The Australian Orienteer - December 2013

DECEMBER 2013

Carolyn Jackson World Masters MTBO triple Gold medallist RRP $8.50 inc GST

SILVA National Orienteering League Event Program 2010

Round 1 – Brisbane, Queensland

Sprint Weekend

Saturday February 22 (AM)

Mixed Sprint Relay

Saturday February 22 (PM)

Sprint Qualification

Sunday February 23 (AM)

Sprint Final

Round 2 – Victoria

Middle & Long Weekend

Saturday March 22

Middle Distance (Yackandandah)

Sunday March 23

Long Distance (Kangaroo Crossing)

Round 3 – NSW

AUS 3-Days Carnival

April 18–21

Easter - Sprint, Middle, Long & Relay Distances

Round 4 – NSW

Relay & Long Weekend

Friday April 25

Mixed Sprint Relay

Saturday April 26

NSW Long Distance Championships

Round 5 – Victoria

Ultra-Long (Kooyoora)

August 31

Sun - AUS Ultra-Long Championship

Round 6 – Western Australia

AUS Championships Carnival

September 28 – October 5

Sprint, Middle, Long & Relay Distances

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

SILVA is represented in Australia by FISKARS BRANDS. australia@fiskarsbrands.com

ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA

The President’s Page Blair Trewin

I

write following a very successful Australian Championships carnival in (and around) the ACT. The events went off without any significant hitches that were visible to the competitors (other than those for which the frequent high winds were responsible), and gave us the chance to run on a number of new, good-quality areas. Canberra have had more than their share of major events in the last few years and their capacity has definitely been stretched, but they did an excellent job of hiding that and gave us a terrific week of Orienteering, and all involved deserve a lot of credit.

(From my own point of view, I enjoyed being part of giving all of you the chance to run around the places where I spent six of my younger years; a lot of my M16 and M18 training runs started from next to the control at the top of the stairs just before the spectator section).

This year’s carnival had a different structure to the last few, with no State championship event on the first weekend and all of the National championships on weekends. A few months ago I was wondering whether, with the Long Distance Championships as the traditional focus, people would stay (or come back) for the second weekend, but the numbers suggested most of them did – the Middle Distance had only 75 fewer competitors than the Long, a smaller difference than usual. (It’s also indicative of how people’s focus has changed that the Sprint had only a slightly smaller field than the Long). What worked in Canberra won’t necessarily work everywhere – especially in places like Western Australia where those who go are more likely to go for the week – but feedback on the 2013 structure has been generally positive and we are likely to see something similar in 2015.

One of the side events which took place during the Championships week was a workshop, facilitated by the AIS, to undertake a “health check” of our “athlete pathways”, from the most basic introductory level to the very top of the international elite. (In fact, their highest level was defined so highly that I’d only consider two people in the world to be in it, and one of them has just run her last international race). It would be fair to say that we emerged from the workshop with a long potential to-do list, but, as every orienteer knows, knowing where you are is an important part of being able to find your way to where you want to go. There is a lot of work going on in this area and I expect we will be making a lot of progress in having better pathways through the sport in the next year or two, with a particular focus on the initial identification of talent at the State level, and the transition through from the Junior to Senior ranks, two areas where we know we have significant weaknesses.

These areas will be occupying a lot of attention at the upcoming Orienteering Australia annual conference, which we hope will provide the opportunity for information-sharing about the several successful initiatives which we know are happening around the States. Also of interest, especially if we know more of the details then than we do at the time of writing, will be the Australian Sports Commission’s new initiatives in the participation area. The move of sport to the Health portfolio following the recent change of government is an indicator that participation outcomes will be a high priority, an area we are well-placed to capitalise on.

One part of our system which is working very well is our domestic Elite and Junior competition. It was another terrific season in

the SILVA National Orienteering League, with three of the four team competitions coming down to the last race (one of them, the Senior Women, to the last couple of controls in the Relay).

This competition has reinforced competition at the top end, but it has also had a pleasing effect on numbers of participants in an age group where we have often struggled for numbers in the last 20 years; for the first time since the early 1980s, M21E (as it now is) is now the largest class in championship events on a fairly consistent basis.

The Australian Schools Championships also, once again, provided some fine competition, and an excellent chance for the next generation of orienteers to form links with each other, both within and between States. We still don’t retain as many juniors in the sport that we would like, but we’re making a much better job of it than we did in the era before the Schools Championships existed.

Hosting a major national carnival is one thing. Hosting a major international event is another step up. As already noted, our next chance to do this will be the World Cup events in conjunction with the Oceania Championships in Tasmania in January 2015, something I am sure many of you are already looking forward to. Something I would like to see in the future is for us to have another chance to host a World Championships. That would be a major challenge for us organisationally, but at present the largest hurdle of all is financial; some initial assessments suggest that to make it happen, we’d probably need to find something like $500,000 to $1 million in external money, over and above spectator races and the like. (The IOF sanctioning fee is only a small part of this picture, and in any case they need the money – they don’t have much more income than OA, or the larger State Associations). Estonia, just announced as the hosts for WOC 2017, appear to be making it work by sharing the finances with WMOC the previous year, WMOC being one international event which does make money (at least when World Masters Games aren’t involved).

For those of you whose Orienteering focus is the bush, on foot or on a bike, the season is just about done, except for the Christmas 5-Days, for those of you who are going. (The mountain bikers don’t get noticed a lot by the rest of the Orienteering community, but Carolyn Jackson’s three recent World Masters titles showed some of the talent we have there).

For the increasing numbers who are regulars in Summer Series in their State, it is only just beginning (or never really stopped).

Whatever your interest, I hope you had a good Orienteering year in 2013 and can look forward to a more successful 2014.

DECEMBER 2013 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 DECEMBER 2013

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 PO Box 284 Mitchell BC 2911 President: Blair Trewin Director High Performance: Lance Read Director Finance: Bruce Bowen Director Technical: Jenny Casanova Director Special Projects: Robert Spry Director Communications: Craig Feuerherdt Director International IOF Council: Mike Dowling Executive Officer: John Harding High Performance Manager: Kay Haarsma High Performance Operations Manager: Nick Dent Badge Applications: John Oliver

orienteering@netspeed.com.au w: 02 6162 1200 oa_president@netspeed.com.au h: 03 9455 3516 oa_highperformance@netspeed.com.au oa_finance@netspeed.com.au h: 02 6288 8501 oa_technical@netspeed.com.au m: 0427 605 167 rbspry@gmail.com craigfeuerherdt@gmail.com 0438 050 074 oa_international@netspeed.com.au orienteering@netspeed.com.au 02 6162 1200 m: 0427 107 033 kayhaarsma@hotmail.com 08 8337 0522 nickdent7@gmail.com 02 4384 3627 68 Amaroo Street, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650

STATE ASSOCIATIONS Orienteering Queensland Inc: PO Box 114 Spring Hill QLD 4004. Admin Officer: Melissa Bowman admin@oq.asn.au ONSW: PO Box 3295, North Strathfield NSW 2137. Secretary: Anthony Darr, Ph. (02) 8116 9848 admin@onsw.asn.au 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

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ISSN 0818-6510 Issue 4/13 (no. 172) DECEMBER 2013

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, 1154 Burwood Hwy Upper Ferntree Gully.

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Regular Contributors: Competition - Blair Trewin; High Performance - Kay Haarsma; MTBO - Blake Gordon; Official News - John Harding; Nutrition Gillian Woodward; Training - Steve Bird; Coaching – Hanny Allston.

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CONTENTS T H E P R E S I D E N T ’ S P A G E.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 W O R L D M A S T E R S M T B O , P O R T U G A L.. . . . . . . . . . . . 6 WORLD MTBO CHAMPS, ESTONIA ............... 9 2 0 1 3 A U S C H A M P I O N S H I P S.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 H A N N Y ’ S L O N G R A C E .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 W H AT I S F T E M ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 8 2013 WORLD GAMES, COLOMBIA............... 30 EASTER 2014 PREVIEW........................... 32 2015 OCEANIA CHAMPS & WORLD CUP....... 33 N O R T H AT L A N T I C C H A M P I O N S H I P S . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4 O - S P Y.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 8 S P R I N T I N T O S P R I N G.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 0 CANBERRA FLASHBACK........................... 42 S I L V A N A T I O N A L O L E A G U E .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4 N U T R I T I O N .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 EDITORIAL........................................... 46 TOP EVENTS......................................... 47 Cover photo: Carolyn Jackson – triple Gold medallist at World Masters MTBO Championships in Portugal. Photo: Jerónima Rocha.

DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 5

MOUNTAIN BIKE ORIENTEERING

Grand Masters in Portugal Triple Gold medallist, Carolyn Jackson, reports on a successful World Masters MTBO Championships in Portugal.

Carolyn on some of the sandy tracks during the Long Distance race.

Photo: Jerónima Rocha

P

eter and Carolyn Cusworth and I arrived in Lisbon a week and a half before the World Masters MTBO Championship to acclimatise and do some sightseeing.

We spent three days exploring fascinating Lisbon before heading north to ride in a two-day National series event near the town of Leiria. En route we visited the truly spectacular town of Sintra which is a world heritage site.

We hoped the two-day event would give us a taste of what Portugal riding is like. The maps were quite good, and there was plenty of route choice, but we all found the terrain quite sketchy riding, and very hilly. We also discovered that Eucalyptus trees are quite prolific, apparently the Portuguese brought them in many years ago thinking they would control mosquitoes, but all they have done is become a weed species!

We all managed podium finishes, with Peter winning M60, Carolyn C 3rd in W50 and I won W40.

It was a fun weekend and we met a few Portuguese people who would be involved in the World Championships, plus some Brits who had the same idea as us. It was now time to head back down south of Lisbon to Grândola which was the event centre for the Championships. Travelling through Portugal is a challenge, with their multiple roads, freeways, tollways and interchanges all telling us to go various ways to wherever you want to go. Thank goodness for GPS. The Grândola region was a contrast to where we had been. There were two training events, plus a Model which all had incredibly steep hills, the now familiar loose and rocky tracks, but here we discovered Cork trees. They were everywhere in all the forests, and a very large proportion had been harvested. Looking at the maps, you could be excused for thinking they were similar to some Australian maps, however out in the forest the Cork trees gave the 6 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

The Middle podium for W50. Carolyn receives the first of three gold medals. Silver to Charlie Somers-Cocks from Great Britain (left) and Bronze to Tove Andersen from Denmark.

terrain a totally different look. There was very little understorey, but that could either be from being so steep and dry, or grazing.

There was a low key Opening Ceremony, and we met up with Jon Sutcliffe and Thor Egerton who had arrived from Norway. Then, all of a sudden, the World Championships were upon us with the Middle Distance race first up. The pre-Start was in Grândola at the event centre, so those forests we had been seeing on the outskirts of town and speculating on, were now to be explored. I immediately realised the trick to riding this area was minimising climb, but also carefully negotiating some very complicated track junctions. I felt great, rode very confidently, but at the same time was careful when needed. There was one leg that went straight up one of those very steep hills, and I decided to treat it like a hill TT and thought ‘no pain, no gain’.

It was an almost perfect ride, and being a late starter I had the immediate joy of hearing I had won. I was blown away by not only winning, but by a margin of almost 5mins. My strategies had paid off well and truly. I had somewhere passed Carolyn who came in to post her first of three 11th places. However my joy was somewhat marred by a very downcast Peter, who had made a massive 180 degree error, even going off the map. Somehow, he still came 8th, proving the rest of his ride was incredibly good.

Thor had a brilliant ride to get a bronze medal in W40. The two who beat her were both high ranking riders who still race Elite.

Jon had a tough day out, but still came back smiling.

Next came the Long Distance which was near Sines, a big industrial town near the coast. Although the map area was quite a way from the sea, it quickly became apparent that sand riding was to be a feature of this race, but my sand riding skills gained from many kilometres ridden around Alice Springs proved to be a huge benefit. Again, some tricky track junctions needed to be negotiated, and route choice was not always easy and at times

Thor on the Sprint podium with her Silver medal.

Carolyn Cusworth finishing the Long race.

Photo: João Alves

Peter Cusworth at the Sprint in Santiago do Cacém finished in second place in M60.

Photo: João Alves

Thor Egerton on her way to a Bronze medal in the Long.

Photo: Jerónima Rocha

Picturesque Santiago do Cacém – site of the Sprint race.

Photo: Peter Cusworth

Carolyn powering to the finish in the Middle at Grândola.

Photo: João Alves

Another gold for Carolyn – W50 podium for the Long.

2013 World Masters MTBO Champs Grândola, Portugal – W50 Middle Distance.

Scale 1:15000, Contour 5m

Carolyn’s Gold Medal route DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 7

MOUNTAIN BIKE ORIENTEERING

Grândola, Portugal Jon Sutcliffe heading off from the Sprint start.

Jon choosing his next route in the Sprint.

Photo: João Alves

Photo: Jerónima Rocha

A successful Aussie trio with 8 medals at the Masters.

Peter Cusworth nearing the Long finish and a 3rd place.

Photo: Jerónima Rocha

Thor Egerton on her way to a W40 Silver medal in the Sprint.

Photo: João Alves

quite crucial. Early on I picked a wide route on one longish leg that didn’t cut across a ploughed field like most others took, and I found out later it saved me 2mins. I kept on riding strongly in the sand, having an almost perfect ride. I just missed a hard-to-see track between some houses, but realised and went around only losing half a minute.

Again I had been a late starter, so heard the announcer as I rode down the Finish chute saying I had an 8min lead. I was so excited as the Long Distance is the race I consider my speciality, and I had gone one better than my silver place last year in Hungary. Peter and Thor also had great rides, both winning the bronze medal.

Peter was lamenting two possibly slower route choices but was nonetheless thrilled to get on the podium, his dream of doing well as a first year 60 finally coming to fruition. Thor was proving she really could mix it with the W40s, the same two in front, but they swapped places. Jon had an even tougher day out in M40 than the day before, mentioning some ‘gratuitous climbs’, but was satisfied to finish. Mrs consistent Carolyn C claimed her second 11th place.

Finally came the Sprint, for me the most nerve wracking race. It took place in a really beautiful town called Santiago do Cacém which features a hilltop castle, it’s origins thought to date from the 12th century. We had all been encouraged to visit the town as tourists, but needed to observe strict embargoes. Everyone toured the castle and the steep and cobbled streets of the old town surrounding it, but as it turned out, the mapped area didn’t go into it, being in the ‘new’ town. The Sprint was a little disappointing as there wasn’t much route choice and generally quite easy navigation. Nonetheless, it was a World Championship, and nerves and the necessity to ride very fast can make a simple course seem harder.

8 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

I was almost first starter and, not being a sprinter, I half expected to be caught in spite of my previous races. It is a completely different type of race, and I was really pleased to find myself again riding really well, and managing the map scale and fast direction changes. After a nervous wait, I had managed a win by 1 minute, claiming my 3rd gold medal in three races. It is hard to describe how proud and thrilled I felt to have put together three great rides, with all that training proving to be well worth it.

Thor had another brilliant ride and kept calm and coped well with getting a massive vine in her rear cassette. She went one better and got a silver medal. Peter had a really good ride too.

At first he couldn’t look at the results, having made a small Aussie Results – WMMTBOC13 error, but he soon discovered MIDDLE DISTANCE – Grândola he had won a silver medal, Carolyn Jackson W50 1st missing out on gold by 4secs!

Thor Egerton W40 3rd He was, of course, regretting Peter Cusworth M60 8th that small error, but couldn’t Carolyn Cusworth W50 11th help but be very happy with a Jonathon Sutcliffe M40 37th silver. Jon had his best ride, and LONG DISTANCE – Casoto of course, Carolyn came 11th!

Carolyn Jackson W50 1st We had won 8 medals between Thor Egerton W40 3rd three of us, a feat we are Peter Cusworth M60 3rd incredibly proud of. Portugal Carolyn Cusworth W50 11th put on a fantastic event, with Jonathon Sutcliffe M40 36th three very different areas all SPRINT – Santiago do Cacém very well mapped and well Carolyn Jackson W50 1st suited to each discipline.

Thor Egerton W40 2nd Peter Cusworth M60 2nd Carolyn Cusworth W50 11th Jonathon Sutcliffe M40 31st

The team pose at the Opening Ceremony. From left: Carolyn Jackson, Ian Dalton (Coach), Ricky Thackray, Angus Robinson, Chris Firman, Rob Goddard (Manager), Karl Withers, Tom Goddard, Callum Fagg.

World MTBO Championships Ian Dalton – Team Manager Training

T

he Australian team assembled in Tallinn, Estonia, nine days before the events, for some training and racing. We stayed at Academic Hostel, which was conveniently located right next to some MTBO maps. On our first day as a team, we were fortunate enough to compete in a local race. Here the team was introduced to a very complex set of trails which we were not used to. The course was a double-sided map and with the first 15 controls causing the Australian team some grief, nothing prepared them for the second map which was a maze of trails in such a small area. It was a really challenging map, which caused some angst amongst the team, but we had been assured this would be the toughest map we would race on whilst in Estonia. Highlight of the day was seeing Carolyn win some series prizes for her only race. She was fortunate enough to walk away with a hammock and some other goodies!

The team moved to Janeda mid-week for the commencement of the WMTBOC training camp. The maps chosen were a collection of areas close to where the athletes would be racing during the World champs campaign. The terrain was a combination of local forest, marshes, lakes and short sharp hills. The tracks were a combination of ski tracks, forestry tracks and ATV tracks. Grading varied between maps and our team was trying their best to come up with a consistent understanding of track gradings.

Once training camp was over the team finally moved to Rakvere, 2013 World MTBO Champs M20 Sprint map – Tapa, Estonia Scale 1:7500, Contour 2.5m

host of the 2013 World and Junior World MTBO championships.

We were very fortunate enough to be hosted in a small hotel which suited our needs very well. We shared the hotel with the Japanese team which allowed them to practice their English more!

Sprint The opening race was in the small town of Tapa. The semi-urban map had a small but technical network of purpose built mown tracks in between sections of built areas and parklands. This proved very tough for our athletes as the off-road terrain didn’t allow for map reading as much as our athletes would have liked.

All the courses experienced a route choice near an out-of-bounds area which was clearly marked on the map but many athletes chose to ride through it, unintentionally or not. This lead to quite a few disqualifications across all classes and really highlighted how intense competition can cause athletes to not interpret the map fully when under pressure. Unfortunately for Australia one of our athletes got sucked into an illegal route choice, which ultimately lead to a DQ. Tom Goddard was the best of our team with a 15th place in the Junior Men’s category, a little over 3min

DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 9

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Chris Firman during the Sprint.

route choices were based on tracks not contours so he was faced with unnecessary climb.

Callum Fagg, who was our last starter of the day in the Senior Mens, unfortunately took another tumble on the course and as a result damaged his chain. This eventually gave way after the spectator control but the chain was repaired in quick time and he went on to post some of Australia’s quickest splits.

Relay

behind winner Cedric Beill (FRA). Karl Withers and Angus Robinson both had a decent start to their campaign. Angus chose a safe route to the first control, which set him up for the rest of his race. He was happy with his first World Champs race!

Carolyn Jackson navigated well but got a bit confused in the detailed ATV area so she missed a control. Unfortunately last year’s silver medalist, Emily Benham, was disqualified for crossing the out-of-bounds area. Cecilia Thomasson (SWE) took the win from Eeva-Liisa Hakala (FIN) by 10secs with Tatiana Repina (RUS) placing third.

Chris Firman was the best of the Senior Men placing 47th. This was 6min behind winner Tõnis Erm (EST) and 2nd place Lauri Malsroos (EST), both benefiting from local knowledge. Krystof Bogar (CZE) started off his senior campaign, still as a 19yr-old, with a solid third place.

Middle Distance Mõedaka Sports Centre was the venue for the Middle Distance Championships. Competitors and spectators were treated to great weather with the sun shining and the temperature hovering around 22 degrees making it great racing conditions. Complex ATV tracks as well as short steep hills around the ski fields made for tough terrain at the Sports Centre.

Carolyn Jackson, only minutes from the start, during her warm up was knocked off her bike by another athlete and required medical attention. Carolyn was able to re-gather herself and put down a clean ride. Marika Hara (FIN) took the win from Emily Benham (GB), who redeemed herself after the Sprint DQ, whilst Susanna Laurila (FIN) took third.

Tom Goddard showed his consistency with another 15th place in the Junior Men’s. Cedric Biell also showed his form with another gold medal winning the Middle Distance in a time of 40min50sec.

Tõnis Erm continued his success winning the Middle Distance from Anton Foliforov (RUS) and Samuli Saarela (FIN), with only 12secs separating the top three finishers. Alex Randall showed he hadn’t lost any of his navigation ability making good route choices, quick plans and cleanly executing his plans. However his 10 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

Australia fielded two teams in M21 and one in the M20 category. The Relay was set around the town of Rakvere and included the historic castle on the hill overlooking the town. A reasonable section of town had been embargoed for the use of the Relay. All were keen to ride the trails around the castle as it certainly looked exciting for both competitor and spectator.

During reconnaissance of the Relay changeover area before the race commencement Callum managed to break his rear derailleur hanger. It became a race to get him mobile again and settled before his ride.

Tom Goddard started off the Junior Men’s campaign with a solid start considering the compact graveyard and double map grab.

Tom had a solid ride coming in 7th only a couple of minutes off the leaders. Angus and Karl both had consistent rides holding Australia to another 8th placing after last year’s effort.

Our elite men’s had two relay teams allowing all the seniors a ride including Carolyn and Coach Ian. Australia #1 had Chris, Alex and Callum to battle it out with Australia #2 Ricky, Carolyn and Ian. Australia #1 had a good start with Chris handing over to Alex.

Alex posted the fastest time out of the two Aussie teams.

Callum’s bike continued its trend to cause issues with the rear wheel buckling and seizing up just after the spectator control. Callum continued to push on and finish the race only to find his efforts were in

Callum Fagg was dogged with bad luck during the week suffering mechanical failures on several occasions

Ricky Thackray heads off from the Middle start.

2013 World MTBO Champs M21 Long map Valgehobusemäe Nelijärve, Estonia Scale 1:15000, Contour 5m

Tom Goddard rode well throughout with a 12th and two 15th place finishes.

DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 11

Karl Withers had a consistant week riding in his second JWOC.

MOUNTAIN BIKE ORIENTEERING

vain after his SI failed to record a punch halfway through his course.

Ricky’s 5th control was moved by some locals causing issues for the lead group having that split control. Unfortunately for Ricky the other riders spotted the misplaced control and continued on less affected than Ricky who didn’t spot the control until a couple of minutes later.

Mechanicals seemed to dog the Australian team this year with Ian’s bike running rough due to a new chain not liking the existing gearing. He persevered, having to run the uphills and use his navigation to make up lost time. Fortunately Australia #2 was able to complete the course and have an official result.

Alex Randall scored yet another top 20 finish at a World Championships

Long Distance as suiting his riding strength and was satisfied to finish his final M20 race in 12th, with a few poor route choices losing him time.

Overall the 2013 WMTBOC campaign was an enjoyable one for the Australian contingent. We achieved some fine results, in particular Alex and Carolyn in the Long Distance. MTBO is a fine balance between riding speed and navigation and with the extra complication of the bicycle leaving even more things to go wrong out on course. The stars didn’t always align for Australia this year with a few of the team members left feeling frustrated, but hungry for more racing against the worlds best.

Long Distance

Carolyn Jackson had her best ride in the Long.

This year, with the introduction of new regulations for Long Distance Final starts it meant Australia had only two places for the Mens Elite whilst the Women and Junior Men were unaffected. The terrain was typical Estonian forest interspersed with lakes and marshes.

Carolyn Jackson had her best race of the campaign narrowly missing out on her goal of a top-30 in the Long Distance. Carolyn placed 32nd in a time of 2:07:40. A good way to finish off her campaign and regroup before her second trip to Europe with the World Masters MTBO Championships held a month later in Portugal. Marika Hara of Finland took the win from Susanna Laurila (FIN) with Cecilia Thomasson (SWE) taking third, 4mins down.

Alex Randall showed his years of experience with a well placed 19th. Unfortunately this was our only top-20 finish from our Seniors highlighting the increase in competition from Europeans but also highlighting the need for more competition in Australia.

19yr old Krystof Bogar from Czech Republic this year decided to race in the Senior Mens category. In the Long Distance race he stamped his intention of being a force to be reckoned with for the next decade with a 3min win on the 48km course. What was more remarkable about this ride was the fact Krystof wasn’t a ranked rider so he opted for an early start being 18th onto the course. Samuli Saarela (FIN) placed 2nd after being last starter with Anton Foliforov (RUS) finishing third.

Angus was happy with his ride with the overly long course exceeding winning times by 15 minutes. Tom had targeted the 12 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

Some solid rides throughout the champs from Angus Robinson in his first Worlds.

MTBO NEWS Blake Gordon

A name to keep an eye on for the future, Declan Dickson, from Ballarat, won a clean sweep of the M-16 races in this year’s Aus MTBO Series.

Photo: Shayne Hill

MTBO Series wraps up in ACT

W

ith the Sprint race doubling as the Australian and ACT Championships, there was special interest in the 3-event ACT MTBO Championships this year. Would NSW retain the OA Shield or would the QLD Storm - leading by 15 points after the Middle and Long Distance Champs in Gympie - take out the plaque for the first time? It all came down to planning, preparation and performance on the day at “Sparrow Hill”.

Which State would prevail?

Victoria had advertised for a 38-strong “Dream team” in the weekly OVic newsletter, but only 12 signed up for Canberra. NSW was represented by 14 – mostly from Newcastle – but lacked depth in women’s classes. Queensland had pinned its hopes on 9 riders. But it was the home team ACT with 7 juniors riding, former world team members in Men Open, and good balance of senior females that might win the Sprint.

The day dawned clear and cool despite the NSW fire danger to the north. We rode out to the start area and watched as group after group headed off to the first control. Then it was my turn to go and for 30 seconds I had to scan the criss-crossed lines just to find #1 and the Start triangle. The compact course made map reading critical to take the best route – and checking to be sure to take the controls in order. There seemed to be people everywhere I turned – some retracing their route after punching, some standing still just to read the detail. I rode steadily without major mistakes, but knowing that my time would not be fast. At the last control I murmured the instructions at the Start - “take the marked route to the Finish”. Easy – just follow the twisted single track through the

pines – more time lost, but at least I was heading to the Finish at the dam.

Then, after comparing route choices with several other finishers we headed back to the carpark to download and check the results.

I guess the planning paid off as the VIC Nuggets won with the five women scoring 21 points and the seven men also picking up 21 points. After all the teams returned ACT had stepped up – and with 21 points from the juniors riders - had scored 31 points, with NSW third on 25 and QLD a distant 4th with 9. The OA Plaque scoring (5 for 1st, 3 for 2nd and 1 for 3rd ) worked in Victoria’s favour with 12 riders distributed across eight different age classes.

So, for the 2014 Australian Championships in Alice Springs, NT, make a note to bring juniors, have at least two riders in each age class, and follow the safe route to controls.

Controversy in the Middle Distance

After a few bottles of water, lunch and a bit of a rest we lined up for the Start (in the same carpark) full of anticipation – if a bit tired from the morning Sprint race. The course again was compact with many short legs, two long legs (to provide route choice problems) and a downhill finish close to the carpark and Sparrow Hill, ACT– Aus MTBO Sprint Champs, Course 1. 1:10,000 (reduced to 80%) download control. But this time a major route choice blunder (due to fatigue) and several hesitations caused me to fall off the pace and finish second again. On returning to the Finish there was a spirited discussion going on about riding on rough open areas and crossing fences at unmarked crossings.

Some disqualified themselves – others thought they had done nothing wrong. But after the 5:30pm meeting and before the presentations it was decided that the organisers would apologise for the confusion caused by different interpretations of the crossing fences rule. Also the lack of clarity in prerace instructions stating there were no areas of bright yellow that could be ridden on this course (ie you had to stick to the tracks) led some to ride on the rough open under power lines. Honesty was the big winner – and we all learned that each State must clearly define and communicate the “rules of the road” at the Start when it comes to fence crossing, riding off defined tracks, and riding on bright yellow.

Long Distance at Kowen Forest – a Drag Race Sunday’s courses at Kowen Homestead presented none of Saturday’s uncertainties. It was just a question of who could ride fastest for the duration of the course without getting into any single track problems. The big winners were the organisers Julie & Sean Sunley and the Scowns – and the ACT junior McNee girls, Miller brothers, de Jongh brothers and Stephen Melhuish who really rode at good km pace without many errors. It was great to see Triple Gold Medal World DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 13

MOUNTAIN BIKE ORIENTEERING

Masters Champion, Carolyn Jackson, ride well to claim three wins in Women’s Open, as did Newcastle’s M50 Malcolm Roberts, and Victoria’s Keith Wade (M70), Dale Ann Gordon (W70) and Declan Dickson (M-16).

This race closed out the 8-event National MTBO Series on a high.

Victoria took the Elite Combined and the Masters Combined titles in the team’s competition.

But several States vowed “wait till next year” when it will be different !

Malcolm Roberts

New Zealand, January 2014

Erin Swanson

E

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2014 National MTBO Series Round 1: May 10-11, Stanthorpe, Qld.

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NZ’s Marquita Gelderman riding in Victoria in April, but the Aussies will be riding in Marquita’s Garden (the map for Day 1) this January.

Photo: Rob Jamieson

2013 Australian Championships

Rebecca Kennedy (W14) Sprint.

Lizzie Ingham – Sprint

Trewin Report

the

The Australian Championships carnival was based in Canberra this year. The structure was a new one; all of the championship races on the weekends, with the Sprint and Long Distance starting the week. General, although not universal, consensus was that this worked well. Many certainly appreciated not having to come up again the next day after the Long Distance Championships (or, to put it another way, running the Relay relatively fresh).

Australian Sprint Championships, Canberra Grammar, 28 September

T

he championships week started with the Australian Sprint Championships, where the main quadrangle of Canberra Grammar provided a compact and atmospheric arena, despite the best attempts of the wind (not for the last time during the week) to throw a spanner in the works. The courses stayed for the most part in the buildings and stayed clear of the ovals, meaning highintensity decision-making for most of the course – which proved challenging for some.

The seeded starting list meant that times came down through the course of the day in the Elite races, although Jo Allison’s early benchmark remained at the top for a long time. The real action, though, was always likely to come with the late starters, and it was those late starters which provided us with a New Zealand double to open the week, no great surprise given their credentials at the highest level. Both Tim Robertson and Lizzie Ingham opened up convincing leads in the first half of the course. From there, their destinies diverged. Ingham went right on with it and stretched her 30-second halfway lead to nearly a minute by the end, but Robertson had to withstand a strong second-half revival by Matt Crane and only had six seconds to spare in the end. Rachel Effeney was the best of the Australians in second, while Hanny

David Rawnsley (NZ) demolishes the last control – AusSprint.

Allston recovered from early time loss to overhaul Jasmine Neve and complete the placings.

For the Junior men recent history repeated itself all too clearly; Ian Lawford, 18secs clear at #21 and apparently headed for victory on his old home ground, punched the wrong #22. Once he was out of the running, Oscar McNulty had a comfortable lead, which became more comfortable over the last part of the course, 39secs clear of Oliver Poland. The Junior women turned on a close, if slightly wayward, race, with 17secs covering the top five. Heather Muir and Lanita Steer both led at various stages, but in the end, Marketa Novotna – a temporarily-Western-Australian Czech with a JWOC twelfth place to her name – recovered just enough from 50secs lost at #9 to edge out Muir by five seconds, the day’s closest result.

In the younger age groups, Alice Tilley reminded everyone, if they needed any reminding, that the New Zealand juniors would take some beating when she was 90secs clear of the rest of the W16 field, while Ewan Barnett overcame strong trans-Tasman opposition to take out M16.

Perhaps the best of the other races was M50, which came down to the last few controls. With four controls to go, Warren Key, Michael Burton, Tim Hatley and Jemery Day all had chances of victory, but the last three all lost time on either the fourth-last or third-last controls, leaving Key to emerge as the winner over Burton by 13 seconds. Among other close contests in the older classes were M60, where Nick Dent led for most of the way but was overhauled by Adrian Uppill over the final controls, and M55, where Geoff Lawford was pushed hard by Eoin Rothery for most of the way but edged away at the end for a 19-second win.

John Le Carpentier, making his first appearance at this level for some years, picked up a maiden win by 19secs in M70, whilst Jenny Bourne prevailed by 29secs over Carolyn Jackson and Liz Abbott in a quality W55 race. There were some imposing individual performances, though; none better than that of Barbara Hill, who demolished a strong W45 field in finishing more than two minutes ahead of Marquita Gelderman. (She was to demonstrate that it was no fluke three weeks later when she almost beat Rachel Effeney in the Big Foot Sprints).

DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 15

AUS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Louis Cameron leaves control Day 2 Long

Matt Crane Day 2 Long

Australian Long Distance Championships, Slap Up Creek, 29 September

T

he second new area of the weekend presented itself for the Australian Long Distance Championships; the granite of “Slap Up Creek”, near Jerangle, with rock and flattish contours reminiscent of parts of Badja (40 kilometres to the south), open forest and lots of fallen timber. Maintaining direction in sometimes vague terrain was a key, as was fine navigation on the shorter legs.

Hanny Allston achieved the best domestic result yet of her comeback with a convincing win. Lizzie Ingham was the early leader but dropped off the pace when she lost two minutes at #8 (and then had any attempt at getting back into the race snuffed out by indifferent long legs at #15 and #16). For the first half of the race Allston and Grace Crane were in a close contest, even after swapping one-minuters in mid-course, but from there Allston gradually edged away from her fellow Tasmanian and ended up four minutes clear, with Ingham in third.

For three-quarters of the race, the two leading men fought the closest of duels. Simon Uppill led more often than not for the first two-thirds of the course and was one second in front at #19.

The next leg was a long one; Crane got a narrow but useful lead there, then pulled out another minute on the big climb into #24, and that was effectively that; he was three minutes ahead by the end. Uppill was second, and Thomas Reynolds, caught by Uppill early, third; no-one else was within six minutes.

This time it was the turn of the Junior men to turn on a fluctuating race, with three within 25 seconds and five within just over two minutes. There were four different leaders during the first half of the race, with Ian Lawford emerging just at the head of the bunch by the end of that section. Nick Smith, still eligible for M16, had not really been seen as a potential winner despite his third in the Sprint, and was nearly three minutes in arrears at #14. In two decisive long legs, though, he turned the race upside down, grabbing the lead with only a few controls to go. There were a few wobbles at the end, and Oscar McNulty might have caught him had he not lost time by running to the wrong last control, but in the end the New Zealander was 22secs ahead.

Lawford made up the placings.

W20 was more straightforward than the previous day, but ended with the same result. Once again Marketa Novotna lost time on an early control, but recovered to be in front by #10 and stayed there. Her closest challenger was Sonia Hollands, one of 16 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

the lower-profile New Zealanders, while Anna Dowling achieved a breakthrough result as the first Australian. Lanita Steer, a dominant figure in Junior Long Distance races this year, crashed out of contention early. The New Zealanders had more joy when Alice Tilley and Lara Molloy took the quinella in W16, but Patrick Jaffe restored some home junior pride with a solid M16 win.

It was a good day for those with international backgrounds in the older classes too. Two long-term Australian residents with New Zealand WOC experience, Greg Barbour and Rob Jessop, put nine minutes between themselves and their nearest opponents in M40 and M45 respectively, but even they were upstaged by WA-based Norwegian Kjell Winther; the ultra-competitive M65 class is definitely not one accustomed to double-digit winning margins.

Jean Cory-Wright was one to take a title back across the Tasman, also having a big margin in reserve in W50, while Marquita Gelderman had to work harder in W45, but had a minute over Jenny Enderby in one of several classes where a long leg late in the course proved decisive. Perhaps the day’s most dramatic result was in W65, where Val Hodsdon was playing catch-up after losing five minutes at #2 but eventually overtook Judy Allison at the second-last control.

In several classes, the previous day’s history may not quite have repeated, but it did, at least, rhyme. Warren Key once again led Michael Burton home in M50, and Jenny Bourne led a repeat of the previous day’s placings in W55, but both were less troubled by their opposition than they had been on Saturday, as was Geoff Lawford, a four-minute winner in M55. Others to repeat included John Le Carpentier in M70 – who celebrated his first national title by doing it again the next day – Carol Brownlie in W60, and Adrian Uppill in M60.

Tavish Eenjes (M16) Day 2 Long

Australian Schools Championships, Wild Deer Sands, 1-2 October

Junior Boys Champion Simeon Burrill (Qld).

A

fter several years in which Queensland and Tasmania had dominated, Victoria won their first Australian Schools Championships since 2004. The stars played a major role in the result – winners in two classes, the lead Australian in a third, and both minor placings in the fourth – but there was also strength in depth as they took the title by a comfortable margin.

2013

WINNERS

State

Victoria

Senior Girls

Lanita Steer - VIC

Senior Boys

Matt Doyle - VIC

Junior Girls

Asha Steer - VIC

Junior Boys

Simeon Burrill - QLD

Senior Girls Relay

Victoria

Senior Boys Relay

NSW

Junior Girls Relay

Queensland

Junior Boys Relay

ACT

On a day which was distinguished as much by its wild winds as by its terrain, the first competitor to appear in the vicinity of the finish area was Winnie Oakhill, looking for a second Junior girls’ title after winning in 2011. She was also the first to finish, but the time interval between her appearing and her finishing seemed a bit too long for comfort. Nevertheless, her time was not seriously challenged for most of the day. The most likely challenger seemed to be late-starter Asha Steer; she was 90secs down at the

Aston Key made a fine debut with 3rd in M14

radio control 10 minutes or so from the end, but that looked to be a position which still placed her in contention, and so it proved. Having gained three minutes on the Queenslander at the second-last control, she emerged 1:41 in front. Katie Cory-Wright squeezed out Tara Melhuish for third by almost the narrowest possible margin – two seconds.

Lanita Steer was a late starter, and like her sister, she surpassed a leading time which had stood for a fair length of time. On this occasion, it was Alice Tilley who set the early pace, but the Victorian got ahead of her early in the course and put her speed to good use in a consistent run from there, finishing more than two minutes ahead. On a day when the top six came from six different teams, Nicola Blatchford edged out Anna Dowling for third.

New Zealand’s one individual win of the day came in the senior boys, where they filled three of the first four placings. It came as no surprise whatsoever that Tim Robertson was the best of them, but even given his favouritism, it was an imposing performance; only just over 5 minutes/km on a course which was lightning fast late but by no means so early. Only his teammate Shamus Morrison was able to get within five minutes of him, and that only just. Matt Doyle, another minute back, was the best of the locals.

Senior Girls individual winner, Lanita Steer from Victoria

The biggest surprise came in the Junior boys, where Patrick Jaffe was a warm favourite after his M16 win at the Australian Long Distance. As with the Junior girls, a Queenslander posted a fast time early on – this time, it was Simeon Burrill. When he finished, he was six minutes ahead of the field. That lead held up through most of the day, but the big test was always going to be what Jaffe, one of the late starters, could do. The split times were close and they could barely be separated through most of the course, and the Victorian was five seconds in front with three controls to go, but he was unable to match Burrill’s finishing speed and fell thirteen seconds short. There was another surprise behind them: Aston Key may have had the best genes in the competition, but third was still well above expectations for a first-year M14 making his debut at this level.

DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 17

AUS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Australian Schools Honour Team 2013

Junior Boys: Ewan Barnett ACT, Simeon Burrill Qld, Riley de Jong Qld, Patrick Jaffe Vic. Junior Girls: Zoe Dowling Tas, Tara Melhuish ACT, Winnie Oakhill Qld, Asha Steer Vic. Senior Boys: Aidan Dawson NSW, Matt Doyle Vic, Cameron Duncan WA, Ashley Nankervis Tas. Senior Girls: Nicola Blatchford NSW, Anna Dowling Tas, Olivia Sprod SA, Lanita Steer Vic.

The 2013 Australian WOC, JWOC and MTBO teams will be outfitted

by Trimtex

18 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

Victoria carried a useful lead into the Relays, but history has shown that things can turn upside down on Relays day, when the depth of teams is tested. In the Senior girls it took a couple of legs for that depth to be tested; most of the teams placed their best runners on first leg, and the result of that was six teams within two minutes, led by Kayla Fairbairn and Lanita Steer for New Zealand and Victoria respectively. By the end of the second leg it was down to a two-way battle, with an excellent second leg from Nicola Marshall bringing Tasmania to within 30secs of New Zealand, but they were unable to go on with it. The New Zealanders ran away with it in the end, and Rosie Dalheim brought Victoria back to reclaim the (Australian) lead late in the course.

New Zealand had hoped for a clean sweep in the Relays, not an unfamiliar experience for them, but those hopes were dashed with a mispunch on the second leg of the Junior girls, after Lara Molloy had led the first leg with Asha Steer. With Victoria also dropping away on the second leg, Queensland inherited a four-minute lead over the ACT, and with Winnie Oakhill to run the last leg, looked to be in a near-impregnable position. Tara Melhuish did her best to make it pregnable with the day’s fastest time, but was only able to close the gap to 90 seconds.

The New Zealanders also looked as if they might be out of it after the first leg in the Junior boys when they were eleven minutes down. At that stage, Victoria was four minutes ahead after Patrick Jaffe showed his strength, and they were still ahead after two legs, but by that stage New Zealand was within four minutes, and when Aston Key lost time early on the last leg, Cameron de L’Isle was there to take what ended up being an easy win. Ewan Barnett also ran an excellent last leg, which was enough to overhaul Victoria by 40secs and make ACT the leading Australian team.

The Senior boys also started as a case of New Zealand against the rest, the rest on this occasion being Victoria as Shamus Morrison matched it with Matt Doyle. With their depth it was always likely that New Zealand would move clear from there, and although Victoria was still within three minutes after the second leg, that proved to be the case; Tim Robertson removed all possible doubt, finishing off by running the fastest time by three minutes. Aidan Dawson’s solid last leg brought New South Wales in ahead of Victoria, but that was not enough to place Victoria’s overall win in any serious doubt; the ACT’s chances were already in “still mathematically possible” territory before they were snuffed out altogether by a mispunch. That left Tasmania to take the overall second place, while New Zealand (again) took out the Southern Cross Junior Challenge.

Victoria’s winningSenior Girls relay.

QLD-Jessica Hoey.

Victoria’s Asha Steer.

DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 19

AUS CHAMPIONSHIPS

be over at the second control; Poland dropped two minutes there, and the margin was close to that for the remainder of the course.

Brodie Nankervis was in second for most of the race, but lost ground on the long 19th and slipped just behind Poland.

Marketa Novotna made it a treble, with another comfortable win, once again over New Zealand opposition – Kayla Fairbairn this time. Both lost time on #4 but in the end it didn’t matter. Heather Muir was the leading Australian after a steady run. Another junior to make it three wins out of three was Tara Melhuish in W14.

Alice Tilley’s bid for a clean sweep in W16 was scuttled when Winnie Oakhill took an early lead and held it to the end of the course, while Daniel Hill had one of the most convincing wins of his career when he was three minutes ahead of Patrick Jaffe in M16.

Two others to win three titles in competitive classes were Warren Key (M50) and Geoff Lawford (M55). Neither of these came as any great surprise. Key was reasonably comfortable, edging away from Jim Russell throughout the course to take the win by just under two minutes, but Lawford was pushed all the way by Eoin Rothery who led for most of the course, before Lawford took the narrowest of leads and held it over the last few controls for a tensecond win. Ted van Geldermalsen might have been in the mix too, had he not mispunched at #11 when in second place.

Australian Middle Distance Championships, Gibraltar Hill, 5 October

T

he rocky hill behind Bungendore has been eyed off by Canberra orienteers for many a year. With long-standing access issues resolved, it became the latest new venue to be unveiled for the Championships week. The rockiness underfoot made it hard going at times, and it wasn’t always easy to pick out the big rock, but the best coped with it as well as they always do.

The three leading women of the Australian season have been Lizzie Ingham, Hanny Allston and Grace Crane. Ingham and Allston already had titles to their names from the first weekend, and this time it was Crane’s turn. With Ingham out of contention after losing three minutes at #2, Crane was the leader through most of the first half of the course, but Allston was still well within range if she was good enough, a minute or two behind. That was settled, though, when she lost five minutes at #16 to drop to fifth, leaving Crane as a reasonably comfortable winner. Jasmine Neve never really looked like winning, but kept her head while others were losing theirs to finish second, while Ingham recovered from her early troubles to climb to third.

Not for the first time, it was a family double, with Matt Crane prevailing in M21E after a fiercely contested race.

Both he and Simon Uppill lost time early – Crane at #2, Uppill at #5 – and for large parts of the course the New Zealand trio, 2012 JWOC Middle Distance gold medallist Matt Ogden, Tim Robertson and Nick Hann, filled the first three places. By #18 Crane and Uppill had recovered to the point that eight seconds separated the first four. The next leg was long, and Crane’s aggressive route choice – straight over the hill – made the difference, his hill strength coming to the fore as it had the preceding Sunday. Uppill came back at him hard over the final controls, but fell seven seconds short, with Ogden in third another 38secs behind.

M20 had the extra element that it was the only one of the four individual National League classes which was still in doubt, with Ian Lawford and Oliver Poland fighting out honours for the season as well as the day. It turned out to 20 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

Three other classes which might have been expected to see clean sweeps instead saw upsets, of a sort. Liz Abbott took the honours over Jenny Bourne in W55 with small errors at #5 and #8 decisive, Lynn Dabbs edged Carol Brownlie out by 54secs in W60, and Nick Dent broke through in M60 after Adrian Uppill lost seven minutes at #3, with the minor placings featuring career-best results by two ACT stalwarts, John Scown and Bruce Bowen.

W45 once again featured a nail-biting result, and produced a third winner for the week – this time Paula Savolainen, whose finishing speed was enough to overcome Marquita Gelderman, who had led almost all the way but was nine seconds behind at the end. Sue Hancock had been there or thereabouts all day and was only another six seconds back. A duel of 1990s WOC old hands – one a regular on the scene since, one rarely sighted in recent years – saw Natasha Key pull away at the end to finish 35secs ahead of Emily Walter Ian Lawford, Day 8, Aus Middle Distance. (formerly Viner). In M65, Kjell Winther won again, but in complete contrast to the previous weekend – this time Dave Middleton pushed him all the way, and in a race that was decided by 24 seconds, the loss of 30 at #11 was critical. Two who had been missing the previous weekend through organisational roles returned to the winners’ list by reasonably comfortable margins: Jenny Hawkins in W65, and Alex Tarr in M70.

Australian Relays, Gibraltar Hill, 6 October

I

t was back to Gibraltar Hill on the Sunday morning to finish the week at the Australian Relays, with National League titles on the line for three classes. Given the configuration of the map and the relatively small number of controls, it was widely anticipated that the first leg would be a long route-choice leg, and the way in which the field split after the mass start confirmed that. It was a tougher Relay than some, and some of the times were long, but there was some excellent racing at the front end.

In W21, the National League, which was a straight fight between the Victorian Nuggets and the Canberra Cockatoos – first across the line wins – came down to the last couple of controls after three wildly fluctuating legs. Lizzie Ingham gave the ACT an excellent start to put her team seven minutes in front, but that lead, and more, was surrendered on the second leg as Aislinn Prendergast came through Mace Neve, and Kathryn Preston went out four minutes ahead of Jo Allison, making her return to highlevel racing. Preston was still in front at the spectator control, but then dropped three minutes at the next control, leaving Allison a minute in front. It still wasn’t over: Preston, the faster flat runner of the two, came back hard, and when the pair appeared in sight they were close enough that it was imaginable that it could come down to a sprint finish, but Allison had 50 metres in hand at the last control and that was enough.

W21E – Jo Allison wins.

Matt Crane wins M21E.

Overall titles were less at stake for the men – Victoria had to beat the ACT by two clear places, which was never likely to happen – but it was still an excellent race. Simon Uppill gave the Southern Arrows a five-minute lead to open proceedings. They were still in a lead group of three after two legs, but then dropped away, leaving the ACT and New Zealand to fight it out, with Matt Crane and Matt Ogden up against each other. They went opposite ways on the long first leg but came out together; the next major route choice leg also failed to separate them, and both missed an opportunity to take advantage of each other’s mistake at #8, but for the third time in a week, the final climb was the scene of Crane’s winning move. He finished off strongly and was two minutes ahead, with the Cockatoos’ second team completing the placings. Victoria were never in the race and dropped to fifth on the last leg.

The Cockatoos had long since wrapped up overall honours for the Junior men with a team of three JWOC representatives, Oliver Poland, Andrew Barnett and Ian Lawford. It took New Zealand to provide them with meaningful opposition. It was close throughout, but the ACT had their nose in front more often than not once Poland had come in just over a minute ahead of Shamus Morrison, and Lawford appeared at the end of the last leg just far enough ahead to be out of sprint-finish range against Tim Robertson. Brodie Nankervis ran the day’s fastest time to bring Tasmania up to third.

Simon Uppill (SA).

DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 21

AUS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Tim Robertson (NZ).

Oliver Poland(ACT).

W20E winners, Tasmania: Hannah Goddard, Nicola Marshall, Anna Dowling.

The NSW Stingers had to win to have a chance of overall Junior women’s honours. They had their work cut out from the first leg, when Anna Dowling put Tasmania four minutes ahead, and then dropped out of contention on the second leg. That made it a race between Tasmania and New Zealand. The Tasmanians increased that lead to seven minutes after two legs; Kayla Fairbairn cut that in half but Nicola Marshall had more than enough in hand to hold on. Victoria were never in the hunt (despite Lanita Steer running the fastest leg), but took enough points into the day to take the season’s honours.

The closest race elsewhere was in M16, where the favourites New Zealand prevailed, but not before three legs of close racing with the top four teams covered by just over two minutes. Daniel Hill gave NSW an early lead, but by the end of the second leg the Kiwis were in front. Ed Cory-Wright went out a minute in front and under pressure from the chasing pack, but he held up to the pressure and stretched the lead a little, with the ACT just edging out NSW and Tasmania behind him. A New Zealander also stretched a narrow final-leg lead in W16, but on this occasion it was against a compatriot; Katie Cory-Wright held out Alice Tilley to give the second team an unexpected win against the first.

(Continuing the theme, Queensland’s second team beat their first team into third).

The biggest last-leg turnaround was in M55. Rob Vincent gave NSW a five-minute lead after the first leg and they had extended that by another minute by the start of the last leg, but Geoff Lawford was always likely to be a formidable opponent on the last leg. He was already in front after the first control when Alex Davey lost time there, and in the end scored a runaway victory. None M20E TAS team in 3rd.

of the other masters’ classes changed hands in the closing stages, although last-leg charges fell three minutes short in both M45 and W45; Rob Jessop was nine minutes faster than anyone else but couldn’t quite overcome the advantage set up for Queensland

by Lance Read’s opening, while Barbara Hill’s finish for NSW was not enough to trump Christine Brown’s opening for Tasmania.

NSW went 1-2 in W55, while Kjell Winther’s seven-minute margin on the first leg was enough to ensure Western Australia’s one victory of the day, in M65.

And now, we look forward to it all happening again in West Australia next year.

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PH (03) 9017 4835, FX (03) 9388 1916 Email info@osoa.com.au 22 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

ORIENTEERING CARNIVAL 2014 SEPTEMBER 27 - OCTOBER 5 WESTERN AUSTRALIA

www.2014ausochamps.com Two Rocks

Bindoon Clackline

Perth

WA Long Distance Champs Aust Middle Distance Champs (WRE NOL) Aust Sprint Champs (WRE NOL) Aust Schools Indiv. Champs & Public

Bunbury Busselton Margaret River

Aust Schools Relay Champs & Public Aust Long Distance Champs (WRE NOL) Aust Relay Champs (NOL)

But wait there’s more.

Why not stay on for another week of Sprints & MTBO:

Sprint the South West Series - 7 & 8 October

WA MTBO Event Program - 10 & 11 October

4 Races over 2 days in and around Bunbury, Busselton & Margaret River www.facebook.com/sprintthesw

WA Long Distance MTBO Champs (NOL), MTBO Sprint Event (NOL), WA Middle Distance MTBO Championship (NOL) All near Margaret River 275km South of Perth http://wa.orienteering.asn.au/

Karrak is the Aboriginal name for the Forest Red-Tailed Black DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER Cockatoo of south west Western Australia

23

AUS CHAMPIONSHIPS

To begin the day I start to jog slowly around the paddock, trying to find space in place and mind to loosen my muscles and regroup my thoughts. I don’t find this possible when friends and the bustle of a busy arena surround me. As I jog I start to draw a map in my head of the surrounding terrain, prioritizing the mapping by the order in which I use the key navigational aids.

Firstly I visualize how the contours would look and whether I would be using form lines, creeks or erosion gullies for smaller features.

On my next lap around the paddock I am thinking through the vegetation boundaries and overlying tracks, fences and other linear features. On my third lap I begin to place the point features, starting with the termite mounds and concluding with the rocks. I repeat this process on the way to the Start. I am now feeling ready for the technical challenges I know I am about to face and so a couple of minutes before the start I tune back into the world around me, relax, chat to a friend and give my mind some time out. I know I navigate at my best when I am relaxed and carefree.

Start – #1

Hanny’s Long Race Hanny Allston

Picking up the map I locate the Start triangle quickly and cross the fence stile. On the other side I suddenly feel confused by the fences and my sense of direction momentarily leaves me.

I plant my feet, hold my map and compass in both hands right out in front of me and double check all the features around me. I know if I don’t get straight into the map I will struggle for the rest of the course.

Quickly I regain control of my internal bearings. I line up my compass, look up into the far distance and make out the rocky hillside that houses my control. As I run across the gully towards it I check how high the control is from the bottom of the gully beyond the control. Two contours above the marsh and just inside the vegetation boundary. I locate it quickly using the slopes of the land as a guide.

Before the event

#1 – #2

riving to the Australian Long Distance Championships I am very distracted. Frazzled by the sciatica travelling down my leg and the worry of a grumpy hamstring gnawing away in my mind, I am having trouble believing this is the National Championships.

I purposefully start this leg slower to ensure I have full contact and awareness of my distances. As I cross the marsh I have already made out the small knoll on the broken fence line just to the left of the control. As I approach it I check that it has the boulder sitting distinctively on it. Yes. I am right and make a careful approach, using my compass, into the control.

D

The injury stems from twinging my back whilst stretching a week earlier. This in itself was a lesson. I had just begun to ramp up the intensity of my training whilst ignoring some of the warning signs to balance the harder work with more recovery. The muscles yelped and injury occurred. Yes, lesson learnt. But I can’t change the situation now so rather I must adapt. After all, Orienteering is not just a running race but instead a continual process of highlevel, fast-paced decision-making with accurate execution. An orienteer can be the fastest and fittest runner in the world but if they do not bring complete control and technical skill to their course they can run a very long way at great speed in the wrong direction.

24 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

#2 – #3 On first impressions this leg scares me. I do not move from the control straight away but rather hold my compass and map out in front of me, visualizing how the slopes will look. I look up and make out the gully that will lead me into the control. I continue to scan the terrain, gauging my height from the rocky knoll and saddle just to the right of the control. I see the boulder and flag from 20m away.

#3 – #4 The exit towards my next control is easy but I still check my compass and look up to locate the boulders on the LHS of the hill. They are huge and easily identifiable. I find rounding curves of slopes hard so I pause after I pass the foot of the boulders and take a careful compass bearing. Looking up I can make out the area of the cliff by how sharply the land falls away below it. I know my control will be at the base of this.

#4 – #5 From the control I pivot and point my feet in the direction I want to travel. I can already make out the three rocky knolls in front of me. I know that my control lies just beyond the third one in a slight indent in the contours. I run confidently straight to the control.

#5 – #6

#8 – #9

My first real error. My confidence has built and I have no concerns about my hamstring at the moment. I exit carefully from the control and make out the large rocky hillside with the distinct saddle on its left flank. I only take a rough bearing from here and power my way to the saddle.

With my momentum and confidence both high I am now entering the danger zone. I see that I have to cross another, more broad saddle followed by a track and think, ‘this will be easy’. I do not take a bearing and so when I arrive at the saddle I am caught off-guard by how broad and vague it appears.

With little point features to use on the next leg I go back to basics with my contours. I aim to run between the top of the spur and the cluster of rocks just below it. Crossing the track I come to a complete stop. I look up and on my compass line can make out the first and second rocky knolls. I aim between them and know my control is on an isolated rock just beyond the second knoll. I double check my placement using the large rocky hillsides around me.

I cross the track but don’t know exactly where I have crossed. My speed and confidence plummets. Now I am navigating behind my feet and I enter a gully between two rocky knolls. Finally I say ‘STOP’ out loud and bring myself to a complete pause. I look around, scanning the contours and quickly determine that I am still on course to the control. Phewww! I ‘walk’ on a bearing into the control, guided by the small gully and flat-topped spur with a large boulder just behind the control. I have no trouble locating it and use the time to regain my composure and discipline.

#6 – #7 Exiting the control I look up and pick out the line of bare rock.

I use the RHS of the rock to guide me into the gully just beyond it. Visibility is slightly lower so I check my compass, look up and make out the rocky knoll to the left of where my control will be.

This gives me security and I navigate cleanly from the bare rock into my control.

#7 – #8 This leg looks complicated and first impressions are to go very, very slowly. I decide to use a strong bearing whilst breaking it up into frequent attack points. I begin by bouncing to the left of the round, rocky knoll, then distinct cluster of rocks on the spur, then finally the round rocky knoll to the right of the control. From here I can easily see the control as I scan the terrain.

#9 – #10 My second error. This time I am fearful when I look at the leg. I dislike contouring as I find it disrupts my sense of distance. So I move higher on the slope so I can use the rocky knolls, checking my direction as I pass each. I become too focused on my direction and misread the location of the control, thinking that it sits in the saddle which, in truth, is actually beyond the flag. Getting to the saddle I quickly realize my error and retrace my steps to the isolated boulder where my control is.

#10 – #11 By now I have started to see more of my competitors and have enjoyed the company of Kathryn Preston close behind me for around five controls. Rather than feeling her presence as a hindrance, I use the company of my competitors as confidence that my navigation is mostly going smoothly. I pause at the control to take a gel and regroup my thoughts after this small error. I let the others depart the control before I make a careful bearing for the next leg. I decide to aim for the flat-topped spur then gully junction below the control. When I reach it I check the location of the control, determining that I need to move onto the spur and climb up to an area of rocky ground. I find my control just to the left of this. I am back amongst the girls.

#11 – #12 I stop again and carefully find my exit direction. This time the girls also stop. I ignore them and make a bearing towards the fence corner. As I reach it I am already looking up and locating the RH edge of the broad hill. As it is only marked by form lines I try to pick up the rock point features. However, when I look up and scan the forest I can clearly see the two rocky knolls in front of me. I know my control sits between them.

DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 25

AUS CHAMPIONSHIPS

#12 – #13 Straight away I am cautious of this leg. There is lots of green vegetation on the map so I try to take as accurate a compass bearing as I can, looking right up in the distance beyond the greenery for something I can aim towards. I power straight through the green so there is no risk of going off course. When I pop out of the vegetation I come to a complete stop, double check my position then look up. I can see the bare rock in front of me and know the control is on the RHS.

#13 – #14 This leg looks fun and easy to break up into sections. Firstly I aim for the flat-topped spur with obvious greenery in the gully.

I then follow the contours down the gully into the broad valley.

The next section is more dangerous so I stop and take a strong bearing, picking up the faint gullies that will guide me towards the control. The green, rocky knoll is my obvious attack point and as I near it I am scanning for the boulder marking the control location. It is easy to spot so I run smoothly into the control.

#14 – #15 I have already thought about this leg in advance but I still stop momentarily to check my thoughts are still relevant to how I am going. Yes. I run out on a compass bearing but mainly aiming for the open gully and track intersection just beyond the distinctive flat-topped spur. I run right along the track for a short while till I see the cluster of rocks to my left, pause, take a good bearing, and aim for the fence, all the while checking my position against point features such as the bare rock on my right. Crossing the fence I run down the gully to its fork then on a bearing sidle across to the large group of distinctive boulders on the right.

From here it is a matter of carefully following my compass down the RHS of the broad spur, keeping an eye on the shapes of the gullies to my right and the position of the control in relation to the flat, open part of the spur. I know if I run too far I will see the rocky knoll beyond.

man-made feature in the gully system to the north-west. I am tiring so, on reaching it, I walk a few paces before aligning my map and compass, looking up and picking out the edge of the rocky spur. From here I slowly climb and contour into the control on another bearing, carefully judging my distance by shapes of the hill to my left and rocky spur below me on my right. I am now alone on the course. I feel at peace.

#16 – #17

#15 – #16 Up until now I have been running amongst competitors and my leg has become more uncomfortable from bounding over all the logs (and snakes!). I decide to take a dramatic route choice to give my body and mind a bit of a rest. I aim right out of the control and cross over a hill into the broad, open gully system to the east. The vegetation is still heavier than I expect and I can feel myself tiring. However, I remind myself everyone will be and try to run efficiently up to the head of the gully, marking my position on the surrounding hillsides. As I reach the bare rock at the head of the gully I take a very careful compass bearing, aiming for the 26 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

Feeling like I am over the hump of the course, I try to run with a faster cadence out of the control on a bearing towards the fence. Crossing it I take time to plan my direction and attack points into the control. I carefully contour through the knolls, picking off four and then knowing that my control will be just before the fifth and only one contour above the farmland.

#17 – #18 Despite this short leg I stop, take an accurate compass bearing and look far into the distance. I pick out the three knolls on the edge of the farmland, aiming for between the right-hand two. I pass between them, note the large boulder to confirm my location, and then easily approach the control on the bare rock.

#18 – #19 I’m feeling heavy legged in these runnable sections so I try to be even more careful. Taking a compass bearing I climb the hill as efficiently as I can, crossing the fence at a slight corner. Once I reach the crest of the spur in an open clearing I take a bearing and can easily see the green rocky knoll that slightly obscures the rocks where my control sits. I approach it with no trouble and use the break from navigating to have a rest.

#19 – #20 My tired brain feels like it wants to head too far north out of this control so I triple check my compass and try to trust it. Once I am around the rocky knoll to the north-east of the control I have my bearings back and move easily down the spur to the fence crossing. I decide to climb straight up through the boulders, ignoring the detail until I reach the top of the hill. I move across to the far edge and can see the rocky hill beyond. I know my control is on the right-hand spur and I locate it easily.

#20 – #21

#21 – #22 – Finish From the last control I take one last bearing as I leave the hill to ensure I pick up the fence crossing, check the location of the last control, look up to pick its location and move through the remainder of the course on automatic pilot.

I know I have done my best and that I am proud of this run. My body is not so happy and I know it is time to rest.

(Hanny won this event in a time of 1:13:32 by 3min 40sec from Grace Crane (TAS) with Lizzie Ingham (NZ) third.)

Hanny during the AUS Sprint Champs. Photo: Steve Bird

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I’m now very tired so I decide to run along the fence line until I see the large gully that marks the open saddle between the two large rocky hills. Sadly, for the first time on the course, I have to walk up this short, steep hill. This is to ensure I have brainpower, as I know the assembly area is approaching and I don’t want to make an error with the added distractions. When I crest the hill in the open saddle I stop, look up and see my partner filming me.

Distraction! I stop again, check the location of the control, take a careful bearing and easily find the flag located between the two cliffs.

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DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 27

DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS

What is FTEM ?

Lance Read – OA Director, High Performance

Foundations, Talent, Elite and Mastery

W

e all participate in Orienteering for many different reasons – an active, healthy lifestyle, competing with friends and family, and for some – sport excellence at an elite level. Regardless of your age or stage of Orienteering, there are underlying developmental progressions or pathways within these three participatory outcomes. Yet it has been found for many sports, not just Orienteering, that these pathways are not always clear or functional for athletes, coaches or sporting administrators.

Using insights from the past 30 years, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has developed a new, inclusive sports framework to capture the different pathways, demonstrating how these 3 different pathways work together. It is called FTEM - Foundations, Talent, Elite and Mastery. Each level describes the major phases of athlete development.

FTEM is a user-friendly framework of sporting development that is representative of the ‘whole of sport’ pathway continuum. It provides a practical method to assist sporting organisations, like Orienteering Australia, construct a more functional athlete and sport development system.

As demonstrated in the graphic below, the FTEM framework consists of 4 macro stages of the skill and performance development of sporting participants, which are further differentiated into 10 micro phases, starting with early movement experiences.

When we are young, we learn the basics of movement. Through more challenging movement environments, introductory Orienteering experiences, and good quality physical education, we can advance our movement skills. Together, these important FOUNDATIONS help us to pursue and engage in an active lifestyle, regularly participating in Orienteering events. Next, we commit to developing our skills through sports specific training and competition. This typically occurs in sporting clubs and many of us stay happily within this sports participation pathway.

T for TALENT is the entry point of the high performance pathway for those promising athletes (both young and not so young) who demonstrate physical, psychological and movement potential. At T2, experienced coaches with a discerning eye for talent, further assess attributes such as coachability, determination and positive self-management to verify future sporting potential. Athletes at the T3 level are committed to achieving higher levels of sports performance through more focused practice and training, and work towards breakthrough performance and reward for their efforts at the T4 level. Opportunities to participate in the TALENT phase include, for example, competing at the Australian Schools Orienteering Championship, AUSvNZ Challenge for age group athletes, SILVA National Orienteering League, even JWOC and the World University Orienteering Championships.

ELITE status is attained through selection and representation to compete at the highest levels of international sport - WOC, World Cups and AUSvNZ Test Matches. Success at the elite level = medals. A few, rare athletes achieve sports MASTERY – with sustained success over many years and dominance in elite competition.

How can FTEM be applied to Orienteering?

The FTEM framework offers a practical planning and review tool for Orienteering stakeholders such as parents, teachers, clubs, coaches, sport science/medicine personnel and National and State sporting organisations.

It will also be used as a tool by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) to evaluate the quality and viability of our sport, and in response to the Crawford Report will be used to determine future funding allocations to Orienteering Australia, which have changed as a result of the report’s recommendation. The funding we (OA) have previously received as ‘High Performance Funding’ has been changed to ‘Whole of Sport Funding’ with a balanced emphasis on whole of sport pathway and system development, not a sole focus on individuals or current senior representatives.

The main objective of the ASC under its new plan, Pathways to Success is, “… to boost sports participation and strengthen sporting pathways while striving for international success”. The 28 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

use of the FTEM framework will helps sports to have a balanced focus on smooth, progressive development from grass roots to elite, and international achievement.

Orienteering Australia is already using the FTEM resource to help grow our participation pipeline and increase performances on the world stage. The High Performance Strategic Plan is currently being reviewed and re-written to reflect the FTEM model.

Additionally, during the Australian Championship Carnival week in Canberra, a number of representatives from each State Sporting Organisation (SSO) participated in an ASC facilitated ‘Health Check’ of our sport. During the day long workshop, our current strengths and weakness in the FTEM model were identified, and future priorities were ‘mapped out’ with alignment to the four key phases.

In summary The FTEM Framework integrates three key outcomes of sport involvement – active lifestyle, sport participation and sport excellence. It provides a practical method to assist us construct a more functional athlete and sport development system across all levels of Orienteering - Club, State and National. With an enhanced understanding of sporting pathways for all orienteers, FTEM will help us improve the experiences of more people, at more levels of the pathway, more often, by getting the right support at the right time, to get the right outcomes; For more information, head to ausport.gov.au/ftem Acknowledgements: source material and images obtained from Australian Government: Australian Sport Commission, and the Australian Institute of Sport websites and FTEM information brochures.

DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 29

WORLD GAMES DEVELOPMENT

2013 WORLD GAMES in Cali, Colombia L ib ertad

y O r d en

Christine Brown

Colombians love their sport. Cali, a Colombian city of over 2 million people, is no exception. It has a proud history of putting on world class sporting events. Cali has hosted World Cup cycling races and, of course, world class football matches. In 2011 they were one of the host cities for the U20 Football World Cup. The people of Cali made the Orienteering athletes and officials feel very welcome.

Norwegian Oystein Kvaal Osterbo at the spectator control in the Middle Distance.

L ibe rtad

y O rd en

S

taging an international Orienteering event in Colombia was always going to be a challenge. The Colombian Orienteering Federation, an IOF member, has limited experience at organising international Orienteering events. The World Games (TWG) are an extremely important part of IOF’s strategic plan. TWG are organised under the auspices of the International World Games Association (IWGA), which in turn is under the auspices of the IOC. TWG offers non-Olympic sports an opportunity to showcase themselves as they seek inclusion in the Olympic Games. Therefore the IOF put together an international team of experienced orienteers to bring the event to fruition.

Australia’s involvement in this year’s World Games began in mid2010 with the appointment of Christine Brown as the IOF Senior Event Advisor along with Danes Erik Nielsen as Event Director

and Kell Sonnichsen as IT Director. All three worked together at the previous World Games in Kaohsiung and were able to draw upon their experience from four years earlier. The Australian contingent grew to three with the appointment of Mike Dowling as course planner and Paul Pacqué as mapper. Both Mike and Paul helped in Kaohsiung so understood what the requirements were for a successful Games.

The rules of TWG require the competitions to be conducted within a short radius of the city centre. This made finding suitable venues challenging. The city park, known as Parque Lineal El Ingenio, was selected for the Sprint competition along with some of the nearby suburbs. The Middle Distance and Relay competitions were held in an area known as Rio Pance.

Qualification for TWG is based on results from the previous year’s WOC. The top 13 nations are offered places for 2 men and 2 women and the gold medallists from the individual disciplines at WOC are also offered a place. The host nation is allowed 2+2.

The IOF then allocates places to ensure that all regions of the

Austrian Relay bronze medallists were delighted.

30 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

world are represented. Unfortunately for Australia, New Zealand were better placed at WOC and were invited to send a full team. Australia was offered one spot for women and Kathryn Preston was Australia’s representative.

The Sprint competition, whilst not so technically challenging, was fast and furious. However, athletes still made mistakes and the cream of Orienteering’s elite came to the top. Annika Bilstam (SWE), Ann Margrethe Hausken Norberg (NOR) and Maja Alm (DEN) took the first medals of the Orienteering event with the men’s competition medals being won by Matthias Kyburz (SUI), Andrey Khramov (RUS) and Jerker Lysell (SWE).

Fabian Hertner (SUI) crosses river.

Gernot Kerschbaumer (AUT) runs down river.

The Middle Distance event took place on the eastern end of the Rio Pance map. Rio Pance offered a more technical challenge with lots of paths through forest which had limited runability.

Mike’s courses saw the athletes start and finish in the arena.

The Cali cat, El Gato Siete Vidas, reappeared from the Sprint to provide a colourful spectator control. The competition promised to be a spectator’s delight. Spectators were also entertained by a river crossing at the end of the course where athletes gained precious seconds by crossing the Rio Pance rather than taking the footbridge option. Local Cali people who frequent Rio Pance every weekend were surprised to find themselves bathing in the middle of a World Games competition but clapped and cheered the athletes through the river.

The last of the three competitions was the Mixed Sprint Relay.

This format has so far only been used in TWG but will soon become a WOC discipline. The Relay has always been popular with spectators and athletes alike. This

year’s Relay had lots of excitement with close racing. As some of the more fancied teams made errors it remained to be seen which teams could finish four runners without mistakes. The Swiss showed their dominance by comfortably taking gold. The real excitement came when Denmark claimed silver and Austria bronze. The delight displayed by these two teams was one of the highlights of this year’s Games.

Orienteering was one of the last sports to complete their competitions in TWG 2013 and all athletes, officials and volunteers were able to attend the closing ceremony. The feeling of walking into a packed Pascual Guerrero Stadium was amazing.

Thousands of people were cheering like it was a football match.

The mood was exhilarating and it was apparent that Cali had enjoyed hosting the Games.

The 2017 World Games will be hosted by Wroclaw in Poland.

Gold medal winner Annika Bilstam(SWE) with course planner Mike Dowling.

Australians at the World Games 2013.

2013 World Games Sprint Relay map Rio Pance West Scale 1:5000, Contour 2.5m International Team of organisers.

DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 31

EASTER CARNIVAL 2014 DEVELOPMENT

EASTER 2014 ORIENTEERING CARNIVAL

7 fantastic events in 9 days Easter 2014 is gearing up to be another great Orienteering feast served up by chef’s Nick Dent, Ron Pallas and Rob Vincent Taster – begins with the spectator friendly and exciting bush sprint for the Elite Prologue, followed up with a proper Family Relay (ingeniously incorporating the elite runners’ times if they are in the family Relay).

For those not fortunate enough to have the family with them there will be a course for you too. These events will be held on a new map in Rylstone featuring gully spur and some tricky contour detail.

Then the 3 Day mains course: Mains 1 – returns to the map from the 2009 WMOC Long Distance finals areas showcasing some great courses for some challenging and enjoyable orienteering in lovely open gully spur terrain with plenty of rock detail in Clandulla State Forest - Middle Distance style just for starters.

Mains 2 – A Long Distance race for the elites and for others courses in the Long Distance style on the WMOC qualification 2 map – less rock but more gully spur. The first two days will share the same picturesque arena similar to that used for the WMOC 2009.

Mains 3 – features an area which most orienteers have not previously visited and so will be like a new area. Fantastic gully spur with some sustained rock features boasting the highest cliffs and pagodas on the whole map, and featuring a number of rock passages and huge pillars as control sites.

To add to your Orienteering experience the following Wednesday mid-week event - “Dungeree Challenge” - at Dungeree State Forest featuring a loops designed course further excites the Orienteering connoisseurs’ taste buds. You can challenge someone to compete with you or just have a race with yourself in this fast open gully spur terrain.

The Carnival ends on the ANZAC day long weekend with a very satisfying dessert - the NSW Sprint Championships (Friday 25th) at Lithgow TAFE and High School featuring

32 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

interesting urban buildings and some bush. This event features a Mixed Sprint Relay for the elites using the format that will be part of WOC 2014.

Plenty of excitement fast and furious!

This is followed by the NSW Long Distance Championships in the beautiful Gardens of Stone National Park on a brand new map featuring some huge rock outcrops and generally fast running that we have come to love in this area.

Historic Rylstone will be the event centre with event camping at the Rylstone Showgrounds with showers and toilets available. This is conveniently located within walking distance of the shops, local pubs and restaurants.

The event team are hoping to organise the Orienteering Australia dinner at a local winery. Expect this to cost more than usual but also expect it to be a real taste of the fresh local produce and Mudgee - Rylstone wines and a fine dining experience.

The O Lynx timing and results display system (used at the World Cup Jan 2013 in NZ) will let you follow your rivals’ progress in real time in the arena. Progressive results with the use of radio controls will allow you to see how well others are doing on their course. A live feed to the internet will be available to anyone in the arena with a smartphone or for those at home.

Sledge is returning! If you want to be involved in the excitement of mass starts, fastest hill climb, fastest split and other challenges then enter M21AS. Of course you will see the return of the traditional boxer shorts for the winners of each featured leg to wear on the following day.

EASTER 2014 – great maps, great courses and great arenas – see you there.

Online entry available on Eventor.

Event website: www.onsw.asn.au/easter2014

OCEANIA CHAMPIONSHIPS 2015

OCEANIA 2015 in Tasmania includes WORLD CUP events

T

he world’s elite orienteers will flock to Tasmania again in early 2015 to take part in the first World Cup events on the 2015 calendar. World Cup points will be on offer in Sprint, Middle and Long Distance events. Combining these with Oceania Championships and AUS-NZ Schools Test Match events will make for an exciting and enjoyable Orienteering carnival. And for those with a little extra time there’s The Hobart Shorts in the following week.

Advice from the organisers is – check the website http://oceania2015.com/program/ and book your accommodation early.

Day One: Friday January 2nd 2015 - World Cup Sprint Prologue Cataract Gorge, Launceston; Day Two: Saturday January 3rd 2015 - Oceania Sprint Championships and World Cup Sprint - UTAS Launceston; Day Three: Sunday January 4th 2015 - Oceania Relay Championships - Diddleum Plains - approx 45 minutes east of Launceston;

Day Six: Thursday January 8th 2015 - World Cup Middle Distance + Aust/NZ Schools Test Match (Indiv) + Public Race - Coles Bay, East Coast; Day Seven: Saturday January 10th 2015 - World Cup Long Distance - Three Star Creek - approx 30 minutes west of St Helens; Day Eight: Sunday January 11th 2015 - Oceania Long Distance Championships - Three Star Creek - approx 30 minutes west of St Helens.

THE HOBART SHORTS All venues are within 30 minutes of Hobart: Event One: Tuesday January 13th 2015 PM - UTAS Hobart, Sandy Bay; Event Two: Wednesday January 14th 2015 AM - 7 Mile Beach;

Day Four: Tuesday January 6th 2015 - Oceania Middle Distance Championships - Rajah Rocks, Avoca, Fingal Valley - approx 75 minutes SE of Launceston;

Event Three: Wednesday January 14th 2015 PM - Salamanca Place, Hobart;

Day Five: Wednesday January 7th 2015 - Australia/New Zealand Schools Test Match (Relay) + Public Race - Spiky Bridge, East Coast approx 15 minutes south of Swansea;

Event Five: Thursday January 15th 2015 PM - Risdon Brook Dan Reserve, Risdon;

Event Four: Thursday January 15th 2015 AM - Peter Murrell Reserve, Kingston;

Event Six: Friday January 16th 2015 AM - Knocklofty Reserve, West Hobart.

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destinationlaunceston.com.au DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 33

ARCTIC O

North Atlantic Championships Greg Tamblyn (Bayside Kangaroos)

I first heard about the event at WMOC last year and the conversation sparked my desire to see the Arctic. I finally got on a plane last June and flew to Greenland to go orienteering. Yes – Greenland.

Nuuk Greenland-approaching the start for the event on Quassussuup tunua map.

T

he North Atlantic Orienteering Championships 2013 was a three-stage event each with a Sprint, Middle Distance and a Long Distance event. It started in Nuuk (the capital of Greenland) continued onto Reykjavik in Iceland and finished at Torshavn in the Faroe Islands.

I arrived in Nuuk in time for their national day celebrations. It is the longest day of the year with 24-hour daylight and included lots of special events and, this time, even Orienteering. The local Nuuk Orientering Club did a great job looking after us over the weekend. They even put on a dinner with a lot of Greenlandic specialities including smoked seal, musk ox and halibut.

be wildly inaccurate and the error changes as you cross the map.

It was a truly unique experience for my first Arctic event.

The Long Distance event the next day was in similar terrain but this time was mainly on the hillside facing the main fjord. The wind had almost stopped, the view was absolutely amazing

The first event was a Middle Distance located in a glacial valley that contained the main water supply dam for Nuuk. The area consisted of serious rocky outcrops and lots of loose rocks interspersed with spongy beds of arctic plants and soft mud near the many creeks. Add the cold wind when you came over the hill, (it was the height of their summer season and only about 3 or 4 degrees), patches of snow everywhere and the lack of trees.

Also the special announcement made particularly for the few foreigners that were there, that much of the rock around Nuuk has lodestone in it. This means that your compass will probably

Greg models the Carnival shirt.

Sprint at Torshavn, Faroe Islands – note the unusual roofing.

34 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

and it was almost 5 degrees – just like any summer day should be. The competition finished in Greenland with a Sprint event around the town including, as a very special treat, a control on the only tree in Nuuk.

After Greenland, the Carnival moved on to Reykjavik in Iceland.

The Sprint was a fun introduction to Iceland. It started at the University and wound through the centre of the city.

The Long Distance event was physically very difficult. The terrain was mainly glacial but parts were the remains of old lava flows.

These are generally very loose sharp rocks covered in a thick layer of arctic moss and small plants. This time there were also large areas of birch trees and thick patches of lupins to deal with.

The Middle Distance event was in a popular bush park only a couple of km from the centre of Reykjavik. It is popular with walkers and mountain bikers so there was a network of tracks and small paths, then add all the rocks and thick vegetation. Precise navigation was essential.

The final stage was on the Faroe Islands, a unique group of islands located midway between Iceland and Norway and north west of Scotland. The island terrain is mainly subarctic plants and grasses with sheep and lots and lots of seabirds. There is only one tiny plantation of trees on the islands. There is no Orienteering club here so a few of the local club members from Nuuk and Reykjavik came across to the Faroes to help the local athletics club run the events.

The Sprint was in the middle of the capital Torshavn including a section in the old town through a maze of tiny houses with grass

Torshavn-Long Distance.

Biggest hazard was extreme wind.

sod roofs. The Middle Distance event was on the small island of Nolsoy, a 30 minute ferry ride from Torshavn.

The Long Distance event was on an excellent map on the hill above Torshavn. This event was special because of the extremely strong wind all day. I was one of the early starters and came around a boulder to find my control and two sheep trying to shelter away from the wind.

The North Atlantic Championships this year was a fantastic experience which I will never forget. Unfortunately they will be changing the setup from next year. In 2014 the event will be based at Torshavn in the Faroe Islands from 6th to 10th August. In 2015 it will be in Nuuk, Greenland and then in 2016 Reykjavik, Iceland. If you are interested check out www.natloc. org

Alison Radford (TT-SA) at a control on Nolsoy event, Faroe Islands.

DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 35

COMBINING NAVIGATING AND ADVENTURE SPORTS The Falls Creek Mountain Raid – Adventure Race (15 & 16 February, 2014) presents a challenging yet attainable event for a variety of adventure types ranging from your Bear Grylls’ adventure experts, orienteers, and newcomers, taking in the unique beauty of Falls Creek during summer time.

RACE FORMAT • 2 days and 2 stages of racing over the weekend; • Teams of 4 people complete the entire course together; •D isciplines: trail running, mountain biking, lake kayaking and other off-road surprises; •T eams navigate from one transition area to the next, collecting check points along the way; •E ach discipline will provide 1 – 3hrs of non-stop action before you change to the next discipline; •D esigned for intermediate level athletes (long course) and beginner level athletes (short course) and for those who want to throw some adventure sports into their Orienteering.

THE COURSE The exact course is kept secret from competitors until the race briefing on the Friday night before the event where teams are provided with course maps, handbooks and all the information required for you to navigate your team around the pre-designated checkpoints in the selected disciplines. The aim is to collect as many mandatory and optional check points along the way as you can over the two days.

The course showcases Falls Creek during summer where you will run on superb alpine trails, mountain bike on flowing single track, and paddle on the stunning Rocky Valley Lake, plus a few surprises along the way.

NAVIGATING & ORIENTEERING The course is completely unmarked and while you don’t need to be a human compass to compete, it will help to have someone in the team who is confident navigating more than just google maps on your phone! The race will involve relatively straight forward navigation (with the odd challenge) but will also include a number of optional checkpoints worth additional time credits that will provide greater strategy alternatives and something for capable navigators to sink their teeth into.

RACE TIPS FOR EACH DISCIPLINE: Paddling – Paddling is often a new sport for most people who venture into adventure racing. Seek some paddling advice from an expert before you head out on your own. In Victoria, there are some paddling groups that have various level sessions available like Peak Adventure www.peakadventure.com.au. There are other paddle session and groups in other capital / regional cities such as various Surf Life Saving Clubs, Paddling Clubs and other groups.

Trail Running – Running is probably the easiest leg as more often than not you can just grab a pair of runners and running gear and head out the door. (Get fitted for a good pair of shoes that suit your running style, ultimately helping you to prevent injury). There is nothing like joining up with friends to build your running motivation, so grab your team together and start tapping out a few kms. Start by building the miles up in your legs on footpaths and gravel tracks and then get onto some trails in the bush so you can match your training to the race conditions.

Mountain Biking – Mountain Biking is so much fun, yet can be a bit daunting to those who have not spent much time on a bike. Make sure you have a good bike - you don’t have to spend thousands, just seek some good advice from a reputable bike shop. Explain what you would like from your bike and what you intend to do with it. Start out on gravel bike tracks until you get the feel of it. From there, try 4WD trails or get out to a mountain bike park to ride some single track where trails are categorised from beginner through to advanced and you can build your skills (as well as your fitness) accordingly. Ask your local bike shop if you don’t know where to ride as there are more and more trails opening up all over the country.

KEY EVENT DETAILS WHEN: 15 & 16 February, 2014 WHERE: Falls Creek Alpine Village, Victoria (4hrs drive from Melbourne) WHAT: 2 day, 2 stage navigational adventure race. Long and Short Course options Kayak and other support available for interstate competitors.

T-SHIRT: Event t-shirt for all Mountain Raid Adventure Race team members ENTRIES: open at www.MountainRaid.com.au ENQUIRIES: email info@rapidascent.com.au 36 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

COME AND RAID THE MOUNTAIN

Come and raid the mountain Come and raid mountain this summer at the Falls Creek’s this summeradventure at Falls Creek’s unique unique playground! adventure playground! ›› 2-day, 2-stage, navigational adventure race Teams2-stage, of 4 racing together ››››2-day, navigational adventure race Kayaking, Trail Running, ››››Teams of 4 racing together Mountain Biking (Kayaks and support available for interstate teams) ›› Kayaking, Trail Running, Mountain Biking (Kayaks and support available for interstate teams)

›› 8km and 14km on mountain trails Open to 14km runners all abilities ›››› 8km and on of mountain trails ›› Open to runners of all abilities

15-16 FEBRUARY 2014 – FAlls CREEk, ViCtoRiA 15-16 FEBRUARY 2014 – FAlls CREEk, ViCtoRiA www.MountainRaid.com.au Brought to you by the course designers of the Swisse Mark Webber Tasmania Challenge www.MountainRaid.com.au Brought to you by the course designers of the Swisse Mark Webber Tasmania Challenge DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 37

O-SPY WA SPRINT CHAMPIONS

S

teve Fletcher and Rachel West are respective 2013 open Sprint champions for WA, the event being held at John XXIII College in Perth.

This was Steve’s first ever State Championship, whilst Rachel added to her swathe of awards.

Rachel West

Sure, we can note down our start times – all six of them – before we leave home, but what about the regular trawl through the start times of our friends and opponents in the quiet times during the Carnival?? The organisers didn’t think of that. Were we supposed to take our wi-fi devices (if we had one) to a Macca’s and sit nearby to access Eventor? (“Would you like fries with that?”) poor decision guys.

Organisers of future major events please take note.

“Selfies” at AUS Championships

W

ho was it who stopped at a control during the AUS Champs to take a “selfie” and then sent it back to the “Hash tag Mob” in the commentary team ?? Did they mispunch later on?

P

HIDE-AND-SEEK - a new OLYMPIC SPORT ??

rof. Yasuo Hazaki set up the Japan Hide-and-Seek Promotion Committee in 2010 and the organisation has around 1,000 members across the country and believes Tokyo 2020 would be the perfect occasion for the Olympic community to embrace his chosen sport.

“I would like Hide-and-Seek to be one of the exhibition sports in 2020 and then it could become an official event at subsequent Olympics,” Hazaki, a professor of media studies at Josai International University, told reporters. “I want to encourage sport for all, meaning that anyone can take part, regardless of age, gender or ability,” he said. “When you watch sport now, it’s all about world-beating techniques and skills - fantastic dribbling, running or shooting skills in football, for example. But that’s not sport for all,” he said.

“Hide-and-Seek is a sport that anybody can play, from children as young as 4 years old to someone who is in their 80s.”

The committee has set formal rules for competitive Hideand-Seek, pitting two teams of seven players against each other in a 10-minute match. In the first five-minute half, one team is given two minutes to hide on a “pitch” that measures 65ft x 65ft. The opposing team then has to locate and touch the hiding players. In the version for children under the age of 12, the pitch measures 55 feet x 88 feet. ”One of the beauties of the sport is that it can be played pretty much anywhere”, Prof. Hazaki said, “although light woodland tends to offer the best opportunities for the hiding team”. He has, however, staged competitions in gardens and even on beaches - a sporting experience that he described as “interesting.”

Successful players generally have the ability to run very fast at the start of the game to put some distance between themselves and the seekers. Being able to identify a good hiding spot is obviously critical, as well as being able to keep very still. That becomes more difficult if the pitch has a lot of mosquitoes or other insects.

BIG PINK rankings

Y Steve Fletcher

No printed START TIMES at AUS CHAMPS

S

omeone, in their immense wisdom, decided that we didn’t need printed Start Times in our registration bags at the recent AUS Championships Carnival, presumably because they were all available on Eventor. That’s OK if you have ready access to Eventor whilst you are travelling, but many of us don’t.

our readers might be interested in the Big Pink rankings at ranking. bigfootorienteers.com.

We’ve had them for a while and are now processing Eventor events as well as those on the OA results site.

Andy Simpson

WOC Qualification System

I

n an interview with British magazine CompassSport, long-time New Zealand elite “Rocket” Ross Morrison was commenting on the new IOF qualification system for future World Orienteering Championships: “2013 has been my worst WOC (result-wise) since Denmark in 2006. It’s

38 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

“We are trying to arrange games all across Japan so many people can play, to see how much fun it is and that anyone can play,” Prof. Hazaki said. “It may be difficult to get Hideand-Seek into the Olympics - the IOC just kicked Wrestling out, but then re-instated it, and that is a sport that has been around for a long time - but I see Tokyo 2020 as our big chance,” he said.

(Ranelagh Harriers News)

especially annoying to have this ‘bad year’ when due to the new changes by the IOF it could be the last chance I get to compete in a WOC Middle or Long Distance.

It’s a real shame for us, when New Zealand now has a lot of up-and-coming junior runners (3 different JWOC podium results in the last 3 years) who are going to have a very hard road ahead of themselves to make it internationally in forest Orienteering.

The changes make it that

much harder for smaller Orienteering nations to get good results at a WOC. As for the development of Orienteering in nondeveloped Orienteering countries - a lot of national Orienteering Federations aren’t well recognised by their governments and are limited financially because of this. Reducing the chance of getting WOC medals greatly reduces the chance of Federations and athletes receiving the funding they need, for both high-

performance and for the development of Orienteering in their respective countries.

It feels to me like WOC is now EOC (European O Championships) and we (NZ) have ‘luckily’ gained special acceptance to compete in the Sprint events.”

2016 World Rogaining Championships near Alice Springs

T

he Championships are planned for 23-24 July, 2016 and will attract many hundreds of elite and veteran endurance crosscountry navigators from around the world.

Alice Springs in Australia’s Northern Territory will host the event, the first World Rogaining Championships to be held in arid terrain for 20 years. The competition area will cover Ross River station and a number of adjoining cattle properties and offers

technically challenging navigation amidst spectacular scenery in terrain that is very different from the wet forest locations of recent Championships. It is sure to provide a true test for the world’s top rogainers.

WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS in Moscow

F

ormer Bayside Kangaroos member and Park & Street orienteer, Lauren Shelley, made the Australian team for the World Championships Marathon in Moscow in August.

Lauren also ran in the 2006 Commonwealth Games Marathon in Melbourne where she finished 8th.

In Moscow Lauren, who boasts a personal best of 2:33.42, was one of many to suffer in the hot and humid conditions. 24 of the 70 starters failed to finish, but Lauren plugged on to place 40th in 2:55.40.

FERNTREE PRINT has moved

F

erntree Print has provided outstanding quality and service to Orienteering, including printing this magazine, for many years. They have now moved to new premises at Factory 6/7, 1154 Burwood Highway, Upper Ferntree Gully, Victoria.

Global Warming

B

ritish comedian: “How much do temperatures have to rise before I can call my house a villa?”

Australia is a Coffee Nation

I

t is estimated that more than one billion cups of coffee are consumed in Australian cafes and restaurants each year, and that coffee makes up around 80% of all hot drinks consumed in Australian homes.

Compare that with a BIS Shrapnel report which estimates that we consume 141 million hamburger meals and 193 million buckets of hot chips each year. And that women make up 56% of the fast food market. Anyone for coffee ?

WRESTLING regains OLYMPIC STATUS

A

fter being virtually excluded from future Olympic Games last February amidst concerns by the IOC about its rules and level of popularity, Wrestling has been re-instated at the recent IOC Congress meeting in Brazil after competing with Squash and Baseball-Softball for a single additional position on the approved list.

The UK’s Orienteering Magazine Packed with maps, event reports, coaching tips and advice, MTBO, Mountain Marathons/Rogaining, Competitions and much much more.

Wrestling, which claims 177 national federations, allocated $US 2million to its bid for re-instatement, hiring a small armada of consultants and PR specialists to lobby and visit IOC members, and sending a dozen delegates to the 2-week Congress in Buenos Aires at a cost of more than $100,000.

The candidate sports which missed out were Squash, which claims to have 50,000 courts installed in 185 countries, but was refused for the third time, and Baseball-Softball which was dropped after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Both of these unsuccessful candidate sports spent considerable amounts of money on their failed bids.

The International Orienteering Federation (IOF) doesn’t have a lot of money according to OA President Blair Trewin (see p3 in this edition) so how could they expect to fund one of these expensive bids? With just 76 member Federations (23 of those are provisional members who have no vote at the IOF General Assembly – that leaves 53 voting Federations), and a concentration of the sport in Europe, one wonders how many millions of dollars the IOF would have to spend to achieve a mere failed candidate status.

Perhaps that money would be better spent by the IOF on directly growing the sport outside Europe in the many places where Orienteering has little more than a token presence right now.

Subscribe online using all major credit cards at www.CompassSport.co.uk 52 pages, full colour, 6 times a year £44 World Subscription

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Know Your Course Leader European MTBO Champs Junior European Champs CompassSport Cup Final World Trail-O Champs World Championships Peter Palmer Relays Björkliden Arctic MM London City Race Route Choice #5 Informal Formats World Cup Final Fitness Training Out of Control Tio Mila Story Competitions Reviews Photo-O

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DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 39

EVENT PROMOTION

Racing to the finish.

D

esigned as a lead-in Series to the VIC Sprint Championships on the first day of December, SPRINT into SPRING turned out to be a resounding success in its own right. Eight events in eight weeks attracted entrants from far and wide to contest the three courses on offer.

Most popular amongst would-be Sprint orienteers was the “Mo Farah” course which challenged all with up to 30 controls over a 3.5km distance. Those looking for something shorter took on the “Sally Pearson” course (around 20 controls in 2.5km), while the younger kids flashed around the “Usain Bolt” course.

Winners of each course were awarded the Yellow Jersey (Maillot Jaune in cycling terms), but each course also contained nominated “Sprint” and “Hill Climb” legs where Green and Polka Dot Jerseys could be won.

A grant from the Australian Sports Commission Participation Funding Program enabled the creation of specially designed Sprint maps of new areas such as VU-St Albans and the Royal Showgrounds, as well as upgraded maps of existing areas, giving a whole new intensity to navigation and concentration. There was no time at all to relax and draw a breath, or to ease into the terrain as many orienteers try to do on longer distance courses. The intensity was on for young and old right from the start and, with so many controls close by, it was important to check every control code. That wicked witch, Miss Punch, caught out more than she usually does.

Several of the younger and faster runners were seen to be wearing video cameras, no doubt to provide footage for later analysis and training. How much of it will we see on YouTube or similar sites in the next months?

Orienteering Victoria certainly picked a winner with their SPRINT into SPRING series. Hopefully we’ll see it again next year.

40 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

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Lanita Steer in deep discussion.

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

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

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DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 41

CANBERRA FLASHBACK

The Centenary of Canberra flashback

Experiencing Orienteering of the past David Hogg

T

he naming of the national capital as Canberra took place a hundred years ago and this centenary year is being celebrated with a large number of events, including the 2013 Australian Championships Carnival. Orienteering has taken place regularly in Canberra for 42% of this period, a significant proportion of its history.

The concept of a ‘Flashback’ event was tried in Canberra in May 2011 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of regular Orienteering in the ACT. Following the success of that event and a similar event on Mount Majura in 2012, which repeated the original courses, the 2013 Carnival organisers decided to offer all Australian orienteers a similar experience.

The main difference between the Flashback event and a contemporary event lies in the map. The concept of coloured maps based on detailed fieldwork did not reach Australia until 1973. Prior to that, maps were black-and-white, redrawn by hand from whatever contour base maps could be acquired (sometimes at 1:50,000 scale) and with limited (if any) field correction.

For example, if a track was not on the original base map, for orienteering purposes it did not exist, and orienteers had to use their wits to work this out. Furthermore, maps were usually drawn to true (or grid) north and orienteers had to apply the magnetic declination (as advised by the organisers) when using a compass, which was a more critical skill than it is today due to the lack of identifiable features on the map.

The fact that a feature was not clearly identifiable on the map did not prevent it from being used as a control site. It was described as “a knoll” etc. as opposed to “the knoll” if it was clearly shown as such.

Another characteristic of early 1970s Orienteering in Australia was the style of control marker. Prior to cloth markers with punches, 42 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

control sites were marked with red plastic buckets, partly painted white. Pencils were attached to copy a letter written on the bucket onto the control description list carried by the competitor.

For the Centenary of Canberra Flashback, the original 1971 Mount Majura map was used with some limited updating to show major features constructed during the past 40 years, and a new set of traditional bucket control markers was prepared.

Not every aspect of vintage Orienteering was replicated, however.

Competitors were not required to copy their courses by hand from master maps (except for those who changed courses at the last minute), and SportIdent timing was used to make results processing easier for the organisers. Those on the longer courses had the luxury of drink controls, something which was not considered in the early days, despite competitors often spending several hours on their courses.

For some competitors, such as Victorians Ron Frederick and Tim Dent, the event brought back early memories. For most, however, it was a new type of Orienteering experience, although those used to navigating on imperfect rogaining maps probably had an advantage. One limitation of the control marker design was the absence of a code number to confirm that you had found the correct control. This was not considered necessary as the controls were spaced so far apart. Only one competitor recorded a wrong control, although several failed to complete their courses.

The overall reaction to the event was very positive, particularly from those older orienteers who joined the sport too late to experience such primitive delights. With two championship events scheduled for the following days, not many were taking the Flashback seriously, but it could be described as an enlightening experience.

HALL OF FAME

Bob Mouatt inducted into ACT Sport Hall of Fame

B

ob Mouatt of Red Roos, ACT, was inducted for his services to Orienteering.

Bob is a former President of Orienteering Australia who started orienteering in 1977.

He has been most active in the running of major events and he is the Event Director for the 2013 Australian Championships carnival. He is an IOF Event Advisor and has controlled a number of World Ranking Events associated with major carnivals in the ACT and interstate.

Bob Mouatt was inducted as an Associate Member alongside David Hogg (Associate 2008) and Jenny Bourne (Full Member 1996). Bob actually mentioned that he was speechless after learning of his pending induction. OACT supported Bob on the day with several of his closest confrere attending the function.

Bob’s nomination for the award was made by Ann Scown and read as follows – “On behalf of Orienteering ACT, I wish to nominate Robert (Bob) A. Mouatt for induction into the ACT Sport Hall of Fame as an Associate Member. It is not only the extent of Bob’s contribution to the sport that is impressive, but also, and perhaps more importantly, the vision and enthusiasm that he brings to his tasks.

He has served the Orienteering community with amazing energy, ability and effectiveness over the past 34 years.

Since Bob started orienteering in 1977 he has made major contributions to the sport of Orienteering at Club, ACT and National level. He has held Board positions for both Orienteering ACT (OACT) and Orienteering Australia.

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.

Travellers’ Uniform

A

bout 12 months ago I canvassed support for a travellers’ uniform for use by Masters competitors and others travelling to events overseas. There were others also at that time considering something similar, to display support for the JWOC team.

He has a long list of involvement and achievements as an administrator as shown by his record in the planning and management of Orienteering Australia and Orienteering ACT. He has made important contributions in the organisation of Orienteering events and continues in this endeavour in his current role as Manager, Major Events for OACT. Bob has worked tirelessly to lift the profile of Orienteering in the media and in Commonwealth and Territory Governments.

He has been a leader in the implementation of best practice and innovation in the administration of Orienteering. His effectiveness in marketing has been recognised in the past through his instrumental role in Orienteering ACT’s receipt of the ACT Chief Minister’s awards for Excellence in the Sport and Recreation Industry in 1997 and 1998 and of the Sport and Recreation award for Marketing and Promotion in 2001.

His contribution to the sport has also been recognised through his award of the OAM (Medal of the Order of Australia) in the 2010 Australia Day Honours list. Bob is regarded as having transformed the profile of the sport and the way OACT operates.

Bob has been a most active member in the conduct of major events conducted by Orienteering ACT, including the 2000 World Cup races, the 2000, 2005 and 2010 Australian 3-Days and the 2007 and 2011 Oceania Orienteering carnivals. He is qualified as an International Orienteering Federation (IOF) Event Advisor and has controlled a number of World Ranking Events associated with these carnivals. He is also qualified as a Level 1 Coach and has made it a priority to assist newcomers to Orienteering.

Bob has recently taken it upon himself to become more in tune with the social media of today and also the numerous advances in the use of computer technology with relation to the sport of Orienteering.

Robert Mouatt would be a worthy Associate Member of the ACT Sport Hall of Fame to recognise the outstanding administrative and official contribution of an individual to the sport of Orienteering over a long period of time.”

Thanks for this goes not only to Colin Price at ‘aussieogear. com’ but also to those JWOC parents who gave valuable input and so made this exercise a team effort in finding consensus in the design.

So after a few hiccups initially in arranging supply for JWOC use, Trimtex and Colin were able to supply those leaving later to Europe and I believe orders are now being taken by Colin for those who’d like to be wearing the ‘green and gold’ when travelling to events in 2014 and beyond.

Greg Chatfield

Since that letter was published we have a great looking shirt and short sleeve jacket that have already been worn by both JWOC parents and supporters and competitors at various events throughout Europe. I believe a long sleeve jacket is in the pipeline as well.

DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 43

SILVA NOL

A big year for the Canberra Cockatoos in the SILVA National Orienteering League Blair Trewin

F

or the second year in a row, the Senior women’s team competition in the SILVA National Orienteering League came down to the closing controls of the season-ending Australian Relays. Once again the Victorian Nuggets were one of the two teams involved, but this time their opponents were the Canberra Cockatoos. The two teams were level going into the final race. Last year the Nuggets came from behind to take the title, but they were unable to repeat the performance this year, and the Cockatoos’ win, by the length of the finish chute, was enough to give them the title. Lizzie Ingham was a standout performer for them, but any National League campaign requires depth, and it came through Mace Neve’s consistency, as well as useful performances in their return to competition from Allison Jones and Jo Allison.

With Shannon Jones also likely to be back next year, they should be a formidable force again.

The Cockatoos also took the Senior men’s team title. Like the women’s competition, this was a two-way battle between the Cockatoos and the Nuggets from early in the season. The Nuggets had their nose in front early, thanks to a combination of home ground at Easter and a bad day for the Cockatoos in Adelaide, but from mid-season the Cockatoos gradually took command. The result was still in theoretical doubt going into the Relays, but the Nuggets would have had to beat the Cockatoos by two places and that was always unlikely. Matt Crane was the dominant individual of the season, Lachlan Dow was not too far behind – especially in the first half of the season – and Rob Walter and Dave Shepherd provided excellent support in the races in which they ran.

missing the first two races, while Matt Crane won seven out of twelve, finishing off with two successive wins. In both cases the battle for the minor placings was closer. Neither Simon Uppill nor Lachlan Dow won a race, but with fourteen minor placings between them, their consistency saw them in second and third, with Uppill’s good finish to the season seeing him emerge slightly in front. Grace Crane won most of the races that Ingham didn’t, which was enough to see her surpass Jasmine Neve; Hanny Allston might have challenged for third, at least, had she run enough races. The Junior women spread their wins around – no-one won more than three times – but Heather Muir’s superior performances in the races she didn’t win, only missing the placings once, saw her emerge as a reasonably comfortable winner. Marketa Novotna’s sweep of the AUS Championships deprived anyone else of the chance to get enough points to challenge.

It was another successful season for the domestic competition with the fields gradually increasing in size – in the 50s for some of the Senior men’s events (gone are the days when M60 was the biggest class at most national events). SILVA’s support also enabled a very generous distribution of prizes. Next year’s features include two Sprint relays (one of them part of a Sprint weekend in Brisbane in February), and the first National League UltraLong.

For the first time in the competition’s eight years, the Junior women’s was not won by the Queensland Cyclones; no-one came through to replace Jacqui Doyle (moved to the Cockatoos) and Katelyn Effeney (now a senior) and they were never in contention.

The Nuggets had the edge through most of the season; the NSW Stingers finished strongly, but needed to win the Relays to have a chance and were unable to do so. JWOC team members Lanita Steer and, in the first half of the season, Mary Fleming led the way, but the key to the Nuggets’ success was getting three runners across the line consistently, particularly in tough Long Distance races like Adelaide.

The most straightforward competition was the Junior men’s, which the Cockatoos won easily – no surprise with three JWOC team members, Ian Lawford, Oliver Poland and Andrew Barnett, among their ranks. Only when one of those three was absent or failed to finish did they not achieve maximum points. A strong second place in the Relay was enough to lift the Tassie Foresters ahead of the Nuggets into second overall.

The Junior men may not have had a nail-biting team finish but they made up for it with the one individual competition which came down to the final race. Ian Lawford led the way for most of the year, but Oliver Poland was always going to be a chance if he gathered a full set of scores, after missing races early. Poland went into the final round, the Australian Middle Distance Championships, needing to beat Lawford and finish first or second to take the title, but Lawford found his best form when it mattered and won convincingly.

Both Senior individual competitions were over well before the final race. Lizzie Ingham peeled off eight straight wins after 44 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

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NUTRITION

Supplementation – is it worth the risk?

Gillian Woodward

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.

S

upplements in sport have been very much front page news this year, so it might be timely to remind ourselves just where these might have a role to play in our overall performance enhancement and to what risk we could subject ourselves.

Nothing can be substituted for the hard training regime and time that is necessary for top athletes to achieve their goals, along of course with a good basic training diet. Supplements like specialised ‘sport foods/drinks’ that make it easier to hydrate and refuel during and after exercise bouts may also play a significant role – possibly increasing performance by up to 10-15%. However, nutritional ‘ergogenic aids’ should be considered only as “the icing on the cake” in sports nutrition.

The very slight advantage in performance (about 1%) that might result from using one of the ‘Group A’ ergogenic aids (as defined by the Australian Institute of Sport – which includes things like vitamins/minerals, probiotics, creatine, whey powders, etc.) may not be worth the risk or the dollars spent!

In Australia, supplements that belong to the pill, potion and powder category fall under the control of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Most fall within the ‘listable’ items category, which is the most lightly regulated category of the TGA, and only require proof that they don’t contain ingredients that are banned by our Customs laws. There is no requirement by the TGA that a product must have proof of its benefits to be accepted at this level. This is where clever marketing comes in.

Most companies use personal anecdotes about top athletes who use their particular product in their promotion. Unfortunately, no longer term peer-reviewed scientific studies are usually quoted – mostly because they do not exist. Mostly these substances are involved in metabolic pathways associated with energy production and rely on the theory that increasing supply of them will enhance energy output or recovery, etc. Other products may be herbal in nature and rely on ‘ancient claims’ about their ability to promote some aspect of well- being.

As far as orienteers are concerned, I can’t think of any nutritional ergogenic aid that would be particularly helpful to our type of sport. Most are geared towards short sharp sprint events, not endurance. It is more the specialised sports foods like drinks and bars that could be of use for events which take place over an hour or more.

Athletes are vulnerable to not only wasting their money but also to risking possible side-effects or inadvertent doping arising from supplements which may contain traces of illegal substances or which may not contain the stated quantity of the ‘performanceenhancing’ agent/ingredient. The risk is small but quite real.

It is the responsibility of the athlete to check with appropriate authorities before taking any ergogenic aid. The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) is the place to check. Go to their

website and enter the supplement after selecting ‘Orienteering’ as your sport to get a result as to whether the substance is allowed.

Remember also that products made overseas may be a particular risk as rules/bodies governing their manufacture in the country of origin may not be as strictly controlled as those in Australia. Also be particularly careful to avoid products that are promoted by network marketing companies. The higher costs of their products, unsubstantiated claims made and their questionable marketing strategies have led the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) to ban these products for their athletes.

On the other hand sports foods, including bars and drinks, fall under the control of Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). Not only does FSANZ regulate regarding the ingredients and labeling of sports foods, but it also limits the number of claims allowed to be made on the product packaging. FSANZ can be relied upon for Australian products like drinks, gels, meal replacements, carbohydrate loader powders, etc, so there is little risk in consuming such items. These products can make it much easier to achieve nutrition goals than ordinary food in some circumstances, particularly during and immediately after competition events or long training sessions.

Most athletes who take supplements are either worried about the advantage that their opposition might have over them, or are convinced by product marketing that they can improve their immune function, strength or endurance by simply taking a pill or potion. However, if a little more time was actually spent just looking at basic needs, including adequate sleep, appropriate training workouts and a good training diet, then performance would likely be improved considerably.

Obtaining advice from a trained sports dietitian might be considered unnecessary, but it could result in a considerable improvement to an individual athlete’s energy availability, recovery and overall competition performance.

FOOTNOTE: OA President, Blair Trewin, attended a meeting in Canberra during the AUS Championships Carnival on the use of supplements in sport. He said, one of the key points to come out was that a very high proportion of supplements tested have undeclared ingredients which may place people at risk of testing positive for a banned substance (and hence the ‘check your substances’ tool may not be of much help) - a point which needs to be made most strongly.

Something else he has noticed is that a lot of adverts come up in his Facebook feed for products which would certainly attract the interest of ASADA (whether this is because he posts about sport is unclear).

But the message is very clear that all such products should be carefully checked with ASADA. DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 45

EDITORIAL

Choose your Covers In the previous June 2013 magazine I presented ten recent cover photos from Orienteering magazines around the world and asked you to tell me the top-3 covers you preferred. And now the results are in …………

M

any thanks to all those who sent in their votes, comments, advice and encouragement. It’s all been very much appreciated. There were many diverse views expressed which #4 Swiss O 3-2013 cover demonstrates the wide range of opinions held by readers of The Australian Orienteer. I’ve taken them all on board and now all I have to do is tread the balancing act to try to keep most of you readers happy most of the time.

By way of example, hardly anyone liked the June 2013 cover, while most liked the September cover, and I hope most will like the current December cover. Of course, none of these covers were included in the survey but that didn’t stop readers from giving their opinions on them.

On the basis of a 3, 2, 1 points score, those who voted have given the covers shown in the June edition the following scores: #4-Swiss O 3-2013-cover – 20 points #10-AO-March 2013-cover – 16 points #8-AO-Sept 2012-cover – 15 points #9-AO-Dec 2012-cover – 12 points #6-Suunnistaja 8-2012-cover – 11 points #5-Orientierung 4-2012-cover – 8 points #7-Veivalg 6-2012-cover – 8 points #1-Skogssport 1-2013 cover – 3 points #2-CompassSport 6-2012-cover – 3 point #3-Orientering 1-2013-cover - 0 points

#8 AO Sept 2012 cover

Some comments about the most popular covers were: #10 the young girl holding her compass looking focused - the young are the future of the sport. #4 I like the action and the surrounding scene. #8 Natasha Key - yes, she’s a champion, but not all covers should be finish chute shots - boring.

Some general comments: “I like covers that show a mass of orienteers or some more action shots. Getting air over fences or across rugged terrain. Those mass starts where volumes of runners demonstrate the breadth of appeal across the age and ability cohorts.”

“I like the ones that depict Orienteering action shots and communicate the action and emotion of competing.”

(Nick Barrable – Editor CompassSport) “The cover is the first thing you see. How can anyone know that this is an Orienteering mag and not something else? So, I generally look for a photo which has map, compass, dibber/brikke, O kite(s) visible, and someone ‘doing’ Orienteering; so it needs motion/movement and emotion on the face(s), ideally in a positive way. Ideally this is taken at a recent event and of someone who has achieved something.

Generally O achievers are athletic/healthy looking which helps sell the image of Orienteering I want to put across.”

Thanks again to all those who contributed..

Michael Hubbert (Managing Editor) 46 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2013

#10 AO March 2013 cover

TOP EVENTS 2015

2013 Dec 27-31

Xmas 5-Days Orange NSW www.onsw.asn.au

Jan 2-11

Dec 30Jan 4

Big 5 O Week, South Africa Kaapsehoop, Mpumalanga Province South Africa. www.bigfive-o.co.za/

Jan 13-16

April 3-6 2014 Jan 4-11

April 18 - 21

June 14-15

au s t r al i an & o ce a n ia

MTBO

June 14-16

c ha m p i ons h ips

2014

Alice Springs, NT

June 27-29

June 27-29

July 5-13

July 19-25

July 19-26

July 21-27

August 1-5

August 2-10

Aug 24-31

Sept 27Oct 5 Oct 11-19

Nov 1-8

Woodhill to Whaka MTBO Carnival, NZ. inc ANZ Challenge mtbocarnival.com/ Australian 3 Days Carnival 2014 Lithgow/Mudgee, NSW www.onsw.asn.au/easter2014 2014 Jukolan Viesti (Jukola Relay) Kuopio, Finland www.jukola.com/2014 AUS & Oceania MTBO Championships, Alice Springs, NT www.ausmtbochamps.com ICE-O 2014 Iceland www.orienteering.is 2014 Norsk O-FESTIVAL Norefjell, Norway www.o-festivalen.com WOC 2014 Trentino, Italy www.woc-wtoc2014.com O-Ringen 2014 50th Anniversary Rinkaby, Skåne, Sweden. www.oringen.se SOW 2014, Swiss O Week Zermatt, Switzerland www.swiss-o-week.ch JWOC 2014 Borovetz, Bulgaria www.jwoc2014.bg OO CUP Kamnik Savinja, Slovenia www.oocup.com 2014 Canadian Championships Whistler, British Columbia Canada. http://coc2014.ca WMTBOC, JWMTBOC & WMMTBOC Bialystok Poland www.wmtboc2014.pl Karrak Karnival, AUS Champs Carnival 2014, West Australia wa.orienteering.asn.au/karrak-karnival Race the Castles 2014 Scotland www.racethecastles.com WMOC 2014 Porto Alegre, Brazil www.wmoc2014.org.br/

July 1-5 July 5-12 July June 8-14 July 25 Aug 1 Aug 1-7

Aug 1-8

Aug 14-23 Sept 26Oct 4

Oceania Championships 2015 & World Cup, Tasmania oceania2015.com The Hobart Shorts near Hobart, Tasmania oceania2015.com Australian 3 Days Carnival 2015 South Australia MTBO 5 days 2015 Pilsen, Czech Republic JWOC 2015 Vinje, Norway O-Ringen 2015 Borås, Sweden. www.oringen.se WMMTBOC 2015 Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal WMOC 2015 Gothenburg, Sweden www.wmoc2015sweden.se WOC 2015 Inverness, Scotland www.woc2015.org Scottish 6 Days 2015 Inverness, Scotland www.scottish6days.com WMTBOC, JWMTBOC 2015 Czech Republic AUS Championships Carnival 2015 Ballarat region, Victoria www.vicorienteering.asn.au

DECEMBER 2013 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 47

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