 s) Canberra Cockatoos and SA Arrows in second place. Close. And not to be outdone, the NSW junior elites (Nea, Sam, Cooper and Erika) repeated the senior winning dose. Canberra “stung” twice!
The other courses all looked to have a bit of lower and a bit of higher, the former being more formal than the latter. Speedsters on the flat falling away on the stairs, and then, out of breath, finding themselves in the weird food hall of grey stripe and lozenge. A fast flog downhill and up the fat stairs led to the same tunnel burst of the elite, although not many were watching. Super O fun nonetheless, and a great second outing in the inaugural SSW.
Planner: Jock Davis
Controller: Robert Spry
Organiser: Ruth Shedden
The long trek on Sunday morning heralded the beginning of the completely captivating knockout sprint rounds. The Qual and the Quarters were held here, under the watchful gaze of St Greg and the cows, and the stories of the Big Foot President (boxing practice on Brother Patrick having intended consequences!). This is a small-built campus, with Jock compensating by going big on the Kikuyu for the opening legs. An almost micro sprint beginning (controls behind every tree) had the talent with “rackets on court” before working east to the tightly packed buildings and shade sails. Great spectating early on, and a finish on the basketball courts in full view and voice – particularly from Árpád in Mick Jagger mode. The elites were run, and eliminated, and regrouped for the next round –while the rest of us formed a start line, and too copped the tennis and lawn, before rather shortish dabbles in the two shades of grey. Perhaps too short, as winning times were well below the huff and puff expected (the splendid W60 Carolyn Matthews, having a great weekend, winning her class in 8:49 an example).
There was a bit of building work in evidence, and the purple hatch and bar might have led to the grassy planning, or maybe the knockout timings carried over to that of the “elites of yesteryear”. Course 6 went big time on the two yellows as departing athletes saw.
Following the non-elite racing, the non-eliminated elites raced again – this time from a different quarantine (in the buildings), and had the grassy segment mid-course. Again, this was fast stuff. A screamer really. Anything to avoid the O axe falling, with the chance to run at WSU (one of Sydney’s best sprint locations) seeing our finest working the elbow and nudge in the race for a place. Incredible stuff. Very exciting. But missed by those that took long coffee and bun amidst the sandstone and tramway at Camden.
Planner: James McQuillan
Controller: Rod Parkin
Organiser: Selwyn Sweeney
Sunday afternoon then. The final round and the semifinal and final of the elite knockout. And a last chance to grab a bag of gold for the rest of us in this most exciting and challenging venue.
James had contrived an assembly venue to match the previous three, perhaps to exceed them, with the finish, a vista of lake, lawn, parapets and stairs – in a built environment of sacrificial symmetry. With a few more togas, trumpets and flags, it could have been a set in an ancient Roman movie! This was going to be something else.
First up were the semifinals, which had each a group of six choosing between A, B or C options in the 20 s count down. No privacy booths, but this looked to work, and soon they flew. West as it turned out, with arena passages mid race before frenetic (and scary) crash boom opera flying past the small final tree and the closed stairway to the lake and double circle steps. Spectators had to be careful to not get crushed in the rush, such was the speed and flying elbow. The best two in each heat went through to the A final, although our weekend W20 star, and fastest qualifier, Nea Shingler mispunched, and copped the C final as a result. Ahh, the luck of the draw, the turn of the dial, the hand of fate. It happens.
Following the elite semis, the other “groups of six” class leaders exploded into mass start action on the lower lawn, followed by queueing starts of the rest. There were controls aplenty, no flipping, and some confusion mid-course as controls abutted in friendly fashion. Where is #4? Who ran 6–1 instead of 6–7? Some discombobulation, but great fun with fast times, and positive outcomes – and feedback. A top map for Sprint O, and well exploited by Dr James.
Then back to the elite finals. Six races of six runners, alternation women, men in the C final, then the B final, then the A. Time stood still. But not the runners. This was the most exciting sprinting of the weekend, with all literally flying around the campus. Árpád worked the mike, but probably needed another call point following the arena passage as no sooner had they disappeared mid race, they were upon the lawn and lake, and
that incredible final step scramble to the fanfare of ONSW trumpet. Well, the whoops of the crowd anyway! Incredibly exciting racing, and well worth the wait – and repeated viewing of the excellent videos from Richard Pattison and his running cam team.
Milla reproduced her 2 s semifinal victory to head Tara by the same margin in the women’s A final (8:27/8:29), while Ewan in the men’s A found the same 2 s to nudge Angus Haines (7:38/7:40). In fact, all three men’s finals were won by 2 s margins. The B being noteworthy with “youngster” Callum just shading “senior star” Martin Dent. A triumph for both runners, I think. A great finale. A great inaugural SSW. And then suddenly, it was over.
Top results for the Knockout Sprint:
WOMEN
1 Milla Key VI V 8:27
2 Tara Melhuish CC A 8:29
3 Natasha Key VI V 8:34
4 Eszter Kocsik ST N 8:35
5 Caitlin Young CC A 8:37
6 Serena Doyle ST N 8:38
MEN
1 Ewan Shingler ST N 7:38
2 Angus Haines SW S 7:40
3 Patrick Jaffe VI V 7:44
4 Brodie Nankervis TF T 7:46
5 Cooper Horley ST N 8:37
6 Sam Woolford ST N 8:38
Top results for Mixed Sprint Relays:
Senior Elite
1 NSW Stingers: Rebecca George, Ewan Shingler, Alastair George, Briohny Seaman 53:20
2 CBR Cockatoos: Grace Crane, Martin Dent, Paul de Jongh, Caitlin Young 53:57
3 SA Arrows: Zoe Carter, Angus Haines, Leith Soden, Emily Sorensen 53:57
Junior Elite
1 NSW Stingers: Nea Shingler, Sam Woolford, Cooper Horley, Erika Enderby 52:34
2 CBR Cockatoos: Natalie Miller, David Stocks, Toby Lang, Justine Hobson 55:09
3 VIC Vikings: Milla Key, Callum White, Lucas Kent, Sophie Taverna 1:01:14
M21E (3.6km)
1 Patrick Jaffe VI V 14:08
2 Alastair George ST N 14:16
3 Brodie Nankervis TF T 14:22
4 Ewan Shingler ST N 14:23
5 Angus Haines SW S 14:46
6 Julian Dent CC A 14:52
7 Martin Dent CC A 14:53
8 Paul deJongh CC A 15:45
9 Duncan Currie ST N 15:57
9 Ryan Gray QC Q 15:57
M20E (3.6km)
1 Callum White VI V 14:58
2 Sam Woolford ST N 15:21
3 Cooper Horley ST N 15:31
4 Leith Soden SW S 15:34
5 David Stocks CC A 16:02
6 Elye Dent CC A 16:16
7 Owen Radajewski CC A 16:32
8 Toby Lang CC A 16:47
9 Seth Sweeney ST N 16:52
10 Remi Afnan SW S 17:00
W21E (2.9km)
1 Tara Melhuish CC A 14:25
2 Caitlin Young BS A 14:26
3 Julia Gannon QC Q 15:08
4 Emily Sorensen SW S 15:13
5 Natasha Key VI V 15:19
6 Krystal Neumann QC Q 15:46
7 Shannon Jones CC A 15:47
8 Grace Crane CC A 16:07
9 Melissa Thomas ST N 16:51
10 Briohny Seaman WR N 16:54
W20E (2.9km)
1 Nea Shingler ST N 12:59
2 Milla Key VI V 14:52
3 Eszter Kocsik ST N 15:11
4 Mikaela Gray QC Q 15:14
5 Erika Enderby ST N 15:16
6 Zoe Carter SW S 15:23
7 Justine Hobson CC A 15:59
8 Katherine Maundrell BS A 16:22
9 Sophie Taverna VI V 16:30
10 Gemma Burley SW S 16:52
The decisive moment of the men’s knockout final at the Sydney Sprint Weekend (SSW) 2023 was the exit from control 9. It was in the middle of the campus, hidden from spectators. I wasn’t there, and I haven’t spoken to the athletes. How can I be sure that was the decisive moment?
Typically, the story of a race is told through a few comments from the competitors afterwards: “I hesitated at 9” or “I lost map contact”. You draw a picture of the event in your mind, but it may not represent reality.
At SSW, the female and male knockout finals were filmed in entirety, with 11 cameras on the course, documenting how the race unfolded with the key decisions and moments captured. With the footage, just like in major sports, comes the opportunity to watch the race again to understand the sequence of events that led to decisive moments. The knockout format is made for TV, it is quick and full of drama.
Leg 7. The seed is sown for the decisive moment of the race (leg 10), while running leg 7 through the start/finish arena with the spectators cheering on. All six athletes seem to select their route for leg 8 when on leg 7, all punch #7 in a scrum within 1s of each other, no hesitation in starting leg 8.
SSW 2023 Men’s knockout final map.
The story of the race can be told through video stills.
Start – 7. The juniors, Sam and Cooper, lead for the first seven controls, Cooper takes the lead with a route choice to control 4, Sam re-takes the lead through a route choice to #6.
Leg 8. Patrick leads a group of five on the obvious route choice, however, a temporary barrier was installed just short of #8. Patrick starts up the steps to #8, surprised to see the tape blocking the way. Brodie and Angus are driving forward on a racing line, which confirms they had noticed the barrier on the map. They overtake Patrick, and he follows without much time to revaluate what had just happened.
This route choice has several twists and turns with a few sets of stairs. Angus leads a flawless leg without hesitation, however, the complex nature and technical running likely mean Angus wouldn’t have had a chance to plan too far ahead. Ewan chooses an alternative route, longer, but around the outside of the campus, simpler navigation, easier running, and importantly, it would’ve allowed Ewan the chance to at least look ahead and know the rough flow of the course from then on. Important – Ewan would instinctively know how to exit #9. Angus and Ewan converge on #8 at the same time, the highest point of the course.
Leg 9. Incredible to watch. Angus leads a flawless leg down several sets of steps, several twists and turns, always making the correct choice without hesitation, and all at incredible speed. The athletes jump full sets of steps, amazing athleticism and agility. At this pace, Angus is likely only able to focus on the current leg, unable to plan ahead. Ewan is in second place, following but occasionally looking at his map. Brodie and Patrick in third and fourth rarely look at their maps, likely prioritising contact with Angus and Ewan over the map, which is a definitive tactic in the knockout format.
Leg 12. The chasers do make contact with Ewan on the steps up to #11. The exit from 11 has two options, Ewan picks the best one and Angus follows. Patrick and Brodie in third and fourth are now in the position where they’ve exerted great effort to make contact again, likely feeling they can’t outsprint Ewan who is a bit fresher, so they gamble on the alternate route option. This is a good decision given the situation, but unfortunately for them, the route is 20-30 m longer and puts them out of the race.
Leg 13. Ewan accelerates from #12 with gritted teeth. You can see from Angus’s expression that he has little more to give having fought hard just to re-gain contact over the last few legs. The exit from control 9 won the race for Ewan. Perhaps planning ahead during leg 7 helped him.
Control 9 (the decisive moment). Angus punches, stops, wanders to the side, unsure, walks 5 m in the wrong direction. Ewan punches, continues in the correct direction, but hesitates, likely doubting himself after Angus had turned around. Brodie and Patrick stop, frantically trying to locate themselves on the map, possibly confused that Angus is confused.
Orienteering is a unique sport. For filming other sports, you just turn up and press “record". To film an orienteering event, you need to see the map and course beforehand to position cameras in the correct place. The more people see the map beforehand, the more risk is posed to the integrity of the whole event and sport. The filming was only possible due to the support and trust of the organisers. Thank you for entrusting the map to me.
The movie planning was much like a score course, trying to work-out how to film the most number of controls with the least number of people/cameras. We had four people on the course, my parents, my wife Melissa (JWOC 97, 98, 99), and myself moving among controls, three GoPro cameras were installed into positions, and four GoPros (two lent by Jonno McComb) were mobile, carried by Sam (a competitor in the final), Toby Cazzolato, Oscar Mella and Duncan Currie. Thank you.
I hope and believe that the movie of SSW is a wonderful promotion of the sport that we all love. It’s an excellent insight into what it’s like to be out there competing with the elite athletes.
The videos are available on YouTube, search for “Sydney Sprint Weekend”, scan the QR codes or click on the link in the digital version:
• Female Knockout Final: https://youtu.be/_kW6P9zAs0A
• Male Knockout Final: https://youtu.be/q89FuHzo3dM
The decisive moment of the race at control 9, Ewan about to set an unassailable lead. Video still (Duncan Currie with GoPro).
Leg 10. Ewan takes a 30 m lead from the control, the first true gap in the race. The course flows quickly from here to the finish (leg 14) with less navigational challenge. The chasers push hard to catch-up, exerting more energy than they would like. The effort likely sapping energy from a finish sprint that is just 1.5 minutes away.
• Knockout Semi-Finals with Runner’s Choice: https://youtu.be/rCdI8Gxkzz0
• Mixed Relay: https://youtu.be/XL4ugTEaHLs
The Australian 3 Days this year came to the Monaro region of southern New South Wales’s high country. As with past Easters in that part of the world, the terrain was mostly granite. There was challenging forest east of Nimmitabel for the first two days, including a flat technical area on top of a plateau which brought many unstuck on the courses which went to it, and a more open area near Berridale to finish things off with. At times the weather was almost as much of a challenge as the orienteering in an unusually cold spell for the first half of April, but everyone survived it.The Sunday, in particular, gave us strong winds, frequent showers (some with sleet) and temperatures barely getting above 5 degrees all day; another couple of hundred metres of elevation and we would have been running in the snow. Proceedings got under way at ANU on the Friday with a massstart sprint prologue which managed to find the window between the thunderstorms. Both elite races, as expected, had packs at the front at the business end of the race.This provided some late drama for the men – Angus Haines and Ewan Shingler led into the closing stages but missed the last control and had to turn back for it, leaving Patrick Jaffe to come through for the win over Brodie
Nankervis.Tara Melhuish, having a good year in sprint events, was too fast in the end for Shannon Jones and Lanita Steer.The mispunch of Callum White, first across the line, left Cooper Horley to take the junior men’s honours, while Nea Shingler, as expected, had a comfortable win in the junior women’s.
W21E was expected to change a fair bit once it hit the forest, and it did, but the result was not one which many saw coming. Vanessa Round has made only sporadic appearances at national events in the last few years, but a technical middle distance on the opening day suited her well. Very well – she won the day by 4 min, a lot in such a short race. Grace Crane then got to work to get the latest in a sequence of long distance wins, but only cut a bit over a minute into the overall lead. Defending 2:30 in a chasing start in open terrain apparently more suited to her pursuers looked anything but a formality for the South Australian, but she held things together impressively (on a day when many didn’t) and her lead increased rather than shrank. Crane took second ahead of Caitlin Young, who was challenging strongly in the chasing start but then came unstuck on the final long leg.
M21E followed a more predictable course. With Aston Key on the sidelines with injury, Patrick Jaffe and Brodie Nankervis were expected to be the leading local contenders, with New Zealander Matt Ogden as a possible wildcard. An erratic first day put Ogden out of contention for the win (although second places on the last two days lifted him to third overall). Nankervis took the first-day honours by 6 s, but after that Jaffe took control, opening up a 4min lead on the second day and rarely being troubled as he more than doubled that on the last.
The flat early section (a.k.a. the “plateau of doom”) tripped up many on the first day in both junior elite classes. In M20E that included pre-race favourite Sam Woolford (7 min at #4), and the first-day standings were led by the South Australian duo of Toby Cazzolato and Leith Soden, both of whom had had some promising results in recent months but took a major career step up here.They almost repeated the result on Sunday (although this time Woolford just edged Soden out of second) to establish a strong overall position. Both then struck trouble on the last day, but Soden was able to recover enough to take his first major national event victory, despite not winning any of the three individual days.
Cazzolato was second, with Woolford recovering from his early mishaps to complete the placings ahead of Oskar Mella; less than 3min covered the top four.
W20E was dominated by New South Wales runners but perhaps not in the way expected. Nea Shingler had been a class ahead of everyone else in sprint races this season, but things were more on level terms in the forest, and Erika Enderby had already got on top by the time her NSW teammate’s chances disappeared on the plateau early on the second day.The lead she had established on the first day grew through the rest of the weekend as she made a further advance after having been Australia’s youngest JWOC representative last year. Eszter Kocsik also had a good weekend, the highlight of which was a win on the long day, to come through to second, while Natalie Miller’s consistency – fourth on each day –saw her complete the placings.
Elsewhere, the closest result of all was in the youngest class, where Neo Kozma was 3 s ahead of Logan Seaman in M10A, while M12A was also close, Euan Shedden coming from behind on the last day to edge out Baxter Peel, and Alma Walter also turned a
Scale 1:10,000 Contours 5m
2023 Australian 3 Days – Day 3
deficit into a win on the last day in W12A.Two early junior leaders who weren’t caught were Katy Hogg (W14A) and Hayden Dent (M14A), who both set up their overall results with big opening-day wins.
Apart from M10A, the other three classes to be decided by less than a minute were all in women’s masters classes, with two successful comebacks and one falling just short. Emily Walter looked to have W50A well under control when she led by 7 min after two days, but lost most of that on #6 on the third day.This set the stage for a close second half of the course but Cathy McComb fell 26 s short of running her down. In W65A, Jenny Bourne lost 7 min at #7 on the first day and needed most of the three days to get that back in a tight contest with Debbie Davey, but came from 3 min behind to take the lead by 31 s, while Valerie Brammall came back from a similar margin in W80A to take the honours by 50 s from Ann Ingwersen.
Warren Key struck opening-day trouble in M60A at the same control as Jenny Bourne had done, and for two days it seemed likely that Simon George would break through for a major national win after being well clear on day 1, but Key’s quality came to the fore on the last day as he went from being 5 min behind to 5 min
ahead. Simon Louis did similarly in M40A after Steven Todkill won the first two days.
The M45A class was much anticipated before the start of Easter, being well stacked with former WOC team members (including Tom Quayle, on a visit back from Sweden). It lived up to expectations on the first day, with Quayle, Rob Walter and Grant Bluett separated by less than 20 s, and the top six by less than three minutes, but Walter took control after that and won comfortably. Bluett, eliminated from overall contention after losing an SI card on day 2, took a final-day win to make it one of five classes with three different day winners, along with M60A, W50A, M50A (where two of the three day winners missed at least one of the other two days) and W16A, where Maggie Mackay won easily overall after putting three days together where others could not. At the other end of the scale, seven did a clean sweep of all three days in contested A classes. Particularly impressive was Euan Best in M16A; having first come to prominence nationally with two individual wins at the Australian Schools last year, he completely dominated at Easter with no-one getting within 25% of him on any day. Paul Liggins made a welcome return to the national competition scene with a dominant performance in M55A, whilst
the others who went three out of three were all familiar names at the top. Jo Allison was well clear of a strong W45A class, and Alison Radford (W70A), Jenny Hawkins (W75A), Geoff Lawford (M65A) and Alex Tarr (M80A) all added the event to a long list of titles. W70A did have the closest finish for a minor placing, when Carol Brownlie edged Lynn Dabbs out of second by 2 s. The weekend saw the continued return to normality of the Australian orienteering competition scene. For a significant number, the next major event will be in Europe, either as part of a national team or making a return to the northern hemisphere summer circuit which only a handful ventured to last year. For everyone else, next stop for national carnivals will be in Western Australia in spring.
Ron Pallas – Extracts from Uringa News blog
The carnival kicked off in Canberra with the Friday sprint. This was to be run at Jindabyne Sport and Recreation Centre however, a rather large renovation project put paid to that. The venue was quickly swapped to the often used but very complex ANU.
The next two days were just south-east of Nimmitabel. For the drivers it was very much a case of dodge the potholes as the bitumen in places was badly eroded. The best part of the drive was a long dirt section which was smooth as!
The arrival at Highlands meant stepping out of the car and with the temperature around 4 degrees it was not exactly conducive to socialising. At around 1000 m above sea level the scuds of rain certainly made it chilly. Most competitors had a 1.6 km walk to the start and so the clothing return was a huge pile of warmth. The terrain whilst not particularly steep was a real challenge. Fallen timber made going slow in places and the soggy conditions made for a slip or two. As can be seen on the map there was lots of rocks. The smaller stuff was not mapped which made it harder as you looked and pulled out a tape measure - greater than or less than 1 m! All things considered it was great challenge and whilst in the forest the cold conditions (read “freezing”) were quickly forgotten.
In the lead up to the Oceania Championships, from the 3-5 January 2023, a National Junior Development Camp was held in Launceston, Tasmania. Training sessions were conducted on nearby maps, and evening debriefings were held in the Hadspen Memorial Hall.
The first training was at Windsor Park Precinct. It began with a short warm-up course in the parkland, followed by a Puzzle O, which predominately utilised the St Anthony’s Primary School on the eastern side of the park. The Puzzle O had each leg individually displayed in map excerpts, with odd and even legs on the opposite sides of the page. The purpose was to only flip your map when you reached a control to prevent planning ahead. This meant that at a control you had to quickly locate your next leg among legs scattered randomly on the page, and then make a snap decision on your route choice. We were given post-training-reflection sheets to analyse how we think we went and what we could do to improve our performance in the future.
On the western side of the map, at the Launceston Christian School, we again started with a short warm-up sprint course. The training had two maps, on which alternating legs were blanked out so you couldn’t see the map section for the leg you were running. This aimed to practice map memory, to always read one control ahead of where you were, to run the leg from memory, whilst planning the next.
That evening there was the first of two debriefing sessions at the Hadspen Memorial Hall. After reflecting on the training, with Brodie and course setter
Rachel, an interview panel was set up with the attending 2022 JWOC representatives, Sam, Rachel (Great Britain), Nea and Ethan. Following some discussion about the races and their experiences, the conversation moved on to their preparation prior to JWOC, specifically how much orienteering training they did and their weekly kilometres. Their responses are listed below:
Ethan:
42–55 km per week when pushing for JWOC.
Approximately two O training sessions per week.
Sam:
50–70 km per week. Not much technical training but went to granite a couple of times for practice.
Rachel:
<20 km per week due to injury. Not too much O training.
Nea:
40–45 km per week. Tried to get on a map. Hill sprints for strength on inclines.
Some general advice was also shared. This included easing down on training closer to a major competition, and walking training. Perhaps the most important advice for those aspiring for higher level representation was to not take everything too seriously all the time. If you do, then you’ll cease to enjoy the sport. Don’t fixate on weekly kilometres and don’t destroy your body, you still have plenty of years of high-level competition ahead of you. If you ruin
yourself now, you’ll never be able to make it later.
Wednesday training was at Royal George, southeast of Launceston. Warmup was a game in which everyone secretly picked a “bomb” and “shield” person, and had to keep the shield between themselves and the bomb. We first did a corridor course with a few warm-up controls, and a short control pick midway around. Corridors are great training where navigation from specific features is forced, and to practice running direct route choices using only features very close to the line. After training in a corridor, navigating with the whole map feels easy.
Following that was an “expect the unexpected” training to practice coping with distractions out in the terrain. The format was mass start intervals, to simulate head-to-head racing, and there were dummy controls, coaches in the terrain shouting misleading information about the whereabouts of controls, and a control in a blanked-out section of the map.
That evening, Brodie gave a presentation about physical training. The common theme was the repeated recommendation to get a coach. On Thursday the warmup was “stuck in the mud”, after which we had a peg race at Trevallyn. The peg race included a mass start, with the first couple of runners who find each control taking a peg that was clipped onto the control, then running to an extra penalty control. When the pegs ran out the rest of the group were able to skip the penalty control to catch back up, so the pack stayed together. This was a fun and competitive conclusion to the camp and
allowed us to practice some of the techniques we had learnt in a more fast-paced setting.
Overall, the camp was a fantastic experience, and it was great to be able to gain a variety of tips, tricks and knowledge from each other and older, experienced orienteers. A huge thankyou to everyone who was involved in organising, running, and helping at the camp, we’re grateful for the effort you put in to provide opportunities like this, and we look forward to making the most out of similar opportunities in the future.
SOPHIE: What was your favourite orienteering activity and why?
SAM: Royal George corridor because I like the challenge of navigating with only a small sliver of the map, it was nice terrain and well-set. There were enough features to navigate by but obvious features that I’d usually navigate off were just outside the corridor so I was unable to use them. Also, Ethan managed to find my whistle which I dropped, proving that I was within the corridor.
What do you think was the most useful thing you learnt?
Don’t trust Tasmanian tracks (I had some trouble with indistinct tracks at Royal George, and it proved good to know, as I also completely missed crossing a track in the Oceania Long Distance).
Is there anything you’d like to see at a camp in the future? (Specific training or training focus, layout etc).
Star relay (with teams comprised of people from different age groups) because it’s a fun and friendly competition, and a good social experience in the team.
Australian WOC, JWOC and MTBO teams are outfitted by
Middle Distance
NSW State League # 14
Saturday 9 September
Long Distance
NSW State League # 15
Sunday 10 September
Rylestone — 20 minutes
Mudgee — 50 minutes
Lithgow & Bathurst — 90 minutes
Sometimes in orienteering, an area and an event comes along that is simply unmissable. The NSW State Middle and Long Distance Champs at Breakfast Creek in early September 2023 is such an event. Described by mapper Rob Vincent as “too good for a state champs”, this area of runnable open terrain with scattered pillars, towers, cliffs, passageways, domes and slots is an absolute sensation. An orienteering dream. We are talking international event quality terrain, and an event team of an equally high calibre - a combination that makes this event a “must do” in the 2023 O calendar, and one not to be missed.
2023 Orienteering NSW State Championships (Middle) / State League #14
Saturday 9 September 2023
eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/17714
2023 Orienteering NSW State Championships (Long) / State League #15
Sunday 10 September 2023
eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/17715
Tourist attractions near Breakfast Creek
• Ferntree Gully Reserve: rainforest walks
• Ganguddy-Dunns Swamp: sandstone pagoda rock formations on the banks of Cudgegong River, camping, kayaking
• Guluu Gallery
• Wollemi National Park Editor’snote.
CASTLEMAINE – 22-23 APRIL 2023
REPORT: CAROLYN JACKSON
PHOTOS: PETER CUSWORTH
We had a glorious autumn weekend of perfect riding weather for the Victorian MTBO Championships based near Castlemaine. The championships were also the first round of the National MTBO Series and a selection trial for the World MTBO Championships in August.
On Saturday, the sprint and middle were on the outskirts of Castlemaine in the Walmer Forest, and they shared the same assembly area, using a handy paddock, with the sprint being south of the bitumen road, and the middle the much bigger area north. The whole map has a vast single-track network, and James Robertson (sprint) and Ricky Thackray (middle) made full use of this, setting complex and testing courses. Even though the Walmer Forest map has been used previously, it’s many years and many kilometres of new single track since it’s last use, so it really felt brand new.
The sprint had us racing back and forth across a small area, which meant you not only had to navigate extremely carefully at high speed, with constant direction changes, but also avoid other riders. Controls seemed to be everywhere, but you had to make sure you were at the right one! A very worthy sprint! Time to rest between events, but you also needed to rest your brain to prepare for what Ricky threw at us! In the middle, all courses went straight into a very complex and rocky network of single track. Route choice, which had to be mastered immediately, proved crucial, with the not necessarily obvious choices of going around and trying to leave it as late as possible to dive in, usually proving best.
After a couple of challenging legs in there, we moved to other single-track areas, with the intensity rarely letting up. Another very good event, and again, those who managed to maintain map contact and pick clever routes came to the fore.
An event dinner and presentations were held on Saturday night at a great pub just out of Castlemaine. This
gave a good chance to catch up with others from all around the country, and not in bike gear!
The next day, the long was only 15 minutes towards Maldon, in the Muckleford Forest Rob Edmonds from Nillumbik Emus was the course setter, and what a contrast. Not only did we need to adjust to the 1:20,000 scale, it was a completely different style of orienteering, with long fast legs and plenty of route choice. A great mix of fire roads, large fast dirt roads and single track, but it was important not to come unstuck by riding too fast and missing sometimes hard-to-see junctions. This area also has many navigation challenges, and Rob made good use of these, saving the hillier and more complex area until the end when we were getting tired.
James, Rob and Ricky [who also won M21 sprint and long] were backed up with a large team of volunteers. Bendigo Orienteers for the sprint, who also did both starts on Saturday; Bayside Kangaroos for the middle, who did admin for the whole weekend, including Greg Tamblyn who ably was in charge of SI for all events. Then Nillumbik Emus for the long. These events certainly showcased what Victoria has to offer MTBO, and I heard a lot of very positive feedback from interstate orienteers.
Full results and splits can be found on Eventor.
For many travelling Australian orienteers, their experience of orienteering in Europe is in the summer.This is the busiest time of year in the northern hemisphere orienteering season. In the more northern parts, the weather and lack of daylight in the colder months introduces some significant challenges – going for a run in the snow at −15°C is a novelty if you’re doing it once, less so if you’re having to do it regularly for an extended period – so what are the alternatives?
In some parts of central and western Europe the terrain is at its best in winter, even if the weather isn’t, and the regular orienteering season keeps going. (I once made the mistake on a July visit to Edinburgh of thinking it would be a good idea to go out for a run to the Trossachs, one of the best-known Scottish areas, and was greeted by bracken over head height, but it’s much more open in winter and early spring).
In the Nordic countries, traditionally the winter was when people switched from orienteering in the forest to doing it on skis. Many leading foot orienteers over the years have also been prominent in ski orienteering, with Tove Alexandersson being a regular World Championship gold medallist in the winter as well as the summer. The international ski orienteering program has become increasingly squeezed over the last decade as winters have become warmer and snow seasons shorter, especially in central Europe and the Baltic countries.
The winter and early spring is peak orienteering season in southern Europe. Portugal and Spain both stage multiple major events in February and early March.The largest of these is Portugal O-Meeting, which is held in the fourth week of February (a holiday week in many
European countries) and often attracts over 2000 competitors, the majority from outside Portugal. As those who followed last year’s Junior World Championships will know, it often features granite terrain which will be familiar to many Australians (although getting across rickety stone walls is a feature absent from Australian events). In some years the fields in Portugal and Spain have been close to World Championships strength.They weren’t quite that strong in 2023, but still featured a wide selection of talent, with names on the winner’s list including Lucas Basset (France),Timo Sild (Estonia), Karolin Ohlsson (Sweden) and Venla Harju (Finland).
While there isn’t much forest orienteering in the Nordic countries between November and March, other forms still exist. Cities like Oslo stage urban events through the winter (dealing with icy paths is a hazard which doesn’t exist in the Melbourne or Sydney Summer Series), but a more recent innovation is urban orienteering. The Stockholm Indoor Cup, in early February, has grown to become a major feature of the season, with over 1800 competitors in this year’s event.There have been a few events of this type in Australia, but the multi-level schools which are common in urban Sweden take these events to a new level of complexity.
Finally, some of those who want to train through the winter leave Europe altogether. Some find their way to Australia and New Zealand. A number of squads have trained over the years in places such as South Africa, while Ralph Street (Great Britain), well known to Australian orienteers, has spent time training in Uganda during the recent winter.
Extracts from South Midlands Orienteering Club’s website http://www.smoc.info
Day 1 took place at Nacka Gymnasium, a high school southeast of central Stockholm which was easy to get to by bus. Assembly was in the school auditorium, with food being sold and O equipment on sale.The auditorium was jam-packed with people waiting for their starts or recovering from their runs. There was a big screen above the stage showing live-streams from the competition area.The finish was on the stage, as was download and enquiries. With hundreds of orienteers in the school building at any point, it was very stuffy inside and really hot in confined parts of the building.
To get to the start, we had to go outside for about 100 m to another part of the school. Not too far, but the temperature was around -7°C with snow on the ground, so it was definitely not a warm up! Every start time had a small group bursting out into the corridor and then stopping immediately to study the map. I tried to make the first control as difficult as possible by trying to go upstairs before realising that there was a much easier route on the same level.
It took me a while to get into the map and work out a strategy. Most controls were very easy, either very close (even in the same room) or with a single change of level via a single staircase. But others were monster controls, that could involve 6 different staircases and multiple changes of level. My time of 1:24:51 was a long way behind the winner’s 38:31, but still I was much faster than the slowest finisher with 3:30:34.
Day 2 was back at Nacka Gymnasium, and extending into the neighbouring Eklidens School. It was a different start, but still outside through the snow to reach it. During the first day, I had seen people carry a pencil or pen round and on day 2 I did the same, with a little notepad, courtesy of my hotel. Writing the route down was very useful when having to remember a route like “go up F, then down the corridor to B, up B, along to P, down P, through the one-way to H”.
Lasting memories are the sheer bonkers-ness of the event: the number of people, sitting at desks in classrooms to plan routes, clambering up a rocky crag in a crawl-way basement below the school, seeing a woman sitting on the floor at the bottom of a staircase studying her map and seeing her in the same spot when I passed again about 15 minutes later. I can’t wait for next year!
The Australian Orienteer magazine has been a key element of orienteering in Australia for over 40 years, and is taken for granted by those keen orienteers who look forward to receiving it every three months. Up to the end of 2022, the responsibility for producing the magazine passed among just three editors but with much support from many other Australian orienteers, as well as a few overseas contributors. This article describes how the magazine came into being and evolved over time.
The Australian Orienteer, as we know it now, was not the first publication appearing under that name. In August 1973, Sydney orienteer Ken Scott, with the support of publisher, Peter O’Sullivan, produced the first Australian Orienteer in a newspaper format, reporting mainly on the results of the 1973 Australian Championships, held north of Sydney beside the Hawkesbury River. Produced with the intention of marketing directly to the growing orienteering population, which at that time was confined mainly to New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT, the new publication ran to a second edition in September that year. While welcomed by the Orienteering Federation of Australia (OFA), it was not supported financially by the OFA, it attracted a limited subscriber base, and proved to be unviable. It did not continue further. It was a bold venture by an enthusiastic orienteer but was ahead of its time.
The next “Australian Orienteer” was a duplicated newsletter, produced in May 1974 by the OFA President, Peter Nicholls, essentially for OFA Council members. After two issues, there were thoughts of upgrading it as an annual magazine, edited by a Sydney orienteer and journalist, John Hoggett. That proposal, however, was abandoned due to lack of contributions. The OFA lost interest in establishing a national publication for the time being and abandoned the concept of an OFA Yearbook in April 1976.
The origin of the current Australian Orienteer can be traced back to 1970, when the Victorian Orienteering Association (VOA) and the OFA were formed. Following their formation, the President of the VOA (and OFA), David Hogg, produced a duplicated newsletter, The Victorian Orienteer, as an advance on the occasional leaflets that had previously been circulating to promote events, and report on their results. After two issues, Tom Andrews, the VOA/OFA Publicity Officer, took over the role of producing The Victorian Orienteer. Then in early 1972 he passed the job of editor on to a new and enthusiastic orienteer, Ian Baker. Ian remained as editor throughout the 1970s (except for a short period when he was overseas), progressively improving the style and content of the newsletter, which evolved from a duplicated foolscap newsletter to a small format, professionally printed magazine in 1976. At that time, it
was the most professionally produced orienteering newsletter in Australia containing photographs, maps with winners’ routes and the occasional cartoon (all in black-and-white).
With orienteering now developing in all states, Ian saw the potential for a national orienteering magazine and began the process of convincing the VOA and the OFA to further upgrade The Victorian Orienteer to fill that role. It was not a quick transition, as there was some reluctance within the VOA Committee about losing the identity of their newsletter, and concern within the OFA Council about the financial viability of such a publication.
While negotiations were continuing, Ian made some subtle changes to the VOA magazine, initially dropping the word “Victorian” from the title of the magazine, then inserting in small type the word “Australian” into the masthead. In December 1978, the cover title bore the words “The Australian Orienteer”, in large print, although it was still clearly a VOA publication. South Australia recognised the value of the Victorian publication, subscribing for all its members in early 1979, and there was an increasing number of individual subscriptions from other states.
At the Easter 1979 meeting of the OFA, a proposal to make The Australian Orienteer a truly national magazine was presented by Ian Baker. This led to a decision to adopt The Australian Orienteer as the national magazine, with Ian appointed as editor. The first issue of The Australian Orienteer as the OFA’s national magazine was published in July 1979 in a new format that was slightly smaller than A4.
New South Wales joined Victoria and South Australia in subscribing for all members, with those states reducing the scope of their own newsletters, while the other states supported the magazine based on optional subscriptions.
The early issues of The Australian Orienteer understandably had a Victorian bias, but Ian addressed this by establishing a network of state contacts and encouraging contributions from throughout Australia. The early years coincided with Australia’s growing involvement on the international orienteering scene, with the inaugural Pacific Orienteering Championships held near Canberra in April 1980, and with Australia announced later that year as the host for the 1985 World Orienteering Championships (WOC85). As WOC85 approached, many leading international orienteers visited Australia and featured prominently in the magazine.
While the magazine was printed in black-andwhite, it featured red on the front cover, which enabled the back cover also to use red to show winners’ routes on black-and-white versions of selected maps. In 1984, the practice of including overprinted coloured map inserts began.
After a couple of years at the helm (plus many as editor of The Victorian Orienteer), Ian felt that the time was right for him to step aside and hand over to a new editor. In 1981, he advised the OFA of his intention to step down, but finding a replacement was easier said than done. So Ian remained in the job until the end of 1985, his crowning achievement being the production of a special WOC85 issue, which featured colour pages in the magazine for the first time.
The change in editor eventually took place from the start of 1986, with David Hogg, who until then had been preoccupied with WOC85 duties, stepping into the role. This resulted in the magazine production moving from Melbourne to Canberra with a new printer and production arrangement. The general style and appearance of the magazine did not change, and many of the regular features were retained, with some new ones added. These included series on Australian Oclubs, orienteering history and orienteering in other countries. There were occasional themed issues covering, for example, orienteering in granite terrain, junior orienteering, high-tech developments, and orienteering and the environment.
The original page size of the magazine (slightly smaller than A4) proved inconvenient when inserts were provided at A4 size and needed to be folded to meet postal regulations. So, at the beginning of 1992, the page size of the magazine was enlarged to A4, which also increased the content area by about 9% and improved the cover design.
David continued the system of state contacts for providing material, with some state contacts taking on specific tasks in relation to the magazine. He set up a team of proof readers in Canberra, and engaged the ACT Junior Squad to handle the task of packaging the magazine for sending to those subscribers who did not receive it automatically as part of their state association membership.
Until the end of 1996, all editorial work on The Australian Orienteer was on a voluntary basis, although Ian and David both had access to typing resources, which were funded from the magazine budget. At the
beginning of 1997, a grant from the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) provided some funding for upgrading the professional presentation of the magazine, as well as an honorarium for the editor.
David Hogg retired as editor in early 1997, leaving a magazine that, despite changes in style, layout, page size and some aspects of editorial content, was still clearly identifiable with the first one published in 1979.
Ian Baker returned as editor from Easter 1997 with a fresh approach that saw a significant change in presentation of the magazine and a reduction in frequency from bimonthly to quarterly, resulting in fewer but larger publications. As well as providing an honorarium for the editor, the new ASC funding was used to engage Peter Cusworth as a graphic designer, raising the standard of presentation to a more professional level. With the cost of full colour printing now becoming less prohibitive, by 1999 colour photographs and maps began appearing in the magazine. By 2004, a quarter of the pages were in colour.
Ian introduced some new series of articles, appointing several regular contributors as section editors for topics such as MTBO, Nutrition, “Running the Business” and “Great Legs”. With colour reproduction available, map inserts were no longer needed to show winners’ routes. In 1998, the OFA agreed to change the subscription basis, which until then involved some states subscribing for all members and others offering optional subscriptions, to an arrangement in which all states paid a subscription fee for all members.
Ian’s second phase as editor ended in 2004, when he passed the role to Mike Hubbert. With Peter Cusworth remaining as graphic designer, there was a seamless transition with no significant change in style. In March 2008, a change to a more economical printing house saw an increase in the number of colour pages, with most pages in colour from 2010, and full-colour production achieved by the end of 2015.
Regular additions during Mike’s editorship included the cartoon series, “The Adventures of Jeff”, prepared by Duncan Currie, and the “Spot the Difference” puzzles. Mike also revived and upgraded John Walker’s original Red Roos cartoons and introduced the O-Spy series of short and diverse news items.
Starting with the March 2017 issue, The Australian Orienteer became accessible through a commercial website, Issuu, for which OA paid a fee. This suited some readers, resulting in an immediate drop in demand for printed copies but many readers continued to opt for the printed version. The issues available on the Issuu website in due course extended back to June 2004.
Throughout its lifetime, one of the requirements facing The Australian Orienteer was that its production did not impact adversely on general OFA finances. This was delivered by setting a base subscription price which would cover a minimum number of pages in each issue. Any additional pages or the inclusion of championship map inserts with winners’ routes had to be covered by advertising revenue, of which there was a modest amount.
Advertising and overseas subscriptions were useful additions to the magazine’s income throughout most of its history, but these dropped significantly when the online option was introduced in 2017. The drop in print circulation
from around 2400 to 800 took the magazine well below the threshold of interest for commercial advertisers, and any advertising that continued came from within the sport. While printing costs also decreased, setup costs remained similar, and there was a cost associated with maintaining the online version.
Orienteering is a challenging and enjoyable activity, and editing its national magazine provides a different form of challenge and enjoyment, which few people are prepared to undertake. Such an experience has a limit, however, and, while the first three editors produced more than 200 issues among them, they each eventually looked forward to passing on the responsibility to somebody else. On each occasion, finding a new editor took a few years, with the incumbent editor remaining loyal to the cause in the meantime.
The recent appointment of Hania Lada as the new editor has come as a welcome relief to Mike Hubbert and, no doubt, many readers who can look forward to receiving The Australian Orienteer for the foreseeable future.
The above article is based on a more comprehensive chapter of A History of Australian Orienteering Development, currently being prepared by David Hogg, with the assistance of many other current and past orienteers.
The September 2019 magazine with Junior World Champion Aston Key (AUS), and his map below.
Dear Orienteering Community, Ijust wanted to put out a little reminder to anyone who may wish to make a tax deductible donation to support our teams representing Australia this year. There is a donation page on the OA website where you will find the information. We were very lucky last year to have received some generous donationswhich made it possible for many of our runners who may not have been able to afford to do so otherwise. Did I mention, tax deductible?:)
Many thanks,
Natasha Key, on behalf of the High Performance group.
The Sydney Sprints in March of this year were part of the NOL series and attracted many interstate competitors. This created some great racing and spectator opportunities. These National Sprint events were going to produce some very close finishes, especially in the head-to-head races.
standing there, slowly moving away, the next competitor ran straight past his finish unit, contactless. The same time was recorded for both competitors because the first runner had not completed the finish process. Have you ever ran into a control and your SIAC has registered (beeped) and it has registered again? This is because you are still near the control. Your time registers after you have left the control’s field, so to finish you must move out of the control’s field.
Quote by Sportident: “With BSF8/9 stations in timing mode the registration field is between 30-60cm. The athlete must not stop or slow down at this station in order to get his time, but just run close to this.”
So best practice is to run past the control if you are not punching it. Always remember to listen for the beep and/or look at the flashes after passing your controls.
The event organisers discussed the options for the finish line in the weeks prior to the event. We are all familiar with the standard punch finish control, even when the event is set with contactless controls in the field. The other options are to use the BS11 units that offer a larger contactless finish field (used at MTBO events) or to use our standard BSF8 controls set up as contactless / beacon finish units.
The BSF8 can be punched or just run past with no contact (within 30 cm but check that you have registered). This contactless method allows for close finishes to be separated by time registration.
I observed over the weekend a number of practises which concerned me, hence this article. You don’t need to touch or slap the control, you just need to be within 30 cm of the control and to check the beep and flash of the SIAC. Could you damage your SIAC by continually hitting it? I don’t know! Let’s go to the finish line where time and races can be lost. I saw an instance (admittedly just a heat so it didn’t matter) where there was clearly one runner who got to the finish in front of the other. He touched the finish control and while
If you have a question please ask and I will try to answer it. I was asked recently: “Could you please explain when punching with SIAC in air mode is needed and when contactless finish is used in foot races?” This detail is stipulated in the bulletin or information sheet issued by the event organiser.Most events in NSW are "Air" activated now but the finish can be punch-only or contactless. Most bush events choose to have punching finishes,but "sprint" events have much closer finishesand as such can choose to go contactless enabling runners to punch or run through. This was the case in the recent Sydney Sprints.
1. The control description indicates that
A. The third control is a middle depression, south part
B. The third control is a southern depression, middle part
C. The third control is a middle knoll, south part
D. The third control is a southern knoll, middle part
Use the clues to solve the puzzle. The numbers in brackets indicate that the answers require more than one word, with the number of letters in each word specified.
ACROSS
2. Orienteering event held in Australian Alps (4,1)
4. The control feature shown as “T” in control descriptions
5. A name of an orienteering club from South Australia
6. This was banned during Junior World Orienteering Championships in Portugal in 2022 (6,6)
9. Map that Day 1 Australian 3 Days 2023 was run on
11. A website where you can compare competitors’ splits (9,6)
13. Winner of M21E at Oceania Championships Middle Distance 2023 (5,3)
14. The colour representing very thick forest (4,5)
15. Winner of W21E at Australian Long Distance Championships 2022 (5,5)
17. From “You and Me” song: “If you want to be a champion you have got to use …” (4,5)
1. The country organising 2023 Junior World Orienteering Championships
3. Orienteering magazine from UK (7,5)
7. A number of metres represented by 1 cm on a map with 1:5000 scale
8. Animal on the logo of World Orienteering Championships 2023 (6,4)
10. 2023 Australian MTBO Championships will be held there
12. A country in Africa, member of IOF
16. A feature represented by a brown dot on an orienteering map
Follow this link to Quiz, Survey and Postprint Corrections on one form. Feel free to attempt some or all questions, provide data by completing the survey and check out what mistakes in the current edition have been discovered too late.
https://forms.gle/UfRyof7odZ5ujAMa7
The answers are on page 46
At the invitation of Orienteering Australia, Luděk Krtička, a member of the IOF Map Commission, visited Australia during the 2022 Australian Orienteering Championship week of events held in Victoria. The primary purpose of his visit was to experience a variety of Australian mapped terrains, to assess the quality of map making and to compare the mapping of these terrains to the current mapping standards of the International Specification for Orienteering Maps 2017 (ISOM2017) and the International Specification for Sprint Orienteering Maps 2019 (ISSprOM2019). The map walks and the mapping workshop were organised by Noel Schoknecht, mapping convenor, Orienteering Western Australia.
1:10000-scale maps and that for these maps it is possible to map the terrain to current specifications. ISOM clearly states that other map scales of 1:10000 or 1:7500 are a strict enlargement of the symbols at the 1:15000 scale.
Rowdy Flat, however, may be an exception for mapping at the 1:15000 scale given its extreme complex terrain of many large identifiable features often close together. Here it may be difficult if not impossible, even after applying generalisation, to be able to map the terrain in a legible manner that presents a “true picture” to the orienteer. In this situation a possible solution may be to map the terrain at the sprint scale of 1:4000. Furthermore, LIDAR-derived base maps would greatly help in the remapping process.
Luděk became a member of the IOF Map Commission in 2016, is chief cartographer in his home country of the Czech Republic, and has mapping experience in Canada, Spain, Israel, Austria and other countries. He has expertise in cartography, geography, geoinformatics, and currently lectures at the University of Ostrava.
Luděk’s map visit focused mostly on the historic gold mining terrains in Victoria, which included the orienteering maps of Deadmans Flat, Jubilee Lake, Petticoat Junction and the infamous and extremely complex terrain of Rowdy Flat at Yackandandah. Other terrains included the granite rock maps of Mt Kooyoora and Kangaroo Crossing. Overall, Luděk found the quality of mapping to be of a good standard and was particularly impressed with the 2022 Australian Championships maps. The main observations in respect to his map visits are summarised here.
Probably the most important observation was his finding about the unnecessary use of undersize symbols on several
The over-mapping of many small features renders them difficult to identify on the map and in the terrain. Where areas of a map are overpopulated with a lot of small features, the principles of simplification and generalisation should be applied, thereby improving the legibility of the map. The requirements of minimum dimensions, gaps and lengths as introduced in ISOM2017 also aim to improve the legibility of maps for “running navigation”.
At the Mapping Workshop, Luděk presented the illustration on the right as an example of simplification and generalisation, in which an overpopulated area of detail was simplified to a few well drafted features easily identified both on the map and in the terrain.
The original map used some undersized symbols including rocky pit (black “V”) that may be a dangerous mineshaft and must be
clearly shown as such on the map. The remapped area also takes into account the minimum dimensions and gaps as specified in ISOM2017. The earth bank symbol is overused in situations where it is easily crossed. Here it is better to show the shape of the land with contours and form lines, and only use the 104 earth bank symbol where there is an abrupt change in ground level, particularly where it reduces running speed. The IOF O-Map Wiki provides photographic examples for correct / incorrect use of symbol 104.
Jubilee Lake on the left provides an example of a shallow gully having no impact on running speed, hence it should be drawn with contours rather than using an earth bank. Here the earth bank symbol gives the wrong impression and may influence route choice.
The mapping of granite terrain is well done. In particular, Mt Kooyoora was described as a “Fantastic area and map”. There was minor discussion about minimum spacings between some boulders and other black features. There are a lot of undersize bare rock areas that could either be left off or enlarged but it was noted that this map was first made in 1984 when minimum areas had not been defined as per current mapping requirements.
Given that old orienteering maps may be based on distorted base map material, and to save time correcting and changing an old map, it is advised to use LiDAR, if available, for new mapping. Indeed, with GPS tracking of athletes it is now important for maps to be spatially accurate.
There was also a map walk at Salesian College, Sunbury, which was used for the Australian Sprint Championships. This map was generally of a good standard and legible. Several orienteers joined us for this map walk including the mapper and course planner.
The terrain visits, discussions with local mappers, organisers and others were invaluable for Luděk, and his presentation at the mapping workshop was very informative and constructive. Although there was some discussion on the possibility of introducing another map scale between 1:15000 and 1:4000, it is considered unnecessary as the current specifications strike a good balance between symbol size and map scale so as to achieve a high standard of map legibility for the essential purpose of “running navigation”.
Luděk’s reports are available on the Orienteering Australia website: Administration - Mapping - Drawing Maps pages, under Presentations at 2022 Mapping Workshop – September 2022 Woodend.
Luděk Krtička (7 October 2022) Report on mapping visit to Australia.
Luděk Krtička (20 Sept – 5 October 2000) Review of mapping in SE Australia.
AHigh Performance Squad camp was held this year in Canberra in the week after Easter.At the Oceania Championships 2023 the High Performance Squad had run a fundraising BBQ. With help from the squad and many family members we had raised enough money to put on a threeday training camp after Easter. So after thawing out from the freezing cold Easter weekend we made our way to Canberra. We were extremely lucky to have the expertise of Ben Rattray, Professor of Exercise Science at the University of Canberra, and an ex-elite orienteer himself. Ben set up for the squad a specialised two-day testing program in the sports lab. Our athletes (Grace Crane, Angus Haines, Aston Key, Brodie Nankervis, Ewan Shingler, Nea Shingler and Caitlin Young) were put through a functional-movement-testing series, some cognitive tests, both active and passive, and a VO2 Max test.It was very informative, and the athletes came away with relevant information that can be used to help target their training programs. Also, it provided lots of foodfor-thought for the coaching team in how they might best support our top nationallevel athletes.
The High Performance Squad leaders were all present, Julian Dent, Grant Bluett and myself. I am very grateful that both Julian and Grant gave up their valuable family-holiday time to come and chat with the group. They shared with our athletes their wealth of experience, including years of European racing and podium places at JWOC and World Games as well as many other big races.
After the demanding four Easter races we started with rest and recovery on Day1 – Easter race analysis over coffee, a social game of laser tag, and a jog with Tara’s Tuesday-night-running group to shake out the legs.
Day 2 saw everyone participating in a VO2 Max test, and in true team spirit all stayed around to cheer on their squad
mates, helping them to get through the gruelling last 5 min to reach their maximum efforts. All fared really well with their results, as we expected, of course! A team dinner and group analysis for WOC 2023 and 2024 on the big screen followed, thanks to the Agar family's hospitality.
On Day 3, we began with a series of functional-movement tests to help show any imbalances and areas to target to reduce injury risk. This was followed by a very interesting cognitive test sequence, and then the same cognitive test whilst running. Afterwards, we had a group chat with our squad leaders about the WOC 2023 challenges and how we may adapt training to meet the demands of the races. Ben discussed how the athletes can use their test results to train the most effectively. Ben's current study area is also extremely relevant for orienteering, and we were very lucky to listen to him explain it to us.
Thanks to the orienteering community for supporting our fundraising efforts that help us to provide these extra activities for our squad members.
Orienteering Australia is delighted to announce the athletes selected to represent Australia at the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) in Romania, July 2–9, 2023. The selected athletes will compete in 3 individual races (sprint, middle and long distance) and the sprint relay & forest relay competition.
“We are incredibly excited for JWOC and have high hopes for our talented team, including the new runners who will have the opportunity to showcase their abilities on the world stage. While the selection process was tight, we are confident that those who didn’t make the cut will remain an integral part of our group and will strive for future opportunities.” –
JWOC Head Coach, Warren Key.
MEN: David Stocks, Toby Cazzolato, Sam Woolford, Cooper Horley, Leith Sodden, Callum White
1st Reserve: Toby Lang, 2nd Reserve:Oscar Mella
WOMEN: Erika Enderby, Mikaela Gray, Justine Hobson, Milla Key, Natalie Miller, Nea Shingler
1st Reserve: Sophie Taverna, 2nd Reserve: Liana Stubbs
Team Coach: Warren Key, Assistant Coach: Serena Doyle, Team Manager: Brett Weihart
We bring you part of a complex sprint map from a European university. Scale is 1:3000. Map 1 is the original drawing. Map 2 contains 15 changes. CAN YOU FIND ALL 15 ??
The 2023 awards for services to Australian orienteering, and inductions to the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame were presented during the Australian 3-Days. The role of the former Hall of Fame Selection Committee has been extended to include determination of the three OA service awards. Those awards are the Silva Award for Services to Orienteering, the Silva Award for Services to Orienteering Coaching and the David Hogg Medal for Services to Event Management. With four of the former Hall of Fame Selection Committee members having served their maximum term of eight years, a new Awards Committee for 2023-24 was appointed consisting of Bruce Arthur (Chair), Greg Barbour, Jenny Bourne, Clare Hawthorne (Board representative) and Robin Uppill. Other OA awards presented at Easter were the 2022 Silva Medal (see March issue for full results) and the 2022 Athlete of the Year, as determined by an Electoral College consisting of OA officials involved with elite orienteering in FootO and MTBO.
Orienteering Australia congratulates all its annual award winners.
The following orienteers were announced as 2023 inductees to the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame:
Athlete Division: Tracy Marsh. General Division: Nick Dent and Don Young
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.
Tracy Marsh (nee Bluett) has had an outstanding international orienteering career extending over fourteen years (1991 to 2005). She represented Australia at the World Championships in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2005, her best results being:
• 6th in AUS Relay team WOC 1997, Norway
• 7th in AUS Relay team WOC 1999, Scotland
• 13th in Middle Distance WOC 2005, Japan
• 14th in Middle Distance WOC 1999, Scotland
• 19th in Long Distance WOC 1999, Scotland
She represented Australia at the Junior World Championships in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1995.
At the national level, Tracy won the W21E class at the Australian (Long Distance) Championships in 1994 and 1999, and at the Australian Middle Distance Championships in 2004.
She has represented New South Wales as a member of the state orienteering team many times, both as a junior and as a senior, with many wins in individual and relay competitions.
Tracy still competes successfully at a high level in community orienteering. Her most recent national achievement was winning W45A at the 2022 Australian 3-Days.
Tracy also gives back to the sport of orienteering through contributions to local and state initiatives for orienteer development, in particular female orienteers. Nationally she is currently a member of OA’s Senior Selection Panel.
Nick Dent has contributed for over 25 years to coaching, controlling and event management at international, national, state and club level. He has played an important role in Australian orienteering. Nick was the Coach for the Australian Junior World Championships team in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009, OA Head Coach in 2014-15 and OA High Performance Manager in 2013-15. At the international level, he served as Carnival Director for the 2009 World Masters Orienteering Championships and the 2011 Oceania Championships. He was the Senior IOF Event Adviser for the 2017 World Masters Orienteering Championships in Auckland, New Zealand, and Controller for the 2018 Oceania Sprint Championships in Wagga Wagga. He was the Teams Liaison Officer for the 2007 Junior World Orienteering Championships in Dubbo.
At the national level, Nick was Event Director/Controller for the Australian 3Days in 2014 and 2021, and was Organiser for the 1993 Australian Championships, when he also mapped the Relay area. At the state level, Nick was part of the driving force behind the original Mountain Devils Orienteering Club based in the NSW Blue Mountains in the 1980s. After moving to the NSW Central Coast in the 1990s, Nick joined Central Coast Orienteers, and instigated the club’s popular Summer Series. He has also been setter, controller or organiser of the club’s NSW State League competitions for many years. He was the NSW Schools Team Coach from 1998 to 2002.
Nick received the Silva Award for Services to Orienteering in 2009 (jointly with Hilary Wood), and the Silva Award for Services to Orienteering Coaching in 2015.
Looking to the future, he is the Event Director leading the organising team for the 2024 Australian Championships in Armidale, New South Wales.
Don was a founding member of the Orienteering Association of WA (OAWA) in 1974, and soon took on major leadership roles. In 1979 he was elected OAWA President and held that position until 1984. Under his leadership the OAWA Council was expanded, and substantial improvements in mapping, coaching and competition organisation took place. During that period, Western Australia conducted its first multi-day national event, the 1984 Spring West 3 Day. In 1998 Don was made a Life Member of Orienteering WA for his outstanding services to orienteering in WA over a lengthy period.
Don made a significant contribution to administration in orienteering at a national level. He was a member of the (then) Orienteering Federation of Australia (OFA) Council from 1981 to 1997, chaired the Magazine Committee, was Vice President (Development) and finally OFA President from 1994 to 1997. Don was the first OFA President who was not from NSW, Victoria or the ACT. While possessing a national and world view, Don was experienced in the unique challenges facing the “more remote” states in a country the size of Australia. In the year of his election to the position of OFA President, Don joined a newly formed national Sponsorship Working Group and advanced the convening of an annual conference for officers working in the field of orienteering development. In the following year, he facilitated the introduction of Affiliate Membership at reduced rates to enable Street O participants to
HELEN O’CALLAGHAN (NSW)
Helen O’Callaghan’s outstanding leadership and collaboration at all levels, including across state boundaries, are underpinned by her passion to increase participation in orienteering, especially juniors. Her story started at the local level in establishing a new regional orienteering club, Bush’n’Beach Orienteering Club, based at Coffs Harbour, NSW. It continues today through her celebrated efforts to enthuse junior orienteers at all levels. She is specially recognised for her drive for a resurgent national initiative to involve more junior orienteers in the social, developmental and competitive experience of the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships.
Helen was appointed manager of the NSW Junior Squad in 2020. She set about doing the job with gusto, developing many initiatives, and that continues into 2023. She initiated and developed many things for the juniors
join state associations – a long lasting legacy in that the format has become very popular, bringing orienteering to an urban community. Another significant initiative, strongly supported by Don, was the establishment of a Working Group to prepare an environmental code of practice for orienteering.
Don Young readily recognised the importance of the OFA’s presence on the international scene. He strongly advocated for, and supported, OFA personnel in their roles at the International Orienteering Federation (IOF), athletes representing Australia in international competition, and team coaches and managers of both JWOC and WOC teams. In 1995, as President, Don represented the OFA at the IOF meeting held at the World Orienteering Championships in Germany. He advocated forAustralia's 1996 bid to secure the World Orienteering Championships in 2001, although the bid proved unsuccessful, and for JWOC 2007 that was subsequently awarded to Australia – the first time the event left Europe.
Don was always interested in ways to enhance regional development. He competed in the first six series of the (Asia) Pacific Orienteering Championships and represented Australia on a number of occasions in the Australia–New Zealand Challenge. Don’s commitment to and vision for a significant Australian orienteering regional and world presence was clearly recognised and appreciated by people at all levels of the orienteering community.
During Don’s term as President, MTBO was recognised as an important discipline in Australia. Its development led to the establishment of an OFA Committee for MTBO and set the foundations for international success in the discipline. The first Australian MTBO Championships were held in Victoria in 1998, and the second World MTBO Championships took place in Australia in 2004. In 1997, Don Young was the recipient of the Silva Award for Services to Orienteering.
She is very passionate about getting juniors involved in orienteering. She has held introductory courses, training and events for juniors at schools and over the school holidays.
including Zoom coaching sessions and a Zoom competition for NSW juniors to keep them motivated during COVID-19 lockdowns.
2022 saw immense efforts to encourage, develop and support NSW orienteering juniors by a now experienced team of committed volunteers coordinated by Helen. The Junior Development Team was awarded the 2022 ONSW President’s Award, which recognises a member or members who have made an outstanding contribution to the furtherance of orienteering in NSW.Helen received that award individually in 2021.
Helen was instrumental in the planning, promotion and conduct of increased junior orienteers’ participation in the 2022 Australian Orienteering Schools Championships experience, the 2022 All Australian Junior Development Team. She continues to work in collaboration with colleagues from other states to build on that experience for upcoming championships, essential for the future of orienteering in Australia.
Helen’s efforts to increase enthusiasm for orienteering are not limited to juniors, and she is considered a powerhouse in her club, particularly in welcoming and assisting newcomers. Even when she broke her ankle, Helen was always there at the registration tent offering her advice and assistance.
When it came to hosting and organising larger events over the years, such as QB3 in 2016, again it was Helen at the forefront. She took these events on with enthusiasm, and they ran like clockwork.
Christine Brown has a long history of contribution to the staging of orienteering events in Tasmania, in Australia and internationally. Most recently Christine was the Event Director of the very successful 2023 Oceania Orienteering Championships at St Helens, Tasmania.
In 2021, after the Australian Orienteering Championships to be held at St Helens had been postponed twice and finally cancelled, Orienteering Tasmania made the decision to host the Oceania 2023 Championships, and confirmed this decision in January 2022. With very short lead time, Christine took on the role of Event Director, managed five smaller teams and dozens of volunteers, and delivered a successful and enjoyable event that hosted over 600 orienteers, including more than 30 from countries other than Australia.
As a Senior IOF Event Adviser, she served in that capacity at the Oceania Championships in New Zealand in 2013 and 2017, and the World Games in 2009 in Kaoshiung, Chinese Taipei, and in 2013 in Cali, Colombia. She was Technical Director for the 2015 Oceania Championships and World Cup in Tasmania and the 2007 Junior World Orienteering Championships in Dubbo.
Christine was Course Planner for the 2020 Australian Middle Distance Championships, Round 4 of the 2016 National Orienteering League (a World Ranking Event) and the 1992 Forestry Commission Classic Day 1 (and Course Vetter on Day 4). She has been a course planner or controller for at least one Tasmanian state event and multiple local/ club events every year for more than 25 years.
Orienteering Australia’s Athlete of the Year for 2022 was Aston Key. It was another outstanding year for Aston at both international and national levels, and he was a clear winner of the award which has returned now that the international and national competition calendars have returned to normal.
The highlight of his season was his fifth place in the individual sprint at the World Orienteering Championships in Denmark, building on his 2019 world junior title (which he missed the chance to defend in 2020). This is the best individual result ever by an Australian man in the World Championships; only Hanny Allston has achieved a better result. He also reached the semi-finals in the knockout sprint, a new medal event in 2022. At the World University
Jon McComb has made an invaluable contribution to orienteering in Tasmania through his coaching activities, particularly over the past 6 years during which time, Jon has been the State Coaching CoOrdinator for Orienteering Tasmania and coach for the Tasmanian Schools Team.
In these roles Jon has offered an extensive program of coaching activities year round, ranging from regular multi-day camps, weekly fitness training and an intensive program of Saturday technical training sessions, particularly targeting the development of the Tasmanian Schools Team.
In his coaching capacity Jon supports and mentors both juniors and seniors, regularly arranging training sessions to suit key focus areas (both bush and sprint) and is invariably available at events for reviewing performances and providing advice.
Jon has also worked with local Tasmanian orienteers to offer coaching development and accreditation opportunities. His structured approach to technical training has been particularly beneficial to emerging coaches and provided a range of opportunities for them to develop their coaching skills.
Championships, he was fourth in the middle distance and fifth in the sprint.
The sprint formats were the major focus of Aston’s international season, but at national level he also had many excellent results in the forest. He won all three national individual championships and led Victoria to the relay title. He also took overall honours at the Australian 3-Days and won all but two of the year’s National Orienteering League events.
Aston also started 2023
well with a sweep of the Oceania titles in January. Injury has interrupted his season since, causing him to miss Easter and the Sydney Sprint Weekend, but he is hopeful of being back in time to compete in the World Championships in Switzerland in July.
Darryl ErbacherOA Statistician talking with Marina Iskhakova.
STATISTICIAN: Congratulations Marina on winning the Silva Medal two years in a row.
Marina: Thank you very much, Darryl. I am very happy with my results!
S: You have had a fabulous year, six wins and a second, from seven starts. What do you attribute to your consistency?
Marina: This year I had many less than excellent runs. I was very happy with my three great and strong Easter runs, and while not ideal, three pretty consistent and confident AUS Champs runs. I really enjoyed the terrain of all six events. Each was very different but challenging. All six courses were on a harder technical scale this year and that suited my strengths perfectly. My favourite was day 2 at Easter, when very precise navigation was required from the start to the finish, and one was constantly needing to change techniques. I was confident in my techniques. From the first minute, I was at one with the forest. I had an excellent run!
S: There have been a number of multiple family victories over the years: Tarr, Saw, Mountstephens, Hassall, Lawford/Bourne, Lotty, Ogilvie, Jackson, Enderby/Anderson, Key and now Iskhakova. I notice that your children are doing well also. Can we expect more Iskhakova names in coming years?
Marina: Thank you for this great question! Actually, I get even more joy and satisfaction from the performances of Ariadna (13) and Veronika (10) when they master and clearly complete their courses! They enjoy orienteeringvery much too. Many athletes can be good orienteers but only a few on the whole planet are ideal orienteers. It is up to them [Ariadna and Veronika] to decide if they get to the "ideal" orienteer level of perfection. I'll do what I can to help them from day to day to perfect their orienteering skills and reach the level they feel happy about.
S:I suspect that your orienteering prowess extends to coaching. Do you plan to develop further in the coaching dimension?
Marina: Yes, there are two things that I enjoy the most about orienteering, when I'm not on the course. They areCourse setting and Coaching. Those things really inspire me. Juniors' coaching inspires me the most. I was lucky to have fantastic orienteering coaches in my life for many years (at the level of Russian JWOC and WOC teams), so now that we reside in Australia for the rest of our lives, I'd like to contribute with my elite orienteering experience and to be able to develop some juniors to JWOC level and maybe in the longer term to the WOC level.
S: You have excelled in all three disciplines - Foot-O, MTBO and Ski-O. Which of them do you enjoy themost? Are your techniques different for each?
Marina: That's a really challenging question! Chronologically I started with Foot-O in 1986 when I was 8 and I started MTBO only in 2011 when we moved to Sydney. I did Ski-O during the winter seasons in Saint Petersburg. Foot-O was duringspring, summer and autumn seasons. Foot-O was always my main sport, which even now I love the most. Injuries, balance of training and search for novelty and adventure pushed me to explore new sports. Fedor loves MTBO more than Foot-O, so it affected my choices too. Each sport requires three main characteristics/skills to succeed: Foot-O = concentration, excellence of technique and endurance; MTBO = memory, courage and speed; Ski-O = strength, toughness and decision making.
S:To win the medal you need to not only dominate your class but win by a better margin than others who do well. How do you ensure you win by as large a margin as possible?
Marina: My Class, W40, was not the most competitive this year, still I tried to focus only on my orienteering techniques and to do my best without even thinking about the actions of my competitors. Several times super strong people mispunched. That also contributed to a large margin. But I was happy and satisfied with my orienteering. I also congratulate Aston on his 24 points.
S:I would aspire to your level of achievements if only the knees would work. Do you have any advice for ageing orienteers?
Marina: I think it is very important to have a big dream that keeps you inspired and helps you to wake up in the morning and go for a run/ride/walk! Probably World Masters Championships in the categoriesMW80-95 is challenging and inspiring enough for everyone who enjoysour forest sport. Even to just get to the World Champs assembly, to walk the course and then discuss it with other super wise and aged orienteers who had been doing Orienteering for several decades could be a very special experience. But also I feel that ageing orienteers have so much experience and expertise, and it is underutilised in Australia. I'd say along with invitation of topskilled overseas O-scholars, we also could create "Sharing expertise" project, when juniors can be given a super veteran/master mentor for a season and they could informally coach juniors/adults/ beginners.
I wish everyone all the best for the O-season of 2023 and that everyone will be able to improve even a little bit on their orienteering road! Cheers, Marina.
S: Once again, congratulations Marina.
Clare Hawthorne talking with Brodie Nankervis
CLARE: You seem to do so much, both as an elite orienteer, your role as national manager of coaching development for Orienteering Australia (OA) and in your job as a physio. What made you take on the role of participation manager?
BRODIE: It can definitely be hard to get the balance right! For me, the role as manager of coaching development had a big participation element. I didn’t set this position up for myself – I wanted someone else to do it! But I really pushed for it to be a position, because if we want to be seen as a serious sport we need to build our participation base, and we need to build from the bottom up. The good thing about the OA work is that I can be really flexible and fit it around my training, and it gives me more financial flexibility. But the other side and probably the biggest driver is that I see it as such an important part of where OA should be heading, if we want to continue to exist, but also grow. And we all want to grow.
How would you define “participation”? Is it just “bums on seats” at events, or is there more to it than that?
For me, participation means participating in a meaningful way, not just participating as a “number”. From my background as a physiotherapist in the public health system, I have a public health mindset that prevention is key. I really want to see sport as a vehicle for people to improve and maintain their physical and mental health. I know I’m biased, but I think orienteering is one of the best sports for doing that. Participation, it’s about people enjoying themselves and getting the benefits of participating in sport, both mentally and physically. We need to figure out how can we provide a product to consumers where they are going to have the best experience. Part of that is coaching – helping people to learn the sport.
What are you goals as participation manager? Are there specific objectives that you (and OA) want to achieve?
The initial goal, which I’ll probably spend a lot of time on, is actually setting up a participation strategy. We haven’t had a participation manager for the last 10 years in OA so we don’t have a specific participation policy or a framework. Whereas a lot of other sports do. I went to Sport Australia participation conference last year and I was sitting there with a participation manager from every single other sport – as niche as pétanque! I realised that we needed to set that position up. The goal is to create a participation plan for the country that will actually help the clubs, not just something that is on paper. There is room to move into different populations, and there are those that are more likely to engage with our sport, but I’d like to see participation in a way that can be as inclusive as possible. But it’s a bit of a balance between being general and inclusive, but also providing a targeted product that people are really going to go for. I think that balance will be interesting!
What do you see as some of the important drivers of participation, both for sport in general and for orienteering in particular?
There are definitely some key areas that we can take from both sport in general and other sports that have had explosions in their numbers, like trail running and mountain biking. One of the key ones is ease of access and ease of completing, and that’s one that is a challenge for orienteering in big cities. Often trail running can happen locally – people do travel but they often start locally, which is something we need to look at in orienteering. The mindset maybe needs to shift, in certain competitions, from needing to be the best possible terrain to being closer to people’s homes. At certain places in Australia, that does occur, but in other places it doesn’t. In Melbourne for example, there are things that happen in a local area but it’s not an overarching strategic move in that direction. Even local events, can be spread quite far away from where people live. That’s alright once people are hooked because they are going to want to go away and experience that cool new terrain. But I think it’s about building that sport closer to home for people to start with.
Another key driver is the social aspect of participating in sport. That’s something that trail running does really well. I think that’s something they’re really proud of: the community, and how everyone supports everyone; and everyone is there to have a good time and experience nature. Essentially that’s what orienteering is as well, it’s just making it clear that we are selling that side of it too. Often in trail running, the events will have a hub where there are food vendors, there are other activities on and there is a bit more of a community feel to the event.
Which you see in Europe for orienteering as well.
Brodie: Yeah, I think so, and it is a size factor as well. It is harder to do that when we have small events. Increasing our participation numbers is only going to help. I think there are little things about clubs working together, working as a club to try and highlight that social aspect. For example, MFR at the Victorian Club Relays today, we could have all just driven in
different cars, but we decided to use some of our club funding to hire a couple of minibuses. So we all went on minibuses together, raced the relays and then went to a brewery for lunch afterwards.
I know the schools do that well, with the Schools Champs for example, that’s why kids keep coming back the Schools Champs.
Right. The biggest hook in Australia is the Schools Champs. Why is that? Because of the community factor. It’s so much fun, why wouldn’t people keep doing orienteering? They’re hooked. I remember when I was in Schools, those were some of the best trips. So it’s about how do we create those opportunities? Because the Schools is a great way to do that, but we can only get so many people through that area. How do we create that similar feeling, that similar hook in other areas?
Do you think there’s room in orienteering to create more community friendly events, like being able to do it as a pairs event, or get all the controls as a mini-rogaine? Is there a way to get people into orienteering in a more safe or inclusive way?
Definitely, and I think that’s the key. We don’t need to follow IOF rules to the letter for community-level events. We want to follow them as closely as possible in state and national events. Does Park Run look like a 5000m track race or a 10K road race? Not really. They’ve set it up for beginners, but in reality, beginners all the way up to very elite runners participate in that together. There’s no reason why you can’t walk an entire course. There’s no reason why you can’t go around as a family. There’s no reason why it has to be a “line” course – they can do different things each week. I think one of the other big barriers is regularity of participation. There are not many opportunities for people to participate on a weekly basis.
And get better…
Or just be a part of the community, just do it for their physical and mental health. Because orienteering events are a bit further away, or they take a bit of effort to put on, we can’t realistically put them on that often. But if we are thinking “Let’s make it easy for ourselves,” go to a local area where we can modify the orienteering to suit our participants. We can change it each week to make it something slightly different, we could have people coming back to the exact same area 10 weeks in a row. I noticed on the British Orienteering website that they had over 14,000 runs logged for MapRun in 2022. And that’s an Australian product. One of the barriers to participation in orienteering is that it’s more difficult than say, Park Run. So there are some great opportunities to use this kind of technology to give people the flexibility to learn in their own time.
Definitely.
Do you think there is a connection between grass roots participation and participation at the elite/international level?
The simple connection, from the grass roots level to the elite level, is easier to see. If you build the bottom of the pyramid bigger that means the top becomes bigger. Where Sweden has many people competing in orienteering compared to Australia, the top of the pyramid is bigger, and therefore the peak is even better. You’re more likely to have those high-level runners, just by pure numbers. That’s the easy connection to see.
The less easy connection to see is “How does having good elite runners help with our grass roots?” I think you see that in many different sports, how well role models work in motivating
people to participate in the sport. People commonly talk about big events that we have in Australia as “legacy events” because they really increase the profile of the sport – people see it and people are motivated. For example when we have the Olympics in Australia, we are going to have a surge of participation associated with that, if those sports are making the most of that situation. So supporting elites to be able to participate at the elite level is important, and does feed back into that. Not only grass roots participation, but also development, so when someone is already participating, but then continues on and aims towards that elite level.
And then they stick around, and then they get roped into admin…
Yeah, they be an elite athlete themselves, they might go into coaching or they might go into admin. But they are motivated. I think in Australia we are quite special. Because we are a small sport at the moment, people can have a chat to Aston who came 5th at the World Championships. That’s pretty special for orienteering, it’s not something you would readily come across in other sports where you can talk to someone who is the best in the world.
On that topic, how is your athletic career going at the moment? I know you were in Tassie [for the Kunanyi trail running festival] last weekend. How did that go?
People may know that I went to World Championships as a junior, and then pretty much moved straight into senior representations. I’ve been to Europe many times, but in 2018 when WOC was in Latvia, I thought: “Well I’m never going to make it to the top.” I decided I would keep trying in orienteering, but focus more on my work, my physio career, and dialed it back a bit. But COVID had the reverse effect on me. I was in and out of work because I was on contract, so at times I had a lot more time to train. And I was seeing huge improvements. So I thought: “Maybe there’s something else here. I haven’t actually gone all the way yet.” It was a defining moment in 2020 when I realised I was actually very keen to keep pushing on. I still wasn’t trail running, but I was focused on the 2021 World Champs in the Czech Republic. I was really pumped up for it so I pushed really hard in 2020 to get into good shape for 2021. And then 2021 happened, and we still weren’t out of COVID. So I thought: “What can I challenge myself with at home?” That’s where I flicked across to trail. So I pushed myself in a few trail runs and started to get a few results. I thought that maybe I could also do this. As we know, orienteering’s not really a professional sport, there’s not really any money to be made, but there is money in trail running. Which means you can use that to pursue orienteering goals as well. For me they are very complementary, and I am enjoying doing both. With the forest and sprint years now, I see myself as more of a forest orienteer. At the moment I am 100% focused on WOC, but still doing a bit of trail running on the side. It’s exciting and it’s keeping me really interested, and I actually see myself as an elite athlete, compared to 2018.
And finally, which is harder – a “vertical km” race or a knockout sprint final?
It’s tricky! The vertical km is all on you – it’s all up to how you’re feeling on the day. Whereas the knockout sprints are interesting tactically. It also depends on the fields you are running in as well. I’ve done both in the last month, so if I had to compare the two races, I think the vertical km was harder. But I probably got a bit of an easy run to the finals in the knockout sprint. But in a stronger field – which I’d love to see in future years and think we will with all the great young runners coming up – that discipline is so mentally tough!
Richard or Dick (or at times Tricky Dicky) as he was better known in orienteering circles began orienteering in the early 70s, and was a foundation member of Uringa when it was formed in 1974. Dick took to orienteering, loving the physical and mental challenge that the sport offered, a far cry from his earlier sporting endeavour, playing 1stGrade Rugby for University of NSW, as a prop forward.
Dick was not content to just compete. He served as Uringa President on two occasions, and during the 80s served on the Board of ONSW as the Technical Officer.In this role he was very focused on fairness in course setting.
Dick also set up a unique event called the “Uringa Pairs”, which ran for a number of years, mainly in Belanglo Forest. Dick set and controlled many events, favouring the mental challenge of course setting, always looking for that “perfect leg” on the courses he set. In 2007 Dick was the controller for the Junior World Orienteering Championships staged in Dubbo, a unique feather in his cap of achievements.
Never one to miss an event, Dick and Maureen’s trusty white VW Camper, superseded by the Yellow Camper, was always first in the carpark.This was a comforting beacon for those who arrived unsure that they were in the right place.
Along with Maureen, they travelled across Australia to events, and visited New Zealand a number of times. Perhaps the highlight of their trip to Hong Kong was the 2006 APOC event with Maureen winning Gold, and Dick - Silver, in their respective classes. It was in Europe that the pair found their adopted home, there they travelled and competed extensively over a number of years right up until the last decade.
When Dick was unable to compete, he was still very involved in the sport as could be seen by his many Facebook comments. He would pour over maps and was recently heard to comment after viewing his course from the Australian Championships in Victoria - “Yep, I would have won that”.
Dick was devoted to Maureen and equally proud of his family, including daughters Norny, Sassy and Jenny plus the grandchildren.
Trevor Sauer, Sunshine Orienteers, Queensland
I
n his AO article about the Xmas 5 Days, Mike Hubbert mentions that daily prizes can only be won once.How this rule came about is interesting.
In the first five years of the event, this rule did not apply. Sometimes a person won two daily prizes. Then one year an elite competitor entered Men C (one could enter any class one wished), and not surprisingly, won all the daily prizes plus the overall prize.
Some people thought this was beyond the pale, so I approached Dick Ogilvie (the organiser of most of the early 5 day events), with the suggestion that daily prizes be limited to one per person (so that if the same person won on day 2, the prize went to the second placegetter, etc).Dick immediately saw the logic, and every year thereafter he applied the new rule.
(I should mention in passing that the elite runner mentioned above was not slumming in Men C in order to win all the prizes, but simply he wanted a shorter casual run.In so doing, he innocently precipitated the new rule.)
Hi orienteers. Here’s a plea from a partially sighted runner. I’d like to be able to orienteer well. This means reading the map ahead of where I am, not just running into the area and making the map fit when I get there. A coach once gave me this advice: Be a “that’s where I’m going” orienteer, not a “that’s where I’ve been”.
My eyesight is a quarter of what it once was. It’s not just me but most people my age (75). A study by the Swedish Orienteering Federation using actual orienteering maps shows the degradation of vision with age, it’s a widespread thing called presbyopia.
Our maps follow the international orienteering specifications. These specify things like scale, size of the symbols, the smallest patches of colour, and minimum gaps. Orienteers being what we are, we put in as much as will fit. In fact, clubs delight in seeking out the most feature-filled terrains. How often do you see event promotion featuring the words “detailed” and “intricate”?
Now these specifications are written for international competitions, i.e. people in the prime of life. It’s not surprising that 75-year-olds have difficulty. In fact, eyesight has been degrading through life, though it doesn’t usually become noticeable until our 40s. We older orienteers like detailed terrain too, after all, it gives us a chance to use our skill and experience. Provided we can SEE the detail. Clearly, partially sighted orienteers are going to have a problem with maps designed for the fully sighted.
Fortunately, there’s a solution. With current technology we can simply print larger. The ONZ Mapping Committee has boiled it down to a simple rule of thumb: Whatever scale the elites need, enlarge at least to 133% from age 40, and to 150% from 60. (It also includes kids, but for a different reason. When the symbols are not well known, size helps recognition). Luckily, older- and younger-competitors’ courses aren’t as long as elite. But even if a bigger map is required, that’s a small price to pay. Refer to the objective of the map; I want to be a “that’s where I’m going” orienteer. These recommendations have been incorporated in the ONZ Rules, sort of. Table 15.2 gives the “normal scales” for various event types and age groups, and some alternative scales “where the complexity or simplicity of the terrain justify them”. Larger scales “can” be provided.
The trouble is, it isn’t always done. Last year everyone at Taradale (Pokapu Sprint Champs) got the elite scale of 1:4000. At a local event, after-work sprint around parliament, there were no classes, just choose your course length on maps 1:4000. At Waitangi Weekend 2023 around Christchurch there were no classes except elite. The sprints were ALL at the elite scale 1:4000. Were M75s not welcome?
Sprints are particular sore points, with the importance of barriers, and short races won by seconds. At 1:4000 I can’t see whether tiny gaps have a thin line (merely an edge), a medium line (crossable obstacle) or a thick line (no go). But forest events are also held in detailed terrain. Sand dunes are a particular favourite where the mental picture is hard to acquire in advance. No streams to indicate “down”. Often I feel I am “flying blind” and finding a control comes down to luck. Yet controllers agonise over the slim chance that a dog-leg will help the following runner!!
Club events without age classes are obviously a problem. If a single scale is going to be provided, what is it? Do you disenfranchise the older orienteer? But there’s no excuse for championships. Section 15.2 says the controller must act as an advocate for the competitors, but please consider this: How can a fully sighted controller judge what the partially sighted can see?
Bottom line – 25% visual performance, even 50% is surely “partially sighted”. I’m still capable of orienteering, please don’t put me on the scrapheap. Two things planners and controllers can do. Read Section 15.2 of the rules – it’s just been updated. And whatever scale you deem necessary for elites, provide enlargements for the rest of us.
The tiny island of Mauritius lies in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar. Last November, Orienteering Mauritius held a 3 Days of Orienteering carnival facilitated by Park World Tour (PWT) www.parkworldtour.org/ with a reported 180 participants. Here is part of their report.
The first ever Mauritius 3 Days Orienteering concluded with Sprints in the SSR Botanical Gardens. Earlier, the first stage (Sprint) took place in Palmar Beach and the second in Domaine de Lagrave (Middle Distance). The 3 Days event was organized in collaboration between Orienteering M, Park World Tour, the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports & Recreation, and the Ministry of Education. The aim of PWT was to transfer as much knowledge as possible about organizing an orienteering event to Orienteering Mauritius (Orienteering M), and day by day, the locals took more and more responsibility on the key event features.
In total, there were 90 international participants led by elites such as Yannick Michiels(BEL), Megan Carter-Davies(GBR), and Øystein Kvaal Østerbø (NOR), and many experienced masters orienteers from Europe. Almost the same number of locals were keen to try orienteering. Some of the locals were competing on the same courses as the M/W21 classes, while for some it was “Fun & Experience” as they were introduced to orienteering for the first time.
survey & cartography
X. 2021: Roman Horký, Petr HraničkaCopyright © : Park World Tour & Orienteering Mauritius
Mauritius of course offered a lot more than just orienteering. The participants got to enjoy various kinds of nature trails, attractions, beaches, excellent local food, swimming and snorkelling in the ocean, as well as other activities offered by this beautiful country.
Map manager: John Domah - orienteeringm@gmail.com
The plan is that the Mauritius 3 Days Orienteering will continue to take place in the following years. If you missed it this time, the next opportunity likely awaits in 2023.
Ian Jessup (text and photos). Extracts from Sydney Summer Series Orienteering post.
Regardless of your gender or identity, you are welcome in our orienteering community. We say a massive thank you to the Uringa Orienteers, and in particular, course setter Zoe Melling, for going above and beyond for today's event [1.03.2023] in Balmain. Zoe had the event accepted into the Pride Amplified sporting section of Sydney WorldPride 2023, and set controls in locations that marked historical moments (https://eventor.orienteering.asn. au/.../15597/3/Course-notes) in the fight for equality for gay people. (…)
Gayle Shepherd designed and made rainbow-coloured covers for the flags, Jitka Kopriva designed and made the rainbow ceramic prizes for each class winner, and there was a rainbow cake for all. And, we believe for the first time in orienteering in Australia or perhaps in the world, we offered non-binary classes. We would have liked to see more of the LGBTQIA+ community come and experience what a great series we have but from little things big things grow. As it is, we salute and honour Myhka Kennedy as our first non-binary class participant. They do their parents proud, and they do us proud. 204 punters for the main course, and a very encouraging 13 on the terrific MINI.
The eastern section had the million-dollar views to the CBD and Harbour Bridge but involved a lot of climb. The inset at Ballast Point Park contained a 40-point puzzle of its own, and the lanes at odd angles invited confusion. Thanks Zoe, thanks to NSW schools team member Maggie Mackay for vetting the course, thanks to Inner West Council and Orienteering NSW for their support, and thanks to our hosts Uringa. (…) Tonight we learnt some history, but more importantly we made history.
From Orienteering Victoria (OV) website
Michael Hubbert has the honour of becoming the first Park Street Hall of Fame member, after completing 2500 events since 1 January 2000.Mike has been the first person to reach each Millennium Club milestone (participation in OV Melbourne Park & Street Orienteering), and continues to lead the way as a regular Power Walking competitor. Mike achieved this milestone on the Mullum Mullum map in Ringwood on 1 February, 2023.
OA is pleased to announce the Australian Bushrangers team to travel to New Zealand on the first weekend of June for a test match against the New Zealand Pine Stars. The team is: W21 Anna Sheldon, Jenny Enderby; M21 Mason Arthur, Duncan Currie; W20 Erika Enderby, Mikayla Enderby, Liana Stubbs; M20 TorrenArthur, Liam Dufty, Jett McComb, Riley McFarlane, Niko Stoner, Jamie Woolford; team coaches Alison Stubbs and Francesca Taufer.
AO.....................TheAustralianOrienteer
AOC..................AustralianOrienteeringChampionships
ASC...................AustralianSportsCommission
ASOC................AustralianSchoolsOrienteeringChampionships
EOC...................EuropeanOrienteeringChampionships
IOC....................InternationalOlympicCommittee
IOF....................InternationalOrienteeringFederation
JWMTBOC........JuniorWorldMountainBikeOrienteeringChampionships
JWOC...............JuniorWorldOrienteeringChampionships
MTBO................MountainBikeOrienteering
NOL...................NationalOrienteeringLeague
O.......................Orienteering
OA.....................OrienteeringAustralia
ONZ...................OrienteeringNewZealand
WMTBOC..........WorldMountainBikeOrienteeringChampionships
WOC.................WorldOrienteeringChampionships
This issue’s Victorinox Award goes to Tony Hill for providing The Australian Orienteer with his photographs. Tony will receive a Victorinox Handyman which includes 24tools and features – retail value $139.
2023
June 17-18 2023 Jukola Relays
Porvoo, SE Finland.
July 2-7 Kainuu Orienteering Week
Jämäsvaara, Kuhmo, Finland
July 21-27 O-Ringen 2024 Smålandskusten, Sweden
August 1-5 World University Orienteering Championships 2024 Bansko, Bulgaria (preliminary dates)
August 3-9 World Masters Orienteering Championships Turku, Finland
July 2-9
July 11-16
July 15-22
July 20-24
July 23-29
July 30 -
Aug 4
August 12-18
JWOC 2023, Baia Mare, Romania
Forest WOC 2023
Flims Laax, Switzerland
Swiss O Week 2023
Flims Laax Falera, Switzerland
North American Orienteering Championships (Senior, Junior, Youth) California, USA
O-Ringen 2023
Åre, Sweden
Scottish 6 Days (actually 5 days)
Moray, Scotland
World Masters Orienteering Championships
Kosice, Slovakia
August 13 ACT & NSW Ski-O Championships
August 18-27
WMTBOC & JWMTBOC
Jičin, Czechia
2025
August 7-11 WMMTBOC 2024 Viborg, Denmark (preliminary dates)
August 16-20 European Orienteering Championships, Mór, Hungary
Sept 9-16 WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Bulgaria
Sep 28 - Oct 6 AUS Champs Carnival Armidale, NSW
May 17-30 World Masters Games 2025 Taipei, Taiwan
June 30 - July 6 JWOC 2025 Bormio, Italy (preliminary dates)
July 7-12 Forest WOC 2025 Kuopio, Finland
Aug 8-15 WMOC 2025 Spain
Aug 11-17 WMTBOC & JWMTBOC 2025 Poland (preliminary dates)
Aug 26-31 EOC2025 Antwerp, Belgium (preliminary dates)
Sept 8-10
Sept 30-
Oct 8
Oct 3-8
AUS MTBO Championships
Brisbane, Queensland
AUS Championships
Western Australia
EOC 2023
Trentino & Veneto, Italy
Nov 11 Malaysia MyO Asia Cup 2023
Malaysia (venue tba)
2024
Dec 23-26
Asian Junior and Youth
Orienteering Championships 2023
Hong Kong, China
Dec 27-31 Xmas 5 Days
Central Coast, NSW (venue tba) www.onsw.asn.au/xmas-5-days
Jan 26-28 HIGH O
Dinner Plain, Victoria
Easter AUS 3 Days Carnival South Australia
Mar 29-Apr 1
June 15-16
June 27-30
prelim dates
Jukola Relays
Lakia, Finland
European Youth Orienteering Championships 2024, Poland
July 7 JWOC 2024
June 30 -
Czechia
July 12-16 Sprint WOC 2024
Edinburgh, Scotland
