The Australian Orienteer March 2025

THE AUSTRALIAN MARC H 2 0 2 5

• Oceania Championships 2025 • Asian Championships 2024 • WOC 1985 in Australia • Xmas 5 Days 2024

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Orienteering Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands where we conduct our sporting activities. We extend this acknowledgement to all the Traditional Custodians of the lands and First Nations Peoples throughout Australia, and would like to pay our respects to all Elders past, present and emerging.

Photo by qentinjlang.com

WINNING PARTNERSHIP

The Australian Sports Commission proudly supports Orienteering Australia The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) develops, supports and invests in sport at all levels in Australia.

Orienteering Australia has worked closely with ASC to develop orienteering from community participation to high-level performance. Each year Orienteering Australia receives funding to support participation in orienteering across Australia.

One of the current orienteering initiatives using ASC funding includes KID-O. KID-O is in the process of becoming a national program! Bridget Uppill and Orienteering South Australia have created a wonderful program to introduce orienteering to 0-7 year olds. It is a structured program that introduces orienteering concepts to young children and helps develop their foundational movement skills. Bridget will work with OA to further improve KID-O, and coordinate the training of facilitators. Clubs will be supported to establish a KID-O program and the possibility of it becoming an Early Learning Centre and Sporting Schools Year 0-2 program will be explored.

We thank ASC for their ongoing support of orienteering in Australia.

ausport.gov.au

Cover clockwise from top right: Asian Orienteering Championships 2024 sprint in Royal Rajapruek Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand, photo by Andrew Hill. All other photos are from Oceania Orienteering Championships 2025 in New Zealand.

Relay changeover between Linus Wernsträm (SWE) and Hyuga Shibata (JAP), photo by Glenn Syman. Ricky Thackray (AUS), photo by Mike Dowling. Sprint, Grace Crane (AUS), Tony Woolford (AUS) and Andy Simpson (AUS), photo by Geoff Peel. Geoff Peel (AUS) and Kaia Joergensen (NZ) at the control, photo by Simon George. Women’s relay mass start, Laurel Gannon (AUS) and Melissa Thomas (AUS), photo by Glenn Syman. Alex E (AUS) and Allison Jones (AUS) in the relay, photo by Mike Dowling. Anna Sheldon (AUS), photo by Mike Dowling.

2 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA

The Chair’s column

Aus 3Aus Aus MTBO Days Champs ASOC Champs 2025 VIC QLD QLD WA

MIKE DOWLING – CHAIR OA BOARD

W

Year

Oceania Champs

2026

TAS

NZ (forest) AUS NSW (sprint 2026) AUS ACT (forest 2027)

2027

NSW

2028

WA

2029

ACT

2030

QLD

2031

VIC

WA

TAS

ACT

VIC

SA

SA

NSW

VIC

VIC

QLD

(sprint 2028)

TAS

TAS

ACT

(forest 2029)

NSW

NSW

(sprint 2030)

WA

(forest 2031)

elcome to the 2025 orienteering year!

I am writing this column having just returned from the Oceania Championships 2025 in New Zealand, the championships were a fantastic set of events. I found getting back among the sand dune terrain that New Zealand is renowned for, was a great orienteering challenge as I imagine the many Australian orienteers who made the trip did so too.

For our senior elite competitors at stake was a personal place at the World Championships 2025 in the long distance and middle distance formats. New Zealand’s Lizzie Ingham and Zefa Fa'avae made it a double to take those places.

Congratulations to both. The home nation also proved too strong in the Australia New Zealand (ANZ) Challenge held as part of the championships. Our Australian competitors in the ANZ Challenge looked resplendent in the new competition tops for such teams. Thank you to our High Performance Management Group for getting this impressive-looking kit organised for our team. The championships was also the opening round of our 2025 National Orienteering League (NOL). Orienteering Australia extends a sincere thank you to Orienteering Wellington, the orienteering clubs of the lower North Island of New Zealand and Orienteering New Zealand for their fantastic work in putting on the event.

On the home front we are gearing up for another great year of orienteering. The next round of our national league will be hosted by Orienteering Western Australia. The Board is supporting competitors from the eastern states to attend this round. The Board is examining ways to further support competitors to attend NOL rounds in general. From a national perspective we have our Australian Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships in Western Australia, the Australian 3 Days at Easter in Victoria, and the Australian Championships in Queensland this year. In addition, all our state/territory members and their affiliated clubs have a big program of events for all levels of competitive interest. Make the most of what is on offer to get your regular orienteering fix.

From an Orienteering Australia perspective, this year will see the second year of implementation of our ‘whole of sport’ participation plan. Preliminary participation data has indicated that we are having some success in growing participation but there is a whole lot more to do. We must also adapt and be agile in how we present our sport as the demographic dynamic of Australian society continues to evolve. A major piece of work by the Board over the last 18 months has been to do a thorough review of our operational procedures to create Edition 6 of our Operations Guide. This is now very close to conclusion. In addition, the Board has been consulting with our members about important updates to the rules for the conduct of our Australian Schools Orienteering Championships (ASOC). Our ASOC Coordinator, Toni Brown, is reviewing this feedback for the Board to consider when it meets in March. ASOC is a most important part of our engagement and support of young people to participate in our sport. We are also very pleased that the fantastic Kid-O program for younger children developed by South Australia’s Bridget Uppill is now part of the Orienteering Australia participation development program. This wonderful program now sits alongside the Beginner Instruction for Everyone project to support first time participants and the Learn to Orienteer program to provide explicit instruction in skill development for our new sport participants.

A key task for the Board this year will be to engage our members to review and adapt our overarching strategy for our sport. Stakeholder consultation will begin in the first quarter of this year with a view to reviewing our overarching strategy for the next four year period by the time of our annual stakeholder workshops in November.

Do you have any thoughts or ideas for the future direction of our sport? Reach out to me at chair@orienteering.asn.au. The Board would love to hear your thoughts.

2025 Round 1

24 - 27 January

PALMERSTON NORTH, NZ sprint, middle, long

Round 2

8 - 9 March

PERTH, WA middle, sprint x 2, sprint relay

Round 3

18 - 21 April

LODDON VALLEY, VIC (AUS 3 DAYS) sprint, middle, long, relay-distance

Round 4

10 -11 May

CENTRAL COAST, NSW middle, long

Round 5

28 September 5 October

BRISBANE, QLD NOL team-only final (Aus Champs), middle, long, sprint & relay

Proudly supported by

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 3

EDITOR’S CONTEMPLATIONS

Photo: quentinjlang.com

Thank you Peter!

HANIA LADA

T

he Australian Orienteer’s graphic designer since 1997, Peter Cusworth, has officially retired. Thank you so much Peter for your high standard of work for many years, and spending 2024 preparing me for your retirement, which meant passing on your knowledge, tricks of the trade and templates. Peter will still be available to help out with problem solving, especially when the software we have been using does something unexpected, or weird but not wonderful.

After organising the Victorian Peter Cusworth.

MTBO Championships in April Photo by Carolyn Cusworth.

2025 (see p37) on the weekend before the Australian 3 Days, Peter plans to spend more time in Europe competing at MTBO events. He was fourth a few times in M70 at the World Masters MTBO Championships (WMMTBOC) 2023 in Slovenia, and we will see what he can achieve in 2025, especially at WMMTBOC 2025 in Spain. We will have a report about the event in the June edition of the magazine.

Best of effort and luck Peter. We wish you and Carolyn good health, no mechanical issues, great weather and awesome courses.

Peter Cusworth at the Austrian MTBO Championships 2023.

Australian WOC, JWOC, MTBO, WUOC and World Cup teams are outfitted by

Photo FISU WUOC 2024 website.

Photo by Eszter Kocsik.

Photo by Kay Haarsma.

Photo FISU WUOC 2024 website.

4 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

Photo IOF / Kristina Lindgren.

Photo by Eszter Kocsik.

www.orienteering.asn.au PO Box 3379, North Strathfield, NSW 2137

ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA BOARD Chair & Director – International (IOF) Director – Finance Director – Technical Director – IOF Foot O Commissioner Director Coaching & High Performance Director Media & Communications Director – Ex Officio, IOF Council Member Director Secretary

Mike Dowling Paul Liggins Anna Sheldon Brett Weihart Clare Hawthorne Troy de Haas Blair Trewin Andrea Harris Robert Spry

Mike Dowling4 Fredrik Johansson Clare Hawthorne Brodie Nankervis*

John Oliver9

Anna Sheldon

Blair Trewin

Mark Freeman*

Natasha Key*

Árpád Kocsik

Andrea Harris³

Paul Liggins

Paul Prudhoe

Jim Mackay²

Liz Leung¹

Bruce Arthur5

Hania Lada

Daniel Stott6

Brett Weihart7

Craig Steffens8

ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA STAFF AND OFFICERS General Manager Árpád Kocsik Head Coach Natasha Key High Performance Administrator, IOF Map Commissioner Fredrik Johansson Manager of Coach Development Brodie Nankervis Participation Manager Daniel Stott Manager of Coaching & Officiating Administration, Manager of National Sporting Schools Program Jim Mackay Manager of National Awards David Hogg Chief Medical Officer Mark Freeman Editor of The Australian Orienteer Hania Lada Manager of E-News Bulletin Linda Burridge Badge Scheme Secretary John Oliver Eventor Project Manager Paul Prudhoe National Integrity Manager, Complaint Manager Andrew Shipton Manager of MTBO Development, IOF MTBO Commissioner Craig Steffens Communications & Marketing Manager Liz Leung Ranking Officer (General) Darryl Erbacher Ranking Officer (Elite) Bruce Arthur

STATE ASSOCIATIONS Orienteering Queensland: secretary@oq.asn.au Orienteering NSW: secretary@onsw.asn.au Orienteering ACT: office@act.orienteering.asn.au Orienteering Victoria: secretary@vicorienteering.asn.au Orienteering South Australia: secretary@sa.orienteering.asn.au

Photos by quentinjlang.com except by *Tony Hill, 1Ewan Barnett, 2OA website, 3 anon, 4AO 2021-4, 5Frankie Shin, 6AO 2023-3, 7JWOC23, 8Hania Lada, 9Kath Oliver.

Orienteering Western Australia: oawa.secretary@gmail.com Orienteering Tasmania: secretary@tasorienteering.asn.au Top End Orienteers (Northern Territory): topendorienteersNT@gmail.com

THE AUSTRALIAN

CONTENTS NEXT ISSUE DEADLINE Ideas: March 27. Items: April 18. Time-

THE CHAIR’S COLUMN ...............................3

sensitive items: April 28.

OCEANIA O CHAMPIONSHIPS 2025 ................6

ISSN 0818-6510 Issue 1/25 (no. 215) MARCH 2025

NOL 2025 ............................................. 15

The national magazine of Orienteering Australia Inc. ABN 77 406 995 497 Published four times a year: 1 March, June, September, December.

Copies are dispatched in bulk to state associations in the week prior to that date. Print Post Approved PP 236080/00011, (100023602 for NSW).

ASIAN O CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024 ................. 16

Editor, magazine design & assembly: Hania Lada, P.O. Box 200, Ringwood East, Victoria 3135 magazine@orienteering.asn.au Phone 0493 615 203 Printer: Razer Graphix, Factory 6/15 Stud Road, Bayswater.

Contributions welcome! Prior consultation is suggested before preparing major contributions. Guidelines available from the editor and the website https://orienteering.asn.au/index.php/magazine/ Orienteering Australia website > magazine Regular Contributors: David Hogg, Blair Trewin, Marina Iskhakova Subscriptions: State Association members via State Associations. Contact relevant Association Secretary for details. Other subscribers: refer to the OA website https://orienteering.asn.au/index.php/magazine/ Orienteering Australia website > magazine, or contact the editor.

Opinions expressed in The Australian Orienteer are not necessarily those of Orienteering Australia.

XMAS 5 DAYS ........................................ 26

AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT CAMP ... 20 MTBO IN AUSTRAL SUMMER ..................... 22 I CAN DO THIS! ..................................... 28 COURSE OF THE YEAR 2024 ...................... 30 VIC O CLUBS ......................................... 34 AUSTRALIAN 3 DAYS PREVIEW .................. 36 WOC 1985 ............................................ 39 PSYCHOLOGY COACH ............................... 41 OA NEWS ............................................. 42 O TECHNOLOGY ...................................... 44 PA R T I C I PAT I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 O-SPY .................................................. 46 TOP EVENTS .......................................... 47 MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 5

OCEANIA 2025 NZ

Oceania Orienteering Championships 2025

Oceania Champs 2025 Sprint. Aislinn Prendergast & William M. Photo by Geoff Peel.

Sprint arena. Photo by Hania Lada.

Oceania Champs 2025 Middle awards for M21E. Photo by Mike Dowling.

Grace Crane (W21E).

Photo by Mike Dowling.

T

he Oceania Championships took place in the lower North Island of New Zealand in late January, the first time since 2017 that New Zealand has hosted the forest Oceania events.

After a sprint at Massey University in Palmerston North, the three forest events were held in coastal pine forests on sand dunes west of Bulls, revisiting areas last seen by some Australians at the 1994 Asia-Pacific Championships. The event incorporated IOF Regional Championships in the senior and older junior grades, as well as the Australia-New Zealand Challenge across the full range of age groups.

The New Zealanders have always been challenging to beat on home terrain and 2025 was no exception, perhaps helped even more by the sandy ground being unusually soft in a dry summer (especially in the relay). After being heavily defeated in 2023 when they were only able to send a small contingent due to travel difficulties, New Zealand turned the tables comprehensively in 2025, winning across the three individual events 49-17 and then taking the relay 16 classes to 6.

6 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

Andrew Hobson (AUS). Photo by Will Vale.

One of the major carrots on offer, as it had been at the sprint championships last year, was that of personal WOC places on offer for the winners of M21E and W21E in the two forest individual events. These went to New Zealanders at opposite ends of their elite careers. Lizzie Ingham’s sporting focus may have been partly elsewhere over the last few months – she was a member of the team who were runners-up in the top division of New Zealand’s national football league – but she demonstrated that she has not forgotten how to orienteer, taking out both forest individual titles and adding the sprint for good measure (only being course-setter for the relay stopped her from a shot at taking four gold medals). Her nearest Oceania rival was her young compatriot Kaia Joergensen, who was second Oceania runner in both forest races, while recent South Australian coach-in-residence Hanne Hilo, of Finland, got within 4 s of Ingham in the middle distance and was also second outright in the sprint. No Australians got close to titles, but Grace Crane was third Oceania in the sprint and middle, and after a challenging 2024 Emily Sorensen had

Massey Campus. Oceania O Champs 2025 Sprint map. Course 2 (M16, M18, M20A, M21A, M35, M40, W20E, W21E).

Colin Price. Photo by Mike Dowling.

Linus Wernström (SWE).

Photo by Geoff Peel.

Baxter P. Photo by Joolz Moore.

Vicky Saye and Moira Küffer finishing the sprint. Photo by Hania Lada.

Winners of Oceania 2025 Sprint Joshua Jones M14 NZ 12:43 Hayden Dent M16 AUS 14:03 Blake McKinnon M18 NZ 13:14 Robbie Rawles M35 NZ 15:38 Greg Flynn M40 NZ 13:37 Ricky Thackray M45 AUS 11:51 Bruce Arthur M50 AUS 11:54 Carsten Joergensen M55 NZ 11:15

Georgia Lindroos (NZ).

Photo by Joolz Moore.

Winners of Oceania 2025 Sprint John Robertson M60 NZ 11:31 Martin Crosby M65 NZ 13:25 Ted van Geldermalsen M70 NZ 11:24 Neil Kane M75 NZ 14:14 Ross Brighouse M80 NZ 16:39 John Robinson M85 NZ 20:12 Ian Holden M90 NZ 38:04

a good week, culminating in being the best Australian with a sixth in the long.

Zefa Fa’avae is making the step up to seniors after his JWOC silver medal last year, and did so with style, taking both of the forest titles. As with Ingham, this took the form of a very close middle – 3 s over Joseph Lynch – and a slightly more comfortable long with a minute and half in hand over another past JWOC medallist, Matt Ogden. In the absence of Tim Robertson, who did not make the trip, WOC seventhplacegetter Lynch was a clear favourite for the sprint and performed accordingly, with 31 s in hand over Ogden. A pair of South Australians produced the best Australian performances. After a sprint mispunch, Leith Soden continued the strong progress of his early senior career, taking bronze in the middle and being best Australian with sixth in the long, while Angus Haines took bronze in sprint, closely followed by Callum White in fourth.

Australians did have success in some of the IOF junior grades.

In M16 all three individual titles on offer went back west

Winners of Oceania 2025 Sprint Naomi Penton W14 AUS 13:46 Sophie Herde W16 NZ 12:52 Aoife Rothery W18 AUS 13:30 Zara Toes W18 NZ 13:30 Katie Symons W40 NZ 12:40 Rachel West W45 AUS 13:07 Yvette Baker W50 NZ 12:52

Winners of Oceania 2025 Sprint Jennifer Enderby W55 AUS 11:48 Paula Shingler W60 AUS 11:22 Carey Martin W65 NZ 14:27 Gillian Ingham W70 NZ 13:17 Kate Fortune W75 NZ 22:11 Trish Faulkner W80 NZ 15:20 Valerie Robinson W85 NZ 25:53

across the Tasman, with Hayden Dent winning the sprint and long, and Alton Freeman the middle. W20 was also a relatively successful class, with Nea Shingler taking sprint gold and two forest bronzes, and Milla Key first Oceania and second outright in the long. Elye Dent won the M18 middle, and Aoife Rothery dead-heated for first in W18, while Oliver Bishop took a pair of silvers in M18, and Izzy Greenhalgh had her first significant major championship result with silver in the W16 long.

There were also numerous Australian successes in younger junior and masters grades, despite the heavy defeat in the overall Challenge. Rui Bluett-Jones in W10 was the only Australian to win all three individual races, but four orienteers won both the individual forest races; Eoin Rothery (M65), Geoff Lawford (M70), Martina Craig (W55) and Jenny Hawkins (W80). There was an Australian sweep of the medals in all three W60 races; Paula Shingler won the long and sprint and Sue Hancock the middle, with Su Yan Tay also a medallist in all events. Naomi Penton also had an excellent week in W14 with two wins and a second.

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 7

Zefa Fa’avae (NZ, M21E) gold in the middle, long & relay, and Hamish Goodwin. Photo by Joolz Moore.

Oceania Champs 2025 Middle awards for W20E. Photo by Mike Dowling.

Ryan Gray (AUS).

Photo by Simon George.

Oceania Champs 2025 Middle awards for W21E. Photo by Mike Dowling.

David Stocks (AUS) and Ewan Shingler (AUS).

Photo by Simon George.

Eleanor McLean (AUS).

Photo by Simon George.

Results of Oceania Championships for individual senior and junior elite classes.

M20E – Sprint 3.8 km 1 Felix Hunt NZ 2 Jake McLellan NZ 3 Jakob Knoef NZ 4 Sam Carryer NZ 5 Riley Croxford NZ 6 Elye Dent AUS

14:39 14:52 15:11 15:38 15:54 15:58

M20E – Middle 6.0 km NZ 1 Felix Hunt NZ 2 Eddie Swain AUS 3 Euan Best NZ 4 Jake McLellan 5 Owen Radajewski AUS NZ 6 Nicholas Green

31:53 35:49 35:51 36:06 36:22 36:54

M20E – Long 12.3 km 1 Jakob Knoef NZ 2 Jake McLellan NZ 3 Eddie Swain NZ 4 Owen Radajewski AUS 5 Marcus Brennan NZ 6 Sam Carryer NZ

1:14:49 1:15:28 1:20:44 1:20:57 1:22:49 1:23:37

Brackets indicate placings of Oceania athletes when non-Oceania athletes placed in the top six.

M21E – Sprint 3.8 km 1 Joseph Lynch NZ 13:52 2 Matt Ogden NZ 14:23 3 Angus Haines AUS 14:56 4 Callum White AUS 14:58 5 Nathan Borton NZ 15:15 6 Linus Wernström SWE 15:17 7 Patrick Jaffe (6) AUS 15:33

W20E – Sprint 3.0 km 1 Nea Shingler AUS 14:28 2 Milla Key AUS 14:39 3 Anna Babington NZ 14:56 4 Filippa Braun SWE 15:01 5 Katherine Babington (4) NZ 15:05 6 Rachel Baker (5) NZ 15:17 7 Georgia Lindroos (6) NZ 15:34

M21E – Middle 6.0 km 1 Zefa Fa'avae NZ 30:46 2 Joseph Lynch NZ 30:49 3 Leith Soden AUS 32:25 4 Linus Wernström SWE 32:51 5 Matt Ogden (4) NZ 32:53 6 Patrick Jaffe (5) AUS 33:26 7 Angus Haines (6) AUS 34:48

W20E – Middle 4.9 km 1 Katherine Babington 2 Rachel Baker 3 Nea Shingler 4 Anna Babington 5 Milla Key 6 Filippa Braun 7 Phoebe Hunt (6)

NZ 36:11 NZ 38:08 AUS 38:43 NZ 39:59 AUS 40:36 SWE 41:27 NZ 42:55

M21E – Long 15.3 km 1 Zefa Fa'avae NZ 1:24:24 2 Matt Ogden NZ 1:25:54 3 Joseph Lynch NZ 1:27:03 4 Felix Hunt NZ 1:27:54 5 Nick Hann NZ 1:32:10 6 Leith Soden AUS 1:32:26

W20E – Long 7.6 km 1 Filippa Braun 2 Milla Key (1) 3 Nea Shingler (2) 4 Tide Fa'avae (3) 5 Phoebe Hunt (4) 6 Erika Enderby (5) 7 Liana Stubbs (6)

SWE 58:55 AUS 1:01:40 AUS 1:05:39 NZ 1:05:54 NZ 1:07:03 AUS 1:10:43 AUS 1:16:46

Oceania Championships senior & junior elite relay results W21 – Oceania 2025 Relay Kaia Joergensen, Renee Beveridge, 1 Lara Molloy (all NZ) 2:14:50 Zara Stewart, Imogene Scott, Briana 2 Steven (all NZ) 2:32:22 Siri Suter (SUI), Filippa Braun (SWE), 3 Amber Riddle (NZ) 2:37:48 Grace Crane, Emily Sorensen, Aislinn 4 Prendergast (all AUS) 2:40:12

M21 – Oceania 2025 Relay Zefa Fa'avae, Matt Ogden, Joseph 1 Lynch (all NZ) 2:05:52 Will Tidswell, Scott Smith, Nick Hann 2 (all NZ) 2:13:08 Matt Doyle, Brodie Nankervis, David 3 Stocks, Brodie Nankervis (all AUS) 2:13:54

8 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

W20 – Oceania 2025 Relay Rachel Baker, Phoebe Hunt, Tide 1 Fa'avae (all NZ) 1:44:24 Anna Babington, Morag McLellan, 2 Katherine Babington (all NZ) 2:01:54 Nea Shingler, Milla Key, Erika Enderby 3 (all AUS) 2:04:40

W21E – Sprint 3.0 km 1 Lizzie Ingham 2 Hanne Hilo 3 Kaia Joergensen (2) 4 Sabine Hauswirth 5 Siri Suter 6 Grace Crane (3) 7 Emily Sorensen (4) 8 Briana Steven (5) 8 Zara Stewart (5)

NZ 13:30 FIN 13:59 NZ 14:14 SUI 14:46 SUI 14:48 AUS 14:58 AUS 15:15 NZ 15:32 NZ 15:32

W21E – Middle 3.0 km 1 Lizzie Ingham 2 Hanne Hilo 3 Kaia Joergensen (2) 4 Sabine Hauswirth 5 Grace Crane (3) 6 Renee Beveridge (4) 6 Briana Steven (4) 8 Caitlin Young (6)

NZ 34:09 FIN 34:13 NZ 34:52 SUI 36:27 AUS 37:20 NZ 38:39 NZ 38:39 AUS 40:12

W21E – Long 10.4 km 1 Lizzie Ingham NZ 2 Kaia Joergensen NZ 3 Renee Beveridge NZ 4 Piret Klade EST 5 Rachel Baker (4) NZ 6 Emily Sorensen (5) AUS 7 Grace Crane (6) AUS

1:15:23 1:16:47 1:18:32 1:21:07 1:21:15 1:22:00 1:23:54

M20 – Oceania 2025 Relay Riley Croxford, Jake McLellan, Felix 1 Hunt (all NZ) 1:44:45 Jakob Knoef, Sam Carryer, Eddie 2 Swain (all NZ) 2:07:31 Nicholas Green, James Wright, 3 Matthew Greenwood (all NZ) 2:21:24

Koitiata. Oceania O Champs 2025 Middle Distance map. Course 2 (M35A, M40A, W20E, W21E).

Hugh Forlong-Forn (NZ) & Alexandra Mandou (New Caledonia).

Photo by Simon George.

Triple gold medal winner at Oceania Champs 2025, & relay planner, Lizzie Ingham (NZ, W21E).

Photo by Simon George.

Eoin Rothery. Photo by Simon George.

Arena at Oceania Champs 2025 Middle.

Photo by Geoff Peel.

Sue Key (AUS). Photo by Joolz Moore.

Winners of Oceania 2025 Middle Hugo Skerman M14 NZ 20:34 Alton Freeman M16 AUS 24:37 Elye Dent M18 AUS 34:21 Tom Higgins M35 NZ 42:30 Tane Cambridge M40 NZ 33:01 Aaron Prince M45 NZ 28:00 Grant Bluett M50 AUS 29:25 Bill Edwards M55 NZ 24:22

Winners of Oceania 2025 Middle John Robertson M60 NZ 24:41 Eoin Rothery M65 AUS 25:44 Geoff Lawford M70 AUS 23:17 Adrian Uppill M75 AUS 21:30 Ross Brighouse M80 NZ 13:53 John Hodsdon M85 AUS 26:13 Ian Holden M90 NZ 29:38

Winners of Oceania 2025 Middle Naomi Penton W14 AUS 24:12 Anna Wright W16 NZ 26:37 Amy Nicoll W18 NZ 30:49 Tessa Ramsden W35 NZ 40:17 Katie Symons W40 NZ 30:36 Sara Prince W45 NZ 28:07 Yvette Baker W50 NZ 28:44

Winners of Oceania 2025 Middle Martina Craig W55 AUS 24:13 Sue Hancock W60 AUS 27:12 Liz Nicholson W65 NZ 23:40 Gillian Ingham W70 NZ 22:25 Patricia Aspin W75 NZ 20:47 Jenny Hawkins W80 AUS 20:59 Valerie Robinson W85 NZ 52:04

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 9

OCEANIA CHAMPS 2025 NZ

Top six in Oceania Champs 2025 Long in M20. Photo by Joolz Moore.

Knottingly. Oceania O Champs 2025 Long Distance map. Course 10 (M55AS, M75A, W40AS, W65A, W70A).

Paul de Jongh (AUS).

Photo by Simon George.

M45 competitors Rob Walter (AUS) and Aaron Prince (NZ). Photo by Will Vale.

Kirsten Fairfax (AUS). Photo by Simon George.

Shari G. (AUS). Photo by Simon George.

Winners of Oceania 2025 Long Euan Shedden M14 AUS 35:59 Hayden Dent M16 AUS 58:12 Blake McKinnon M18 NZ 1:02:54 James Watson M35 NZ 1:24:33 Tane Cambridge M40 NZ 1:03:26 Aaron Prince M45 NZ 49:53 Darren Ashmore M50 NZ 52:19

Winners of Oceania 2025 Long Jonathon McComb M55 AUS 50:49 Greg Barbour M60 NZ 49:24 Eoin Rothery M65 AUS 52:38 Geoff Lawford M70 AUS 54:05 Rob Garden M75 NZ 49:48 Ross Brighouse M80 NZ 26:21 Ian Holden M90 NZ 1:27:33

10 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

Winners of Oceania 2025 Long Christina Symons W14 NZ 36:47 Anna Wright W16 NZ 53:23 Zara Toes W18 NZ 52:35 Tessa Ramsden W35 NZ 1:23:08 Katie Symons W40 NZ 1:10:50 Sara Prince W45 NZ 57:35 Antonia Wood W50 NZ 56:13

Paula Shingler (AUS). Photo by Simon George.

Winners of Oceania 2025 Long Martina Craig W55 AUS 54:00 Paula Shingler W60 AUS 55:03 Carey Martin W65 NZ 47:22 Gillian Ingham W70 NZ 45:09 Jill Dalton W75 NZ 43:42 Jenny Hawkins W80 AUS 48:00

Both sides of the map, variant AAACCAAB. One of 49 variants of M21 course at Oceania Orienteering Championships 2025 Relays.

M21 relay. Ethan Penck (AUS) & Angus Haines (AUS).1

M65 AUS, Neil Barr & Grant McDonald.1

W20 AUS, Milla Key & Nea Shingler.1

M21 discussion after run.1

Mass start.1

Elye D.& Max W.1

Sue Hancock (AUS).2

Map side 1 Map side 2 Emily W (NZ).1

Women’s mass start. Rebecca Greenwood (NZ) & Elena B (NZ).1

Men’s mass start.1

W45 relay. Jane Pulford (AUS) & Shannon Jones (AUS).1

Geoff Lawford (AUS).2 Photo credits: 1Glenn Syman, 2Mike Dowling.

Triple gold medal winner at Oceania Champs 2025, & relay organiser, Gillian Ingham (NZ, W70).1

First - Oceania 2025 Relay M14 Naomi Penton, Angus Hewitt, Alma Walter

AUS

1:27:41

First - Oceania 2025 Relay

M16 Zack Meads, Joshua Jones, Tahi Harris

NZ

1:47:25

W16 Sophie Herde, Anna Wright, Greta Prince

NZ

1:53:54

AUS/NZ

2:35:17

W18 Niamh Hoare, Lani Murray, Zara Toes

NZ

2:09:20

M35 Tane Cambridge, Bryn Davies, Greg Flynn

NZ

2:24:53

W35 Claire Flynn, Katie Symons, Piret Klade

NZ/EST

2:09:49

M45 Rob Walter, Ricky Thackray, Simon Rouse

AUS

1:42:35

W45 Antonia Wood, Christina Freeman, Yvette Baker

NZ

2:01:36

M55 Rolf Boswell, Bill Edwards, Carsten Joergensen

NZ

1:34:49

W55 Marquita Gelderman, Katie Hill, Jenni Adams

NZ

1:18:48

M65 Eoin Rothery, Neil Barr, Grant McDonald

AUS

1:20:57

W65 Sue Key, Jenny Bourne, Louise Fairfax

AUS

1:26:05

M75 Rob Garden, Michael Wood, Neil Kane

NZ

1:17:06

W75 Jenny Hawkins, Val Hodsdon, Janet Tarr

AUS

2:21:01

M18 Solomon Randerson, Reuben Adye, Oscar Burns

New Zealand also had the best of the relays on the final day.

The W21E title was never in doubt despite the absence of Ingham, with the combination of Kaia Joergensen, Renee Beveridge and Lara Molloy taking an easy victory. Australia made a good start in M21E with Matt Doyle coming in a minute ahead of Fa’avae, and were still in it after two legs, but in the end New Zealand were too good with Ogden and Lynch running the two fastest times of the day on the last two legs.

New Zealand also swept the junior grades, with Australian successes coming in the masters events. Australian teams took the top three places in M45, with the M45 and M50 Challenge teams separated by an ACT M45 team, while there

were also wins in M65, W65 and W75. In W65, Louise Fairfax anchored the Australian W70 team to a win over both the New Zealand and Australian W65 teams, having earlier featured in an unusual three-generational set of results when she, daughter Kirsten (W45) and granddaughter Abigail Hewitt (W10) all took silver in the middle.

After sprint and forest events in New Zealand, the Oceania Championships now returns to the west side of the Tasman.

There will be two events in 2026, the sprint championships on the Central Coast in late January, followed by the forest events based in Canberra at the end of September.

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 11

Australia-New Zealand (ANZ) Challenge 2025

Australia - New Zealand Challenge 2025 teams. Photo by Joolz Moore.

2025 ANZ Challenge – Sprint results Class

AUSTRALIA

Alton Freeman Alex Vanzella Sanda Halpin W16 Ella Maja Lang Oliver Bishop M18 Joshua Mansell Aoife Rothery W18 Xanthe Schubert Euan Best M20 Jamie Woolford Nea Shingler W20 Milla Key Ethan Penck M21 Matt Doyle Grace Crane W21 Emily Sorensen Peter Hobbs M40 Matthew Palmer Moira Küffer W40 Vickie Saye Ricky Thackray M45 Rob Walter Rachel West W45 Allison Jones Bruce Arthur M50 Craig Dufty Melissa Joseph W50 Jenny Casanova Richard Morris M55 Eric Morris Jennifer Enderby W55 Cathy McComb Steve Cooper M60 Jon Glanville Paula Shingler W60 Su Yan Tay Eoin Rothery M65 David Poland Carolyn Jackson W65 Mary McDonald Geoff Lawford M70 Robert Elson Jenny Bourne W70 Louise Fairfax M16

Total points

Time Sum Points 14:55 30:43 15:48 16:29 35:35 19:06 14:59 32:28 17:29 13:30 28:02 14:32 16:07 32:47 16:40 14:28 29:07 14:39 15:58 32:31 16:33 14:58 30:13 15:15 15:13 31:20 16:07 14:52 30:44 15:52 11:51 25:00 13:09 13:07 26:29 13:22 11:54 25:00 13:06 14:28 29:38 15:10 11:39 23:58 12:19 11:48 23:43 11:55 12:46 26:10 13:24 11:22 24:57 13:35 13:42 30:17 16:35 15:14 31:43 16:29 11:34 28:01 16:27 14:37 30:53 16:16

1

1

1 1 1

1 1

1

8

12 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

NEW ZEALAND

Time Sum Points

Evan Rees-Jones 14:52 29:54 Zack Meads 15:02 Sophie Herde 12:52 25:49 Greta Prince 12:57 Blake McKinnon 13:14 28:52 Elvies Kim 15:38 Zara Toes 13:30 28:17 Niamh Hoare 14:47 Felix Hunt 14:39 29:31 Jake McLellan 14:52 Anna Babington 14:56 30:01 Katherine Babington 15:05 Joseph Lynch 13:52 28:15 Matt Ogden 14:23 Lizzie Ingham 13:30 27:44 Kaia Joergensen 14:14 Greg Flynn 13:37 27:39 Tane Cambridge 14:02 Katie Symons 12:40 26:16 Claire Flynn 13:36 Aaron Prince 12:27 25:19 Karl Dravitzki 12:52 Sara Prince 13:16 27:37 Rachel Drew 14:21 Darren Ashmore 13:02 26:09 Nick Harris 13:07 Yvette Baker 12:52 26:47 Antonia Wood 13:55 Carsten Joergensen 11:15 26:52 David Stewart 15:37 Marquita Gelderman 11:50 24:41 Jenni Adams 12:51 Greg Barbour 12:20 25:31 Jeff Greenwood 13:11 Genevieve Webb 15:48 33:23 Catrina Forbes 17:35 Martin Crosby 13:25 29:58 Geoff Mead 16:33 Carey Martin 14:27 29:21 Phillippa Poole 14:54 Ted van Geldermalsen 11:24 26:00 Dick Dinsdale 14:36 Gillian Ingham 13:17 29:19 Bronwyn Holcombe 16:02 Total points

1 1 1 Christina Freeman and Antonia Wood. Photo by Glenn Syman.

1

1 1 1 1 Jenny Bourne. Photo by Geoff Peel.

1

Bruce Arthur.

Photo by Mike Dowling.

1

1 1 1 1 14

Aoife Rothery. Photo by Mike Dowling.

Joshua M. Photo by Simon George.

Brodie Nankervis (M21E), the ANZ Challenge team manager for Australia.

Photo by Mike Dowling.

Jennier Enderby (W55A).

Photo by Mike Dowling.

Matt Ogden (NZ, M21E).

Photo by Simon George.

Jenni Adams (NZ, W55A).

Photo by Simon George.

2025 ANZ Challenge – Middle results Class

AUSTRALIA

Time Sum Points

Alton Freeman 24:37 56:10 Alex Vanzella 31:33 Ella Maja Lang 35:25 W16 79:30 Sanda Halpin 44:05 Oliver Bishop 36:09 M18 80:36 Max Walter 44:27 Alexandra Edwards 33:52 W18 73:39 Xanthe Schubert 39:47 Euan Best 35:51 M20 72:13 Owen Radajewski 36:22 Nea Shingler 38:43 W20 79:19 Milla Key 40:36 Matt Doyle 34:49 M21 70:25 Brodie Nankervis 35:36 Grace Crane 37:20 W21 78:49 Emily Sorensen 41:29 Peter Hobbs 37:20 M40 89:38 Richard Pattison 52:18 Moira Küffer 42:17 W40 103:24 Vickie Saye 61:07 Rob Walter 28:23 M45 60:35 Simon Rouse 32:12 Kirsten Fairfax 32:32 W45 66:11 Allison Jones 33:39 Tony Woolford 34:53 M50 70:21 Bruce Arthur 35:28 Hania Lada 39:42 W50 80:16 Jenny Casanova 40:34 Jonathon McComb 25:23 M55 61:01 Eric Morris 35:38 Jennifer Enderby 26:39 W55 56:47 Cathy McComb 30:08 Jim Russell 26:37 M60 55:09 Jon Glanville 28:32 Su Yan Tay 27:51 W60 58:39 Paula Shingler 30:48 Eoin Rothery 25:44 M65 59:55 David Poland 34:11 Carolyn Jackson 28:55 W65 60:06 Hilary Wood 31:11 Geoff Lawford 23:17 M70 56:07 Robert Elson 32:50 Louise Fairfax 27:28 W70 57:26 Jenny Bourne 29:58 M16

Total points

1

1 1

1 4

NEW ZEALAND

Time Sum Points

Tahi Harris 25:18 54:49 Joshua Jones 29:31 Anna Wright 26:37 53:44 Greta Prince 27:07 Blake McKinnon 38:06 76:29 William Wood 38:23 Orla Hoare 30:54 62:57 Lani Murray 32:03 Felix Hunt 31:53 67:59 Jake McLellan 36:06 Katherine Babington 36:11 74:19 Rachel Baker 38:08 Zefa Fa’avae 30:46 61:35 Joseph Lynch 30:49 Lizzie Ingham 34:09 69:01 Kaia Joergensen 34:52 Tane Cambridge 33:01 72:23 Bryn Davies 39:22 Katie Symons 30:36 66:16 Claire Flynn 35:40 Aaron Prince 28:00 58:23 Karl Dravitzki 30:23 Sara Prince 28:07 66:15 Ocean Mercier 38:08 Darren Ashmore 30:17 65:08 Nick Harris 34:51 Yvette Baker 28:44 64:04 Antonia Wood 35:20 Bill Edwards 24:22 49:16 Carsten Joergensen 24:54 Jenni Adams 27:32 56:39 Marquita Gelderman 29:07 Paul Dalton 25:12 50:56 Greg Barbour 25:44 Genevieve Webb 37:38 77:09 Catrina Forbes 39:31 Martin Crosby 30:44 64:18 Geoff Mead 33:34 Carey Martin 24:50 55:42 Phillippa Poole 30:52 Ted van Geldermalsen 24:50 55:35 Joe Sherriff 30:45 Gillian Ingham 22:25 69:23 Bronwyn Holcombe 46:58 Total points

1 1 1

Kaia Joergensen, Lara Molloy and Renee Beveridge, the winning W21 relay team. Photo by Glenn Syman.

Jon Glanville.

Photo by Mike Dowling.

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 Emily Sorensen. Photo by Mike Dowling.

Matt Doyle. Photo by Simon George.

1 1 1

1 1

18

Top six in W16 Oceania Championships Middle.

Photo by Mike Dowling.

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 13

ANZ CHALLENGE

2025 ANZ Challenge – Relay results

2025 ANZ Challenge – Long results Class

AUSTRALIA

Time

Sum Points

Alton Freeman 59:17 M16 129:02 Alex Vanzella 69:45 Ella Maja Lang 72:28 W16 145:11 Mira Walter 72:43 Oliver Bishop 70:36 M18 147:00 Max Walter 76:24 Aoife Rothery 61:55 W18 126:45 Xanthe Schubert 64:50 Owen Radajewski 80:57 M20 168:59 Euan Best 88:02 Milla Key 61:40 W20 127:19 Nea Shingler 65:39 Leith Soden 92:26 M21 187:32 David Stocks 95:06 Emily Sorensen 82:00 W21 165:54 Grace Crane 83:54 Peter Hobbs 78:05 M40 161:03 Justin Stafford 82:58 Moira Küffer 84:59 W40 189:09 Vickie Saye 104:10 Rob Walter 52:53 M45 113:49 Simon Rouse 60:56 Allison Jones 60:42 W45 125:25 Kirsten Fairfax 64:43 Bruce Arthur 57:38 M50 116:16 Craig Dufty 58:38 Tracy Marsh 58:57 W50 140:58 Jenny Casanova 82:01 Jonathon McComb 50:49 M55 113:27 Richard Morris 62:38 Jennifer Enderby 57:55 W55 116:14 Cathy McComb 58:19 Jim Russell 65:18 M60 134:10 Jon Glanville 68:52 Paula Shingler 55:03 W60 119:34 Su Yan Tay 64:31 Eoin Rothery 52:38 M65 121:28 Grant McDonald 68:50 Carolyn Jackson 55:04 W65 117:14 Hilary Wood 62:10 Geoff Lawford 54:05 M70 137:12 Bert Elson 83:07 Louise Fairfax 56:59 W70 114:26 Sue Key 57:27 Total points

1

1

1 1

1

NEW ZEALAND

Time Sum Points

Tahi Harris 60:09 124:55 Joshua Jones 64:46 Anna Wright 53:23 121:58 Greta Prince 68:35 Blake McKinnon 62:54 130:25 Leo Croxford 67:31 Zara Toes 52:35 107:04 Amy Nicoll 54:29 Jake McLellan 75:28 156:12 Eddie Swain 80:44 Tide Fa’avae 65:54 132:57 Phoebe Hunt 67:03 Zefa Fa’avae 84:24 170:18 Matt Ogden 85:54 Lizzie Ingham 75:23 152:10 Kaia Joergensen 76:47 Tane Cambridge 63:26 132:27 Greg Flynn 69:01 Katie Symons 70:50 145:18 Claire Flynn 74:28 Aaron Prince 49:53 106:29 Karl Dravitzki 56:36 Sara Prince 57:35 140:31 Rachel Drew 82:56 Darren Ashmore 52:19 115:26 Nick Harris 63:07 Antonia Wood 56:13 139:40 Christina Freeman 83:27 Carsten Joergensen 52:32 107:42 Bill Edwards 55:10 Marquita Gelderman 54:07 112:23 Jenni Adams 58:16 Greg Barbour 49:24 105:14 Jeff Greenwood 55:50 Genevieve Webb 76:24 174:15 Catrina Forbes 97:51 Martin Crosby 63:12 131:07 Geoff Mead 67:55 Carey Martin 47:22 101:28 Phillippa Poole 54:06 Ted van Geldermalsen 68:10 161:28 Joe Sherriff 93:18 Gillian Ingham 45:09 103:49 Bronwyn Holcombe 58:40

5

Total points

1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1

1

1 17

Class

AUSTRALIA

Julie Flynn W65 Hilary Wood Mary McDonald Geoff Lawford M70 Colin Price Bert Elson Sue Key W70 Jenny Bourne Louise Fairfax Australia handing over ANZ Challenge cups to New Zealand. Photo by Hania Lada.

14 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

Time Points

Alex Vanzella M16 Matt Layton 119:36 Alton Freeman Ella Maja Lang W16 Mira Walter 143:37 Sanda Halpin Elye Dent M18 Max Walter 169:58 Joshua Mansell Alexandra Edwards W18 Aoife Rothery 165:39 Xanthe Schubert Euan Best M20 Owen Radajewski MP Jamie Woolford Nea Shingler W20 Milla Key 124:40 Erika Enderby Matt Doyle M21 David Stocks 133:54 Brodie Nankervis Grace Crane W21 Emily Sorensen 160:12 Aislinn Prendergast Peter Hobbs M40 Justin Stafford 186:48 Richard Pattison Sussan Best W40 Moira Küffer 204:24 Vickie Saye Rob Walter M45 Ricky Thackray 102:35 Simon Rouse Allison Jones W45 Rachel West 134:19 Kirsten Fairfax Tony Woolford M50 Craig Dufty 104:40 Bruce Arthur Melissa Joseph W50 Hania Lada 156:09 Jenny Casanova Jonathon McComb M55 Eric Morris 102:58 Richard Morris Cath Chalmers W55 Cathy McComb 87:29 Jennifer Enderby Steve Cooper M60 Jim Russell 151:50 Jon Glanville Sue Hancock W60 Su Yan Tay 103:04 Paula Shingler Eoin Rothery M65 Neil Barr 80:57 Grant McDonald

Total points

1

1

1

1

1

111:14

107:08

86:05

1 6

NEW ZEALAND Zack Meads Joshua Jones Tahi Harris Sophie Herde Anna Wright Greta Prince William Wood Leo Croxford Blake McKinnon Niamh Hoare Lani Murray Zara Toes Riley Croxford Jake McLellan Felix Hunt Rachel Baker Phoebe Hunt Tide Fa’avae Zefa Fa’avae Matt Ogden Joseph Lynch Kaia Joergensen Renee Beveridge Lara Molloy Tane Cambridge Bryn Davies Greg Flynn Claire Flynn Katie Symons Piret Klade Karl Dravitzki Greg Bacchus Aaron Prince Sara Prince Sarah Wright Ocean Mercier Tim Wright Matt Bixley Nick Harris Antonia Wood Christina Freeman Yvette Baker Rolf Boswell Bill Edwards Carsten Joergensen Marquita Gelderman Katie Hill Jenni Adams Greg Barbour Paul Dalton Jeff Greenwood

Time Points 107:25

1

113:54

1

166:34

1

129:20

1

104:45

1

104:24

1

125:52

1

134:50

1

144:53

1

129:49

1

123:13

138:25

120:01

121:36

1

94:49

1

78:48

1

124:39

1

No team Martin Crosby Geoff Mead Simon Rea Phillippa Poole Annette Orchard Carey Martin

88:06

96:57

1

Ross Brighouse Dave Middleton 84:21 Ted van Geldermalsen

1

No team Total points

16

NOL 2025

Grace Crane. Photo by Simon George.

Pat Jaffe. Photo by Joolz Moore.

Mass start. Photo by Glenn Syman.

National Orienteering League (NOL) 2025 gets under way in New Zealand

Proudly supported by

BLAIR TREWIN

T

he Oceania Championships individual events were also the first three rounds of the National Orienteering League for 2025. With not everyone making the trip across the Tasman, it was a test of depth, and showed some changes are likely from 2024.

The Canberra Cockatoos senior women, led by Grace Crane who was second National League runner in each race, have made the first step towards defending their title. The NSW Stingers will have some work to do to catch the early senior men’s leaders though, they sit eight points behind joint leaders the Southern Arrows and Victorian Vikings. The Arrows have been given a boost by the continued development of Leith Soden, leading National League runner

in both forest races, and may be a chance of their first title if their lead runners can put together a full season.

In 2024 the Stingers swept every race in both junior grades.

The junior women made an equally good start this year, but the men face stiffer competition, with some of their best performers in 2024 graduating to the senior ranks. Four points currently separate the Tassie Foresters, the Cockatoos and the Stingers.

Grace Crane leads the women’s individual competition from Emily Sorensen, while Angus Haines and Patrick Jaffe are tied in the men’s. Nea Shingler and Milla Key are fighting out the junior women’s, while Euan Best and Owen Radajewski are tied in the junior men’s.

Double threshold. What is it?

test the lactate in the blood during training and thus ensure that the body is working with exactly the right intensity.

COURTESY OF SWISS ORIENTEERING MAGAZINE 06-2024, TRANSLATED BY SUSI STRASSER

How intense is the running?

N

orway's endurance athletes such as Kristian Blummenfelt or Jakob Ingebrigtsen dominate their sport. A secret of their success is the ‘double threshold’ training principle. This training method, developed by Norwegian sports scientists around the former top runner Marius Bakken, focusses on improving the anaerobic threshold to increase endurance performance.

One factor of this success is the extensive threshold training.

In a report by Marius Bakken (2023) the training methodology is presented in detail. The principle is simple: high scopes and twice a week two units of threshold training on the same day, for example on Wednesday 3 × 10 min in the morning, and 4 × 8 min in the afternoon. On Saturday follow 3 × 12 min or 8 min. The big advantage is that a rapid recovery between the units as well as less fatigue than with highly intensive units makes a larger volume in the specific tempo range possible.

One of the disadvantages is the constant pricking of the fingers, which is necessary in a professional environment to

The ‘Norwegian threshold’ is defined as the intensity between the 'aerobic threshold’ and the ‘anaerobic threshold’. ‘Aerobic threshold’: This is the point at which the body switches from aerobic metabolism to a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, and slowly breaks down lactate due to the increased intensity. In most athletes, this occurs at a lactate level of about 2 mmol or 80% of the maximum heart rate.

‘Anaerobic threshold’: This is the time at which the body begins to continuously produce lactate. Directly below is the intensity, which can be maintained for about an hour, or even longer for well-trained endurance athletes. For most, this point occurs at about 4 mmol or 87% of the maximum heart rate.

The numbers can vary considerably from person to person.

More information References Marius Bakken (2023). The Norwegian model of lactate threshold training and lactate controlled approach to training. https://www. mariusbakken.com/the-norwegian-model.html MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 15

AsJYOC 2024. Thai W16 relay team, Angie, Chanida and Artisha.

Orienteering Championships, 2024, Chiang Mai, Thailand IMAGES FROM THE ORGANISERS OF THAI INTERNATIONAL ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS (TIOC) UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE.

Results of Asian Orienteering Championships 2024, Chiang Mai, Thailand WINNERS OF SPRINT

WINNERS OF RELAY

WINNERS OF MIDDLE

Class Name

Team

Class Name

Team

Class Names

Team

M21

Honjo Yuichi

JPN

M21 Ito Itsuki

JPN

M21

Honjo Yuichi, Komaki Hiroki, Ito Itsuki

JPN

W21

Chu Ying Yau

HKG

W21 Assem Nazyrova

KAZ

W21

Lam Cho Yu, Chan Hau Wah Brenda, Chu Ying Yau

HKG

M20

Takebayashi Hiroki

JPN

M20 Saito Taiki

JPN

M20

Saito Taki, Ishihara Hiroki, Kajimoto Yamato

JPN

W20

Ota Kiwa

JPN

W20 Suzuki Mayu

JPN

W20

Maki Iruka, Suzuki Mayu, Onozuka Tomomi

JPN

M18

Woo Alok

HKG

M18 Okubo Yuma

JPN

M18

Sato Yin, Kamijukkoku, Okubo Yuma

JPN

W18

Yau Man Hei Meri

HKG

W18 Ono Chisako

JPN

W18

Yamamoto Eri, Ochiai Mina, Ono Chisako

JPN

M16

Wong Keng Kiu

HKG

M16 Miyawaki Hironao

JPN

M16

Sumikawa Yuki, Kosaka Koki, Miyawaki Hironao

JPN

W16

Zhang Shenyuan

CHN

W16 Zhang Shenyuan

CHN

W16

Xian Meilun, Lian Yi, Zhang Shenyuan

CHN

Supporting orienteering in Asia and Oceania is one way to grow the sport. Taking part in these regional events keeps up the participant numbers and makes the events more profitable, which incentivises organisers to organise more events.

The Asian Junior and Youth Orienteering Championships 2025 will be between 26 and 31 August in Shitara, Japan, and Hong Kong is organising a two-day event over Christmas 2025.

ASIA O CHAMPS

Why do we go orienteering?

ANDREW HILL

For some it’s the exercise or getting out in nature, visiting new places, the competition, or the social aspect.

AsOC 2024 sprint. Photo by Andrew Hill.

O

ver the Christmas holidays I was fortunate enough to run in the Thailand International Orienteering Championships in Chiang Mai in far north Thailand.

This was held in conjunction with the Asian Orienteering Championships for those that were not part of Asia or didn’t make their respective Asian teams.

Whilst it was winter over there, the weather wasn’t too different from the summer heat in Australia, so it was quite hot. The events were well organised Andrew Hill. with everything running precisely to schedule from what time the bus left the hotel, to the ceremonies, and meals were provided before returning home. There was an abundance of volunteers all doing their part to ensure a pleasant experience.

The first event was a sprint around Royal Park Rajapruek, which was very complex with a lot of intricate detail. It was quite hard to get some good control flow but a unique experience to be in the surrounds of the large temple, and controls were hidden amongst 18 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

the shrines and manicured gardens. The second and third events were at Nam Bo Luang, a reasonably open forest, with some erosion-gully detail around the creeks, not too dissimilar to some areas of Australia.

So to answer the original question. Everyone has their personal reasons, but I go orienteering to experience all of the above but mostly get a thrill around visiting new places such as visiting all the hidden pockets of bushland in the Sydney Summer Series, but in this case, new orienteering maps in a foreign country.

Sprint in Royal Rajapruek Park.

Asian Orienteering Championships 2024 and Thai International Orienteering Championships 2024, M21 middle course.

Assem Nazyrova (KAZ). Gold medallist in Asian O Champs W21 middle.

Competitors at Thai International Orienteering Championships 2024.

Asian O Champs 2024.

M20 middle medallists.

Saito Taiki (JPN), Ishihara Hiroki (JPN), Au Joshua Ho Kiu (HGK).

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 19

JUNIOR CAMP

Australian Junior Development Camp in ACT

Getting ready for the training session.

Orienteering among rocks on the hot afternoon in Canberra.

Successful relocation.

HANIA LADA TEXT AND PHOTOS UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE

watermelon waited for the participants at the arena. In the afternoon, after many attendees took advantage of the swimming pool at the camp accommodation, it was time for navigating around the large hill with much rock detail, on simulated relay courses set by Jo Allison and Shannon Jones.

T

he Australian Junior Development Camp 2024, with Michael Radajewski as the main organiser, began on 14 December on the hot Saturday afternoon in Canberra. The MapRun score course in the parkland around the National Library of Australia, the Old Parliament House, Questacon and the National Gallery of Australia offered a very interesting introduction to orienteering in the capital city.

In the evening all the participants took part in the trivia night, and heard the important message from Orienteering Australia's chief medical officer, Mark Freeman, to keep sipping water in hot weather.

The second day of the camp saw training early in the morning to beat the heat. After a long walk admiring the scenery of the Canberra hills, juniors and coaches ran a series of downhill courses set

by Tara Melhuish. Icy poles and 20 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

Relay changeover.

Ensuring the runs are properly recorded.

Is it a kangaroo or an orienteer? Both! There were more icy poles at the finish.

In the evening Greg Barbour presented ‘Taste of Italy’, showing the maps of huge hills likely to be experienced at JWOC 2025.

Rob Walter previewed Boboyan Divide, with the juniors getting to plan their routes for the first session the next morning.

Early on Monday, day 3 of the camp, everyone left around sunrise to make it to the southern edge of ACT to execute their plans for their courses on the granite maps, before it got too hot. The second training session followed soon after in a similar terrain. It was Andy Hogg’s pairs’ star technical relay involving a mass start and combinations of up to ten 0.7 -1.2 km loops, with a coveted prize for the top three teams to blow the horn.

Participants were coming from, and going in, all directions. The training was wrapped up before noon, with the control collectors left to pick up the flags in the heat. The evening presentation was by Jason McCrae about building a good team environment.

Kangaroo & orienteers.

Day 4, Tuesday, was another very early start on a hot day, and a long drive, this time to the beautiful Honeysuckle campground in the mountains. Four different navigation activities designed by Alastair George and Emily Sorensen awaited. The training

Knock-Out sprint.

Assembling for Night-O.

Assembling for Night-O.

included big rock (simplifying many rocks into one), corridor (practising concentration and compass bearing), relocation (following tapes, relocating and finding the control), and a middle-distance practice. Everyone could do their courses in whatever order and combination they wanted. In the afternoon there was free time to rest and cool off, or to tick off many tourist sites on offer. Martin Dent gave the evening talk about his running career that includes the London Olympics marathon (24th), Commonwealth Games steeplechase (fourth) and winning the Sydney City2Surf race.

Starting Night-O. Photo by Michael Radajewski.

everyone returned, winning teams were announced, and new and old friends had to say good-bye until the next major orienteering event.

Well done to everyone who took part in the camp. Thank you to all the organisers and support team. It was a great experience!

On day 5, Wednesday, the sprints at three different schools in Canberra provided much morning excitement, with every race resembling a Knock-Out final, and even runners’ choice added (selecting one out of three mini-loops to run). Courses had been set by David Stocks and Ewan Shingler. Several JWOC representatives, with cameras, followed the runners, providing extra pressure. Then, there was Night-O, prepared by Grant Bluett, in the Black Mountain Reserve abutting the camp. With headlamps on, and a lot of enthusiasm, the camp attendees set off. There were some eccentric outfits, misplaced howling, and one dodgy character trying to startle others. All made it back.

On Thursday, the camp finished with the champs, the Czechstyle pairs’ relay with the SI stick as the baton. Up to the top of Mt Taylor and down to the car park with teams’ members taking turns in navigating to the controls while their partners ran along the tracks to the baton changes at the designated controls. The courses had been set by Kelvin Meng and Oscar Brown. Finally,

Xander passing the ‘baton’ (SI stick) to Patrick at the camp champs.

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 21

MTBO

Reflections by juniors The activity that I think will be most beneficial for my orienteering was the contour activity at Isaacs Ridge. As I am transitioning to harder courses, I haven’t really focused on contour lines much before, and this activity helped me to look much more carefully at the map detail. Euan, NSW, M14.

Training maps of the corridor (left) and simulation exercises.

Practising different orienteering skills by taking part in the great variety of four activities at Honeysuckle Creek will improve my orienteering. Ella Maja, Victoria, W16.

Most beneficial for my orienteering would be the knock-out sprint sessions because I feel sprints are a weakness of mine. I learned to block out the other runners, which meant I could focus on my own race. I was able to put this into practice at the Xmas 5 Days a few weeks later. Rory, NSW, M16.

Overall, the camp provided great training opportunities to strengthen all aspects of our orienteering. It also provided lots of opportunities to catch up with interstate friends, in a fun but tough week. Gemma Burley, South Australia, W20, comment from South Australian Orienteer 1/2025.

MTBO in Austral summer New Zealand MTBO Championships CRAIG STEFFENS small crew of Aussie riders headed to New Zealand to contest the 2025 MTBO champs in and around the Otago region of the South Island. Central Otago Orienteering club staged three championship events, and a cyclegaine in and around Alexandra and Naseby. The first sprint stage was held on a small pine MTB trail area adjacent to Alexandra, and flowed out onto a nearby recreation ground and school. The tracks were firm and fast, and the riding frantic across the open mowed sports fields, and finished through the more technical areas of the school campus.

A

The middle distance followed on at the nearby Mataranki MTB park and reserve better known from its original map title of Linger and Die. With plenty of elevation and rocky technical trails, the complex navigation over this map challenged many riders, both mentally and physically. To lessen the competition climb there was a 4 km uphill ride to get to the starting area.

After a short recovery riders were straight into the technical single tracks with many indistinct junctions and route options

SPRINT - M Open top three NZ 25:35 1 Chris Forne 2 Conal Boland-Bristow NZ 28:20 AUS 20:12 3 Ricky Thackray

SPRINT - W Open top ‘three’ NZ 27:50 1 Rachel Drew NZ 37:56 2 Kate Salmon

MIDDLE - M Open top three 1 Conal Boland-Bristow NZ 1:20:16 NZ 1:23:34 2 Tane Cambridge AUS 1:23:41 3 Ricky Thackray

MIDDLE - W Open top ‘three’ NZ 1:31:24 1 Rachel Drew Kate Salmon NZ 1:52:15 2

LONG - M Open top three NZ 1:59:23 1 Tim Farrant Chris Forne NZ 2:00:20 2 AUS 2:10:55 3 Ricky Thackray

LONG - W Open top ‘three’ NZ 2:05:07 1 Rachel Drew NZ 2:38:48 2 Kate Salmon

22 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

NZ MTBO Champs 2025. Photo by Árpád Kocsik.

NZ MTBO Champs 2025. Photo by Craig Steffens.

before descending down onto the riverbanks where a myriad of trails spread to the finish.

The following day riders transitioned about an hour away to Naseby where the pine forests had the long-distance courses awaiting. The MTB trails through the area and the climb provided more challenging courses. Riders transitioned from bright sunlight on the forestry roads into near darkness under the thick pine canopy with many complex areas to confuse them. The final day concluded with a cyclegaine of 2 h on the long-distance map giving riders the option to revisit their previous day’s bloopers or look for sweeter trails to enjoy.

Australians, winners: Gavin Bennette (M40, sprint, middle, long), Carolyn Jackson (W50, sprint), Richard Robinson (M70, sprint, middle), Hamish Mackie (M40, middle). See all results at https://www.mtbochamps.nz

ACT MTBO Twilight event on 18 December.

A farewell to a fantastic 2024 year of MTBO in ACT! MARINA ISKHAKOVA, OACT MTBO TEAM, PHOTOS BY JOHN HARDING

I

t was excellent to conclude the big year of MTBO in the ACT and Australia with the Wednesday Twilight event on 18 December at the beautiful Gossan Hill, renowned for its panoramic views. After several days of extreme heat in the ACT, with temperatures between 36-38°C, the temperature finally settled a bit under 30°C, attracting nearly 40 MTBO enthusiasts eager to enjoy a truly pre-Christmas MTBO experience.

Cathy Hogg and Mark Bourne won the long courses, Clare Lonergan and Thomas Carroll took first place in the middle category, and Veronika Iskhakova and Alex Maksimov claimed victory on the short classes. Also, due to the hot weather, some participants opted for the eBike class, where Antoinette Harmer and Martin Etherington emerged as the winners.

The event concluded with the end-of-year drinks, providing a great opportunity to celebrate and say farewell to a fantastic 2024 year of MTBO in the ACT! We are very much looking forward to the emerging season of ACT MTBO 2025 with seven MTBO events, and we invite everyone to enjoy ACT MTBO again at 2025 ACT MTBO Championships, 18-19 October.

MTBO in Victoria JOHN GAVENS, EDITED

T

he Victorian 2025 MTBO season kicked off in early February in near perfect conditions on the fast sandy You Yangs trails. Over 50 riders competed, including a strong contingent of scouts, parents and leaders. Riders approached the first ever MTBO ‘odds and evens’ format with some trepidation. They were required to choose to ride either oddor even-numbered block of controls and, and at their discretion change to the other block of controls. The format was a great success with riders choosing a multitude of options, and spreading widely over the course.

The stand out performance and overall winner was Australian junior world representative, Maya Bennette. Maya continued her strong form from 2024 to cover over 27 km and score 760 points (p). Second overall, and the top man, was former Australian representative Alex Randall (710 p) who rode over 30 km but incurred time penalties. The highly competitive senior men’s was won by Anthony Jones (680 p) on time from Stephen Law, and Julie Merryful won the senior women’s (360 p). The junior men’s event was won by Cassidy

Browne on 550 p. Browne was introduced to the sport through the OV Schools MTBO Championship. Eight year old Emma Lothian won the junior girls (190 p). The increasingly popular e-bike class was won by Anthony Speechley (640 p) just ahead of Mel Biviano on 610 p.

Riders and supporters enjoyed cheese toasties, sausages, fruit and drinks following the event.

Thanks grandad! Photo

by Carolyn Cusworth.

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 23

VIC CLUBS

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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.

Get your orders in for 2025, latest shipment has arrived https://goo.gl/t81zFf Jim Russell Ph. 0411 125 178 jymbois@gmail.com

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NEED HELP WITH AN

INTEGRITY ISSUE?

WHO DO I CONTACT?

Contact Sport Integrity Australia for:

Contact Orienteering Australia for:

•

Any issues relating to misconduct with a child, including sexual misconduct, inappropriate touching, verbal or physical abuse, body shaming, breaching safety practices, supplying drugs or alcohol to a minor, or any other concerning behaviour

•

Any issues relating to misconduct between adults

•

Race-fixing or other types of competition manipulation

•

Selection disputes

Any issues relating to discrimination based on race, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, or religion

•

Code of conduct issues

•

Any other complaints or concerns, or to find out how the National Integrity Framework can be applied more broadly across orienteering for enduring, positive outcomes.

• •

Any suspicions of doping.

SAFE SPORT HOTLINE: 1800 161 361 7am-7pm (AEDT), 7 days a week, 365 days a year GENERAL ENQUIRIES HELPLINE: 1300 027 232 9am-4:30pm (AEDT) Monday to Friday WEB: www.sportintegrity.gov.au/contact-us/make-anintegrity-complaint-or-report

WEB: orienteering.asn.au/integrity EMAIL: integrity@orienteering.asn.au PHONE: 0412 110 911 (Andrew Shipton, Orienteering Australia Integrity and Complaints Manager)

SIA074-0522-A-4-1-1

EMAIL: contactus@sportintegrity.gov.au

24 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

Dear Youth Orienteers and Parents!

European Youth Orienteering Championships 2025 (EYOC2025) will take place in Brno, Czechia, 17 – 20 July 2025. https://eyoc2025.cz/

Programme: 17 July - arrival, model events 18 July - long, opening ceremony, friendship party 19 July - sprint 20 July - relay, closing ceremony, departure

Competing classes: MW16 – born in 2009 or later MW18 – born in 2007 or later Czech O-Tour, three great races, will be organised on 18-20 July for all parents and public.

Marina Iskhakova and Fedor Iskhakov. At Australian Champs in 2023.

Photo by Fedor Iskhakov.

Australian EYOC Squad: Due to a high level of interest in EYOC 2025, Orienteering Australia has decided to select an Australian EYOC Squad to compete in the championships. Information on the selection process, including how to nominate, can be found at OA website and at https://drive.google.com/file/d/ 1zQFHELsVZJF49nysWpRzz3SF_4YiJOPv/view

Nominations close on 17 March 2025.

If you would like to attend, please be in touch with Marina Iskhakova (squad coach) and Fedor Iskhakov (squad manager) marina.iskhakova@gmail.com

Jury decisions and incidents from previous World Orienteering Championships: PART 3 DAVID ROSEN (ASSISTANT REFEREE AT WOC 2024 AND THE CHAIR OF THE IOF RULES COMMISSION) COURTESY OF COMPASSSPORT 40TH WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS SOUVENIR PROGRAMME

WOC 2017 ESTONIA In the Sprint Qualification, there was a protest about a competitor disqualified for wearing dobb spikes. The bulletin had said ‘Spike shoes are not allowed for Sprint Qualification, Sprint Final and Sprint Relay.’ Clarification was requested in the Team Officials Meeting and the Q&A were published afterwards: ‘Q: Is it spike shoes are allowed?

A: Not permitted to use any metal studs/spikes.’ The jury rejected the protest.

WOC 2017 ESTONIA In the Sprint Final a competitor was disqualified for going through a section of street that was shown with uncrossable barriers at each end. The competitor complained and then protested that he should not be disqualified. The street was about 10 m wide but the barrier was only about 3 m wide so there was plenty of room either side to pass. Also, there were many spectators and members of the public who were obstructing the athletes’ view of the barrier. The map showed a continuous barrier so it was reasonable for the competitors to expect to find some sort of obstruction. The jury upheld the protest and said that the competitor, plus the two other runners who had been similarly disqualified, should be reinstated. Artificial barriers in towns very often cause problems. The barriers cannot be completely closed because members of the public need to be allowed through. Such barriers need to be high enough and substantial enough to be real obstructions. If it is necessary for members of the public to pass, then a marshal is required to let the public through but bar the way for athletes.

WOC 2018 LATVIA A runner had a missing punch and protested that he had failed to record a punch because his e-

David Rosen.

Photo by Nick Barrable.

W18 Mass start at EYOC2024, Szczecin, Poland. Photo by Kell Sønnichsen.

card was still flashing (and therefore unable to record a punch) from a nearby control. The two controls were 16 m apart and the SIACs flash for 2.4 s so the runner would have had to have been running at a speed of 60 s for 400 m for his SIAC to still be flashing. The jury rejected the protest.

Nevertheless, for the future, the minimum proximity between sprint controls has been increased to 25 m.

WOC 2022 DENMARK In the Sprint Relay, a group of highlyplaced runners ran into an Out-of-Bounds area. It was scrub land beside a railway line. There was no way out and they all turned round and came out the way they had come in. The organiser did not take any action but there was a complaint and then a protest that they should be disqualified. The jury decided that the four teams got no benefit from the mistake they made and that the time loss in itself was enough of a penalty. The jury rejected the protest.

It is often the case that there is no 100% correct answer when an incident occurs. The jury or referee must use their best judgement to come to a decision according to the rules, bearing in mind Rule 2.7 which says ‘Sporting fairness must be the guiding principle in the interpretation of these rules by competitors, organisers and the jury.’ They have to make a decision in order that the results can be finalised and the award ceremony can proceed.

The IOF Commissions take note of Complaints and Protests at major IOF events and consider whether there any lessons to be learnt. Sometimes, a case will suggest that rules or procedures need improving.

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 25

Xmas 5 Days 2024 Sydney

XMAS 5 DAYS

HANIA LADA TEXT, GEOFF PEEL

Levi at Xmas 5 Days.

X

mas 5 Days 2024 in Sydney became an eight-race four-event three-day series with the hot weather forcing changes to the schedule. The events, in chronological order, included Day 2 three sprint races in Centennial Park (the cumulative time counted for the result), then Day 1 3D sprint (on the afternoon of Day 2) at Pennant Hills High School, followed the next morning by Day 3 middle-distance in Chippendale, and culminated on December 31 with Day 5 ultra sprint consisting of three races in Pioneers Memorial Park.

The best three results out of the four events counted for the final score, with every winner of each event obtaining 100 points. There were five overall winners who scored the maximum 300 points, Cooper Horley (NSW) in men A, Mikaela Gray (Qld) in women A, Dylan Bryant (Qld) in men B, Catherine Bilmon (NSW) in women B, and Steve Flick (NSW) in men D. Helen Murphy (NSW) won women D on 284 points, and the winners of the remaining courses, men C Matt Roberts (ACT), women C Layla Dent (ACT), and men/ women E Alon Gudes (NSW) all scored 297 points by winning two events and coming second in their third.

Lucy.

26 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

Eric Wainwright.

Course A. Chippendale map. Day 3 of Xmas 5 Days 2024. Sydney.

Laurence Bruggeman.

NSW Rookie of the Year 2024.

Maze runners.

Melissa Joseph.

Vanessa Freeman.

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 27

HANIA LADA

Polish your skills

Spot the difference What are the five differences between the two maps?

Quiz 1. On the master map above what are the brown crosses depicting?

A. Manmade object.

B. Cliff.

C. Pit. D. Termite mound.

2. Where is the highest point on the map?

A. NW corner of the map.

B. NE corner of the map.

C. SE corner of the map.

D. Hill just south of 39.

28 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

Find a slope line on the map below. Draw five more slope lines to help someone learning about contours.

3. On the master map above the dashed purple lines indicate tapes for the relocation exercise.

Link to post-print corrections /quiz /survey

Where do you end up when following tapes from 33 to 43?

https://forms.gle/D5Yo71qqKfij7FSz6

A. In a gully.

B. On a spur.

C. In a clearing.

D. Below a cliff.

The answers are on page 46.

Follow this link to post-print corrections, quiz and survey on one form. Check out what mistakes in the current edition have been discovered too late, feel free to attempt some or all quiz questions, and provide data by completing the survey.

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 29

COURSE OF THE YEAR

Course of the Year 2024 Maximus O Meeting, superelite men’s stage 2 COURTESY OF JAN KOCBACH, WORLD OF O, EDITED

T

he Orienteering Course of the Year 2024 is a very technical and fast middle-distance course in Spain: the superelite men’s stage 2 of the Maximus O Meeting 2024!

different countries in the Top 7: Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Portugal and Hungary. Norway was also in the Top 10.

The course offered technical orienteering at high speed, testing a variety of skills. The terrain, never used for orienteering before, looks like a dream for a course setter: lots of rock features such as boulders, cliffs and small rocky outcrops, but still a very fast ground that enables high-running speeds, in the mixed pine and oak forest.

Course setter, Raúl Ferra, (see the interview) managed to set a challenging and diverse course in this terrain.

Long and Sprint Course of the Year

For the second year in a row we have a middle distance course winning the Course of the Year contest – last year the World Orienteering Championships Middle was crowned the Course of the Year. In 2024 we had a very good geographical spread, with seven 30 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

The Sprint Course of the Year 2024 was the World Orienteering Championships (WOC) Sprint, in second spot overall, not many points behind the winning course. Whereas all courses in the Top 10 in 2023 were forest courses, we had three sprint courses in the Top 10 in 2024, probably due to 2024 being a ‘Sprint WOC’ year, with more focus on sprint orienteering on the international arena.

The Long Distance Course of the Year 2024 was actually an ultralong distance competition, the Swedish Championships Ultralong, finishing fourth overall, with some very interesting orienteering and great long legs.

Interview with course setter of Course of the Year 2024: Raúl Ferra Q: Congratulations for your course being awarded Course of the Year 2024! What was your overall plan behind how you wanted to challenge the athletes on this course?

Having an exceptional terrain like Dehesa de Navaluenga, where our mappers Janne and Timo did an outstanding job, makes the course setter’s work considerably easier.

My overall plan for the course was to challenge the athletes with a technically demanding course, requiring precise orienteering both in navigation and in control attacks, while minimising physical demands to make technical skills the limiting factor. I aimed for short to medium-length legs, designed to test a variety of skills: compass work, use of contour lines, simplification, and route choice.

After the spectator control (C18), I wanted a simpler final loop where running speed would increase but still include a couple of tricky controls. These would challenge the athletes’ ability to stay focused despite high speed and fatigue—and that’s exactly what happened.

Q: Did you get any surprises with respect to which route choices were fastest or where the athletes made mistakes?

Control 3 was perhaps the most decisive in terms of route choice, offering a balance between risk and speed: runners could choose to navigate relatively straight or slightly to the right or take a safer option by climbing to the path, running at maximum speed, and entering the control more easily.

At the highest part of the course, controls 4-5-6-7 demanded microroute choices, simplification, and very precise map reading. With frequent 90-degree directional changes, finding a good flow and avoiding mistakes was essential.

I was aware that many runners would make mistakes throughout the course, as the technical demands were very high, making it challenging to complete the race cleanly. Overall, things unfolded as I expected, although I anticipated fewer issues among the top athletes in the final loop, which ultimately proved decisive.

While major route choices weren’t a key feature of this course, there were still several legs where route options spread significantly. In these cases, clean execution was more critical than the choice itself.

Q: Can you take us through the main challenges on the course, highlighting the legs where you see special challenges?

The first leg was key to setting the tone for the race. The middle section of this leg was somewhat vague and required good directional control and an effective attack point. The exit direction towards control 2 was important, although the placement of this control was relatively straightforward.

This allowed runners with strong technical routines some time to plan their route choice for leg 3.

Navigating to controls 8 and 9 required one of the most challenging skills: running diagonally downhill.

Control 8 was in vague terrain, while control 9 was in highly detailed terrain with difficult runnability.

The leg to control 10 allowed for higher speeds across open areas (crossing the bare rock, which I included for its stunning beauty), with a somewhat tricky attack to the control requiring a solid entry plan. Control 11 served as a transition, while control 12 was designed to raise the athletes’ pulse just before another mid-length route-choice leg to control 13.

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 31

COURSE OF THE YEAR

followed by a stretch of full-speed running towards the spectator control.

That speed extended for about 300 m into a demanding climb to control 19, followed by two challenging controls (20 and 21) requiring precise reading. The final section leading back to the finish in the dehesa pushed runners to their maximum speed, still demanding clean execution at control 22.

Here, anticipating areas of easy runnability and avoiding parallel errors, through proactive map reading, was critical.

After the climb to control 13, runners faced another diagonal downhill leg in an area with intricate micro-relief. This proved decisive, as many athletes lost valuable time here due to execution errors.

Q: What is your favourite leg on the course – and why?

Oh, that’s a very tricky question! It’s hard for me to single out one leg from the course, as I like to think of the course as a whole. Each leg is designed with the runner’s perspective in mind at that specific moment, taking into account what they’ve already experienced and what still lies ahead. But if I have to highlight one, I’d choose leg 13-14. It requires all your skills to maintain a good direction and simplify the area within the control circle to nail the control perfectly. Furthermore, the physical requirements are not important here (as it is downhill), so it is all about technique.

Q: Did you consider making a longer route choice leg than the one included?

Controls 15 and 16 followed the contour line, where object simplification was vital to maintain high running speed. The leg to control 17 involved another diagonal downhill near the open area, 32 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

Yes, I was definitely tempted to include a longer route-choice leg, and in fact, some of the early versions did include it. However, it ties into the same thinking as my answer to the previous question. I consider the overall challenges of the Maximus O Meeting with its four days, and for the middle distance, I decided to focus on a more direct style of orienteering that emphasised execution. There are other stages where I prioritised longer legs with more route choices.

In the end, it’s all about offering variety in terrain and challenges.

Q: This was a new area for orienteering according to the bulletin – how did you find this area? And do you have more unused areas like this available in the area?

Yes, this area was completely new and never used for orienteering before. Since we started the Maximus project, our main goal has been to find special terrains and provide the highest possible quality for participants who choose us. To achieve this, we carefully search for good, varied terrains each year. We discovered this gem a few years ago, but we were waiting for the right moment to make use of it, with the proper recognition and the right event for it.

And yes, we still have many interesting, unused areas in the region.

For MOM 2025, we will unveil some areas that will truly impress everyone. Additionally, we have great news: this map used for the ‘Course of the Year 2024’ was only utilised about 50%, which means that for MOM 2026, we plan to return here for another unforgettable middle-distance course, using the eastern part of Dehesa, which is just as, if not more, exciting. And of course, it has been mapped by Janne and Timo as well.

Q: When did you start planning the courses – and how many hours do you think you spent on them?

The truth is that I have many commitments during this time of year with the training designs for Maximus Winter O-Camp and Sun-O camps, so I don’t always have the lead time I would like to start designing MOM. Additionally, living in Halden, Norway,

limits my visits to the terrain.

For this specific case, I started sketching out possibilities in August/ September, making a terrain visit in late October to run some legs and better understand the mapping criteria, different runnabilities, possibilities, and weaknesses of the terrain. In December, taking advantage of the Christmas holidays, I returned to the terrain with the preliminary courses in mind, and everything was finalised a month before the event, in mid-January (the event was held in mid-February), after the IOF Event Advisor’s visit.

It’s impossible for me to calculate the exact number of hours spent on the design… but it was a lot! Luckily, I enjoy the job!

Thanks a lot for the interview, Raul – we look forward to more interesting courses from your side in the years to come!

2025 New Zealand King’s Birthday Tour 31 May to 2 June 2025 TONI BROWN

Te Mata Peak, Hawke’s Bay. Photo by Steve Philip on Unsplash.

Lake Tutira, Hawke’s Bay. Photo by Dorcas Knol on Unsplash.

J

uniors, aged 14 to 17, listen up! Even if you missed Oceania Champs in New Zealand, it’s not too late to hop across the ditch for a dose of fun and fabulous NZ terrain. If you are hungry for new wild running experiences on maps unlike any you have seen before then this tour is for you. You will develop your orienteering skills, make new friends for life, and join the gang of Aussie and Kiwi children preparing for the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships (ASOC) in Queensland in September https://www.auschamps25.com/asoc. If you’re a bit younger than 14 but burning with ambition, reach out, let’s talk!

Parents are invited to join as well! We will be part of the 2025 NZ King’s Birthday Tour (2025 NZ KB Tour) on the North Island, 31 May to 2 June 2025. Orienteering Australia endorses this tour because it encourages inclusion and helps to grow participation. Mike Dowling, OA Chair, says: This is a wonderful opportunity for our young orienteers, and is a great initiative.

Two Australian representatives at JWOC and WOC concur.

Caitlin Young: NZ QB Tour was my first overseas orienteering and was a great opportunity to run in some stunning terrain but also develop my technique as some of their maps were nothing like what I had run on in Australia. I think this was a great stepping stone that helped my future racing in Europe by helping me become more adaptive in my navigation as well as getting experience racing against people a lot stronger and more experienced than myself!

Alastair George: Running NZ QB Tour was incredibly valuable for me as a junior as it provided excellent exposure to new interesting terrain which certainly helped in my transition into elites, while making some great friends along the way! I would highly recommend this trip to any keen junior.

Events are located around Hawke’s Bay Alastair George at Oceania Champs 2025 in NZ. 3-4 h drive north of Wellington. The meet-up location will be in Wellington or Photo by Joolz Moore. at the event centre in Hawke’s Bay - to be confirmed. Ground transport will be arranged. Places on the 2025 NZ KB Tour are limited. Register your interest ASAP. There is no selection process for inclusion, however juniors are expected to demonstrate their commitment to the sport, be able to meet all financial obligations and understand the issues associated with international travel and accommodation logistics. Interested juniors should provide a brief expression of interest, including approval from parent/guardian, along with a current training plan as a demonstration of commitment.

Note: This tour will require a current passport, and overseas travel. It will likely require 2 days off school due to the event distance from an international airport.

For more details contact tour leader Toni Brown at totoni@iinet.net.au

Caitlin Young in 2017.

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 33

VIC O CLUBS

Orienteering clubs in Victoria

T

he Victorian Orienteering Association (VOA) was established in 1970 with David Hogg as the president. VOA encouraged formation of orienteering clubs, and in 1972 nine clubs joined VOA: Bayside, La Trobe University Mountaineering Club, Peninsula, Red Kangaroos, St Leo’s (College), Melbourne University Mountaineering Club (MUMC), Super Turtles (Monash Uni), Tuckonie, and Yarra Valley. Other clubs followed: Albury Wodonga, Bendigo, Brumby (became Melbourne Forest Racers), Eureka, Eltham College (became Nillumbik), Dandenong Ranges, Central Highlands and ARDFG. Navigators, EMU, Geelong, Rockhoppers, Sunraysia and Warby were also formed but folded or merged.

Dandenong Ranges Orienteering Club DEBBIE DODD

Dandenong Ranges Orienteering Club (DROC) was formed in 1978, with an initial membership of 50, and Steve Key as president. Today we are one of the largest clubs in Victoria. The distinctive red, white and blue lyrebird has always been our emblem, representing the forests of the Dandenong Ranges in Melbourne’s outer east. Our earliest maps, such as Carinya Cutting (Mt Evelyn), Gembrook and Belgrave South featured steep slopes, tall trees, and deep fern gullies, but nowadays we prefer to orienteer in more userfriendly terrain! Our flagship event is the Melbourne City Race, which has been held annually since 2019; we have also pioneered indoor orienteering in Australia.

Albury Wodonga Orienteering Club ROB SIMMONS

Albury Wodonga Orienteering Club was founded by Lester Sawyer and Anne McLeod-Nibbs in 1975 with assistance from Danny Flynn, a top marathon runner who spent several years with a Swedish orienteering club. Our club trophies bear the founders’ names and we will celebrate 50 years at our championships on the first Sunday of November 2025. The AWOC logo, a blind-folded chook running on top of a compass, was designed by Austrian mountain runner and orienteer Max Scherleitner. Our club colours are maroon and dark blue. AWOC is known for the High O at Falls Creek and Dinner Plain, and for the arduous 11.3 km Nail Can Hill Run where in 2003 Steve Moneghetti established the race record High O. Photo by Hania Lada. time of 34:57.

Bayside Kangaroos Orienteering Club MIKE HUBBERT, BAYSIDE KANGAROOS WEBSITE, EDITED

When orienteering started in Victoria, there was only one ‘club’, the Victorian Orienteering Association. It was soon realised that there was a need to create several clubs to spread the workload of organising events and to provide a focus for members. The first club was the Red Kangaroos (RK) which was formed in 1972. This club targeted business people from all over Melbourne. At about the same time, Bayside Orienteers was started with a geographic target area of the beachside and neighbouring suburbs. In December 1991, a meeting attended by members of Bayside Orienteers and the Red Kangaroos Orienteering clubs, voted to amalgamate, with the new club to be known as Bayside Kangaroos Orienteers, under the leadership of Murray Hanna, the inaugural president. As many members had grown very attached to their original club the decision to join together saw a small number, sadly walking away from the sport. However those who continued with their interest in orienteering have witnessed a club that has flourished, with members from all over the metropolitan area and Geelong.

34 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

Photo by Philippa Lahmayer-Collins.

Eureka Orienteers BLAKE GORDON

Eureka! That shout was first heard in Canadian Forest, Ballarat, on 25 February 1975 when the Eureka Orienteers Inc was founded. The Eureka flag was an obvious choice for the new club’s logo. Tom and Lesley Norwood were instrumental in organising the first local event on 16 May 1975 (a fordiograph map), and a state event on 20 July, a combined effort with the Red Kangaroos at Slaty Creek. Ballarat was soon on the national orienteering map with the 1978 International 5-Days in January, followed by the 1981 6-Days Orienteering, 1985 WOCARN at Slaty Creek, 1992 Easter 3-Days, 1993 World Cup Events at Nerrina and Enfield, 2004 World MTBO Championships, 2006 Deaflympics, and the Australian Championships in 2015 and 2022. Eureka's iconic event, the Eureka Challenge, introduced by Rob Plowright and Roch Prendergast, encouraged elites to 'step up' to world orienteering events. 2025 is Eureka’s 50th anniversary, with so many memorable events to celebrate!

Victorian ARDF Group ARDFG WEBSITE

The Victorian ARDF Group is a club dedicated to the enjoyment, promotion, and support of Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF), sometimes called Radio Orienteering or RadiO Sport. We are based in the city of Melbourne, in the state of Victoria, Australia. This puts us in International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 3. Our club is incorporated in Victoria as a non-profit organisation and is affiliated with the Orienteering Victoria (OV) and the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA). Our members may also be found participating in the related sports of orienteering (both bush and street), rogaining and amateur radio fox-hunting.

VIC O CLUBS

Melbourne Forest Racers MFR WEBSITE, EDITED BY CLARE BROWNRIDGE

Melbourne Forest Racers (MFR) is a highly active and vibrant orienteering club based in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, but with members all over Victoria. MFR was founded in 2002, making us the youngest of the Victorian orienteering clubs. What started as a social training group for a bunch of young Melbourne orienteers has turned into an enjoyable club for all ages. Members range from current and former national team members to people just starting out with orienteering. There’s always a fantastic international spirit to the club, with past members from Sweden, Estonia, United Kingdom, France, Finland, Denmark and New Zealand. MFR offers the perfect mix of the serious and not-soserious sides of sport and we’ve always prided ourselves on the social aspects of the club – the MFR Christmas party is legendary!

Nillumbik Emus Orienteering Club LAURIE NIVEN

Nillumbik Emus Orienteering Club (NEV) was born in 1993 after a series of amalgamations since MUMC joined the VOA in 1972.

It combined the Emus (Ex MUMC), La Trobe Uni Mountaineering Club, Rockhoppers, Geelong, St Leo’s, and Eltham College (renamed Nillumbik). Nillumbik Shire runs north from the Yarra to Kinglake, NE of central Melbourne. For the Wurundjeri People it means 'poor soil’ or ‘bad lands’, or even ‘go and get lost’ but for NEV’s members, dispersed across Melbourne, much more important is the joy of emulating the fleet-footed emu in the club’s logo, in the club’s colours of blue, white and green. The disbanded Rockhoppers had created the Rockhopper Trophy for the #1 club in state events; NEV won this 11 times in its first 13 years! The club has a strong park-street cohort but an equally strong bush orienteering focus, members who rogaine, regularly Park Run, and families who support each other. President since 1998, Ron Frederick received an OAM in 2023.

Yarra Valley Orienteering Club Yarra Valley Orienteering Club (YVOC) formed in the northeastern suburbs of Melbourne in 1972, with Alex Tarr as the first president. In 1976 the boomerang was chosen as the club logo.

Peta Whitford designed the first YVOC running suits, and they were made from the material she had brought in 1976 from Sweden after training there for the World Orienteering Championships in Scotland. Navigating 45 years: A history of the Yarra Valley Orienteering Club 1972-2017, and Golden Jubilee 50 years in the bush are Peter Black’s books showcasing the club’s history, social aspects and achievements in competitions, event organisation, mapping and administration. YVOC’s mission is to enable people of all ages to participate in orienteering for pleasure and to compete. The club’s members are highly active in bush, Photo by quentinjlang.com mountain bike and urban orienteering.

Bendigo Orienteers DAVID HOGG

Bendigo Orienteers began its life in 1977 as the Bendigo Bushwalking and Orienteering Club, formed at the then Bendigo Teachers’ College under the driving force of Peter Lawrence, who had previously been active in the early years of orienteering in Canberra. The club soon became focused on orienteering, producing its own local maps and running its own events to complement the VOA program. The club came of age in the leadup to the 1985 World Orienteering Championships, which were based in Bendigo. Led

by Peter Searle, club members took on many key roles in the organisation of the WOC85 program.

Central Highlands Orienteering Club MARK HENNESSY AND WENDY TAVERNA

Tuckonie Orienteering Club DAVID HOGG

Established in 1972 in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Tuckonie is one of the two original Victorian clubs to survive for over 50 years without merging with another club.

Its name has been translated as ‘Little men of the forest’. It was one of the most active clubs on the early Victorian mapping scene, produced many formidable competitors, and its members have been influential over the years in the management of Victorian orienteering and the local development of computer technology for major events.

Tuckonie was one of the early leaders in embracing urban park mapping, especially for school use.

Central Highlands Orienteering Club (CHOC) was formed in 1983, with the priorities of recruitment of new members, novice instruction and coaching, Come and Try It events close to towns in the Central Highlands, and assistance to school teachers. Our first event was held on Mount Macedon in 1983 at Braemar College and surrounding forest, in the aftermath of the Ash Wednesday bush fires, attracting many new members from the Macedon Ranges and beyond, which remains the heartland of the club. That year the committee adopted the green and yellow colours of wattle, and the kookaburra logo indicating laughter and enjoyment of the bush. Our approach is to provide newcomers, especially young families and primary school students with pathways to enjoyable navigational and physical challenges, matched to their skill level, close to home. Several CHOC members have represented Australia, from our inception to the present day. We are a small proud club who contribute in many different ways to the jigsaw puzzle that is orienteering in Victoria. One recent highlight was hosting the Australian Schools Sprint Championships at Kyneton in 2022.

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 35

AUSTRALIAN 3 DAYS PREVIEW

Visit aus3days2025.orienteering.asn.au for more information

2025 VICTORIAN MTBO CHAMPIONSHIPS CASTLEMAINE & MUCKLEFORD 12-13 APRIL 2025

• SPRINT, MIDDLE & LONG DISTANCE EVENTS • NATIONAL MTBO SERIES • AUS TEAM SELECTION TRIALS • CHAMPIONSHIP AGE CLASSES, E-BIKE CLASSES & NON-CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSES

ENTRIES OPEN ON EVENTOR – Bulletin 1 available

Photo by Neil Barr.

Annichen Kringstad (SWE) Brit Volden (NOR) Christina Blomqvist (SWE) Kari Sallinen (FIN) Tore Sagvolden (NOR) Egil Iversen (NOR)

Winner of the women’s course, Annichen Kringstad (SWE).

WOCARN The 1985 World Orienteering Carnival (WOCARN) was devised to attract orienteers from throughout Australia and overseas to help recover the costs of the WOC85 mapping program by offering a series of events open to all. It also ensured that sufficient numbers of interstate orienteers would volunteer to help at WOC85 and that there would be no shortage of spectators on the championship days. Prior to 1985, World Orienteering Championships drew few spectators – ‘about 150 people in Scotland in 1976’.

Ten events were conducted over the 16-day period from 24 August to 8 September, each event on a map produced for WOC85. The event centre for the first week was at Creswick near Ballarat, and the first two events were the Victorian Individual and Relay Championships on new maps of Slaty Creek and the You Yangs respectively. Bendigo Sports Complex was the event centre for the second week which included a map run on Kooyoora the day after the WOC85 Individual, and concluded with the Australian Individual and Relay Championships. The relay was held on the northern section of the Wattle Gully Diggings map (not used for WOC85) and the individual on the adjacent Crocodile Reservoir map.

WOCARN was a joint venture of all Victorian orienteering clubs, with each club either organising or helping to organise an event or performing a major administrative function. It was a resounding success. The average number of competitors per event was over 1100, with a maximum of about 1500 entries for the Australian Individual Championships. Ever since 1985, a series of public events has been associated with each WOC, and this is WOCARN’s most gratifying legacy.

How to be ‘race-day ready’ in mind and body Mental training workshops were held online by visiting coach Hanne Hilo.

TEXT BY LEILA HENDERSON, THE ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN SA ORIENTEER 1/2025

T

he mental training workshops focused on mental, technical, and dry training preparation for major orienteering races. Hanne shared many of her experiences en route to becoming a champion, including her preparation for the 2022 and 2023 Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC).

‘Due to extreme heat, the 2022 JWOC sprint races were the only events held, requiring last-minute adjustments’, Hanne said. ‘Mental preparation was the key. You need to be prepared for anything’.

Given Hanne took out both the Australian Long Distance and Sprint champs just two days after arrival in the country, we listened closely to her advice. Her key strategies included detailed map analysis, visualisation, and psychological preparation. Hanne highlighted the importance of setting goals, understanding race conditions, and practising in similar terrains. The discussions also covered the benefits of team collaboration and the creation of a shared Google Drive for better preparation.

Hanne has held four online workshops through November to December – these are available online as recordings. The first workshop was in person, with a review of the Australian Long Distance Championships 2025.

The ’whiteboard’ shows some of the ideas that participants posted as part of their ’game plan’ for sprint orienteering.

Following are links to four of the recordings: (1) Topic—Dry Training, analysis and setting goals Passcode: Jp.LV@j9 (2) Topic – Game Plan and how to avoid mistakes Passcode: 6c*!7yCF (3) Topic - Motivation Passcode: 2hV@UC85 (4) Topic – Preparation for big races Passcode: +hmti9Bb

Extract from interview with Hanne Hilo

PSYCHOLOGY COACH

Photo by Joel Hallberg, Regional Middle Distance Championship, Dalarna, Sweden.

OA NEWS

Australians appointed to IOF Commissions COURTESY OF ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA WEBSITE he IOF Council has made appointments to IOF Commissions for the next two-year term. Congratulations to the Australians who have been re-appointed or are new appointments!

T

Jenny Casanova, Rules Commission (new appointment) The Rules Commission should aim at meeting twice a year. The meeting schedule should include the annual joint meeting of the Council and Commissions, and the biennial IOF Congress.

Brett Weihart, Foot Orienteering Commission (re-appointment)

IOF website photo.

Responsibilities: Junior World Orienteering Championships, European Youth Orienteering Championships, IOF Fair Play Working group, Senior, Junior & Youth Regional Championships (North America and Oceania), Athletes Commission contact.

Craig Steffens, MTB Orienteering Commission (new appointment) There are many new developments in MTBO Commission.

Learn more here: https://orienteering.sport/ mtbo/internal/mtb-orienteering-commission/

BLAIR TREWIN, IOF COUNCIL MEMBER, OCEANIA

T

Liz Bourne, Environment and Sustainability Commission (new appointment) The Environment Commission should aim at meeting at least twice a year. The meeting schedule should include the annual joint meeting of the Council and Commissions, and the biennial IOF Congress.

he IOF Commissions are, in effect, the IOF’s subcommittees, providing advice to IOF Council on their issues of responsibility, although IOF Council (the equivalent of the OA Board) remains the ultimate decisionIOF website photo. maker for most major matters. Some of the Commissions deal with specific disciplines (foot orienteering, MTBO, Ski-O and Trail-O), while others cover matters which affect all four formats (e.g. Mapping, Rules) or operate across the sport as a whole (e.g. Global Development, Environment and Sustainability).

Like the Council, the Commissions hold most of their meetings virtually. There is an annual meeting which includes both the Council and Commissions, which is held in January; in 2025 it was in Istanbul. Council has a second in-person meeting at World Orienteering Championships (WOC), and some of the Commissions also have meetings at WOC (or their discipline’s WOC where applicable).

Fredrik Johansson, Map Commission (reappointment) The Map Commission should aim at meeting two times a year. The meeting schedule should include: the annual joint meeting of the Council and Commissions, and the biennial IOF Congress.

The IOF Commissions and the Joint Meeting

IOF website photo.

Orienteering Australia announces 2025 national squads COURTESY OF ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA WEBSITE

N

ational squads provide elite athletes with support and guidance through access to national training camps and Orienteering Australia (OA) High Performance coaches. Two squads have been established within the OA High Performance structure.

High Performance Squad (HPS) is designed to meet the needs of athletes aiming to excel at the World Orienteering Championships. HPS supports athletes striving for top 30 placing at world championships or top 40 placing in a world cup round in the following three to five years. Discipline-specific groups, sprint group and forest group, within this squad will assist athletes to optimise their performance for their preferred event.

2025 High Performance Squad Mikayla Cooper, Grace Crane, Aislinn Prendergast, Nea Shingler, Emily Sorensen, Caitlin Young Matt Doyle, Alastair George, Angus Haines, Pat Jaffe, Henry McNulty, Brodie Nankervis, Ewan Shingler 42 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

National Development Squad (NDS) is designed to meet the needs of developing orienteers aiming for representation at Junior and University World Championships. NDS supports athletes striving to represent Australia at a Junior or University World Championships in the following three years. Where appropriate, athletes may be invited to join activities with discipline-specific groups run within the HPS.

2025 National Development Squad Kate Braid, Gemma Burley, Zoe Carter, Erika Enderby, Julia Gannon, Mikaela Gray, Justine Hobson, Milla Key, Natalie Miller, Ana Penck, Liana Stubbs, Sophie Taverna Torren Arthur, Euan Best, Oscar Brown, Alvin Craig, Duncan Currie, Ryan Gray, Cooper Horley, Toby Lang, Oskar Mella, Ethan Penck, Owen Radajewski, Leith Soden, David Stocks, Niko Stoner, Callum White, Jamie Woolford, Sam Woolford

OA NEWS

Mikayla Cooper4

Grace Crane2

Aislinn Prendergast3

Nea Shingler1

Emily Sorensen1

Caitlin Young1

Matt Doyle5

Alastair George5

Pat Jaffe11

Angus Haines6

Henry McNulty8

Brodie Nankervis7

Ewan Shingler7

Julia Gannon1

Zoe Carter1

Milla Key1

Erika Enderby7

Kate Braid2

Justine Hobson2

Mikaela Gray1

Gemma Burley3

Natalie Miller1

Liana Stubbs2

Sophie Taverna7

Ana Penck9

Duncan Currie5

Euan Best10

Oscar Brown1

Alvin Craig6

Torren Arthur5

Ryan Gray2

Cooper Horley3

Toby Lang2

Ethan Penck2

Sam Woolford5

Owen Radajewski9

Leith Soden2

Jamie Woolford2

Niko Stoner1

Callum White1

David Stocks2

Oskar Mella1

Photo credits: 1quentinjlang.com, 2Terry Cooke, 3Graham Braid, 4Sputnik, theawesomest.com, 5Simon George, 6 Mike Dowling, 7Tony Hill, 8IOF Kristina Lindgren, 9Evalin Brautigam, 10PhotosByTom.com.au, 11Joolz Moore MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 43

O TECHNOLOGY

Technology for orienteering: MapRun Exploring the intriguing technology behind orienteering so you can use it too!

COACH TECH-O AND CHATGTP

I

f the future* is all about technology, then orienteering has taken another step into the future with MapRun.

CheckSites: make your own course, properly

We traditionally relied on paper maps and physical control points… Then SportIdent brought in electronic punching… now MapRun is giving us a tech-savvy way to orienteer. This is an app that can improve your training and some events are now being organised as specifically MapRun events.

MapRun's CheckSites feature allows organisers to test and publish confidential events. You can also use this feature to set up a simple event for your own private use or for your athletes.

Upload a map (KMZ) and a course (KML) file at the MapRun console. Using a six-digit code in the MapRun app, you can view the map and run the course.

What is MapRun?

AnyTrack: use a GPS watch instead of a smartphone

[MapRun is an application for orienteering designed and managed by the Australian orienteer, Peter Effeney]. The core idea of MapRun is simple: instead of using traditional maps and punching control points, you use your phone’s Global Positioning System (GPS) to track your progress as you navigate from checkpoint to checkpoint. When you reach a designated control, the app logs it for you.

MapRun’s AnyTrack feature allows you to participate in events using any device that uploads GPS tracks to Strava. You simply record your track, sync it to Strava, and use the MapRun app to create a result. It supports all event types and is ideal for participants without a smartphone or a Garmin or Apple GPS watch (it’s easier for those watches!).

All of this happens seamlessly, without the need for physical markers or a paper map… but orienteers love to have a paper map in our hand, so print one out or if you’re participating in an event, the course planner will usually give you one!

How does it work?

To get started with MapRun, you first download the app, which is available on both iOS and Android. Once you’re in, you can either create your own course or choose from a variety of preexisting ones. MapRun can be handy to use for your training or local competition. Tracking your route and time is useful as a tool to help you reflect on your performance or to compete and compare with others.

QuickStart: make your own course, fast MapRun’s QuickStart feature allows you to create a GPS-based course directly on your phone without needing a map or pre-set course. Simply drop pins on the satellite image to position controls, reorder them, and save the event. It’s a quick, easy way to set up local, personalised courses. Rather than a weeknight run, why don’t you make it an orienteering course?

Opting out of volunteering?

THIS TEXT APPEARED AS THE EDITORIAL IN COMPASS SPORT DEC 2024

NICK BARRABLE, EDITOR OF COMPASS SPORT

W

e are all aware that our sport requires volunteers. In many ways it is still an amateur sport which has not come very far in the last 50 years, heavily reliant on people giving up their time to make events happen. Even an average colour-coded event will need people on the start, finish and download, SI/ EMIT, car parking, as well as your planner, organiser, controller, plus others. However, there are some who are in clubs who rarely volunteer. Many clubs complain that ‘it’s the same people doing the jobs all the time and they are not getting any younger’.

Where will it all end? Can the sport survive?

There is definite potential for thinking out of the box here. We want to carry on being able to O indefinitely, but the way we deliver and the way we pay, might need tweaking. I know of one club at least who pay all their organisers. Yes, you heard me.

Funnily enough, they are never short of organisers now. And it is the young 20 somethings – probably who need the money most – who are stepping up. They do the bulk of the work 44 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

Limitations Because MapRun relies on GPS, its accuracy can vary depending on your location. Dense forests, city streets with tall buildings, or areas with poor satellite reception can affect the app’s performance.

While it’s a great tool for combining control punching, timing and tracking routes, MapRun doesn’t fully replicate the traditional orienteering experience. However, it’s a fantastic supplement to make organising easier, improve your training and push orienteering further into the future. * Talking about future technology, this was written by Artificial Intelligence (AI), 75%, and Coach Tech-O, 25%!

Editor’s note. While writing by humans is preferred to AIgenerated content, this article is being published because it is about technology, it has been checked, and it is prompting us to produce guidelines about AI use in the magazine.

setting up the event and making it happen, and the volunteers roll in on the day to offer their two hours. It seems to be working for them.

Is it time to shake up the ‘pay and play’ modus operandi we have in O? Why don’t clubs offer different membership options?

Why not offer an annual membership of say £X00, which gets them free runs to all club events, and absolves them for any need to ‘volunteer’? I know people who don’t want to be in a club because of the hassle, even nagging, by the club to help at every event the club holds. They want to orienteer, not park cars. With the extra money you can then afford to pay organisers, and maybe more officials, and offer subsidised or free runs to the volunteers who do help. There are clubs who offer free runs already to those who volunteer. Many offer discounted runs. And why not? If you have five figures in the bank account, you need events putting on and want to encourage helping, you don’t need the money sitting in the bank.

Is it time we start to relook at all this: membership fees, paying officials and encouraging volunteers? Wouldn’t it be great if people were queuing up to put on events and volunteer?

PARTICIPATION

My orienteering experience VICTORIA GREENHAN

I

started orienteering in a school team in Hong Kong when I was 12 years old, and did it until I was 17 years old. I put my orienteering activities on hold when I came to Australia as an 18 years old due to inconvenience to travel to events without my own vehicle. I resumed orienteering activities around six years ago to keep fit. I started with power walking, and gradually built my strength and stamina back to jogging and running.

Orienteering is uniquely attractive to me, compared to other similar sporting activities, such as running, for its variation of maps and locations. It is more fun and challenging with careful planning of my own route according to my physical wellbeing on the day and comparing to the type of terrain that might fit my style.

My children were introduced to the Suburban Adventure Race organised by Geoff Hudson in 2021, and had a good feeling about the sport finding the same benefits as I have. With the COVID lockdown in 2020, orienteering became one of the few options for physical activities. With more frequent participation, my children fell in love with the sport, and we started to go to regular weekly park and street orienteering, and bush orienteering.

Photo by Victoria Greenham, with a timer.

There are a few challenges when starting orienteering.

1. Transportation costs. Travelling to weekly, and more than once a week events, around southeast Melbourne or sometimes to outer suburbs or northern suburbs, quickly adds up fuel costs. This issue was somewhat addressed once we got an electric vehicle and solar panels.

2. There is not much formal training available for beginners. We learned by common sense and map reading. Whilst that is OK for park and street orienteering, with the added safety of modern smart phones, all with GPS function in case of being hopelessly lost, but bush orienteering was much harder until we did a basic course, and learned basic map reading with compass skills from senior members.

The experience in bush orienteering is incredible for city dwellers such as our family as the courses take us to see various sites which we would not otherwise plan to see ourselves. For the kids, they are also enjoying the benefit of learning time management skills and learning the limits of their bodies when put under physical stress, and how to manage their stamina throughout the run.

In the future, once our children are more mature and have their own schedules or life plans, my husband and I are planning to purchase a caravan and travel around Australia to attend other states’ orienteering events.

Orienteering November 30 - December 1 2024 in Australia, the first weekend of summer.

Total participation at least 537 NEW SOUTH WALES Central Coast Summer Series 4 - Green Point (28 starters) River and Bay Series 6 - Little Bay (52) Waggaroos Summer Series 2024-25 2 (?)

QUEENSLAND MapRun Parks 2024 - Kalinga Park (20) SOUTH AUSTRALIA OSA Presentation Evening with sprint and MAZE-O (46) VICTORIA Coffee Supreme - orienteering and coffee (30) Summer Shorts and Sprints 7, Salesian College (79) Victorian Sprint Championship, Tarneit College (124) Dynamic Duo Relay, Tarneit College (80) AWOC AGM & Novelty Event (?)

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Albany - NASHS & SRT (10) Summer Sprint 1 - Lumen Christi College (68)

Jayne Sales finishing her sprint at Salesian College, Victoria. Photo by Philippa Lohmeyer-Collins.

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 45

O-Spy ICDT answers

End of life for SI-Card5 and SI-Card6

Quiz answers: 1D, 2A, 3A.

FROM SPORTIDENT.COM NEWS

A

fter more than 27 years of reliable service, we are announcing the end of life for the SI-Card5 and SI-Card6. These cards, introduced in 1997 and 2002 respectively, have stood the test of time – but as technology evolves, it’s time to move forward.

Future SPORTident products and product updates will no longer support the SI-Card5 and SI-Card6.

Spot the difference answers

What does this mean for you?

All SI-Card5 and SI-Card6 will continue to work with the existing stations and other SPORTident hardware as they are today. However, future SPORTident products and product updates (including firmware) will no longer support these cards.

We strongly recommend upgrading to the SPORTident Active Card or SI-Card9 to benefit from the latest features and innovations. Thank you for being part of the SPORTident journey!

We are excited to continue delivering the best in orienteering technology to you.

U23 World Ski Orienteering Championships and Ski-O World Cup Round 1 2025

U

23 World Ski Orienteering Championships 2025 in Norway were won by Niklas Ekström (FIN) in men’s sprint and pursuit, Amanda Yli-Futka (FIN) in women’s sprint, middle and pursuit, and Teodor Mo Hjelseth (NOR) in men’s middle.

The World Cup 1 round for senior athletes resulted in Jørgen Baklid (NOR) and Jonatan Ståhl (SWE) sharing the win in the men’s sprint. Baklid also won the middle and pursuit competitions.

Daisy Kudre-Schnyder (EST) prevailed in women’s sprint, while Anna Ulvensøen was the fastest in women’s middle and pursuit.

There were athletes from 14 federations, including Japan and USA.

World Orienteering Week

R

egister your orienteering event for World Orienteering Week, May 17 to 25.

Code AUS CHN CZE DEN ESP EST

Federation Australia China Czechia Denmark Spain Estonia

Code FIN FRA HGK ITA JPN KAZ

Federation Finland France Hong Kong Italy Japan Kazakhstan

46 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2025

Code NOR NZ(L) POL SUI SWE THA

Federation Norway New Zealand Poland Switzerland Sweden Thailand

Glossary of acronyms ANZ

Australia New Zealand

AO AOC ARDF ASC ASOC AsOC DNF / DNS EOC EOD EYOC IOF JWMTBOC JWOC MTBO NOL OA

The Australian Orienteer Australian Orienteering Championships Amateur Radio Direction Finding Australian Sports Commission Australian Schools Orienteering Championships Asian Orienteering Championships Did Not Finish / Did Not Start European Orienteering Championships Enter On the Day European Youth Orienteering Championships International Orienteering Federation Junior World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships Junior World Orienteering Championships Mountain Bike Orienteering National Orienteering League Orienteering Australia

WMTBOC

World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships

WOC

World Orienteering Championships

WRE

World Ranking Event

WTOC

World Trail Orienteering Championships

Top Events 2025

2026 March 19-23

April 18-21 April 18-21

May 1-4 May 14-18

May 17-30 June 14-15 June 19-21

Junior World Ski-O Champs 2025, and European Ski-O Champs 2025 Posio,Finland AUS 3 Days Carnival Loddon Shire, Victoria

May 27-31 June 29 - July 4 July 6-11

WOC 2026 Genova, Italy

Aug 5-9

Orienteering World Cup Round 3 Czechia WMOC 2026 Rzeszów, Poland

NZ O Championships Canterbury, New Zealand WMMTBOC 2025 Murcia, Costa Calida, Spain

Aug 7-14

MTBO World Cup, European MTBO Champs & European Junior & Youth MTBO Champs Lithuania World Masters Games 2025 Taipei, Taiwan

Aug 25-30 Preliminary dates Sept 9-13 Preliminary dates Sep 23-27

Jukola 2025 Mikkeli, Finland Orienteering World Cup Round 1 Idre Fjäll, Sweden

Orienteering World Cup Round 2 Sweden JWOC 2026 Karlskrona, Sweden

Sep 26 - Oct 4

WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Mora, Sweden WMMTBOC 2026 Forres, Scotland, UK Orienteering World Cup Final & EOC 2026, Lithuania Oceania O Championships 2027, ASOC & SCJC 2026, ACT

2027 May 21-29 WMOC 2027 Preliminary dates Japan July 11-17 JWOC 2027 Kłodzko Valley, Poland Aug 9-14 WOC 2027 Veszprém, Hungary Aug 10-16 WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Preliminary dates Latvia

June 28 - July 4

JWOC 2025 Bormio, Italy

July 7-12

Forest WOC 2025 Kuopio, Finland

July 17-20

European Youth Orienteering Championships Czechia

Aug 6-11

The World Games 2025 Chengdu, China

Aug 9-15

WMOC 2025 Girona, Spain

March 2

SA O Championships, Sprint

Aug 11-17

WMTBOC & JWMTBOC 2025 Warsaw, Poland

March 16

ACT O Championships, Sprint

Aug 16-22

World ARDF Championship 2025 Birštonas, Lithuania

March 22

NSW O Championships, Sprint

April 5-6

ACT O Championships

Aug 26-31

EOC 2025 & World Cup Round 2 Antwerp, Belgium

April 12-13

Vic MTBO Championships

April 25-27

Vic O Championships

May 3-4

Qld O Championships

June 1

Qld O Championships, Sprint

Aug 10

SA O Championships

Aug 10

ACT & NSW Ski-O Championships

Aug 15-17

Qld MTBO Championships

Sep 13-14

NSW O Championships

Sep 14

SA O Championships

Sep 14

Tas O Championships

Sep 14

Vic O Relay Championships

Sep 20

Qld O Championships

Oct 18-19

ACT MTBO Championships

Nov 23

Melbourne City Race

Aug 26-30 Aug 26-30 Sep 5-7 Sep 18-21 Sep 25-29

Sep 27 - Oct 5

Asian Junior & Youth O Champs Shitara, Japan World Trail O Championships 2025 Hungary & Slovakia AUS MTBO Championships 2025 WA U23 WMTBO Championships Stara Zagora, Bulgaria Orienteering World Cup Final Uster, Switzerland AUS Champs Carnival 2025 Brisbane, Queensland

2026 Jan 24-26 Oceania Champs 2026, Sprint Preliminary dates Central Coast, NSW March 1-6

World Ski-O Champs 2025 Japan

Apr 3-6

Australian 3 Days & Australian Championships 2026 Tasmania Orienteering World Cup Round 1 Switzerland

Apr 24-26

2025 – STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS AND CITY RACES

MARCH 2025 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 47

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