The Australian Orienteer – December 2023 by Orienteering Australia

THE AUSTRALIAN

WINNING PARTNERSHIP

Sport Australia proudly supports Orienteering Australia 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 Cover: Martina at Ski-O Championships at Perisher – photo by Tash Thackray; Miles and Sebastian in the finish chute of Australian Championships Long Distance – photo by Sandra Stewart; Ann at Australian MTBO Championships Long Distance – photo by Ilya P.

inclusion, social media, and privacy. In addition, the Board is undertaking policy development in photography use across Australian orienteering in response to the Safeguarding Children and Young People National Integrity Framework Policy area. It is fair to say we have some work to do in this area to be fully compliant with this policy.

lsewhere in this edition of The Australian Orienteer is a report from what was a most successful Australian Championships week conducted in Western Australia. All reports indicate there was an excellent series of events that provided a great orienteering experience for all participants. The heat on occasions provided an extra challenge, especially on the day of the Long Distance Championships. Of course, such a championships week could never happen without the many volunteers who put in many hours of work to make the events happen. The Board extends a most sincere thanks to all Western Australians who assisted in making the event happen, and to OA Controller Andrew Lumsden. We especially thank Graham Braid as the main organiser of the week and Tom Brownlie who coordinated a most successful Australian Schools Orienteering Championships (ASOC). I note there was some concern expressed around the small senior elite fields at the championships. It needs to be understood that it has been a heavy international program this year in Europe, and I imagine many of our elite orienteers have exhausted their funds engaging in those international events. It did not help that there was also the final round of the World Cup that coincided with the Australian Championships. It must also be noted that Australian orienteering is not overflowing with funds to provide the level of support to our elite orienteers we would like to allow them to get to every possible event in the year’s competition program. Speaking of OA finances, the Board will have met in early November to review the financial outcome from this year and engage in a budget planning process for 2024 activities. Some tough choices will have to be made by the Board as we are running a structural deficit now. The Board has been very active in updating our operational policies and procedures. At the October meeting of the Board, it approved a large range of policy updates across the five areas of our activities in performance, events, relationships, opportunities, and organisation. Some items of particular importance are in the areas of equity,

In addition, the Board has updated policy around Australian national teams and selection to provide greater clarity for our aspiring national team members in this area. I thank Board members Clare and Andrea for leading this work and also our wonderful High Performance Management Group and Manager, MTBO Development for their input. Another important piece of work was the approval of an updated OA Branding and Style Guide. This informs how we effectively communicate across OA, and works in conjunction with other OA policies in the relationships and opportunities areas. Connected to this, the Board has under development a Communication Pan which will provide guidance to how OA may more effectively communicate within the orienteering community and to the wider Australian community. In terms of communication, the new OA website development is proceeding well. The Website Working Group is making great progress in populating page content from the existing website to the new. It is hoped that the new website will be ready for release in early December. It looks awesome and has much improved functionality. Finally, there is some exciting project work happening under ASC funded projects. By the time you read this edition we will have launched the Orienteering Learning Centre (OLC) which initially will have our coaching curriculum available for online learning. It is planned to add our controller curriculum to this space and a course panning education tool as the next phases. In addition, pilot projects are happening in the ACT and Victoria for the Learn to Orienteer program which provides a structured way of learning for participants new to our sport. By all accounts these are being very well received and it is planned to do a wider rollout of this project through 2024. In these two projects areas we have some amazing work being done by Daniel Stott and Brodie Nankervis. Thanks, folks, for the work here. In closing, I am always available if any orienteer has questions about what the Board is doing, and on your behalf, for developing Australian orienteering. Please reach out via if you have any ideas to grow our sport. We all know orienteering as the best sport there is out there.

Photo: quentinjlang.com

ry and hot 2023/2024 Australian summer is predicted by Bureau of Meteorology, warmer than average conditions are likely across most of Australia from November to January and below median rainfall for much of western, northern and southern Australia (2023). We already got a taste of high temperatures at the Australian Long Distance Orienteering Championships in early October near Perth. Just a week earlier south-eastern Australia had been simultaneously dealing with floods and bushfires. In 2023 the world has experienced unprecedented fires in Canada and Hawaii, and deadly heatwaves and floods in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. With climate change there will be increased frequency of catastrophic fire conditions, heatwaves and floods (IPCC, 2022). Global warming continues to influence Australian and global climates. Global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were warmest on record for their respective months during April to September 2023. Australia’s climate has warmed by an average of 1.47 ± 0.24 °C since national records began in 1910 (Bureau of Meteorology, 2023). Weather and natural disasters affect orienteering in terms of organisation of events (as mentioned in Blair’s article) and when orienteers live in areas subjected to fires and floods. There are four major orienteering events scheduled for this Austral (southernhemisphere) summer, Australian Junior Development Camp in Beechworth in Victoria in the third week of December, Xmas 5 Days on Central Coast in NSW in the last week of December, High-O at Dinner Plain in the Australian Alps in Victoria at the end of January, and Oceania Sprint Championships in New Zealand in January and February. We hope that the weather will be relatively mild and all areas accessible. Forest orienteering events are cancelled on total fire ban days or when flooding prevents access or when thunderstorms roll in as was the case during Swiss 5 Days this year. What can we do about climate change and orienteering-unfriendly weather? As global citizens we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent heating above what is already locked in.

In addition to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, as orienteers we should try to adapt to disastrous scenarios. The following are points for conversation. Schedule major events for the times when weather is, on average, relatively milder. This already is the case in Australia, with Australian 3 Days in autumn, and Australian Championships in spring, but we still have experienced 35 ˚C during the Long Distance Australian Championships 2023 despite all the start times being moved to 1 h earlier. Into the future, should we strive to schedule Australian Championships in September rather than October? Oceania Championships were in summer this year but they followed three years of above-average rainfall, so were fine. The next Oceania Championships will be sprints in New Zealand, not needing forest access, again environmental condition less of a concern. But in the future when we have another severe drought, perhaps we should consider staging forest regional championships outside of fire season. Foot and MTBO Championships in southern Europe may need to be organised outside of summer. If we continue scheduling major events during summer, we should accommodate those who make decisions based on weather forecasts. Perhaps allow very late entries or cancellations due to weather, or don’t collect money for pre-entries until several days before the event. Take the forecasted weather and health of competitors into account when allocating starting slots for different classes. The oldest athletes (65+) should be given early start times on hot days. This age group is most susceptible to heat-related illnesses (Hunter, 2019). We all should have access to the emergency information, and all states have information available on their apps or on their websites. It is useful not only for emergencies but also to know what areas to avoid due to prescribed burns. Comments are welcome via email or by following the link to the Quiz / Comments section.

Aislinn

Fredrik

Blair

Árpád

Ceri

Anna

Clare

Mark*

Natasha*

Brodie*

Andrea^

Paul L

Paul P

Stephen^

Susanne

Photos by quentinjlang.com except *by Tony Hill and ^by anon.

Ricky Thackray in WMTBOC middle distance. Photo by Honza Svoboda.

Multiple WMTBOC gold medallist, Krystof Bogar from Czechia, added a gold in the middle distance in Jičín. Photo by Honza Svoboda.

Will Whittington at JWMTBOC middle distance. Photo by Miroslav Rygl.

Mostek • 1 : 10 000 • e 5 m

Ricky Thackray. Photo by Honza Svoboda.

category

Algirda Mickuviene from Lithuania in WMTBOC middle distance. Photo by Honza Svoboda.

Evidence map OB 23|H|028|M Mapoval Ondřej Prášil Podklady Ortofoto+OB mapa Stav 08/2023 Vytiskl Kartum Vydal © SPORTCENTRUM Jičín, z.s. Správce mapy sjc@post.cz

Mass start gets underway. Photo by Jacob Cherry.

Aus MTBO Champs mass start. Kate, Carolyn and Maya. Photo by Michael Schafer.

NZ Rachel, Georgia and Marquita discuss the mass start. Photo by Jacob Cherry.

Andrew Power at Aus MTBO Champs middle. Photo by Ilya P.

Henry at Australian MTBO Championships Long. Photo by Ilya P.

The Aussie team for the ANZ MTBO Challenge.

Australian team manager, Andrew Power presents NZ’s Steve Pyatt with the ANZ MTBO Challenge banner..

Clare Leung, 1st W50 in the Aus Sprint Champs. Photo by Ilya P.

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Aston Key – JWOC Gold Denmark 2019, Athlete of the Year 2021 & 2022.

Str8 Kompakt Compass with Str8 Magnifier and Nvii Crazy Light Forest 1 Shoes.

Photo: Tom de Jongh, website PhotosByTom.com.au

Photo by Hania. Louise.

Ethan. Australian Champs Middle Distance.

he Australian Championships week made the trip to the west for the first time since 2014. The week featured events which went off without any obvious hitches (other than the occasional heat), and a standard mix of Western Australian terrains, with lots of rock, some of it in semi-open farmland, and some of it in forest which was mostly reasonably runnable but not excessively steep. The elite fields were depleted as those who had recently been to Europe mostly did not travel again, but the overall field did not suffer too badly and total numbers were similar to those in 2014. The limited elite presence did place more of a focus on the other classes, particularly the juniors where there were strong fields and plenty of good contests, both in the Australian Championships races and at the Australian Schools. Three different JWOC team members won the three individual M20 titles, while three took or shared victory in W20. As always, this is a week for talent to appear or develop. Eszter Kocsik, unfortunately not yet eligible to be an Australian representative, continued her development from the first half of the year, finishing the week with one outright title, a share of enough and a Schools win as well. A little further down the age range, the Tasmanian pair of Euan Best and Liana

Stubbs, both Schools junior winners last year, swept the three resident titles in 16s, with Best having a big impact at the Schools too.

The week began with a pair of races on the open granite of Peterdine ‘Bitidiin’. This was an ultra-fast area when first used at Easter 1993, when the fastest were breaking the hour for a 13 km course; it’s not quite as quick at this time of year with winter grass growth, but still quick enough. Natasha Key could almost have been in the 1993 elite race (instead she was running, and winning, W21A). Three decades later she was reminding everyone how competitive she still is as she (further) extended the record for the oldest national champion in W21E; it was her fourth middle distance title, and 14th across all formats. For most of the way she was just behind Francesca Taufer and did not get to the lead for the first time until #17, but pulled away over the final loop to stretch her margin beyond a minute. In M21E it was a New Zealand sweep, with Joseph Lynch turning a narrow lead over Zefa Fa’avae into a comfortable one when he was the only one of the top seven not to lose

Jan.

time at the short downhill #18; Paul de Jongh in fourth was the best of the locals. The first of a succession of competitive junior races happened in W20, where the top six were within 3:30. Eszter Kocsik lost time in the first half of the course at #5 and #9 and was nearly 2 min behind at halfway, but finished well to overhaul Sophie Taverna who had the best result of her own career. Leith Soden’s big improvement in 2023 was capped off with a comfortable 3min win over Sam Woolford, which was set up in the first half, although it would have been a closer contest had Oskar Mella not mispunched when in a good position. There was a succession of close finishes in the older womens’ classes, with five of the eight from W50 to W80 decided by less than a minute. Closest of all was W65, where Carolyn Jackson had just 2 s in hand over Jenny Bourne; Bourne was mostly faster but a 2-min loss at #9 was decisive. Louise Fairfax (W70), running her first national championship in a long time, and Janet Tarr (W80) both started well and held off their pursuers. In W75, where the top five were within 3 min, Carol McNeill (GBR) and Val Hodsdon swapped the lead most of the way but the Briton, a past WOC top-ten placegetter, emerged just in front, while Cathy McComb edged out Emily Walter in a similar duel in W50.

ACT team. Winners of Xanthorrhoea Trophy at the Australian Relay Championships. Photo by Sarah Bruce.

Julie and Clive. Photo by Hania.

NSW W45A relay team. Photo by Hania.

Aldo.

W60 was looking equally close until two mistakes in the last four controls saw Anthea Feaver drop behind Christine Brown. M35 is a class which typically has a small field, but last year those small fields provided several close contests and it started the same way in 2023. This time, Eric Smyth dropped 6 min at #3 and was playing catch-up for the remainder; he pulled in Lee Coady over the rest of the course but fell short by the very narrow margin of 3 s. Like their female counterparts, M75 had a close bunch at the top with 37 s between the top three; Jim Lee emerged in front over Dan Greig after early leader Ian Fletcher lost time late. Late time losses also decided M70 where Tim Ashman edged out Russell Wade by just under a minute, while Geoff Lawford emerged just ahead of Eoin Rothery after a high-standard contest in M65.

The action moved on Sunday to the south end of Peterdine ‘Bitidiin’, which was generally even faster than the north side. While some of the fields were on the small side, there were many good contests, with seven classes changing hands on the last leg.

Australian relays changeover. Photo: Tom de Jongh, website PhotosByTom.com.au

One of these was in M21, which featured a tight duel between New Zealand and South Australia. Zefa Fa’avae gave the visitors a 2min lead over Leith Soden on the opening leg, but Angus Haines brought South Australia to the lead on the second leg. Joseph Lynch, who was to win all three individual championships, went out 18 s behind and looked a warm favourite to finish on the top, but Ethan Penck hung in there, closing back in at the end but falling 6 s short in a sprint finish. (Another noteworthy feature of this race was the Arthur family team for Victoria, who placed fourth). W21 was close for one leg between Milla Key (Victoria)” and Amber Riddle (NZ), but the Victorians took control thereafter through Natasha Key and Aislinn Prendergast for a comfortable win. Once the dust had settled, W20 ended up with a comfortable win for NSW, though not before some ups and downs on the first two legs. Sophie Taverna (Victoria) and Liana Stubbs (Tasmania) led on the first leg with Erika Enderby (NSW) 2 min down, but there was a major reshuffle on the second leg, which left Mikayla Enderby in front with Tasmania and South Australia both within 2 min. Eszter Kocsik ran away on the last leg, with South Australia emerging narrowly as best of the rest. NSW also took out M20, where Niko Stoner

(Tasmania) matched Cooper Horley (NSW) on the first leg but Oskar Mella and Sam Woolford ran away with it from there. New Zealand teams filled the minor placings with Felix Hunt doing the day’s fastest time. The ACT overcame early deficits in both W14 and W16, with Mira Walter overhauling 3 min on Katie Clauson (Tasmania) in W14, and Ella Hogg and Mia Kluth finishing off in W16 after being 5 min down on first leg. Queensland emerged in front in a fine fluctuating battle with New Zealand in M16 after Eric Lovell overhauled the previous day’s winner Jake McLellan, but closest of all was M/ W12, where the ACT prevailed by a single second over Western Australia after a sprint finish between Naomi Penton (ACT) and Quinn Lommers (WA). The two biggest last-leg comebacks of the day both came from the locals. In M75, Alex Tarr and Tony Radford gave Victoria a 12-min lead after two legs, but they dropped away on the last leg, leaving Ian Fletcher to bring Western Australia (WA) home by 46 s after three consistent legs. It was a broadly similar story in M45, where Tasmania opened up a big lead through Jon McComb and Anthony Stoner; Western Australia were third at that stage, 8 min down, but Craig Dufty came through both

ASOC 2023 winning team. NSW. Photo by Saffron Sweeney. ASOC senior boys’ relay start. Photo: Tom de Jongh, website PhotosByTom.com.au

ASOC 2023 Honour team. ASOC long finish chute. Photo: Tom de Jongh, website PhotosByTom.com.au

Tasmania and NSW for the win. A third class where there were late WA gains was W65, where Anna Napier brought them up to second, in a fluctuating race where Val Hodsdon and Hilary Wood for NSW overcame the early lead that Carolyn Jackson set up for Victoria, while Jenny Bourne took the ACT from sixth to second on the second leg. The ACT emerged victorious from a quality duel in W45. Jennifer Enderby (NSW) was just ahead of Marina Iskhakova (ACT) on the first leg but Allison Jones put the ACT in the lead on the second leg, and Emily Walter edged further away from Martina Craig on the last. Most of the other masters classes were fairly straightforward. NSW trailed Victoria narrowly for two legs in M55 but with Tony Woolford as anchor the result was never really in doubt. The ACT took easy wins in M35 and M65 (though in the former a mixed team led them for two legs), while Queensland and Tasmania dominated W35 and W55 respectively.

New South Wales took their third consecutive Australian Schools Championships (over a five-year span). They were pushed harder than they were last year, with Queensland and the ACT

mounting challenges at various stages, but always looked like keeping their opposition at arm’s length (barring relay misadventure which was not forthcoming) and finished six points clear. Their two senior teams, both of whom took maximum points from all three events, led the way. Queensland jumped from sixth last year to edge out the ACT for second, while another noteworthy result was that Western Australia finished ahead of another state (Victoria), the first time they have achieved this since 1992 (a long enough span that five children of 1992 team members were in the 2023 team). The New Zealanders once again dominated the Southern Cross Junior Challenge, although this time there was a clear gap between the two teams with Karahiwi well ahead of Harua. The competition began with a sprint at Aquinas College in Perth. Whilst not as technical as the Australian Sprint would prove to be, it still contained plenty of traps for the unwary. New Zealanders took three of the four titles, led by Zefa Fa’avae (Karahiwi), coming off a podium finish at JWOC. He led all the way and gradually edged away from his compatriot Felix Hunt (Harua) to win by 25 s, while a tight duel for third between the two leading Australians saw Cooper Horley emerge 4 s ahead of Euan Best after a slow start. Blake McKinnon (Karahiwi) also led all the way

in the junior boys, in a race which was decided in the first three controls; Hayden Dent (ACT) was 27 s down at #3 but came through the field and was in second by halfway. Greta Prince’s margin of 22 s over Zara Toes (both Harua) looked convincing enough in the junior girls, but she did not get to the front until the last part of the course. Anna Wright (Karahiwi) led for much of the race, and Savanna Sweeney (NSW) for parts of it, but both lost time on later controls (although Prince’s finish was fast enough that she might well have won regardless). The one Australian win was in the senior girls. Like the junior boys, the opening controls were decisive here; by the second control, Milla Key was 22 s down on Erika Enderby, and Eszter Kocsik 28 s, and that was enough of a break for Enderby to hold the other two off until the end. The event then moved southeast of Perth to Frazzle Rock ‘Boyayambeliin’, with a relatively technical long distance (particularly for the juniors) and a faster and more open relay. This time in the senior girls Kocsik, the last starter, emerged on top. She was comfortably in front for most of the course, but an error at the second-last allowed Tide Fa’avae to close to within a minute, with Milla Key best of the

ASOC junior girls relay podium. Photo by Pam Yeatman.

ASOC senior girls’ relay. Photo by Richard Matthews.

Australian Championships Long Distance, W21E, Aislinn Prendergast. ASOC sprint.

rest. Zefa Fa’avae made it two from two, the only dual winner, never being seriously challenged once Felix Hunt had lost 2 min at #6, and finishing 4 min clear. Once again Cooper Horley and Euan Best were fighting out a close battle for third outright and lead Australian, and this time the result was reversed with the Tasmanian emerging 17 s clear. The juniors found things hard going in the challenging terrain and times were longer than expectations. The junior boys were particularly up and down. Alton Freeman (NSW) and Luke Jensen (Karahiwi) were 3 and 7 min down respectively by #2, but both steadied thereafter and made their way to the front of the field over the second half of the course. Duncan Still (SA) led for much of the way and was still only 46 s down at #10, but drifted back in the closing stages and was pipped for a medal by Miles Bryant (Queensland), on a day when less than 4 min separated second and tenth. The junior girls race was more straightforward, with Anna Wright opening up a 3-min lead by #4 and staying well clear thereafter. Zara Toes was again runner-up, while the Tasmanian pair of Katie Clauson and Sophie Hartmann contested third, Clauson holding on by 3 s despite early time losses. Jessica Dun, from NSW, was third Australian.

Aislinn.

The closest relay race at the front was in the junior girls, where the leaders were separated by only 26 s and seven teams were within 13 min of the front. New South Wales led after the second leg, at which point there were three teams within a minute, through Savanna Sweeney and Jessica Dun, but couldn’t hold on and dropped to sixth. The two New Zealand teams emerged in front, with Anna Wright (Karahiwi) doing the day’s fastest time but just failing to run down Greta Prince (Harua). ACT were the leading state, while Xanthe Schubert got what turned out to be a crucial point for Queensland by outsprinting Sophie Hartmann. The junior boys was more straightforward (and provided the only outright win for an Australian state), pulling away throughout the race after Hayden Dent had set them up with an early lead over Miles Bryant. Alton Freeman’s last leg brought NSW up from fifth to second, while Western Australia were third after three consistent runs. In the senior girls the main action was in the middle of the field. Karahiwi dominated the race, opening up an 8-min lead after two legs with Katherine Babington then pulling away further from Eszter Kocsik, while NSW were similarly unchallenged for first state. Impressively, Western Australia came through to second

even with having to promote junior Amy Dufty to join Ruby Phillips and Kate Braid, but the next four states came through the spectator control within a couple of minutes of each other, with ACT needing to beat Queensland by three places to tie for second overall. Aoife Rothery did her part of the deal to bring the ACT in third, but Ingrid Young was able to pass South Australia’s Abbie Faulkner for fifth in the closing stages to get the point Queensland needed. The senior boys started as a threeway race between Karahiwi, NSW and Tasmania on the first leg, but Karahiwi broke away on the second leg and extended their lead further through Zefa Fa’avae on the last, while NSW took a clear second on the last leg, with Dylan Bryant ultimately running down the Tasmanians to get Queensland into the placings.

For the Australian Long Championships it was a return to forest terrain, of a sort typical of Western Australia’s early national events (indeed this was the same area that hosted the West’s first national championship, in 1988). It was the hottest day ever in Perth so early in spring with maximum temperatures reaching the mid30s, and even with start times brought forward the conditions were challenging.

Ulla. Natasha and Peter.

Photo: Tom de Jongh, website PhotosByTom.com.au

Eszter.

Victoria. Winners of the OA Shield for the Australian Long Distance Championships.

As is sometimes the way with the Long Championships, it was often a day of big margins. One of the bigger ones was in the small W21E field, where a 5-min gain on the long leg at #13 was a large part of Aislinn Prendergast putting 11 min between herself and the rest. M21E, once again a New Zealand sweep, was a slightly closer affair at the front, with Joseph Lynch pulling away gradually to be 5 min in front, but the real contest was for second between Zefa Fa’avae and Felix Hunt, decided in the former’s favour at the second-last control. As he had been the previous weekend, Paul de Jongh was best of the Australians in fourth. In marked contrast, M20 was the day’s closest race. It did not really settle down until the mid-course long leg, with Sam Woolford and Leith Soden both losing time early and Oskar Mella and Owen Radajewski spending time in the lead. Once the long leg was done, Cooper Horley had a 16-s lead over Woolford. Woolford took the lead at the next control and looked like he was taking control of the race, getting the lead out to 1:10 with three controls to go, but fast-finishing Horley pushed him to the end before falling 4 s short. In W20E, Katherine Babington didn’t put a foot wrong and emerged a clear winner; Milla Key lost time early but came through in the second half to take second, ahead of Eszter

Kocsik who led through the first half but effectively saw her chances end with 7 min lost at #10. The most interesting of the younger junior classes was W16. Lani Murray led for most of the way, but Liana Stubbs, who lost time early, made up ground through the course and finally took the lead when the New Zealander lost 2 min at the second-last. Two of the more interesting duels from the middle were resumed in the long, and both with the same result. In W65A Jenny Bourne led by 3 min at #5, but lost some time at #6 and was overhauled by Carolyn Jackson over the closing stages, while in M65A Eoin Rothery’s early lead was overturned by Geoff Lawford in the second half. Another repeat from the middle was a close and fluctuating race in W75A, where Carol McNeill, Judi Herkes, Libby Meeking and Val Hodsdon all finished within 2 min. All led at various stages and it was not until Meeking lost time at the second-last that McNeill took the lead to get her second win of the week. Two headto-head results from the Middle were reversed; this time Anthea Feaver held off Christine Brown in W60A, while Jennifer Enderby’s comprehensive win over Su Yan Tay in W55A, the day’s biggest margin, swapped the placings from the previous weekend.

M50A was the closest masters result. Jon McComb came back strongly from 3 min lost at #11 to almost run down Andy Hogg but was 7 s away from the title, while Carsten Jorgensen cost himself a good chance of a win by missing a late control. For the second race in a row Alex Tarr came from behind. This time it took him until the second-last control to take the lead and he only had 12 s to spare. The small M35 field also once again provided a tight contest, with Eric Smyth just over a minute ahead of Andrew Slattery, and Dmitri Khlebnikov giving up a lead late. Elsewhere there was some imposing wins by large margins; although others put bigger gaps between themselves and the field, perhaps none were as impressive as Tony Radford, who achieved the rare feat (in a sizeable field) of winning every split as he took M75A by 9 min. Natasha Key dropped back to W50A for the long, and although Cathy McComb stayed in touch for half the course, eventually the middle W21 champion was too good. Other double-digit margins included those of Bruce Arthur in M45A and Vickie Saye in W40A, while Tim Hatley achieved a career-best result with a 7-min win in M60A, and Tim Ashman was almost as far in front in M70A.

Australian Championships Sprint, M21E

Paul de Jongh.

Joseph Lynch (NZ).

Prendergast, after early leader Amber Riddle struck trouble at the last real hurdle. The week finished on the neighbouring campuses of Christ Church Grammar and Methodist Ladies College in the western suburbs of Perth near the Swan River. It was a technical sprint area with lots of complex buildings and a few decent slopes (enough to test those tired from the previous day), and a finish through a multilevel area that caught plenty of people out. Five classes were decided by that leg, and in three of them the leader entering that section missed the placings altogether. Both the senior elite classes were on that list. For much of the course it looked like Zefa Fa’avae was going to go one better than the previous day, but he dropped 27 s at the second-last and dropped to fourth, leaving Joseph Lynch to complete a sweep of the three championships. Angus Haines, battling an injury which had ended his chances in the long, lost time early and was 47 s down by #8, but from there he was the fastest in the field. He caught Felix Hunt for the first time at the second-last and they could not be separated as they ended in equal second. In W21, Francesca Taufer took her first win of the week after two near-misses, 11 s ahead of Aislinn

The junior women had an especially impressive day, with the top six running faster than the best seniors on the same course. At the end of the day the top pair could not be separated, with Eszter Kocsik establishing a lead over the first half but Anna Babington reeling it in over the second. The junior men couldn’t quite manage to better their elders but went quite close to it, with Cooper Horley a reasonably comfortable 28 s ahead of his nearest challenger Sam Woolford. Although both were second to New Zealand opposition ( Jake McLellan and Georgia Lindroos), Euan Best and Liana Stubbs completed sweeps of resident titles in M16 and W16 respectively. The day’s most unusual result came in M70. Geoff Armstrong had half a minute on the field, but behind him there was a triple dead-heat for second between Gordon Wilson, Paul Prudhoe and Tim Ashman. W70 had the closest masters result when time lost at the second-last settled a see-sawing battle between Alison Radford and Leila Henderson in the former’s favour by 4 s, while Jim Lee edged out Tony Radford by 12 s in M75, after Wilbert Hollinger went from the lead to out of the placings altogether after coming

unstuck at the multi-level section. In M50, Carsten Jorgensen (NZ) made some amends for his misfortune the previous day by taking the title, but only 6 s separated the next four, with Anthony Stoner emerging the best of them after all four swapped places in the finish chute. This time, Eoin Rothery and Jenny Bourne came out on top of their rivals from earlier in the week; Rothery got the jump on Geoff Lawford at the start and held it from there, while Bourne pulled away from Carolyn Jackson in the second half of the race. Tim Hatley won his second title of the weekend after getting the better of Tony Woolford in M60, and there was a reshuffling in W45, with middle and long champion Allison Jones out of the placings, and Rachel West taking a home victory ahead of sprint specialist Heather O’Donnell. Cathy McComb’s win in W50 looked comfortable on the surface but was only settled at the second-last control, while Jennifer Enderby survived a significant time loss there to hold on in W55. Thus ended an excellent week of competitions. Next year we will be in Armidale (NSW), a centre surrounded by fine orienteering terrain which will be hosting its first major national event, also something to look forward to.

Photo: Tom de Jongh, website PhotosByTom.com.au

Milla.

Long final arena. Photo by Margi Freemantle.

lovakia was originally scheduled to hold the World Masters Orienteering Champs (WMOC) in 2020. Preparation was well advanced and entries were rolling in until the COVID-19 pandemic caused the event’s cancellation. After Hungary and Italy organised WMOC in 2021 and 2022, respectively, Slovakia’s turn finally came this year. Košice is a city of approximately 250,000 in eastern Slovakia. The WMOC races took place at various locations around the Košice region so competitors got to experience a variety of terrain types including the famous Slovak Karst. Of the 2734 total entries at WMOC, 19 were from Australia. Another 300 competitors competed in the Karst Cup public races that took place at the same time, including one from Australia.

All the sprint areas were essentially flat. The M65 qualifying and final courses, for example, had 2 m and 4 m of climb, respectively. The model event took place on the campus of the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy. It was probably the most interesting of the three maps and even had some steps but it would have been too small and logistically difficult for an actual WMOC race.

The arena for the sprint qualification race was in the stadium of Technical University of Košice, and the map covered the university and residential apartment block areas and parks to the south. The large buildings and flat terrain made for fast courses. Artificial barriers were erected in the parks and between some buildings to increase route choices. Even so, many legs only had two route choices with just a few offering more complex decision-making and navigation challenges. In some places there were several controls visible in close proximity requiring extra care not to run to the wrong one. Eight Australians made it through to A finals with Ted van Geldermalsen (Yarra

Valley) placing fourth in his heat, Lloyd Gledhill (Garingal) ninth and James Lithgow (Garingal) tenth. Blair Trewin (Yarra Valley) needed to be in the top 40 and ended up equal 38th, making it through by 17 s. Bad luck story came from Ross Barr (Garingal) who, having only arrived from Australia fairly late and still suffering jet-lag, punched the wrong control 3 and so missed out on the A final in his favourite discipline. Watching runners approach the last control was interesting. The finish line for the public races was at the side of the last leg of the WMOC courses just before where they entered the stadium. A number of WMOC competitors were confused by this and lost time. They had stopped reading their maps and were expecting to be led in even though they hadn’t yet reached the last control. At least one public race competitor was seen running to the WMOC finish too. This confusion for competitors who hadn’t scouted out the finish before running was compounded even further in subsequent races when there were three separate last controls; for WMOC A finals, other WMOC finals, and the public races. The WMOC opening ceremony was held on the sports field in front of the stadium straight after the sprint qualification races. This included local musicians and dancers and several speeches in Slovakian as well as a walk past by members of the organising team holding the national flags of all the competing countries.

The map for the sprint final was Košice Centrum, covering the centre of the old town of Košice and the adjacent city park. The finish arena was in the north corner of the park. Courses started from locations around the north and west of the old town and criss-crossed through the old town streets, lanes and courtyards before finishing with several controls in the park. It is always enjoyable and novel to orienteer in Europe’s old towns, running through narrow lanes and covered passages and passing locals and tourists and waiters at

outdoor restaurant tables, but Košice old town was fairly simple. An area of courtyards and laneways required closer reading and careful route choice but many of the legs through the town were left or right choices around large city blocks. In the park at the end of the courses all of the grass areas were marked olive green and taped off so that competitors could only run on paths and other paved areas, resulting in a continuation of left or right choices. We speculated that park management might have been concerned about the potential for 3,000 runners to damage the grass, particularly if it had rained, and made this a condition of using the park. In the A finals Lloyd Gledhill had a great run with no mistakes and placed fourth in M85. Lloyd had the fastest finish sprint. Ann Ingwersen (Parawanga) also made no mistakes and finished fifth in W80 after being as high as third when coming into the park. Anna Sheldon (Ugly Gully) was tenth in W40, also with a clean run and felt she was running faster than in most of her recent sprints. In the B finals Ross Barr finished fifth M75. A sprint final start. Photo by Margi Freemantle.

The forest qualifying and middle final races were held 10 – 30 km north of Košice in continental terrain rich in contour detail from landslides and erosion. The long final took place 70 km west of Košice in completely different karst ‘sinkhole’ terrain. The model event for the forest qualification and middle final was a moderately hilly deciduous forest with good contour detail. There were areas of light- and mid-green lower visibility. This was a true model event with terrain and map reflecting what was to come in the next two days.

The forest qualification races were on the Viničná map just north of Košice. This area included a variety of terrain including open forest with very detailed gullies, spurs, depressions and watercourses through to areas of much more variable vegetation and some flatter areas with very broad features. Conditions were quite humid. Later starters and those who took longer on their courses also had to contend with temperatures exceeding 30 °C. Anna Sheldon had already finished when some other Australians were just arriving at the arena. She warned that it was deceptively tricky, particularly the legs that crossed the broad ridge. Anna had lost 1.5 and 8.5 min on two of these legs. When the dust had settled five Australians were through to middle A finals. Clare Hawthorne (Australopers) finished fourth in her heat and Ian Prosser (Abominable O-Men) was seventh, just behind Greg Barbour (running for New Zealand). Anna Sheldon qualified comfortably in 13th even with her time losses. Ted van Geldermalsen and Blair Trewin also made it through, in 16th and 17th, respectively.

Anna in the finish chute. Photo by Margi Freemantle.

Bad luck story went to Ann Ingwersen who lost a total of 30 min on two controls and missed out on qualifying by just three places. Ann was an early starter and had trouble finding control 3, which was a depression in a clearing. Clearings in European forests are often harder to run through than the surrounding forest due to rampant spring growth of grass and nettles. In this case the grass height was above Ann’s head reducing her visibility to zero and making the control very difficult to find. Valerie Brammall (Esk Valley) on the same course lost even more time than Ann on this control.

The middle finals were at Sigord near Prešov about 30 km north of Košice. Almost the entire map was detailed erosion

Philippa. Photo by Margi Freemantle.

terrain similar to the best part of the Viničná map, ideal for middle distance courses. There was a medium density of forest roads and paths. Away from the tracks the forest was mostly open and runnable and the ground was covered in a soft carpet of leaves. The area sloped down to a creek that competitors crossed via a bridge to reach the last control and finish. In the A finals Anna Sheldon placed fourth in W40 after a good run with only two small time losses. Ian Prosser was 13th in M60 and Clare Hawthorne 15th in W50. In the B Finals Ann Ingwersen won W80B after being third last starter and passing almost everyone who started before her. This result meant that Ann qualified for promotion to the A final for the long distance race. Ann Scown (Abominable OMen) finished seventh in W70-B, Valerie Brammall was eighth in W80-B, and James Lithgow was 11th in M65-B. After poring over the promotion-relegation rules and then consulting with Blair who told us he had a hand in writing them, James was delighted to find out that 11th place was good enough for promotion to the long distance A final. Due to the fields being smaller in W70 and W80 Ann Scown and Valerie stayed in the B final. Meanwhile Ted van Geldermalsen’s 50th place in M65-A and Blair Trewin’s 63rd in M50-A were good enough to avoid relegation to the B finals for the long race. As at the sprint races there were different last controls and finish chutes for A finals, other finals, and the public races resulting in more confusion. Stephen Collins was one to be caught out and punching the wrong last control. Many other competitors had a similar disappointment.

WMOC - long final, W40-A

Blair leaving the last control at middle final. Photo by Ted van Geldermalsen.

The long final race was held on Silická plateau in the Slovenský kras (Slovak Karst) National Park about 70 km west of Košice. As the park name implies this terrain is karst which in this area is characterised by big depressions – think five contours deep and 100 m across. Silická plateau was previously used for the Junior World Orienteering Championships in 2012, and similar terrain just a few kilometres away in Hungary, was used for the World Orienteering Championships long final in 2009. Because the terrain was quite different to that used for the other forest races organisers provided a long-final model event on the ‘rest’ day before the long final. This was adjacent to the long-final area and again provided a good example of what to expect the next day. Those who visited the model in the morning were subjected to a heavy rainstorm but by afternoon this had cleared and the ground was already drying. This was the only rain during the week. The map for the long final was named Brázda. The terrain had a great variety of

rock details such as rock fields and 1 to 3 m high cliffs on the sides of the big depressions. The area comprised three different types of vegetation. All courses visited the western part where the deciduous forest had very good runnability and visibility while longer courses ventured east into open areas with varying runnability and visibility and parts of the terrain with dense low-visibility vegetation. Courses included some good long-routechoice legs that made the most of the terrain. It is easy to get pushed a long way off line when navigating around the sinkholes and end up in parallel features. Most of the map didn’t look particularly steep but courses still had plenty of climb. In the A final Anna Sheldon had another strong run and finished fifth in W40. Ann Ingwersen was tenth equal in W80, Ian Prosser 15th in M60 and Clare Hawthorne 20th in W50. Greg Barbour running for New Zealand was fourth in M60. In the B final Valerie Brammall finished seventh in W80, Ron Junghans (Garingal) was ninth in M80 and John Scown (Abominable O-Men) was 12th in M70.

Competition maps were printed on pretex and all conformed well with IOF mapping and colour standards. Scales for the sprint maps were 1:4,000 for up to M/W55, and 1:3,000 for M/W60 and older. Scales for the forest maps were 1:10,000 for up to M/ W45, and 1:7,500 for M/W50 and older. For the long distance final courses this meant quite a big map. M50-A to M65-A and W50-A had a map measuring 495 x 445 mm. However, the excellent readability more than compensated for the extra weight and map-folding. Maps were collected at the finish. After the last start time people lined up at the information desk and collected fresh maps printed on standard white paper. At the same time, the used maps were set out in piles in the arena for those who wanted a stained pretex version as a souvenir. Future WMOCs: 2024, Turku, Finland 2025, Girona, Spain 2026, Rzeszów, Poland

World Cup 3 sprint relay podium.

Henry McNulty in relay.

Mary Fleming in sprint qualification.

Nea Shingler in relay.

Serena Doyle in sprint qualification.

Olivia Sprod in relay.

Ness on the way to the long. Photo by Tash Key.

To prestart.

Anna in World Cup 2 middle. Photo by Petr Kaderavek.

JWOC team in Romania. Photo by Tash Key.

Natalie Miller. Photo by Tash Key.

Blue slug in Romania. Photo by Tash Key.

Cable car from Laax WOC23. Photo by Grace Crane.

JWOC haystack. Photo by Tash Key.

The maze at JWOC.

Lake ice bath. Photo by Aislinn Prendergast.

Rita Máramarosi of Hungary. Triple gold medal winner at JWOC 2023. Photo from JWOC2023 website.

View from JWOC accommodation in Romania. Photo by David Stocks.

Nea at WC2 long in Czechia. Photo by Petr Háp.

Pat's dream location to be a duck. Photo by Pat Jaffe.

Bogged JWOC van. Photo by Tash Key.

WOC group photo.

Toby's destroyed map.

Wildfire Sports National Orienteering League 2023 individual winners, Sam, Eszter, Patrick and Caitlin. Photo by Kelvin Meng.

Red Roo cartoon by John Walker. Colour by Hania.

The answers are on page 46

Colin Price.

Anna Fitzgerald. Photo by Tash Thackray.

Clare Brownridge. Photo by Tash Thackray.

Tash Thackray. Photo by Edith Chow.

Marina Iskhakova. Photo by Tash Thackray.

Tom Spencer. Photo by Tash Thackray.

Ken Mansell.

Australian Relay Championships in 2023. Photo by Ken Mansell.

Steven Todkill getting ‘air’ at the NSW MTBO Champs. Photo by Carolyn Matthews.

Leith Soden at Vic O Long Champs. Photo by Lincoln Peterson.

After peg relay at junior camp in Tasmania. Photo by Sussan Best.

The story of

ASOC relay 2017. Senior boys podium. Photo by Tom De Jongh.

Members of the ACT team at the inaugural ASSOC in 1989. Six of the team are still active in orienteering. Photo by David Hogg.

in 1981. That event attracted 11 interstate participants from the ACT, South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. Similar events in Victoria in 1982, 1983 and 1984, attracted more interstate participants, mainly from South Australia, where school orienteering was driven enthusiastically by Kay Haarsma. In 1985, the Australian Schools Championships was held in South Australia in conjunction with the South Australian Schools Championships.

here are few, if any, regular orienteering competitions held in Australia that attract as much spectator interest as the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships (ASOC). Held midweek during the Australian Championships Carnival, the three events are enjoyed by many orienteers, including parents and grandparents of the competitors. With their distinctively coloured running suits, the team members can be seen at spectator controls, with their progress followed through the live commentary, traditionally by Blair Trewin, whose knowledge of the up-andcoming juniors is exceptional. While ASOC is now a well-established component of the Orienteering Australia calendar, the pathway to its current status involved many years of effort by its supporters.

As orienteering spread throughout Australia during the 1970s, it did not take long for some schools to become involved. This usually depended on an enthusiastic teacher getting some students involved, both within school time and at weekend state events. Once enough schools within a state were active, the next step was to organise a state schools championships. In 1975, Western Australia was the first state to take that step. By 1979, schools championships were being conducted in all states as an annual event, although there was little involvement in schools orienteering at the national level. The first Victorian Schoolboys and Schoolgirls Championships, held at Mount Evelyn in October 1978, was open to other states and attracted a few entries from Temora High School (NSW) where Daryl Williams of Waggaroos was teaching. However, it was not promoted or approved by the Orienteering Federation of Australia (OFA) as a national event. In 1981, the Queensland Orienteering Association through Rob Simson expressed interest in organising a full National Schools Championship in 1982 or a subsequent year, subject to OFA agreement, but this required the approval of the Director General of Education in at least four states. In the meantime, the 1981 OFA Annual General Meeting approved a proposal from Victoria to conduct an Australian Schoolboys and Schoolgirls Championships in conjunction with the equivalent Victorian event

In 1986, the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships took a further step forward when it was organised in the ACT separately from any state schools championships and at the end of the schools championships season. It attracted large groups from South Australia and New South Wales, a few Victorians and one Queenslander, in addition to the local entrants. Similar events were conducted at The Rock, near Wagga Wagga in July 1987, including a schools relay at Willans Hill on the Saturday, and at Pewsey Vale Forest in South Australia in August 1988. All these early Australian Schools Championships were primarily individual events. There were no state team competitions, although team competitions between individual schools with enough competitors in a class were sometimes conducted. Furthermore, these championships were unofficial as far as the national school sporting bodies were concerned. The events were dominated numerically by competitors from the host state, as they were promoted strongly among local schools and no state team selection was involved.

During the period when these unofficial schools championships were being conducted, the OFA schools liaison officer, Rob Simson, supported by Kay Haarsma, was canvassing interest around the states in establishing an Australian Secondary Schools Orienteering Championships as an interstate teams event. By Easter 1987, there was sufficient agreement among the states and with the Australian School Sports Council (ASSC), which required at least four affiliated state teams to participate, for definite arrangements to be made. Western Australia agreed to host the first event under the representative state team format as part of the 1988 Australian Orienteering Championships Carnival.

ASOC 2018 long distance. Photo from AO Dec 2018.

Rob jumping over the fence at ASOC 2005.

OAWA negotiated with the Western Australian Government Schools Sports Association to raise a team of teachers to organise the event. The efforts to establish an organising team, however, proved unsuccessful and the WA offer was withdrawn in November 1987. At the 1988 Easter meeting of the OFA Schools Committee, the ACT offered to host a state schools team event in conjunction with an open entry event. So the Australian Secondary Schools Orienteering Championship (ASSOC) under the endorsement of ASSC was born. Rules for the conduct of the event were drawn up, and the Australian Secondary Schools Orienteering Association was constituted in Canberra on 4 October 1989, with Rob Simson as national secretary. There were two events, the individual event held at Ingledene Pines, and the relay at Mulligans Flat. Although provision was made in the rules for a range of age classes, the official competition was confined to four classes: senior boys, senior girls (both 19 years and under), junior boys, junior girls (both 15 years and under). Those age classes were deliberately chosen to be different from the standard two-year age classes used in other events, so that ASSOC could not be seen as a de facto Australian Junior Championships. Official teams from the ACT, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania attended this first ASSOC event, with Western Australia having to withdraw at the last minute due to a pilots’ strike. Some competitors from New South Wales and Victoria, where orienteering was not yet an approved sport by the state schools sport body, took part in an associated open competition for both primary and secondary students in a full range of age classes. Most of the visitors in official teams were billeted. The 1990 ASSOC was hosted by South Australia, with the ACT, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia sending teams. Victoria, where orienteering had recently been approved by the Victorian Secondary School Sports Association (VSSSA), had been the preferred location, in conjunction with the Australian Championships, but VSSSA was not cooperative. Tasmania had to withdraw because the team manager was undergoing an operation for a broken leg and no replacement manager could be found. The teams were billeted in Adelaide, with the competitions held near the Murray River. The 1990 competition was for official teams only, with no associated competition for non-team members. That year, a

Tara Melhuish & Patrick Jaffe at ASOC 2015. Photo from AO Dec 2015.

perpetual trophy, known as the ASSOC Shield, was introduced for the overall winning state team. In 1991, Queensland hosted the event with official teams from the ACT, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland, and some unofficial participants from Tasmania and New South Wales. The schools sports body in New South Wales did not support orienteering, while Tasmania withdrew from ASSC that year. The 1991 event involved some significant advances. It was held in the same state as the Australian Championships Carnival, in the middle of the Carnival week, and all official teams were accommodated at a youth camp near the competition area. It was the first occasion when Victoria was able to compete officially. The same five teams competed again in 1992 (in Victoria) and 1993 (in the ACT), again with centralised team accommodation.

The problems with official participation by New South Wales and Tasmania were overcome in June 1994 when ASSC adopted a draft policy allowing national school sports carnivals to be jointly organised between ASSC and national sporting associations. That move officially recognised what had been the real situation all along in orienteering, with the schools authorities organising the teams and the state orienteering associations providing the technical expertise to conduct the event. The change of arrangements made it possible for New South Wales to come in as an official team, which was organised by OANSW and not their school sport body, which still did not support orienteering. Tasmania was also free to return to the event, despite that state having withdrawn from ASSC. At last, there was a truly national event with all states able to be officially represented. The arrangement of linking ASSOC with the Australian Championships Carnival and having centralised team accommodation was now well-established. With major events on two weekends and other competitions midweek, ASSOC assumed a regular place in the midweek period. Public events were conducted at the same venues once the schools events were finished, resulting in strong spectator attendance at the schools events.

Rob Simson. Photo taken by David Hogg.

ASSOC Shield. Photo by Tom de Jongh.

Milla, the inaugural recipient of the Rob Simson Memorial Shield for the Best Newcomer. Award presented by Neil Simson. Photo from The Australian Orienteer December 2019.

Over the years, some changes took place in the national body overseeing school sport. In 1998, ASSC adopted the name School Sport Australia (SSA) as a trading name. Around the same time, the event itself also simplified its name to the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships (ASOC). That change in part reflected the fact that occasionally the junior teams from some states contained a particularly talented primary school student. From 2003 onwards, provision was made in the rules for an Invitational New Zealand Schools Orienteering Team to be invited to the Schools Championships. The international competition for the Southern Cross Junior Challenge (SCJC) Shield had originated in conjunction with World Cup events held in Ballarat in 1994. The SCJC results were calculated separately from those for ASOC. In every year since SCJC was combined with ASOC, New Zealand teams have won, but only by a narrow margin in some years. In 2015, the emergence of sprint orienteering saw a sprint event being added to the schools program, as well as to the midweek program for other orienteers.

One of the features of ASSOC, once it had become an official ASSC event, was that it was seen primarily as an event for teams. This meant that participation was limited to those selected in the official teams, although that rule was interpreted flexibly to allow reserves travelling with the team also to take part on an individual basis. Initially the normal teams were restricted to four in each age class. While individual placegetters received awards, the main results were determined through a system of points allocation for the individual events (total of three best times) and the relay to determine the winning state, which was presented with the ASSOC Shield. ASSC provided medallions as awards for both individual placegetters and members of the best-placed teams in both individual and relay events. As a further recognition of individual performances, the naming of an Australian Schools Honour Team was instituted in 1994. That team, with four members in each age class, was selected by a panel of team officials and was a team in name only, which did not compete in any events. With Covid restrictions in 2020 and 2021 preventing the conduct of the Australian Championships Carnival, ASOC also took a forced break but returned in 2022 with no loss of momentum.

In 2018, SSA reduced the number of sports that it was prepared to support in official interstate competition. Orienteering was one of the sports that was dropped from its list. While this was disappointing in one respect, it also freed ASOC from the constraints imposed by SSA in terms of eligibility, team size, qualifications for officials and financial commitments. After a transitional year in 2018, it continued in 2019 under the total control of Orienteering Australia, rather than as a joint SSA–OA event, with a revision of the ASOC rules to reflect the new arrangement and other significant changes. One change was that the rule on team size was relaxed to allow up to six runners in an age class with a maximum team size of 20 runners. Another change was to allow independent students from both Australia and New Zealand, who were not selected in an official team, to compete in the Open Championships, which also include any New Zealand teams. Independent students first participated in the Open Championships in 2022.

Throughout the history of A(S)SOC, there have been many orienteers whose enthusiasm for the competition maintained its success. In addition to those organising the events, these have included state association members with a commitment to schools orienteering who regularly travelled with teams as managers, coaches or bus drivers, some of whom received awards from SSA for completing 10 years of service. The greatest contribution to ASOC came from Rob Simson, who worked for nearly a decade to establish an official ASSC event, then assumed the role of national secretary of the Australian Secondary Schools Orienteering Association in 1989, retiring from that position in 1999. Rob passed away in 2018, the year that orienteering lost its status as an official SSA sport. Rob’s contribution to ASOC (as well as many other aspects of orienteering) was recognised through receiving the Silva Award for Services to Australian Orienteering in 1995 and posthumous induction into the General Division of the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame in 2022. His name will continue to be linked with ASOC through the Rob Simson Memorial Shield, which is presented each year from 2019 to the ‘Best Newcomer’.

Paula Shingler.

Briohny Seaman.

Tony Radford.

Euan

was running my regular training in the bush after delivering my usual workshop on cross-cultural skills development at ANU for a diverse academic faculty when a distinct thought struck me – do we have enough diversity in orienteering? The recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data indicate that in 2021, over 7 million people in Australia were born overseas, representing 27.6% of the population (with extremes in Auburn, NSW, at 61%, and Dandenong, VIC, at 56%). Also, based on the 2021 Census, almost half of Australians have at least one parent born overseas (48.2%). Projections suggest that by 2050, the Australian population will continue to age but also become even more culturally diverse, with one in four Australians speaking a language other than English at home. Newcomers to our sport will be increasingly coming from diverse cultural backgrounds. The ability to attract and retain them in the sport will define the future of orienteering for many generations to come. Are we sufficiently prepared and equipped for this challenge? Is the current Orienteering Australia population and participation diverse enough? Are we adequately open to culturally and linguistically diverse families and athletes? Do we possess enough data and knowledge to answer these questions? This piece is designed to stimulate and promote awareness and thinking in a culturally diverse direction, and explores strategies to improve cultural diversity in orienteering across the country. Do we sufficiently include people with limited English-language skills? Do our websites, newsletters and advertising materials facilitate participation for those fluent in languages other than English? Do our advertising campaigns appeal to culturally underrepresented in the sports groups, such as people from Asia, Middle East, Pacific Islands? Do we have adequate representation of people from different cultural backgrounds at our events, on state and national orienteering boards, and do we welcome them? A potential cultural and linguistically diverse action plan could accelerate the process of making orienteering truly inclusive and attractive to all cultural groups.

Photo provided by Hao Xie.

We can start with the policies: What are our current policies, strategies, and practices in place to be more culturally and linguistically inclusive? Some possible first steps could introduce awards by orienteering presidents of different states for culturally and linguistically diverse orienteers and an Improvement of the Year Award for those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and including more those orienteers in developmental opportunities. What to do about the barriers: How can we reduce the barriers for culturally and linguistically diverse families and athletes entering our sport? First steps could include developing multilingual resources and providing instructions in several languages, such as Mandarin, Hindi, Vietnamese and Arabic. How can we celebrate diversity: First steps could be to organise one or two events annually which welcome culturally and linguistically diverse groups and families. These events could include cultural/ethnic role models and influencers. Incorporate mini-orienteering events into cultural festivals, food festivals, ethnic celebrations. Possible steps could be to conduct crosscultural workshops and training for organisers and volunteers to foster cultural awareness and create a welcoming environment; to make an extra effort to promote orienteering in culturally diverse neighbourhoods and to engage with culturally diverse communities; to collaborate with cultural communities by promoting orienteering as an inclusive sport. We can do a lot by supporting a diverse leadership: First steps could be to

encourage individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds to assume roles within orienteering clubs and organisations, expanding the sport's development within their cultural communities by serving as role models. We can get more insights by collecting data: To collect and analyse data on cultural and linguistic diversity in orienteering in Australia, broken down by states and clubs. Collect data on the representation of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds of orienteers in national elite and non-elite rankings. Culturally and linguistically inclusive orienteering of the future: We can get there by developing goals and establishing basic indicators for state and national orienteering boards; by training more coaches, course setters, controllers, and event organisers from culturally diverse backgrounds and celebrating their contributions. Is it a realistic goal for each state and territory to have, by 2030, at least one orienteering coach, who in addition to English is fluent in one of the most widespread-in-Australia languages Mandarin, Hindi, Vietnamese and Arabic, who are providing orienteering coaching for their communities? By beginning to think in this direction and implementing some of the strategies mentioned above, orienteering can become a sport that truly reflects the multicultural fabric of Australia. As more people from diverse backgrounds come together to enjoy the thrill of navigation and exploration, these efforts will lead orienteering to become a more vibrant, welcoming, and inclusive community across the country.

In late August, Australia lost one of its ‘original orienteers’ with the passing of Michael Hubbert. Mike made significant contributions to Australian orienteering at the national level and in Victoria for more than 50 years.

ike’s contributions began in 1969-70 when orienteering was launched on its path towards becoming a national sport in Australia. Coming from a background in long-distance and cross-country running with the Richmond Harriers Amateur Athletics Club, Mike was the event secretary for the event that Tom Andrews organised at Upper Beaconsfield on the fringe of Melbourne in August 1969 that began this path. He competed in the event, finishing eighth out of 33 starters, and became a regular competitor in the events that followed. He had his first win on a physically tough course based at the Scotch College Scout camp near Healesville in November 1969, which he took 3 hours 51 minutes to complete. In early 1970, Mike was involved with Tom Andrews, David Hogg and Ron Frederick in establishing the Victorian Orienteering Association (VOA) and the Orienteering Federation of Australia (OFA). Had he not been heading overseas shortly after the inaugural meeting of those bodies, he would have been the logical choice for Secretary, a role which awaited him a few years later.

Mike Hubbert.

Victoria (Tallarook State Forest in 1975). During 1974, he took on the role of Assistant Treasurer for the VOA and was elected Treasurer at the 1975 Annual General Meeting. His role as VOA Treasurer was short, as he soon became heavily involved in OFA affairs, being elected OFA Secretary in June 1975 and holding that position until 1981. That period covered the later years when state associations were being established throughout Australia and were affiliating with the OFA. One of Mike’s challenges, on behalf of the OFA Executive, was coordinating liaison with all state associations, which was managed largely through a series of OFA Council Bulletins. During that period, he worked with the OFA President, David Hogg, in starting work on the first OFA Development Plan.

While in England, he became the first Australian to compete regularly on the UK orienteering circuit and to venture beyond the Arctic Circle to run under the midnight sun in Norway’s Midnatsol Galoppen. Returning to Australia around the end of 1972, Mike resumed an active role in Victorian orienteering, joining Red Kangaroos Orienteers, which had been formed earlier that year, largely by the orienteering members of Richmond Harriers. In December 1974 he organised an evening event at Blackburn Lake in the east of Melbourne that was to set the pattern for Melbourne’s series of Park Street orienteering events. He was the cartographer for the first coloured map used for an Australian Championships in

Mike's last control.

Mike running at La Trobe in 2004.

In 1976, he was Australia’s first noncompeting manager for a World Championships team, when the Championships were held in Scotland, although lack of funding and other factors prevented him from travelling with the team. As OFA Secretary, Mike received a circular letter from the International Orienteering Federation inviting proposals to host the 1985 World Orienteering Championships. With the buoyant state of Australian orienteering at the time, his reaction was ‘we could do that’, and he suggested to Tom Andrews that Australia should submit a bid. With OFA support, he worked with Tom, Ted Wester (the OFA President) and Alex Tarr to develop the bid documentation and, in July 1980, attended the IOF Congress in Germany when the bid was

accepted. The hosting of WOC85 proved to be one of the most important events in the development of Australian orienteering. Mike’s international involvement also took him to the Philippines in 1978 for a twoweek promotional tour with Ted Wester on behalf of the IOF Coaching and Publicity Committee. Mike again became involved with orienteering at the national level in mid2004 when he took over the role of Editor of the Australian Orienteer from Ian Baker. Continuing to work with graphic designer, Peter Cusworth, Mike maintained the high quality of the magazine in a role which continued until he handed it over to Hania Lada at the start of 2023.

Park Street events since 1 January 2000, and he was an inaugural Hall of Famer, inducted to that status in 2023. His involvement in these events included mapping, organising and promotion.

In his later years, as Mike began to slow down in the bush, he became an enthusiastic devotee of Park Street orienteering. The Millennium Club counted his appearances in a total of 2524

Mike had recently been involved with the Mornington Peninsula Sunday Series, and was fittingly farewelled at an event held at Safety Beach on 28 August, using a map and course that he had prepared. At that event, he was announced as the 2023 Park Street Course Setter of the Year, with the prestigious annual award to be named in his honour. Many individual tributes to Mike have been recorded on the Bayside Kangaroos website.

first time that those championships were held using a coloured map.

From 1963 to the mid-1970s, Dick was a member of the Army Reserve Dental Corps and was involved in teaching map reading to other dental officers and non-dental other ranks. In late 1968, he came across John Disley’s book, Orienteering, and ran events at the Dental Corps’ annual camps in early 1969 and 1970. Disley’s book was used as a guide in preparing control markers, control cards and rubber stamps for stamping the controls.

Like many other enthusiastic orienteers at that time, Dick became involved in mapmaking, his most significant contribution being the fieldwork (in association with Jim Farquhar) and cartography of the original map of Belanglo State Forest. That map was used for the 1976 Australian Championships, for which he was the course setter and was involved in the overall organisation. At that time, he was also President of the Orienteering Association of NSW. He was the controller for the inaugural Pacific Orienteering Championships, held near Canberra in 1980.

ne of the earliest orienteers in New South Wales, Dick Mountstephens, passed away on 15 August 2023. Dick’s involvement with orienteering began in 1969, preceding its ‘official’ introduction to the state.

So when orienteering was introduced to the Sydney area in late 1971 and 1972, Dick was no stranger to the sport and took to it enthusiastically. He competed regularly in the early events, and frequently made trips to Canberra, where orienteering had become established in 1971, for additional experience. Dick was a founding member of Bennelong Occasional Orienteers (BOO), Sydney’s first orienteering club, and the Orienteering Association of NSW. He soon became involved in orienteering at the national level, being the New South Wales representative on the OFA Technical Committee when it was formed in 1973. That year, he was second in the senior men’s class at the Australian Championships at Camp Hawkesbury, the

Dick’s involvement with the OFA included serving as Treasurer from 1984 to 1990. When the 1985 World Orienteering Championships were held in Bendigo, Dick led the team from New South Wales who were responsible for constructing and running the start. He was a formidable competitor in the masters classes at the national level, with occasional wins or other top places in the Australian Championships or Australian 3Days. He was a member of the Australian team contesting the Australia–New Zealand Challenge on eight occasions between 1977 and 1991. He also travelled with the first Australian contingent to the Swedish O Ringen in 1974. While retiring from active orienteering several years ago, he continued a close

Street O event commemorating Mike.

Mike’s involvement over more than 50 years places him among those most committed to Australian orienteering throughout that period. He will be greatly missed.

Dick Mountstephens in 1970s.

connection with the Australian bush, enjoying the occasional rogaine with another early orienteer, Ian Rannard, and as an active volunteer for many years in the Rural Fire Service. He retained an interest in orienteering through the Bennelong Northside club, and was a significant contributor on behalf of Orienteering New South Wales to the current project documenting the history of Australian orienteering development. His enthusiasm for orienteering has passed to two generations with son Richard and grandson Tom still making regular appearances.

AO AOC ASC ASOC DNF DNS EOC EOD EYOC IOC IOF JWMTBOC JWOC KO MTBO NOL O OA

The Australian Orienteer Australian Orienteering Championships Australian Sports Commission Australian Schools Orienteering Championships Did Not Finish Did Not Start European Orienteering Championships Enter On the Day European Youth Orienteering Championships International Olympic Committee International Orienteering Federation Junior World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships Junior World Orienteering Championships Knock Out Mountain Bike Orienteering National Orienteering League Orienteering Orienteering Australia

OACT

Orienteering Australian Capital Territory

OLC

Orienteering Learning Centre

ONZ

Orienteering New Zealand

SIAC

SI Air Card

World Cup

WMTBOC

World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships

WOC

World Orienteering Championships

WOD

World Orienteering Day

WRE

World Ranking Event

WWCC

Working With Children Check

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