The Australian Orienteer - September 2012

SEPTEMBER 2012

Natasha Key wins silver and bronze at World Masters RRP $8.50 inc GST

SILVA National Orienteering League Event Program 2010

Round

Date

Location Ballarat, Victoria

March 10, 2012

Sprint: Ballarat University Middle Distance: Surface Hill, Smythesdale

March 11, 2012

Long Distance: Chinaman’s Reef, Linton

Round 2

April 6-9, 2012

Australian 3-Days, Stanthorpe, Queensland

Round 2b

April 14-15, 2012

Brisbane, Queensland

Round 3

May 12-13, 2012

WOC trials, Newcastle, NSW

Round 4

August 10-12, 2012

Darwin, Northern Territory

Round 5a

Sept 22-23, 2012

Australian Middle Distance Champs, Tasmania Tasmanian Long Distance Championships

Round 5b

Sept 28-30, 2012

Australian Sprint, Long and Relay Championships, Tasmania

Round 1

All race details can be found at www.orienteering.asn.au www.silva.se

Silva is a FISKARS BRANDS company. australia@fiskarsbrands.com

ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA

The President’s Page Blair Trewin

A

s I write, the last couple of weeks have seen the World Orienteering Championships and, in conjunction with these, various IOF meetings, including the biennial General Assembly of all the member countries (or at least those which show up).

The World Championships may seem slightly remote from the interests of the average Australian orienteer, and the machinations of the IOF much more so, at first glance, but there is a lot of interest that happened at both.

A few of you will have watched the World Championships in person, and many more online. In the international season we put together a lot of reasonable performances without any stunning ones. It’s been a big year for a lot of the other outsideEurope countries though: most notably Matt Ogden’s Junior World Championships gold medal for New Zealand and Emily Kemp’s bronze for Canada at the same event, but also best-ever results at WOC for New Zealand, the US and South Africa, who qualified someone for a Final for the first time. (There’s a lot of out-of-Europe solidarity at these events – our people were almost as excited about Matt’s JWOC result as the New Zealanders were).

The New Zealanders have been generally outperforming us at junior level for a few years now, which naturally prompts the question “what is it that they’re doing which we’re not?”. One part of the answer is that they send junior teams to Australia every year, so by the time their people get to JWOC most of them have already travelled at least a couple of times with national teams. We sent a group of juniors, under Geoff Lawford and Jenny Bourne, to New Zealand alongside the Bushrangers trip in early June, and hope that something like this will become an annual occurrence from here on. The Oceania Championships early next year will be an excellent opportunity. We’re also strengthening the support structure for senior high-performance activities, with more organised training within Australia and more people interested in coaching positions, historically something we have struggled to fill.

Those who have watched World Championships (either in reality or virtual reality) will know that they are very impressive spectator productions – the Oceania Championships last year gave Australian-based people a taste of that. Late last year we formed a working group to explore the feasibility of hosting a future World Championships, possibly late this decade. We are certainly technically capable of hosting a World Championships – although finding an event centre with both good access to terrain and three good Sprint areas will be a challenge (most country towns have one good Sprint area, the local university) – but finding the money is likely to be a larger barrier. Recent World Championships have had a budget in the $1-2 million range and it is hard to see us being able to find that without substantial external support.

The future of the World Championships was one of the big items on the agenda at the IOF General Assembly, where three major options were on the table (including the status quo), the most radical of which was to move to alternating ‘terrain’ and ‘urban’ World Championships. We voted for this option, largely because we felt it was in the best interests of the genuine globalisation of the sport – there are many countries, especially tropical or subtropical ones, which have excellent urban terrain but could not consider a ‘terrain’ WOC – but it lost narrowly, and the proposal which was adopted involved replacing the Middle and

Blair Trewin (M40), WMOC Sprint Final, Goslar

Long Distance qualification races with a mixed Relay. The exact form of qualification for the Middle and Long Distances will be critical to the success of this model (which is likely to take effect from 2014). That question has been referred to a working group in which I will most likely be taking a leading role. (Whilst on the subject of the IOF meetings, congratulations are in order for Mike Dowling, who was elected as an IOF Vice-President).

The IOF meetings also gave an opportunity to compare notes with other countries, although sometimes the reported figures don’t compare apples with apples. Sometimes the outcome of this is a little surprising. We often tend to think of Switzerland as an Orienteering juggernaut, but in fact their active membership is only about double ours, and while they have a very large school program they have many of the same difficulties in getting flowthrough from that to their ‘regular’ structure as we do. (They also sometimes have trouble getting volunteers to organise major events). One advantage they have over us is substantial external sponsorship, quite a bit of which is probably thanks to the very high profile of Simone Niggli, who is one of the best-known sportspeople in Switzerland (I knew I wasn’t in Australia any more when in Geneva last November when I saw a picture of her and then-newborn twins on the front of the Swiss equivalent of ‘New Idea’). It will be interesting to see what happens when she retires.

For many of you, the next few weeks will be the high point of the competitive season. I look forward to seeing many of you in Tasmania (and possibly also in other places on the Australian Orienteering scene).

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 3

Winning PartnershiP

The Australian Sports Commission proudly supports Orienteering Australia The Australian Sports Commission is the Australian Government agency that develops, manages and invests in sport at all levels in Australia.

Orienteering Australia has worked closely with the Australian Sports Commission to develop orienteering from community participation to high-level performance.

AUSTRALIAN SPORTS COMMISSION 4 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

Orienteering Australia is one of many national sporting organisations that has formed a winning partnership with the Australian Sports Commission to develop its sport in Australia.

www.ausport.gov.au

w w w. o r i e n t e e r i n g . a s n . a u Orienteering Australia President: Director High Performance: Director Finance: Director Technical: Director Special Projects: Director Communications: Director International IOF Council: Executive Officer: High Performance Manager: Badge Applications:

PO Box 284 Mitchell BC 2911 orienteering@netspeed.com.au w: 02 6162 1200 Blair Trewin oa_president@netspeed.com.au h: 03 9455 3516 Grant Bluett oa_highperformance@netspeed.com.au Bruce Bowen oa_finance@netspeed.com.au h: 02 6288 8501 Robin Uppill oa_technical@netspeed.com.au h: 08 8278 3017 m: 0419 037 770 Robert Spry rbspry@gmail.com Craig Feuerherdt craigfeuerherdt@gmail.com 0438 050 074 Mike Dowling oa_international@netspeed.com.au John Harding orienteering@netspeed.com.au 02 6162 1200 m: 0427 107 033 Kay Haarsma kayhaarsma@hotmail.com 08 8337 0522 John Oliver 68 Amaroo Street, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650

STATE ASSOCIATIONS Orienteering Queensland Inc: PO Box 114 Spring Hill QLD 4004. Admin Officer: Frances Powell, Ph (07) 3379 8238 admin@oq.asn.au OA NSW: PO Box 3295, North Strathfield NSW 2137. Secretary: Anthony Darr, Ph. (02) 8116 9848 orienteering@sydney.net Orienteering ACT: PO Box 402, Jamison Centre ACT 2614. Office: Ph. (02) 6162 3422 orienteering.act@webone.com.au Victorian OA: PO Box 1010 Templestowe 3106. Secretary: Don Fell, voa@netspace.net.au OA South Aust: State Association House, 105 King William St Kent Town SA 5067. Sec: Ken Thompson 08 8351 4757 secretary@sa.orienteering.asn.au OA Western Australia: PO Box 234 Subiaco WA 6094. Secretary: Ken Post Ph. (08) 9246 2552 kpost1@bigpond.com Orienteering Tasmania Inc.: PO Box 339, Sandy Bay, TAS 7005. Secretary: David Marshall, Ph. (03) 6260 4300 secretary@tasorienteering.asn.au Top End Orienteers (Northern Territory): PO Box 39152 Winnellie NT 0821. Secretary: Zoe Radford topendorienteersNT@gmail.com

NEXT ISSUE DEADLINE

October 12. Time-sensitive: Oct 19

ISSN 0818-6510 Issue 3/12 (no. 167) SEPTEMBER 2012

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 Editor: Michael Hubbert, P.O. Box 165, Warrandyte, Victoria 3113 mikehubbert@ozemail.com.au Phone (03) 9844 4878 Magazine Design & Assembly: Peter Cusworth, Ph. 0409 797 023 pcusworth@bigpond.com Magazine Treasurer: Bruce Bowen Printer: Ferntree Print Centre, 1238 Burwood Hwy Upper Ferntree Gully.

Contribution deadline: October 12; Time-sensitive - October 19.

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: Competition - Blair Trewin; High Performance - Kay Haarsma; MTBO - Blake Gordon; Official News - John Harding; Nutrition Gillian Woodward; Training - Steve Bird; Psychology - Lisa Lampe.

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 – Maggie Jones: onsw.communications@sydney.net 0415 214 503 ACT – Philip Purcell philippurc@hotmail.com SA – Erica Diment: diment@adam.com.au ; tel (ah) 8379 2914 Vic, WA and Tas – vacant 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: $40 pa. Overseas: Asia/Pacific (inc. NZ) $A49, Rest of World $A58 pa.

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

CONTENTS T H E P R E S I D E N T ’ S P A G E.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 AUS SCHOOLS CHAMPS PREVIEW................ 6 A U S 3 - DAY S 2 0 1 3 U P DAT E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 WHEN MORE IS TOO MUCH ..................... 14 S PA C E R A C I N G M E E T S T H E B U S H . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 MEMBERSHIP SURGE IN NSW................... 20 I N T E R V I E W – Ida Bo bach.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 WMOC 2012......................................... 26 BUSHRANGER JUNIORS........................... 28 J W O C 2 0 1 2.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 0 WOC 2012........................................... 34 TOP EVENTS......................................... 36 WORLD UNIVERSITY CHAMPS................... 39 F I R S T M T B O I N F N Q.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 0 M T B O N E W S .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1 N U T R I T I O N – V i tami n D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 L E T T E R S .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4 B O O K R E V I E W – H i s to ry o f Ben dig o Orien teers. . . 4 5 O - S P Y.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6 NEW ZEALAND NEWS............................. 47 Cover photo: Natasha Key won two medals at the World Masters – Silver in the Sprint and Bronze in the Long. Photo: Sportograf

SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER2012 2012THE THEAUSTRALIAN AUSTRALIANORIENTEER ORIENTEER 5

PREVIEW

AUS Schools Championships

T

he Australian Schools Championships will be staged this month at Royal George, near St Helens on the Tasmanian east coast, as part of the AUS Championships carnival.

Teams from all States will compete in Individual senior and junior events and Relays.

In past years the competition has been intense right up to the last few metres, particularly in the relays. Can we expect the same excitement in 2012? Who will come away with the trophies and who will simply have the performance of their life? Probably most. Here we preview the State Teams for you to follow during the events.

2010

WINNERS

State

Queensland

Senior Girls

Emily Cantwell (QLD)

Senior Boys

Ian Lawford (ACT)

Junior Girls

Anna Dowling (TAS)

Junior Boys

Max Neumann (QLD)

Senior Girls Relay

Queensland

Senior Boys Relay

ACT

Junior Girls Relay

Queensland

Junior Boys Relay

Queensland

2011

WINNERS

State

Tasmania

Senior Girls

Heather Muir (QLD)

Senior Boys

Oliver Poland (ACT)

Junior Girls

Winnie Oakhill (QLD)

Junior Boys

Ashley Nankervis (TAS)

Senior Girls Relay

Queensland

Senior Boys Relay

ACT

Junior Girls Relay

Tasmania

Junior Boys Relay

Tasmania

6 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

AUS SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Tasmanian Schools Team

T

asmania won overall in 2011 and took out one Individual and two Relay titles.

Can they do it again, this time on “home” terrain? They have a strong team and will be giving the mainland visitors a difficult challenge if they are to be beaten. The heat will be on in all events. Experienced competitors like the Nankervis brothers and Dowling sisters will be hard to beat.

Oisin Stronach

Zoe Dowling

Jarrah Day

Bryce Fleming

Jake West

Celsey Adams

Junior Boys

Junior Girls

Jarrah Day

Celsey Adams

Bryce Fleming

Zoe Dowling

Oisin Stronach

Hannah Goddard

Jake West

Lili Wrigley

Joseph Dickinson (Reserve)

Alexandra Wrigley (Reserve)

Hannah Goddard

Lili Wrigley

Senior Boys Jade Kerber Shaun McDonough Ashley Nankervis Brodie Nankervis Louis Coad (Reserve)

Jade Kerber

Shaun McDonough

Brodie Nankervis

Anna Dowling

Nicola Marshall

Ashley Nankervis

Senior Girls Rebecca Butler Anna Dowling Nicola Marshall Katherine Whitmore Caitlyn Webb – Reserve

Rebecca Butler

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 7

AUS SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Victorian Rebels on the Rise W

ith the move of Matt Doyle to Victoria and the continuing improvement of several members, the Victorian Rebels will be a force to be reckoned with in Tasmania. The senior teams are at full strength, bolstered by continuing strong performances from those who have moved up from juniors this year, notably Lucy Fleming (Co-Captain), Rosie Dalheim, Nicholas Collins and Seb Winter.

Strong development is also occurring in the junior boys and girls, with outstanding performances in recent months especially from Patrick Jaffe, Tavish Eenjies, Asha Steer and Leisha Maggs, who are regularly beating older and more experienced orienteers in complex terrain. About half the team are second generation orienteers from established Orienteering families, and others have come to the sport through schools events and/or Bendigo Space Racing.

Selection was difficult with some good orienteers not able to be fitted into the team.

Nicholas Collins

Angus Robinson

Lachlan Cherry

Patrick Jaffe

Lanita Steer

Junior Boys

Junior Girls

Lachlan Cherry

Leisha Maggs

Peter Collins

Asha Steer

Tavish Eenjes

Sequoia Weitman

Patrick Jaffe Louis Cameron (Reserve) Max Dalheim (Reserve)

Seb Winter

Peter Collins

Senior Boys Matt Doyle (Co-captain) Nicholas Collins Seb Winter Angus Robinson John-Joe Wilson (Reserve) Sam Hasell (Reserve)

Matt Doyle

Lucy Fleming

Asha Steer

Rosie Dalheim

Leisha Maggs

Tavish Eenjes

Emily Hennessy

Senior Girls Lucy Fleming (Co-captain) Rosie Dalheim Emily Hennessy Lanita Steer Rebecca Jaffe (Reserve) Sequoia Weitman 8 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

AUS SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS

NSW CARBINES Squad

Junior Boys Daniel Hill Scott Charlton Toby Wilson Callum Davis Alex Kennedy

T

he CARBINES Squad to represent NSW in the 2012 Australian Schools Championships in Tasmania.

Newcomers to the Squad this year are Alex Kennedy and Callum Davis.

Alex Kennedy

Callum Davis

Daniel Hill

Scott Charlton

Toby Wilson

Kate Kennedy

Melissa Annetts

Rebecca George

Aidan Dawson

Daniel Parton

Lawrence Jones

Michele Dawson

Nicola Blatchford

Felicity Barker Smith

The final Team and Reserves were named in late August.

Team Managers Karen and Russell Blatchford.

Junior Girls Georgia Jones Rebecca George Melissa Annetts Kate Kennedy Samantha Wallace

Georgia Jones

Senior Boys Matthew Hill Aidan Dawson Lawrence Jones Daniel Parton

Samantha Wallace

Senior Girls Michele Dawson, Nicola Blatchford Felicity Barker Smith

Matthew Hill

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 9

AUS SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Queensland

Q

ueensland had not finalised its Schools Team at time of printing. Some contenders for possible selection are shown here.

Best performers for Queensland are expected to be the Junior Girls, led by Heather Burridge (2010 AUS W14 champ) and Winnie Oakhill (2011 AUS W14 Champ), with newcomers Inka Salonen, Gabby Withers (a promising junior MTBO performer) and Sammy McDougall.

Alison Burrill

Heather Burridge(

Jack Oakhill

Kelsey Harvey

A young but capable team of Junior Boys should also do well, led by Riley deJong and Simeon Burrill, with Tom Ronnfeldt and Matias Salonen.

Aidan Tay

David Tay

Junior Boys

Junior Girls

Riley deJong

Heather Burridge

Simeon Burrill

Winnie Oakhill

Tom Ronnfeldt

Inka Salonen

Matias Salonen

Gabby Withers

Aidan Tay

Sammy McDougall

Winnie Oakhill

Senior Boys David Tay Lachlan McKelvie Toby Brennan Sam Anderson

Simeon Burrill

Senior Girls Tahlia Kinrade Alison Burrill Kelsey Harvey Jess Hoey

Tahlia Kinrade 10 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

Junior Girls Relay in 2010: Heather Burridge, Tahlia Kinrade, Kelsey Harvey

AUS SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS

West Australia Schools Team

Junior Boys Oliver Martin Damon Penfold

2

012 will see a small WA Team head east – possible numbers reduced by the event being held during WA school term time.

What the team lack in numbers will, I’m sure, be made up with enthusiasm and effort. Kellie and Oliver Martin are experienced orienteers who have travelled to the Schools Championships before, but Joanna Senior Boys Brennan Penfold Maynard is relatively new to Orienteering.

She has, however, shown herself to be a fast learner. All three have recently won their age divisions in the WA Schools’ Orienteering Championships.

Joanna has come to Orienteering from an impressive track and crosscountry running background. This year she won the 13yo girls age division in the WA Associated and Catholic Colleges crosscountry championships and came 5th in a field of 228 in the WA Schools Sports crosscountry carnival. She is looking forward to experiencing interstate Orienteering.

The Perth trio are being joined by brothers, Brennan and Damon Penfold, who are members of the Bunbury-based club SWOT. At the recent Schools Championships, Brennan finished second in his age division despite being hampered by a muscle injury which had reduced him to a walk, and Damon finished 4th. Both are looking forward to their first taste of Orienteering in Tasmania.

Jan Fletcher – WA Schools’ Team Coach

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Kellie and Oliver both won their age divisions in the 2011 WA State Championships in Sprint, Middle Distance and Long Distance events. Both were in the team that took out the Mixed Teams’ relay event at the 2011 Schools Championships, and Oliver has tasted success in other Brennan Penfold interstate competitions, coming second in M12A at the Australian 3 Days carnival and winning M12A in the Long Distance and coming 2nd in the Sprint and 3rd in the Middle Distance events at the Australian Championships in 2011.

Joanna Maynard

Oliver Martin

Kellie Martin

Damon Penfold

Junior Girls Kellie Martin Joanna Maynard

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SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 11

AUS SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS

ACT

Junior Boys Stephen Melhuish Ewan Barnett Oliver Mill Patrick Miller Ciaran Lane Tom Agnew Junior Girls Tara Melhuish Annabelle Mill Heather Lane Rebecca Hyslop Emily Alder

Oliver Poland

Senior Girls

Senior Boys

Celine Anderson

Oliver Poland

Simone Edwards

Bryce Anderson

Shea-Cara Hammond

Ian de Jongh

Rebecca Powell Kelly Edwards Shea-Cara Hammond

SA

The South Australian Schools Team was unavailable at time of printing

OsoA supports AUS Schools Championships

O

rienteering Service of Australia is pleased to have supported the AUS Schools Championships events in Tasmania 2012. We see our support as a chance to give something back to Orienteering in Australia.

At OSoA we realise the importance of encouraging all the orienteers of tomorrow. Some of the schoolchildren who participate in Tasmania this year may grow, develop and prosper into enthusiastic orienteers and even champions of tomorrow.

Hopefully this year’s young athletes will persist with the sport and bring their enthusiasm and vitality to clubs and associations all around Australia.

For Orienteering to continue to grow as a sport in Australia, it needs the participation and retention of young people. We recognise the wonderful, dedicated job that all the State - based and federal Orienteering Associations do in promoting and developing our sport when so many other sports and activities are clamouring for the attention of young people. That is why when an opportunity comes to give a little back to our chosen sport we are glad to take it.

14 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012 12

School and Club Supply Specialists Headlamps Whistles Compasses First Aid Flags, Control Cards, Markers and Punches Backpacks and Waist Bags Enquire about your supply requirements today PH OSoA (03) 9017 4835, FX OSoA (03) 9388 1916 Email info@osoa.com.au

AUS 3 DAYS 2013

Easter 2013

– Bendigo, Victoria P

reparations for Gold’n Ponds, the AUS 3 Days Carnival next Easter, continue apace. All essential details will be on the event website (http://easterorienteering2013.com.au/) by late September. The Carnival will follow the traditional format of the ‘AUS 3 Days’ on Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the Easter week-end, preceded by the Prologue and Family events on Good Friday. There are no additional events being organised as part of the Carnival, but it is possible that some may spring up informally closer to the time. Should they do so, their details will be added to the website.

Two of the races will be within a short distance of downtown Bendigo, on quality terrain never previously used. How can this be, you may well ask? The answer is that these venues form the catchment areas for reservoirs recently de-commissioned. At least one of them offers the option of a refreshing swim to cool down at the end of a hot race.

Australian 3 Day Orienteering Championships

Day 3

Easter 2013 Bendigo Victoria

Concentration of venues in and around Bendigo makes for minimal travel throughout the week-end, but also brings a challenge in its wake. The city is extremely busy at Eastertime with all manner of visitors who get their kicks out of activities other than Orienteering. We’ll be providing an event campsite, but everyone planning to organise other accommodation is urged to do so without delay.

Day 1 (Friday): A complex Heavy canopy urban campus surrounded by a bushland setting. The campus features unusual underpass, canopy, multi-level terrace sections and many stairways that will provide interesting route choice challenges. The setting is four kilometres from the centre of Bendigo or from Kangaroo Flat, easily accessible by bicycle from your accommodation.

Day 2 (Saturday): High quality gold mining terrain surrounding a tranquil lake. This forest has until recently been within a closed and fenced catchment area. This is the first time permission has been granted to enter the area for Orienteering. The forest is very sparsely tracked, increasing the navigational challenge. Eight kilometres from the centre of Bendigo; three kilometres from Kangaroo Flat.

Day 3 granite

Day 1

easterorienteering2013.com.au/

Day 3 (Sunday): Quality granite terrain near Harcourt.

This is the only area previously mapped for Orienteering, but that was for the 1985 WOC Carnival. Twenty-nine kilometres from Bendigo. We hope to provide bus transport.

Day 4 (Monday): Spur gully and mining terrain in another catchment that has until recently been closed to the public.

The assembly area is on the shores of Crusoe Lake in a grove of pine trees adjacent to an area of sluice mining terrain.

Nearby is a public swimming platform. The lake is at the terminus of the Bendigo Creek bike path. A very enjoyable nine kilometre ride from Bendigo or three from Kangaroo Flat.

Day 2

Day 3 – 1985 map

Day 2

Australian 3 Day Orienteering Championships

We’ll look forward to seeing you at Gold’n Ponds.

John Colls, for the Easter 2013 Organising Committee

Day 3 SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 13

COACHING

When more is too much Hanny Allston

Photos: Clive Roper Photography

S

ince the start of 2012 I have been working behind the scenes with a number of our young athletes. They all bounced into our first meeting with large ambitions, boundless energy, but slightly ‘broken’. Injuries, sickness and fatigue!

Here I would like to share a story. In 2010, during Find Your Feet’s early days I had a lovely young guy, Josh, who approached me for some advice. Having grown up on Flinders Island and only recently moved to Hobart, Josh was keen to develop his running.

His initial goal was to complete the Flinders Island 30km race that was in about four months time. However, Josh was broken.

‘I find that I have all this energy at the beginning of the week and go hard on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and sometimes Thursday but then have to have the rest of the week off because I am too tired at the end of the weeks.’

I am sure we can all see the error in Josh’s ways. Going hard for four days straight and expect to be able to keep this going? Some Clive Roper Photography

slight alterations to Josh’s training has seen him recently become one of Tasmania’s most elite senior runners.

At some stage we all fall into the trap of thinking more is better.

More training, more regimented nutrition, more competition, more work, more study, more friends… our personal list of ‘mores’ is almost as long as our list of ‘shoulds’. Like everything, there is a plausible balance where one has to do more to get more out of oneself. After all, there is a limit to how far armchair training will get us! But past this fuzzy threshold lies a grey world of potential fatigue, injury, sickness and winter-blues. Not only this, but like Josh, we seem to stop thinking straight, get in a ratrace cycle, and not be able to work out why things start to fall apart.

How can we define that perfect balance where optimal enjoyment, health and performance lie?

So how can we avoid falling into this trap? How can we define that perfect balance where optimal enjoyment, health and performance lie? I believe the answer to this lies in excellent planning and, preferably, with the assistance of a great coach.

When a new athlete starts with me, it almost always seems to be at a point in their lives when they have dozens of balls in the air or are faced with a tough decision. What to do at university next year? How to come back from injury? How to balance training when I begin my new job? Then add in family, friends, training, competition, first time on a national team… it quickly becomes overwhelming. I call this the Much Syndrome. Although I know for certain that I am the greatest sucker for ‘doing more’, when I step back and reflect I realize that there is a serious equation at play: when things near the level of too much, we begin to feel we have to do more. Therefore, my first coaching advice I give is to have a rest. This means one to three weeks of catching up – sleep, gentle exercise, time at home and work or study. This remedy is amazing!

Following a rest period, the clarity of the mind is amazing.

Suddenly my athletes have a renewed sense of purpose and their energy is infectious. We may even begin to see huge jumps in their level of performance without any changes to their training.

I attribute this to improved concentration, logical thinking and physical adaptation following their previous training.

The second stage of overcoming the Much Syndrome is creating a good plan. Very few of my athletes seemed to plan ahead. Not any more! In order to create a plan we use a spreadsheet that covers every week of the year. This is how our plan evolves: 1. T he first thing to be added to the planner is work or study commitments. For my athletes, these always take precedence.

Further to this, the brain uses 90% of the body’s energy at rest and so, during times of increased concentration requirements, the physical energy expenditure should be decreased.

14 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

2. The next consideration is competitions. All possible events are added to the planner. Therefore, we can always see when events are coming up, where they are and how much time we have to prepare.

3. We then add in a weekly wave-form training schedule. The trough between the waves is our rest week - easy, gentle, active recovery work. Then as the wave begins we have an easy week, a moderate week and crest with a hard week. The difference between the easy and hard weeks is the intensity or volume of the training. We try to avoid significant changes to both!

As I have seen with Josh and many of my other runners, big improvements can be made by having a bit of rest, planning life’s commitments into your training, and not being afraid to make some changes. Enlisting the help of a coach who can help you with planning your weeks and reigning you back in when you begin to look fatigued will help you stay on track to achieving everything that you are capable of becoming. Remember, coaching is not just a privilege of the elite. Having a coach to help you balance life is often even more important for those amazing orienteers amongst us defying age!

4. Next comes a daily wave form in the training schedule. The trough between the waves is our rest day. Rest days involve complete or active rest. Then as the wave begins we have an easy day, a moderate day and a hard day. An easy day is usually cross-training or light jogging. A moderate day may be a longer run. A hard day is usually high intensity training such as intervals or fartlek.

I encourage you to share your thoughts by writing to the editor or to me personally at hanny@findyourfeet.com.au.

(Hanny Allston, 503/9 Watkin Street, Bruce, ACT 2617; m: 0409 176 967; www.hannyallston.com.au)

To illustrate such a training plan, here is an example: MODERATE WEEK Commitments

MON

TUES

WED

THUR

FRI

SAT

SUN

Last Day of Exams!

Intensity

Easy

Mod

Hard

Recovery

Easy

Mod

Hard

Session

X-Train

Long Easy Run & Gym

Interval

Rest Day

Easy jog

Long Easy Bike & Gym

Orienteering Race

Details

60min Bike

90min Run

3x5min Hard with 3min Recovery with Athletics Club

Rest Day

30min Easy Jog

2hr Ride with Simon

NOL – Newscastle 11.2km

Clive Roper Photography

Orienteering Service of Australia stocks a wide range of SILVA compasses, we offer the convenience of secure shopping through our website, visit us online at www.osoa.com.au

Compasses now in stock BASEPLATE – SILVA Field, 5 Jet, 1S Explorer, Expedition 4, Expedition 54 WRIST – SILVA 66 OMC MIRROR SIGHTING – SILVA Expedition S, 15TDCL, and Ranger Models THUMB – SILVA 6 Jet Spectra (Right and Left Hand) and 6 NOR Spectra SILVA VOYAGER – Special Prices on 3 models of these Global Compasses but only while stocks last!

Hanny Allston, AIS Residences PO BOX 176, Belconnen, ACT 2617. m: 0409 176 967 www.hannyallston.com.au

Visit our website www.osoa.com.au and review our product range today!

PH (03) 9017 4835, FX (03) 9388 1916 Email info@osoa.com.au SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 15

DEVELOPMENT

Intersecting orbits – Space Racing meets the Bush Peter Creely, Bendigo Orienteers

J-Squad girls: Leisha, Katie, Amy, Serryn, Katherine (pic: Bendigo Advertiser)

Preface

I have written in this magazine about Space Racing and the link it has with Bush Orienteering in Bendigo; I have written subsequently about the beginning of a pathway for the kids to enable them to move more easily into the Bush. Now, twelve months on from there I’d like to bring readers up to date with what our kids – now officially known as the Bendigo JSquad - have achieved. I submit this in the hope that it may help and encourage others who are working with young children in Orienteering to keep going and take the kids to higher levels.

This is what I am doing in Bendigo – what are others doing? I would love feedback! luddcreely@impulse.net.au In the beginning – confusion and uncertainty In the early days, when I was seeking guidance on how to go about the task of creating a junior development squad I spoke to a respected elder of Victorian orienteering: he suggested that the best way to see if young people had a future in Orienteering was to “throw them into the bush and if they were still coming to events after a month or so, they will probably stay with the sport” (actual words – they are burnt into my mind!). Maybe it’s this attitude that has created the niche in which we hide Orienteering so successfully today!

Anyway, I really couldn’t see me suggesting this approach to the parent(s) of an eight or nine year-old, fresh from the sheltered parks around Bendigo. So-o-o-o-o, where to from there?

Before I start I must remind the reader that the whole exercise described below is still very much a work in progress and is subject to change as necessity demands.

16 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

Where’s the magic?

How to create something where nothing existed before?

Initially I went looking for a little man in a pointy hat with a stick with a star on the end to work the magic I needed.

I couldn’t find him! So, I decided I had to make it happen myself.

Our kids usually come into the bush from our Space Racing platform, at around nine or ten years-old, but some as young as seven and eight, all still at primary school. During the last few weeks of the Space Racing series we start publicising Bush Orienteering with handouts etc.

We follow our Space Racing series with the Space League, six races using the Novice line courses at our Bush Classic events. We have a mass start and the kids compete in teams of two or three. The mass start promotes a social atmosphere, both before and after the race and also gives competitors (mostly new to the bush) a sense of security in numbers. The Series culminates in a final with prizes to the winners. After this the newcomer can come out and take his/her place as one of our juniors in our normal events. I find that our ‘long term’ JSquad’ers are a great draw card in their red running tops, and they freely mingle with, and offer advice to the newcomers. Taking one of our recent Bush Classic events as an example, we saw a total of 56 competitors competing over five courses; of these, seventeen were from our JSquad and six were parents from three

  

J-Squad girls (pic Bendigo Advertiser)







families where their children’s participation had brought them into Orienteering.

 

So we start moving up…

I maintain a performance record for each JSquad’er starting with the first event they attend. After two or three months of regular attendance I induct them into the Continuing Orienteering Group and present them with the Junior Development Squad (JSquad) red cap. At this stage I look for commitment, not skill, not how high up the results board they are placed but how regularly they attend races. After the satisfactory Lachlan Cherry completion of twelve months in the Group they are presented with their first Achievement Badge (Bronze) and their JSquad running top.

They are now full members of Bendigo’s JSquad and as such are eligible to progress through Silver to Gold standard.

To earn the latter two badges, they



 

     

     

   

 

               

must start to demonstrate Orienteering skills and some race successes. I also expect them to be involved in the various facets of the JSquads’ operations: helping less experienced kids in the early stages of their involvement in Orienteering, setting training courses in nearby forests, and other activities that are necessary for the advancement of their own and other’s skills.

Tell them all about it……

I find that regular communication is vital.

I send out a weekly e-Bulletin with results of the last races and comments on, and details of coming events. As well as this, a monthly hard copy newsletter features advice on basic skills such as map reading, recognising features etc. The newsletter is made up of two parts: an educational section dealing with skills and a second section in the form of an ‘armchair’ exercise. This format has been very well received and, I believe, has been partly responsible for some parents deciding to come out and challenge their children.

      

   

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 17

DEVELOPMENT

Louis Cameron

Contour model made by Leisha Maggs

Still a lot to do……

The development of our JSquad is a work in progress; there is still so much to do. I am finding that in the early stages of their development the kids are easy to coach – map walks on local maps, simple courses with an hour out in Leisha Maggs

the bush here and there; someone accompanying them around a course. Problems are now starting to be encountered as the kids move into the more difficult navigation requirements where higher levels of coaching are necessary, and we don’t have a lot of coaches available! Still, in this whole exercise I am learning that I can’t afford to look too far into the future – the difficulties seem insurmountable from a distance, but as I move forward some sort of solution usually presents itself.

At time of writing I have fifteen kids in the JSquad. It is reasonable to expect that I will lose some, but I also hope to gain new people from Space Racing and from the schools in general, and thus maintain the critical mass. It’s wonderful to watch this ‘critical mass’ in action: the bright JSquad running tops attract all the kids and they gather into an interacting group, feeding off each other’s success/disaster in the race and talking about how they will correct the errors next week.

Time for a long, hard look at where we are going ……

I believe that for too long we have hidden our sport in a niche – isn’t it about time we took it out, dusted it off and 18 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

Jimmy Cameron

showed younger kids, not just elite juniors, that it is a great sport, full of adventure, excitement and competition? I read about David Poland and his Map Mates with joy; I note Space Racing starting up in various centres and this all fills me with a hope that gradually we will come to realise that promotion of our sport should be aimed at where it will be most fruitful – the young kids!

Also, with the forests moving further away from the capital cities, and the attention of our governing bodies hovering more and more on major events and street and urban Orienteering, I feel that it needs to be recognised that the best places for the growth of a bush based sport are in regional centres. Here it is so much easier to build the bridges from the school yard to the bush that are so badly needed if we are to give these kids the chance to realise their dreams. This doesn’t mean that city kids need to be neglected but, for a change, let development be based in the regions rather than in the cities as has been the case to date. The work I am putting in – and other people of like mind in the sport, should not be wasted by “throwing them into the bush” and waiting to see if they are still coming to events after a month or so.

Surely our kids – and the sport, deserve better than this!

Post Script – the future, looking brighter……?

At time of writing I have just arrived home from the selection trial for the Victorian Secondary Schools Squad for the Australian Championships in Tasmania. Yes, it was great to see five of our Bendigo Junior JSquad’ers selected for the team but, almost as satisfying for me, was to see seven or eight little Sub Junior JSquad’ers intently watching the briefing session and no doubt picturing themselves in three or four years time, sitting where those older kids are now.

J-Squad Gold Achievement badge

Moray 2013 – Scottish 6 Days

U

isge beatha, the “water of life” – whisky, Scotland’s most famous export. Moray is whisky country, home to many of the best malt whiskies, but it is so much more.

The water which gives its whisky superb qualities also moulds a landscape offering many attractions for water sport and wildlife enthusiasts. The latter may see ospreys, kites, eagles, deer, dolphin and more. There is great walking and mountain biking. History too – visit the ruins of Elgin Cathedral, the “Lantern of the North”, devastated by the Wolf of Badenoch in 1390, or indeed the Wolf’s lonely air, Lochindorb Castle. And all this benefitting from the microclimate that lets Moray enjoy some of Britain‘s best weather.

All this – oh, and great Orienteering too. We are offering four fine coastal areas, each with its own character. Lossie and Roseisle have intricate coastal dunes with a flatter subtler inland backdrop.

Carse of Ardersier is finely contoured alluvial ground behind the Moray Firth. Culbin has larger dunes with some very intricate areas and offers the unique opportunity to run on part of an area another part of which is being used for the 2015 World Championships. By way of contrast we have two inland areas with extensive areas of moraine. Details are on our website (www. scottish6days.com/2013) Back to history – or at least to Shakespeare’s version of it, if you know your MacBeth. Carse and Loch of Boath are the Thane of Cawdor’s ground.

A dedicated camp site and Event Centre will be at Brodie Castle, a superb National Trust for Scotland property dating from the 16th Century (http://www.nts.org.uk/ Property/Brodie-Castle)

Moray 2013 – banish the winter blues.

It’s a long way, but it’s worth it.

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER

19

PROMOTION

Clues to membership surge in NSW Maggie Jones – ONSW Communications

In the past year in NSW, the recent trend of stagnating memberships and even decline has had a dramatic reversal, with 2010’s decline of -6% being overturned by a growth of 15% in 2011. And in 2012, membership numbers to June 30th have almost reached the year-end result for 2011. As summer approaches we expect the various urban series to boost numbers even further. Metro clubs have had a boost in numbers with one club nearly doubling in size and another two increasing by over a third. Regional clubs have begun to grow too, with good retention rates being complemented by new recruits. Western Plains Orienteers, after a very quiet year in 2011 have added an amazing 200% to their membership since the start of 2012 and Newcastle, the mighty non-metropolitan club, continues to attract and retain members at an astounding rate.

So what is happening in Orienteering NSW that is causing this increase?

For the metropolitan clubs the significant change is that to the fee structure around the Sydney Summer Series which runs over 26 weeks which was an increase of non-member participation fees. The differential between a member rate and the nonmember rate introduced is not huge for an individual event but for regular runners, and especially those who are chasing a series title, there was real financial benefit in joining a club. This way to encouraging membership is likely to retain members year on year as there is incentive every year to join and make the saving.

Contrast this with the approach that was taken in the UK where British Orienteering had a recruitment drive which offered a free year’s membership in 2007 to new joiners, with a discount in their renewal for the following year. The result of this was a massive surge in numbers in 2007, a smaller increase in 2008, then a significant drop off in 2009 and a further drop in 2010.

(British Orienteering Annual Report 2011) What cannot be ignored with the British approach, however, is that this did leave them with a higher base level of memberships from which to grow the sport.

20 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

New memberships in themselves are welcome but it is the retention of members and the inclusion of the members in club life which will give the sport a robust future. Along with recruitment efforts, retention rates in ONSW have also improved in 2011, up to an overall 84% from 2010’s 77%, and 2012 renewal rates have been just as good. Some clubs such as Central Coast, Waggaroos and Western Plains managed a 100% renewal rate in 2011 but there are at least seven other clubs who are managing renewal rates in the high 80% and 90% regions.

Garingal growth Sydney club, Garingal, has been growing steadily over the past five years. Whilst the club runs many events all year round, the Garingal team has also put time and effort into the way they run the club to make it as attractive to current members as to new ones.

Their updated website, new in 2010, is a great example of how a club website can look, with up to date event information, club news and photo galleries. The website is managed to show the best of the club, including carefully chosen photos which illustrate the dynamic yet generation-spanning nature of the sport. Regular updates keep information fresh. Club merchandise is sold through the site including polar fleeces and subsidised shirts.

The combination of distinctive club shirts and new club banners makes the Garingal crew highly visible at events. Regular committee meetings, a regular light hearted email to all club members, and a more formal club newsletter, keep members up to date and the club activity ticking over. Tight organisation and guidelines around event management and coaching of new planners and organisers, as well as both formal and informal coaching of newcomers, helps to promote a vision of a club which is active, competent and a great place to join in. The club also has a regular source of new memberships from the North Sydney Boys High School where they have established Falcon O, an in-school Orienteering club which attracts new junior members and can lead to entire families joining.

ONSW has given itself a boost to membership which will help with all those other things which give the sport a chance to succeed.

One of the areas they are particularly proud of is their support of new members. Very quickly after a member has signed up, David Stitt, Garingal Secretary, makes contact and despatches a disc describing all about the club, with key information and useful

documents. There is an informal buddy system for new members too, and if they are interested in getting involved in event management, there is a systematic way of coaching them. New members are included in rotas for event jobs, and as they progress onto the planning and organising roles, they are teamed up with a more experienced orienteer to help coach them through. Even the events are stratified; a new course setter will be put to work on smaller, less formal, events such as a Moonlight Madness event, which is a night score street format, before they graduate to running a Summer Series event (a daytime score event which attracts larger numbers) and then onto club events which require line course planning in a bush environment.

They admit there are things they can improve. Barbara Hill (Garingal member and ONSW Promotions Director) suggests that the club’s social calendar could be expanded and there is limited car pooling and joint accommodation booking activity for big events.

Training adults brings new members to Uringa Uringa Orienteers, which has had stable membership numbers over the past few years, has seen useful increases in memberships but their approach is slightly different. Whilst they have also benefited from the change in fee structure of the Sydney Summer Series, it is their new adult training course which pulled in the most members last year. For Uringa, the ‘Learn to Navigate’ course run over five weeks in late 2011 was all about recruitment; the cost of the course ($99 for families, $75 for individuals) was budgeted to include Uringa membership. It also included entry to an event in the Southern Summer Series, to help

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 21

PROMOTION

recruits make that first step towards participating. All of the training participants have since signed up to run for the club in the upcoming Metro and Junior Leagues.

The course has been syndicated to Garingal and Bennelong Northside clubs who ran their version of it this autumn for club members, and to Southern Highlands Occasional Orienteers who ran their version of it in mid-year. These courses have potential to make a real impact on club numbers; if all the participants in the SHOO training join as full members the SHOO club will almost double in size.

Uringa run a monthly training session to help both new recruits and more experienced members keep their skills up to date, and more importantly, come along and engage with the club community. Social events are a highlight of Uringa club life with an annual President’s Cup, a curry night and a Christmas party all standing items on the club calendar. Uringa are taking a leaf out of Garingal’s books too. A new website will be live imminently, a stock of subsidised club shirts is now being maintained, and guidelines over succession planning for organisers, mappers and planners is the subject of a subcommittee.

Increasing events leads to increased participation Focussing the efforts of club management can be an important improvement but there have been other changes implemented over the last few years across NSW which are beginning to bear fruit. Overall there have been increases in the numbers of events being run by clubs and this undoubtedly brings in new members as well as providing more events for dedicated enthusiasts.

Several new urban event series have been implemented across NSW; Cunning Running, a winter Saturday 22 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

series run by club Western Hills, has brought new blood to the club. Western Hills was also the backbone club for the new series run on a Sunday, the Western Summer Series. Bad weather was a limiting factor on the Southern Summer Series which also implemented this last summer season. Illawarra Kareelah would be forgiven for thinking that the gods do not smile on anything south of Sydney Harbour, with their key events suffering possibly the two worst days of weather of the season. Lessons have been learnt however from these innovations and new series co-ordinator, Dave Lotty, is working on the schedule of races for later this year.

There will be an increase in the number of events for the Southern Series which will all occur in very close proximity to each other, allowing people to get used to running every week in their local area. That will also help marketing efforts.

Over to the UK British Orienteering Event Manager, Helen Errington, agrees that more events definitely attract more participation. ‘Urban Orienteering and Park Series Orienteering, relatively new additions to the Orienteering calendar, are hugely popular in the UK and bring in many people who may not be attracted to the more technical forms of the sport.’ For BOF though, it is not only competitive events which are bringing in increases in participation. Innovations such as the ‘Year in a Box’ club training plan are also having success in increasing participation in the sport. The ‘Year in a Box’ provides 52 weeks of training and

drawn in a number of new members to the club. A Star Trek line course was added to let the adults have some fun too. Karen Hagan, Western Plains President, is keeping the momentum going, following up the new members with a training course to help them start bush Orienteering in time for the Queen’s Birthday 3 day carnival in Armidale.

And of course Newcastle, the largest club in NSW, continues to attract and hold the attention of its membership with a full all year round event calendar which includes mountain bike events, park series, and bush series including the Newcastle Orienteer of the Year competition. Geoff Peel, outgoing President of Newcastle, who has seen the club grow over the last 15 years, believes that there is much to be said for running lots of events, but it is the reception of people when they come along to the events which makes the difference between casual orienteers and new memberships.

Newcastle committee members are present and visible at events, often arriving early to greet newcomers, and staying late to find out how they got on. Having the same faces at the events allows casual orienteers to start to feel comfortable and welcome and that translates straight into new memberships, he believes.

So what happens next?

materials to allow clubs to have a weekly club night, and establish the same sort of club environment as offered by traditional team sports such as soccer and hockey.

These increases in local participation need to be considered carefully, however, as BOF is discovering. ‘We are now suffering a little from our own success at these local events,’ says Helen Errington. ‘People do not have to travel for their Orienteering, and whilst participation is up overall, participation at the major national events has seen a decline.’ Adult training is seen as the way to bridge that gap and ONSW is in discussions with British Orienteering Development Manager Edward Nicholas to exchange the adult training course developed here for the ‘Year in a Box’ from BOF.

2011 and the new fee structures have had a major impact on the membership rates; each new event series continues to push up participation rates both for newcomers and for more seasoned competitors.

ONSW has given itself a boost to membership which will help with Map printed at 65% all those other things which give the sport a chance to succeed in the future – new event organisers, new juniors, and a membership base to attract sponsors. All of these will help as they start planning for their major event in 2014, the Australian 3 Days Easter Carnival.

What seems to be working: •E vent fee structures that encourages club membership • Increased number of events •L ocal events which are easy for newcomers to participate in

Not all about Sydney

• Highly visible club presence

The success stories are not just about metropolitan clubs however.

Western Plains have taken a leaf out of Victorian Jim Russell’s book and initiated a Space Racing programme in central Dubbo.

Aimed at children, this score event has proved very popular and

• Increased training opportunities • Personal contact with newcomers SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 23

INTERVIEW

In the Hotseat with Lachy and Ian.* (* Lachlan Dow (BS.A) and Ian Lawford (AO.A))

Ida Bobach, Denmark, at just the age of 20, has already had a stellar elite Orienteering career, attending JWOC a staggering six times and winning gold seven times. Even before entering the senior age class (at the beginning of this year) she has represented Denmark at the World Orienteering Championships twice, and in 2011 Ida took the silver medal in the Middle Distance (in extremely difficult French terrain - see December 2011 issue). What will the future hold for “Nanobach”?

Lachlan: Ida, congratulations on an excellent 2011 season.

Did you expect to run so well at the WOC? In 2010 you ran very well at WOC, did you think you would improve on those results?

Ida: Thanks, I hoped to do really well in the Middle Distance and I believed that I could do better than in 2010. But I did not think that I would be able to win a medal.

Lachlan: What were your competition goals for 2011?

Ida: My main goal of the season was JWOC. The goal was to win at least two medals so I would be the junior with most medals overall. My goal for WOC was top-10.

Lachlan: At JWOC you set a record for the amount of medals you won, what was that record? Did you know about the record until you broke it?

Ida: My coach, Lars Lindstrøm, told me about the record after JWOC in Denmark, and I only needed two more medals. The record is now 12 medals (7 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze).

Lachlan: You have run in A LOT of countries now, what are some of your favourite competitions you have run over the years and why?

Ida: JWOC 2007 in Australia stands really clearly in my mind (and I’m not saying it just because I’m talking to you). It felt quite special to travel half around the world to run JWOC. Everything was quite different from Denmark and it was cool to see kangaroos while running. And the terrains were really great. I remember looking at the map of the Long Distance for the first time when I was running out of the start, and I was just thinking: the map is just brown and black! And then I missed the first control. It was really challenging and fun to run.

JWOC in Denmark was also quite special because it was on home ground. There were a lot of Danish spectators and they created a fantastic atmosphere.

Lachlan: Now let’s talk training: favourite place to train?

Ida: “Vesterskoven” in the spring. From my home it takes 5 minutes to run to Vesterskoven. It is a forest that has got it all: big hills, detailed areas and flat, open areas. And in the spring it looks so fine with all the green leaves.

Lachlan: What training sessions do you like the most?

What training exercises do you think are the most important for your performance?

Ida: I think interval training is really important for my performance. Sometimes I’m not so fond of intervals, but other times it is the best. I guess I like it the most when I feel fit. I especially like O-intervals. It feels great to push hard physically and technically.

Lachlan: Your bigger brother and parents also do a lot of Orienteering (at least I remember them doing a lot!), how have they helped you along the way?

Ida: Yes, both my parents and brother are running a lot of Orienteering. My parents have always been really supporting when it comes to my Orienteering. They have taught me all the basic Orienteering skills and they have set some great settings for me. My brothers have kind of prepared the way for me. They have both been really good as juniors so they have showed me what to do, and what not to do.

Lachlan: How do you prepare for a race? Talk us through what you normally do the morning of a big race. What things do you think you shouldn’t do before a race?

24 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

Ida: I try to prepare as much as possible before the racing day; e.g. look at old maps and read the bulletin/information on the race. I also pack most of my things the day before, so I do not have to stress about that in the morning, at the risk of forgetting something. In the morning I get up and eat 3-4 hours before my starting time. Then I check my things before I leave for the race. In the car I try to think my tactics through.

I try to have two or three things in focus, like compass-using or simplification. When I arrive at the arena or start I try to put the orienteering thoughts away and relax or talk to some people so I do not get too nervous. I start my warm-up about 30min before my start, so I have time to find the right mood both physically and mentally.

Lachlan: Imagine you are running along in a race, and you suddenly feel like you are going wrong. What do you do!?

Ida: I stop! And I check the map and the surroundings and see if I am in the right place. I always try to react on my doubt, but I do not always succeed.

Lachlan: What are your goals for 2012? Are you planning on travelling to New Zealand in 2013 for the World Cup? Ida: My goal for 2012 is to win a WOC medal in Switzerland.

Yes I am planning on running the World Cup in New Zealand.

Now here are Ian’s questions. They are more fun and not so much about Orienteering: Ian: Where are you living now?

Ida: I’m still living with my parents. It’s the best!

Ian: Studying at uni?

Ida: No I am not studying yet but I will start this summer and I think that I will study molecular medicine.

Ian: If you won 1,000,000,000 kroner, where would you live?

Ida: I think I would live in Denmark. But instead of buying a big fancy house I would buy an aeroplane. Every weekend I would then travel around the world running Orienteering in the coolest terrains. And I would definitely go to Australia.

Ian: When it snows and gets dark all the time in winter, how do you stop going crazy?

Ida: I still run in the forest and enjoy it, so perhaps I am a bit crazy. But often it is just boring and hard. We always go for a training camp in Portugal or another warm place. Looking forward to that definitely helps me keeping motivated. And running in snow is nice training; it is like running in the Swedish marshes.

Ian: Favourite song?

Ida: “Simply the best”; I am quite sure that Tina Turner is singing about me...

Ian: Favourite drink?

Ida: Pina Colada!

Ian: Best after party ever?

Ida: That is a hard question. I think it must be the JWOC party in Italy, 2009.

Ian: Favourite country outside Denmark?

Ida: I do not know, because I have not been everywhere yet! But when I win 1,000,000,000 kroner I will go to all the countries and then you can ask me again.

Ian: You’re stuck on a desert island: what one thing do you want with you (other than survival equipment)?

Ida: An Orienteering map! Nah, I guess I am not that geeky.

Maybe I would bring the complete series of “Friends”. Then I have entertainment for some of hours.

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 25

WORLD MASTERS ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Liz Abbott Photo: CompassSport

Medals at World Masters

Su Yan Tay Photo: sportograf

S

ome 75 Australians travelled to the Harz Mountains region of northern Germany to compete at WMOC 2012. Most successful were Natasha Key (silver medal in W40 Sprint and bronze in Long Distance), Hermann Wehner (silver medal in M85 Sprint and 7th in Long Distance) and Su Yan Tay (bronze medal in W45 Long Distance). For Hermann Wehner, his Sprint medal had added significance for he was competing in his original home town of Goslar. Jenny Bourne (W55), Warren Key (M50) and Jim Russell (M50) all achieved top-10 placings.

Long Distance podium – Tash Key 3rd W40 Photo: CompassSport

Tash Key Photo: CompassSport

Long Distance podium – Su Yan Tay 3rd W45 Photo: CompassSport

Wendy Read Photo: CompassSport 26 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

Hilary Wood Photo: CompassSport

Jenny Bourne Photo: sportograf

Blair Trewin Photo: CompassSport Alex Tarr Photo: CompassSport

Warren Key Photo: sportograf

Hermann Wehner Photo: CompassSport

Ann Ingwersen Photo: CompassSport

Sprint podium – Hermann Wehner 2nd M85 Photo: CompassSport

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 27

BUSHRANGER JUNIORS

Sand Dunes, Wet Shoes and lots of Sheep Our ‘sweet as’ NZ training camp Heather Muir (QLD)

So it was that time of year when end of semester high school exams are fast approaching and June University finals are creating an underlying tone of stress - and whilst a solid study week may have been in order, packing up and heading over to New Zealand for a week of Orienteering seemed like an equally viable solution. And so a keen group of 10 juniors headed off to a chilly and wet Wellington conveniently on the first day of winter to take part in the NZ QBIII Orienteering competition, and a training camp afterwards kindly organised by Jenny Bourne and Geoff Lawford.

Heather Muir

T

his was a really great opportunity for many juniors with limited experience on terrain outside of Australia, as well as the chance to learn from two of our country’s greatest and most knowledgeable orienteers.

We certainly made the most of this opportunity. Being such a highly motivated and dedicated group of athletes we supplemented the specific O training with ‘croc bike’ cycling sessions for cross training purposes, pool marathons with the sole intention of increasing upper body stability and enhancing concentration in high pressure scenarios (there really were a lot of dishes to get stuck with if you lost), either doing the strength sessions or spying on the strength sessions (sorry Shea-Cara!) and a few of the Tasmanians even went for the full ‘ice bath effect’ at the beach to accelerate their recovery between days.

Some of these sessions may have contributed more than others to improving our orienteering over the week, but all were undertaken with equal levels of enthusiasm nonetheless.

Initially, for the QBIII competition, a few of the juniors stayed separately

28 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

with the Bushrangers team (which competed against the NZ Pinestars in the senior test match), however there was ample opportunity for map talk with the others at the events. Conveniently for the Bushrangers it was only a short walk from the accommodation to the first two events and perhaps more convenient was that the local “fush and chups” shop was on this walking route, or at least we made it on the walking route. Fuelled by those super special ‘garlic chips’ the Bushrangers had some really good results, as did many of the other juniors.

For the training days we returned to the same maps run on for the QBIII races which was a good opportunity to re-run some mishap legs or to focus on a number of specific skills.

The first day of training took us back to the area of the loops races which was quite detailed sand dune terrain but also very beautiful to run through.

I’m fairly sure Brodie ran quite some extra distance just to go through his ‘really pretty forest’ on one section of the map. Of the two exercises we did, one was a line course and the other a blanked out compass

but a bit more of a shock.

I must admit I thought the Kiwi’s were joking about the electric fences, but apparently not. This proved a nasty surprise for Geoff, Ashley and myself.

By Thursday it was time for a bit of a competitive edge to the training, and it was decided a camp champs was in order. Perhaps on the best terrain of the week - or ever for that matter - we returned to the map ‘The Strip’ for a Sprint style, handicapped and rather epic camp champs race.

Unfortunately for the girls, Ashley’s win meant dishes duty for us that night, but ‘all is fair in nav and war’ so no complaining there. Since we were all a bit keen to get back out on this “sweet as” kiwi map, we did some extra collecting tapes ‘training’ and coincidentally there were some randoms with cameras in the forest who got some good pics as we were working hard.

bearing exercise which got us to compare the ‘reading every detail’ approach to the ‘just gunning it with your compass’ approach.

Heather with Brodie Nankervis

Unfortunately the terrain was not so ‘pretty’ the next day when we returned to the low-visability-I-seriouslycan’t-see-where-I’m-goingouch-I-think-that-was-a-log terrain of the Long Distance day. Despite the icy rain and the wind and every branch giving you a full on shower, it was a good opportunity to train in a low visibility forest similar apparently to many European forests. It proved, however, that the real dampener that day was not the rainy weather

All in all we had a fantastic time and a HUGE thanks must go to Jenny and Geoff who put it all together for us.

Not only setting the training for us but the insight you gave us to life as an elite orienteer was invaluable and I think, in many regards, quite motivating for us to hear. Also, if we didn’t mention it Geoff, we really liked your story about your ‘best race ever’. And so a week of hard training both physically and mentally left us all pretty exhausted but also more experienced and hopefully improved orienteers. If not, at least a week of studying ‘the important things’ certainly got our brains into gear for our exams... I hope...

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 29

JUNIOR WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS

S is for … Slovakia, … and sun, … and storms…

Story & photos: Valerie Barker, Manager

Alex Massey-Long

Michele Dawson-Sprint

S

is for… the seven people who converged on Budapest from Sweden, England and Australia on 30th June, on as many different flights as possible. Valerie made five hour-long trips on the metro/bus to and from the city centre to meet up with everyone, so was well familiarised with the route by the time the team had to travel out to the airport the next day to collect our vehicles and to head east. The drive across Hungary and into Slovakia to Košice brought a taste of the rural scenery: sunflowers, corn, haymaking and more sunflowers.

Team members Michele, Alex, Brodie, Amy, Lilian and Heather and coach Roch were joined in Košice by Ian, Kas and Olle, who’d been doing some advance training in the region.

S is for… student hostel accommodation – of a very simple and spartan variety. Again this year we stayed for the week prior to JWOC at the same venue as during the JWOC week. The training camp week is definitely a budget option, with the standard diet of soup, potatoes and rice (usually both together), chicken and salad (small tubs of shredded cabbage, with variations of tomato, cucumber and capsicum). Shared rooms are the norm, although sufficient toilet paper was not. Fortunately, both the standard and quantity of food increased as athletes arrived for the competition week, although the stodge level was fairly consistent. Noticeably, the Swedes stayed elsewhere.

30 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

S is for… Susanne (Casanova) who also joined us at Budapest – as a break from her WOC training, she became an invaluable assistant coach at our pre-JWOC training camp, preparing a wide variety of exercises and activities – for the forest and for the armchair. Susanne kept minds very engaged with her creative approaches to thinking about good routines and Orienteering habits, and demonstrated her navigational skills as she took us to the various training areas, with lots of map memory from her previous trip here several years ago. Our brown paper walls (of information, route choices etc) were read by more than just our team.

S is for… shopping: for a kettle (for those cups of coffee coaches need in the evenings); for fans for the hot and stuffy non airconditioned rooms; for supplementary food – water, bananas and muesli bars being top of the list; and of course for endless extra supplies. Prices are very cheap, of course. One of the shopping essentials was for the outfits for the final banquet – sparkling dresses and matching ties for the boys was the choice this year.

S is for… sun and sweat and sticky hot nights. With average maximum temperatures hovering in the mid-thirties for the whole of the training camp week, often accompanied by high humidity, we had to watch that fluid intakes were maintained, especially when we were out training, which we tried to do mostly in the morning. At least the washing dried very quickly! Temperatures

Oscar McNulty-Sprint

Heather Muir-Sprint

Ian Lawford-Sprint

were a little cooler during competition week, but the air was very humid and sultry so supplementary water supplies were always in demand.

S is for… swimming. The favourite place for the locals to cool down is a nearby lake, so we joined them, making the most of the chance to relax and refresh ourselves. The shoppers had indulged in an inflatable raft and boat, so drifting out onto the lake was the way to leisurely enjoy the water. Amy, of course, swam back and forth – and could be heard singing gently across the evening waters!

S is for… socialism, steel and sightseeing through the old city centre, with its interesting buildings, and archaeological ruins under the main street dating back to the 13th century, and ‘discovered’ only in the 1990’s. There is a cosmopolitan café culture in evidence, a stark contrast to the endless blocks of socialist era apartments which ring the city, and the steel works on the outskirts of Košice.

S is for… scenery. The Slovakian countryside is very pretty, dominated to the south-west by the karst country, its limestone landscapes, beech forest and sinkholes providing navigational challenges to the team. Two castles situated on the skyline captured our imagination as we travelled west to a major training area; we finally saw some flocks of sheep and a herd of cows, all with bells on, and each accompanied by a shepherd/cowherd and

his dogs; there was an abundance of wildflowers, several storks’ nests, and the deer which leapt across the road right in front of the bus one day demonstrated that the deer warning signs were not just cosmetic. On our first visit to a national park during training camp week, we discovered that 130 of the 240 species and sub-species of slugs are found in this corner of the country.

The countryside is a lush green, broken only by the fields of ripening crops or being used for haymaking; 40% of Slovakia is covered in forest. A scenic highlight was our rest day visit to the Ice Cave at Dobšinká, about two hours drive north west of Košice – imagine ice ‘stalactites’, cave temperatures of -5°C, ice up to 25m thick, and a floor of ice that was used for an Olympian ice skater to train on in the 1950s.

S is for…surprises – of the birthday cake sort, this year for both Lilian (20) and Michele (18), on successive days. However, Michele had to watch everyone else eating her cake as she was not well, being at the head of the sick list during training camp.

S is for… the Saturday night Opening Ceremony and speeches.

It was another hot evening, and we sweltered as we marched down the main street, but it was a first meeting up with our large support team as well and the Australian flag was flying high. In fact we had one excited man who wanted to take photos of us; originally born in Košice, he has lived in Melbourne for the past 26 years, and was visiting his birthplace for a holiday. A highlight SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 31

JUNIOR WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Lilian Burrill-Relay start

Oscar McNulty-Relay

Kasimir Gregory-Middle F

Lilian Burrill-Relay

Alex Massey-Middle Final

Brodie Nankervis-Middle Qualification

of the ceremony was the Slovak shepherd playing his fujara, a large bass overtone flute (about 1.7m long) held vertically, and singing an accompaniment.

S is for… the Sprint, the first event on the 2012 JWOC calendar.

It was held in the old city centre, so the setting was picturesque, and our supporters were able to shelter from the sun in a choice of cafes. The event was a very fast run on a straightforward course, with the main spectator control the usual hazardous point with passing tourists and pedestrians, and plenty of inner courtyards and laneways to trap the unwary. The heat bothered most of the team, with the best result coming from Ian who was at the top of the board for a short period.

S is for… sunshine and storms – the weather for the Long Distance event. With the first starts at 9.00am, team members were leaving the hostel from 6.30am, so not only the event but also the day was a very long one, with the last runners coming in at 4.30pm. The day began hot, although a storm the previous evening had brought down the temperatures a little; our supporters found a perfect place in the shade to watch runners as they careered down a slope to the final control before heading up the undulating finish chute. Although not the first starter, Brodie produced the surprise of the day by being the first male home, to much excitement and belated rushing for cameras. He was later interviewed, so was a media star as well! As the day progressed, 32 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

Ian Lawford-Relay start

the cloud cover increased, and the shade lost; in fact the trees soon became a shelter from the rain, as the bedraggled supporters watched the runners appearing out of the forest or sliding down the hill. Our changing tent became the popular place to be, not just for the team, but also for the families.

S is for… the Sick List and a Saints’ Day holiday (and lots of strapping tape). Inevitably a couple of coughs and a chest infection travelled with us from Australia; getting a repeat prescription of antibiotics on the eve of a public holiday was challenging, but the medication was delivered to my room at no cost…Only a few hours later, it was deemed that Michele needed some hospital attention, but having been turned away from the Emergency Dept we ended up at a private clinic (thankfully we had a JWOC translator with us) where Michele was duly jabbed, and sent home to rest and try a diet of black tea and baby rusks.

Although lethargic, she was back on her feet for the first event, and steadily improved as the week went on. Lilian turned her ankle badly in the Long Distance event, but the standard RICE treatment, and Roch’s miraculous strapping of her ankle meant that she was able to move in time for the Middle Qualifier on Wednesday and continued to run all week. A mere ankle injury was not going to stop her in her final JWOC year. Minor blisters, splinters and a couple of ticks were the only other injuries that had to be managed.

Oliver Poland-Relay

Brodie Nankervis interviewed after Long Distance.

Oscar McNulty & Tim Robertson(NZ)-Long

S…is for success, and then that sinking feeling as you watch your results sliding down the board. This was the nature of the Middle Qualification day; Ian had a sterling run, and easily earned his place in the Middle Distance A Final which seemed to be well augured with the weather beginning with storms, easing to showers which finally yielded to sunshine, encouraging our enthusiastic supporters back to the sideline. Others such as Michele were simply unlucky to miss out on securing a coveted place in the A final.

S is for… the Southern Hemisphere solidarity, which made Matt Ogden’s stunning win at the Middle Distance Final such an exciting event for both the Kiwis and the Australians to share.

There were huge smiles and grins, and an almost palpable sense of pride that ‘we’ managed to put a little country like NZ onto the podium. Our congratulations go to Matt on his success!

S is for… skiing and ski tows of the local skiing area which was the venue for one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the week, the Relays. Both Lilian and Ian took an almost identical and steeper route up the ski slope in the mass start before disappearing into the forest, away from the others around them, to have a very comfortable first split. After coming through the spectator control they continued on to complete their first leg, before handing over to Heather and Michele, and to Oscar and Olle. The second boys’ team of Kas, Alex and Brodie also worked hard, as did Amy, the

Amy Buckerfield-Sprint.

Heather Muir-Relay

third leg runner in a composite ANZ team. The Relays are always exciting to watch, and the second leg of Oscar set up a great finishing result for the boys, of an official tenth.

S is for… the Support Team. This year seven of the ten team members had parents and siblings over in Europe; in fact there were almost twice as many supporters as team members. They arrived early to get the best viewing spots, and to stake their claim at the spectator controls or along the Finish chute. They were there in all weathers, waving the Australian flag or the Boxing Kangaroo and cheering wildly – even for those other runners from our side of the world. Thank you to you all for your enthusiasm, and your sharing in our successes and disappointments, the very stuff of JWOC. So, S is for a sort of summary and such an assortment… shoes (both our designer contour shoes and the muddy and wet competition footwear); singlets and shorts (our new Sprint uniform); swapping of clothes (a post JWOC tradition, with the Swiss uniforms keenly sought after this year); sponsors (our Google t-shirts are still awaiting official endorsement); our surprises, successes and sharing of disappointments; and for non‘sprinkly’ water, handed out at every meal. Slovakia gave us all an essspecially interesting and memorable JWOC 2012.

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 33

WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS

MEN

WOMEN

SPRINT

SPRINT

1

Matthias Kyburz

SUI

15.32.0

1

Simone Niggli

SUI

15.43.7

2

Matthias Merz

SUI

15.49.5

2

Maja Alm

DEN

16.20.2

3

Matthias Muller

SUI

15.59.0

3

Annika Billstam

SWE

16.28.0

32

Julian Dent

AUS

17.50.3

39

David Brickhill-Jones

AUS

18.00.6

MIDDLE DISTANCE

T

he World Championships moved back to Switzerland after a nine-year break, to be based on the lakeside city of Lausanne. The highlight of WOC 2012 had to be the feat of Simone Niggli who, on home soil, won three more Gold medals to take her lifetime tally to 20. And, but for an apparent brain-fade in the Middle Distance Final, it could have been another Gold and a clean sweep of the women’s championships this year. Instead, another serial medallist, Finland’s Minna Kauppi, took the Middle Distance Gold.

The other highlight, however, was the emergence of Latvia’s Edgars Bertuks as a dual medallist including Gold in the Middle Distance.

Julian Dent 34 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

MIDDLE DISTANCE

1

Edgars Bertuks

LAT

36.45

1

Minna Kaupi

FIN

37.37

2

Valentin Novikov

RUS

36.50

2

Tove Alexandersson

SWE

38.09

3

Fabian Hertner

SUI

37.10

3

Tatyana Riabkina

RUS

39.03

31

Vanessa Round

AUS

47.58

LONG DISTANCE

LONG DISTANCE

1

Olav Lundanes

NOR

1:34.42

1

Simone Niggli

SUI

1:15.07

2

Matthais Merz

SUI

1:37.34

2

Minna Kauppi

FIN

1:16.38

3

Edgars Bertuks

LAT

1:39.13

3

Annika Billstam

SWE

1:17.13

30

Julian Dent

AUS

1:54.18

35

Aislinn Prendergast

AUS

1:39.58

RELAY

RELAY

1

Czech Republic

1:40.00

1

Switzerland

1:44.54

2

Norway

1:40.06

2

Sweden

1:47.18

3

Sweden

1:40.11

3

Norway

1:48.11

22

Australia

1:55.45

22

Australia

2:17.53

Photos: Jan Kocbach / WorldofO.com

David Brickhill-Jones

Julian Dent 30th in the Long final

Vanessa Round 31st in the Middle

Photos: Jan Kocbach / WorldofO.com Aislinn Prendergast, 35th in the Long

Part of the Men’s Long final map

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 35

TOP EVENTS 2012

Cal O’rie

Sept 22-30

J

ust after the completion of the 2013 Oceania Championships in New Zealand, New Caledonia will welcome a group of 50 Scandinavian orienteers for a 3-Day Orienteering competition. This friendly event will take place on Friday 18, Saturday 19 & Sunday 20th January, 2013.

Oct 1-12

We would be very happy also to welcome orienteers from Australia and New Zealand for this mini festival (Cal O’rie). These races will take place on three different maps, on the very unusual New Caledonian terrain.

It will be a real change for our overseas neighbours to run on such ground!

Convergence, club of New Caledonia, welcomes you on their “Pebble”!

Ariel LLAMBRICH

For more information please e-mail: clubconvergence@lagoon.nc

AUS Championships 2012, Beaches & Boulders East Coast, Tasmania www.auschamps2012.com

au s t r al i an

M TB O c h am p i on sh i p s

2 0 12

Ta r e e , NSW

Five + Five Days of Sicily Selinunte / Taormina, Italy www.orienteering.it Oct 14-19 Asian Orienteering Championships Wuxi, Jiangsu, China www.jsrsa.net, www.oacn.org Oct 19-21 North American O Champs, Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania, USA. www.naoc2012.org Oct 26-28 AUS MTBO Championships National MTBO Series #3 Taree NSW, mountaindevils.com Oct 31Istanbul 5 Days Turkey.

Nov 4 www.ist5days.com Nov 10-11 Venice City Race (check dates for Venezia, Italy.

Acqua Alta) www.orivenezia.it Dec 27-31 Xmas 5-Days 2012 Beechworth, Victoria www.vicorienteering.asn.au/events/ bush/C5D/

Advertise your event You can have a 6 x 9 cm event ad for just $50 In colour, if we have room, otherwise black & white Send artwork to The Editor: mikehubbert@ozemail.com.au

OR IEN TE ER IN G SER IES Occasional mappers value economy OCAD Frequent mappers relish productivity OCAD • Buy in A$ • Get rapid delivery • Read an Australian blog BONUS on some OCAD lines Australia & NZ OCAD reseller

PO Box 12001, A’beckett St, VIC 8006 03 5348 3792, 0410 481 677, info@ocad.com.au In memory of Rex Saye, the orienteering software which he designed and wrote (OTrack and Corpse version 7 with new features) is now available free of charge at

www.o-ware.com 36 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

2013

2014 Jan 4-13

Jan 18-20 Mar 29 Apr 1 Mar 29 Apr 1 June 29July 6 July 7-14

July 20-26

25 July – 4 August a u s tr a l i a n

MTBO

July 28-29

c ha m p i ons h ips

2013

Gympie, Qld

July 28Aug 3 July 27Aug 1 Aug 3-10 Aug 26-31

Oceania Carnival & World Cup Wellington & Hawkes Bay areas North Island, New Zealand www.oceania2013.co.nz Cal O’rie New Caledonia clubconvergence@lagoon.nc Gold’n Ponds AUS 3 Days 2013 Bendigo, Victoria NZ Orienteering Championships Christchurch. NZ www.nzonationals2013.org.nz JWOC 2013 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic www.jwoc2013.cz WOC2013 Vuokkati, Finland www.woc2013.fi O-Ringen 2013 Boden, Lapland, Sweden www.oringen.se 2013 World Games Cali, Colombia worldgames2013.com.co AUS MTBO Championships Toolara South, (near Gympie) Qld www.ausmtbochamps.com Moray 2013 Scottish 6 Days www.scottish6days.com/2013/ Five days of Apennines 2013 Val Trebbia, (near Genoa), Italy www.5days2013.it WMOC 2013 Sestriere, Piedmont, Italy, www.wmoc2013.it World MTBO Champs Junior World MTBO Champs Rakvere, Lääne-Viru, Estonia www.orienteerumine.ee/mtbo2013

April 18 - 21 Dates tba July 5-13

July 19-25

Aug 24-31 Nov 1-8 Dates tba

Dates tba Dec 27 - 31

Australian 3 Days Carnival 2014 Lithgow/Mudgee, NSW JWOC 2014 Borovetz, Bulgaria WOC 2014 Trentino, Italy www.woc-wtoc2014.com O-Ringen 2014 50th Anniversary Rinkaby, Skåne, Sweden. www.oringen.se WMTBOC & JWMTBOC 2014 Poland WMOC 2014 Porto Alegre, Brazil www.wmoc2014.br 2014 AUS MTBO Championships South Australia Oceania & AUS Championships West Australia Xmas 5-Days NSW

Orienteering Australia – National Training Centre

Sept 28Oct 6 Nov 9-10

AUS Championships Carnival ACT Venice City Race 2013 (check dates for Venezia, Italy www.orivenezia.it Acqua Alta)

Dec 27-31

Xmas 5-Days NSW

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Prices for bulk orders available on request. Orders should be addressed to Orienteering Australia, PO Box 284 Mitchell BC 2911, with cheques made payable to Orienteering Australia. Email: orienteering@netspeed.com.au SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 37

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WORLD UNIVERSITY ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Lauren Gillis 13th Three girls in top 30 in WUOC Sprint

T

he Australian girls produced some brilliant results in the Sprint at the World University Championships at Alicante in Spain last July, with three making the top-30.

South Australian Lauren Gillis, a newcomer to the international stage, displayed not only her speed but her fitness too. Lauren backed up after almost a two-hour effort the day before in the Long Distance event, to place a tremendous 13th. Rachel Lauren Gillis in action at Easter Effeney’s 15th was also a top result, especially as she lost a minute at a mid-race control. Bridget Anderson produced her best ever international result with 30th despite injuring her back the day before.

Some of the Australian team members

Women’s Sprint Final.

Big route decision to 1st control.

Men Middle Final - (3rd) Adam Chromy route.

LONG DISTANCE Women 1. 1.05.32 Isabelle Feer SUI 2. 1.05.37 Brigitta Mathys SUI 3. 1.06.37 Radka Brozková CZE 37. 1.23.12 Aislinn Prendergast 49. 1.32 Laurina Neumann 58. 1.49 Ilka Barr

Men 1. 1.15 2. 1.16 3. 1.17 64. 1.45 69. 1.51

Raffael Huber Štepán Kodeda Adam Chromý Matt Parton Oliver Crosato

SUI CZE CZE

Men 1. 32.49 2. 35.10 3. 35.41 33. 41.37 64. 47.03 80. 51.06 81. 51.11

Martin Hubmann Zsolt Lenkei Adam Chromý Murray Scown Matt Parton Oliver Crosato Aaron Breed

SUI HUN CZE

MIDDLE DISTANCE Women 1. 29:39 2. 31:38 3. 32:35 38. 41.26 42. 42:36 54. 47:18 57. 49:01

Lillian Forsgren SWE Anna Forsberg SWE Arqués Serrallonga ESP Rachel Effeney Aislinn Prendergast Ilka Barr Bridget Anderson

RELAY SPRINT Women 1. 17.47 Iveta Duchová 2. 18.38 Julia Gross 3. 18.43 Ivana Bochenková 13. 20.20 Lauren Gillis 15. 20.31 Rachel Effeney 30. 21.47 Bridget Anderson 57. 24.54 Laurina Neumann

CZE SUI CZE

Men 1. 17.53 Martin Hubmann 2. 18.12 Raffael Huber 3. 18.20 Andreas Kyburz 67. 23.08 Aaaron Breed 78. 24.40 Murray Scown 81. 25.16 Oliver Crosato 86. 25.54 Matt Parton

SUI SUI SUI

Women 1. Sweden 1:50:25 2. Switzerland 1:54:31 3. Spain 1:58:38 13. Australia 2:19:39 R. Effeney 41:27, A. Prendergast 46:18, B. Anderson 51:54 Australia#2 2:21:14 L. Gillis 46:52, L. Neumann 45:33, I. Barr 48:49

Men 1. Switzerland 1:46:22 2. Sweden 1:46:40 3. Norway 1:48:44 20. Australia 2:31:14 M. Parton 42:57, O. Crosato 50:55, A. Breed 57:22

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 39

MOUNTAIN BIKE ORIENTEERING

First MTBO Event in Far North Qld – a Great Success Liz Bourne and Craig Steffens

F

ar North Queensland’s first MTBO event, held in the Mckenzie Pocket Forest, on the Tablelands outside Kuranda west of Cairns, on 30th June was a great success with 45 riders turning up for their first taste of the sport.

Organised by the newly formed, Far North Orienteers club, the event went off very smoothly with lots of enthusiasm from the participants. Far North Queensland has a well developed adventure racing, rogaining, metrogaining and mountain biking scene so it was an easy matter to convince some of these outdoor enthusiasts to give MTBO a go and they loved it.

The plantation forest is well used by local mountain bikers who have been allowed to construct lots of single tracks and with a good road network it proved a great introductory event for those new to the sport.

Mapper, Eric Andrews from Stanthorpe, was able to have a look at the forest while in Cairns in May making some local park maps and drew the map as well as providing some guidance on course setting and event organisation.

Ex-Victorian orienteer and mountain biker, Andrew Campbell, organised the event in conjunction with Mike Colman from Adventure Event organiser, Andrew Campbell, Sport North Queensland and a gets riders on their way. band of willing helpers assisted with riding the tracks and removing fallen trees and clearing overhanging undergrowth.

40 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

Three courses were offered with distances from 10 - 30km to take riders through the exotic pine plantation and thick native rainforest stands. The gently undulating forest provided the odd swampy section and a few creek crossings along with some fast gravel roads and short, difficult single tracks. The use of long legs also added to the challenge of choosing a route, as riders traversed almost the entire map width on one leg.

The experience of the organisers showed through in the setup at the event site with all the usual features you’d expect at a MTBO event, with an interesting substitution of a tropical fruit feed station in place of the sausage sizzle BBQ. Well it is the Tropical North!

The Atherton Tableland has extensive pine plantations as well as areas around Cardwell, south of Cairns. There are also huge plantations in the upper Herbert Valley, west of Ingham, which may have MTBO potential. These areas will be further investigated and it is hoped that a regular series of MTBO events will be organised in North Queensland in future years.

MOUNTAIN BIKE ORIENTEERING

MTBO News World MTBO Championships, Hungary 20-25 August

T

he World MTBO Championships will have been run by the time you read this. Our team assembled in Hungary around the 9th and 10th of August in time for some local warm up events and a training week on the outskirts of Budapest.

If you haven’t heard what happened and how our team fared, check out ausmtboteam. blogspot.com.au and also the official champs website www. mtbo.hu/mtbwoc2012.php Our team comprised 9 riders with five junior men contesting the Junior World Champs: Tom Goddard (Tas), Chris Firman (Qld), Marc Gluskie (Tas), Heath Jamieson (Vic) and Karl Withers (Qld), three elite men: Steve Cusworth (Vic), Oscar Phillips (Tas), Ricky Thackray (WA) and one elite woman: Melanie Simpson (NSW) contesting the World Championships. Alex Randall had also been selected subject to fitness after breaking his collarbone, but unfortunately was unable to make the trip.

Almost a permanent fixture in the Austalian MTBO team, Alex Randall has had to miss this year’s champs in Hungary. Alex has been to all but one of the World Champs since the first in France in 2002, scoring many top results in those years.

Aus MTBO Series Also on during our magazine production time was the second round of the Australian MTBO Series, the Queensland MTBO Championships held at Woodford, between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. Unfortunately scheduled at the same time that our World Champs team was in Hungary, our best riders were missing from the results board. Check out the results at www.qld-mtbo-champs.com.au/

Heading off to Hungary. Heath Jamieson (left) and Steve Cusworth (right) head off from the start at the final selection race held in Victoria in April.

Photo: Rob Jamieson

New home for the Aus MTBO Champs www.ausmtbochamps.com The Australian MTBO Championships has a new permanent website that will cover the championships this year and in all future years.

The site will also have a history of all previous champs containing results, photos and reports. Some of this material will take a while to assemble but should be available on the site over the next few months.

2012 Aus MTBO Champs at Taree, NSW

2013 Aus MTBO Champs venue and date announced

The 2012 Australian MTBO Championships will visit New South Wales’ mid north coast for the first time with the champs being held at Taree on 26-28 October. The races will start with the Sprint Championship on Friday afternoon follwed by the Long Distance on Saturday and the Middle on Sunday.

For those wanting to plan ahead, we have news on next year’s Aus Champs. They will be held in Queensland on the weekend of 28 & 29 July in Toolara South Forest between Gympie and Rainbow Beach. A good chance for those in southern Australia to have a mid winter break, so perhaps you should start planning now.

The Champs will also be the final round of the 2012 Australian MTBO Series.

As usual there will be Sprint, Middle and Long Distance races contested.

More information at www.ausmtbochamps.com

Information will be available at www.ausmtbochamps.com SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 41

NUTRITION

Vitamin D – are you getting enough?

Gillian Woodward

fats. However, farmed salmon contains only ¼ of the amount of vitamin D in wild salmon. Margarine and some low fat milk varieties are fortified with very low amounts, but it is certainly not mandatory for the food industry to do this. Currently in Australia it is not possible to meet vitamin D requirements through diet alone (unless we eat 120gm of pickled Atlantic herring every day!!) so we need to obtain it from a combination of sunlight, diet and, if necessary, supplements as well.

There are two forms of vitamin D: vitamin D3 and vitamin D2.

Vitamin D3 is formed via skin exposure to UVB rays in sunlight and is the form found in most Australian supplements. Vitamin D2 is found in a limited range of foods. Both forms are converted in the liver to 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) which is the main circulating form and the best indicator of vitamin D status.

The kidney then converts 25(OH)D to its biologically active form, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, which promotes calcium absorption and facilitates bone mineralization.

So why worry if we are deficient? Most people have heard that vitamin D is involved in aiding calcium absorption and maintaining bone density. But few may know that it also plays a role in muscle function/strength and immunity. All of these actions may well impact on athletic performance. Lack of vitamin D might not only cause us to have stress fractures, but our muscle strength may be below par and we could be more prone to infections which interrupt our training schedules.

C

hances are if your doctor has recently tested your blood for vitamin D status, you may well have discovered that you are deficient. Your level of vitamin D will be below 50nmol/L if this is the case. It is thought that up to 65% of Australians adults have insufficient vitamin D – so you have more than a 1 in 2 chance of being one of them, especially if you are female.

Low vitamin D levels can lead to soft bones (osteomalacia) in adults or rickets in children. The risk of osteoporosis, falls and fractures is also increased in older adults who have low vitamin status.

Why, you might ask, in this sunblessed country of ours are we not getting enough of this vitamin?

One major reason is that most of us are locked away indoors during sunlight hours so that our skin is not exposed to enough UV sunlight (particularly in winter months). This is the main way we obtain vitamin D, as the food supply cannot meet our needs on its own.

People most at risk of vitamin D insufficiency are those who: • Spend most of their time indoors; • Have darker skin; • Are obese; • Are housebound or institutionalised; • Cover up the skin for sun safety, cultural or religious reasons.

There are only a few foods that contain significant amounts of vitamin D. Natural sources are oily fish, including salmon, herring and mackerel and also animal 42 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

In older athletes, circulating levels of 25(OH)D tend to decrease due to several factors. Firstly as we age, we have reduced ability to convert vitamin D to its active form in our skin. We may also have less sunlight exposure, a lower vitamin D intake and may experience changes in gut and renal function which will affect the vitamin’s absorption and conversion to the active form. Older athletes may therefore benefit from regular 25(OH)D level checks and/or vitamin D3 supplementation. The level of supplement required differs depending on age and your current blood level of vitamin D, so it is best to be advised on this by your doctor. Don’t just go the pharmacy or supermarket and buy tablets, because vitamin D is fat soluble so it accumulates in the body. Therefore, overdose is possible.

For young people who are still growing and who have low/ marginal dietary calcium intakes, vitamin D supplementation may be necessary to ensure adequate bone formation.

If you are wondering how much sun exposure we are meant to have to obtain adequate vitamin D, the table below (from the Medical Journal of Australia) will give you some idea, as there is considerable variation depending on the season and location.

You need to expose about 15% of the body (arms and hands or equivalent) to the sun to produce 1000 IU of vitamin D. Children need about 600 IU and adults 800 IU per day.

SPOT the DIFFERENCE This is the map you will most likely see again if you go to events in Victoria in September and December.

There are 15 differences between these otherwise identical map sections. CAN YOU FIND ALL 15 ??

As we can see, winter is certainly a difficult time especially in colder climates where no-one wants to expose much skin to the elements for any length of time, let alone 45 minutes! For those who have more olive or darker skin, the minutes of sun exposure need to be dramatically increased as indicated.

Recommended sun exposure times (in minutes) which result in 1/3MED* for people with moderately fair skin** at different times of day.

Source: Med J Aust. 2005, Mar 21;182(6):281-5.

Region

Dec-Jan at 10:00 or 14:00 hrs

July-Aug at 10:00 or 14:00 hrs

July-Aug at 12:00

Cairns

6-7

9-12

7

Townsville

5-7

9-13

7

Brisbane

6-7

15-19

11

Perth

5-6

20-28

15

Sydney

6-8

26-28

16

Adelaide

5-7

25-38

19

Melbourne

6-8

35-52

25

Hobart

7-9

40-47

29

Auckland

6-8

30-47

24

Christchurch

6-9

49-97

40

*MED = minimal erythemal dose, **People with highly pigmented skin require 3-4 times greater exposure.

Gillian Woodward is an Accredited Practising Dietician and has been providing advice in the field for over 25 years. She has been an orienteer since 1984.

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 43

LETTERS

Letters

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.

I

2011 Rankings Correction

n the M65 class, two orienteers, Ross Barr and Tony Simpkins, each achieved 100 points and so placings needed to be determined on a countback. While the data published is correct, Ross having achieved a margin of 0.9 should have been placed first instead of Tony with a margin of 0.7.

I have apologised to Tony and Ross for any inconvenience caused by this error.

Darryl Erbacher – OA Statistician

VICTORINOX AWARD The Victorinox Award goes to Hanny Allston for her continuing series of excellent articles on Coaching.

She will receive a Victorinox Handyman which includes 24 tools and features – retail value $119.

44 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

FOR STOCKISTS CALL 1800 209 999

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BOOK REVIEW

One Tree Hill and Beyond A history of Bendigo Orienteers Inc 1977 – 2012 Review by Mark Hennessy Bendigo Orienteers has just published a history of the club and of the sport in Bendigo from its start in 1977 up to the present day. It is a spiral bound A4 book with 113 pages and includes many colour photos. It has been written by club member Charles Brownridge, with help from many other members. It is being sold at cost for $20 (or $25 posted) and is available from Charles. He will bring copies to club events or can be contacted by email at: charlesbrownridge@gmail. com or by phone on 03 54425324.

(Source: The weekly e-newsletter of Bendigo Orienteers Inc. Issue 26/12: 11 July, 2012

W

hat could have been a dry history - of interest only to those with their names and photos in it - turns out to be a page-turning yarn told with wry humour and warmth combined with incisive insights and historical references. And a technical appendix on the widely varying Bendigo terrains and maps.

The book is instructive for anyone anywhere in the world – at club or association level – who is interested in coming to grips with the challenges of promoting participation, enjoyment and technical excellence in Orienteering in the 2010s decade. It is a textbook of the perennial barriers to sustainability of a sporting club at local level, and of the focus and effort required to achieve and maintain vigour and growth.

It traces the club’s journey from humble beginnings in 1977 – two years after its equally famous Ballarat sibling, Eureka Orienteers – through hosting a World Championships eight years

later, to the present day, where we find the club relentlessly but purposefully innovative, inclusive of new kids and their families, and the home of about three quarters of all the bush Orienteering events in Victoria in recent years. By way of perspective, there are Victorian State Series bush-O events scheduled on only six weekends in Victoria this year.

The story is well organised into themes and is faultlessly edited, rather than being a dull one-dimensional chronology. The story moves forward at a good pace, leading to a conclusion, which is not an ending but the threshold of a new era, with the recent introduction of Space Racing and the exploration of the use of LIDAR data for mapping as two of its highlights.

What sets the Bendigo club apart, in my experience, is an energetic, rigorous and rational approach, well led by committed people with vision and enduring energy. Even if you don’t know any of the personalities involved, you will be struck by the fact that the innovation has been driven by many different club members, some of them in innovative roles for decades. Quotes from early minutes show Peter Creely urging club members not to neglect promotion and attracting of new participants. Thirtyfive years on, who has been putting energy and drive into Space Racing, and currently sends out two newsletters every week – one for Space Racing kids, and one for all club members? Same person – Peter Creely, one of only five life members of the club, along with Peter Searle, Dianne Searle, Peter Galvin and Jim Russell, all of whom remain actively involved in both competition and organisation. They and other organisers might be a lot older than the juniors they are engaging with, but they have the empathy and common touch to do it very well.

Mark Hennessy is a member of both Central Highlands Orienteers and Bendigo Orienteers in Victoria, and has recently joined the Board of Orienteering Victoria.

Where there’s smoke there’s fire – and where there’s Bendigo, there’s great bush orienteering, every weekend from March to November. One Tree Hill and Beyond author Charles Brownridge (right) attributes the original suggestion of a club history to Colin Walker, seen here with Charles at Mandurang in July. Colin was also the originator of the concept of Space Racing.

ANSWERS Who, When, Where? – Geoff Lawford at WOC 1979 in Tampere, Finland.

Who, When, Where? – Steve Key at WOC 1979 in Tampere, Finland.

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 45

O-SPY E mbargoed areas

Who, When, Where...?

O

L

U nbelievable

ast year Americans spent more than US$ 1 billion on so-called “toning shoes” in their quest to tone up their bodies without having to work out. And now US medical researchers have announced they’ve discovered an injection which will allow obese people to lose 20% of their body weight without changing their diet or increasing their exercise regime. “It’s just like having a flu jab”, they said. It seems any excuse for not living healthy will do.

Who, When, Where...?

NSW has announced an embargo on the area to be used for the Australian 3-Days during Easter 2014.

The entire area of Clandulla State Forest and mapped areas of adjacent private properties are embargoed until Easter 2014. Orienteers shall not enter the embargoed area without permission from ONSW.

E

O Start Clock

ver wished you had your own O Start clock?

Well now you can with this cute and free application from Windows Phone.

According to the producers: ”O-StartClock is a timing tool needed in all Orienteering competitions where more than just a few players participate. It helps event organizers to give a proper start with a fixed time delay between players.”

Read all about it and download at http://tinyurl. com/7zxvsbf . If anyone comes across one for the iPhone or iPad let us know! (source – ONSW e-bulletin)

W MOC 2013 update

N

A photo from the archives to test your powers of deduction. He has been one of the most enduring performers in Australian orienteering. Of whom, when and where was this photo taken ??? (answer on page 45 of this magazine)

ow some real information is available.

Apparently the IOF Advisor resigned about six months ago, but a new one has been appointed. The competition venue has been moved from Torino to Alta Valle Susa in the Montagne Olimpiche, with the Event Centre in Sestriere, some two hours by car west of Torino. Events will be held at altitudes between 1500 and 2300 metres so some acclimatisation is recommended. And there is a warm-up event, the Five days of Apennines, to be held during the preceding week and based on Val Trebbia, just north of Genoa.

Just how this now ties in with the World Masters Games, and allows orienteers to take part in other sports, remains a mystery.

46 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2012

Photo: Erik Borg

T

W OC Sprint – TV camera in the air!

he Swiss TV broadcasting company SRF used some of the latest technology in its transmission of the Sprint races at WOC in Lausanne.

Included was a minihelicopter, powered by eight rotors, that hovered and moved over the run-in and surrounding area. It was fitted with a miniature camera that provided pictures of the runners in the Finish area from above.

This flexible way of getting pictures was very well suited to the location, where the run-in was being used in both directions – first as runners came over a specially constructed bridge and to a spectator control in front of the presentation stage, and second when they were en route from the last control to the Finish.

W OC 1974 Relay result tile

W

hile Rod Dominish had represented Australia at WOC 1972 in Czechoslovakia, WOC 1974 was the first time an Australian Team took part at the pinnacle of Orienteering competition. A Team of three women (Peta Whitford, Andrea Harris,

A photo from the archives to test your powers of deduction.

He was a member of several Australian teams to World Orienteering Championships and was a top mapper as well as competitor. Of whom, when and where was this photo taken ??? (answer on page 45 of this magazine)

Toy Martin) and six men (Peter Rule, Alex Tarr, John Oliver, Graham Moon, Dave Lotty, Tim Dent) travelled to Viborg, Denmark in mid1974. In the Men’s Relay our 4-man team of Rule, Tarr, Oliver & Moon finished a creditable 9th in a field of 15.

What wasn’t widely known is that after the race the team souvenired their results tile which travelled back home in the luggage of one of the team members. That tile was recently discovered during a house clean out and has been given to Bob Mouatt of OACT who plans to pass it on to one of the Men’s Relay Team members.

1974 Relay result tile

NEW ZEALAND NEWS

TransTasman Tales

Stuart Payne GM New Zealand Orienteering

Matt Ogden -

JWOC Gold medal winner What an amazing month July has been so far for New Zealand orienteering.

New Zealand’s Matt Ogden presented with the Middle Distance gold medal at JWOC.

F

inally, New Zealand has done it – its first medal at either a World or Junior World championship – and gold to boot.

Matt Ogden won the Middle Distance by 13 seconds over Jan Petrzela from Czech Republic with a further second back to Florian Schneider of Switzerland. As team manager, Derek Morrison, reported, “It was clear that the crowd at the finish and at the medal ceremony was delighted at the success of one of Orienteering’s lesser known countries.”

of winning in both men’s and women’s, resulting in some tight racing as runners prepared for European campaigns. Greta Knarston completed an impressive return to form in 2012, closing out the series with a win in the final race. She scored consistently through the season and was the clear winner in the women’s field.

It was a log jam for 2nd, however, with Laura Robertson and Kate Morrison, respectively, split only by a countback on wins. Georgia Whitla was a close 4th just 3 points behind.

Yet even at that point, Matt Ogden, at JWOC in Kosice, Slovakia, had already placed 10th in the Sprint (the best by a New Zealand male up till then) then 14th in the Long Distance, two minutes ahead of Nick Hann (20th). And on the final day, Ogden and Hann teamed with Tim Robertson to place 8th in the Men’s Relay, a mere four minutes behind the winners, after Nick Hann, second-fastest on his leg, had run them into 4th.

The men’s grade came down to the wire. Toby Scott had led for most of the series after some very consistent early season form.

In the loops race only Tane Cambridge had a chance of unseating him. Tane needed to win, and for Toby to place worse than 8th.

Toby did but, after tussling for the lead, Tane could only finish 3rd, missing the title. Thomas Reynolds held off a late season surge from Chris Forne to take 3rd.

With three World Cup races being held in New Zealand next January (see www.oceania2013.co.nz) New Zealand’s aim has been to provide its elite orienteers with as much competition in 2012 as possible. As a result, in July NZ teams competed at three world championships: World University, JWOC and WOC. Altogether, even with a couple of overlaps, across the three teams, 25 competed in Europe.

The Junior Super Series was a little truncated this year, with some races doubling up with school events. Tim Robertson took out the junior men’s grade, with Cosette Saville winning women’s. As a sign of strength in the juniors, both runners have more years to go before stepping up to seniors, although at 17 Tim is already NZ senior Sprint champion and this July placed 32nd at JWOC and 33rd at WOC.

The week before JWOC, at the World University Orienteering Championships run in very hot conditions in Spain, Kate Morrison scored top-10 with 10th in the Middle Distance and there were top-20 runs, all in the Sprint, from Greta Knarston (12th), Toby Scott (17th) and Angela Simpson (18th).

For the record, the team’s competition was won by the Northerners (835 points), ahead of the Central Scorchers (724) and the Bivouac Southerly Storm (599).

And not to be outdone, Lizzie Ingham, after winning her heat, placed 9th in the WOC Sprint Final, the best WOC placing by a New Zealander ever, surpassing her own 11th last year, and Katie Fettes’ Long Distance 10th in 1991.

The final domestic hit-out for most of the athletes in Europe was the North Island Championships held over the NZ long weekend (Queen’s Birthday) of 2-4 June in the Wellington region. Over the three-days, the NZ Pinestars comprehensively defeated a seemingly under-strength Bushrangers. The win included a clean sweep (maximum points) in the Middle Distance event, where all team members, both men & women, placed ahead of the Bushrangers.

The NI championships also saw the final round of NZ’s domestic league, the Silva Super Series. Several runners still had a chance

And at the same time that the NZ representatives have been competing in Europe, the next generation competed at the Silva New Zealand Secondary School Championships. In the senior girls’ Long Distance, the winner was Rebecca Gray, with boy’s champion being Callum Herries. Neither, however, was backing up a win in the Sprint distance, the senior winners here being last year’s intermediate Long Distance girl’s champion, Helena Barnes, and Cameron Tier. The one student that did back up however, was Lara Molloy in the junior girl’s.

The New Zealand Secondary Schools team will contest the Southern Cross Challenge against the Australian State teams in September. The seeding ground that the schools’ championships and the Southern Cross Challenge are for New Zealand Orienteering is highlighted by the fact that two years ago senior boy’s champion was a certain Matthew Ogden.

SEPTEMBER 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 47

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