2023 Australian Schools Orienteering Championships and Southern Cross Challenge

Preview

This year’s Australian Schools Orienteering Championships (ASOC) and Southern Cross Challenge will be part of the Kambarang Carnival in Western Australia near Perth. As in 2022, school teams from Australia and New Zealand will stay together at an adventure camp. If there is interest, Independent Athletes Group will also be formed. The competition will start with Schools Sprint Championships on Tuesday 3 October in Perth, followed by long distance on Wednesday and relay on Thursday near Beverley. Students may also compete at the Australian Championships events, and will take part in various social activities that contribute to making ASOC such an enjoyable experience. Here we show the past winners, and preview this year’s teams from around Australia and New Zealand for you to follow during the events.

Senior girls

Senior boys sprint long relay sprint long relay

Junior girls sprint long relay

Tara Melhuish (ACT)

Caroline Pigerre (QLD) Queensland

Angus Haines (SA)

Patrick Jaffe (VIC) Victoria

Joanna George (SA)

Zoe Melhuish (ACT) ACT

WA Schools Team

Senior Girls

Ruby Phillips

Kate Braid

Senior Boys

Liam Dufty

Joseph Coleman

Eckart Bosman

Seth Thomas

Isaac Madden

Arvin Nair

Junior Girls

Amy Dufty

Neve Lommers

Junior Boys

Ruben Claessens

Lachlan Braid

Rohan Braid

Troy Kingma

Christopher Drury

Archie Brownlie

Edmund Toomey

Team officials are Rachel West (coach), Sarah Richards (manager) and Sten Claessens (assistant coach / manager).

Tara Melhuish (ACT)

Tara Melhuish (ACT) ACT

Aston Key (VIC)

Aston Key (VIC) ACT

Zoe Melhuish (ACT)

Joanna George (SA) ACT

Joanna George (SA)

Joanna George (SA) SA

Aston Key (VIC)

Aston Key (VIC) ACT

Niamh Cassar (NSW)

Iida Lehtonen (NSW) ACT

Zoe Melhuish (ACT)

Ella Cuthbert (ACT) ACT

Grant Reinbott (QLD)

Dante Afnan (SA) ACT

Nea Shingler (NSW)

Iida Lehtonen (NSW) NSW

Nea Shingler (NSW)

Nea Shingler (NSW) NSW

Alvin Craig (NSW)

Alvin Craig (NSW) NSW

Liana Stubbs (TAS)

Liana Stubbs

ACT Schools Team

Orienteering ACT is pleased to announce the ACT Schools Team to compete at the 2023 Australian Schools Orienteering Championships. Congratulations to the following students on their selection.

Senior Girls: Ella Hogg, Mia Kluth, Katherine Maundrell, Aoife Rothery

Senior Boys: Joshua Mansell, Owen Radajewski, Max Walter, MaxJohnson, James Tailby

Junior Girls: Sanda Halpin, Katy Hogg, Ariadna Iskhakova, NaomiPenton, Alice Radajewski, Mira Walter

Junior Boys: Oliver Bishop, Hayden Dent, Ben Mansell, MattyMaundrell, Mica Walter

Team officials: Sarah Bruce and Tom de Jongh (managers), Paul de Jongh (coach).

NSW Schools Team

The NSW Schools Board of Selectors enjoyed the task of selecting this year’s NSW Schools Orienteering Team (…). The ONSW Board congratulates those selected and wishes them well in their orienteering endeavours.

Senior Girls: Rebecca Craig, Erika Enderby, EszterKocsik,MaggieMackay, Abigail McGhee

Senior Boys: Cooper Horley, Jonathan Nolan, Nick Stanley, AlexWoolford, Jamie Woolford, Callum Waland

Junior Girls: Jessica Dun, Matilda Saunders, SavannaSweeney

Junior Boys: Lachlan Coady,Alton Freeman, Luyi He, RoryShedden, Matthew Slater, Shay Sweeney

Team officials are Lee Coady (coach), Martina Craig (assistant coach), Saffron Sweeney (manager) and AndrewDun (assistant manager).

QLD Schools Team

The 2023 Queensland Team is counting down the days until the ASOC Carnival. This year’s team is a mix of old hands and newbies, all with a competitive spirit, ready to run hard, navigate harder and cheer each other on. The competitiveness and skill made selection tight and well done to everyone involved.Watch out WA, Queensland’s coming to Perth!!!!

Senior Girls: Skye Hassall, Cassy Reinbott, Ingrid Young

Senior Boys: William Barnes, Dylan Bryant, Ewan Keith, Eric Lovell, Henry Smyth, Hugo Taunton-Burnet

Junior Girls: Abigail Barnes, Kari Brennan, Alexandra Edwards, GraceJardine, Sara Loader, Xanthe Schubert

Junior Boys: Miles Bryant, Ethan Crowe, Adrian Garbellini, EricTaunton-Burnet, Alex Vanzella

Team officials are Felicity Crosato and Marion Burrill (managers), and Ryan Gray and Su Yan Tay (coaches).

SA Schools Team

Senior Girls

Gemma Burley

Abbie Faulkner

Jessica Jarvis

Jemima Lloyd

Sienna White

Senior Boys

Finn Johnston

Daniel Morcom

Mitchell Morcom

Junior Girls

Lucinda Fogarty

Annabel Lloyd

Adeline Richmond

Junior Boys

Achilles Barnett

Marcus Cazzolato

Austin Clem

Angus Fairgrieve

Ben Marschall

Duncan Still

Team officials are Jack Marschall (coach)

Angus Haines (coach)

Patsy Burley (manager)

Patrick Burley (manager)

TAS Schools Team

Senior Girls

Sophie Best

Tara Powell

Liana Stubbs

Senior Boys

Euan Best

Hugh Giblin

Riley Kerr

Jett McComb

Eddie Stoner

Junior Girls

Ella Clauson

Katie Clauson

Sophie Hartman

Margot Marcant

Junior Boys

Isaac Butler

Callum Deganaar

Charlie Groves

Team officials are Jon McComb (coach), Sussan Best (manager) and Francesca Taufer (assistant coach and assistant manager).

VIC Schools Team

Senior Girls

Sophie Arthur

Maya Bennette

Milla Key

Senior Boys

Lucas Kent

Nicholas Mousley

Ash White

Junior Boys

Xander Greenhalgh

Matthew Layton

Jayden Styk

Junior Girls

Izzy Greenhalgh

Angelina Kozma

Ella Maja Lang

Keely Williams

Team officials are Bruce Arthur (coach), Carolyn Layton (coach) and Heather O’Donnell (manager).

Orienteering Tasmania is pleased to announce the 2023 Tasmanian Schools Orienteering Team to compete at the Australian Championships carnival in Western Australia this October. Congratulations to the following students upon their selection.

Congratulations to our Victorian Schools Team members who have been selected to compete in the 2023 Australian Schools Championships in WA in September.Each will compete in the sprint, long distance, and relay events, representing their state. The team is looking forward to the upcoming months of training and fundraising!

NZ Karahiwi Schools Team

Senior Girls: Anna Babington, Katherine Babington, Isabelle McDonnell, Lani Murray, Tide Fa’avae

Senior Boys: Zefa Fa’avae, Nicholas Green, Jacob Knoef, Jake McLellan, Eddie Swain

Junior Girls: Niamh Hoare, Torun Joergensen, AmiMcGowan, Izzy Spreitzer, Anna Wright

Junior Boys: Max Franks, Tahi Harris, Luke Jansen, BlakeMcKinnon, William Wooder.

NZ Harua Schools Team

Senior Girls: Georgia Lindroos, Kate Borton, JulietFreeman, Phoebe Hunt, Alicia McGivern

Senior Boys: Marcus Brennan, Sam Carryer, RileyCroxford, Matthew Greenwood, Felix Hunt

Junior Girls: Anna Batcheler, Annabelle Holdcroft, AlessNicholson, Greta Prince, Zara Toes

Junior Boys: Harry Borton, Oscar Burns, NicholasFreeman, Zack Meads, Thomas Zinzan

Looking ahead to Australian 3 Days 2024

Booking accommodation well ahead of time is recommended for the busy Easter holiday, so here are some tips for the Australian 3 Days Champs to be held in South Australia next year. The Adelaide Hills and Murray Bridge are within easy driving distance of events, typically within 30 minutes to 1 hour (plus a bakery/café stop). All events are maximum 80 mins from Adelaide CBD.

• Take South-Eastern Freeway (M1) to Heathfield High School for the Prologue, 35 mins from Adelaide Airport.

• Pymton (Day 1) is north-west of Murray Bridge, near Rockleigh.

• Ngaralta Country (Day 2), at Hellenic Park, and Narrinyeri Hills (Day 3), at Kinchina Conservation Park, areboth near Monarto and Murray Bridge.

This opens the entire tourism area of Adelaide Hills and Lower Murraylands for you to choose from, as well as the city and suburbs.

What weather to expect at the Kambarang Carnival? BLAIR TREWIN

This year’s Australian Championships carnival will be taking place in Western Australia at the start of October. Last time there was a national carnival there, it was unusually cool for the time of year, so what to expect this time?

Although it is quite a warm part of the world, the southwest of Western Australia is slower to warm up in spring than many parts of the eastern states are. Average daytime temperatures in the first week of October are around 22–23 °C, both in Perth and at the inland event locations. There is also less variation from day to day than there is in the east in spring. On the one hand this means that cold days are rare in the event areas (although a possibility for those who venture further south); on the other hand, it also means extreme heat is unlikely. There will probably be some warm weather at some point during the week, as there was at the Australian Schools events in 2014, but in the majority of years Perth has not yet had its first day of the spring above 30 °C by the first week of October.

The region gets most of its annual rainfall in the cooler months, so early October is at the end of the wet season. While heavy rainfall is still possible (as happened on the first weekend of the 2014 carnival), by the first week of October it is unusual, especially inland. In Perth, some measurable rain falls on about 30% of October days and 10 mm or more on about 4% of days; at Northam, York and Beverley, the frequency is about half of that. The country has not usually dried out fully after the wet season by early October, so fire danger is unlikely to be a factor. All in all, it should make for good conditions for orienteering.

MELBOURNE CITY RACE 2023 – BACK TO THE FUTURE

Debbie Dodd (DROC)

Summer is coming – and it’s bringing some sizzle to Melbourne’s city streets, at least for those of us who, map in hand, love to set out on a quest for the quirky, with a backdrop of colourful history. The fourth Melbourne City Race (MCR) takes us back to where it all began, at Docklands. We have a brand new start location in the north of the map, which means everyone will tackle the multi-level mayhem of The District, as well as New Quay, Waterfront City, Marvel Stadium and Victoria Harbour. Peter Dalwood has been out and about updating the map; as expected, there have been quite a few changes since 2019. Course planners Peter and Ilze Yeates are veterans of several Venice City Races, so they know what makes a great urban event with a waterfront theme. While they haven’t been able to rustle up any gondolas (yet), they have been busy scouting out some quirky control locations – although ‘man made object’ seems an inadequate description for a patchwork cow upended in a tree, or an elephant’s trunk emerging out of concrete!

This year’s MCR takes place on Sunday November 19. As in previous editions, you can choose any one of five line courses ranging from 3 to 10 km, with multiple changes in direction, and some route choices that might be vertical. Sportident controls will be in Air mode for rapid racing.

We strongly recommend using public transport, which is very handy to the arena as parking is limited. You should enter online on Eventor, with entries opening in late October. As always, we have some fantastic prizes for the winners and place getters, and a random prize draw for everyone who pre-enters. There is no Saturday warmup race this year, but we’ve got something much better – look out for the DROC Summer Shorts! A brand new series of four short-distance races in parks and campuses on Sunday mornings, the Summer Shorts are the perfect way to get prepped; not only for the City Race, but for the Primary Schools Champs, and the Victorian Sprint Champs and Knockout Sprint on November 26. There will be a different Summer Short each week from October 22 to November 12. Venues are still being finalised, but expect a great selection of full-colour maps, action-packed fun courses, and a big social atmosphere. The three courses at each Short will cater for all levels, from juniors and newcomers, to top sprinters, and everyone in between.

Find out more at www.melbournecityrace.com.au

Course setter’s notes

Pete Yeates (Senior Narcotics Investigator, Department of Customs, retired)

The 2023 Melbourne City Race will take you through the heart of Melbourne’s Docklands. Its historical setting will be not be lost on many, but I first visited there as a ten-year-old boy in 1956. One day I had to go to work with my father as my mother was ill. He was a serving customs officer stationed at No 2 Gate Victoria Dock. It is long gone, but the goods train track is still clearly visible. I was allowed to roam at will, and you cannot imagine the delight of those sights and smells as bales of jute, sacks of coffee and other wonderful things were carried off ships that were little more than piles of rusting junk from all four corners of the globe. In the strange circle of fate that often bemuses not just orienteers, it was in 1975, almost 20 years later, that I again spent long periods at Victoria Dock. Having followed my father into a career in law enforcement, I was often sitting in freezingcold, unheated cars conducting night-shift surveillance along the road past No 14 Shed, searching for sailors smuggling opium and heroin. The shed is one of the few things still there.

Now, more than 45 years later, the cargo ships and smugglers are long gone, replaced by luxury yachts and apartments, but I am still searching through the docks. This time for those little nooks and hidey holes in which to place a little red and white flag for you to find.

If you wonder why the idiot course setter put a control in ‘that stupid place’, try looking at it through the eyes of that ten-yearold boy who, long before colour television, first saw it almost three quarters of a century earlier.

I hope you are successful in your search. I was very often not.