The Australian Orienteer – June 2021

JU N E 2 0 2 1

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ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA

The Chairman’s Page MIKE DOWLING - INTERIM OA BOARD CHAIR

I

t was wonderful to see us able to hold a very successful Easter 3 Day centred on the Orange area in New South Wales after the COVID-19 disruption to our major carnivals in 2020. By all accounts the competition certainly challenged many orienteers with high quality courses and challenging terrain. I spotted a comment from one of our elite orienteers that their course on Day 2 was tougher than a World Championships Long Distance race. It again reinforces the knowledge that in Australia we are blessed with an abundant diversity of high-quality world class orienteering terrain.

As a sporting community we have so much to be thankful for in that we have so many volunteers who are willing to put in countless hours to make sure our Orienteering events are conducted to high technical standards and especially so with our major carnivals. On behalf of the Orienteering Australia Board, I want to sincerely thank all those hard-working volunteers who made the successful Easter 3 Day carnival the undoubted success it was.

There has been considerable change in the way Orienteering Australia is operating this year. A new constitution was adopted at a Special General Meeting in February, whereby Orienteering Australia is now a company limited by guarantee to meet Sport Australia governance requirements and secure ongoing national funding support. Allied to this, Orienteering Australia is working with States to review membership structures across all States.

In the broader context of recognised sports in Australia, we have a relatively small national membership base but with different membership models for each State. It seems eminently logical we should have a single unified membership structure for our sport. This is also inline with Sport Australia requirements that sports should be working towards a set of unified sport behaviours in how sport is organised nationally.

At the Easter Annual General Meeting we saw significant change to the Board of Orienteering Australia. President Blair Trewin, Finance Director Bruce Bowen and High Performance Director Steve Craig all stepped down. On behalf of the Australian orienteering community I want to thank all three for their invaluable contribution to our sport. Three new Directors in Andrew Lumsden, Craig Steffens and Richard Mountstephens were elected to the Board to join Bill Jones, Jenny Casanova and myself. The new Board is still seeking two additional members to join the Board, ideally to take on the roles of Board Chair and High Performance. If you think you would like to make a contribution to our sport in this way please get in touch with a Board member. The Board is also in ongoing discussion with our member States in seeking additional Board members.

By the time you read this, Orienteering Australia Executive officer Paul Prudhoe will have finished his duties and be somewhere in the outback of Australia. The Board and the wider Australian orienteering community owe a great debt of gratitude to Paul for his service in this role to ensure we have a well functioning national sporting organisation. The Board is seeking a new Executive Officer and we are going through the application process.

The ongoing pandemic continues to challenge our capacity to take part in international competitions at the elite level. The Board decided to not send an Australian team to the 2021 Junior World Championships in Turkey. These Championships have been delayed another three months until September in the hope that the situation in Turkey will improve. The Honour Team announced recognises those Juniors who met the selection standard. In addition, the Board decided to not have Australian based athletes selected in the Merit Team take part in the World Championships in the Czech Republic.

While very disappointing for our athletes, we must be mindful of the federal government’s travel advice and their personal health and wellbeing. There are plans afoot to provide increased domestic based competition and to engage with New Zealand in the potential for trans-Tasman competition.

Our next major carnival will be the Australian Championships in my home State of Tasmania in late September and early October. The terrain the organisers have selected will provide fantastic orienteering and will introduce us to some new orienteering areas. I hope to see you all there.

A new direction?

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 3

AOC 2021 - AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS

ENTRIES CLOSE 22 AUGUST Australian Orienteering Championships 2021 – Sept 25-Oct 3 – Launceston & St Helens, Tasmania Australian Schools Orienteering Championships 2021 – Sept 28-30 – St Helens, Tasmania Turbo Chook 3 Days 2021 – Sept 28-30 – St Helens, Tasmania

Time for a new Editor All Editors to date have been ‘original orienteers’ from the days when Orienteering was becoming established in Victoria and had still to spread to other States. David Hogg and Michael Hubbert both competed in (and finished) the inaugural Upper Beaconsfield event in 1969, while Ian Baker joined the Orienteering scene soon after.

It’s been 17 years since I took on the Editor role and I’ve enjoyed every moment. However, it is probably time to hand over the baton to a new and younger Editor who may have some different ideas on the direction the magazine should follow. I’m happy to carry on until a new Editor can be found so, if any of you out there in Orienteering Land are interested in the role, please get in contact with me (Michael Hubbert).

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w w w. o r i e n t e e r i n g . a s n . a u PO Box 3379, North Strathfield, NSW 2137 BOARD: Members elected to the Board of Orienteering Australia in April 2021 are: Mike Dowling (TAS), Richard Mountstephens (NSW), Andrew Lumsden (NSW), Craig Steffens (QLD), Jenny Casanova (SA), Bill Jones (ACT).

Chair (interim) Director (Finance) Director (Technical) Director (at Large) Director Director Director International (IOF Council) Executive Officer National MTBO Coordinator OA Head Coach High Performance Administrator Manager Coach Development National Sporting Schools Coordinator Coach & Controller Accreditation Badge Applications

Mike Dowling

Richard Mountstephens finance@orienteering.asn.au Jenny Casanova technical@orienteering.asn.au Bill Jones directorbill@orienteering.asn.au Andrew Lumsden andrew.l@orienteering.asn.au Craig Steffens

Mike Dowling international@orienteering.asn.au to be appointed eo@orienteering.asn.au Kay Haarsma mtbo@orienteering.asn.au Jim Russell headcoach@orienteering.asn.au Fredrik Johansson hpadmin@orienteering.asn.au Brodie Nankervis Jim Mackay sportingschools@orienteering.asn.au Jim Mackay accreditation@orienteering.asn.au John Oliver 68 Amaroo Street, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650

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STATE ASSOCIATIONS Orienteering Queensland: PO Box 114 Spring Hill QLD 4004. Secretary: David Firman secretary@oq.asn.au Orienteering NSW: PO Box 3379 North Strathfield NSW 2137. Admin Officer: John Murray, Ph. (02) 8736 1252 admin@onsw.asn.au Orienteering ACT: PO Box 402 Jamison Centre ACT 2614. Secretary: Stephen Goggs, Ph. (02) 6162 3422 office@act.orienteering.asn.au Orienteering Victoria: PO Box 1010 Templestowe VIC 3106. Secretary: Aislinn Prendergast secretary@vicorienteering.asn.au Orienteering SA: 1 Windsor Rd, Glenside SA 5065. Sec: Erica Diment 0408 852 313 secretary@sa.orienteering.asn.au Orienteering Western Australia: PO Box 234 Subiaco WA 6904. Secretary: Ceri Pass, oawa.secretary@gmail.com Orienteering Tasmania: Secretary: Julian Roscoe secretary@tasorienteering.asn.au Top End Orienteers (Northern Territory): PO Box 39152 Winnellie NT 0821. Secretary: Susanne Casanova topendorienteersNT@gmail.com

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July 16. Time-sensitive: July 23

ISSN 0818-6510 Issue 2/21 (no. 201) JUNE 2021

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, (100023602 for NSW).

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CONTENTS T H E C H A I R M A N ’ S PA G E.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 EASTER COURSE SETTING........................... 8 EASTER 21 REPORT.................................. 13 N AT I O N A L O R I E N T E E R I N G L E A G U E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 S P O T T H E D I F F E R E N C E .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0 CITY RACE MAPPING................................ 23 MELBOURNE CITY RACE ........................... 26 CHINESE O MUSEUM................................ 30 “J E F F ” C A R T O O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 S I A C B A T T E R I E S .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 BS11 UNITS FOR MTBO............................. 34 V I C M T B O C H A M P I O N S H I P S . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 6 BRONZE AGE TREASURE............................ 37 JWOC HONOUR TEAM............................... 38 WOC MERIT TEAM................................... 39 OA AWARDS........................................... 40 L E T T E R S .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 O - S P Y.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4 TOP EVENTS........................................... 47 Cover photo: Emily Sorensen.

Photo: Tom de Jongh – PhotosByTom.com.au JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 5

Aston Key, JWOC Gold Denmark 2019.

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6 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 7

EASTER 2021

Course setting for Easter 2020 2021

BY ANNA FITZGERALD (GOLDSEEKERS)

When we all signed up for course setting for Easter 2020 in late 2018 ..… there was no way we could have guessed that it wouldn’t be until April 2021 that we would be all done and dusted! What a time! Well now that many of you have run our courses, I thought it might be interesting to interview my fellow course setters, to give some insight into how they designed their courses and what impact the extra year might have had.

Prologue CSU Orange – Jean Baldwin What were the key factors you had in mind when planning your courses for Easter?

I jumped at the chance to set the Sprint courses at CSU. It is an area I know very well, having seen it develop from the old Orange Ag College when we lived on campus, having moved to Orange 30 years ago. We have seen it change through reinventions as University of New England, Sydney University and now Charles Sturt University (CSU).

A lot of building works have happened over the years with interesting shapes and lots of garden beds. This all gave a lot of opportunity to design some interesting courses. The added advantage of being on a hill meant lots of steps and ramps to give route choices.

From when you first visited the area to when the event happened, were there many changes to the area?

Before Easter 2020 we were told that a large building for the new medical school was to be built in the centre of the campus. This created dilemmas for course setting but the very large hole in the ground with the safety fence around it was just something we had to live with in 2020. The building was due to be completed in November 2020 so we didn’t anticipate it being a problem when the 2020 Easter Carnival became 2021.

In early 2021 we contacted CSU to make sure everything was still OK for us to use the campus for Easter. At first the answer was definitely NO because of COVID restrictions. After some negotiations and assurances that we were all very responsible people, CSU eventually agreed to us holding the event there. Just one small snag – the medical building had been held up and was not yet completed – but it would be by Easter ……

8 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

We added the new building to the map, behind its safety fence, and updated the gardens around the campus, which had all grown profusely after wonderful rains in the preceding 12 months. There were some particularly odd-shaped garden beds near the new building which had us puzzled until we realized that they were part of a very clever track for wheelchairs which zig-zagged up a 5-metre climb, making it possible for students with a disability to enter the new medical building.

The rains became a bit too enthusiastic in the month before the event and we were told we could not park in the paddock that had been selected for us, as it was far too wet. Also, the rain had held up building works, yet again, so the safety fence might still be there at Easter.

After a stressful couple of weeks, we managed to get over all the hurdles and were very happy to hear the comments after the event from one of the elites that the Long course was really good as there was no dead running and you had to think all the way.

Anna’s note: I particularly like the route choice from #20 to #21 in the Men’s elite prologue course. Though the time between the runners is not huge, all the fastest runners appeared to take the red route. The red and the green route are not too different in length so what makes the difference? The running on the red route is clear easy running, easy navigation and a direct entry into the control. The green route has more twists and turns and a back turn into the control. But most significantly there are quite a few stairs on the green route. I think the stairs are what makes the difference.

Day 1 Noah’s Ark Ridge – Rodney Parkin You were the course setter for the Middle Distance event.

What were the key factors you had in mind when planning your courses for Easter?

I started with a clear focus on the Orienteering Australia Rules “Profile for a middle-distance event – technical” with emphasis on detailed navigation and finding controls rather than on route choice, and with occasional changes in direction and speed shifts.

The technical parts of the map (the rocky parts) form a long thin strip, so keeping it technical essentially forced the courses to zigzag back and forth across the main ridge. The map also has clearer areas “over the back” with log piles and earth mounds which created good opportunities for speed shifts.

The OA Rules also strongly encourage a spectator focus at the Arena, ideally with competitors passing through, or at least near the Arena, and easily visible at the Finish. Organisational considerations largely drove the choice of assembly area. I then planned a run-through for at least the elites and chose a spectator control location that most competitors would visit. When coupled with a desire to get the elites as far north on the map as practical, the general flow of the courses started to fall into place.

I’ve been checking out some of the GPS tracking for your event and there were people going everywhere!

Were you surprised how many people went off-line and missed the controls? Or was that part of your setting strategy for runners to be lured off-line by other competitors around them?

I could see very early that there was going to be a lot of competitors in a small area. My back-of-the-envelope calculation said there would be around 15,000 legs run in a few hours, mostly in an area quite close to the Arena. The only real option was courses “going everywhere”.

The ridge line has an interesting combination of parallel rock lines and parallel clearings that make it easy to lose contact with the map. I tried to capitalise on this by running diagonally through these areas.

I also used the more open areas “over the back” to create changes in intensity – a long, easy, fast leg to a control on a log pile or earth mound followed by a fast run back into the complex rock.

Did you have any legs/course that you were particularly pleased with?

I was particularly happy with (control nos) #116 to #117 which appeared on a number of the longer courses (eg control #4 to #5 on course 8, as follows). In most cases there was a longish easy run into and out of #116 followed by a somewhat vague rocky line into #117. There were plenty of subtle cues to follow, but these were easy to miss if you had relaxed too much over the previous easy section.

I was also pleased with the Start setup. The main ridge line was hidden from the map collection point. However, after running down to the Start triangle and rounding the end of the rock line, the competitor was presented with an imposing complex of rock. Unfortunately, my desire to get the longer courses quickly to the north of the map limited what I could do with them, but many courses went straight into the rock there, requiring some fast comprehension. (eg see the following from course 5.)

COURSE 8

You had a small but tricky map. What COURSE 5 were the main challenges you came across when setting courses in this area?

A mature map came quite late in the planning for the event – the complexity of the rock meant it was fairly slow to map, and there were a couple of iterations of checking and improvement. Early on in the course setting I was working from versions of the map that were very much drafts.

As the map matured it became apparent that it would be almost unreadable at 1:10,000. As the rules require a scale of 1:10,000 (at least for elites), we needed to get a waiver on the rules to allow us to use a 1:7500 map for them. This didn’t come until fairly late in the planning.

The technical rock was long and thin with a couple of awkward pinch points (eg 300m NW of the Start triangle) where there would be a lot of competitors in a relatively narrow corridor. As noted above, I needed to manage having a lot of competitors in a small area – quite a few times I needed to go back to the estimated control loads and rework courses to reduce the load on the busiest controls/legs.

I was also quite conscious of the needs of the older competitors with reduced agility (M70/W65 and over). I needed to be careful not to force them into areas that were too steep or rocky.

From when you first visited the area to when the event happened, were there many changes to the area?

There were massive changes to the vegetation. At my first familiarisation visit (early 2019), visibility was fairly limited and I based my control location choices on that. By early 2020 the drought had reduced the area almost to bare earth, with much of the vegetation reduced to sticks. In the lead-up to Easter 2020 I feared that the courses would be way too easy because many control sites were visible from a long way away. The rains during 2020 turned it all around again – by mid-2020 the vegetation made it almost impossible to drive into the parking paddock, and by the time of the event visibility was almost back to where it was in 2019.

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EASTER 2021

In fact, it was only when putting out control stands seven weeks prior to the event that we discovered that the Easy and Very Easy courses we had tagged for 2020 had become so overgrown as to be unusable.

This forced a very late rework of these two courses.

Any other comments/anecdotes you’d like to add?

One particularly interesting (and tough) leg on most of the elite courses did surprise me. I didn’t test run the leg but there was a clearly good route that no one who wore a tracker or uploaded a route took across all the elite courses (route in yellow). I’m certain this was the fastest route!

The winning times were mostly somewhat longer than I anticipated.

I suspect the limited opportunities for bush orienteering during COVID has left many people not very “match fit”. However, I was very pleased by the many very positive comments I received – I think there was an almost universal relief at being able to get back into competing in this sort of tricky terrain.

There was a common radio control on most red courses near the assembly area that was the start of a long leg. I had a few different long legs starting here but the one I liked the most featured on some of the medium length red courses.

Did you have any legs/course that you were particularly pleased with?

Day 2 Gumble Pinnacles – Eric Morris What were the key factors you had in mind when planning your courses for Easter?

So many things! The important ones were route choice, technical complexity, ensuring a variety of challenges on each course and getting length and climb right (the length was an issue on some courses). Then there are the logistics – water, potential video and radio, working around the agreed Start and Finish points, load through the different controls, having different sequences of controls on different courses and all this planned under the uncertainty created by COVID-19. Also worth noting, it is an easy area to set challenging courses for the fit and experienced, but presents problems for courses suiting the less experienced, particularly kids.

I was checking out some of the GPS tracking and I really liked the route choices on some of the legs on the women’s elite course. It was great to see the competitors choosing different route choices. Did you see anyone taking route choices that surprised you?

Yes. Mainly in that on some legs I expected 80% of the field to choose one route and 20% another but often these percentages were reversed. Perhaps that comes from my advantage having studied the map and been out in the forest so much. There were a few really odd choices runners took here and there but they were clearly slower than the routes I expected.

Why was it good? It was tough. Most competitors had little opportunity to plan (because of the complex early challenges), it required an important decision right from the start and all routes were challenging with different challenges at different points. In particular, if you took the N-S track, the longer you stayed on the track, the further you ran and the longer the climb into the control.

I’m still not sure what the best route was!

I also liked the far west loop on the longer courses (M21E shown here). It featured a range of short and short medium legs through many different forest types with many different challenges in navigation, speed, concentration and micro route choice.

10 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

How much of an effect do you think the extra “COVID” year had on the courses (runnability and competitor’s fitness/ metal prowess)?

Lots. Some of the courses ended up a bit too long, the COVID-19 impact on fitness and technique, the heat, lack of water and extra forest growth since the area was last used, and over 12 months of good rainfall all added a little bit extra to the physical and mental challenge.

Any other comments/anecdotes you’d like to add?

Two comments:

Firstly, it was interesting and informative to see how the best orienteers attacked the courses. If you want to improve your technique, I would strongly recommend talking to these competitors about how they attacked each leg AND the whole course, particularly with a focus on how to reduce risks and deal with the most dangerous challenges.

Secondly, I appreciated all the positive comments I received after the race and acknowledge the several slightly critical ones about the challenge being just a bit too tough in some places.

Day 3 Gumble Pinnacles – Anna Fitzgerald As for me, well I had the more open area. I was actually worried that it might be too easy given that the visibility was so good, but perhaps I shouldn’t have worried.

What were the key factors I had in mind when planning my courses for Easter?

My main aim in setting my courses was to try to even the tables ..… wanting to reward the accurate navigator as well as the fast orienteer - not be biased towards one or the other.

When I started course setting I was aware that I was setting the elite courses to be ‘relay’ length (long middle distance). The thought of it being ‘relay style’ stuck in my head and so when I was setting all the courses, instead of middle or long-distance style I aimed to have relay style courses with multiple controls close together, with different courses visiting the controls in different order. Initially we were hoping we might have over 1,000 entries and if everyone was starting in waves of around 23 competitors in each start, it was likely that competitors would all be pretty close in time when passing through the first few controls. Having relay-style ‘splits’ would help make the open area trickier with distractions from other runners, not quite running to the same controls, luring competitors off-line.

What had changed since 2020?

Thistles! These only affected the easy and very easy courses, but in a big way. We couldn’t access one of the control sites due to waist-high thistles (Very easy competitor height!). Thankfully, we were able to get a slasher in to make a new path through. But we certainly could have done with even more clearing ..… I think even from a month before the event to the event the thistles seemed to have gotten taller and multiplied!

The other change I noticed was with me. When I picked up the maps again after the ‘COVID year’, I couldn’t help but feel that the courses were so busy, so many controls! My first temptation was to simplify the courses. Having not orienteered for so long, my brain was thinking that it seemed too tricky. But after all the hard work in setting the first time. Hilary and I decided to keep the 2020 courses.

What course was I most proud of?

The courses that I was most proud of were the shorter hard courses.

They were the first courses that I set (they impacted on where the Start could go to get the most interesting courses) and the ones I spent the most time designing. There is a great challenge in setting a short course that is still challenging, but not too steep. Hopefully, the balance was about right.

Any other comments?

I would like to make special thanks to Hilary, my controller, who helped me to keep on track and stopped me over-analysing what might happen on the day.

I would also like to thank the two overseas contributors to my courses:

• my sister Jane Pulford who checked out the courses and whilst visiting from the Netherlands, pre-COVID, test ran a course in ridiculously hot conditions (I suspect it is always on the warm side in Molong!)

• Julian Dent (former Australian WOC representative) who did a desk review of the courses and suggested the addition of what I fondly thought of as the ‘Julian Dent control’ to the elite courses (control #26). It seemed moderately diabolical and I couldn’t resist adding it to the courses - great suggestion, thanks Julian. I hope all the elites enjoyed the additional challenge at the end of their courses.

Thank you to everyone for running our courses. We hope you enjoyed the challenge.

The next consideration was how to approach the bush area. I was keen to send runners through the tricky, low visibility bush areas to add some contrast to the fast open running. But should it happen early or late on the course? I decided that to visit the open areas first and then the bush was perhaps the trickiest as runners are likely to be more tired after the faster terrain and those that don’t adjust their speed as they move into the bush were likely to lose time if they didn’t navigate carefully.

On top of this, the controls in the bush area were also split with several controls slightly off-line with each other to encourage the less confident runners to lead each other off-line.

I wanted to do this great map justice, aiming to make the course as tricky as possible, it was a national Easter final day, after all. My only regret was not including any real route choice legs. But following the GPS and watching some runners spiking all controls, while others were lured off-line ..… I feel my work here was done.

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 11

2021 AUS 3-DAYS

Easter 2021 The Trewin Report

© PhotosByTom.com.au

After a year’s hiatus, it was a welcome return to national orienteering competition as the Australian 3-Days took place around Molong in NSW. The turnout was only slightly below what would normally be expected at Easter (despite some last-minute dramas for the Queenslanders).

T

he terrain provided a serious challenge for all concerned. After the prologue Sprint in Orange, the first day was near Molong at Noah’s Ark Ridge, a narrow line of rock which still made for highly complex Middle Distance courses. For the next two days proceedings moved to Gumble, a granite area first used in the early 2000s and made even more challenging as it has become thicker over the intervening couple of decades. It provided a relentless test for sometimes rusty navigational techniques (and, with temperatures in the high 20s both days, a physical test as well). Times were long, especially on Day 2, and tales of large time losses were numerous.

The last day was more forgiving with more of the courses in semiopen areas on the northeast side of the map, but most courses were still plunged into one of the most difficult parts of the map to finish; more than one race was won and lost there.

The senior men had a weekend of fluctuating fortunes. Aston Key opened up with a 31-second win in the prologue, a comfortable margin in a Sprint, and retained that lead the next day after he deadLogan Seaman (WR-N)

Grace Crane (ACT)

Family Relays

heated with Matt Doyle, with Patrick Jaffe only nine seconds behind.

Brodie Nankervis looked like he might have blown his chances on the Saturday when an erratic run saw him in tenth place, over seven minutes down, but he reversed things dramatically over the Long Distance of Sunday. There he finished over nine minutes ahead of Jaffe, whilst an injury to Key eliminated him from overall contention.

That set up a last-day chasing start in which Nankervis led Jaffe by two minutes, with Doyle another two minutes back. Jaffe caught Nankervis in the early part of the course and they opened up a five-minute break on Doyle. It looked like a race in two, but there was another twist to come in this tale; on the first leg back into the heavy forest, the leaders led each other astray, and by the time they finally reached #21, they had lost seven minutes apiece and Doyle had slipped through. That proved to be the decisive moment, as all completed the last part of the course without significant incident.

Doyle won by just under two minutes, with Nankervis edging just clear of Jaffe for second, and Alastair George just shading Matt Crane for fourth in an impressive first Easter as a senior.

The women’s race was always going to see a bit of a shake-up of the recent established order because of the absence of two of the stars of recent years (Bridget Uppill after the recent birth of her son, Natasha Key through injury). Shannon Jones turned back the clock with a winning performance in the prologue, then Olivia Sprod, already a National League race winner this year, took over with a win on the Saturday, but rarely has the adage that Sunday is moving day proven more true than this year, with one of the true epics of Australian Jensen Key (Vic)

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 13

CONTROL 2021 AUS DESCRIPTIONS 3-DAYS

© PhotosByTom.com.au orienteering history. Grace Crane had won the long National League race in March, and set about proving that it was no fluke with a consistent run on a day when no-one else could produce one. Several launched challenges but none could sustain them; control #15 was a particular scene of carnage, with Anna Sheldon, Krystal Neumann, Ellie de Jong and Nicola Blatchford all suffering double-digit time losses there. That left Crane with a massive lead – Sprod and Kathryn Preston recovered from early time losses to take the minor placings, on a day when only three finished within 30 minutes of the lead. Finishing things off on the last day was a formality; Crane stretched her lead on Sprod a little, with the major action coming through Neumann overtaking Sheldon for third.

Last-day dramas were not in short supply in the Juniors, especially in M18 and W18. In both classes, the first runner across the line had missed a control (thanks to online tracking, this was known to the spectators before it was known to the participants). The drama was particularly late in M18, where Toby Cazzolato took a two-minute lead into Monday but was caught by Oskar Mella; the pair were together for several controls late in the course before splitting en route to the third-last control, which Mella missed altogether. With Sam Woolford, next in line, missing the same control, the South Australian went from being behind to being over 40 minutes ahead of the (surviving) field. In W18 the misfortune of leader Sophie Taverna came early, and it was Justine Hobson, who started the last day in fourth place 15 minutes down, who came through the field to finish in front of Mikayla Enderby.

Caitlyn Young – W20E.

14 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

Nea Shingler, running up two age groups, made a big statement in the W20 prologue by winning in a time faster than any of the seniors managed on the same course. She got back to the lead with a win in a long Sunday race after Saturday winner Mikayla Cooper fell by the wayside, but Emily Sorensen stayed in touch throughout, and was there to take the honours when Shingler struck trouble in the first half of the last day, in her first major win at national level. The second place of Julia Gannon, consistent on a weekend when consistency was in short supply, was also a career-best.

While it may not have been part of a family double, Ewan Shingler was the most straightforward of the junior winners, taking the lead in a close prologue where six finished within 42 seconds, and then backing it up with two more wins. By the last part of Monday’s course he was far enough in front that dropping seven minutes on two late controls was incidental to the result, although similar late misadventures for Jensen Key and David Stocks saw Tristan Miller leapfrog them into second.

Tough terrain and tough courses often spread the field out, and Molong was no exception. 13 of the 20 contested masters A classes had double-digit margins, including such normally competitive classes as M70 (where more than half the field failed to complete all three days), where Steve Flick was 18 minutes clear on almosthome ground. Six swept all three days, a group which included Grant Bluett, who put together three consistent days in a deep M45 field which also included Bruce Arthur, Rob Walter and Andy Hogg.

Elle & Laura Keech.

impressive in the W20 prologue, moved back to W16 for the main event and, despite some Saturday wobbles, came through with big wins on the last two days. Owen Radajewski set up his first major win with a decisive victory on the long day in M16, as did Alex Woolford in M14, while Katy Hogg’s big day was on the last day as she came from five minutes down to take W12. Hayden (M12) and Layla (W10) Dent both won all three days in their classes.

It was a tough reintroduction to national-level orienteering for a lot of the field (and the following weekend, for those who stayed, was no more forgiving), but also a reminder of what everyone had been missing. Tasmania at the end of September will be the next major test.

(Editor’s note: A good measure of how tough the terrain and courses were on Day 2 is that some 37% of the Men’s Elite field and 30% of the Women’s Elite field failed to finish.)

Chris Brown shaded Carolyn Jackson in W60 for two days before breaking clear on the last day (the tenth control proving decisive), whilst dominant performances throughout were produced by Marina Iskhakova (W40), Greg Barbour (M55), Warren Key (M60) – one of a handful to get within the expected winning time range on either of the first two days - and Jenny Hawkins (W75). Gareth Candy, returning to Orienteering after a break of several years from national events, missed out on a sweep by the smallest possible margin when Tom Walter beat him by one second on the last day, but still won M40 comfortably.

Ant Nolan (UR-N) & Simon George (BF-N)

Martin Kozma (Vic).

Torren Arthur (Vic).

Perhaps the pick of the masters races was W45, featuring many familiar names from years and decades past. Tracy Marsh looked in control for two and a half days, but three significant errors in the last part of the course opened the door for Belinda Allison to turn a fiveminute deficit into a five-minute lead, whilst the closing controls also saw Jenny Casanova leapfrog Emily Walter and Allison Jones into third. (Four of the top five from W14 in 1989 made up four of the top five this time).

Sue Hancock withstood a late charge from Su Yan Tay to take W55 by just over a minute – the Queenslander came from seven minutes down to take the lead before losing time late – whilst Ted van Geldermalsen, the only overall winner not to win a day, overturned a narrow gap on David Marshall in M65 in a class where four finished within five minutes. There were also turnarounds in the oldest classes, with Basil Baldwin and Helen Alexander both overcoming big deficits to take out M80 and W80 respectively. Lachlan Hallett was the best of the Sledgers, after early leader Ian Meyer (rumoured to be a casualty of Day 2.5) fell by the wayside.

For the younger juniors, results were less predictable than in most years; a lot can change in the 18 months since the last time they appeared in national-level competition. They gave us the closest finish of all, when Aoife Rothery, winner of the first two days in W14, held on by 1:03 despite a last-day win for Liana Stubbs. Milla Key, highly JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 15

2021 AUS 3-DAYS

Day 2 analysis (photo: Warren Key).

21Sledge - John Agar in one-piece O suit from the 1990s (photo: Warren Key).

Matt King’s retirement plan (BK-V).

Abigail George (SA)

Emma Cates (YV-VIC)

© PhotosByTom.com.au 16 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 17

NATIONAL ORIENTEERING LEAGUE

Ewan Shingler opened a ten-minute gap on the Victorians (and eight on the Cockatoos). Mason Arthur cut that in half on the second leg, but Jensen Key still had to run down five minutes on Sam Woolford, which he was able to do. The Southern Arrows junior women got the second place they needed, although after a close race for two legs, the Stingers ran away with it on the last leg to take the honours on the day.

NOL Report – some close races at Broulee Dunes BLAIR TREWIN – Photos: ©PhotosByTom.com.au

T

he Victorian and Canberra Cockatoos teams took out the senior National Orienteering League titles at the final round Relay held at Broulee Dunes, NSW. The senior women started the day with any of the Cockatoos, Victoria or Southern Arrows able to take the title with a win, and after two legs the three were only separated by three minutes, but Belinda Lawford’s fine second leg had given Canberra a useful lead and Grace Crane was able to finish it off. The Victorian men had a more straightforward task, only needing to finish in the top three, and led the race throughout after Aston Key gave them a flying start, although Matt Crane cut the gap from five minutes to one on the second leg to add a bit of excitement.

The Victorian junior men had a harder task than the seniors, needing to beat the NSW Stingers to take the season’s honours. It looked a difficult challenge after the first leg when

Aston Key and Grace Crane are the senior NOL champions for 2021 after the final individual round held the previous day in the sand-dune terrain of Broulee Dunes. Key started in front in the chasing-start format and was never headed, doing the day’s fastest time in his eighth win from ten 2021 rounds, with Patrick Jaffe and Brodie Nankervis in the minor placings.

It was a much tighter affair for the women, with Crane and Olivia Sprod going out together. Crane edged away over the course to take the overall victory, while Krystal Neumann won the day and did enough to push the South Australian out of second overall.

Both junior classes saw lead changes on the individual season’s final day. In the junior men’s one control was decisive. David Stocks led almost from the start, but needed to make up two minutes on Ewan Shingler, and for most of the course could not quite bridge that gap, but Shingler lost over two minutes at #18, and that was enough. In W20, Nea Shingler needed to catch 2:40 on Emily Sorensen and did so by mid-course, but there was a twist to come – both lost major time on #13, but with third-placed Mikayla Cooper also well off the pace today, they were still battling for the overall lead. This battle was resolved in Shingler’s favour over the last two controls. With the favourites all losing time heavily, Erika Enderby broke through for her first race win, with Natalie Miller also getting easily her best result yet with second.

Patrick Miller

© PhotosByTom.com.au Tara Melhuish

Matt Doyle

Aston Key 18 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

Alastair George

Angus haines

Brodie Nankervis

Emily Sorensen

David Stocks

Patrick Jaffe Ewan Shingler

Mikayla Cooper JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 19

SPOT the DIFFERENCE

In March 2021 we gave you a map reading exercise to brush up on your Bush-O map reading skills. It was a very complex granite map which we enlarged to 1:5,000 to make it easier (??) for you to read.

MAP 1 (above) is essentially an enlarged portion of the original map.

MAP 2 (below) contains 22 changes. Some of the changes will be easy to find and some will not.

The solutions are shown on the page opposite.

DID YOU FIND ALL 22 ???

20 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

Spot the Difference – March Solution

The March 2021 map was a very complex granite map. Some of the changes were easy to find and some were not. Here is the solutions map showing all 22 changes.

DID YOU FIND ALL 22 ???

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 21

SPOT the DIFFERENCE

With the Australian Championships in Tasmania coming up it’s time to brush up on your map reading skills. Here is a complex Sprint map.

MAP 1 (above) is essentially the original map.

MAP 2 (below)contains 25 changes. Some of the changes will be easy to find and some will not.

CAN YOU FIND ALL 25 ???

22 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

CITY RACE MAPPING

Mapping the Melbourne City Race #2 PETER DALWOOD, DANDENONG RANGES ORIENTEERING CLUB

(first published in DROC “Punchlines”)

F

ollowing the success of the first Melbourne City Race at Docklands in 2019, DROC quickly set about working out where we could go to do it all again in 2020. After a bit of searching Port Melbourne was selected and the wheels set in motion. I agreed to look after the mapping, Stuart McWilliam volunteered to set the courses and Debbie Dodd once again took on the overall event administration role.

Scale and Symbols The City Race format uses a full-colour map in Sprint style, but at a scale somewhere between standard Sprints (1:4000) and ParkStreet orienteering (1:10,000). We played around for a while with the boundaries and how the map looked at various scales before deciding on an area that would fit on an A3 sheet at 1:6000. Once we had made that decision I built a symbol set based on the ISSprOM 2019 (Sprint) standard rescaled to 1:6000, with a few variations. The most obvious of these is the local Melbourne Street-O standard using grey for urban settlement areas.

The Tools and Base Data We arranged through Orienteering Victoria to get a set of NearMap geo-referenced high-resolution aerial images of the area and I extracted contour data from the MapShareVic website. Bayside Kangaroos kindly gave us a copy of their existing Park-Street-O map (at 1:10,000 scale) and I also extracted data for the area from Open Street Map. With all this material in hand, I could finally get started on drawing the map.

The principal tools I use for drawing Orienteering maps are OCAD v9 and whatever is the current version of Open Orienteering Mapper (OOM) at the time. For this map, the version used was 0.9.4. I swap between OCAD and OOM as I find each one has its strengths and weaknesses. Overall, I tend to use OOM most of the time while editing and go to OCAD for the things it does better. I keep the files in OCAD 9 format so they can be opened by anybody. Later versions of OCAD have different formats that not everyone is able to read.

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 23

CITY RACE MAPPING

The Map Development Process

Some examples of the aerial photos and the equivalent map areas: Public Housing Estate photo

I started by creating a map at the 1:6000 scale from the Open Street Map extract. The data is exported in a format that preserves the attributes of features like highways, urban street, fence, sports oval, forest, etc. OOM and OCAD both support a translation tool called a Cross Reference Table (CRT) to import this data and turn it into Orienteering symbols. I’ve developed a CRT for OOM that turns the OSM data into a fairly good first-draft Orienteering map. Note: the latest versions of OCAD have developed this process further into a ‘wizard’ that imports the data directly from the Open Street Map database.

Once I had the base OCAD map, I pulled in as background files all the geo-referenced Nearmap photos and the contour data. For this map the contours are nearly non-existent (if you look closely, you’ll find one or two) so that process did not take long! The next task was to methodically work my way across the whole map, looking at the photos and trying to interpret what I could see into Orienteering symbols. This took about 20-30 hours of work over a number of weeks.

Public Housing Estate map

Normally, the next task would be to visit the area and walk around on the ground, making map corrections. When I had some of the map in a reasonable state Stuart and I did manage to visit the area once to see if our guesses were correct, or not, and to find other things that were not visible from the photos (ie under trees and canopies). Unfortunately, we only had one opportunity to fieldwork a part of the map before the various COVID lockdowns got in the way! So it all went on hold until we were able to get back out there.

My usual field-working process is manual. I print a copy of the map broken up into A4 pages, at twice the final map scale (in this case 1:3000), at reduced intensity – about 60% and with a 50m grid superimposed on the map. I draw my fieldwork changes on these maps, using coloured Artline 0.2mm pens and fine-pointed coloured highlighter pens. Once back home, I transfer the fieldwork changes onto the base map. The reason for double scale is simple – it stops you drawing too much detail! What you can’t draw legibly will be too small to be read on the final map.

I have experimented with using Open Orienteering Mapper on an Android tablet to make the changes directly onto a copy of the map, but I find my manual process is quicker.

Perhaps I’m just getting old! One advantage of using OOM in the field is that it shows you exactly where you are on the map at all times.

For this reason, while I draw by hand, I still carry the Android tablet with me and refer to it when needed.

24 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

Garden City photo:

Port Melbourne foreshore photo

The other tool I sometimes use on the tablet is Oribooklet. This useful piece of software has a pallet of O mapping symbols. You tell it which symbol you want and either record it as a point where you are currently standing or as a line as you walk around. When you get home you can upload the recorded traces into OCAD or OOM. I use this mostly in parkland areas to record vegetation boundaries, tracks through bush, significant trees and other objects, fencelines, etc.

Setting the Courses

Port Melbourne foreshore map

By early 2021 the map was in a reasonable enough state for Stuart to decide on control locations and work out the courses. Then, with knowledge of where the controls and the likely routes between them would be, we visited the area again and fine-tuned the map features in those areas, to ensure accuracy.

MAPPING & COURSE SETTING SOFTWARE

Your AUS/NZL OCAD reseller since 2012 Providing first line help during your day OCAD Sketch Layer

Garden City map:

to be used for field work with a tablet and pen.

Australia & NZ OCAD reseller

PO Box 625 Daylesford VIC 3460 Ph. +61 3 5348 3792 info@ocad.com.au JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 25

CITY RACE

2021 Melbourne City Race Weekend

BY DEBBIE DODD PHOTOS: LINCOLN PATERSON & MIKE HUBBERT

The Start.

A

fter two false starts (one caused by Victoria’s extended lockdown, the other by a potential clash with the Formula One Grand Prix), the 2021 Melbourne City Race Weekend went ahead on April 17 & 18; two days of the perfect late Autumn weather that Melbourne is famous for.

The venue for the City Race was chosen almost immediately after the inaugural 2019 Docklands version; the Port Melbourne area is well known amongst locals for offering a dense and irregular street network, and a fascinating mix of tiny stone cottages and old pubs, rubbing shoulders with multi million dollar waterside mansions. Add the famous beachfront, the lighthouses, Station Pier, Gasworks Art Park, and the bustle of the Bay Street cafes, and you have the perfect venue for a City Race. Readily accessible by public transport, and not too busy with traffic on a Sunday morning, it ticked all the boxes.

Mapping began in late 2019 (as described in mapper Peter Dalwood’s article in the June issue of The Australian Orienteer).

The Prologue location took longer to settle on. We wanted somewhere that was inner urban, with good public transport links, but that hadn’t been used overly much for previous events. I spent weeks mulling over possibilities, but it wasn’t until I went for a hugely enjoyable Lockdown run in Cremorne, that I knew I’d found the right place. The area was unfamiliar to many. The multiple levels along the Yarra River added an extra degree of complexity to an already detailed map, which at 1:7500 was just the right size for a Prologue. Our starting point, Barkly Gardens, is a typical English “Pleasure Garden” in the midst of a bustling inner urban industrial and commercial district; it features spreading trees, beds of rose bushes, grassed picnic areas, rotundas, statues and memorials. It contrasts beautifully with its surrounds.

To retain our “low risk public event” status, interstate promotion was very restricted, and we relied mainly on word of mouth. We switched our attention to lunchtime/weekend running groups, and 26 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

Lydia Stott (on right) - girls short course winner (photo Mark Hennessy).

with some well-placed Facebook posts, were delighted when over a third of participants were new to Orienteering. Many of these were in that elusive 30-40 age group; they were certainly fit and capable of covering the distance. We were also excited to welcome orienteers from New South Wales, ACT, Queensland (the very first eager entrants, despite the uncertainties of sudden border closures), Tasmania, and WA – a bigger interstate contingent than we’d expected, and a promising sign for future MCRs when interstate travel is less fraught. And of course local support was strong. Overall, participation in the main race was only slightly lower than in 2019, which under the circumstances, was very pleasing.

City Races differ from Sprints; while short legs and frequent changes of direction are part of the fun, there should also be some longer legs.

Route choice should feature heavily. Courses should take advantage of any particular highlights of the area. Competitors can expect road and rail crossings, and potentially busy pedestrian and bike traffic in places. Both races were planned in true City Race style, with winning times of approx. 35-40 minutes, and distances between 3 and 10 kms, for the main race.

CREMORNE PROLOGUE Course Planner: Bill Borrie (EUV).

Map provided by Bayside Kangaroos.

Bill set three courses – Long Hard, Medium Hard, and Short Easy.

Each was structured similarly. Beginning with a tricky short leg which required close map reading from the minute you turned over your map, we then headed towards the river with a great route choice leg, and fine detail in the circle. The famous Yarra bike trail featured next, with more tough route choices (how to avoid the dreaded heart pumping stair climb?) before tackling the Richmond streets. Zig zagging through numerous lanes, and negotiating the double railway line as we made our way east once again, the final leg showcased the gardens as we sprinted furiously for the line.

Ian Davies leads Ricky Thackray.

James Robertson, Ricky Thackray and Toby Cooper were the top three on an exciting Long course, with just 6 seconds separating first and second. Fastest women on this course were Jayne Sales and Helen Walpole, who were only 12 seconds apart. It was a Tassie invasion on the Medium course, with Euan and Sussan Best taking first and second, pipping local Ian Dodd who was third. Junior Maya Bennette held off JWOC honours team member Arabella Phillips, as the girls took fourth and fifth respectively. On the Short course, John Gavens finished ahead of junior Joel Crothers by another tiny margin of 13 seconds, with Judi Herkes claiming third.

MELBOURNE CITY RACE, PORT MELBOURNE Course planner: Stuart McWilliam (DRV); Mapper Peter Dalwood (DRV)

Peter produced another of his beautiful and highly readable full colour maps, this time at 1:6000. While not as three-dimensional as the Docklands area, Port Melbourne and Beacon Cove have plenty of traps to offer. Stuart ensured that the maritime history of the area featured front and centre; the start flag was hung on the door of the northern Beacon Cove lighthouse, and we were lined up directly facing the southern lighthouse and the bay beyond. There was no doubting the theme of the day’s race!

There were five courses to choose from. Every course featured a waterfront leg between the two iconic piers – quiet these days without any cruise ships, but plenty of obstacles to negotiate. Harder courses had a couple of gut busting long legs, interspersed with a sprint-style loop of the Gasworks park, which caught out many with its change of pace and focus. There was great route choice on many legs, and following the red line was often no indication of the shortest option. Map contact, reading the detail and planning ahead were all requisite throughout the race – even the final control was no giveaway.

Congratulations to category winners Callum White, Tim Hatley, Alan Kuffer, Ashley White, Joel Crothers, Heather O’Donnell, Sarah Love, Sussan Best, Sonoka Miyake, and Lydia Stott. Closest results were Tim Hatley over Euan Best (19 seconds), Ashley White over Dale Atwell (35 seconds), and Sarah Love over Jayne Sales (23 seconds).

The moment of the day for me was hearing two passers-by, who stopped to chat. “You all look so happy!” they said. They were right – we were.

(Maps were printed on Pretex from Jim Russell)

MELBOURNE CITY RACE 2022 In 2022, the Melbourne City Race Weekend will immediately follow the Australian Championships Carnival in Victoria, and will return to a three race format, with a Friday Night warmup, a Saturday Sprint, and the MCR feature race on Sunday morning. While no final decisions have been made, rest assured that MCRW3 will showcase another amazing part of inner Melbourne, while putting your navigational skills to the test. Start your Victorian vacation planning now!

Kathy Liley & Russell Bulman.

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 27

Peter Yeates - newcomers coach.

28 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

SPORTING SCHOOLS

pretex Jim Russell

Ph. 0411 125 178 jymbois@gmail.com

GET IN EARLY TO SECURE YOUR PRETEX FOR SEASON 2021. https://goo.gl/t81zFf JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 29

MUSEUM

Orienteering Landscapes:

Orienteering Museum in Conghua, Guangdong, China FROM ORIEN.ASIA

Orienteering is a sport that’s officially over all seven continents of the world. China is one of the countries outside Europe where Orienteering is a major sport.

And the first dedicated Orienteering museum in the world (*see note below) is now in Conghua, Guangzhou, China.

Blair Trewin examines maps at the Museum during 2019 World Cup.

The Province of Guangdong markets the South China Historical Trail as a cultural and historical experience that links the many heritage sites in the province together. The South China Historical Trail Orienteering event series links these places together through a fun and engaging outdoor sport, leading orienteers to explore the historical landscape of Guangdong.

The museum presents worldwide Orienteering history with maps, news and other artefacts in Orienteering since 1984.

Maps exhibited include high profile events such as World Orienteering Championships, World Masters Orienteering Championships, as well as O-Ringen in Sweden - the largest annual Orienteering event in the world.

The Orienteering Museum.

Separate sections in the museum explore deeper into Orienteering history in China, documenting the development of the sport through maps since the 1980s. Hong Kong is represented prominently in the collection as it’s from where Orienteering first spread into Mainland China. There are even maps of forest areas that, due to urban development, no longer exist.

Orienteering history comes alive in the Orienteering Museum The museum opened on 28 October 2019, during the Orienteering World Cup Finals in China. It uses a historical building in Wenquan Town, in Conghua District, Guangzhou.

Wenquan means hot springs, and the area is famous for the rare sodium bicarbonate springs that makes it a popular holiday destination in China.

The idea of the museum came as part of the South China Historical Trail Orienteering initiative. South China Historical Trail is a network of historical and cultural trails preserved from the various imperial dynasties of China since the Qin Dynasty (late 3rd century BC). Guangdong’s history is part of a larger cultural region in South China in which Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China adjacent but separate from Guangdong, is also part of, as seen from closely related languages such as Cantonese, Hakka and Teochew.

30 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

Badges from 1980s Orienteering in Hong Kong.

China is great for Orienteering

Did you know…?

Orienteering in Mainland China started in the 1980s as a sport as the economy opened up. Boosted by contacts with orienteers in Hong Kong, Guangdong soon became a hotspot for Orienteering activity, and the sport spread quickly to the rest of the nation.

We love orienteering! (Photo from MetOC Knockout Sprint 2017)

An Orienteering map from the South China Historical Trail Orienteering Series.

Now, the sport is most popular in almost every corner of China, thanks to government support for major Orienteering events and school Orienteering. Activities now span from Hainan in the south to Heilongjiang in the north, from Shanghai at sea level to Yunnan in the highlands.

Major Orienteering events, such as Great Waves and Big Dipper Orienteering series, take place in different parts of China.

All photos and maps in this article are kindly provided by the Orienteering Museum. Special thanks to the museum for providing information and support towards this article.

Address: 13 Liyuan Road, Wenquan Town, Conghua District, Guangzhou, China. *Note: The first Orienteering museum in the world is usually considered to be the Centre of Orienteering History in Zlín, Czech Republic (est. 1984). It’s however attached to the Museum of Southeastern Moravia, and exhibits its collections via that museum. At this moment, we’re not aware of any other dedicated Orienteering museums in the world that are independent of other museums. The Orienteering Museum in Conghua, therefore, can be considered to be the first dedicated Orienteering museum in the world.

Chinahealth is made in Shenzhen, China.

1. H ong Kong is probably the earliest place in Asia to have Orienteering as a sport. Being one of the last remaining British colonies in the 20th century, the British Armed Forces brought the sport from Europe to Hong Kong in the 1950s/1960s, then taught the police and the scouts how to play it, then taught other people, etc.

2. F rom Hong Kong the sport went on to other places in Asia: starting from Mainland China in the 1980s, Orienteering is now played in well over a dozen countries and regions.

3. T here are 7 countries/regions in Asia (excluding the Middle East) which have hosted IOF high-level events (WRE, AsOC, WOC) at least once: China, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia 4. C hina mostly uses its own two systems, Chinahealth and Learnjoy, the latter of which is on IOF’s provisional approval list for WRE events. Hong Kong once used the Norwegian punch system EMIT, but switched to SPORTident some time around 2014 (some clubs use the Chinese systems however). Japan still uses EMIT. 5. I f you’ve been to Britain for Orienteering, chances are that you’d been required to bring a whistle with you in the woods. Same applies to Hong Kong, where the rules of the sport are derived from British ones (due to point 1 above).

6. T here is currently (as of 2019) one IOF council member from Asia (also the only non-European member), Dominic Yue who is also the chairman of the Orienteering Association of Hong Kong.

(Editor’s note – actually, Australian Hugh Cameron was a Vice President of the IOF for many years and now Mike Dowling from Australia holds that position on the IOF Council.)

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 31

Australian WOC, JWOC and MTBO teams are outfitted by

32 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

SPORTIDENT

SIAC batteries!

FROM COLIN PRICE, AUSSIEOGEAR

SIAC

have now been in use for more than six years but most units were updated to new firmware in 2016 so there should be none more than five years old. My 2016 SIAC has just gone flat!

There has been a lot of people having similar issues so I hope this information will help you understand what to look for. But remember no two batteries will perform the same and these are small batteries.

Battery life.

If this happens just prior to your race you can manually punch each control as contactless punching may not work.

Remember the life is about four years so it is important you take responsibility and monitor this.

Flat batteries.

The battery can be replaced in your SIAC but this is done only

by SPORTident in Germany. If you purchased your SIAC from Aussieogear please contact Colin to discuss the options for replacement or repair.

Button batteries in general have a life of about four years. Google it!

Any questions – please ask!

SPORTident have recently recommended replacement at about four years but you may get less. There is a warranty, so talk with me if it is new.

https://aussieogear.com

Colin Price (Aussieogear) Australian agent for SPORTident. colinp53@yahoo.com.au

You are responsible for monitoring the battery voltage.

You should check the SIAC voltage on the “Battery test unit” at the start of every race. This applies from “NEW”.

If there is no “Battery test unit” with display on top then ask the organiser for one. These are now essential and if not available may compromise the event due to a protest.

What is the Orienteer looking for?

The BSF8 “Battery Test unit” has a LCD display which should face up so the competitor can read it.

NO, you don’t just listen for a beep. A beep only indicates OK or flat. You need to look at the display which should read OK 2.98v or OK 2.89v. It may drop to 2.80v.

The display will indicate if there is a battery issue!

If the beeps become short or irregular then your SIAC may be coming to its life’s end.

Have you seen multiple readings of each control on your splits readout? Battery could be in need of replacement.

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 33

SPORTIDENT

BS11 SPORTident units for MTBO in Australia PETER CUSWORTH

as well. So with some sharing, we will have plenty of units available to use at National and State Championship multievent weekends.

There are however a number of changes to the way these units work compared to the existing SI boxes. For one, there is no hole in them for manual punching. They can only be used with SIAC sticks, and if your stick goes flat during the event, you have no way to record your visit apart from using the emergency dot punch by hand. It is vital to use the battery check box as you check in before each event to ensure your stick will last the event.

We expect that at least for the first few years of using these units, the cost of a hire SIAC stick will be included with the entry fee for major events, with a discount offered to those who have their own. It seems the majority of regulars already have their own SIAC, as most “foot” events are also using the AIR system.

Because the units are not being touched by competitors the control stands we use can be of a more lightweight and less rigid design. Victoria has been trialing the use of plastic electric-fence posts, as have been used at many European MTBO events, and will use them for two of the three Victorian Championship events in May. A huge benefit of these light stands is that several can be carried by bike when placing and retrieving controls - much easier than using the heavy existing metal T-bar stands.

Another bonus is that control units can be mounted vertically on these plastic stands, so the control code can be read in its correct alignment – no need to avoid using those up-sidedown double numbers like 81, 86, 89 etc. The unit’s range is also slightly superior when mounted vertically, as opposed to horizontally as would be the case using a T stand.

L

ast year Kay Haarsma, on behalf of Orienteering Australia, applied for and was successful in gaining a grant so that we could purchase a set of the new BS11 SPORTident control units that are now used for major MTBO events in Europe.

These units have a ‘radio’ range of up to 1.8 metres so competitors don’t have to stop at controls but can record their visit while riding past much more quickly and easily. It also helps to avoid the congestion sometimes experienced around controls – much safer riding. Of course, in these COVID times, competitors not needing to touch control boxes, is an extra positive.

We have been using standard control units for a few years set to AIR beacon but these units are limited to a maximum range of 30cm which in many situations, when on a bike, is not much better than having to stop and dip your SI stick.

The new BS11 units also give more flexibility in locating the stand slightly away from the hard track surface. The new units will be much easier to use for competitors without the need to ride very close to controls while leaning over with an outstretched arm.

However, the new units are only for use for MTBO (and SkiO) events, so unfortunately this investment is of no use for “foot” events - the longer radio range is outside what is permitted in the Foot-O rules.

The OA grant funding allowed us to purchase a set of 39 units plus a flying Finish box. The MTBO group in Victoria used some unspent fundraising money together with some funds from four clubs to purchase a set of 21 units. Orienteering ACT purchased 40 units, Orienteering NSW has ordered a set of 40 and Orienteering Queensland has ordered a set of 35 34 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

Plastic electric fence posts offer a lightweight control stand alternative. They have sharpened metal tips for pushing into the ground.

operating time must be programmed into them before they are placed in the field. Also, unlike previous SI units, these ones should be turned “on” when being placed out in the field as it is desirable not to have another active unit within its range. Turning these units “on” is not like “waking up” the old units, but is actually turning them on – ie, they will not work at all if this step is forgotten. There are special SI magnetic sticks for the on/off task.

Unlike previous units (when used in manual ‘dip’ format) the new ones do not record competitor data – so they cannot be interrogated if a competitor protests that they have visited that control. Note this is the case with all units used in SI air mode.

All of the competitor data is stored on their stick. (Don’t lose your stick!!)

Course setters need to take the attributes of these units into account when planning their control placements, just as competitors need to consider the route to the subsequent control when choosing a route that takes them straight past a control, rather than having to stop and do a 180. While still an option, placing a control at the end of a dead-end track is not really taking advantage of the system. Furthermore, units should be set back from uncrossable fences or other out of bounds features so that the competitor’s passage is not recorded from the ‘wrong side’ of the feature.

Using brake cables and fencing “Gripples” to secure the units.

Because of the cost of these units, it is essential when placing the controls out in the field, and usually on tracks, that there is some form of security. Unfortunately, SPORTident has not done a very good job in this area with their design. The only way of securing them is via two small 2mm holes on each side of the units. Previously many clubs have used a steel cable and lock to secure units to trees, posts etc, but these holes are too small for the existing cable ends. We are now trialing a system devised in Queensland of using a bike brake cable and locking the cable with a wire fencing “Gripple”, which is then removed with a special tool.

The units have a claimed operating time of up to 75 hours.

To make sure the units are active at the actual event time the

Ricky Thackray passing a control at the 2019 World Championships in Denmark.

Once we all get used to the new way of working with these units, the benefits of being able to ride past a control and not have to stop while putting an SI stick into a hole to register that you have been to that control will really be appreciated.

The BS11 units enable riders to pass by at a comfortable distance to record their visit. Photo from World Masters MTBO Champs 2018 in Hungary.

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 35

MTBO

Maryborough Maze 2021 Victorian MTBO Championships

PETER CUSWORTH

Scott Gavens (M21) and Carolyn Matthews (M50) – Middle distance

T

he weekend of 15-16 May saw the Victorian MTBO Championships run successfully at Maryborough and Dunolly. The championships were also the first round of the 2021 National MTBO Series.

It was particularly cold across Victoria on this weekend with many snow falls reported, but at Maryborough, while still cold, the sun did shine for a good part of the weekend’s events, and there was no rain.

The weekend started with the Sprint from the Maryborough Education Centre and using part of the Flat Creek map (from the 2019 Aus Champs) and the adjacent Bristol Hill map.

Bristol Hill never fails to challenge, as riders discovered when they flipped their map over mid-course to the Bristol Hill side and were faced with a maze of spaghetti type track networks.

We’re not sure if anyone had a clean ride, but some did better than others. Bendigo’s James Robertson had a good ride to take the M21 win from Jack Allison and Ricky Thackray.

Marina Iskhakova was best in W21.

Ricky Thackray (M21) and Gavin Bennette (M50) starting the Long race.

presentation was made by Andrew Power to Kay Haarsma who is retiring from her Orienteering Australia MTBO roles.

Kay has held many key positions over the years, representing MTBO at Orienteering Australia virtually since MTBO started in Australia. It was also mentioned that this retirement may mean that Kay can fit in a bit more bike riding now ... if that is possible.

The afternoon saw the Middle distance race on the Tullaroop Forest map on the NE edge of Maryborough. We started in a different location to 2019 and the map included more northern areas not used in 2019. Again, a very complex area of forest with riders needing to take due care as some tracks through lightly forested areas were quite indistinct. Ricky Thackray was on top of M21 this time with a good win from Harrison Waugh and Joel Young. Marina Iskhakova scored her second win in W21.

Sunday morning was the Long Distance event on the Dunolly Forest map. This area has more hills than the Maryborough maps and perfect for this format, with the track network not being quite so intense, but there were still plenty of crucial route choice decisions to be made. Carolyn Jackson had a close tussle with Marina Iskhakova over the weekend and came out on top in this Long event with a good win in W21.

Ricky Thackray had another good ride to take M21 with adventure racer Luke Haines close behind in 2nd.

That evening, there was a casual dinner at the Maryborough Gold Club attended by 40 odd people, and we presented awards for the Sprint and Middle to those present. A special

A number of riders had clocked up 3 victories for the weekend including: Veronika Iskhakova (W12), Maya Bennette (W14), Jayne Sales (W40), Carolyn Matthews (W50) and Keith Wade (M80). Other classes, such as M40, M50, M60 and M70 saw some intense competition between riders over the weekend with honours being shared between a number of riders.

These events all used the new BS11 SPORTident control units that have a 1.8m range allowing riders to pass by controls at speed and not too close. Another innovation for the events was the live results. Competitors could scan the QR code on their maps and be taken to the results immediately after completing their course.

Anthony Jones (M40) at Dunolly.

36 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

The championships was a combined effort from three clubs, Eureka, Bayside Kangaroos and Nilumbik Emus, plus key contributions from a number of Victorian MTBOers. Great to see such cooperation between clubs and all of those interested in the sport.

MAPPING

Bronze Age treasure found

by Orienteering mapmaker May 2021

The forest site where an orienteering enthusiast found bronze treasure.

It is one of Sweden’s most spectacular Bronze Age finds.

A

man surveying a forest for his orienteering club in western Sweden last April stumbled on a trove of Bronze Age treasure reckoned to be some 2,500 years old. It includes about 50 items, such as necklaces, bracelets and clothing pins. The cartographer and orienteer, Thomas Karlsson, said “I first thought it might be a lamp, but when I looked closer I saw that it was old jewellery”.

Swedish archaeologists say it is very rare to find such a hoard in a forest. Ancient tribes usually left such offerings in rivers or wetlands.

The hoard was on the forest floor, next to rocks. It is thought that one or more animals had disturbed the earth, leaving the many items semi-exposed. They have been dated to the period between 750 and 500BC.

This is believed to be an ankle ring, similar to Celtic torcs.

A bronze pin for a cloak or robe.

Swedish law requires anyone finding such antiquities to notify the police or local authority, as they are regarded as state property. The Swedish National Heritage Board then decides what reward, if any, the finder should receive. Mr Karlsson said a reward “would be a nice bonus, but it’s not very important to me. It’s fun to be a part of exploring history. We know so little about that era, because there are no written sources.”

In Scandinavia the Bronze Age ran from about 1700BC to 500BC, when it gave way to the Iron Age. The Iron Age continued until about AD800, when the Viking Age began.

Experts say the jewellery was made for a woman, or women, of high status.

Mr Karlsson said he had spotted the metallic glint while looking down at a map he was working on. At first he thought the ornaments were copies, as they were in such good condition. Then he emailed a local archaeologist while having a coffee in the forest, regional newspaper Goteborgs-Posten reported.

The forest is near the town of Alingsas, about 48km northeast of Gothenburg. Archaeologists describe it as a “depot” find - that is, a hoard deliberately left as an offering to a god or gods, or to invest in life after death.

The jewellery “is extremely well preserved”, said Prof Johan Ling, lecturer in archaeology at Gothenburg University. “Most of the items can be linked to a woman, or women, of high status,” he said. The treasure includes a type of rod used to spur on horses, previously found in neighbouring Denmark, but not in Sweden.

Archaeologist Mats Hellgren working at the site.

Pernilla Morner, an antiquities expert for Vastra Gotaland region, said that “not since the bronze shields from Froslunda were excavated from a field in Skaraborg in the mid-1980s has such an exciting find from the Bronze Age been made in Sweden”. A team of Gothenburg archaeologists is now investigating the site in detail.

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 37

OA NEWS

2021 JWOC Honour Team

O

rienteering Australia has announced the Australian Honour Team for 2021 JWOC. This is the highest level of representation for Juniors so it’s a very impressive achievement. Well done and congratulations to you all!

Abigail George (SA)

Arabella Phillips (TAS)

Dante Afnan (SA)

Blake Reinbott (QLD)

Junior Women: Mikayla Cooper (TAS), Abigail George (SA), Joanna George (SA), Arabella Phillips (TAS), Nea Shingler (NSW) and Emily Sorensen (SA).

Junior Men: Dante Afnan (SA), Jensen Key (VIC), Grant Reinbott (QLD), Blake Reinbott (QLD), Ewan Shingler (QLD) and David Stocks (ACT).

OA has decided not to send athletes to 2021 JWOC in Turkey due to ongoing travel restrictions and the COVID-19 situation in that country. 2021 JWOC has now been postponed to September 5 - 10, so OA may reconsider the decision depending on circumstances.

A formal presentation of the Honour Team will take place during the 2021 Australian Championships in Tasmania.

Jensen Key (VIC)

Joanna George (SA)

Emily Sorensen (SA)

David Stocks (ACT)

Mikayla Cooper (TAS)

Nea Shingler (NSW)

Ewan Shingler (NSW)

Grant Reinbott (QLD)

38 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

2021 WOC Merit Team

O

rienteering Australia has announced the Australian merit team for 2021 WOC. This is the highest level of representation so it’s a very impressive achievement.

Well done and congratulations to you all!

Grace Crane (ACT)

Tara Melhuish (ACT)

Krystal Neumann (QLD)

Olivia Sprod (SA)

Patrick Jaffe (VIC)

Aston Key (VIC)

Women Grace Crane (ACT) Tara Melhuish (ACT) Krystal Neumann (QLD) Olivia Sprod (SA) Men Matt Doyle (ACT) Patrick Jaffe (VIC) Aston Key (VIC) - (Oceania champion Middle Distance) Henry McNulty (WA) Brodie Nankervis (VIC) - ( Oceania champion Sprint, Long Distance) The men’s team is larger due to extra allocation of places from Oceania Championships.

OA has decided not to support or endorse sending Australian based athletes to WOC 2021 in Czech Republic in early July due to ongoing travel restrictions and the COVID-19 situation in Europe.

Fredrik Johansson

Matt Doyle (ACT)

Henry McNulty (WA)

Brodie Nankervis (VIC) JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 39

OA NEWS

Orienteering Hall of Fame The presentation of honours and awards were the final activities of the 2021 Australian 3-Days. Retiring President of Orienteering Australia, Blair Trewin, announced these inductees to the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame:

Athlete Division: Christine Marshall (nee Watson) Athlete Division: Warren Key General Division: Dave Lotty General Division: Jim Russell Membership of the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame is the crowning achievement of a sporting career in Orienteering in Australia and represents the highest level of peer recognition for an individual’s contribution to Australian orienteering. The Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame recognises and promotes the outstanding sporting achievements of our athletes and officials to acknowledge the rich sporting heritage of Australian orienteering. It is an illustrious group of Australia’s most respected and celebrated orienteers that span the test of time. They are the best of the best, who through their achievements have made a significant contribution to our sporting history and have inspired others to achieve their potential in both sport and life.

ATHLETE DIVISION: Christine Marshall (nee Watson) (TAS) Christine made her first Australian WOC team in 1981 while still a junior and attended her first World Orienteering Championships in Thun, Switzerland.

Over the next 10 years, Christine was a member of a further four WOC teams, including the team which competed in the 1985 World Championships at Mt Kooyoora in Victoria. In 1991 she achieved her best place of 27th in the Long Distance race in (then) Czechoslovakia. When competing at the elite level in Australia, Christine was remarkably consistent with many top three finishes – winning W21E at both the Easter 3-Days and Australian Championships in 1989. In addition to her achievements at the elite level, Christine has gone on to win or place in her age class in numerous national and Oceania championships – including a 3rd place in W55 at the 2021 Australian 3-days.

Christine joins fellow Tasmanian Hanny Allston, who was inducted in 2020. Congratulations Christine!

Warren Key (VIC): Warren is a two-time World Masters Champion, with 4 medals in total.

• 2009 World Masters - Champion Long Distance M50 • 2009 World Masters - Champion Sprint M50 • 2008 World Masters - Bronze Long Distance M45 • 2005 World Masters - Bronze Long Distance M45 Warren has also represented Australia 11 times at Elite level at the World Orienteering Championships in: • 1997 Norway (11th Relay, 37th Middle Distance) • 1995 Germany (13th Relay, 51st Long Distance) • 1993 USA (11th Relay, 45th Long Distance) • 1983 Hungary (Relay DSQ) • 1981 Switzerland (23rd Long Distance, 6th Relay) • 1979 Finland (8th Relay, 39th Long Distance) Warren was also Australian Team WOC coach for almost 10 years.

Warren had an extraordinarily long career at the top of the domestic elite fields, with highlights being his Australian Long Distance Championships title for M21E in 1995 and 2nd in 2004 (while eligible to run M45), as well as being winner of the inaugural National Orienteering League in 1993.

Renowned for his technical skills, Warren has been dominant in his age classes over the past 20 years.

Alongside this, Warren is a regular organiser and course setter for major championships and has recently launched his own compass and orienteering shoe brands.

Congratulations Warren.

40 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

GENERAL DIVISION: Dave Lotty (NSW): Dave was the most influential person in the establishment of orienteering in New South Wales commencing in late 1971. After competing in an event staged in the Blue Mountains for a visiting New Zealand orienteering team, he was involved a few weeks later in restaging that event, followed by the first event in the Sydney area. He helped form and was Secretary of Sydney’s first orienteering club, Bennelong Occasional Orienteers, and later formed Kareelah Orienteers and Uringa Orienteers as Orienteering expanded in Sydney.

He helped to form the Orienteering Association of NSW in March 1972 and was initially a Committee member, then Secretary from 1973, the position that he held for many years before becoming the full time OANSW professional officer. As a professional draftsman, he prepared most of the early NSW orienteering maps, initially in black and white and later in colour, as well as field working many of these maps.

He was responsible for the concept of the Easter 3-Days, organising the first of these events with Bjorn Blomstedt and Ian Hassall in 1974, as well as several subsequent Easter 3-Days events. He also organised the first QBIII event in NSW. At the national level, he participated in the OFA Council as a delegate or NSW Councillor from 1973, becoming Secretary in 1981. He remained as Secretary until 2002, when the OFA completed a major review of its governance to become Orienteering Australia. He then held the position of Director (Administration) until 2006, making him the longest serving officer for OFA/ Orienteering Australia.

In his early years with OFA, he chaired its Mapping Committee and later became Fixture Coordinator. He received the OFA Silva Award for Services to Orienteering in 1991.

Coming from a background in athletics, Dave has always been a successful competitor, being a member of the Australian team to the World Championships in Denmark in 1974 and a team member in several Australia – New Zealand Challenges. He has won several Australian Championships in his age class and numerous State Championships.

Congratulations Dave.

Jim Russell (VIC): Jim is inducted in recognition for his outstanding contributions to all aspects of the sport in Australia. Jim has been involved in Orienteering for about 40 years and apart from the first five when he was heavily involved in competition he has been involved on the organisation side consistently.

Jim has had an enormously successful coaching record, including as WOC team coach in 2017, 2018, team manager/assistant coach in 2019 and Women’s team coach in 2004 and 2005, where Hanny Allston broke through for a podium finish in the JWOC Long Distance race. Jim was also JWOC coach from 1996-1999, where highlights were top results for Jo Allison and a bronze medal for Troy de Haas, and later was joint coach for JWOC 2007 in Dubbo, coaching Simon Uppill and Vanessa Round to outstanding results. Among Jim’s many other notable coaching contributions are his role as OA Head Coach from 2016-2020 and his work in developing and implementing the process for accreditation of Orienteering coaches.

Jim served on the VOA Board for many years, and as VOA Vice President from 1995 to 1998. Similarly Jim has consistently participated on the Bendigo Orienteers committee (including three years as president and currently serving as VicePresident).

Jim has been involved in the running of countless events at National, State and local level. In particular, he has become known for single-handedly organising the annual Bendigo ToDay event at the start of each season, which has now been held 14 times. Another particularly large organisational feat was his role as Carnival Director for the Bushrangers 09 Australian Orienteering Championships. Jim has also played a significant part in the increased participation of people in Central Victoria in Orienteering through the development of Space Racing and the success of ‘his’ schools and students at the Victorian Primary Schools Championship - it is a great credit to him.

Jim has always wanted to put on the best event possible for the competitors and spectators. He has been a driving force behind the sport’s use of technology in Victoria and Australia, promoting the use of SPORTident and O-Lynx touch, having screens displaying real time results at the Melbourne Sprint & Autumn Bush series, plus every MSW carnival that has been run. Jim also introduced the excellent Pretex paper for mapprinting to Australia.

Jim is often the invisible hand behind the things that get done.

Without being asked to, and without other people being aware of what he is doing. The things that need to get done, will be done, ready for an event. High profile contributions get their own recognition but the behind the scenes things often do not.

This is what everyone remarks on when they’re asked about Jim. It is all the unsung organising, mentoring, and stepping into gaps, often without needing to be asked, that make him worthy of induction.

Congratulations Jim. JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 41

OA NEWS

Blair also announced the following awards:

Silva Award for Services to Orienteering Coaching: Rachel West.

Rachel West (WA): Rachel is an elite orienteer in her own right, having represented the Nomads, Bushrangers and Australia (in W35 and W40) and in 2019 was the top-ranked female orienteer in her age class, yet she has given time and put considerable thought into providing quality coaching in WA since she became an accredited coach in 1994.

Her efforts have been designed to improve skills in, and enjoyment of, orienteering for OWA members in general and elite and junior athletes in particular. More recently she has developed and run courses for beginners as a way of introducing a wider range of people to our sport. Rachel has undoubtedly been the most active coach in WA in recent years and she is thoroughly deserving of the Silva Award for Services to Coaching.

Congratulations Rachel.

Silva Award for Services to Orienteering: Michael Hubbert, the longstanding editor of The Australian Orienteer.

Michael Hubbert (VIC): The longstanding editor of The Australian Orienteer, Mike has made significant contributions to Australian orienteering at the national level over three periods. The first period was in 1969-70 when Orienteering began its path towards becoming a national sport in Australia.

Mike was the event secretary for the Upper Beaconsfield event in August 1969 that began this path, and competed in the event, finishing eighth out of 33 starters. In early 1970, he was involved with Tom Andrews, David Hogg and Ron Frederick in establishing the Victorian Orienteering Association and the Orienteering Federation of Australia.

Had he not been heading overseas shortly after the inaugural meeting of those bodies, he would have been the logical choice for Secretary.

Returning to Australia around the end of 1972,

Blair Trewin presents Michael Hubbert with the Silva Award for Services to Orienteering.

42 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

Mike resumed an active role in Victorian orienteering. His second period of involvement at the national level began in June 1975 when he was elected Secretary of the Orienteering Federation of Australia, holding that position until 1981. That period covered the later years when State Associations were being established throughout Australia and were affiliating with the OFA. One off Mike’s challenges, on behalf of the OFA Executive, was coordinating liaison with all of the State Associations, which was managed largely through a series of OFA Council Bulletins. During that period, he worked with the OFA President, David Hogg, in starting work on the first OFA Development Plan.

It was Mike’s initiative earlier in 1976 that started action on the bid to host the 1985 World Orienteering Championships in Australia. He worked with Tom Andrews, Ted Wester and Alex Tarr to develop the bid documentation and, in July 1980, attended the IOF Congress in Germany to promote the bid which was accepted. The hosting of WOC85 proved to be one of the most important events in the development of Australian orienteering.

Mike’s third period of significant contribution began in mid2004 when he took over the role of Editor of The Australian Orienteer from Ian Baker. Continuing to work with Peter Cusworth, Mike maintained the high quality of the magazine in a role which has continued to the present time.

Throughout Mike’s orienteering career, spanning more than 50 years, he has also been an important contributor at the State Association and club level. As a member of Victoria’s first specialist Orienteering club, Red Kangaroos, in December 1974 he organised an evening event at Blackburn Lake in the east of Melbourne that was to set the pattern for Melbourne’s series of Park-Street orienteering events. He was the cartographer for the first coloured map used for an Australian Championships in Victoria (Tallarook State Forest in 1975).

These are just a couple of further examples of Mike’s ongoing commitment to Orienteering in Australia at all levels.

Congratulations to all these people for their services to Orienteering in Australia.

COVID Postponements

W

ith COVID still raging in Europe several countries have questioned whether to send teams to major championship events such as WOC, JWOC and the World Cup. Orienteering Australia has decided not to send teams to the 2021 MTBOC and JWMTBOC scheduled to be held in Finland from 8th June.

And, Orienteering Australia will not be sending athletes to JWOC 2021, scheduled for July, due to ongoing travel restrictions and the COVID-19 situation in Turkey. Similarly, OA has decided not to send Australian based athletes to WOC 2021 in Czech Republic in early July. JWOC 2021 has now been postponed to September 5 - 10, so OA may reconsider the decision depending on circumstances.

Orienteering NZ and Orienteering Canada have already decided not to send teams to the 2021 WOC and JWOC events unless they are postponed to later in the year, at which point Canada may reconsider.

Other Events: O-RINGEN 2021 in Uppsala, Sweden, has been postponed to 2022.

LETTERS

Letters The Australian Orienteer welcomes letters. Preference

will be given to letters which are concise and which make positive points. The editor reserves the right to edit letters, particularly ones which are longer than 300 words.

Dear Editor In the late 1970s British mapping guru, Robin Harvey (since awarded MBE), came to Australia and conducted a lengthy mapping workshop in conjunction with a major Victorian event. His knowledge, experience, and presentation were very impressive.

landform but with few (or no) blue watercourses. His policy was to be generous with slope lines on such maps, a policy not followed by many local mappers. (A rider to this point is that slope lines should normally be in gullies, not on spurs.)

I’ve noticed that some of the points that Robin emphasised are often not observed on maps I’ve run on in the past few years. For example:

3. V egetation boundaries: those that are marked with the boundary symbol on the map but are not sharp on the ground - Robin’s policy was “don’t use the vegetation boundary symbol unless the boundary is sharp enough to be used as a control site.”

1. G ratuitous form lines: Robin’s firm advice on form lines was to use them ONLY to show landform not shown by the contours. Form lines that go on and on and are parallel to the adjacent contours are gratuitous and confusing and simply make the land look twice as steep as it actually is.

Sage advice from one of the world’s top 0 mappers.

Trevor Sauer, Sunshine Orienteers, Queensland.

2. S carce (or absent) slope lines: Robin was adamant that orienteers should not have to be puzzled (or misled) about what’s up and what’s down on maps with complex

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Anna will receive a Victorinox Handyman which includes 24 tools and features – retail value $139.

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 43

O-SPY

Women and girls kick goals in ‘male’ sports

V

ictorian girls and women were joining community sport in greater numbers than ever, until COVID-19 hit, according to new Victoria University and Federation University research.

O-SPY Erik Borg is retiring

O

ver the years, Norwegian photographic journalist Erik Borg has provided many action shots of Australians at major Orienteering events, particularly in Europe. His most recent were photos of Henry McNulty winning at the 2020 Norwegian Sprint Championships which were featured in the December 2020 magazine.

But time moves on, and Erik has decided to (partially) retire – about as much retirement as any orienteer can achieve. In future he plans to not attend many of the major events such as World Cups, WOC and JWOC. He says that he may well continue to photograph some Australian orienteers, particularly those who are living and competing in Europe, so there’s a good chance we will see more examples of Erik’s photographic work.

And, who knows, he might do a “Farnham”.

An analysis of more than five million participation records of the State’s ten most popular sports between 2015 and 2019 found that female participation rates grew across all age groups, particularly for girls aged five to 14. About 34,000 more girls of this age group played sport in 2019 compared to four years earlier – an increase of about 5% -- especially sports traditionally dominated by males such as Australian Rules Football, cricket, and basketball. This compares with about 15,000 fewer boys playing sport in that same age group during the period.

Lead researcher Professor Rochelle Eime said the study, funded

by VicHealth and Sport and Recreation Victoria, demonstrates female participation in club-based sport is changing for the better.

“It’s great to see that the policies, strategies and investments are working -- from the top-down, through government and VicHealth, and from the bottom-up, from the clubs themselves,” she said.

“Boys and men have traditionally participated in club-based community sport, but with increased opportunities to play, we are seeing more girls than ever joining in.”

The growth rate for girls in sport was particularly strong in regional Victoria, where club sport extends into community life, especially in smaller centres. Here, the data showed about three-quarters of all girls aged 10-14 years participated in a community sport.

VicHealth’s health promotion operations manager Maya Rivis said it was promising to see more girls getting active through sports clubs, but more must be done. “Being active at a young age helps girls develop healthy habits for life, but they continue to face greater barriers to playing sport than men and boys. After the difficulties of 2020, many women and girls were less active than usual, so it’s even more critical that we continue to support them to be active in a way that makes them feel good.”

Two of the many Erik Borg photos that have featured in this magazine.

Dr Eime acknowledged that while any growth rate in female sport participation was positive, the rates were small, and more work is required to build club infrastructure and volunteer numbers to make it easier for girls and women to get involved.

With 2020 being a write-off for most community sports due to COVID-19, this research is an important way to monitor how they recover across regions, age, and gender for healthier communities.

Top: Elle & Laura Keech - 2021 Easter 3 Days Right: ACT Focus On Girls 2020” Below: Family Relays Easter 2021

44 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

Stone slab found in France thought to be Europe’s oldest 3D map

Book sales surge as people ‘rediscover love of reading’

U

K consumer book sales climbed 7% to £2.1bn last year as people “rediscovered their love of reading” in lockdown, the industry body says. Demand for fiction and non-fiction jumped, while audio-book sales were up 37%, the Publishers Association said. Bestsellers included The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo and 7 Ways by Jamie Oliver. But educational book sales slumped as schools were shut for months.

The 2.2-metre by 1.53-metre stone was first discovered in 1900 but then lost until 2014.

A

rchaeologists in France have uncovered a stone with 4,000-yearold etchings they believe may be the oldest three-dimensional map in Europe. The engravings on the broken stone appear to resemble topographical features including hills and a river network. More modern geolocalisation techniques suggest the 2.2-metre by 1.53-metre stone known as the Saint-Bélec Slab, first discovered in 1900 but then lost, show an area of western Brittany. It is believed to date from the early Bronze Age between 2150BC and 1600BC. The slab was first found in 1900 during a dig at a prehistoric burial ground in Finistère by a local archaeologist, Paul du Châtellier, whose collection was bought by the National Antiquities Museum (MAN) in 1924. Its whereabouts then remained forgotten until 2014 when it was rediscovered in a cellar under a moat at the museum’s château at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, north west of Paris.

Researchers are convinced the engravings on the stone represent the Odet River and its valley, and other lines show the region’s river network. Experts say the markings bear an 80% resemblance to an area around a 29km stretch of the Odet.

The researchers said: “Until the 1990s, the Saint-Bélec Slab was stored in a niche in the castle moat. Finally, in 2014, it was found in a cellar of the castle.

It was the subject of a significant study that allowed it to be interpreted as the oldest cartographical representation of a known territory in Europe, a probable marker of the political power of a principality of the early Bronze Age.” The slab is believed to have been used as one of the walls of a stone tomb.

Stephen Lotinga, chief executive of the Publishers’ Association, said: “It’s clear that many people rediscovered their love of reading last year and that publishers were able to deliver the entertaining and thought-provoking books that so many of us needed. But we shouldn’t ignore the fact that it’s been a particularly challenging year for education publishers and many smaller publishers. It’s also been a hugely difficult time for many booksellers and authors whose livelihoods have been enormously disrupted.”

According to the Association, total UK publishing sales - including consumer, educational and academic titles - rose 2% in 2020 to £6.4bn. The consumer market performed particularly well, with sales of fiction up 16% and non-fiction by 4%. Print accounted for £1.7bn of those sales (up 4%) while for digital it was £418m, up 24%.

Other bestselling titles included The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel and Barack Obama’s memoir A Promised Land, published in November, which sold well in audio.

Mr Lotinga said: “With bookshops now able to reopen, and physical events returning, we are optimistic that people will soon be able to enjoy books together again. We need to harness this return to reading and build on the huge opportunity this presents to everyone.”

The slab is believed to have been used as one of the walls of a stone tomb.

“It’s engraved face was turned towards the inside of the tomb, but its ends were hidden,” the researchers said. “The presence of repeated motifs joined by lines gives this composition the appearance of a cartographic layout.”

To confirm their hypothesis, the researchers compared it with other, similar representations drawn from European prehistory and from other ethnic groups including Tuareg and Papuans. “Since it is probably a mind map, some of the elements represented may be oversized, while their positioning is not necessarily in proportion to the distances that separate them, suggesting the slab highlights the mapping expertise of prehistoric societies.”

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 45

O-SPY

1972 World Champion Sarolta Monspart has passed

S

arolta Monspart from Hungary, who won the World Orienteering Championship in 1972, has passed away at the age of 76 following a long period of illness. She was the first Hungarian World Orienteering Champion and first non-Scandinavian woman to win the title. She also won a Silver medal in the Relay at WOC in 1970 and a Bronze medal in the Relay at WOC in 1976, both times running the final leg for Hungary. She was a multi-talented athlete, with 34 national titles in Orienteering and 6 in cross-country skiing and was the first European woman to run the marathon in a time under 3 hours.

Sarolta Monspart was an important contributor to Orienteering and to sports in her home nation also after her active career. She was a member of the IOF Council between 1982 and 1996, including a period as Vice President, and received an IOF Silver Pin recognizing her contribution to international Orienteering in 1996. She was coach of the Hungarian national Orienteering team between 1980 and 1990, and in 2012 she was elected Vice President of the Hungarian Olympic Committee. In her role there, she was highly engaged in promoting sports and a healthy lifestyle. In 2003 she received a medal for lifetime merit from Hungarian President Ferenc Mádl, and in 2020 she was appointed Athlete of the Nation.

MapRun Mystery

M

agazine Editor, Michael Hubbert, reports a rather odd inconsistency with MapRun tracking. “Particularly at night, I carry my phone in the pocket of my shorts so that I can concentrate on torch, map, and the way ahead. When in my lefthand pocket the resulting MapRun track shows some very odd and wild deviations in my route (see the tracking), which I’m sure I didn’t make, and very occasionally gives me the control “beep” some 50 – 60 metres away from the actual control site. It’s rather disconcerting when this happens – Have I misread the map? Is the map wrong? Am I lost?? When I carry the phone in my right-hand pocket I don’t get these massive deviations.

MapRun track - Knox Fields (left pocket).

So why is this happening? I have an artificial left hip. Is it interacting in some way with the GPS tracker to create these wild deviations? Is it acting as an aerial? When I carry the phone in my right pocket is some kind of interference happening that I haven’t yet noticed? Who knows? I certainly don’t.”

MapRun track - Ruffey Lake (left pocket).

MapRun track - Blind Creek (right pocket).

Orienteering in the 17th Century

..... and thou didst place thy control flag on a parallel feature eight chains length from ye correct position.

How to legally ignore the Boss Sarolta Monspart on the podium at WOC 1972 46 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2021

I

reland introduced a legal right from April 1st for employees to not respond to emails, telephone calls or other messages during non-work hours.

Top Events 2021

2022 June 10-18

June 19-20 July 2-9

July 2-11 POSTPONED to Sept 5-10 July 17-24

WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Kuortane, Finland www.wmtboc2021.com Arctic Circle Jukola Relays Rovaniemi, Finland Sprint & Forest WOC Doksy, Czech Republic

Jan 8-16

Canadian Rockies Orienteering Festival, Alberta & British Columbia JWOC 2021 Turkey 2021 Swiss O Week Arosa, Switzerland

May 13-29

Australia Day weekend April 15-18

June 17-19 June 26-30

POSTPONED to 2022 Aug 1-7

O-Ringen Uppsala, Sweden Scottish 6-Days, Fort William, Lochaber

Aug 2-15

California O Festival San Francisco & Sierra Nevada

July 11-16

August 7-13

WMOC 2021 Velence, Hungary

July 15-20

Sept 3-5

City of London Race UK QLD MTBO Championships Murgon & Wondai, QLD Australian MTBO Champs Kuri Kuri, NSW, ausmtbochamps.com AUS Championships Launceston & St Helens,Tasmania www.aoc2021.tasorienteering.asn.au AUS Schools Championships Bicheno & St Helens,Tasmania

Sept 11-12 Sept 17-19

Sept 25Oct 3 Sept 28-30 Sept 28-30

Turbo Chook 3 Days Bicheno & St Helens,Tasmania

Oct 8-10

World Masters MTBO Champs Abrantes, Portugal

Oct 15-17

ACT MTBO Championships

Dec 10-12

Asia City Race Bangkok, Thailand Asia City Race Hong Kong

Dec 17-19

July 7-17

July 9-16

Dates TBA Sept 24 Oct 2 Sept 15-20

Oceania 2022 nr. Christchurch, New Zealand http://oceaniao.nz/ High-O Dinner Plain AUS 3 Days Carnival, Queensland WMOC & World Masters Games near Kobe, Kansai Prefecture, Japan www.wmg2021.jp/en/ 2022 Jukola Relays Mynämäki, SW Finland Sprint WOC 2022 Denmark (near Velje, Jutland) woc2022.dk 2022 World Games Birmingham, Alabama, USA www.theworldgames2021.com/ WMOC 2022 Vieste (Gargano, Puglia) Italy JWOC 2022 Aguiar da Beira, Portugal WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Falun/Säter Sweden https://wmtboc2022.se O-Ringen Uppsala, Sweden AUS Championships Kyneton, Victoria World Masters MTBO Champs Targovishte, Bulgaria

2023 Easter

AUS 3 Days Carnival, ACT May 13-16 World Masters MTBO Champs Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia July 2-9 JWOC 2023 Romania July 11-16 Forest WOC 2023 Flims, Switzerland August 11-18 WMOC 2023 Slovakia August 18-27 WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Czech Republic September AUS Championships Western Australia 2024

Advertise your event A colour 6 x 9 cm event ad for just $50 Send artwork to The Editor: mikehubbert@ozemail.com.au

Easter

AUS 3 Days Carnival,

June 28-30

World Masters MTBO Champs Viborg, Denmark WMTBOC & JWMTBOC Bulgaria Oceania & AUS Champs Carnival Armidale, NSW

Sept 9-16 Dates TBA

JUNE 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 47

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