A dose over the ditch helps with direction! King’s Birthday New Zealand 2023

TONI BROWN

Asmall but dedicated group attended the King’s Birthday threeday competition on the New Zealand (NZ) King’s Birthday weekend – 3, 4, 5 June. Since 2016, a small group of keen juniors have been taking the opportunity to familiarise themselves with overseas competition and to create strong social connections. Why wouldn’t you? The maps are terrific and oh so different to Aussie terrains, and the depth of competition is certainly greater than can be found in many areas around Australia, as the number of juniors competing is much larger than in any state in Australia. As with previous NZ ‘tours’, the trip was strictly a development opportunity, meaning that decisions to include a person were not based on performance but rather commitment to the sport (and ability to meet financial obligations). Part of the development was to stay with NZ school-aged orienteers, and travel together. Interested juniors were required to submit a brief expression of interest along with a current training plan as a demonstration of commitment. 2023 saw five young athletes from four different states come together as an informal squad to develop, race, train and socialise with juniors from all across New Zealand.

We are grateful to the New Zealand junior squad organisers for welcoming us into their camp, to share learnings and make friends. Each year it has been a different NZ group who have opened their accommodations to us. This year we shared accommodation at Chosen Valley Christian Camp which was ‘chosen’ to avoid too much travel between events. We appreciate the generosity and friendship offered, this year by the South Island’s junior Southern Storms, and are grateful to Jenni Adams of Peninsula & Plains Orienteers and her band of welcoming parents.

I asked the squad to nominate their highlights:

Cassy (QLD) Going over to NZ for the King’s Birthday Weekend of orienteering was such a great experience. It was so challenging running on the different terrain and technical maps.I especially loved the scenery at the start of the middle distance. I DIDN’T love the cutty grass at the long! I also really enjoyed staying with the NZ juniors from the South Island and getting to know them all. They gave us all some good tips for the NZ maps. Overall, I would recommend this weekend to anyone who has the opportunity. Staying with the NZ juniors plus the navigational and physical skills challenges in the NZ forest, was worth the trip. I definitely think this weekend has allowed me to improve my orienteering skills and form really tight friendships.

Jamie (Coffs Harbour) It was good to run on some foreign terrain and to hang out with the lads (and encourage them all to come to WA for Aus Champs).

Jess (Adelaide) My recent trip to New Zealand is a trip I won’t forget, it was filled with so many memories, new people and friends. I found the first event to be very interesting, the map was very different to anything I have done before. The intricate level of detail on the University of Waikato map is something I am not used to. Going around that map at speed trying to read all the small details and buildings was a great learning opportunity. The next day at Waiuku Forest South was the long distance on the map that felt like a mixture of some of the maps I have run on in SA. I loved running through the terrain, experiencing cutty grass firsthand. It was also a highlight of that day regardless of a bloodied map. The final day was on the north end of Waiuku forest. This run reminded that navigation cannot always be great. The map was filled with new things I haven’t gone through before. I have learned to orienteer through highs and lows, coming into the race I was not confident but coming out of that race felt more confident. Overall, it was a fantastic experience, I came away from it with new skills and new friends.

Nick (Sydney) The sand dunes were a unique challenge with vegetation and terrain unlike anything you would see in Australia. Sanda (ACT) Orienteering in New Zealand was an awesome experience. This was my first time orienteering outside of Australia, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The number of junior New Zealand orienteers competing over the weekend surprised me, and I was glad to see a few familiar faces from the Australian Championships and the Oceania Championships. I also made many new friends. The courses were fun, with challenging, unfamiliar terrain, and I made loads of mistakes. In the sprint, I somehow ended up at my 13th control when I was meant to be at my 12th. During the long at Waiuku state forest, I waded through a track completely obscured by water and avoided being sliced by cutty grass twice my height! My favourite event was the middle, where I had a fast-paced course which began in a cow paddock and ended in a pine forest. I really enjoyed my time in New Zealand and hope I can orienteer there again! Thanks so much to everyone who helped organise the trip.

Toni’s note: Sanda came third in middle distance in a field of 39 junior girls! She was in the top half of the field in the other two events.