SEPTEMBER 2005
Hanny Allston takes Bronze at World Juniors, then 6th at WOC
w w w. o r i e n t e e r i n g. a s n . a u President: Bob McCreddin Director (Administration): Dave Lotty, PO Box 740 Glebe NSW 2037. Ph.‑(02) 9660 2067‑(w), (02) 9569 2380 (h) orienteering@sydney.net Director (Finance): Kathy Liley, 83 Kenmare St., Watsonia VIC 3087 Ph. (03) 9432 4023 Director (Development): Bob Mouatt, PO Box W49 Wanniassa ACT 2903 Ph. (02) 6231 2463 Director (Technical): Andy Hogg, 23 Aston Crescent Cook ACT 2614 Ph. (02) 6251 9777 Director (High Performance): Mike Dowling, 17 High Street Bellerive TAS 7018 Ph. (03) 6244 7173 Manager (Coaching Programs): Neville Bleakley, 30 Gledden Street Chifley ACT 2606 Ph. (02) 6207 3723 Badge Applications: John Oliver, 68 Amaroo Street Wagga‑Wagga NSW 2650
STATE ASSOCIATIONS Queensland OA: PO Box 114 Spring Hill QLD 4004 Secretary: Robin Spriggs Ph.‑(07) 3369 0880 (h) qoa@qoa.asn.au OA NSW: PO Box 740, Glebe NSW 2037 Secretary: Dave Lotty Ph.‑(02) 9660 2067 (w), 9569 2380 (h) orienteering@sydney.net Orienteering ACT: PO Box 402, Jamison Centre ACT 2614. Office - John Suominen ph (02) 6251 3885 actoa@iimetro.com.au Victorian OA: 332 Banyule Rd, Viewbank VIC 3084 Secretary: Warwick Williams Ph. (03) 9459 0853 voa@netspace.net.au OA South Australia: State Association House, 73 Wakefield Street Adelaide SA 5000. Secretary: Phil Stoeckel OA Western Australia: PO Box 234 Subiaco WA 6904 Secretary: Cath Chalmers Ph.‑(08) 9380 4049 (h) catheoin@ozemail.com.au Orienteering Tasmania Inc.: PO Box 339, Sandy Bay, TAS 7005 Secretary: Warwick Moore Ph.‑(03) 6248 6405 secretary.oti@trump.net.au Top End Orienteers (Northern Territory): PO Box 39152 Winnellie NT 0821 Secretary: Susi Bertei Ph.‑(08) 8981 5841
CONTENTS ISSN 0818-6510 Issue 3/05 (no. 139) SEPTEMBER 2005
F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The national magazine of Orienteering Australia Inc. ABN 77 406 995 497 Published four times a year: First day of March, June, September, December Print Post Approved PP 236080/00011
LET TERS....................................................... 6
Editor: Michael Hubbert, P.O. Box 165, Warrandyte, Victoria 3113 mikehubbert@ozemail.com.au Phone/fax (03) 9844 4878 Magazine Design & Assembly: Peter Cusworth, 8 View Street, Avonsleigh, Vic. 3782 Ph. (03) 5968 5254 cusworth@netspace.net.au Magazine Treasurer: Kathy Liley Printer: Priden Printing Services, 21 Century Drive, Braeside, Vic. 3195 Next edition: Cover date: 1 December 2005 Contribution deadlines: 15 October. Time-sensitive material – 22 October. Deadline dates for contributions are the latest we can accept copy. Publication is normally planned for the 1st of March, June, September & December. Copies are dispatched in bulk to State associations in the week prior to that date. Regular Contributors: Badge Awards: John Oliver; Coaching/Training: Nev Bleakley; Competition: Blair Trewin; High Performance: Mike Dowling; MTBO: Blake Gordon; Official News: Dave Lotty; Running the Business: Bob Mouatt; Ski-O: Ian Baker; Nutrition: Gillian Woodward. Contributions are welcome, either directly or via State editorial contacts. Prior consultation is suggested before preparing major contributions. Guidelines for Contributors are available from the editor or from state contacts. State Editorial Contacts Qld. – Liz Bourne 07 4683 6374 (h) batmaps@halenet.com.au NSW – Ken Sinclair 02 9639 9675 sicad@ozemail.com.au ACT – Matthew Purcell 02 6231 2121 mattpurc@webone.com.au Vic. – SA – Claire Davill 08 8226 4381 (w) davill.claire@saugov.sa.gov.au WA – Cath Chalmers 08 9380 4049 catheoin@ozemail.com.au Tas. – Mary Hawthorne 03 6243 8616 (h) editor.oti@trump.net.au Subscriptions: State Association members via State Associations. Contact relevant Association Secretary for details. Other subscribers: Write to The Australian Orienteer, PO‑Box 165, Warrandyte, Vic. 3113. Within Australia: $36 inc GST. Overseas: Asia/Pacific (inc. NZ) $40, Rest of World $45. Delivery is airmail, there is no seamail option. Please send payment in Australian dollars by bank draft or international postal order, or pay direct by Visa or Mastercard. Quote full card number and expiry date. Subscription renewals (direct subscriptions only). The number in the top righthand corner of the address label indicates the final issue in your current subscription. Opinions expressed in The Australian Orienteer are not necessarily those of Orienteering Australia.
DID YOU KNOW?........................................... 8
N E W S .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
W O R L D M A S T E R S , C A N A D A .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 W O R L D C H A M P S , J A PA N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 J U N I O R W O R L D S.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 N E W T E C H N O L O G Y.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 G R E A T L E G S.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 C O A C H I N G.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6 S P O R T S P S YC H O LO G Y................................. 27 T O P E N D C H A M P S .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 8 S A N D G R O P E R S I N N O R W A Y .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 0 HIGH PERFORMANCE REPORT..................... 31 N U T R I T I O N – Ergogenic aids in sport.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 S W I S S E N I G M A – Simone Niggli. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 N I G H T - O..................................................... 34 SA SPRINT CHAMPS.................................... 36 T O P E V E N T S .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7 MTB-O ....................................................... 40 TRAINING................................................... 42 R U N N I N G T H E B U S I N E S S.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6 N AT I O N A L L E A G U E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 7
Front Cover : Hanny Allston takes Bronze at World Juniors, then 6th at WOC. Photo: Erik Borg
2 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
EDITORIAL
Mike Hubbert, Editor
Talented Juniors
Some 75% of the French JWOC team train in Pole France, the national training centre in St. Etienne where Thierry Gueorgiou trains. The results for France at JWOC were positive. French juniors gained 2nd and 3rd places in the men’s events and 11th & 12th and a relay 5th amongst the women. Australia must learn from the French example. Raw talent is one thing but focussed development is needed to really bring the best out of our young orienteers. There is a program at ACTAS and there is talent identification in Tasmania, but we need to do more. I hope you find this edition as good a read as ever.
WHAT great performances by Hanny Allston and Julian Dent at the recent JWOC in Switzerland. Of course, all the team did well but Hanny and Julian stood out – one 3rd place Bronze medal to Hanny and 4th and 11th places to go with it; and 4th and 8th places to Julian. Hearty congratulations. Australia’s junior orienteers are regularly achieving good results so it would appear that the junior development program is bearing fruit. Yet I suspect that those good performances are more the result of individual raw talent than of focussed training programs and finely-tuned skills. The reasons for this are obvious – Orienteering is a sport built on volunteers. We don’t have the resources to employ highly-skilled coaches and administrators, or to run regular camps for focussed training. Yet, it’s equally obvious that we need to do more. We owe it to the kids who love Orienteering so much that they’re prepared to devote so much time and effort to it. In France, Orienteering is not a major sport either – 5888 orienteers and 187 clubs in 2003 (the latest data available). The French have resources problems similar to those we face. True, they’re closer to the European action, but Stockholm is still a long way from Paris. France’s Thierry Gueorgiou is established as one of the world’s best. He is an exceptional talent and the French are taking advantage of his presence in designing programs to nurture other talented orienteers.
Good navigating, Mike Hubbert
Next issue
1 December 2005 Contributions deadlines Time-sensitive: 22 October All other contributions: 15 October
VICTORINOX AWARD The Victorinox Award goes to Adrian Uppill. He receives a Victorinox Voyager with 20 tools and features including a watch/ alarm/timer; retail value $109.95
A Family Affair IN the last issue of The Australian Orienteer there was not a single mention of the Family Relays at Easter 2005. The Family Relays is a wonderful event. It is about participation of families in a friendly, social atmosphere. It is an opportunity for families to catch up to friends from other parts of Australia. The event in many ways reflects one of the essential ingredients of Orienteering – a family sport. South Australian families had a great result by achieving a trifecta with the Uppill (OH), Merchant (TJ) and Dose (TT) families placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. The Family Relays should be promoted and given media coverage in The Australian Orienteer as it has over many years proven to be an invaluable breeding ground for future orienteers, including elite orienteers. Adrian Uppill (SA)
1800 209 999 www.victorinox.com
for stockists call
SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 3
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Bob McCreddin, President, Orienteering Australia
FOLLOWING a review of “recognition status”, the Australian Sports Commission reconfirmed its recognition of Orienteering as a sport to continue to receive Commonwealth Government funding during the 2005-2009 quadrennium. However, the funding level has been significantly reduced and Orienteering Australia is to receive only $80,000 for July 2005 - June 2006 and has received an indicative allocation of $86,000 for each of the three following financial years. This compares with funding of $136,000 received in each of the past four financial years. The OA Board understands that each national sporting organisation was rated ‘high’, ‘medium’ or ‘low’ on three key areas: Sports Excellence [international excellence]; Sports Relevance [community interest in the sport]; and Sports Effectiveness [capacity to increase participation throughout the industry by trained personnel]. Orienteering received ‘medium’ ratings for Excellence and Effectiveness, but a ‘low’ rating for Relevance. Consequently Orienteering Australia has had its funding for development activities withdrawn and the ASC will continue to provide only the High Performance component of Orienteering Australia’s funding. Orienteering Australia can take some small comfort from the knowledge that due to this shift in government funding policy, other sports find themselves in similar circumstances, some with more drastic implications for their future funding than Orienteering. With an annual budget of around $260,000, the loss of funding of $50,000 per year will force the Board and the State associations to work
together closely to establish a new set of priorities for the collaborative work of the federation. All parties agree that there should be no increase in the registration fees or the event levies contributed by the State associations towards the funding of the activities of the federation and that each current activity will need to be reviewed in terms of the value of its contribution to the benefit of Orienteering across Australia. In order to satisfy the requirements placed on Orienteering Australia as a consequence of accepting the ASC funding, many parts of its existing High Performance program and some aspects of its Development Program will need to be maintained. In consultation with the State associations, the OA Board has embarked on a review of all aspects of its activities. Final decisions will be recommended by a nationally representative group of Board members and State Councillors. Plans for 2006 and beyond will be in place during September. Every organisation needs to take the opportunity every so often to thoroughly review its priorities and the way they are implemented. This reduction in funding has resulted in such a review within Orienteering in Australia. Keep spiking those controls!
Accidental Doping – be alert (but not alarmed)
performance; but I do think Orienteering is one of the cleanest sports, especially amongst tough endurance sports. I also believe that top athletes are clean. And why? First of all, I don’t think there is any athlete that is physically nonhuman. Knowing how most of the top athletes train, I am not surprised by their results. Secondly, you need to be extremely physically fit in Orienteering, but it is only a part of the performance. The mental skills, the competitor’s orienteering skills, play an equally important role. Thirdly, there is a lack of “Money and Glory”. We don’t get any big prize money or have large sponsor incomes and we don’t compete for Olympic medals, so Orienteering does not attract athletes that are ready to win no matter what the cost – even if it would cost their life. I think most orienteers share my views that intentional doping is not a problem in Orienteering. But I’m worried about the carelessness of the athletes. Far too many elite runners don’t take due care to check the drugs and other substances they use. Anti-doping rules are made for protecting the athletes and to secure fair play, so whether the doping is intentional or not it is not fair. And even minor doping cases make major headlines and can cause great damage to our sport. The public would remember a headline about a positive test result in Orienteering. Most readers won’t care or bother to read if the result was caused by an anabolic steroid or just an ordinary cold & flu medicine. So it really matters which medicine you use. It is your responsibility to check the list (not the doctor’s, your coaches or Mum’s). This does not only concern elite runners – all competitors can be tested. Athletes who get caught for doping tend to think that it is their own business – but it sure isn’t. They can cause a lot of damage to the other athletes and to the sport itself. We want to be known as fair sportsmen and sportswomen and having a good image is also vital for Orienteering. We need a lot of volunteers and sponsors to be able to arrange Orienteering events and most of all we need terrain. During the last few years we have lost Orienteering terrain and received restrictions in several areas. We are extremely dependent on the goodwill of the landowners and authorities to be able to practise our sport and a good image sure helps. Orienteering is known to be a sport of great ethical values and a true “Fair Play” sport. Let’s keep it that way. Marika Mikkola won gold and silver medals at WOC 2001 in Tampere and silver and bronze medals at WOC 2004 in Vasteras.
Finnish national Team member, Marika Mikkola, writes in Orienteering Today that our sport cannot afford the bad press which would result from a positive drugs test in Orienteering. ORIENTEERS have been tested in international championships and World Cup events since 1983. No orienteers have ever tested positive for anabolic agents, hormones or similar doping agents. Neither have any athletes, team leaders, doctors or other support personnel been caught for holding these kind of drugs. According to the IOF there has been only one positive test and that was at WOC 1993. The athlete had used Rinexin to cure her flu without checking if it was listed among the prohibited substances in competition. It was an unfortunate mistake and, had this test been analysed today, it would have been found clean. Rinexin was removed from the (prohibited) list a year ago, together with several other drugs, since it is not regarded as performance enhancing. But the drug was on the list in 1993 and a national team athlete should know his/her responsibilities. Similar positive test results – mainly cough, flu and allergy medicines – have been found in doping test carried out in national competitions. Some people argue that we are not tested enough and this is why there have been no other positive results. Maybe, but the number of tests has increased remarkably over the years and testing methods are improving all the time. It is a great challenge to trace and prevent doping. The latest big change is the “whereabouts information”. National team orienteers have to keep WADA updated of their location and submit their training plans several months in advance. It helps the testers to carry out surprise tests at any time and in any place throughout the year. So far there have been no positive results in these tests. So orienteers are all clean? I think it would be naïve to believe that no orienteer has ever used any doping agents in order to improve his/her
Bob McCreddin
SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 5
LETTERS Great Legs I’m the O statistician in Tasmania just to introduce myself. Like it appears that many others do, I always enjoy your sections showing maps and descriptions of the winners’ route. I would find them even better if they showed the map scale. There were many very interesting maps in the last issue (June) but hardly any of them showed a scale. I find this an important map feature, even for my armchair orienteering. I’m interested in the length of the legs, since I’m very interested in course setting, and I’m also interested in the speed at which the top orienteers compete, given that I’m a plodding M55. Being an Italophile, I particularly enjoyed the maps (and the concept) of the ParkO in the small Italian towns, some of which I have visited. Thanks for an interesting magazine. Larry Podmore (Tas)
MTB-O events in SA COMMENT needs to be made on the reference to Mountain Bike Orienteering in South Australia in a letter by Kay Haarsma in the June edition. Event comparisons are valid if similar parts of the program are compared. In 2005, the Autumn to Spring event competitive program run by the city based clubs affiliated with OASA included 6 weekend MTB-O events. Around 30 foot Orienteering events were also held in this main program. The remainder of the 108 events to which Kay refers to are events for schools, low key events held mid-week, Summer Series park-street events in which we would not include bike events for insurance and safety reasons, and events run by the four “country” clubs affiliated with OASA. Inclusion of MTB-O events is up to these individual clubs, and Top End Orienteers includes such events. The program of MTB-O events in SA is influenced by: • Map availability as areas close to Adelaide and with an appropriate track network are limited, and those available are largely mapped; • Willingness of the clubs to run events; • Level of interest, which has not increased since the format was introduced. With respect to the second point, MTB-O events, with some notable exceptions, are still largely organised by foot orienteers, many of whom do not participate in the bike events. Many of us as volunteers, are prepared to contribute, often significantly, to foot events as part of the reward for doing so is being able participate in foot events, but our willingness to do so in a second discipline in which we may not participate is limited. At the 2004 SA MTB-O Championships, most of the helpers at the event and the course planner are not participants in MTB-O, and although we are prepared to support MTB-O to some extent, unless the level of interest increases significantly resulting in a new pool of organisers coming into the sport, this support does not extend to organising more than the current number of events. I realise that the lack of overall funding for those participating in MTB-O at the elite level is an issue, and if OA and the State associations had more funds to distribute to high performance groups in both foot and mountain bike disciplines, they would do so. This funding situation is not unique to Orienteering, many other small and not so small particularly female sports, face the same issues. The relationship between the efforts of volunteers as organisers and our role as participants is also relevant to the comments by the OA President, Bob McCreddin, also in the June issue. Even at major events such as the Australian 3-Days, many of us are present as participants first and spectators second. Whilst these events remain as “all-comers” with respect to participation, organisers need to consider this as well as spectator requirements. Robin Uppill (SA)
6 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
The Australian Orienteer welcomes letters. Preference will be given to letters which are concise and which make positive points. The editor reserves the right to edit letters, particularly ones which are longer than 300 words.
Why can’t a NSW Orienteering event be cancelled? IN NSW last July we had the unfortunate incident of an orienteer lost overnight and in fact not found until 1:04pm the next day. The Sportident units were taken and reprogrammed for the next day’s event losing valuable information. People staying at the (OANSW) hut were notified and others rung to help in a search at first light before the police rescue teams went in. Most people contacted gave up their run in the next day’s event without hesitation, getting up at 5am, but still felt the next day’s event should have been cancelled. It was felt others should have been redirected back to the previous day’s area to help either in the field or with food. (Thank goodness McDonalds sent free food and drink to all the rescue parties, we were starving by 12:30) It was also disappointing to find out the next afternoon that the landowner of the Sunday event also wanted the event cancelled due to access problems because of the wet weather and was told “No – an event could not be cancelled”, so those that ran had to walk up to 2.5km to get to the assembly area and start times were delayed an hour. I wonder what other orienteers feel about this Judi Hay (NSW) Response from OANSW: 1. There were 240 entries in the Sunday event with most people travelling 2 to 4 hours from home to compete in this and the Saturday event (many for the Sunday only). This is not an uncommon situation in NSW and the noncancellation rule - provided you can get to the event (flood?) or there is not an imminent safety concern (bushfires?) - is to allow for this. 2. 25 to 30 orienteers went to the Saturday area to assist and once the Police took over responsibility for the search at around 9 am they would not permit anyone to search without direct communications to the search HQ. Extra orienteers in attendance would have been spectators and probably unwelcome. 3. It must always remain a voluntary action on the part of individuals to take part in a search. We are fortunate that a number of people (more than enough as it turned out) gave up their Sunday run to offer assistance. 4. Only a few of the SportIdent units from Saturday were needed and taken for the Sunday event and these were units at or near the assembly (start, finish, clear and check units). The field units were still available for interrogation to determine who had been to a site if anyone knew how to do this. 5. The property manager for the Sunday event was concerned about damage to part of his access road on the Saturday morning (there had been heavy rain on the Friday) and an alternative parking area was agreed with a 1.5km walk (not 2.5km) to the assembly. There was not a cancellation threat. The start was put back 1 hour to assist people to get there in plenty of time but most people took the opportunity to start early, which is easy to do with a SportIdent start unit. Letters continued on page 30
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NEWS 2005 Treeathlon at Mt. McDonald
Monkey attacks Aussie orienteer
ON 4 June, over 80 people from ACT Forests, Greening Australia, Orienteering ACT and the general public celebrated World Environment Day a day early with the staging of another Treeathlon in one of the areas devastated by the bushfires in January. The 2005 Treeathlon was conducted at Mt McDonald, which towers above the Cotter Dam. Each tree-athlete had to run 1.2 km uphill, plant 50 trees down a slope and then run or ride 4.3 km. Twenty-six competitors, including a number from the Canberra Cockatoos (plus a ring-in from interstate), participated in the 2005 Treeathlon. The remaining 50+ assisted the tree-athletes through staking the trees, and placing guards around them or watering them, or just planted trees. Around 2,000 native trees were planted. The placings were: men, Richard Pywell (Parawanga) in a time of 56min 33sec from Rod Higgins and Matthew Doolan; women: Rebecca Barwick in 60min 37sec from Shannon Jones and Rebecca Minty, the latter two are Red Roos. The secret of a Treeathlon, as Australia’s top orienteers Grant Bluett and Jo Allison came to realise, is being speedy in planting trees. The Treeathlon was previewed on ABC and covered by ABC-TV and a glossy magazine called, Capital.
ONE of Australia’s leading orienteers has been attacked by a monkey while training in Hong Kong. Troy de Haas, 25, was running up the bush track on Victoria Peak when a monkey jumped off a rubber tree and attacked his back and neck. The monkey, which was apparently after an energy bar Troy had just taken out of his back pack, inflicted bites and scratches which required hospital treatment before he was allowed to return home to rest. The injury forced him to delay by 24 hours his departure for Japan, for the world championships. Troy has been attacked by ducks, emus and kangaroos in the past. “It’s amazing really. He’s got a phobia about animals but he seems to get attacked everywhere he goes,” said team manager Rod Dominish. “He flinches every time there’s a rustle in the grass. He doesn’t even like running past city zoos.”
Bob Mouatt
Competitors in 2005 Treeathlon
Marathon best IN a massive PB time, Lauren Shelley (BK-V) took 2nd place in the Gold Coast Marathon held on July 3. Lauren was only 2:35 behind Jackie Fairweather who, as Jackie Gallagher, won the bronze medal at the Manchester Commonwealth Games. Lauren’s big PB bettered the “B” qualifying standard of 2:40:00 for the Games but she has several girls ahead of her in the fight for Team places. Gold Coast Airport Marathon, July 3 WOMEN 1. Jackie Fairweather, ACT..................... 2:34:42 2. Lauren Shelley, WA............................... 2:37:17 3. Sarah Majah, Tanzania........................ 2:40:36
JWOC success for French girls! IT’S not only Philippe Adamski of the French athletes who impressed at JWOC 2005. The girls were not so good in the Long-distance but excelled in the Middle-distance race; even the French leaders were quite surprised by their good results! Two French girls were among the top 12 best. In the Long-distance, the best was 32nd among a field of 125 girls. In the qualification for the middle, five of the girls were among the six best in their heats. It’s impressive that so many French girls have done so well. “I am a bit surprised myself”, smiles the French head coach Olivier Coupat, a former elite runner who had to stop because of injury. “The reason for the good results is hard work and better chances for success. Since last autumn, junior girls can take part in Pole France”, says Olivier. Pole France is a national training centre in St. Etienne for the best orienteers. “Seventy-five per cent of the French junior team in JWOC are in Pole France”, says Olivier. In St. Etienne there are both juniors and seniors. So the juniors are very often training together with the big French star Thierry Gueorgiou. “Most of them are training with him every day of every week”, smiles Olivier. The good results are also because of good preparations for JWOC, and because the juniors are getting more and more experienced. “We have a good group of athletes of the same age and they have gained good experience from taking part in the European Youth Championships, European Junior Cup and also in Junior World Championships before”, he says. During his junior years Thierry Gueorgiou won two medals at JWOC, but neither of them were gold, so French orienteering is still missing a junior gold, but it looks like that is only a matter of time. “Most of the juniors can also take part in JWOC next year. Only one of the girls will be a senior next year”, says Olivier. Erik Borg/Clive Allen
Micro-orienteering WOC 2006, to be held in Denmark next August, will feature Microorienteering as part of the Middle-distance final. This is a new concept where a large number of controls are placed within a small area. Competitors who punch the wrong control in this area are not disqualified but have to run penalty loops in the finish arena under the gaze of critical spectators.
TioMila event turns 60 SWEDEN celebrated the 60th Anniversary for TioMila last April. This demanding long relay event is one of the highlights of the Swedish calendar. Orienteers adjust their training programs to ensure they’ll be at their best for TioMila. The women’s event is held in late afternoon. Teams of five runners race for over 3 hours before the winners are known. The men’s event is an overnight one for teams of 10 runners. They start at 8pm and it’s not until some 10 hours later that the first teams finish. Australia’s David Brickhill-Jones led off for Halden club in this year’s TioMila.
Scientific O papers wanted: THE Scientific Journal of Orienteering wants original manuscripts, reviews, re-prints or case reports to publish in their new on-line journal. Contact Andre Leumann at leumann.andre@gmx.ch The web address for the on-line journal is www.orienteering.org/SciJO/SciJOhome.htm
SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 7
DID YOU KNOW?
London to host 2012 Olympics
POCKET PROFILE
IT is perhaps only proper that the Olympic Games should come to Britain in 2012 for it marks the 400th anniversary of the first revival of the ancient Olympics – the Cotswold Olimpick Games held in Weston sub Edge in 1612. Never heard of them? Find out more at www.olimpickgames. co.uk Whilst there have been changes over the years, the sportsmanship, the fair play and the sheer enjoyment of these games is still closely linked to those established by Robert Dover back in 1612. It’s a great spectacle. Maintaining any semblance of the traditional games is becoming increasingly difficult. You can just imagine the reaction to Shin-Kicking! However this ancient sport continues in the modern Games. Their present form takes much from the records of the Games in the early 17th century. Prominent is the picture of the Games published in 1636 depicting Robert Dover presiding over his Games. On the summit of the hill a castle structure has guns firing to start events, and there are representations of the different activities – dancing, backswords, coursing, throwing the sledge hammer, spurning the barre, pike drill tumbling and…. shin-kicking. The Games were continued long after Dover’s death in 1652. They were revived in 1660 and there are impressions of them in the literature of the 18th century. Backswords and wrestling were ever popular as was jingling. Spectators particularly enjoyed the Smock Race for women in which a Holland Shift was a favoured prize. The Games eventually came to their first end in 1852 with the enclosure of Dover’s Hill. In 1951 they were revived for the Festival of Britain, and in 1965 the Society was established which has the annual responsibility for organising them. Some events are: The Championship of the Hill. Teams of five athletic young people test their skills in a range of rural sports, including the traditional sack race where the sack is tied round the neck. Straw bales provide handicaps and water is spread liberally. The Champion of the Hill is the athlete who succeeds best at the four activities depicted taking place on the hill in 1636, namely the Standing Jump, Putting the Shot, Throwing the Sledge-hammer, and Spurning the Barre, a form of tossing the caber. Tugs of War by stalwarts from local hostelries. Shin-kicking. Contestants hold each other by the shoulder and try to kick shins and bring opponents to the ground. A Stickler, the ancient name for judge, makes sure that shins are hit before a fall can count. Kickers wear the traditional white smocks associated with shepherds. They are allowed to protect their shins with straw. The sport dates back to the original Games. The 1636 picture shows shin-kicking taking place, probably as the underplay of Cotswold Wrestling. The activity continued through to the 18th century. In the early 19th century the activity was more brutal, with villages challenging each other, contestants hardening shins with coal hammers and wearing boots tipped with iron. Many a leg was broken!
Simon Mee – M16A, Toohey Forest Orienteering Club, Queensland
Photo: Ian Holmes
Simon started orienteering as a 12 year old at Street-O events in early 2002 after being introduced to the sport by his uncles. He then went along to bush events and competed in his first Queensland Championships later that year where he gained a fourth placing in M14A. He proved to be a very quick learner as the following year he won the M14 class at the Queensland School Orienteering Championships and also at the Queensland Championships. Later, Simon also gained 3rd place in this class at the 2003 Australian Championships held in the granite of Barambogie in Victoria. Last year, he continued his strong performances with a win in the Queensland School Championships, a 3rd at the Australian Schools Championships and was part of the winning team in the M16 class at the Australian Relay Championships. He was selected in the Australian Schools Honour team and was subsequently included in the Australian Schools team that competed in New Zealand in January this year. His latest achievement at the national level saw him gain a 2nd placing in the M16A class at the Australian 3-Days at Jindabyne, following consistent performances every day. Simon, who is a student at St Laurence’s College in Brisbane, also competes in crosscountry running and enjoys bodyboarding and playing his guitar. He’d like to win an Australian Schools Championships and make at least one JWOC team, with his eyes firmly set on 2007 in Dubbo. Beyond that, “Making WOC would be awesome!!! Everyone can dream,” he says.
8 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
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PROFILE
The 2000 Club welcomes Mike Hubbert DAVE Lotty became the inaugural member of The 2000 Club at Easter when he passed the 2000 events mark. Now Mike Hubbert has also passed that milestone, completing his 2000th course on May 31st at the Moonee Ponds Junction mid-week night-O event. At publication date, September 1st, Dave Lotty holds the all-time most events tally at 2050, closely followed by Mike Hubbert on 2033 and Ian Baker (1890) who is making a bold move to join The 2000 Club as well. Mike Hubbert is one of the “Originals”, having competed in the first event organised by Tom Andrews at Upper Beaconsfield in 1969 which started it all in this country. The Australian Orienteer caught up with Mike in between one of his many events. AO: When was your first event? MH: August 23, 1969. I was secretary of the Richmond Harriers at the time and Tom had been at me for some while to stage this ‘new’ event called Orienteering. He’d been in Sweden talking to Silva and they had taken him to an event. Eventually he got the club’s shotputter, Peter WillsCooke, to help map an area in Upper Beaconsfield. AO: Were you hooked? MH: Yes. I set the second or third event at Mt. Disappointment with Roy Whitehead. He was a master at Camberwell Grammar which had a school camp there. I remember walking along a road with Roy and saying “Let’s put a control in that gully – Tom Andrews will never find it there.” AO: What was your club called? MH: We formed the Richmond Harriers Orienteering Club early in 1970 and many of the Harriers took up Orienteering. We specialised in distance running so it was a good form of training. I left to live and work in Europe in mid-1970. When I got back in 1973 I found they’d changed the name to Red Kangaroos, but the same faces were there. AO: Did you run in Europe? MH: Yes – I really learned the basics of Orienteering whilst I was over there. I helped found the Leicestershire Orienteering Club and ran for the Dysart Dashers when I lived in London. I competed in the 1971 Midnatsol Galloppen in Norwegian Lapland, and the 1972 British Championships held in the New Forest, which was ‘new’ about 400 years ago. Later on, I competed at the Swedish O-Ringen 5-Days in 1980 when they had some 25,000 competitors. My lasting memory is of two continual lines of people – one heading for the starts and the other heading for the showers (which were on a hill for all to see). AO: You seem to be keen on administration too. MH: I was secretary of the OFA (now Orienteering Australia) from 1975 to 1981, preceding Dave Lotty in the role. During that time Tom Andrews and I hatched up a plot to get the World Championships out of Europe for the first time. We applied for 1985 because it was the last year on the application form. After a lot of work lobbying the Europeans we were awarded them at the IOF Council in Germany in 1980. AO: How many events do you normally compete in? MH: Well, in 2003 I completed 133 events, then 176 events in 2004, and this year I had chalked up 102 events by June 30th so I may get even more this year. In the 1980’s I did very few events – that’s why I’m still trailing Dave Lotty in the all-time total. But I’ll probably pass his tally before the year is out. AO: Do you compete in all types of events? MH: I run (actually it’s more of a totter these days) in most bush and park & street events, in daylight or at night. I’ve done a few ski-O
10 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
A little bit of O history – Red Kangaroos
events too but not MTB-O. I also take part in the occasional rogaine for recreation. AO: What were your best results? MH: Probably 5th in M40 at APOC’86 in Hong Kong (yes – I was that Aussie running with Kari Sallinen), and 8th in M35 at APOC’80 in Canberra. AO: You were also a runner? MH: I started off as a quarter-hurdler and ended up running 20 marathons and countless other 20 milers and 15’s too. There are lots of memories – I ran in the Berchem Marathon in Belgium where they allocated a kid on a bike to follow each of the internationals. My kid kept asking “Do you think you will finish?” I thought – shut up kid, just keep pedalling. Last year I ran in London’s Green Belt Relay – legs of 13km and 15km on consecutive days along towpaths where the mud was glacial sure shook out the moths from the system. AO: What are your plans for the future? MH: To keep on competing. I plan to go to Austria next year for the World Masters, then probably to Denmark for the WOC carnival. In the meantime, there’s a night event next Wednesday, followed by a park event on Saturday afternoon and a bush event on Sunday. So, I’d better get going.
AUSSIES OVERSEAS
2005 World Masters Orienteering Championships – Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Bronze medals for Staudte and Key CANADIANS were unable to take much advantage of their local terrain in Edmonton, with only Ted de St Croix winning an “A” final at WMOC 2005. Technical and physical competence was tested severely in terrain consisting of pine-covered sand hills with marshland and some deeper valleys. Scandinavian and Russian orienteers dominated the placings, with Karen Staudte and Warren Key finishing third in W35 and M45A respectively. Warren was in good company in M45A, with Ted de St Croix winning from Jörgen Mårtensson. Hermann Wehner was 4th in M80, and Jim Russell 8th in a closely-contested M40A race.
Blake Gordon reports:
Karen Staudte, 3rd in W35A
How the Aussies and Kiwis placed in the Final at Ft Assiniboine: W35A Karen Staudle 3rd W50B Jan Hardy 10th W60A Jill Dalton (NZ) 8th W60A Dale Ann Gordon 22nd W65A Ann Scott (NZ) 10th M40A Jim Russell 8th M45A Warren Key 3rd M45A Anthony Cox 12th M55A Nigel Davies 26th M55B Alistair Stewart (NZ) 1st M55B Keith Jay 41st M55B Barry Field mp M60B Blake Gordon 17th M60B Hugh Cameron mp M80A Hermann Wehner 4th Relay: Hugh Cameron 6th in 180+ year class (total age of 3 runners) 2005 WMOC Champions W35 Cornelia Eckardt GER W40 Svetlana Berezina RUS W45 Jane Johansson SWE W50 Alida Abola LAT W55 Kyllikki Kauppinan FIN W60 Galina Vershinina RUS W65 Eivor Steen-Olsson SWE W70 Anne Jalava FIN W75 Alice Stalfors SWE W80 Elvi Fredin SWE M35 Esko Ylikangas FIN M40 Alexander Afonyushkin RUS M45 Ted de St. Croix CAN M50 Svein S. Jacobsen NOR M55 Matti Railimo FIN M60 Juhani Jokinen FIN M65 Erik Engebraten NOR M70 Jjell Persson SWE M75 Peritti Pelkonen FIN M80 Rune Isaksson SWE M85 Rene Piguet SUI
It was a small but talented contingent (15 orienteers) from downunder that found their way to Edmonton, host city for the 2005 World Masters Games. Orienteering had over 1000 participants from all over the world competing in two qualifying events and a final race in age classes from 35 Warren Key, 3rd in M45A to 85. The terrain reminded us of Sweden and New Zealand pine-covered sand hills with marshes (created by the glaciers and more recently by beaver dams) and some deep gullies. To say the whole map was green – except for the marshes that varied from dry to calf deep - gives some impression of the navigational challenges. The fieldwork was done in a relatively dry summer, but the area had received a steady soaking in 2005 resulting in thick undergrowth. At the first qualifier near Winfield the open paddocks near the start and picturesque finish gave little indication of what the forest and marshes were like. We all struggled to come to grips with the terrain, but Karen Staudte managed a good 3rd, Jill Dalton 5th, while Hermann Wehner was not happy with his run but placed 4th. Jim Russell (8th) and Warren Key Hermann Wehner, 4th in M80 (7th) remarked that this was tougher going than many of their WOC’s runs. “Just give me some white that I can run in”, quipped Jim. anxiously at the finish for the last three runners to come in, but despite a Day 2 at “Tiger Lily” started ominously with one of the big buses minute or two lost in the last few controls she was our second “bronzed cutting the corner too short and blocking the entrance to the car park. Aussie”. Jim’s 8th in M40, Jill Dalton’s 8th in W60, and Ann Scott’s fade to Thank goodness for the local farmer’s tractor! Then on the compulsory 10th were the next best downunder results. school bus ride to the start we took a round-about route which first The W35 class was won by the German former international runner headed south, then reversed north, then west and finally dropped us Cornelia Eckardt by a margin of over 6 mins. M35 provided a tighter at a clearing so we could jog 15 minutes east over pine-covered sand result with the Finn Esko Ylikangas winning by 11secs over the more dunes to the start. This was the “two beaver dam crossing day” with well-known Finnish elite runner Janne Salmi. The most impressive result some particularly challenging route choices on long legs. But running was in the W50 class where another well-known name, Alida Abola from in the ‘yellow’ and ridges in the ‘white’ enabled Warren to vault into the Latvia, won by more than 10 minutes. Closest finishes were in M70 and lead in M45 going into the final. Karen made a few 2-minute errors and M75 where the winning margins were 4 and 3 secs respectively. dropped back to 5th in W35. Ann Scott (NZ) remained rock solid to go My memories of the 2005 Masters will include the warm welcome into the W65 final in 3rd place after the qualifiers. Both Anthony Cox smiles and positive comments from the team of volunteers. The banquets (M45) and Nigel Davies (M55) had steady top 15 runs sending them into at Winfield, Stony Plain and Fort Assinibone were awesome - great value the A finals. for money – and showed us just how the local towns really contributed The final day at Fort Assiniboine will be remembered not for the bear to the success of the event. Blueberries in the bush; longish drives (statue made of wood) at the final control, but for the mosquitoes at the to each of the competitions; thunderstorms each afternoon; buffalo starts. You could tell who had used the organiser’s spray on the walk up burgers and great ice cream; the sound of a loon (a bird) near Winfield, the hill. “Count the mozzies” was the name of the game as we used leafy and the spectacular Canadian Rockies as we flew out to Vancouver. A sprigs to keep the bugs air born! “Wildland” was the best of the forests most memorable WMOC – but Austria promises even more in 2006! we ran in. Once we picked up our maps, the high ground between the marshes, the horse trails and the marsh edges made running possible. Photos: Blake Gordon At the finish I talked with Hermann. “The top three M80’s were just too fast for me this year,” he said. And Warren’s comment; “It was the best I could do after a few early errors”, told the story of his bronze medal. Karen waited SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 11
AUSSIES OVERSEAS
WOC 2005 – Japan Australia in 1985, USA in 1993 and now Japan in 2005. The third World Orienteering Championships to be held outside Europe, and the first-ever in Asia. Competitors representing 36 nations gathered in Aichi Prefecture in August to contest the races of WOC 2005. Hanny Allston and Troy de Haas were Australia’s stand-out performers with Hanny taking 6th place in the Longdistance event. She became the first foot orienteer from a nation outside Europe to win a podium position in an individual race. Reports compiled from Bob Mouatt and Rob Plowright.
Troy de Haas finished 7th in the Sprint event. Photo: Bob Mouatt
Long-distance
Hanny Allston creates history
The Long-distance final was a great result for two Australian women. For Hanny Allston it was about creating history and for Jo Allison it was about getting to the start and finishing. Hanny Allston only become serious about Orienteering a few years ago when she decided to give away swimming because of shoulder problems. She won her first National League race in March 2003 and her first international medal, a bronze, at the 2005 World Junior Championships (JWOC) in Switzerland this July. She set up her final race with a great solo run in the qualifying heats in which she finished in 3rd place. The final was run in warm to hot humid conditions, but it was the terrain and vegetation that tested most people. The 8.8km course had 21 controls and 630 metres of climb. 12 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2005
Hanny Allston wears the garland of hydrangea (above) as she celebrates her podium placing, and (left) completes the final leg of the Relay to bring Australia home in 8th place. Right: She does it again - Switzerland’s Simone NiggliLuder won 4 gold medals at WOC 2005, repeating her success of WOC 2003.
AUSSIES OVERSEAS
World Orienteering Championships, Japan
Hanny had a plan and she stuck to it. It was to go as hard as she could until one of the faster, later, starters caught her and then work with them to maintain her momentum. It was not until well into the race that Finland’s Paula Haapakoski caught her and they travelled together for a while until catching Russia’s Tatiana Ryabkina, who started two minutes before Hanny. About the same time another Finn, Heli Jukkola, and Simone Niggli joined what was now a pack. Leaving the 13th control Hanny made a brave decision not to take the same route as Simone, who went low, but to stay high with the Finns. They reached control 14 ahead of Simone and stayed ahead of her through to about the 17th control. Simone and Heli reached the second last control about 2mins ahead of Hanny and the pack, which now included Romania’s Zsuzsa Fey, Tatiana Ryabkina, Hanny and Paula Haapakoski. The climb out was very steep and the run home arduous. Hanny managed to beat Haapakoski and Ryabkina to the finish line. Her result was a fitting reward for her efforts. She beat last year’s world champion, Karolina A-Höjsgaard, by nearly 17mins and 20 places. Australian team member, David Brickhill-Jones, added to Hanny’s occasion on the podium by presenting her with a large garland of hydrangea. Jo Allison’s preparation was severely disrupted by being stung on the sole the foot by a wasp. Her foot ballooned and she spent most of the night treating it to ensure she could get to the start line. Although she said that she suffered no pain the emotional trauma obviously had an adverse impact on her and she did well to finish 28th, her third top 30 in a Long-distance final and her sixth in WOC finals. Russia’s Andrey Khramov won the men’s race by over two mins from Switzerland’s Marc Lauenstein and Norway’s Holger Holt Johnansen. Italy’s Michele Tavernaro finished 6th in what may be his nation’s first podium result. The big Frenchman, Thierry Gueorgiou had to settle for seventh.
Tracy Bluett ran a strong 2nd leg for Australia in the Relay after her great 13th place in the Middle Distance final. Julian Dent finishing the Middle Distance final in 22nd place.
Jo Allison in the Sprint final. JUNE 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 13
AUSSIES OVERSEAS
World Orienteering Championships, Japan
Sprint
Troy de Haas claims best ever Aussie male foot Orienteering result at WOC The sprint races were held in a very difficult area. Mike Dowling, who competed in the public event between the heats and the finals, said: “It was just like competing in New Zealand native forest - steep, thick and low visibility”. The day started in bright sunshine, then a shower came through wetting the ground and making it extremely slippery. The temperature and humidity rose sharply. It was 37ºC when the women started and it got hotter later in the day. Troy de Haas ran steadily throughout both races, and had an excellent start in the final. He lost a few seconds over the concluding stages and that not only cost him a podium finish, but probably also a medal. Switzerland’s Simone Niggli claimed her third straight WOC Sprint gold medal from Anne Margrethe Hausken of Norway and Heather Monro of Great Britain. Some notable features of the Sprint were that all Japanese women made it through to the final. The New Zealanders again did well in terrain that suited them (confirming Mike Dowling’s assessment), and previous top Sprint competitors, Yuri Omeltchenko and Tore Sandvik, both missed the final.
Middle-distance
Tracy Bluett returns to claim a top-13 result.
All six Australians qualified for the Middle-distance final in typically hot and humid conditions. Australia was one of only four nations (alongside Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland) with all runners qualifying. Hanny Allston remarked that the terrain was quite Australian – steep gully-spur.
Swedes in a sweat translated by Rob Lewis
SKOGSSPORT reports that in preparation for WOC 2005 in Japan the Swedish National Squad focused on how to survive the anticipated heat, and in particular the high humidity, with the August average humidity being 80% in the event centre region of Aichi Prefecture. The Japanese organizers had warned about the tough August conditions and had wanted to hold the event later in the year but the IOF said “no”. The squad spent 5 days training in a gym specially heated to 36˚C and 65% humidity to simulate the Japanese summer. Training sessions lasted for 2 hours with participants exercising on the treadmill, stationary bike and rowing machine. They were weighed before and after the session to estimate fluid loss. Different uniform materials were tested for optimal breathing and cooling qualities. 14 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
The competitors were surprised at how much water they lost with large pools of sweat forming under the equipment. Levels of fluid loss were found to vary greatly. Mattias Karlsson, WOC04 Long silver medallist lost only 1.5 litres over 1:45 hrs (estimated winning time for this year’s Long race) while teammate Johan Näsman lost 5.0 litres in the same period. It would seem that Näsman needed to drink 3 litres more than Karlsson during the race to maintain performance. Näsman conceded it was unlikely he would be able to keep up with such high levels of water loss in hot conditions even with the usual practice of drinking a lot of water in the days leading up to the race. Consequently, Näsman decided to concentrate on the Sprint and Middledistance races as a result of these findings.
By contrast, the finals were held in much cooler conditions, with the top temperature in the mid 20s and the humidity much lower, but getting around the courses was no easier. The highlights were Thierry Gueorgiou’s third consecutive victory in the Middle-distance final, Simone Niggli’s second gold medal in a Middle-distance final, and Denmark’s Chris Terkelsen taking silver after a long layoff caused by chronic fatigue. Highlight for the Australian team was Tracy Bluett’s successful return, after missing two WOCs following the birth of her daughter, to better her 14th place in Scotland in 1999. Everybody was pleased for Tracy as it has been a long way for her to get back to the top. Her 13th is the best by an Australian in a Middle-distance final at a foot World Championships. Though she was caught and passed by Finland’s Anni-Maija Fincke, Tracy was happy with her run and finished strongly. Hanny Allston’s 18th equalled Jo Allison’s placing in Switzerland in 2003. Only Tracy Bluett and Natasha Key (17th in 2004) have done better, yet she was very disappointed after having made a two-minute error, which could have given her a top eight placing. She came home very strongly, being faster than most over the last 25 per cent of the course. Prophetically, she said she was really fired up to do well in the Longdistance final on the following day. Julian Dent’s 22nd was probably the best debut result by an Australian - certainly in recent times. He had a fairly clean run throughout and, like Hanny, came home very strongly. His time through the last controls was much faster than most because he didn’t make any mistakes and didn’t tire.
Sweating is an important mechanism the body has to help cool itself. Karlsson commented that due to his low sweating levels he wears a wet singlet under his O-top in hot conditions to simulate the cooling effect of sweating. Karolina A. Höjsgaard, the current Longdistance World Champion, said she would carry a water belt in the races in Japan. Höjsgaard said she trains with one so is used to it. In WOC 2003, held in Switzerland during a heatwave that saw temperatures approaching 40˚C, she was the only Swede to run with a water belt. She finished 2nd in the Long race. Höjsgaard feels the organizers’ water controls may be inadequate to maintain optimal fluid levels. She advised that it is not enough just taking out a water belt on race day. One needs to practice drinking during training. “If you are not prepared for the heat don’t bother turning up,” says national coach Goran Anderson. Karolina has particular respect for heat after an incident some years ago in the Swedish Junior Championships when she succumbed to unusually warm and humid weather. She’s been training in Portugal to acclimatise to warm and humid conditions The body consists of 60% water. Daily water loss for the average person is about 3 litres. For an active orienteer the figure is much higher, and much higher still in extreme heat. In 30˚C the elite orienteer loses on average 2.1 litre of fluid/hour. As you become more dehydrated the body’s core temperature increases. Blood volume decreases so blood supply to the muscles is
compromised. The heart has to work harder to maintain supply and your heart rate goes up. As you become increasingly dehydrated your sporting performance drops quickly. One needs to train in a way that allows the body to keep fluid levels at an adequate level. Part of this is to acclimatize to the warm conditions. Ideally, before a race in hot conditions, one would spend 7-10 days acclimatizing to the heat to help the body adjust. Skogssport says the most important thing to consider before a race in warm conditions is to not allow your thirst to determine whether you drink or not. Your urine should be the guide and it should always be clear. If it is yellow you need to drink more. Before the race it is advisable to drink plain water. In hot conditions you need to drink small amounts of about 200ml at least every 15 mins. You also need to start drinking early. Don’t wait until you feel thirsty - it will probably be too late by then and you will suffer from dehydration. For competitions that last more than an hour a sports drink with a low concentration of simple carbohydrate (sugar) is better than plain water. When engaged in prolonged strenuous activity the body is more able to absorb fluid that contains some sugar. The sugar will also provide some extra energy. Avoid sugary drinks before a race or for events shorter than an hour as these can activate insulin and blood sugar levels can actually drop producing a feeling of fatigue. Skogssport
AUSSIES OVERSEAS
World Orienteering Championships, Japan
Relays
Simone Niggli wins 4th gold medal at WOC2005
The Swiss champion completed an outstanding WOC carnival when she ran almost 3mins faster than Norway’s Anne Margrethe Hausken on the final leg of the Relay. Starting fourth behind Sweden, Norway, and Finland, Niggli was 12secs ahead of Hausken at the intermediate split, increasing the lead by another 90secs over the final part of the race; the Swedish team was third. The race was set up to be a good one for spectators to watch, with competitors coming back through the arena about halfway through their course. The men’s race was another closely-fought contest - 1min 35secs separated the top five teams of Switzerland, Finland, France, Norway and Sweden at the start of the final leg. Jørgen Rostrup overcame a 52sec deficit to the Swiss team to win for Norway, although at the intermediate split, France’s Thierry Gueorgiou held a 5secs advantage over Rostrup, and the French must have held high expectations of winning, but in the end it was Norway 1st by 28secs, with Switzerland a further 32secs behind in 3rd place. Gueorgiou was no match for Rostrup - during a post race interview, Rostrup said that he took it easy on the first loop and applied the pressure on the second loop.
Aussie Women register another benchmark performance
The Australian women’s team of Jo Allison, Tracy Bluett, and Hanny Allston finished a very creditable 8th while the men’s team of David Brickhill-Jones, Troy de Haas, and Grant Bluett finished in 15th place. Jo Allison led out for the Australian women, was going well after her first loop and came back in 6th place just ahead of Finn Paula Haapakoski. Tracy Bluett had a slightly better time than Jo, recording sixth fastest time for the leg, but the team dropped to 7th when Finland’s Heli Jukkola passed her. Both Jo and Tracy were happy with their runs, and felt that they could not have done much more on the day. Hanny Allston was followed out by a very determined Heather Monro (Great Britain), who was keen to pick up some of the placings that their first runner had dropped. While Hanny was relatively satisfied with her run, she said that she made a few costly navigational errors due to tiredness. She finished in 8th place overall with the eleventh fastest time for the third leg. In July, Hanny put in four outstanding runs at the World Junior Championships and in the eight days at WOC, she ran in five gruelling races, three in the last four days, so it was not surprising that she might be a little drained. A number of the top nations have complained that there was not enough gap between the World Games and WOC. The gap between JWOC and WOC was the same, and the races at JWOC would have been much more demanding, so by any measure Hanny’s performances in the past five weeks have been outstanding. New Zealand was very happy with its ninth placing, their best for some time.
Sprint Final - Women 1 Simone Niggli 2 Anne Margrethe Hausken 3 Heather Monro 4 Emma Engstrand 5 Vroni König Salmi 28 Jo Allison 32 Natasha Key 45 Rika Tajima
14:02.7 14:34.4 15:01.7 15:03.1 15:09.5 17:31.9 18:03.3 22:47.6
SUI NOR GB SWE SUI AUS AUS JPN
Sprint Final - Men 1 Emil Wingstedt 2 Daniel Hubmann 3 Jani Lakanen 4 Øystein Kvaal Østerbø 5 Andrey Khramov 7 Troy de Haas 28 Grant Bluett 44 Mårten Boström
14:31.0 14:41.5 14:45.7 14:47.1 14:49.2 15:02.4 16:41.6 21:06.6
SWE SUI FIN NOR RUS AUS AUS FIN
Middle Distance Final - Women 1 Simone Niggli 32:46.3 2 Jenny Johansson 34:59.7 3 Minna Kauppi 35:50.0 4 Anna Mårsell 35:58.3 5 Anni-Maija Fincke 37:03.5 13 Tracy Bluett 39:23.8 18 Hanny Allston 39:54.0 35 Natasha Key 45:07.3 43 Erin Olapsen 52:40.6
SUI SWE FIN SWE FIN AUS AUS AUS US
Middle Distance Final Men 1 Thierry Gueorgiou 2 Chris Terkelsen 3 Jarkko Huovila 4 David Andersson 5 Øystein Kristiansen 22 Julian Dent 25 David Shepherd 32 Rob Walter 42 Ondrej Pijak
33:00.3 34:32.0 34:49.3 34:54.3 35:31.2 39:17.0 39:54.4 41:40.8 50:09.1
FRA DEN FIN SWE NOR AUS AUS AUS SVK
Long Distance Final Women 1 Simone Niggli 2 Heli Jukkola 3 Vroni König Salmi 4 Marianne Andersen 5 Paula Haapakoski 6 Hanny Allston 28 Jo Allison 39 Diana Vosyliute
SUI FIN SUI NOR FIN AUS AUS LTH
Long Distance Final Men 1 Andrey Khramov 2 Marc Lauenstein 3 Holger Hott Johansen 4 David Schneider 5 Mats Haldin 38 Claus Bloch
1:37:22 1:39:30 1:42:09 1:42:42 1:43:09 2:28:50
RUS SUI NOR SUI FIN DEN
Women’s Relay 1 Switzerland 2:07:46 2 Norway 2:09:28 3 Sweden 2:10:35 4 Finland 2:11:42 5 Czech Rep 2:12:27 8 Australia 2:21:11 9 New Zealand 2:26:07
1:13:23 1:15:35 1:17:49 1:19:48 1:21:57 1:23:31 1:40:30 1:52:49
Lea Müller Vroni König Salmi Simone Niggli Marianne Andersen Marianne Riddervold Anne Margrethe Hausken Jenny Johansson Karolina A-Höjsgaard Emma Engstrand Paula Haapakoski Heli Jukkola Minna Kauppi Marta Štěrbová Eva Jurenikova Dana Brozkova Jo Allison Tracy Bluett Hanny Allston Tania Robinson Penny Kane Rachael Smith
45:08 42:55 39:42 41:31 45:24 42:33 41:42 43:59 44:53 45:22 42:16 44:03 45:04 44:22 43:00 45:20 44:57 50:54 47:19 50:35 48:12
Men’s Relay 1 Norway 2:16:48 2 France 2:17:16 3 Switzerland 2:17:48 4 Sweden 2:17:57 5 Finland 2:21:50 15 Australia 2:34:42 18 New Zealand 2:41:23
Holger Hott Johansen Øystein Kristiansen Jørgen Rostrup Francois Gonon Damien Renard Thierry Gueorgiou Matthias Merz Marc Lauenstein Daniel Hubmann Niclas Jonasson Mats Troeng Emil Wingstedt Jarkko Huovila Mats Haldin Petteri Muukkonen David Brickhill-Jones Troy de Haas Grant Bluett Karl Dravitski Darren Ashmore Chris Forne
45:21 48:17 43:09 45:26 48:05 43:44 46:20 46:25 45:02 45:37 48:43 43:35 45:22 47:29 48:57 54:35 50:20 49:47 54:24 55:33 51:25
The Final Analysis
Australian performances at the 2005 World Championships contained a number of positives: • Hanny Allston set new best ever results for an Australian at WOC and for a foot orienteer from a nation outside Europe with her 6th in the Long-distance final. Apart from being the first foot orienteer from outside Europe to be on the podium for an individual race, she is probably one of the few juniors from anywhere to enjoy that honour. • Troy de Haas set a new best result for an Australian in a Sprint final with his 7th place. • Tracy Bluett set a new best result for an Australian in a Middledistance final with her 13th. • Julian Dent made one of the best (if not the best) debut run with his 22nd in the Middle-distance final. • The women’s Relay team recorded another benchmark performance by taking 8th place Start of the Women’s Relay with Jo Allison second from right.
SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 15
AUSSIES OVERSEAS
Junior World Orienteering Championships, Switzerland
JWOC Hanny takes Bronze in Middle-distance Julian a close fourth in Long-distance Success for Australia in the World Junior Women’s Middle-distance final held at Taverne in Switzerland!! Hanny Allston, in another great run, finished in 3rd place securing Australia’s first medal since 1999 in the JWOC competition. And, in the Junior Men’s Long-distance final, Julian Dent finished just out of the medals (but still a podium place) in 4th place. Hilary Wood reports.
Hanny Allston (right) with gold medalist, Anna Persson (centre) and silver medalist, Heini Wennman. Photo: Henrick Erickson
Photo: Erik Borg
The relay area at San Bernadino. Photo: Hilary Wood
16 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2005
Julian Dent on his way to an excellent 4th place in the Long Distance event. Photo: Erik Borg
AUSSIES OVERSEAS
Julian Dent running into the last control parallel to a T-bar lift. Photo: Hilary Wood
Middle-distance HANNY was extremely pleased with her run although she felt she made mistakes and was very teary on the finish line. She said she was shocked about her result and relieved she had achieved her goal of a ‘podium finish’. Winner Anna Persson from Sweden finished in a time of 25:51. She exclaimed she was feeling fantastic about her win although she didn’t really understand it. Finnish girl Heini Wennman also had a great run for 2nd place and said she was feeling emotionally exhausted but also very relieved to have gained a silver medal. In fourth place was last year’s winner Helen Jansson from Sweden. She was the biggest favourite before the race. The race was held at Taverne where a special bridge had been constructed across the main road for the competitors to use. The map area traverses a road tunnel and covers some of the local town as well as the lovely cool forests of chestnut and beech trees. All placegetters were required to submit urine samples for analysis as part of the campaign for a clean sport. Interestingly, we saw a fair play anti-drugs commercial at the awards ceremony using Orienteering as an example sport with the drug user shown collapsing at a control. Amusing and effective! Jasmine Neve also managed to finish quite well in 32nd position after she ran with Swedish runner Sara Luscher for a while. Unfortunately Jasmine took a fall and bruised her knee, setting her pace back a bit, and she lost time in the latter half of the course. In the boys race Julian Dent (25:10) finished in 8th position. He said he had a sloppy run around the controls which accounted for him not having any fastest splits. The finish was very exciting with the seeded fastest runners coming in at the end. Winner in a time of 21:28 was local Swiss Fabian Hertner, followed by Frenchman Phillipe Adamski. Simon Uppill held the lead early in the day which was also very exciting and augers well for the future. He finished in 22nd position in the A final at his first JWOC. In the B final Zebedy Hallett and Ryan Smyth were the best placed Aussie runners, with Zebedy finishing in 6th place and Ryan in 10th position. Ryan started after David Meyer but caught him early. They gave each other confidence to run the rest of the course well after David had lost vital minutes early. Conrad Elson finished in 20th position, followed by David Meyer in 23rd and Louis Elson in 52nd. In the girls B final, Vanessa Round came 21st and Ainsley Cavanagh 51st having lost time at the beginning of her race on one control and
Junior World Orienteering Championships, Switzerland later at the 11th control. Unfortunately Erin Post missed her second control. She said that someone spoke to her in the forest and although not an excuse it put her off and she didn’t realise that she had missed the second control and went straight to the third instead. However all was not lost for Erin on her birthday as she has received excellent uni results of one high distinction and three distinctions! Earlier, Hanny had won her heat in the Middledistance qualification race with the fastest time of the day! Hanny had a perfect run in perfect conditions, sunny and warm but with a cool mountain breeze. She blitzed her heat in a blistering time (22:12) to come in at least a minute in front of second place. Her heat time was the fastest for the day across all heats. Jasmine Neve (28:34) finished in 15th position in her heat. She felt her run was lacking in confidence but it was good enough to come in the top twenty and make the A final. In the men’s qualification Julian Dent finished in 9th place in a time of 26:19 (fastest time in this heat 24:23 by Swiss junior Andreas Ruedlinger) confirming his place in the A final. He took a fall during the race and did not have a clean run. He said he made at least a minute and half of mistakes. Simon Uppill also has made the A final in 20th position with a time of 27:30. He was pretty pleased. Dave Meyer was very disappointed with his run, losing valuable minutes on a couple of controls. Dave, Louis Elson and Ryan Smyth all finished in the 30th minute although they were running in different heats, with Conrad Elson just a few seconds behind. Erin Post, Vanessa Round and Zebedy Hallett also finished in about the same time of 32 minutes. Ainsley Cavanagh started her course well and then made a few mistakes and eventually finished in a time of 41:41.
Long-Distance WHAT a day! A very long day too! Another beautiful sunny and hot day in Switzerland with starts going for over five hours to start all runners at 2-minute intervals. To add to the excitement the finish area had two spectator runs through the area with refreshment ‘stops’ plus, of course, the finish chute in a very clever arrangement which maximised the opportunities for the commentary and the spectators. In the middle of all this were the catering tents, a music live band, many local orienteering fans and a very loyal Australian group. In the Men’s Long-distance race we had to wait right to the end to get the final result with Julian Dent placed in 2nd position for much of the day until the last two starters in the race came through to snatch 1st and 2nd places. An excellent result for Australia with Julian’s time holding up for a 4th position podium finish, and Hanny Allston finishing in 11th spot in the Junior Women’s Long-distance race under really tough conditions. When asked about his win the new Men’s Junior Champion, Olav Lundanes (Norway), said it was a dream come true to win the Gold medal in this event. He comes from the West coast of Norway and has plenty of hills to train on! Andreas Ruedlinger (Switzerland) was asked if he was disappointed with his silver medal and he replied no, he was thrilled to get the silver on his home ground. Julian said his run was scrappy. He was not feeling good at the start but got into the flow towards the end of his race. In the finish area the Aussie crowd heard he had the fastest time to the first radio control and for a long time he was sitting in silver medal position. The girls race was very exciting with Hanny Allston starting off well and with a chance to beat the winner of the Middle-distance race, Anna Perrson. But a few errors after the second spectator and drinks control saw her slip behind. Then later-starting runners from Norway - Mari Fasting and Elise Egseth - blitzed the rest of the field by 2 minutes. When all were finished Hanny placed in a very creditable 11th position. SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 17
AUSSIES OVERSEAS
Junior World Orienteering Championships, Switzerland Simon Uppill, second leg runner in the relay. Hanny Allston had the second fastest time in the relay Photos: Hilary Wood
Erin Post and Louis Elson at spectator control relays.
Dave Meyer, starting early in the day, had a steady run finishing in 32nd position. He said he did not rush and took a bit more time to ensure he kept in contact with the map and did not make any big errors. Next for the Aussies was Simon Uppill in 58th position (still in the top third of the field and encouraging for Australia for the future). The other boys Louis Elson (105th), Ryan Smyth(115th), and Conrad Elson(119th) found the going tough. The tough conditions saw 23 competitors failing to finish or mispunching in the men’s race. In the girl’s Erin Post, who had the earliest start of the day for the Aussie team, finished in 50th position and was happy to finish and improve on her result from the Middle-distance. Ainsley was also pleased with her performance in 68th position and was followed by Vanessa Round in 74th spot, looking very tired at the end of her race. Jasmine Neve found the going tough as she was still nursing a bruised knee from the previous race but gallantly finished in 76th position, then Zebedy Hallett in 79th spot. Zebedy had a few navigational errors, at one point doing a “180-error” on a track. The terrain was very tough going for all and only the winner in the men’s race achieved the estimated winning time of 73 minutes with the winner in the girls race being eight minutes more than the estimated winning time of 55 minutes
The Sprint Hanny Allston gets fourth place in Junior sprint event! A GOOD day for a sprint around the world heritage listed Bellinzona Castle and town. Hanny took out 4th place and new JWOC representative Ryan Smyth finished in 8th place in a competitive field. Hanny just missed out on a monetary prize sponsored by Post Finance with the winners receiving 1000 swiss francs and third place receiving 250 swiss francs. Hanny enjoyed her run though she made a couple of errors which cost her vital seconds. The course was a mixture of running through the old town and climbing up into the castle grounds to make for a spectacular setting in this lovely Italian part of Switzerland. Ryan was very happy with his run and enjoyed the attention of appearing on the big screen. The event was also broadcast live on the local TV station which added to the excitement. It was a long afternoon for the rest of the team as they watched and waited for the results to flow through. Rob Walter also competed in the elite sprint and finished in a respectable 14th position. 18 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
Dave Meyer.
The Relays Aussie girls finished 8th in the Relays at magnificent San Bernadino which is a ski resort in the winter. The terrain is a mixture of alpine meadows on steep slopes and alpine forest with small knolls and gullies. The Australian Junior Women’s Team of Jasmine Neve, Erin Post and Hanny Allston finished eighth. Jasmine Neve led the team out under the noise and excitement of the crowd and a helicopter taking aerial photos of the competitors at the beginning of the Relay. Jasmine came good with her time and overcame her knee injury to put Australia into a reasonable position. Erin followed with a steady run and left Hanny to bring the team home to 8th position, finishing with the second fastest leg time of the day in the women’s race. In the men’s team Dave Meyer led the team out but lost a lot of time in the first loop being confused by the number of split controls and the noise and crowds of competitors. He was nearly the last competitor to come to the first spectator control above the assembly area. He was very disappointed in his own performance. Simon Uppill was able to salvage some time and brought the team up from 44th position to 36th after the second leg. Then Julian Dent was able to make up more time and finished with the 6th fastest time for his leg and the Australian men’s team finished in 19th position overall for the Relay.
Overall The 2005 Australian Junior Orienteering Team finished overall in 10th position amongst competing countries. This was achieved through some excellent personal performances by Hanny Allston (Bronze medal in the Middle-distance and second fastest Relay leg) and Julian Dent (8th in the Middle-distance, 4th in the Long-distance races), the steady runs from Dave Meyer and Jasmine Neve in the Long-distance race and Simon Uppill in his first JWOC qualifying for the A final in the Middle-distance race. The team displayed all the characteristics of good teamwork and supported each other in their successes and in their disappointments. The support from the physiotherapists Manuela Buzzo (from Switzerland), during the training camp and Jan Sargood during the competition week assisted team members to feel confident and comfortable with massages and advice from two experienced physiotherapists.
AUSSIES OVERSEAS
The World Games THE 2005 World Games held in and around Duisberg, Germany, are the seventh overall and the second to include Orienteering. Thirty-two nonOlympic sports were represented, and the Games organisers expected over 500,000 spectators with TV transmission to many countries. Australia’s Grant Bluett was the defending individual Champion from the 2001 World Games held in Akita, Japan. Grant put in a strong performance in this year’s event but he couldn’t do enough to defend his Gold Medal, finishing 12th in a quality field. The race was won by Thierry Gueogiou of France who has dominated Middle-distance racing over the past two years. Troy de Haas was also racing for Australia. He started well, but fell away in the middle part of the race to finish in 23rd position. Troy had fallen down a 2.5m cliff a week or two earlier so was going rather gingerly. The women’s race was won by Simone Niggli-Luder of Switzerland. Australia’s Allison Jones had a steady run to finish 32nd and Danielle Winslow 39th.
Relay THE terrain was a mix of urban area and parklands, with a very small area of forest. The organisers recommended running shorts and shoes for competitors. The World Games Relay is a fourperson (two men & two women) relay. Qualification is highly competitive with only 13 teams offered a starting place. Australia qualified 13th, and went into the day aiming to improve that position following some solid runs in the Middle-distance races.
At 27, Simone was oldest in the Swiss team
SWITZERLAND won the Relay with a remarkably big margin of 1min 39sec over Russia. Swiss star, Simone Niggli-Luder doesn’t feel old, but at age 27 she is the oldest in the winning Swiss team. ”I don’t feel I am old, but I am oldest in the team”, she laughed. Matthias Merz, who ran the first leg for Switzerland, is only 21 years old. Lea Muller on the second leg is 23 years old. Daniel Hubmann on the third is 22 years old. It was he who took the excitement away from the Relay. After two legs Great Britain with Sarah Rollins was first, but on the next leg Daniel ran away from everybody. It was just up to Simone. The young ones in the team had done a good job before the queen started her race. ”I did make a mistake to the first control, maybe I lost 15 seconds”, said Simone. She started with a gap of 35 seconds to the next team at the final change over. ”It’s never easy to run the last leg, but I had a good start with the gap to the next teams”. After the small mistake at the start she ran well, especially towards the end of the course. Switzerland’s trainer Thomas Buhrer, the World Champion at Long-distance from 2003, said beforehand that Switzerland would be satisfied with a medal. Well, they got gold, and in fact Switzerland was regarded as the favourite.
World Games, Germany Australia’s team was lead out by Troy de Haas. With the pace on from the very start, Troy made a couple of little errors but held on to the back of the pack to come in 22secs behind the leaders and handed the reins over to Allison Jones. Allison had a battle with Juliette Soulard from the French team. Allison opened up a gap on Juliette as the teams came through the stadium at the halfway point. In the second half the French girl finally caught up to Allison as they took different route choices and they entered the stadium locked together. Grant Bluett went out on the course with Thierry Gueorgiou, the new World Games Champion. With a couple of wider splits, Grant never got to the front and had to contend with a time 5secs slower than Thierry. A great run by Grant. Danielle Winslow was the last runner for the Aussie team. She started out in 12th spot and the question was, could she hold off the Finnish team. It was not going to happen as the Finnish girl ran the 3rd fastest time of the day and went past Danielle during the first loop. Australia then had to settle for 13th place.
Australia’s Grant Bluett was the defending individual Champion from the 2001 World Games.
Women’s Middle-distance Participant Niggli-Luder, Simone (SUI) Schmalfeld, Karin (GER) Monro, Heather (GBR) Ryabkina, Tatiana (RUS) Sargautyte, Ieva (LTU) Jones, Allison (AUS) Winslow, Danielle (AUS)
Time Place 36:44,1 1 37:10,1 2 38:26,0 3 38:50,6 4 40:01,1 5 45:00,1 32 50:03,6 39
Men’s Middle-distance Gueorgiou, Thierry (FRA) Hubmann, Daniel (SUI) Osterbo, Oystein Kvaal (NOR) Nielsen, Christian (DEN) Omelchenko, Yuri (UKR) Bluett, Grant (AUS) De Haas, Troy (AUS)
38:10,1 38:31,1 38:36,5 38:55,4 39:09,1 40:06,6 41:49,3
1 2 3 4 5 12 23
Mixed Relay Team SUI (SUI) Team RUS (RUS) Team CZE (CZE) Team SWE (SWE) Team GBR (GBR) Team GER (GER) Team LTU (LTU) Team LAT (LAT) Team FRA (FRA) Team NOR (NOR) Team FIN (FIN) Team DEN (DEN) Team AUS (AUS)
88:39,0 90:18,8 90:18,9 90:34;3 91:20,0 91:27,7 92:25,2 92:44,8 94:09,6 94:30,9 94:44,9 95:20,7 98:36,7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Tanya won the battle for silver
TANYA Ryabkina and Dana Brozkova were both satisfied. They both won a medal, but the Russian took the silver by one tenth of a second from the Czech girl. ”I didn’t expect Dana to come so fast and I had to run all-out. I had nothing left when I finished”, smiled Tanya. Dana was also satisfied, even though she couldn’t quite keep up with the Russian in the final centimetres. ”I tried my best, so I am satisfied even though I didn’t manage to pass Tanya. Bronze is also very good. There are a lot of strong teams”, said Dana Brozkova. SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 19
AUSSIES OVERSEAS
Arena design at JWOC 2005 We saw at the Australian 3-Days near Jindabyne this year how spectator-friendly Finish arena design is becoming an important factor for organisers of major Orienteering events. At JWOC 2005 in Switzerland the arena design for the Long-distance events included two mid-race spectator controls as well as the run-in from the last control to the Finish. Hilary Wood reports:
T
HE finish area for the Long-distance races was set up with the commentary position on a raised spur between two flatter areas at the bottom of a steep hill with a dry stream bed in between. The commentators had information also from four radio controls out in the forest for the men and three for the women’s course plus the three places where the competitors came through the arena area. The first time they came through to Spectator Control 1, was down a hill following a taped route around out to a flattish narrow and heavily forested gully area. They arrived the first time after a largish loop of about 50 minutes and then the shorter second loop took about 11 minutes. The commentary team could not see clearly when they came through for the second loop but they had spotters out to relay this information to them. The second spectator run through went out parallel to the finish
chute but in the opposite direction for a final loop of about five to ten minutes and then the competitors returned around a small rocky knoll covered with forest. The organisers had to chop down a few trees to give the commentary area a clear view of the first spectator run through and the finish chute run. Refreshments or special drinks that had been arranged between the coaches or trainers and competitors could be given at the two spectator run throughs. For the spectators, you could not see all three run throughs at the same time so you had to try and keep track of the race from the commentary and change position according to who was coming through. A prewarning system operated for each spectator viewing position.
Feelmax® Toe Socks on Aussie feet at JWOC
Feelmax® Toe Socks are the most comfortable socks in the world. Just ask the South Australian juniors who wore them at JWOC this year. Designed in Finland and sold in 16 countries worldwide, they are now available in Australia through orienteer Hazel Kotro who supplied Toe Socks to Vanessa Round, Zebedy Hallett and Conrad Elson.
Why toe socks? Toe socks are designed to fit the foot’s natural shape, eliminating the extra material around the toes that tends to bunch and rub against the skin, causing irritation. Blisters are amongst the most common sports injuries experienced by runners and walkers. Blisters result in discomfort, pain and infection. Blisters on the feet of runners and walkers are almost always caused by friction and rubbing against socks and shoes. Combined with excessive moisture from perspiration, this friction increases the likelihood of blister formation. Avoiding sweaty socks can help prevent blisters. Avoiding socks that bunch and rub against the skin also helps. Feelmax® Toe Socks use DuPont Coolmax® fibres. When the foot perspires Coolmax“ fibres wick moisture away from the skin to the outer layers of the fabric where it can evaporate. Toe Socks with Coolmax® fibres dry up to four times faster than regular cotton sports socks. And they look cool too!
20 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2005
Now available at Paddy Pallin stores and David Jones. For more information check out www.feelmax.com.au Contact: Hazel Kotro Kat K Australia PO Box 51 Magill SA 5072 Mobile: 0400 878 071
AUSSIES OVERSEAS
Arena Design at JWOC Long-distance Races
Julian Dent at the 1st spectator control
Zebedy Hallett in the finish chute Julian Dent at the 2nd spectator control
Julian Dent in the finish chute
Ryan Smith at the 2nd spectator control
SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 21
IOF systems, I have no doubts that the development of a new generation of systems for timing and punching, and orienteering results services, in general, should be affordable on an international, national, district and eventually club level. From an information distribution point of view, the Internet has provided us with a completely new dimension for broadening spectator experience of major sport events. The dramatic progress of the World Orienteering Championship competitions in Västerås, Sweden, 2004 could, for example, be enjoyed live all over the world through online video, sound and results – new systems must employ technologies with this new dimension in mind. I am, accordingly, an advocate that the time has come for the orienteering movement to move to a higher technology level when it comes to orienteering results services. It is time to phase out the old systems and replace them with new ones based on today’s technology.
Why is this necessary?
Time for New Technology The adoption of SportIdent in Australia has been a boon for the results tent but has created logistical problems for event organizers and difficulties for competitors when the units malfunction. Christer Norman, a member of the IOF IT Commission, argues that it is time for Orienteering to take the initiative in designing systems based on today’s technology which are more useful and more friendly for competitors, spectators and event organizers alike.
Firstly, by taking advantage of new technologies, we can improve the security, simplicity and functionality of the basic systems that generate the results in our sport. This benefits all participants, competitors and officials alike. Secondly, we must develop the systems to a level acceptable to the Olympic movement as we strive to become an Olympic sport. On the way to the Olympics, we also have an obligation to support the Arena Production concept that the IOF is implementing and which will mark all high level international orienteering events from now into the future. The focus on information distribution is the key to the Arena Production concept as well as to Olympic success. Thirdly, it is time that the orienteering movement took the lead and turn our experience into the specifications for the systems we need. We can then drive the suppliers to produce systems that fulfill the needs of the sport and its development.
Time perspective We are unlikely to see Ski-O, MTB-O or Foot-O in the Olympics for at least the next decade. This does not mean that we can wait until later to embrace new technology. The Arena Production concept is being implemented now, and demands the best possible technological support. The immediate requirement is that we must gradually enhance the systems we have today, however, always in the direction that we see most beneficial for the future. And we must remember that broad technological evolution never stops; it goes on as we speak. The challenge for orienteering is to constantly identify, evaluate and take best advantage of technology known today, as well as that vaguely understood today and that of which we today have no clue!
Possible Developments I REMEMBER the autumn of 1992, when I saw the first prototype of Emit’s electronic punching system being demonstrated at the Nordic Orienteering Championships in Østerdalen, Norway. I must admit I saw it mainly as a curiosity at that time. But two years later their system had, in fact, developed to a commercial level, on the threshold of becoming generally used and taken for granted in orienteering events. The Emit system was followed a few years later by a similar system from SportIdent. The technology base for these systems is therefore 10–15 years old today. This is basically true even though a few enhancements have been made over the last few years. All credit to Emit and SportIdent, they have certainly contributed to bringing our sport up to a high level of technology, nowadays indispensable for orienteering organisers and competitors. From a technological point of view, 10–15 years is a very long period. Computer and mobile phone innovations are obvious examples of the fact that price / performance and functionality have seen a dramatic evolution over the period. Today we find transit systems with touch cards that only have to be placed on a sensor to debit fares. Vehicles are reliably electronically tolled on city highways at 100 km/h. The Danish King Harald Bluetooth may have been dead and buried since the end of 900, but the wireless communication technology named after him is alive and kicking! With such technology already implemented in commercial 22 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
We can now look at some directions for development, based on our current experiences as well as the known next steps such as Arena Production.
Security There have been too many occasions lately with disqualifications due to “missed punching”, where the competitor has obviously punched at the control in question. Also, we see too often that the punching equipment at the controls does not work as intended and has to be replaced at the last minute. This is not acceptable for our orienteering sport – it gives low credibility and a poor image of our ability to organise fair and correct events. For the competitors, we have to support them with systems upon which they can rely 100% and basically not have to pay attention to this aspect during the race. Future systems must be designed to be robust, with backup facilities encompassing quite a lot of redundancy and yet still be affordable. We must raise our own level of expectation and our own requirement for a 100% error-free performance of the technology used by our sport. It must be virtually impossible for a competitor to miss punching due to faulty equipment. Future missed punches shall always be the result of the competitor not following the punching rules.
IOF Simplicity More security and functionality built into our punching equipment also means more complexity. This complexity must never be seen by the organiser or competitor, but stay within the equipment itself. Instead, the systems must support the organiser so that all equipment involved can be set up in a foolproof manner, accommodating even late changes. For example, the punching equipment at the controls could be designed to integrate with the course setting software as defined in, for example, today’s OCAD 8, not as a one-time transfer from the course setting system to the software loading the punching equipment but continuously synchronised and available.
Functionality Today’s technology should allow considerable enhancements in functionality to both the electronic punch card (e-card) and the equipment at the control points. Basically, communication and intelligence have to be built in. We can, and should, discuss whether the e-card should be designed with “intelligence” or if we should leave that to the punching equipment at the controls. Maybe it should be enough to keep the e-card “simple and stupid”, just extending its capacity to store more information, enhance security by implementing more redundancy and components, use smaller, speedier and very reliable components, design it for better touch-free “punch-without-stopping” usage in speedy Ski-O and MTB-O competitions. If we were to move away from this, we could, for example implement GPS capabilities in the e-card to send positioning data to a central computer program for online and post tracking of route choices, and so on. This could be the first approach and bridge to a future generation of e-cards with “intelligence”. The electronic punch card, instead of being
emptied before start, could then be loaded with information about each individual’s orienteering course and have a small display showing the control descriptions and the progress of punching along the course. We have often remarked that e-cards do not give the progress feedback that a paper control card does. Concerning the future punching equipment at the control, it should, however we implement the e-card, communicate wireless with a central computer program and it should both be possible to supervise and maintain them from a central point. Basically what is needed is a “telephone” with a suitable communication technology, for example GPRS, that is in constant contact with the central computers. With a built-in GPS device, it should be possible to be alerted if the equipment is removed from the control point, for example more than one metre.
Olympic level Technology is an important tool in the drive to have orienteering, in some form, accepted as an Olympic or Winter Olympic discipline. The technology selected for any Olympic sport must be of a very high level. We must remember that as an Olympic sport we are not in the driver’s seat any more, we are, at best, co-drivers. The Swiss Timing company controls Olympic results services from the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and onwards for several years. It, and therefore the IOC, will not accept any technology that cannot guarantee a smooth, error-free results service. At the moment, orienteering does not live up to Olympic level technology expectations. If we are serious about becoming an Olympic sport, we have to act now! Technology must primarily support TV coverage of the Olympic orienteering events, I am not going into what disciplines could attract the billions of TV viewers over the world, however, I strongly feel that the courses must be shown and explained to TV viewers on a very basic level, just before the race. Digital TV will enhance the presentation of the map and the courses for the viewers; however, it is probably wise to suggest experimenting with a direct interface between the course setting software (for example OCAD 8 today) and a TV graphic device to come up with maximum clarity of the picture. If that includes transforming the orienteering map into a more understandable terrain model for the general public, maybe in 3-D, is a question that must have an answer but which I don’t want to judge here. However, I believe that we can learn from our own experiments, for example at the Tio-Mila 2004 event, and from the computer games industry, to show digital terrain maps being converted to terrain models in real time. Perhaps this technology can be harnessed to show the realtime decisions facing orienteering athletes. Where Olympic TV coverage has to be kept relatively simple, the complex intricacy of our sport should instead be available through Internet. In contrast to TV, Internet offers a two-way, interactive environment that we should take full advantage of. This is the environment for tracking route choices through GPS, this is the environment where you can analyse the courses beforehand and during the actual race, and this is the environment that allows you to follow the progress of the race as you decide yourself. An Internet solution is not only well suited for orienteering knowledgeable people around the world, it is also a solution for onsite or home based media people, TV commentator support teams and for the organiser’s quality assurance teams.
Leading the development With all respect to Emit and SportIdent, the specifications for the next generation of timing, punching and results services must be developed by the orienteering movement itself. The IOF IT Commission is currently working within the IOF’s Arena Production project to specify the technology requirements for punching in orienteering. This requirements specification argues a somewhat shorter horizon than discussed in this paper to allow for solutions to be implemented “soon” and will be available later this year. The IOF IT Commission plans to follow these requirements with specifications on results services, specifications that will bring us closer to those you see for Olympic sports and support the IOF’s Arena Production concept. (reprinted from IOF O-Zine, July 2005) SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 23
G R E AT L E G S
How the West was won by Richard Matthews with photos by John Toomey
W21E
Table shows leg times with the winner on each leg highlighted.
THE NOL weekend in Western Australia in May focused on two very different terrains. The first day was held on an entirely new farm area South East of Perth that will be used again for the Australian Relays in 2006. Day 2 was held at Julimar on an area that was first mapped for the Spring West Carnival in 1984, which was the first “national” event hosted by Orienteering Western Australia, so it seemed a fitting place for the long day of the NOL weekend. The area is without doubt the best gully-spur area mapped in Western Australia and does offer the chance to provide some longer route choice legs as well as some detailed control picking. The vegetation is typical of WA terrain with relatively open running on the slopes but thicker and prickly vegetation on the tops of the hills. The M21E and W21E courses plus the routes for Jo Allison (2nd), Tracy Bluett (1st), David Sheppard (3rd) and Grant Bluett (1st) show some interesting decisions and running times. Critical controls did make a difference and maybe some tiredness showed towards the end of the race.
In the Women’s race Jo Allison was leading for the first two thirds of the race, except for control 4 where a wide route cost Jo nearly a minute. On leg 10 Jo took the option to run down the hill and along the track and then a hard climb back up to the control losing 50 seconds on Tracy. Up to this point Jo and Tracy were very close in time. From control 11 to the finish Tracy picked up the pace and was gaining time on Jo. One suspects that not only was the straight route through the green a better bet on leg 11 but that the hard climb took its toll on Jo and Tracy was able to finish stronger despite being a few seconds behind on most of the legs leading to this point. In Tracy’s words; “I think control 11 won the race for me. I went straight over the hill and used the flat part of the spur between the creeks as my attack point, while Jo ran around the track”. 24 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
Leg 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Finish
Tracy 11.56 3.27 3.10 8.25 8.54 2.17 2.04 5.10 1.45 10.17 7.59 1.5 1.07 0.48 0.23
Jo 11.46 3.23 3.03 9.23 8.07 2.01 2.00 4.54 1.37 10.45 8.49 2.16 1.28 0.54 0.26
Julimar Brook Orienteering map
1:15000, 5 metre contours (has been reduced to 90% to fit on page W21E course showing Tracy Bluett Jo Allison
%diff 1% 2% 4% -11% 9% 12% 3% 5% 8% 4% -10% -21% -27% -12% -12%
G R E AT L E G S M21E Grant 10.34 2.24 1.26 9.27 3.49 2.52 1.26 1.30 1.38 4.03 1.21 7.51 1.24 2.53 5.34 1.52 7.09 5.17 1.40 1.34 0.26
David 11.04 2.21 1.22 9.58 5.52 2.45 1.29 1.39 1.38 4.19 1.26 6.38 1.34 2.49 5.33 1.29 8.55 6.05 2.25 1.41 0.23
%diff -5% 2% 5% -5% -42% 4% -3% -10% 0% -6% -6% 17% -11% 2% 0% 23% -22% -14% -37% -7% 12%
IN the Men’s race, from the start Grant gained a 30sec advantage by taking the straight line through the green, whilst David took the track to the left of the line and others took a wide route to the right. Whilst dropping a few seconds at controls 2 & 3 Grant gained time at 4 & 5 by running strongly through these controls. At control 5 Grant held a 57sec advantage. Grant continued to run well to control 11 taking the lead out to 1min 23secs. From here in Grant’s words; “Running to the 12th I saw that I didn’t have far to go, and decided to push it a bit harder. That decision must have taken the focus of my orienteering and I did just about everything wrong on the 12th. I ran too far to the left at the start, then in the circle I saw a large boulder and couldn’t work out where I was; I panicked and ran around with no real
plan. After the race I saw the boulder was hidden under my circle.” Grant continued to lose time to David through to 16 where David took a 4sec lead in the race. However on the leg to 17 Grant re-established his lead with a clever route choice avoiding the worst of the up and down on the track whilst David took a wider route. Grant pushed on winning the remaining legs and David lost 2nd place to Eric Morris in the last 3 controls.
Julimar Brook Orienteering map
1:15000, 5 metre contours (has been reduced to 90% to fit on page M21E course showing Grant Bluett David Shepherd SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 25
COACHING
Neville Bleakley
Coaching, Parenting and Teaching – Is There Any Difference? Neville Bleakley
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HE athletes with whom many Australian coaches first cut their coaching teeth are often their aspiring children, or a team/squad of tyros with whom their offspring might be associated. Parents as volunteer coaches have been the mainstay of coaching of any sport in Australia, no matter what the sport’s profile may be. It’s also true that some of Australia’s best coaches – in Orienteering and many other sports – are (or have been) trained teachers.
Coaching – an Extension of the Parenting Instinct I believe that coaching is like parenting – even at the advanced level. I know that it’s not often portrayed that way in the media, but that’s because such a notion doesn’t make a good story – any more than being a successful parent does. It’s only when something extraordinary happens - for better or worse - that there’s a story that the media want to use.
The Nature of Coaching It’s useful to consider the stages of skill acquisition of a developing athlete. It’s usually described in sporting literature as having three stages, in the following order: 1. Understanding. The athlete is taught what it is he/she has to do to participate in the sport; 2. Association. The athlete learns what skills are associated with success in the sport. This can be a very exciting time, and a very timeconsuming one. It can also last a long time. Notions such as “talented” start to emerge (with all their consequences). 3. Autonomy. The athlete becomes mechanically efficient and co-ordinated, and learns to process information very quickly, “without thinking”. Observers start to use such words as “co-ordinated”, “smooth”, “effortless” and “appears to have all the time in the world” to describe some athletes. Dedication to the sport is a trait that emerges here – if it hasn’t already – because the athlete must make the effort to test his/her skills in a world that contains distractions, adverse conditions and external factors of many kinds. It’s in this stage that an athlete’s performances are judged against the performances of others – sometimes in a way that is critical. The athlete also has to deal with the expectations of others, including friends, parents, other athletes and coaches. This is the stage where relationships are most at risk of breaking down.
Parenting Parents, do you recognize the above? Is that scenario any different to parenting? From my experience as a parent of two (who are each now parents of two of their own), I think not. I think most parents could relate to those stages in the development of their offspring.
Parents as Coaches So why is it that we find many parents coaching in stages one and two above, but very few at stage three (the “elite” stage)? One answer is that parents lack the technical skill and experience to do the job, unless they have been elites themselves. However, consider the following proposition: when a “talented” child reaches the age where the child’s talents outstrip those of the parent (which is common enough), does the parent stop being a parent? No. A dutiful parent will adopt a different parenting role, one that will support offspring in their endeavours, using others to provide expert support when/where needed - music teachers, gym teachers, dance teachers and the like. There’s every reason why a 26 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
parent should take on the role of a high performance coach, because that’s what high performance coaches do – they organize experts in relevant areas to support their athletes in what they need to develop. In English soccer they call such people “managers”. It’s always seemed a better term to me because they are fundamentally managers of people.
Teachers as Coaches Teachers probably have a head start over others because teachers receive extensive training for their role. The first rule of teaching – albeit oversimplified – goes something like this: “It doesn’t matter what you do, it’s what your pupils can do that matters”. Teachers are taught how to teach others to develop themselves, just like we high performance coaches have to do for our athletes. It’s not we coaches who are performing on the world’s stage whilst trying to cope with the realities of life: bank balances, relationships, careers and the like. It’s our athletes that have to do it. We organize the support crew.
Parents vs Teachers as Coaches Formal training in parenting doesn’t exist, as far as I know. If it did, I wonder how much would come from the manual of training of a modern teacher?
Qualifications for Coaching I have argued that parenting is preparation for coaching because parenting trains a person in how to support another person’s development, albeit by the BE (Bachelor of Experience) route. It follows that those who are both parents and trained teachers have the ideal preparation for coaching. The big problem is – after doing all that – can they muster enough energy to do it all over again? Coaching can be so rewarding, but who coaches (supports) the coach?
OR I ENTEER I N G PUBL I CATI ON S IOF Publications
Australian Publications
International Specifications for‑Orienteering Maps . . . . . . . . . . $11.00 Competition rules for IOF events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11.00 Control Descriptions. . . . . . . . . . . . $11.00 Simple Maps for Orienteering . . . . $11.00 Trail Orienteering (BOF book) . . . . . $30.00 Trail Orienteering (booklet). . . . . . . . $8.25 Trail O (leaflet) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $0.70
Elementary Orienteering Instructors‑Manual. $13.20 Level 1 Coaching Manual. . . . . . . . $22.00 Level 1 Coaching Syllabus. . . . . . . . $3.90 Level 2 Coaching Syllabus. . . . . . . . $4.40 Level 3 Coaching Syllabus. . . . . . . . $4.40 Among the Best Orienteers (video).$19.75 Sponsorship & Advertising, 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . available from states Club Guide, available on disc.
Prices include GST and postage within Australia for single copies. Prices for bulk orders available on request. Orders should be addressed to Orienteering Australia, PO Box 740, Glebe, NSW 2037, with cheques made payable to Orienteering Australia. Email: orienteering@dsr.nsw.gov.au
SPORT PSYCHOLOGY
Jason McCrae – Intern Psychologist
Focussing on the process and enjoying your Orienteering Jason McCrae
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N most individual sports a competitor can measure their own performance through things other than winning or losing – a golfer can lower their score around the course, swimmers, runners and cyclists can lower their times for certain distances and field athletes can throw or jump higher or further. The best in these sports aim for Personal Best (PB) times/scores/throws etc. In Orienteering however every course, terrain or race is different. For most orienteers the only measure used is comparing our race with other competitors (results) or perhaps, as is commonly done post-run, through how many mistakes one has made.
Outcome Focus Setting goals and subsequently measuring performance for races based on results is what is known in Sport Psychology as having an “outcome focus”. Too much of an outcome focus can be a deterrent to success. The outcome of any race is contingent on a lot more than just you – there is a lot about the outcome that is out of your control such as how well your competitors run, the mapping, the course set, the particular terrain on the day, the start times allocated or just plain old luck! The only thing you have any control over is your actions and thoughts while actually orienteering. Getting anxious over outcomes you can’t control is often detrimental to performance.
Process Focus Successful sports people, and successful orienteers, overcome this by using a few simple steps to measure their race by more than just whether they beat Dave Lotty or not. The following are some tips that might ensure in this State Champs season you get some PBs of your own, enjoy your Orienteering and you might even find your results improve also. 1. Make a special effort to enjoy your Orienteering. Every time I go Orienteering, and especially at Carnival races, I see and hear orienteers complaining about their race, how many mistakes they made and how Dave Lotty (or insert any competitor name you like!) beat them. It makes me wonder why some of us go Orienteering at all! By making an aim of your Orienteering to enjoy it you might actually have a bit more fun! Additionally you will probably forget about a few of your other worries (especially about the race results) and consequently perform better.
Tasmania’s Hanny Allston focussing on the process of reading her map, despite obvious distractions, at the JWOC Sprint in Switzerland this year.
2. Set one or two goals for each race/run that are focused on how you want to orienteer and write them down. These might be something like “I’m going to have an attack point for each control” or “I’m going to slow down each time I go into the detail”. Then when you finish your run, before you look at the results board, have a look at the goals you set and give yourself a score out of 10 (1 being ordinary and 10 being perfect) on how well you executed these skills. This will ensure that even if your result is poor you can at least gain some satisfaction about how well you performed these particular skills. If you performed the skills poorly (say gave yourself a score less than 5/10) well at least you’ve got something to improve upon next run/race! 3. Maintain a present-moment focus. Stay centred on the here and now, and direct your energy and attention to the task you are performing. If you find yourself thinking too far ahead/stressing/worrying possibly about outcomes, ask yourself “What should I be doing right now?” There will always be a simple answer to that question (e.g., finding the next control, looking at my compass, relaxing and enjoying myself ). The answer is NOT “stressing and worrying”. Once you have identified the answer to that question, do the answer! In other words, if you realise you have slipped back into outcome focusing, set yourself an immediate 5-minute goal. Make it something simple and practical and constructive. Stay focused on the goal. Become immersed in it. Enjoy your orienteering this Spring and keep your mind on the process. This article was based on the work of Dr. Michelle Austin, Sport Psychologist at the ACT Academy of Sport. Jason McCrae is a registered Intern Psychologist in the ACT currently completing his Masters in Psychology. He is also OA’s Manager (High Performance) and a keen M21Sledge competitor. He can be contacted on Jason.McCrae@act.gov.au
SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 27
TOP END CHAMPIONSHIPS
Jeffa Lyon helps with the results
Sunset at East Point after the warm-up event.
Trewin, Haarsma inaugural NT Champions The very first Northern Territory Championships went off very successfully in early July, with about 120 competitors gathered from all parts of Australia and beyond (including a significant New Zealand contingent). It was a new Orienteering experience for all the visitors – which is why most of them were there. It was also a very enjoyable one for most, although many found the courses long, particularly as the weather, in addition to being as hot as everyone expected it to be, was also rather more humid than is usual for the middle of the “dry” season. Blair Trewin reprts: 28 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
NT Champs course setter Jon Potter presents land custodian Speedy McGinness with an orienteering map of his land (holding it upside down though)
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HE action opened with an afternoon event at East Point, a popular Darwin reserve, which gave competitors their first chance to experience the local forest, as well as mangroves and mudflats (neither as formidable as they looked at first glance, but it was the middle of the “dry”). The real reason most were there, though, was the Championships event the next day. This was at Lok Cabay, about 100 kilometres south of Darwin, and provided an interesting variety of terrain – low rocky ridges typical of much of the Top End, flat blacksoil plains in between (with some very big termite mounds – anything shorter than 2 metres didn’t rate as worthy of the mapper’s attention - some were up to 3.5 metres), and in the middle of it all some very complex areas of stromatolite rocks. In addition to being highly interesting from a geological point of view, these made for some good Orienteering, being large detailed boulders in the middle of essentially flat terrain. Overlaying all of this was standard Top End vegetation – a dense grass understorey everywhere that wasn’t burnt. About 90% of the area was burnt (something normal in the Top End, where most areas experience a burn of some kind every dry season), and some competitors who took a straight line across some light green on the way to the last control were left wishing they hadn’t!
TOP END CHAMPIONSHIPS It is an area which is normally difficult to get access to, and our ability to use it owed a lot to Top End Orienteers’ excellent relationship with the traditional owners, which extended to a much-enjoyed bush tucker night the evening before the event. The elite fields were thinner than might have been hoped for, given the possibilities that Darwin offered for hot-weather training en route to the World Championships. M21A was still reasonably competitive for two-thirds of the race. Rob Vincent, keeping pace with Blair Trewin through the middle third, was less than five minutes in arrears with 4km to go, but that gap blew out over the last part of the course, in the distance range that M21s are used to running and M45s aren’t. Vincent was second, but his time was just pipped by Murray Scown, running the same course in M20A. Kay Haarsma was the only finisher in W21A after her lone competitor (TEO local Katie Webby) pulled out with a bad leg gash, requiring a quick trip up to Darwin Hospital. W35 Mani Berghout got close to her on the same course in one of the better local performances of the day. Amongst the older age groups, the best race was in M60, where three New South Welshmen fought out a close battle, Dave Lotty scoring by two minutes over Ron Junghans and Dick Ogilvie. M65 was also close with Barry Sampson just ahead of Neville Cobbold, whilst there were
also strong performances from Leigh Privett (M50) and Paul Hoopmann (M55). The New Zealand women had a good day with two wins, to Ann Scott (W65) and Bunny Rathbone (W60) and four other placings. Sue Healy upset Maureen Ogilvie in W70, Lynn Dabbs had one of the day’s better runs in W50, and only 25secs separated second, third and fourth in W55, with Carol Jacobson taking the runner-up’s position behind Jennie Bourne. The competition week finished with a rogaine at Adelaide River the next weekend (with a few hair-raising stories heard about nocturnal river crossings, uncrossable rivers being something to be taken seriously in that part of the world thanks to the local wildlife). The rest of us spent the week admiring the terrain to be found elsewhere in the Top End (and, in the best Orienteering tradition, trying to work out which bits would be worth mapping given the chance). It was a week with a difference but one which just about everyone was glad to have done, and definitely worth doing in the future if you want something very different to the Orienteering you’ve experienced in the southern states.
Joel Sullivan during the East Point event - Joel is a TEO junior and came 3rd on the short course
Bush tucker provided by the Acacia community
Susi’s reflections THE success of the NT Championships carnival was due in no small way to the energy and enthusiasm of Top End’s Susi Bertei. With the carnival over and most of the dust now settled, Susi reminisces: Some of my enduring memories include: • East Point: Everyone descending on us - some coming straight from the airport! Meeting all the faces whose names I knew quite well by then. Quite a number of visitors opting down a course, from long to medium, or medium to short – the heat factor always gets you … • We had a special prize for Maureen Olgilvie, who had quite a few people worried when she hadn’t returned from her short 3km course after a lengthy time. Turns out she was new to the scatter-O format and though she needed just 8 of the 22 controls, she ended up getting them all! We created a new ‘extra long’ category just for her. • Bush Tucker Dinner was an experience not to forget, local wildlife including wallaby, goose, turkey and various fish cooked in the ground in the traditional manner. Our chefs were from Acacia community, neighbours of Lok Cabay custodian Speedy McGinness. • NT Champs: Locals enjoyed the chance to participate in a more upscale event, making comment about both the number of extra orienteers and extra controls dotted around. • Visitors loved the different terrain, the 4+ metre termite mounds, and the unique stromatolite formations. Many went back for a walk among the stromatolites afterwards; some went back for a good look the following morning. It’s easy to understand how they can be seen as sacred. We were so fortunate to be allowed to get in among them; orienteers were seen by the landowners to be caring and sensitive. • Jon Potter negotiated permission for us to run on this land, set the courses, made the control stands, etc, etc; spending untold hours to make this event a success. Was it he who enticed ‘Southerners’ and ‘Kiwis’ to come to Darwin when he attended events interstate? • The fact that Orienteering is “a sport for all ages” was clearly demonstrated by the number of entries in M65A, M70A, M75A, W65A, W70A, & W75A categories. It’s always inspirational to see them out there competing.
Locals who did well include: • Mani Berghout who won W35A despite hobbling around the last few controls with an ankle injury, posting a very creditable time only 9 mins behind W21A winner Kay Haarsma (same course). • Marj King with stiff opposition just 3 mins out of 2nd place in W55A. • Juniors Joel Sullivan in M16B and Kelly Bertei in M12A who both won their classes on challenging courses. • Isabel Guthridge in W10A – first time competing on her own, and Gordon Campbell in M10N – first official orienteering event ever. • Other impressive performances: Bunny Rathbone from NZ running up 2 classes and winning W60A, Owen Coffee from SA winning the challenging M14A course, Max Earnshaw age 7 from PAPO (NZ) winning M10N. • Breakdown of entries by state/country: NT 45; NSW 24; SA 19; Vic 14; NZ 12; ACT 10; Qld 6; WA 2; UK/Ireland 2. The “feel good” story of the NT Championships involves a young lad who competed in the M10N class and a very kind and caring official. The young fellow came in after being out on the course for about an hour appearing hot, distressed and upset since he hadn’t managed to locate the first control in that time so had turned back “empty handed”. After consultation the official suggested that they go for a drive in his car to the area where the elusive control was located. The extra height gained by being in the car seat enabled our young competitor to see the control easily and he jumped out of the car and finished the course. There are several very impressive lessons here. The action of the official ensured that the boy had a positive and enhancing experience associated with the NT Championships and Orienteering in general, in contrast to negative feelings and low self-esteem that he would have suffered had the official not helped in that way. The young lad is most likely going to come back and compete in future events now, where otherwise he may have been lost to the sport forever – assuming that he was no good at it. The young lad should be congratulated as well since he had the eagerness and tenacity to finish the course after the initial unfortunate start. The lad showed the characteristics of a true NT Champion! SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 29
L E T T E R S co n t i nued NT Championships Thank-you Top End Orienteers
Selecting Elite Women
THE enthusiastic Top End Orienteering club put on a carnival of events, including the inaugural NT Championships. There was a warm-up scatter event in Darwin, a night event and a 24 hour rogaine in crocodile country at Adelaide River. We enjoyed a BBQ before the Championships, with a huge variety of foodstuff (roo, buffalo, barramundi, goose, sugar plums ...) cooked aboriginal style. I entered W21 to get a look at the whole “Lok Cabay” map and really enjoyed myself. There were unique and detailed rock formations; featureless black soil plains; huge termite mounds; some spur gully terrain that was dangerously rocky underfoot; and just between the last control and the finish, a marshy bog! Most of the terrain had been burnt to make it more runnable, which is an unusual job for a course setter! A little had not been burnt, and had very restricted visibility. “Speedy,” the aboriginal caretaker of the land on which the event was held, was extremely welcoming and said that it was great to show this unique area to so many people. At the presentation, when it was stated that M21 ran 13 kilometres, he piped up with: “You ran 13 kms and still didn’t find my cows!” Was it worth the effort to journey north? Just for the Orienteering alone, a resounding yes. Throw in some great sightseeing spots (especially Surprise Falls in Litchfield); monotonously tremendous sunny, warm weather; some unique wildlife - an excellent time was had by all, I’m sure. I rode my bike around for two weeks with no tent and a minimum of equipment - great touring area. I sighted up close - buffalo, wild horses, crocodiles, barramundi, boars, dingo, snakes, brolgas, cane toads, kites and a great variety of birdlife. So a big thank-you to Susi Bertei, Jon Potter and all the other Top End people who not only made the O carnival possible but who put in all the hard yards to make it just that extra bit special. Where else would you get a choice of a buffalo or barramundi burger for your after-event lunch? Or a rogaine starting in a small town (Adelaide River) where you can drop in for a shower and a beer halfway round? So, if you get a chance next year think about going to “the top end” for an O event and holiday - you won’t be disappointed. Perhaps I’m too much of a dreamer, but wouldn’t it be good to have an Easter or Aus Champs up that way, in the dry season of course! Throw parts of the OA manual away - make it simple and achievable by having less courses and less classes and open up new horizons for the Orienteering masses. Kay Haarsma
Sandgropers in Norway YES, we have just returned from rambling across Norway and managed to include two Orienteering events - the Norsk O Festival and the Sorlandsgaloppen 6-Day. If good terrain is what you want from Orienteering then this is the place to go. Every day had very challenging map reading in delightful surroundings. Like many multi-day events some of the shorter courses had more track running than the longer ones, as the Assembly / Finish is placed near facilities. One day had a real coffee shop and restaurant at the finish! The events had several interesting aspects, some of which we can apply in Australia. All of the courses on the 6-Day were fairly short, and three of the days were much shorter than the rest. So for instance M21 Open ran 3 days of 7.5km and 3 days 30 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
SINCE the day the ACT Minister of Sport congratulated Orienteering on its high levels of female participation moments before announcing the 1999 Australian World Championship Team to compete in Great Britain comprising six men and five women, I’ve felt that something isn’t quite right with elite selection for World Championships. In fact, six years and five WOCs later, Australia has only once sent a team comprising the full quota of six female athletes, yet has sent six men to each event. This equates to 30 men’s positions in our teams compared to just 26 for women. Not only does this clearly deny some elite women the opportunity to represent Australia at the highest level (and hence impact upon their ability to perform well at future WOCs), sending smaller women’s teams to compete in what is now a four discipline event (sprint, middle, long and relay) leaves those who have been selected more vulnerable to illness or injury, and increases the risk of diminished performance as a result of fatigue. Whilst I support the policy of selecting less than the permitted number of runners if “insufficient persons of the required standard are available for selection” (OA Operational Manual, Section 3.1, 2.2.9), I find it impossible to believe that Australia has only had six women of the required standard on one occasion in the last five World Championships. A worrying attitude that I have observed through many years of competing in elite races and following elite results (a view often expressed in conversations around the results board) is that when a male competitor wins a trial or race by a number of minutes, he has been ‘dominant’, whereas when a female competitor does the same, it is merely indicative of a ‘lack of depth’ in the women’s field. Is it possible that our selectors share the same double standard? I certainly hope not. Not only do I consider this situation impractical and inappropriate, I believe it contradicts the OA’s own gender equality policy which clearly states the following: “The Orienteering Federation of Australia (OFA) is committed to encouraging policies and practices which provide equal opportunity for women and girls to participate in all aspects of orienteering. The OFA will encourage its affiliated state organisations to undertake a similar commitment.” (OA Operational Manual, section 4.5) “All aspects” of Orienteering surely includes representation at the highest level. Cathy McComb (NSW)
Eoin Rothery & Cath Chalmers
of 4.0km, while W55+ ran 3 x 3.5km and 3 x 2.1km. This left a lot of time for sightseeing unless you got bushed! I think it worked quite well in helping people get through the week. All of the maps were 1:7,500 which reflected both the short courses and the very detailed terrain. With 2,000 competitors starts went from 10 am till about 1:15pm and there didn’t seem to be any order to it. Even if there were only a few people in each class they were still spread through the day. Maps weren’t collected at the finish so they were relying on people’s honesty not to check out the map and course beforehand. Perfectly reasonable. Entry fees were reasonable too, especially for Norway, with about $10 for kids and $22 for adults each day. The event had many sponsors, some quite heavyweight - Opel
(General Motors), Scania and one of the main banks (Sparebank 1). This allowed the organisers to be exceedingly generous with prizes - for each day and the overall (4 best events). The kids classes were especially looked after. There was a special class for under 10’s the “Smatroll” or “small troll”. Trolls are little, hospitable, ugly, forest dwelling creatures with a sense of humour. The courses were on magnified maps and were very easy but not stringed all the way. There was lots of parent shadowing going on. The sheer number of under 10’s participating was staggering and of course there was a “Barnparkering” area where parents could park their barns (children). The Smatroll and all of the 10, 11 and 12 age classes had a red slash through their number
and received prizes on reaching the finish hats, T shirts, games and swimming goggles featured and were very popular. This also applied to the “N--Open” novice class which ran an easy, introductory course and was for any age, entry on the day. While entry on the day wasn’t available for the other classes, anyone could enter any class up to 8pm the night before on payment of a staggered late entry fee (0 for under 10, $5 for children, $10 for adults). Entry on the day was possible for 3 “Direct” courses which ranged from 2 to 5km. Changes in any entries were also possible, again for the payment of a nominal fee. The emphasis was on enjoyment, flexibility and a wish to cater for whatever the competitors wanted to do. Isn’t that what we all want from Orienteering (most of the time?).
HIGH PERFORMANCE
Mike Dowling, OA Director, High Performance
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for our talented junior athletes. All States are represented in large measure although it is fair to say we do need to work with some States to build their depth of competitors. The adoption of new National League funding arrangements this year is a response by Orienteering Australia to support the continued development of the National League. We have established the superb ACTAS Orienteering program as our National Training Centre and this will be the core underpinning aspect of future development and support for our top athletes. States are building their capacity to provide structured training and support opportunities for their National League teams and particular reference should be made to the great work outside of the ACT in this area by Queensland and Western Australia. We have made some very good progress in developing an elite coaching network and there is no doubt that our athletes are becoming more cognisant of the need to be supported by good coaching in order to achieve competitive aims. Nev Bleakley as the Manager National Coaching Programs has done much to encourage this improving coaching culture. We are making better use of technology to monitor training outcomes through the use of GPS based systems at our National Training Centre at ACTAS. In addition, individual athletes who have scholarships through other Institutes of Sport such as the TIS are also beginning to use such technologies as an aid to improving training outcomes.
S I sit in front of the computer tapping out this edition’s HP column the fantastic news of Hanny Allston gaining a bronze medal in the Middle Distance and the 4th place by Julian Dent in the Long Distance has made for a superb World Junior Championships for our Junior Team and for the World Championship competitive season for our other teams. Living in the same town as Hanny you get a great understanding of the dedication and commitment required to medal at a World Championships – it’s a very fine reward for many hours of hard work.
The High Performance Strategic Plan Readers will have often seen in this column mention made of the High Performance Strategic Plan. Having such a plan is a part of our agreement with the Australian Sports Commission, our principal external funding provider, where we are obliged to formulate the strategic plan to determine the policy direction of our high performance programs. The current strategic plan expires at the end of this year. It is timely to provide a brief overview of the current plan and measure our successes against the stated aims of the plan. The plan evolved from a desire to improve the international competitive standing of Australian orienteering and much of the credit for this initial vision is due to Nev Bleakley and Bob Mouatt.
Strategic Plan Key Result Areas The strategic plan identified 8 key areas, which were: 1. National Teams: To form men’s and women’s teams that will finish in the top six in the World Championships relay competitions and for individuals to win medals in the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships in Victoria in 2004 and the [foot] World Orienteering Championships in Japan in 2005, if not before. 2. National Orienteering League: To have a National League that offers the best competitors from all States and New Zealand well organised and technically demanding races against quality fields. 3. National Training Network: To have a network of National and Regional Training Centres through Australia that serves the needs of elite Orienteering nationally and in each State. These will provide the opportunity for elite orienteers to have ready access to high quality areas for training, as well as the opportunity to study and/or develop a career. The program will be co-ordinated by a National Training Centre at the ACT Academy of Sport, Canberra. 4. Elite Coaching Network: To have a well-established and effective elite coaching network that serves the needs of elite Orienteering nationally and in each State. 5. Support Staff: To have a pool of support staff who excel in their field of expertise and provide value to elite programs. 6. Video and Technology: To use video and other high technology to identify areas for improving athletes’ performance. 7. Media: To raise the profile of Australian elite Orienteering through increased promotion and media coverage and have a pool of athletes with well-developed media skills. 8. Resources: To have sufficient resources to execute the program.
Key Achievements In looking at these key result areas we can identify some key areas of success. In respect of National Teams the 2004 MTBO team achieved fantastic success with numerous medals highlighted by the gold medal winning performance by Adrian Jackson. As you read this column we will know the outcomes of the 2005 World Championships in Japan and hopefully we have enjoyed a measure of success. There is no doubt in my mind that the athletes involved will have put their very best foot forward in any case. In addition, performances by athletes such as David BrickhillJones in the first round of the World Cup this year and our emerging talented juniors Hanny Allston and Julian Dent this year again prove that Australians are more that capable of being internationally competitive. We now have a well-established National League complemented by the implementation of a junior division to provide an enhanced pathway
Key Directions 2006-08? What are our key directions for the next three-year period? The respective High Performance Management Groups are currently formulating these but from my own personal view the following areas should be under consideration: • The continued development of quality athlete training systems to further build our international competitiveness. • Working with States to continue to build the depth of participation of athletes from all States in our National League and the subsequent development of competitive depth. • A continued development of partnerships with New Zealand to further develop regional competition for our top line competitors. • The development of a MTBO National League complemented by a developing network of State-based high participation competitions. • The further development of an active high performance coaching network for our World Championship teams, State National League teams and individual athletes as an essential underpinning of achieving high level competitive outcomes. We also should not ignore the particularly hard aspects of Orienteering in the areas of working to improve our profile in the wider community and seeking out opportunities to access new resources to underpin more ambitious aspects of our future planning. The High Performance Management Groups naturally welcome input from all stakeholders and the broader Orienteering community. If you would like to have some input into the development of the new strategic plan, your thoughts are always welcome. Contact your HP Director, Mike Dowling, by phoning 03-6244 7073 or via email at mdowling@tassie. net.au
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SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 31
Gillian Woodward
NUTRITION
Ergogenic aids in sport – do they really work?
T
HERE has been some media debate in recent months regarding the pros and cons of athletes taking performance enhancing drugs. Well let’s take a look at just a few of the products that athletes are commonly using today and see if they could be useful in the sport of Orienteering. Firstly, we must define the term nutritional ergogenic aid - it is a supplement containing a nutrient or food-related substance, consumed in the hope of an immediate boost to performance. Generally, it aims to produce a pharmacological or legal drug-like action to improve work output. It should be backed up by a proposed mechanism that has been tested in scientific double-blind trials. However there is often reliance on theoretical or anecdotal support rather than documented scientific evidence. Ergogenic aids tend to be in or out of fashion and they are often extremely expensive. In common usage by sport enthusiasts today are products like caffeine, creatine, bicarbonate, glycerol, colostrum, carnitine, branchedchain amino acids, CoQ10 and Ginseng to name but a few. Of these, only the first four really have any scientifically proven ergogenic effects. Caffeine use has been around for over 100 years and its stimulant effects are well known. A dose of some 300-500 mg of caffeine consumed in the hour before an event may improve performance in prolonged aerobic exercise. This may be due to several factors including the sparing of muscle glycogen by increase in fat usage as a fuel, as well as the general increase in nervous stimulation which might mask fatigue. However, there are people who respond adversely to caffeine and those who don’t respond at all, so it is really only useful if you know you are a ‘caffeine responder’ – someone who experiences a pronounced performance boost from consuming it.
32 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
Creatine is still under the process of investigation, but there have been some reputable scientific studies showing benefits in athletes taking creatine phosphate supplements for particular short sprint-type sports lasting between 1-10 seconds. Studies have shown that creatine can improve recovery between repeated bouts of high intensity exercise but may not enhance the overall performance of aerobic or endurance sports. Bicarbonate has also been shown to be of use in high intensity anaerobic events lasting 1- 7 minutes, such as 800-1500m runs, 200-400 m swims and some rowing events. Bicarbonate acts as a buffer to help mop up the excess hydrogen ions that accumulate in the muscle with such activity. Many of the other ergogenic aids rely heavily on anecdotal evidence – an athlete’s testimony that it works, or on heavy advertising that is not scientifically based. Colostrum is one such example. It may be very good for new-born babies (as it is the mother’s first milk) to promote immunity and important growth factors, but there is really no good evidence to show that it can enhance performance, recovery or positively affect body composition, as has been promoted in its marketing. Colostrum supplementation is an example of just how expensive ergogenic aids can be - costing up to $70-$100/week. Glycerol is the one ergogenic aid that could possibly be of use in Orienteering, but mainly when competing in very warm and particularly humid conditions, when fluid availability is limited. Oral intakes of glycerol are rapidly absorbed and slowly metabolised by the kidneys and liver. A high fluid intake with the ingestion of glycerol can produce fluid retention of up to 600ml by reducing urinary output. The most effective intake to produce glycerol hyperhydration is 1-1.5g/kg body weight (BW) glycerol with 25 – 35ml/kg BW of fluid. Glycerol can be brought as glycerine solutions or special hyperhydration supplements. It may help in sports that contest fluid status and thermoregulation i.e. exercise in hot, humid atmospheres or exercise at high intensities, where sweat loss is elevated and rehydration is unavailable. Retaining that extra volume of fluid in the body may make the difference between being hydrated enough to think your way clearly to the next control, rather than making one of those horrendous errors that creep in late in a run. In summary, I would have to say that many athletes spend unnecessary (multi)dollars on supplements and aids that have no possibility of enhancing their performance. There is no magic quick fix that can make up for lack of training, fitness, talent, adequate sleep and recovery, optimal training diet or strong mental attitude in the athletic field. All of these factors have been proven to positively affect performance. My recommendation would be to work hard on all of these before resorting to any pills or potions. If readers have any questions about nutritional ergogenic supplements which they may be taking or considering, Gillian Woodward has offered to provide answers in the December edition of The Australian Orienteer. Just e-mail your questions to The Editor, mikehubbert@ozemail.com.au by October 7th.
t so No G R E AT L E G S
Swiss Enigma
Then, at the Nordic Championships in May in the Long-distance event Simone had a comfortable lead over Vroni Kõnig-Salmi for most of the race. At the spectator control 13 she punched 1min 06sec ahead. Then another huge mistake on the relatively easy control 14. Simone lost 3min 23sec on this control, losing the Nordic title by 1min 48sec.
Simone Niggli-Luder, multiple World Champion in 2003, Sprint World Champion in 2004, and holder of countless other Orienteering titles. Yet she makes some monumental mistakes, especially when under pressure.
At the 2005 World Cup round in UK last May, Simone won the Long-distance race by a very comfortable margin over compatriot Vroni KõnigSalmi. In the Middle-distance event Simone had a handy lead of 49 sec over Sweden’s Jenny Johansson to the 19th control. But on the short leg to 20 she lost 43 sec of that lead. Control 21 was OK but on the short leg to 22 she headed off in completely the wrong direction, lost another 26 sec to Johansson and lost the race by 23 sec.
Simone Niggli-Luder ponders her map. Photo: Miroslav Rygl
At Sweden’s Tio-Mila Relay Simone’s club Ulricehamns was defending their title from 2004. Simone ran the last leg against Karolina A Hõjsgaard. She followed “Karo” through most of the course, taking the lead on the way to 11. “I knew exactly where I was leaving the track”, she said. “I had a little hill as my attack point and just 50 metres on through the green will be the control by a stone. But I couldn’t find any stone. Then I saw one and ran towards it but no control. Suddenly I realised I couldn’t see Karo any more. I went in and out of the green, trying to relocate. I was getting nervous. The time was ticking against me.” She lost three minutes at control 11 and all that time spectators could see her helplessly searching for the control since she was wearing a GPS unit. And Ulricehamns had lost the race by 2min 59sec.
RED = Kõnig-Salmi ; BLUE = Niggli-Luder) Maps courtesy Orienteering Today and Skogssport
Above: Karo celebrates TioMila victory.
RED = Johansson ; BLUE = Niggli-Luder )
Left: Simone fitting GPS at TioMila
Simone hugs Vroni Kõnig-Salmi after the World Cup race
RED = Hõjsgaard ; BLUE = Niggli-Luder) SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 33
NIGHT-O
All Controls On Light Poles Debbie Dodd (DR-V) It’s 6.30pm on a cold, dark winter Wednesday evening, somewhere in the suburbs of Melbourne. In the corner of the car park of a shopping centre, sports ground or railway station, a small group is gathering. Objects appear out of car boots - tables, chairs, notice boards, parking signs, flags, a beeper clock, pens and cards. Stan and Sue arrive, and begin setting up the urn for tea, coffee and soup.
I
T’S been raining on and off during the afternoon, but as often happens at this time of day, the showers have cleared and a half moon appears from behind the clouds. Orienteers’ cars are trickling in, against the tide of departing commuters or shoppers picking up last minute grocery items. The aroma of pizza wafts from a nearby takeaway.
The course setter arrives, clutching a bundle of maps. It’s his first time course setting, and he casts an anxious eye over the gathering crowd. Has he printed enough copies? Attendances have settled at about 100 now that the colder weather has set in, but a spell of mild evenings earlier in the season saw numbers swell to over 150. This afternoon’s showers might deter some tonight, but orienteers are a hardy breed, and most will turn up regardless of the weather. It’s the beginning of the winter Iceberg series, and the name is appropriate. Fleece jackets, gloves and beanies abound. Competitors swing their arms and stamp their feet. Fingers are almost too numb to write names on control cards. Small groups cluster around the sample map; others chat about the previous weekend’s events. Everyone agrees that it’s TOO COLD and they should really be at home. By 6:55, the car park is full. Layers of clothing are reluctantly shed. Head torches are adjusted, and reflective vests or ankle bands put on. Watches are checked against the beeper clock’s bright red digital display. Some runners are warming up - stretching and slowly jogging. Some are still catching up with friends. 34 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
Time for the briefing. Series coordinator Peter Yeates reminds everyone that railway lines must not be crossed other than at designated crossings. Organisers consider competitor and public safety to be paramount; brightly coloured clothing is strongly encouraged, lighting at the start/ finish is provided, and course setters must ensure that their courses do not lead competitors through unlit parks or schools, or across busy roads without traffic or pedestrian lights nearby. Map quality is important too – with limited visibility, there needs to be a good contrast between black, white and grey areas. Seven pm. Maps are handed out face down, and the official time is announced. “Go!” cries the course setter, and they’re off! Runners and walkers alike hesitate for a few seconds as they briefly study the map, then peer group pressure takes over and they disappear into the darkness, the slower planners hurrying to catch up to their rivals. Like all night series events, this is a Score format with 20 controls on the map. There are three cut-off times for runners - 40, 50 or 60 minutes - and power walkers have until 8:05 to return. All the control plates have been chained to light poles. Some illumination makes punching easier and quicker. In daylight, it is much easier to plan an overall strategy from the outset. At night, the only light comes from a small torch beam or a street lamp. The usual method of attack is to find the nearest control, then the next, and the next - hoping that you made the right choice in those few seconds at the start, and that you can time your return correctly. The cold is soon forgotten as your heart rate accelerates. Numb fingers and toes warm up quickly. The crisp air is invigorating. There is too much going on in both mind and body to be concerned about the
NIGHT-O
chill; the focus switches to rapid decision making. Route choice is all that matters now. As you get further out on the map, you meet fewer and fewer competitors, until you start to wonder if you have made a serious error. Then at about the half-way mark, you suddenly see a steady stream of bobbing torch beams, all heading to the same control. Reassured, you press on, the body tiring but the brain working overtime, calculating and re-calculating distances, times, and points. Does the angle of that street cut off enough distance to compensate for the three contours you have to climb? If you get that 3-pointer control now, will you still have time for the 5-pointer later on? All that rapid thinking on the move certainly blows away the cobwebs that have built up over a day cooped up indoors. You look at your watch for what seems like the thousandth time. As you finally sprint across the car park to the finish table, you hear the beeps, but it’s OK, you still have a minute to spare. Pity you missed that last control though. If only you’d gone west at the start instead of north … The chilly air cools you down almost instantly - time to find warm clothes and grab a mug of soup. Thank goodness for the Gurmans - it wouldn’t be the same without a hot drink at the finish from Stanley’s Steamer. Your rivals cluster around, eager to find out where you went
and how many points you amassed. You shrug off your minor mistakes - after all, there’s another event just around the corner. You’ll do even better next week. Gradually the car park empties. Some head off for dinner together; some grab pizza from the takeaway; some set out to collect the controls; others just head on home. “See you next week!” is the cry. “Yeah - see you then!” We’ll all be back. Wouldn’t miss it for the world! (Ed – attendances even in the depths of winter are averaging over 100 per event.)
A one-year subscription (7 issues) of Orienteering Today $A88, payable to The Australian Orienteer. Send to PO Box 165, Warrandyte, Victoria 3113
SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 35
SOUTH AUST SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIPS
Close finishes at inaugural SA Snap Printing Sprint Championships John Williams SNAP Printing sponsored this new event, and the Flinders University venue was close to ideal, offering good spectator viewing and challenging terrain, allowing thoughtful course setting, provided by Adrian Uppill for the organising club, Onkaparinga Hills. Courses were planned with many common legs to allow for comparison of splits; in an early leg competitors had to choose an ‘over or under’ the bridge route: under was probably about 10 seconds faster - the field split 50/50 on this. Fewer than 50 took part, maybe because of perceptions of what “sprint” implied, and the M17-39 field was weakened by the absence of Conrad Elson and Lachlan Hallett, while the W16 and W40+ classes each had only three entrants. There were few surprises, apart from the W17-39, with Vanessa Round 3rd and Rebecca Hembrow 5th behind Zebedy Hallett (7.4mins per km) who was one minute ahead of Mallory Hughes. Simon Uppill’s 2min 25secs win in the M17-39 (6.0 minutes per km ) was outstanding, with new schools team coach John Nieuwenhoven, in second place - also meritorious. Tristan Lee, third, looks to be the only orienteer with the speed to threaten Uppill’s dominance. The closest race was in M16, with Rory McComb (1st), Sean Hooper and Andrew Mogridge all within 5 secs for their 2.6km course, while in M40 Andrew McComb (7.0 mins per km) had to fight off an in-form M55 Paul Hoopmann, winning by only nine seconds. Heinz Leuenberger had his best run for the year in holding out Steve Hicks for third. In W16 and W40+, Marissa Lee and Robin Uppill easily won their classes, with Robin, 34 years older than Marissa, running only 2min 41secs slower for the same 2.3km course! At the presentation, Onkaparinga Hills President, David Tilbrook, thanked Robert Smith and Snap Printing for supporting the event during the whole Sprint-O ‘season’, and for supplying gold, silver and bronze mugs to the place-getters. Robert also presented awards to the winners of the Snap Printing Series, Lachlan and Zebedy Hallett.
Simon Uppill planning his route to the first control.
Section of the Flinders University map by Adrian Uppill.
Bryn McComb about to start, assisted by Vern Hembrow and John Such.
36 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2005
Labouring up a long steep hill during the Long Distance Final at the World Champs in Japan. Hanny Allston third from camera. Photo: Bob Mouatt.
Troy de Haas during the Sprint Final in Japan where he finished in 7th place – the best finish yet by an Aussie male at Foot-O World Champs
Mondial Package
World Masters Orienteering Championships 2006 Wiener Neustadt, Austria “Orienteering Gold”
3-weeks package: 22.June-12.July 2006 preGAMES Salzburg, prolog in Vienna, WMOC & Prague Euro 2.050,- per person in double room Euro 2.650,- single room services included: • arrival in Munich – airporttransfers. • 20 overnights in 4-star hotels in Salzburg, Vienna, Wiener Neustadt and Prague. • buffetbreakfast. • transfers between the cities. • assistant guide on all transfers. • halfday city tour in Salzburg, Vienna and Prague. • 3-course dinner in traditional restaurant in Salzburg, Vienna and Prague.
Moldau Prague
“Orienteering Silver” 2-weeks package: 28.June-12.July 2006 prolog in Vienna, WMOC & Budapest
Euro 1.450,- per person in double room Euro 1.850,- single room services included: • arrival in Vienna – airporttransfers. • 14 overnights in 4-star hotels in Vienna, Wiener Neustadt and Budapest. • buffetbreakfast. • transfers between the cities. • assistant guide on all transfers. • halfday city tour in Vienna and Budapest. • 3-course dinner in traditional restaurant in Vienna and Budapest.
Hofburg Vienna
Rates are valid for groups of minimum 15 persons. FITs on request. Flights not included. For further information and booking please contact: Mr Kenneth Pils tel: + 43|1|58804-139 fax: + 43|1|58804-195 mail: pils@mondial.at web: www.mondial.at SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 37
TOP EVENTS 2005
2007
Sept. 5-11 World MTB-O Championships Banska Bystrica, Slovakia www.orienteering.sk/mtbo2005
Sept 19-24 Region 3 (Asia-Pacific) RadiO Champs, Agano City, Japan www.jarl.or.jp/2005r3ardf/
April 6-15 “Burra to Barossa 2007” Aust 3Days & Middle-dist Champs, SA www.oasa.asn.au/2007
July 7-14 WMOC 2007 Kuusamo, Finland www.wmoc2007.fi/
Sept 24-Oct 2 Tassie East Coast Escape inc Tas Champs, Schools Champs & Aust Champs. Hobart to St. Helens www.tasorienteering.asn.au
July 7-15 JWOC 2007 Carnival, incl NSW Champs, Aus Champs & Schools Champs, Dubbo, NSW. http:// orienteering.asn.au/events
Nov 19-20 AUS MTB-O Champs, Maryborough & Bendigo, Victoria www.ozmtbo.com
July O-Ringen Sweden
Dec 27-31 Snowy Christmas 5 Days, Jindabyne, NSW
July WMTB-O 2007 Milovy, Czech Republic
August 16-26 WOC 2007 Kiev, Ukraine e-mail: sopova@i.com.ua
2006
April 14-17 Australian 3-Days, Castlemaine, Victoria
October 4 Australian Sprint Championships, Canberra
April 14-17 Australian Middle Dist Champs, Inglewood, Victoria
October 6-7 Oceania Championships, Canberra
May 7-14 European Championships Otepaa, Estonia www.orienteerumine.ee/EOC2006
November Australian MTB-O Championships, NSW
December Christmas 5 Days, NSW
July 1-7 WMOC 2006 Wiener Neustadt, Austria www.wmoc06.com/
July 2-7 JWOC 2006, Druskininkai, Lithuania www.losf.lt/jwoc2006
July 8-15 Tour O Swiss www.tour-o-swiss.ch
July 9-14 World MTB-O Champs, Joensuu, Finland. mtbwoc2006.orienteering.org
July 15-22 Swiss O Week 2006 Zermatt, Switzerland www.sow2006zermatt.ch
July 16-21 O-Ringen, Halsingland, Sweden (250 km north of Stockholm) www.oringen.com
July 29-Aug 5 WOC 2006 and Danish WOC Tour 6-Days, Aarhus, Denmark www.woc2006.dk/
29 Sept-12 Oct Australian Championships Carnival York, Western Australia http://wa.orienteering.asn.au/ auschamps 2006
10-12 Oct Australian MTB-O Championships Collie, Western Australia http://wa.orienteering.asn.au/ auschamps 2006
Dec 27-31
Christmas 5 Days, NSW
Dec 29-31
APOC 2006, Hong Kong
Ori e n t e e r i n g A ustralia photo archive PETER CUSWORTH maintains an archive of the digital photo files which have been used in The Australian Orienteer. These photo files can be made available for press releases or special promotional projects. Any material costs will be passed on to users. Contact Peter on 03 5968 5254 or cusworth@netspace.net.au 38 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
Danish WOC Tour 2006 –
Test your Orienteering Skills against the Best in the World! BOOK the dates 29th July to 5th August 2006 in your diaries now! This is the period of the mid-Jutland Orienteering Festival, comprising the 2006 World Championships and the Danish WOC Tour - 6 days of topquality Orienteering in the best of Jutland’s forests. We have arranged the program so that you can experience everything – running in the WOC Tour, supporting your national team in all the WOC competitions and enjoying tourist and social activities to suit all tastes. Ideal for your 2006 Club Tour We’re looking forward to welcoming masses of visitors from other countries to the Orienteering Festival. Our aim is to stage one of the bestever World Championships for both competition quality and spectator value. And the WOC Tour will use 4 of the WOC competition forests, with a scoring system which will ensure an exciting final day when the Danish WOC Tour Champions in each class will be found. There are plenty of good campsites, hostels and hotels in this picturesque area of lakes and wooded hills – ideal for next year’s club tour! The Danish WOC Tour invitation is now published and in circulation, and you can find it in full on the website www.woc2006.dk. We encourage you to enter as a club or group on-line; an entry form can also be downloaded from the website. You can enter for all 6 days or just the last 4. Note that we are giving a 30% discount on entry fees and related services for all entries received by the end of November this year, and there is still 15% off for entries received by the end of March. Now is the time to make your plans, so that you don’t miss out on those huge discounts! Clive Allen (on behalf of the WOC 2006 organising team)
Scottish 6-Days 2007 THE web site for the 2007 Scottish 6-Days event is now live. The web address is www.scottish6days.com/ Click on the event logo on the home page to be directed to “Spey 2007”.
TOP EVENTS
Australian Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships 2005 THE Australian MTB-O Championships are to be held in central Victoria on the weekend of November 19 and 20th and varied terrain is promised for the two events – the Long-distance and the Middle-distance Championships. This appealing area of Central Victoria with its Gold Rush heritage offers both historic towns and modern wine regions to explore for relaxation post-event. The Long-distance event will be staged on Wildflower Hill which was the venue for a Selection Trial for the Australian Team in September 2004. David Searle, with fastest time for the day, declared it to be an “awesome area” and “really challenging for MTB-O” – a view echoed by all those competing on the day. Yet this rugged bushland is within 5 km of the CBD of the City of Greater Bendigo! Presenting a reasonable intensity of track structure, the area is classic spur-gully terrain with varying grades of steepness that will certainly and frequently pose for competitors the question of route choice on the basis of climb vs. distance. The Middle-distance event will be staged at Mosquito Flat, Maryborough in the area used for the Relays of the World MTB-O Championships in October 2004. It will be the first opportunity since then for riders to sample the intricate track network which was conquered by the Finns, who won Gold in both the Men’s and Women’s event; and also by the Australians, who collected a pair of Bronze medals on the day. This Championship will be part of a special Commonwealth Games sporting celebration day in Maryborough. The area is open forest; the terrain is gently undulating and the track surfaces are hard. Riders will have the chance to get up to top speed in many areas, but will need to be especially alert to the many navigational decisions required to successfully reach each control in the fastest possible manner. A separate Entry Form is available which provides information on Championship Classes, expected Winning Times along with the usual entry and cost details for the two events.
David Searle winning the Australian selection trial held at Wildflower Hill, Bendigo in 2004. Photo: Peter Cusworth
Mosquito Flat, Maryborough –1:15 000
Wildflower Hill, Bendigo –1:15 000
Give your event a
B O O S T !
Event advertisements in The Australian Orienteer go direct to the homes of registered orienteers in all states of Australia and give a widespread boost to perception of your event. The special advertising rates are modest and would be covered by just a few extra entries. Mike Hubbert, Editor and Advertising PO Box 165, Warrandyte, Victoria 3113 mikehubbert@ozemail.com.au Phone/fax (03) 9844 4878 SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 39
melbournebikes.com MARIN BOBCAT TRAIL Dual Disc and Adjustable Suspension
MTB-O
The Australian team for Slovakia THE MTB-O World Championship Team to race in Slovakia in September once again includes the mother and son combination of Carolyn and Adrian Jackson. Due to injuries and unavailablity, it will be a smaller team than represented Australia last year but carries with it a good deal of success and experience. The Team includes five previous MTB-O World Championships medal winners in Adrian, Alex Randall, Mary Fien, Carolyn and Anna Sheldon. Also in the team is Anthony Darr, a member of the successful 2004 team. An injury forced Anthony to miss the selection trials, but it is hoped that he will prove his fitness and take his place in the team. Paul Darvodelsky is unable to compete due to injury (see report next page) but will still be the team manager.
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M B C SUP P OR TING MT B ORIE N T E E RI N G
Adrian Jackson – Age: 21, State: Victoria Career Highlight: Gold Medal in MTBWOC Middle-Distance 2004
Anna Sheldon – Age: 24, State: Queensland Career Highlight: MTBWOC 2004 Relay Bronze Medal
Alex Randall – Age: 33, State: Victoria Career Highlight: MTBO World Cup Silver Medal, 2003
Carolyn Jackson – Age: 47, State: Victoria Career Highlight: MTBWOC 2004 Relay Bronze Medal
Anthony Darr – Age: 34, State: NSW Career Highlight: Australian Team MTBWOC 2004
Mary Fien – Age: 33, State: NSW Career Highlight: MTBWOC 2004 Relay Bronze Medal
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The MTB-O pages supported by Warren and Tash Key from The MELBOURNE BICYCLE CENTRE, CLIFTON HILL – ph. 03 9489 5569
MTB-O
World MTB-O Championships
Blake Gordon
Team selection trials in Victoria With a busy month of selection trials in Victoria (MTB-O and Foot‑O) signalling the beginning of once-a-year World Championships, mountain bike orienteering came of age in 2005. After the excitement and celebrations of 2004 riders had to prepare again in 6 months to represent Australia. In Europe, with many races and a new WRE (world ranking event scheme) taking form in May, our isolated competition situation was again put to the test. Team nominations were called by Ann Scown, chief of selectors, in March. But it was soon apparent that Australia would field a smaller team than the heady days of last October. Late withdrawals by Emily Viner, Richard Mountstephens, Tom Walter and, with Melissa Thomas competing in the World Ski Orienteering Championships in Europe, coupled with Anthony Darr breaking an arm the weekend before the trials, all combined to reduce the trials field significantly. The selection trials were held in May at Castlemaine (Old Quartz Hill) and Creswick (St Georges Lake). The field of riders was swelled by several (Paul Liggins, Grant Lebbink, Stephen Balharrie, Rob Davis, Mary Geary, Alan Davis, Tanya Beacham, Caitlin Wade, Natalie Saunders, and Rachel Thomas) who were not trying for the team. Course setter Keith Wade set a challenging Long-distance race on the Castlemaine map where Adrian Jackson won the Middle-distance world title in 2004. At Easter Adrian was named inaugural OA Athlete of the Year for his 2004 performances – Australia’s first World Championship gold medallist. Adrian’s consistent high standard has been a feature of the early season races in Victoria. Could he repeat his 2005 form which ranks him as the best-performed Australian orienteer of all time? The answer came in just over an hour and a half. Despite a mid-course puncture Adrian scored an impressive win in perfect conditions. On the women’s course Mary Fien emerged victorious with Carolyn Jackson taking 2nd ahead of Anna Sheldon who also punctured. Next day, the St Georges Lake Middle-distance trial saw Alex Randall return to form edging Adrian into 2nd with Paul Darvodelsky third and Tony Clark fourth. Less than three minutes separated the women on course-setter Derek Morris’ women’s qualifier with Mary winning again, Anna second and Carolyn third. This made the selectors’ task easier, naming the team of Men: Tony Clark (Vic), Paul Darvodelsky (NSW), Adrian Jackson (Vic), and Alex Randall (Vic). Anthony Darr (NSW) was included, subject to trials in July. The women selected: Mary Fien (NSW), Carolyn Jackson (Vic), Anna Sheldon (Qld) and Melissa Thomas (NSW) subject to trials in European WRE events in July. It was good to see New Zealand’s Darryl Taylor at the trials as he rounded off his preparation for the 3rd MTB-O World Championship in Slovakia. Unfortunately Tony Clark had to withdraw his nomination due to work commitments.
Darvo crashes out In early July, the bad news came through that Paul Darvodelsky has had to withdraw from Australia’s WMTBOC team after a major crash in a Sydney road race. The crash happened about 300 metres from the finish, as the pack was shaping up for the sprint at speeds of about 50 km/h. Paul broke both collar bones, two ribs and his right shoulder blade, and will not ride for at least 6 weeks - meaning recovery in time for WMTBOC is impossible. Paul will still travel to Slovakia as team manager.
Countdown to Slovakia The schedule for this year’s world championships will vary slightly from the 2004 format. Monday 5 September - Model event and open ceremony Tuesday 6 September – Middle-distance final Wednesday 7 September - Long-distance qualification race Friday 9 September - Relay final Saturday 10 September - Long-distance Final Our team will contest several of the lead-up world ranking events in Poland and Slovakia prior to the final training camp. The lessons learned from France in 2002 and Victoria in 2004 will shape the team’s preparation for peaking in early September.
Who will produce podium finishes in September? The women’s early season form from World Ranking Events has established Michaela Gigon (Austria) as a firm favourite for medals. Hot on her wheels has been Paivi Tommola (Finland) – and then space to the next competitors! With Laure Coupat (France) having a baby in mid-year and the absence of Australia’s Belinda Allison and Emily Viner, the women’s races look primed to produce some surprise winners. The German girls (Long-distance gold-medallist Anke Dannowski and Antje Bornhak) have not featured in the early races and few of the French or Finns have competed. All the Australian women have taken a big step up in 2005. Mary Fien’s outstanding trial form makes her a chance, while Anna Sheldon has learned much and her sparkling 2004 Relay dash at Maryborough to grab the bronze has given her confidence. Carolyn Jackson was not ‘on song’ during the 2004 events and still has something to prove. Her climbing ability and excellent navigation may be just what is needed in the steep, complex areas in Slovakia.
Men at the top As time has passed since October, the importance of Adrian Jackson’s 2004 performances has begun to sink in. But it would be hard to repeat his three-medal haul in the 2nd World Championship. Amongst the men the top nations are still Finland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Russia – and the Australians! In the early 2005 WRE races in Europe, Ruslan Gritsan (Russia), Tonis Erm (Estonia), Rene Otteson (Estonia), Remy Jabas (Switzerland), Jussi Makila (Finland), Christian Gigon (Austria), Mika Tervala (Finland), Beat Schaffner (Switzerland), Mikko Tommola (Finland) have all produced consistent results in the top 15. But early season form can be deceptive and without all nations taking part (notably the Australians and the French) the likely results in Slovakia are hard to predict. Our top two men – Adrian Jackson and Alex Randall - will be going in as favourites for podium finishes. Watch the web pages – www. ozmtbo.com – and the overseas ones to keep up to date. Will Australia be Number One in the world again in September?
Adrian and Alex are flying! Adrian and Alex arrived in Europe in late July in time to take in a couple of multi-day MTB-O competitions in their preparation for the World Champs. In the Polish World Ranking Events (a combination of 5 days of competitions) Adrian finished 1st, with Alex 4th. Then the following weekend in Tallin, Estonia, they improved to finish Adrian 1st, Alex 2nd, with quality opposition from the Finns and the Estonians. MTB-O fans can get an up-to-the-minute view of what our team members are doing in the lead up events before the World MTBO Championships in September. You can check their progress on www.ozmtbo.blogspot.com. SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 41
TRAINING
Steve Bird
Fitness training for Orienteering
Troy de Haas at the World Champs in Japan during the Long Distance heats. Quite a few competitors, like Troy, were wearing hydration packs. Photo: Bob Mouatt
Introduction Previous articles (Australian Orienteer #136 & 137) have outlined the components you need for orienteering fitness. These are a high capacity to utilize oxygen (VO2 max), the ability to run at relatively high speeds without accumulating lots of fatiguing lactic acid (a fast running speed at your Maximum Lactate Steady State) and the technique to run fast, fluently and economically in Orienteering terrain. The same principles apply to mountain bike Orienteering and throughout these articles, readers with a primary interest in cycling can replace the word running throughout. Also as outlined previously (Australian Orienteer #138), training is a stimulus that the body responds to by making physiological adaptations and enhancements that manifest themselves as improvements in fitness. These include the functioning of the heart, composition of the blood and biochemistry of the muscles, in particular their capacity to perform the chemical reactions that harness the energy you need when running or cycling. The key to training is providing the overload that stimulates these improvements. Basically this means working your muscles and/or cardiovascular system harder than at rest and then between training sessions allowing them to recover and make the desired biochemical, physiological and morphological improvements. The key to a successful training program is to do enough hard work to optimise your fitness, but not too much, otherwise you risk overtraining which can cause a decline in performance, as well as injury and illness. It is also important to do the kind of training that will target the weakest aspect of your fitness, as in this way you are liable to get the greatest performance gains from the amount of time and effort you invest.
Steady running The most basic form of training for endurance events is comfortable steady state running. This is undertaken at the kind of submaximal speed that you can sustain without having to push yourself too hard. So this would be going out for a steady run during which your heart rate and breathing increase to a steady level and are maintained at a working but not stressed level throughout the duration of the session. Figure 1 illustrates a runner’s heart rate during one of these sessions, in which their heart rate is around 140 bpm and fluctuates up or down by about 10 beats as they may encounter a hill or easier part of their route.
mins Figure 1
42 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
During this kind of session you will have increased your energy use and oxygen consumption. But only to a level that your heart, lungs, blood and muscles can easily match. Typically this is around 65 – 80% of your maximum heart rate and at this intensity you won’t accumulate fatiguing levels of lactic acid. Studies using untrained or slightly trained individuals have shown regular training of this sort increases VO2max largely through the body increasing its capacity to deliver oxygen to the muscles, i.e. adaptations to the heart and blood, coupled with an increased oxygen utilisation by the muscles (Green et al, 1990 & 1991). So undertaking this kind of training for 30 - 70 minutes, 3 - 5 times a week will improve your fitness and form a good foundation. However, once you have a attained a reasonably good VO2 max through this kind of regular steady running, you will reach a point of diminishing returns, whereby fairly large additional volumes of steady running will produce only small additional increases in VO2max and performance. This is the point at which you may wish to consider including different training sessions into your schedule, particularly interval training and running at your maximum lactate steady state (MLSS). Whilst these may not promote a further substantial increase in your VO2max they will increase your running performance and endurance. This is because their effect is upon the biochemistry of your muscles, how they deal with the oxygen you’re delivering to them via the blood and how they deal with the waste products produced. Like any system, your fitness is only as good as its weakest link, and once you
TRAINING have a good VO2 max it’s probably not going to be your weakness, in which case you’ll need to consider focusing upon other aspects of your physiology. So if you aspire to greater levels of fitness, doing more of the same steady running may only produce relatively small improvements in endurance performance or VO2 max (Billat et al 2002) if any (Laursen and Jenkins 2002). Indeed the improvements due to additional volumes of steady running that have been recorded in already trained endurance runners appear to be due to improvements in running economy (being able to run at the same speed whilst using less oxygen, due to not ‘wasting it’ on unnecessary muscular actions etc). So an alternative strategy to simply running more kms is to replace one or more of your steady running sessions with an alternative such as high intensity intervals and running at your MLSS. This is not to dismiss the potential benefit of additional volumes of steady running since it may be important to those at the very top of our sport who are already in peak fitness, and want to find those extra seconds, and have the time to do it. But for most people who may have a very limited amount of training time, greater benefit per hour spent training may be gained from these alternative higher intensity sessions, with additional volumes of training only being considered after these other forms of training are already established within their weekly schedule.
Running at MLSS Running speed at Maximum Lactate Steady State (MLSS) is the fastest speed that you can maintain without a continual increase in lactate concentration, which would ultimately cause you to slow down or stop due to fatigue. The actual concentration of lactate at this speed varies considerably between individuals and can be as low as 2 mmol/L or as high as 8 mmol/L. Running at your MLSS speed will feel like a hard run and you wouldn’t want to do it everyday. Regular training at this intensity can produce further small increases in VO2max and the running speed of your MLSS, but more significantly the training increases the amount of time you can maintain that speed. With studies reporting in already well trained runners average pre-training MLSS durations of 44 minutes, improving to 63 minutes after 6 weeks of including MLSS training into their weekly regimen (Billat et al 2004). For an orienteer, being able to sustain your racing speed in the last quarter of an event may be just the kind of improvement you’re looking for, so this could be the session you need to add to your weekly schedule. If you regularly participate in street Orienteering, in which you run hard throughout the event, you may well be already doing a MLSS session, as it’s liable to be at this kind of intensity.
High Intensity Intervals The purpose of high intensity interval training is to repeatedly stress the physiological systems at a level greater than would occur during lower intensity training such as steady running. It therefore poses a greater stimulus for the muscles and cardiovascular system to make the adaptations needed to produce further improvements in fitness. The format of a high intensity interval session involves repeated phases of fast running at speeds that you would be unable to sustain for very long. These would generally be close to or even faster than the speed that elicits your VO2max and is therefore very tiring. Each effort is followed by a recovery period, usually of steady jogging, and then the effort is repeated. The exact length of each effort is a matter of some debate, with some authorities presenting evidence that 15 seconds of hard running, followed by a similar jog recovery is effective, whilst at the other extreme, others advocate 5 minutes of effort with around 2 and a half minutes jog recovery. Both are probably effective and you may select different durations each session to provide variety. An example of a runner’s heart rate response during an interval session is presented in Figure 2. In this session they undertake 12 efforts, during which their heart rate peaks at about 180 bpm at the end of each effort and then falls to about 130 bpm during the recovery. The vertical lines and numbers indicate the beginning and end of each effort.
Figure 2
mins
If you are a novice at intervals, then in your first session, the total duration of effort should be kept to a maximum of 10 minutes. If you find this doesn’t cause any prolonged aches or discomfort you can increase the total duration of effort either by increasing the number or the duration of each one in subsequent sessions. Interval sessions may be performed in a very structured format, with predetermined durations for each effort such as 10 sets of 2-minute efforts with 1-minute jog recovery between each. If doing this in a group try using some bush or an open area in which the slower runners have the opportunity to cut corners, otherwise they simply get more and more fatigued and left behind as they struggle to catch up in the recovery jog. Another alternative is to try a form of parlauf relay in which you have a circuit with half the runners going off first and then handing over to the next set at the end of the first circuit. As the second group of runners complete their first circuit they hand over to the first group again, with the runner who was back first going off first. So basically as you complete each circuit you get into the queue ready to go off again. You could repeat this for a set duration of 20 or 30 minutes. Fartlek is a less formal form of intervals, which is more ‘ go as you please’ with each person taking a chance to be a leader and deciding when to start the next effort and how long to make it. This can be fitted in to suit the local terrain, such as finishing at the top of a hill, or a path junction. Running repetitive hills are another form of interval training and a very relevant aspect of many bush Orienteering events. Find a hill or group of hills that suit your needs. A mixture of gentle slopes that permit fairly fast running as well as steep hillsides are a good combination and you’ll encounter both in events. As previously indicated, if your main priority is bush Orienteering then try and spend some of this training time off-road, as the practice will improve your running technique across uneven ground. The main body of an interval session should be preceded by a 5 – 10 minute warmup consisting of steady jogging and stretching. At the end of the set of intervals the session should conclude likewise with 5 – 10 minutes of steady jogging and stretching. In moderately trained runners, interval training has been demonstrated to improve VO2 max, running economy, and the maximum speed they were able to run at without accumulating lactic acid to fatiguing levels (MLSS). Whereas in highly trained runners, interval training may not improve VO2 max but does improve running economy, which means that higher running speeds can be achieved at VO2 max and also faster speeds at MLSS (Demarle et al 2003). As a note of caution, interval training is hard work, and if attaining the higher echelons of performance are not your priority and hard training not to your taste, you may be advised to stick to steady running and cycling sessions. As indicated above these will still provide a reasonably good level of fitness, as well as conveying all the health benefits of cardiovascular exercise. Additionally, interval training should be introduced gradually as it can be quite punishing on the body and if you try to do too much too soon, you may end up with unwanted aches and strains. SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 43
TRAINING the time spent training. Your sessions must also reflect the background against which you are training, including school/college/university/work demands, personal issues and other aspects of your health. Each of these may require an amendment in your training regimen and it is important to adjust your training accordingly. Also don’t forget to spend time on your technical and mental skills. As with all sports, each of these components must be worked on if you are to achieve your potential, as your performance will be limited by your weakest one.
Norway’s winning Men’s Relay team at the World Champs, Holger Hott Johansen, Øystein Kristiansen and Jørgen Rostrup.
Heart rate monitors With the advent of readily available heart rate monitors there has been a culture of using heart rate to determine appropriate exercise intensities (running or cycling speed). This can be a very useful and informative method of optimising your training, if you know what your maximum heart rate is and what your heart rate is at your lactate threshold and maximum lactate steady state (MLSS). Unfortunately all this detailed information can only be gained by undertaking a physiological assessment at a venue such as an accredited sport science laboratory. Consequently instead of using individualised and precise heart rates to determine exercise intensity there has been a reliance upon using the values of population averages, which typically suggest that a person’s maximum heart rate is 220 – age or some similar algorithm, and that their steady training zone being around 65 – 80% of this, MLSS heart rates being at the upper end of this zone and interval training elevating the heart rate above it. Unfortunately, what these predictive algorithms don’t account for is the vast variation in the population. As even between athletes of a similar age, standard and fitness, their maximum heart rates can differ by more than 20 bpm. Likewise their heart rates at their lactate threshold and training zones can also differ by more than 20 bpm. So the message is that heart rate monitors can be useful, but you must relate the data to yourself and not be dictated too much by values for population averages. Even if you haven’t undergone an extensive physiological assessment, and few will have, you can at least use your own experiences to identify what your heart rate peaks at going hard uphill during a tough event, what you can maintain it at for 15 minutes during a hard training run and what it is during an easy session. Whilst obviously not precise in the laboratory sense these will give you some indication of what your maximum, lactate steady state and aerobic training zone heart rates are, and will probably be a more accurate reflection than the population average for your age.
Summary With the right training your fitness will improve and you will be able to complete your events faster. Putting together the right combination of sessions each week and each month is important. Your training needs to target your weaknesses and ensure maximum performance gains for 44 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
References Billat V, Demarle A, Paiva M & Koralsztein JP (2002). Effect of training on the physiological factors of performance in elite marathon runners (males and females). International Journal of Sports Medicine, 23:336341. Billat V, Sirvent P, Lepretre PM & Koralsztein JP (2004). Training effect on performance, substrate balance and blood lactate concentration at maximal lactate steady state in master endurance-runners. Pflugers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology, 446, 875-883. Demarle AP, Heugas AM, Slawinski JJ, Tricot VM, Koralsztein JP & Billat VL (2003). Whichever the initial training status, any increase in velocity a lactate threshold appears as a major factor in improved time to exhaustion at the same severe velocity after training. Archives of Physiology and Biochemistry, 111: 167-176. Green HJ, Jones LL & Painter DC (1990). Effects of short-term training on cardiac function during prolonged exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 22: 488-493. Green HJ, Jones LL, Houston ME et al (1991). Early adaptations in gas exchange, cardiac function and haematology to prolonged exercise training in man. Eur J Appl Physiol, 63: 17-23. Laursen PB & Jenkins DG (2002). The scientific basis for high-intensity interval training: optimising training programmes and maximising performance in highly trained endurance athletes. Sports Medicine, 32(1): 53-73. Professor Steve Bird is Director, Centre for Population Health, Sunshine Hospital, Melbourne. Steve worked with the Great Britain National Orienteering Squad for over 10 years.
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MTB-O
Punching on the Fly Adrian Jackson (World MTB-O Champion) I have developed this method of punching on the move to save time at controls - the fact it makes you look cool in front of spectators is just a bonus! If you can save around 2 seconds for each control you don’t have to stop at, the time saving adds up quickly – that’s 30 secs for 15 controls. Punching without stopping may look hard, but its very simple, even if you have minimal MTB skills. If you can ride one handed, and track stand (balance at a standstill) for just a few seconds then you should be able to master this technique. Setup: The best place to mount your SI stick is in the middle of your bike, somewhere near the stem. I like it on the back of the stem as it’s easy to see and reach. Other places I have seen that look good too are on top of the stem or on the top tube near the headset. Having some sort of retractor device is also definitely an advantage. The type that I and most other elites use is made for business people with security passes or the like. They are compact and have a thin (but strong) chord that is easily pulled out and that snaps back when let go. You have to hunt around to find them, but when you do, buy the store out and sell them to your MTB-O friends! Notes: This method is only recommended for punching controls where the approach is uphill, flat or slight downhill, i.e. when approaching without great speed. In fact this method will save you the most time on controls when approaching uphill. Stopping to punch and then remounting uphill can be difficult and time consuming. When you are coming in fast it is quicker to slow down quickly with both brakes and put one foot down to punch. Also, if you have to turn your bike around to exit it is quicker to put one foot down, punch, pivot yourself and your bike and then remount.
1. Approach Know before you see the control which way you have to exit the control, and work out if you have to turn around. When you see the control decide wether you will attempt to punch on the go, or stop and put a foot down. Slow down so you are travelling at running pace about 10m away from the control, then reach down and get your SI stick in the appropriate hand. 2. At control Slow yourself (with whichever brake you are still holding after picking up your SI stick) so you arrive at the control at about walking pace. Pass the control so that the stand is just outside the width of your handlebar, any further and you will have to reach too far and overbalance, any closer and you will knock the stand over! As you approach the control, be looking at the SI unit, that’s your target!
3. Punching Be looking at the SI unit, and as the stand draws level with your handlebar, reach forward and put your stick in. Keep rolling forward at slow walking pace, this way by the time the stick has registered your hand will be level with your saddle. Do not put your hand on the SI unit or stand to use them for support, they are often not very stable. 4. Leaving Once you have heard the beep and/or seen the lights flash on the SI unit, look up and pedal away, simple! Do not, however, just let go of your SI stick and let it snap back into the retractor. The SI stick and cord can get tangled in your brake lever and shifters, and repeatedly letting it snap back can crack your SI stick!
SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 45
RUNNING THE BUSINESS
What is Orienteering? ONE of the perennial debates at any discussion on developing Orienteering is “What is Orienteering?” Many of the purists argue that the only true Orienteering is ‘bush’ orienteering, undertaken by individuals finding their own way around a course, using only a map and compass. That might have been the situation when the sport was introduced into Australia in the 1970s, but the sport has evolved a lot since then. As articles in recent editions of The Australian Orienteer have indicated there has been a boom in street and park Orienteering in all States and Territories. The reason for this boom is multifarious. Probably the first is convenience. Many people are time poor and they look for something that they can fit into a short period of time. Another is that while it is challenging, it is not threatening. How many orienteers can remember the first time that they were really lost in a complex bush area? And how they wondered if they would ever reach civilization again? I can recall the first time I ran on maps like Little Bombay, near Braidwood, and Inverary, near Bungonia, both in NSW. Both maps have large areas of vague sameness. On both occasions I had very long legs, about 2.5 kms, and I remember losing touch with the map for long periods. I began wondering when I would ever see something that I would recognise. I wasn’t overly concerned - more embarrassed. But for many people such situations can be threatening and as John Earle (at least I think it was him) told a National Development Conference in the 1990s, 85 per cent of the population is risk averse. So rather than talk about street and park Orienteering, I prefer the term ‘convenient recreational’ Orienteering. Convenient because it is, and recreational because it is non-threatening. This form of Orienteering generally encourages participation by groups of two, three or more.
Niche Markets I also describe it as a ‘niche market’ and in the family of sports based on navigation, there are a number of niche markets, with street and park Orienteering being just one. Apart from that and straightforward bush Orienteering, there is mountain bike Orienteering, Rogaining and the newly created Adventure Racing. And within bush Orienteering, we now have many variations in terms of competition and training formats. For example we have Sprint, Middle and Long-distance events, each of which has different course planning requirements and competition techniques. In addition we have Relays, Score, Line, Window and Map Memory events. Every discipline or format does not appeal to everyone, but there is sufficient interest to ensure staging different events will attract a reasonable number of entries. The current growth seems to be at the opposite ends of the scale: in the cheap convenient recreational Orienteering and the expensive Adventure Racing, with bush Orienteering remaining reasonably stable, somewhere in the middle. What those within Orienteering must recognise is that niche markets exist and if the sport is to survive and grow, those managing the sport much ensure that they cater for all niche markets and the rank and file orienteers, especially aficionados of bush orienteering, must accept that there are different forms of Orienteering, not just one. I admit to being one of those whose main and abiding interest is in bush Orienteering. I seldom do any street Orienteering and I have never been mountain bike Orienteering or Rogaining, but I recognise that many people enjoy those events and they should be encouraged. The survival of Orienteering depends on healthy niche markets.
The Challenge for Bush Orienteering The real challenge for bush Orienteering is to be able to maintain a calendar of sufficient quality events to retain interest in it. More and more Clubs and States are reporting difficulties in staging events. The difficulties include access to suitable areas as both public and private organisations deny access, and recruiting sufficient volunteers who are prepared to go the distances required to plan high quality courses. But that is a topic for another day.
46 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2005
Bob Mouatt, Director (Development)
IOF World Rankings The International Orienteering Federation World Ranking Scheme is based on points scored at World Ranking Events, full details of which can be found at http://www.orienteering.org/. The current standings for men and women are given in the following tables: World Ranking for Men 1 Valentin Novikov RUS 2 Mats Troeng SWE 3 Thierry Gueorgiou FRA 4 Holger Hott Johansen NOR 5 Jani Lakanen FIN 6 Johan Näsman SWE 7= Anders Nordberg NOR 7= Daniel Hubmann SUI 9 Øystein Kvaal Østerbø NOR 10 Mats Haldin FIN 29 Grant Bluett AUS 51 David Shepherd AUS 69 Troy de Haas AUS 72 David Brickhill-Jones AUS
World Ranking for Women 1 Simone Niggli-Luder SUI 2 Karolina Arewång-Hõjsgaard SWE 3 Jenny Johansson SWE 4 Tatyana Riabkina RUS 5 Minna Kauppi FIN 6 Hanne Staff NOR 7 Heli Jukkola FIN 8 Karin Schmalfeld GER 9 Vroni Koenig-Salmi SUI 10= Emma Engstrand SWE 10= Dana Brozkova CZE 51 Jo Allison AUS 64 Natasha Key AUS 66 Hanny Allston AUS 122= Tracy Bluett AUS 122= Allison Jones AUS 129 Danielle Winslow AUS
Books on orienteering
There are a great number of books on all aspects of orienteering. For a list and prices contact: Orienteering Services of Australia 44 Alexandra Parade, Clifton‑Hill VIC 3068 Phone (03) 9489 9766 Email info@macson.com.au
Do you have an insurance policy with EIG Ansvar? The arrangement between EIG Ansvar and Orienteering Australia includes the provision that OA receives commissions, of 15% on house and contents insurance and 5% on motor insurance. OA uses the proceeds to help fund international teams.
Obviously EIG Ansvar can credit commissions to OA only when the person taking out the policy tells them he/she is an orienteer. New Policy notices and Renewal notices record this notification, so when you get one, please check that it says the policy is under the OA arrangement.
If you find that OA is not mentioned on your Insurance documentation, please contact EIG-Ansvar and advise them of the need for the policy to be amended to record the OA connection. EIG-Ansvar can be contacted by email:- insure@eigansvar.com.au or write to EIG-Ansvar Limited, GPO Box 1655N Melbourne, 3000 Victoria. EIG-Ansvar will be pleased to hear from you and will immediately make any necessary changes. The information required by EIG-Ansvar is: Your Name, Address and Policy number/s.
L AT E N E W S N AT I O N A L L E AG U E
Canberra Cockatoos consolidate grip Blair Trewin AFTER the three rounds in Western Australia in early May, the Canberra Cockatoos take a very strong position into the final National League rounds in Tasmania at the end of September. They lead by 23 points, ahead of a tight contest between NSW and Victoria for second place, and whilst a similar gap at the same stage of the 2003 season was caught by the Victorians, that was against a severely depleted Canberra team that is unlikely to be repeated this year. Grant Bluett has also secured the individual title. He won all three races contested in Western Australia (a Middle-distance and Sprint on Saturday and a Long-distance on Sunday), making it five in a row (he went on to add three more wins at the WOC trials). His closest challenger is Dave Shepherd, but Julian Dent is also a realistic chance for second
MTB-O
Early success in Europe for MTB-O WOC Team Paul Darvodelsky IN their preparations for the World MTBO Championships the Australian team took part in some lead-up events in Estonia in early August. Adrian Jackson won a weekend two-day race in which the Finns and Estonians, two of the strongest nations in the world, took part. Alex Randall writes: “Won the first race in Estonia. Hardly missed anything. Probably my best race ever. Really detailed area. Beat all the Finns and Estonians in a 30-minute sprint. Picked all the right route choices and only lost about 45secs in a few small navigation errors. In the second Estonian race I didn’t do quite as well but finished a respectable 5th. Lost 2 x 1min on really stupid route choices early on, plus
place. Apart from Bluett’s three wins, most notable amongst the men was the return to form of Eric Morris, who was second in the Long race, three minutes behind Bluett. No woman has won more than three out of ten rounds this year, but Jo Allison’s consistency sees her in the box seat despite not winning a race in WA. She leads Tracy Bluett by 21 points and Hanny Allston by 50, and both would need to win at least three of the four remaining races to have any chance at all. Bluett ran an excellent Long race to finish a minute clear of Allison. Clare Hawthorne returned to form, winning the Sprint and third in the Long, whilst Natasha Key was the weekend’s other winner. The junior division in WA was so depleted as to be almost meaningless in the context of the overall season. Neither Julian Dent nor Hanny Allston will run enough junior events to post a significant score. Erin Post looks to have the women’s competition in hand unless Sophie Barker runs a very good set of races in Tasmania, whilst the leading male will be a race between David Meyer, Simon Uppill and possibly Chris Naunton. WA lead the team competition at present and should feature in the finish, but NSW and Victoria should come home stronger and look the likeliest winners.
another minute due to deciding to not ride through the forest (which is permissable here) for the first few controls. Adrian had a blinder (only a few small mistakes) and was almost 4mins quicker than me and 2.5min clear of the 2nd placegetter. Overall he won the 2-Day event by a minute to me. Day 2 was super technical (much more than Day 1). The map was on a XC ski resort with tracks every few metres (it seemed). The map was 1:10 000, so it gives you an idea of the complexity. The other really encouraging part was that the Finns weren’t way ahead, in fact only two beat me on Day 2. It goes to show that we can navigate almost as well as they can on the technical stuff too.” This terrain is very similar to that expected in Finland in 2006. The maps are 1:10,000 with very detailed track networks. People should keep this in mind when preparing for the trials next year and trial areas should be as detailed as possible. The attached excerpt from the Liperi map gives a good indication of the type of terrain (and map) to expect.
SEPTEMBER 2005 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 47
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