Author: craigf

Oceania Middle Distance Championships

Results
Splits
Route Gadget
Winsplits

Oceania Long Distance Championships

Results
Splits
Route Gadget
Winsplits

Presentations for both events were deferred due to bad weather.  Awards will be presented at Cooma, or distributed to winners.

See the Galary of some photos from Yackandandah.  Come back later for more photos and videos from the production team.

GPS Tracking – Full Replays

Saturday 1 October, 2011 – Oceania Long Distance Championships

Mens 21E
Womens 21E 

Sunday 2 October, 2011 – Oceania Middle Distance Championships

Mens 21E
Womens 21E

Palmer Memorial Trophy for SA/VIC Challenge

Victoria 11 defeated South Australia 2

Middle Distance Photos

Well spring has arrived, and disappeared again in some parts of the country. The 2nd major orienteering carnival for 2011 kicks off this weekend with the Wangaratta to Cooma via Wagga Wagga Oceania Carnival. The Victorian events- The Oceania Long and Middle Distance races have gone to major lengths to ensure the races will be of the highest quality for both athletes and spectators, with live GPS tracking being used for the first time in Australia. If you can’t make the event be sure to check out the event website and orienteering.asn.au for reports, or follow the coverage onFacebook  or Twitter.

SILVA National Orienteering League update

There are 5 rounds of the 2011 SILVA National Orienteering League remaining, including 4 individual races and concluding with the Oceania Relay Championships next Sunday. In the Junior women’s class Belinda Lawford (ACT) has been the standout competitor this season. While there is a small mathematical chance of being beaten, Lawford’s 68point lead is unlikely to be challenged by 2nd placed Krystal Neumann (QLD) and Amy Buckerfield (TAS). The Queensland Cyclones are leading the teams competition on 79 points with Tasmania still a threat on 69 points and ACT fighting to hang onto 3rd with 47points,

Oliver Poland (ACT) is leading the very competitive Junior Men’s with 233 points from team mate Ian Lawford (222) and Oscar Phillips (214, TAS) not far behind. Lawford and ACT’s Lachlan Dow are likely to challenge for the lead by the end of the competition with some low scores to drop from their total. The strong ACT boys team has teams competition under control from Tasmania and 3rd place Victoria Nuggets.

In the Women’s elite class Vanessa Round (SA) is holding a 1point lead over Victorian Kathryn Ewels, and team mate Jasmine Neve another 5points behind in 3rd. This 3 way battle for the win should be a cracker, and the winner should be the one who pulls a few wins in the final rounds rather than consistent performances. The Victorian Women’s team has an unassailable lead over the Canberra Cockatoos and Southern Arrows.

With #1 ranked Julian Dent missing from the local scene for most of 2011 (and now residing in Stockholm, Sweden) the battle in the men’s class has been between Aussie Boomerang teammates Simon Uppill (SA) and Rob Preston(NSW). ACT legend Grant Bluett got the better of his younger rivals at Easter 2011 and Dave Shepherd (ACT) will make a return to elite competition and keep the field honest. With at 38point lead Uppill already has one hand on the trophy. In the teams competition, NSW Stingers have a slender 4point lead over Canberra Cockatoos, with Victorian Nuggets in 3rd place another 9 points behind. The Stingers have held the title for 2 years, but this class won’t be decided until the final race- the Oceania Relays.

The Victorian Government is a proud supporter of the 2011 Oceania Orienteering Championships through the Significant Sporting Events Program.

Victoria is a world leader in delivering successful major and significant sporting events, and with Orienteering Victoria conducting over 250 events for 24,000 participants annually, this Championship is no exception.

Wangaratta and Yackandandah are two fantastic locations to stage the Championships, which will feature more than 1000 participants of all ages.

Staging significant sporting events like this attract millions of visitors to our State, and provide a stimulus for the economy and sport at a community level. This year the Oceania Orienteering Championships are expected to bring over 500 visitors to regional Victoria.

That’s why the Victorian Government is a proud supporter of events such as the Oceania Orienteering Championships, which provides an opportunity to showcase Victoria’s fantastic regional centres, talent and terrain.

I welcome all visitors to this year’s event and I invite you to enjoy the many good things that regional Victoria has to offer.

HUGH DELAHUNTY MP

Minister for Sport and Recreation

Orienteering to Feature on TV
Permanent orienteering courses in park and urban environments featured on Channel 7 Queensland’s lifestyle program The Great South East on Sunday 11 September.

In June, Orienteering Queensland president, James Mitchell, together with Emily Cantwell, filmed a segment in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens showing presenter, Richard Champion, the permanent course there which involves answering questions at each control site. There are a number of permanent courses in various parks in and around Brisbane and people are able to download the maps and questions from the OQ website and do the course at their leisure.

The story is due to be repeated nationally on Saturday 17 September on 7 Two at 11.30am.

Liz Bourne
Development Officer – Orienteering Queensland

Australian Coaching & Management Positions advertised. 

National Orienteering Coaching / Managing Positions are for two year terms and thus the following positions are now open for applications:

– Australian Junior Coach

– Australian Junior Manager / Assistant Coach

– Australian Elite Coach

– Australian Elite Manager/Assistant Coach

Links to the appropriate job descriptions can be found below:

Applications close 30 September 2011.

2012-13 Australian National Junior Coach Manager Job Descriptions.pdf

2012-13 Aus National Elite Coach Job Descriptions.pdf

OA congratulates Ian Dalton on his appointment as the MTBO National Coach for 2012 & 2013.

Ian is an OAWA member who has had much experience in both MTB and foot orienteering, competing at an elite level since 2004.  He attended MTBO WOC 2007 as the team media officer and recently attended a Level 1 MTB course conducted by Cycling Australia.  Ian has coached or managed the WA schools team on numerous occasions; coached the Australian Schools Orienteering team to NZ in 2009 and has been the WA Nomads manager since 2008.

 Ian is a teacher and also runs an adventure race business, as well as competing nationally in adventure races himself.

Ian will be heading to NZ for the MTBO challenge in January and is particularly keen to help out any juniors who want to attend.

Ian may be contacted at: ian_dalton@hotmail.com

Be part of the Oceania Carnival 2011 Action!  Enter now.

This is an event you will not want to miss!  The Carnival will run from 1st to 9th October 2011 with events in Wangaratta, Wagga Wagga and Cooma.  The online entry system will be open until 4 September 2011.

Last week, we told you about Wangaratta and Wagga Wagga.  Here you can read about the Cooma events.

Badja Decadal Challenge

Every decade competitors are faced with the challenge of mastering the mysteries of Badja’s boulders, bush, banksias, termite mounds and the mazes of subtle gullies and knolls.  They will never have a better opportunity than this year, when they have three days of similar terrain, but a variation in map scales, to beat Badja.

The Oceania Sprint Distance Championshipson Friday 7 October, with a scale of 1:5000 for the Wombat Hill map will provide, a never-before perspective of the challenging terrain.  Next morning the elites will be confronted with a 1:15000 version of theMarginata map, while other competitors will have the luxury of 1:10000 scale, seeking glory in the Australian Long Distance Championships.  All will be able to enjoy the park like extension of the map to the south, but competitors will still find that navigation challenging.  This event will also be the finale for the Silva National Orienteering Series.

Sunday morning everyone will have a 1:10000 scale version of the Gaerloch map for theOceania Relay Championships, the AUS-NZL Challenge and the final event in the Silva National Orienteering League, so much will be riding on the final results.

Relay Incentive

All competitors who are in official national teams (from same nation and correct age class) and not included in the AUS-NZL Challenge, will also eligible for 30 (ie 10 teams) prizes (limited production coffee mugs, pictured, featuring the blossom of the Banksia Marginata, which is abundant in the area) in the following categories:

• Eclipsing AUS-NZL Challenge Teams – for any teams that beat both ANZ-NZL Challenge Teams
• Barrel Draw – Teams not in the Challenge, which finished their courses correctly and which did not beat both AUS-NZL Challenge teams, will go into a barrel draw for the remaining coffee mugs.

Oceania Carnival Courses and Classes

Need to check the courses and classes for the Oceania Carnival before you complete your on-line entry, the information for all events (except the Oceania Long Distance Championships) is here: Oceania Champs Carnival- Courses and Classes Infor.pdf (page 4 displays the badges and other awards that will be presented during the carnival)

The elite and junior teams have been announced to compete against New Zealand during the Oceania Championships week, in the Australia-NZ Challenge and the elite Test matches.

The teams for the Australia-NZ Challenge, to be contested at the Oceania Long and Relay Championships on 1 and 9 October respectively, are as follows:

M16: Ashley Nankervis (Tas), Max Neumann (Qld), Jack Oakhill (Qld). Reserve Matt Doyle (Qld).

W16: Nicola Blatchford (NSW; subject to fitness), Anna Dowling (Tas), Kate Bowen (ACT). Reserve Kelsey Harvey (Qld).

M20: Lachlan Dow (ACT), Joshua Blatchford (NSW), Max Neve (Vic). Reserve Oscar McNulty (WA).

W20: Belinda Lawford (ACT), Heather Muir (Qld), Jacqui Doyle (Qld). Reserve TBA.

M21: Rob Preston (NSW), Dave Shepherd (ACT), Simon Uppill (SA).

W21: Jo Allison (ACT), Kathryn Ewels (Vic), Vanessa Round (SA).

Teams in the masters age groups had previously been announced. The Challenge team will be jointly managed by Russell Blatchford and Felicity Crosato.

The races in the Test Match series between the Australian Bushrangers and New Zealand Pinestars are:

• Oceania Middle Distance Championships, Yackandandah, Sunday October 2^nd
• Oceania Sprint Championships, Badja, Friday October 7^th
• Australian Long Championships, Badja, Saturday October 8^th

For these races a team of 5 men and 4 women have been selected in 21E.

Men: Bruce Arthur (Vic), Rob Preston (NSW), Murray Scown (ACT), Dave Shepherd (ACT), Simon Uppill (SA)

Women: Susanne Casanova (SA), Rachel Effeney (Qld), Aislinn Prendergast (Vic), Anna Sheldon (Qld)

The Bushrangers’ team has been chosen to include a mixture of development athletes as well as core WOC runners; by matching athletes to specific terrains and event specialities the intention is to consolidate their form, and continue to evolve Australian talent for the future.

The final MTBO event, the sprint, provided much excitement.  Riders did the first 40% of the course through a village specifically closed off to cars and then climbed the hills behind the assembly area in full view of the crowd before finishing through a complex vineyard section.

Our Aussie team did really well, as the increased depth of the competition was demonstrated by the closeness of the results. Melanie Simpson rode with only some hesitations and her 30^th place was only 3 minutes behind the winner.  Russian road star Anton Foliforov took out gold in the elite men, with Steve Cusworth’s 19^th place being just 2 minutes down.  Steve regreted a 30 second or so error near the end when he could have tagged on to the eventual 2nd placegetter, but did his own thing.  Alex Randall again found his legs lacking power and was disappointed with his 66^th.

The Czech dynamo Krystof Bogan grabbed gold in jwoc men, with “Mr Consistent,” Tom Goddard doing well again for 17^th and Oscar Phillips being close behind in 21^st.  Marc and Chris didn’t have such clean runs.

Russian junior Svetlana Poverina took out her 4^th gold of the Championships!

Kay Haarsma (coach)

Elite men

1         26.28 Anton Foliforov (Russia)

19   28.39  Steve Cusworth

66   34.14  Alex Randall

Elite Women

1   26.36 Gaelle Barlet  (France)

30  29.55 Melanie Simpson

Junior Men

1         23.21 Krystof Bogan

17    25.50  Tom Goddard

21   26.12  Oscar Phillips

34   28.11  Marc Gluskie

44   29.41  Chris Firman

Check out the event website and the Australian team blog

The relay day amongst the depression forest and vineyards of Alonte again saw riders battling sweltering heat.  However the shorter nature of the courses made for exciting racing, as did the spectator loop.  The latter had riders zipping in and around village shops and restaurants, including a stair descent with a sharp turn.

Both Australian teams were determined to do well and didn’t disappoint.

The juniors were hoping to podium like last year and got so so close. Chris and Mark both rode strongly but with a mistake or two while the in form Tom Goddard had very little time loss and was 5-7 minutes faster. In racing the final leg Marc caught the Czech team and had a head to head duel with Krystof Bogar, the middle distance champion.  Coming down the last vineyard track there were elbows flying to gain the front position for the steep rise and corner into the last control.  The bigger Czech guy won out but Marc valiantly closed the gap in the final metres to just a wheel length.

Our elite guys all had pretty consistent rides and were relatively happy.  Oscar Phillips stepped up against the big boys doing the anchor leg and navigated carefully to ensure we came in 11^th, with two teams within a minute just ahead.  After being ranked 16^th last year, that was a pleasing result.

Many of the placegetters were separated by small time gaps.  None more so than the JWOC women where Russia beat Finland by a mere second.   Denmark WOC women “lost” the bronze when world champion Rikke Kornvig failed to record a punch on one control.   In more controversial circumstances the Polish junior team have been DSQ’ed from tomorrow’s sprint after having been found in the embargoed area today!

Saturday’s sprint, the final event of the Championships, is at Sossano.  This will be a mixture of urban area and forest with many controls.  Elite men have 9km, 145m climb and 23 controls.  The predicted temperature will be a “cool” 31 degrees.   Starts are from 2pm (10pm Australian time).

Chris Firman  2.07             Alex Randall  2.15             Oscar Phillips 2.23            Tom  Goddard  2.33 

Marc Gluskie  3.01          Melanie  Simpson  3.10                   Steven Cusworth   3.11

Kay Haarsma (coach)

JWOC MEN                                                         JWOC WOMEN

1   2.11.05 Denmark                                         1   2.10.59  Russia

2   2.11.53 Russia                                               2   2.11.53  Finland

3   2.15.23  Finland                                            3   2.17.02  Czech

6   2.28.05  Czech

7  2.28.05 Australia    Firman (50.16), Goddard (45.47), Gluskie (52.02)

WOC MEN                                                           WOC WOMEN

1  2.40.51 Denmark                                          1   2.42.57  Switzerland

2  2.42.59 Czech                                                2  2.46.02  Lithuania

3  2.43.59  Finland                                             3  2.47.58  Slovakia

11  3.03.11  Australia    Cusworth (57.41)  Randall (59.31)  Phillips (65.59)

Check out the event website and the Australian team blog