WORLD SCHOOLS’ ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS
The team pose at the finish line
Orienteering is a sport where competitors use maps to complete navigational challenges in unfamiliar areas. The sport involves both physical and mental challenges, and rewards competitors with a unique adventure on an ever-changing playing field. In the April school holidays, the Diocesan senior orienteering team, consisting of Jessica Sewell, Olivia Collins, Georgia Skelton, Cara Bradding and Katie Ryan, was selected to represent New Zealand at the World Schools’ Orienteering Championships in Otepää, Estonia. This competition is held every two years in the Northern Hemisphere.
The team with their coach, from left to right: Jessica Sewell, Katie Ryan, Olivia Collins, Gene Beveridge, Georgia Skelton and Cara Bradding.
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DIO TODAY
Getting there involved 30 hours of travelling, including the world’s longest flight from Auckland to Doha. We spent our first day looking around the beautiful Tallinn old town. Our coach had us run a sprint map around the old town. Sprint maps are short courses around 2km in length and involve orienteering around urban areas. Running on the cobbled streets was a cool new experience for us, and the area had great scenery too. We then headed three hours south to Otepää, a sporting area famously known for cross country skiing and other snow sports. This is where the competition was being held later that week.