2011 Archive

Tasmania have won the Australian Schools Championships after a consistent set of results in the relays on Wednesday. While they did not win any of the four relays, they were second to New Zealand in both junior relays, and performed well enough in the two senior relays to ensure they extended their overnight lead.

The best finish of the day was in the senior girls’, where a fluctuating race between Queensland and New Zealand came down to a sprint finish between the top two individual placegetters, Heather Muir and Selena Metherell. The Queenslander prevailed by a few metres, giving her state the points to tie NSW for second place. The senior boys also saw a close finish with New Zealand overhauling the ACT on the final leg.

The Australian Relays were contested in the afternoon. As a midweek event, the fields were much weaker than usual, but there were exciting finishes in both elite classes; in both of them, substantial leads were overtaken in the last few controls. Victoria edged out New Zealand in M21E, but in W21E it was the New Zealanders who prevailed over Queensland.

Schools points: Tasmania 48, NSW 38, Queensland 38, ACT 34, SA 24, Victoria 19, WA 10.

Southern Cross Junior Challenge: NZ 61, Tasmania 48, Queensland 40, NSW 38, ACT 36, SA 24, Vic 19, WA 10.

The following Students have been selected in the School Sport Australia Orienteering Honour team for 2011

Junior Girls:

Anna Dowling  Tasmania

Lucy Flemming  Victoria

Hannah Goddard  Tasmania

Winnie Oakhill Queensland

Junior Boys:

Nicholas Collins  Victoria

Matt Doyle  Queensland

Henry McNulty  Western Australia

Ashley Nankervis  Tasmania

Senior Girls:

Jacqui Doyle  Queensland

Rebecca Freese  Queensland

Heather Muir  Queensland

Olivia Sprod  South Australia

Senior Boys:

Ian Lawford  ACT

Bill Mann  Western Australia

Oscar McNulty Western Australia

Oliver Poland  ACT

Today saw the commencement of the 2011 Australian Schools Orienteering Championships at Murraguldrie State Forest.  Fine weather blessed the organisers and competitors for the Schools Individual race.

The Junior Boys race saw Callum Herries of New Zealand establish a winning time from virtually the beginning of the day and had to wait until the last starters finished to be finally knocked off the top and relegated to second place by Ashley Nankervis of Tasmania.  Matt Doyle of Queensland took third place.

In the Junior Girls race Winnie Oakhill from Queensland claimed the win in front of Anna Dowling from Tasmania with Brianna Massie of New Zealand placing third.

The Senior Boys race had the JWOC representatives battle it out for the podium placings with Oliver Poland of ACT taking the win from Oscar McNulty WA and Ian Lawford ACT settling for third.

Highlight of the day was watching Heather Muir QLD dominate the Senior Girls race with such a commanding lead over the rest of the field.  Heather won in a time of 52:56 nearly 9min clear of second place getter Selena Metherell NZ and Olivia Sprod SA stealing third place on the podium.

In the Asoc points table Tasmania are sititng currently on top with 24 points with NSW on 21 and ACT & Qld on 18points.  In the Sourthen Cross challenge New Zealand are leading on 30points with Tasmania on 24 points and NSW currently on third with 21 points.

Australia have narrowly held off New Zealand in the Australia-New Zealand Individual Challenge, winning 9 classes to 6 in the race contested at the Oceania Long Distance Championships on Saturday. It was the closest New Zealand have come to winning on Australian soil, with the result in doubt until the two elite classes were finalised late in the day.

Rob Preston had the biggest win of his career, taking out M21E by nearly three minutes over Dave Shepherd. He took charge of the race early on, catching Grant Bluett by the sixth control. The two were together for much of the race, along with Murray Scown (who finished seventh), but Preston broke away over the closing stages for a convincing win. Bryan Keely, returning to high-level competition after a break, took third by the narrowest possible margin over Bluett.

Jo Allison returned to the winners’ circle at the top level for the first time since becoming a mother two years ago. She set up the win in the first half of the course; by halfway only Aislinn Prendergast and Vanessa Round were within six minutes of her. Both Allison and Prendergast lost time at 16; this cost the Victorian a place as Round stormed home, but Allison held on by 34 seconds, with Round second and Prendergast third. Lizzie Ingham and Kathryn Ewels, both of whom lost substantial time in the first half, came home strongly to complete the top five.

Competition continues today with the Oceania Middle Distance Championships at Yackandandah.

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)