Interview with Wataru Teragauchi

Leila Henderson interviewed coach-inresidence, Wataru Teragauchi, from Japan, who was a member of Orienteering SA’s coaching team from February to April 2023.

From SA Orienteer Newsletter 2/2023.

Leila: When did you start orienteering?

Wataru: Fortunately, my university had an orienteering club so I started orienteering when I was 18 years old as a university student, like most Japanese orienteers do.

What are your orienteering highlights? I know you don’t want to brag, but please include the class and details of any major wins — we’d love to know.

Only a few, but I have had the experience in Japan of winning the National University Long championships, National Sprint championships and National Middle championships. Also I was part of a team that won Japan‘s biggest relay 3 times. It‘s called the ‘Club Cup 7 Relay’ because each team has 7 members. I‘ve also had a lot of experience in international competitions such as WOC, World Cup, WUOC, Oceania and Asia. But when it comes to highlights, I‘d choose Now – I enjoy Aussie orienteering life very much.

Do you have family who are also orienteers?

No. I hope more people (including my family) try to do orienteering, so I would like to promote orienteering more. I would like to learn more about how you have been promoting orienteering in SA!

What do you do when you’re not orienteering?

I like reading and other sports such as cycling, swimming and trail running. When I was a child, I used to play baseball, football and basketball. Professionally, I was an electrical engineer, but now I'm thinking to change my career from engineering to an outdoor, health or sports field.

What are your ambitions in life and/or orienteering?

I want to spend my life in nature and enjoy some adventure. I would like to keep doing orienteering all my life.

Is there anything you’ve observed about Australian orienteering compared to other countries you’ve coached or competed in?

I will try to compare Aussie orienteering to my experiences in Japan. Training: I'm impressed there are so many training events on weekdays in South Australia. Except for the university orienteering clubs, we don't have many training events on weekdays in Japan. Terrain: From what I have seen, Aussie terrain is very dry and mostly not as heavily forested as Japan. The Australian mining terrain is unique. Generally Japanese terrain is more muddy, forested and steep. Also Japan has the variety of landscapes, coastal, ski slopes, volcanic terrain and so on. Culture: We don't have the culture to swim in the lake or sea after orienteering in Japan. It's the good culture to swim in the wild, nature place! On the other hand, we have the culture to go to hot springs after orienteering. I would like to exchange our culture more, let's talk!

Do you have any advice to improve skills?

Don't be in a hurry for improvement. Enjoy trial and error and to focus on the changes in yourself. Excitement is the best solution to keep doing anything.

Can you give us one great example of your favourite way to learn orienteering?

One is to try to remember the course and landscape without maps after orienteering training. Also discuss the race with other competitors or write out what we think and do while racing. Another way is to memorise and draw your training session. First, plan the route and check (attack) point by reading one leg of your course on a map for a few seconds (for example 30 s). Second, draw the image of your proposed route and feature of check (attack) point on a white paper. Third, compare the image with others. I think these are good exercises to strengthen imagination. This kind of training can help us visualise what we think and use while orienteering wherever and whenever.

What would you teach someone about accepting mistakes and learning from mistakes?

I want to tell myself that there are both ups and downs in life (and orienteering) and we can learn more from mistakes than success. However, it doesn't mean we should make mistakes intentionally :-)

What is the hardest map you've ever orienteered on?

It's difficult to choose one. I will choose several maps.

1. My first volcanic terrain at the foot of Mt.Fuji, which is known as Sekotsuji in Japan. Japanese orienteers often hold a training camp on this terrain. The World Cup race was held here in 2000. I heard Australian orienteer Rob Plowright was one of the mapping controllers of this terrain.

2. My first Scandinavian terrain in Sweden (O-Ringen 2004).

3. Many small hills and depressions in France (WOC 2011).

4. Unfamiliar sandy beach terrain in New Zealand (World Cup 2013).

5. The longest leg in Tasmania (World Cup 2015).

What's the worst thing about orienteering?

Orienteering is addictive. Good addiction! (lol)

What's the best thing about orienteering?

Again, I choose several things: variety, it‘s not all the same like road running; requiring us to make our own decisions; life-long sport and warm global community.

Many thanks Wataru —safe travels, hope you plan to return to South Australia soon!

Editor’s note: Read about other CIRs at https:// scholar.orienteering.asn.au/previous-coaches/

Women’s Coaching Weekend in Tasmania

Christine

Brown

Orienteering Tasmania held its biennial Women’s Coaching Weekend in early July. 37 eager participants came together at St Helens for a range of activities that suited the beginner orienteers to those with many years experience. Italian coach in residence, Francesca Taufer, planned a variety of exercises to suit the diverse audience. It started with a middle distance course for the experienced navigators at Rajah Rock near Avoca. Once in St Helens we had a map walk, relocation exercise and compass exercise on Golden Fleece, contour exercise on Mt Pearson and a route choice exercise on Littlechild Creek. The St Helens terrain offers the most technical terrain in Tasmania, and enabled ladies of all skill levels to be challenged. There were many laughs, especially in a team-building activity that required teams to build a tower from spaghetti and string strong enough to hold a marshmallow on its pinnacle. On Saturday evening Dr Jo Mitchell, clinical psychologist, held an

All about chocolate

from The Victorian Institute of Sport Nutrition Team informative question-and-answer session on the mental aspects of orienteering. Everyone was appreciative of Francesca’s hard work and are looking forward to the next Women’s Coaching Weekend in 2025.

The health benefits of chocolate come directly from the cocoa, so while some might find white and milk chocolate good for the soul, it’s really the dark chocolate, with a high cocoa content, that has an abundance of health benefits. Cocoa is rich in several antioxidants, all which contribute a variety of health benefits: epicatechin and catechin contribute to increased nitric oxide production which has a favourable impact on blood flow and heart health; procyanidins work to decrease oxidative stress, protecting cells from damage.

Chocolate also provides some essential minerals including magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, and copper which are important nutrients to support the immune system, cell production, and muscle function.

It’s important to remember that chocolate is an energy dense food and so the quantity consumed should be considered depending on your goals. Consuming it in excess might also displace your appetite for other nutrient rich foods. For this reason, it’s best consumed after a meal or snack, as opposed to before. While chocolate has many health benefits (due to its cocoa content), there are some factors to consider when deciding when and how much to have. These include its caffeine content, and impact on iron absorption. Caffeine: A dark chocolate bunny ear (30 g) contains approximately 18 mg of caffeine, similar to a cup of green tea. For those who find caffeine has a stimulating effect, this could be enough to delay sleep if consumed later in the afternoon or evening. For this reason, having earlier in the day might be better placed. Iron absorption: Chocolate contains oxalates and polyphenols which reduce the absorption of non haem (plant based) iron. Therefore, if you have a history of low iron, it is best to avoid having chocolate at the same time as meals or snacks containing non haem iron foods (nuts, seeds, tofu, beans, fortified cereals).

Our tips to help you reap the benefits ofchocolate and prevent a chocolate coma:1. Go for quality over quantity;2. Savour your chocolate; 3. Portion it out; 4. Eat it after a meal or snack, not before; 5. If caffeine affects your sleep, avoid having too much in the evening.

Did you know?

Cocoa and cacao are different! Cacao is the raw, unprocessedbean, compared to cocoa whichis roasted.In the raw form, cacaocontains more minerals,antioxidants, and caffeine thancocoa. Cacao does have a slightlystronger and more bitter taste, socan take some getting use to.Youcan often find it in raw chocolatebars or as cacao powder. Give it atry and see if you can taste thedifference!