2012 Archive

The Australian team to compete in the Australian v New Zealand Challenge in January 2013 is:

 Team members should ensure that they are entered in all 4 challenge events – sprint, middle, long & relay.

Any queries –   kayhaarsma@hotmail.com

M16  Jarrah Day    Daniel Hill

Stephen Melhuish   Oliver Mill   RES

M18  Matt Doyle   Lawrence Jones

Ashley Nankervis   David Tay   RES

M20  Shaun McDonough  Brodie Nankervis

Todd Neve   Henry McNulty RES

M40 Eric Morris Jim Russell

Blair Trewin    Dmitry Stukov RES

M45   Tony Hill  Neil Simson

Eddie Wymer   Ian Jones  RES

M50  Russell Blatchford   Michael Burton

Mike Dowling     Jemery Day  RES

M55  Geoff Lawford   Grant McDonald

Paul Pacque   Chris Norwood  RES

M60   Nick Dent   David Marshall

Adrian Uppill    Bert Elson  RES

M65   Terry Bluett    Ian Fletcher

Hugh Moore   Greg Chatfield  RES

M70   Basil Baldwin   John Brammall

Alex Tarr   John Sutton  RES

W16   Heather Burridge   Hannah Goddard

Asha Steer     GeorgiaJones RES

W18    Nicola Blatchford     Anna Dowling

Lanita Steer   Alison Burrill     RES

W20    Michele Dawson    Mary Fleming

Heather Muir   Emily Cantwell  RES

W40 Barbara Hill Anna Hyslop

Anita Scherrer

W45   Karen Blatchford   Sue Hancock

Su Yan Tay   Nicola Dalheim RES

W50    Jenny Bourne    Anthea Feaver

Christine Marshall   Toni Brown  RES

W55   Sue Key   Mary McDonald

Hilary Wood   Julia Prudhoe  RES

W60   Valerie Barker   Carol Brownlie

Jan Hardy   Lynne Dabbs  RES

W65   Bryony Cox   Sally Salier

Meredyth Sauer

W70   Jean Baldwin   Valerie Brammall

Ann Ingwersen    Janet Tarr  RES

The final race in the Australian MTBO titles saw riders return to Kiwarrak state forest for the middle distance championships.  Again there was a maze of single track to challenge the navigational skills of even the best riders.

New Zealand’s Marquita Gelderman again reigned supreme in women’s elite to take out a trifecta of wins.  However fellow Kiwi Christine Browne, a relative newcomer to MTBO rode well to finish just 4 minutes behind, with Carolyn Jackson holding onto third narrowly from the rapidly improving Jenny Enderby.

Men’s elite saw an exciting race with veteran Aussie rep Alex Randall having a narrow 50 second win over NSW’s Steven Todkill, who is better known for his foot o exploits. Steven had an impressive carnival winning the sprint and finishing 2nd behind Alex in the other 2 races.  WA’s Ricky Thackray again had to be content with third, but that result secured him the M21 National League title for the secong year running.

There were four other riders who won all three titles on offer over the weekend.  These were: Gabrielle Withers (W14), Chris Firman (M20), Peter Swanson (M40) and Graeme Cadman (M80).

Chris Firman perhaps was the most dominant rider of the carnival, excelling in all the variable terrain.  It was a Queensland trifecta in the junior boys in the middle with Chris winning by 8 minutes from Karl withers and Paulo Jun Alvear Fujii.   In the junior girls Sally-Anne Hendersen (NSW) took her second win of the carnival.

Other age group winners were: Georgie Withers (W14); Tasmin Barnes (W40); Jacqui Sinclair (W50); Peta Whitford (W60); Yett Gelderman (W70); Eddie Prentice (M14); Peter Swanson (M40); Robert Prentice (M50); Bruce Meder (M60); Keith Wade (M70); Graeme Cadman (M80)

Many thanks to David West for his amazing co-ordination of this 3 day carnival of races, and to the Mountain Devils members and other volunteers who made the events run smoothly.  The large Kiwi contingent of 17 riders had plenty of praise for the races and like every rider, thought that the single tracks in Kiwarrak Forest produced one of the finest maps they had ridden on.

Results are available on the event website at: ausmtbochamps.  Route Gadget showing the great areas and courses are also now available on that website.

The National League elite winners for 2013 were Ricky Thackray (WA) and Jenny Enderby (NSW) with NSW winning the state title.  Age group winners will be announced shortly.

There will be two MTBO events in conjunction with the Christmas 5 Days, in the Beechworth area.   There also will be a MTBO training camp during this time – interested people should contact Kay Haarsma on kayhaarsma@hotmail for more details.

In 2013 the JWOC/ WOC selection trials will be in Victoria in April and the National titles will be in Queensland in July.  The Kiwis have also announced that they will host another week long carnival in January 2014, based on the North Island.

Alex Randall and Marquita Gelderman both had big wins in the long distance championships near Port Macquarie. The courses were more traditional today with significant route choice involving both climb and the rideability of tracks.

Alex won by 9 minutes over Steven Todkill  and Ricky Thackray close behind.  Marquita won by 7 minutes, again from fellow Kiwi Christine Brown and Carolyn Jackson was third jusdt ahead of Jenny Enderby.

Chris Firman won his last M20 long distance championships in speedy fashion and had a 17 minute margin over Jwoc team-mate Karl Withers, with Tim Jackson again third.    Swedish orienteer Amanda Holmgram, who is in Australia for 7 months, was thrilled to win W20 over Sally-Anne Henderson.

Other victories went to Brenton Wood (16), Peter Swanson (40), Rob Garden (50), Bruce Meder (60), Graham Fowler (70), Graeme Cadman( 80), Gabrielle Withers (W14), Nicole Haigh (40), Debbie Gordon (50), Liz Randall (60), Dale-Ann Gordon (70).

Prize-giving was conducted at the Taree Bowling club during an evening meal that also featured videocam of Steven Todkill’s ride.

The Australian Championships conclude with the middle distance championships near Taree.

The three event Australian MTBO Championships started today at Taree with the Sprint Championships. The map, “the Tipriders Afternoon Delight,” was based in Kiwarrak Forest just a few kilometres out of Taree. The area was composed of a very intricate track network of mt bike single track which actually provided quite fast riding. Thus the route choice decisions between the single track and wider 4WD tracks weren’t clear-cut.

NSW’s Steve Todkill had an impressive 2 minute win in men’s elite ahead of the canny Greg Barbour. WA’s WOC representative, Ricky Thackray was a further minute back.

A 16 person Kiwi group has been in Australia racing and training for 10 days and they were well represented at the prize-giving. This started with their 2 WOC represenatives this year, in Marquita Gelderman and Christine Browne taking the quinella ahead of Victoria’s Carolyn Jackson.

The M20 class was very competitive, with Queensland’s Chris Firman recording the fastest time on course 2 to have a 4 minute win ahead of Paulo Jun Alvear Fujii, followed closely by Tim Jackson. The W20 class was won by NSW’s Sally-Anne Henderson.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the detailed nature of the area and the well set courses, and it was viewed by some as Australia’s best ever sprint area to date.

Other “A” class winners were:

W14 Gabrielle Withers (Q)

W40 Nicole Haigh (NSW)

W50 Jacqui Sinclair (NZ)

W60 Peta Whitford (VIC)

W70 Yett Gelderman (NZ)

M14 Eddie Prentice (NSW)

M40 Peter Swanson (NZ)

M50 Andrew Power (NSW)

M60 Michael Wood (NZ)

M70 Keith Wade (NZ)

M80 Gordon Cadman (VIC)

The long distance championships will be held on Saturday and the middle on Sunday.

After much deliberation the selectors have chosen the following team for the

World Cups in New Zealand in January 2013.

It is a pleasing mix of experience and youth.

Josh  Blatchford   NSW      RES 2 for all events.

Notes:

-Australia and New Zealand are able to have 10 runners per event whilst

other countries are limited to 6.

-Murray Scown was unavailable.

–   #   = subject to fitness.

–  In the men’s team, a couple of the selections are subject to fitness.   As such,  it was always  our intention to name 2 reserves for each discipline.  However in the announcement only one reserve was named.  Thus the above list has been amended to include Josh.

Jenny Casanova (Chair of senior selection panel)

Other selectors were:  Wendy Read, Tom Quayle, Kay Haarsma

Clive Roper’s photographs from the sprint, long distance, and relay championships are here (follow the 2012 Australian Orienteering Carnival link)

The Australian Schools team to contest a Test Match against New Zealand at the Oceania Championships in January has been announced.

The teams are:

Junior girls: Zoe Dowling (Tas), Hannah Goddard (Tas), Georgia Jones (NSW), Asha Steer (Vic). Reserve 1 Leisha Maggs (Vic), Reserve 2 Rebecca George (NSW).

Junior boys: Jarrah Day (Tas), Daniel Hill (NSW), Stephen Melhuish (ACT), Oliver Mill (ACT). Reserve 1 Oisin Stronach (Tas), Reserve 2 Patrick Jaffe (Vic).

Senior girls: Nicola Blatchford (NSW), Michele Dawson (NSW), Anna Dowling (Tas), Lanita Steer (Vic). Reserve 1 Shea-Cara Hammond (ACT), Reserve 2 Rebecca Butler (Tas).

Senior boys: Matt Doyle (Vic), Shaun McDonough (Tas), Brodie Nankervis (Tas), Oliver Poland (ACT). Reserve 1 David Tay (Qld), Reserve 2 Will Kennedy (SA).

The Victorian Nuggets have won the women’s SILVA National Orienteering League after a dramatic finish at the Australian Relays in Tasmania.

They won the title by a single point after a 28-second win over the Queensland Cyclones. It was a head-to-head battle on the first leg between Jasmine Neve and Anna Sheldon, and continued line-ball for the first half of the second leg. Aislinn Prendergast pulled out a 2 1/2 minute lead over Bridget Anderson on the later part of the second leg. This was wiped out immediately when Kathryn Preston lost three minutes on the first control. From there it was a fluctuating battle throughout between Preston and Rachel Effeney, but in the end it was the Victorian who had the edge when it mattered, leaving the Cyclones short of their first senior team title by the narrowest possible margin.

The other National League title which was settled today was the junior men’s, where the Victorian Nuggets again prevailed, this time over the Tassie Foresters. This was a somewhat more straightforward race which was settled on the second leg, when Todd Neve opened a seven-minute gap on Stuart Lawrie. Brodie Nankervis pulled back a little of that, but the Nuggets were never under serious threat and won by five.

The senior men’s National League title was decided long ago in favour of the Canberra Cockatoos. They prevailed in the relay too, pulling away on the third leg after a tight battle with the NSW Stingers over the first two legs. NSW’s gamble in putting junior Kasimir Gregory on the first leg paid off, and Rob Preston was able to match it with Oliver Poland on the second, but Matt Crane edged away from Josh Blatchford to take the victory. The Queensland junior women dominated the relay as much as they dominated the rest of the season.

NSW took out the Xanthorrhoea Trophy for competition across the age groups. (Final scores were NSW 24, Tas 22, Vic 18, Qld 14, ACT 8, WA 5, SA 3).

Grace Crane completed a clean sweep of national titles at today’s Australian Long Distance Championships near St. Helens, while Tim Robertson claimed the men’s title for New Zealand.

Crane took the lead early in the course and was never seriously threatened as she stretched her lead to six minutes by the end of the race, despite wobbling (as most did) in the technical mining terrain near the end of the course. She was, however, unable to claim the National League title, as Rachel Effeney took the second place she needed to make Crane’s result irrelevant to the final pointscore. Kathryn Preston completed the placings, eight minutes behind, after Crane caught her about two-thirds of the way through the race.

Matt Crane looked like he might make it a family double, as had happened the previous weekend. He led, although not by much, for almost all of the race, but when he stumbled it was in a big way – four minutes at 27, the third-last control, which dropped him right out of the placings. That opened the way for Tim Robertson, the young New Zealander who put together a consistent race and was ready to pounce when the opportunity opened. Rob Preston was one-and-a-half minutes behind to win the resident championship, just ahead of Bryan Keely who lost his chance when he lost three minutes at the second control.

There were expected wins for the two favourites in the junior classes, although neither had a clean run. Oliver Poland had a patchy first half and was only in fourth place around halfway, but took increasing command over the second half to finish three minutes clear of Brodie Nankervis, as early leader Oscar McNulty dropped away (not helped by an eye injury). Heather Muir survived a three-minute loss in mid-course to finish two clear of fellow Queenslander Lilian Burrill.

Matt Crane, Poland and Muir had secured their individual National League titles well before today. The team events for the senior women and junior men are both still wide open, and will go to whichever team is first in tomorrow’s relay out of the contenders (Queensland and Victoria for the senior women, ACT, Tasmania and Victoria for the junior men).

Grace Crane continued her winning form in today’s Australian Sprint Championships at Bicheno, while Denmark’s Rune Olsen made a flying visit to take the men’s race. Large parts of the course were on coastal rock shelves, and the rainy conditions made the going challenging.

Crane had additional opposition compared to last weekend, with Lizzie Ingham making the trip to Tasmania. Ingham ran a very good first half of the race and extended her lead to as much as 35 seconds around the halfway mark, but Crane gradually hauled that in and pulled away over the final controls to take a 14-second win.  Aislinn Prendergast picked up third after a solid run.

Olsen lived in Melbourne for a period in the mid-2000s, and was sufficiently well-absorbed into the local culture to make a trip from Oslo to see his team in the Grand Final (and run the Sprint Championships while he was at it). Despite his limited preparation, he took control of the race in the second half after a tight contest with Bryan Keely, winning by 20 seconds in the end. Keely took second and the resident title. WOC sprint finalist Tim Robertson lost his chance of winning when he dropped 30 seconds at the third control, but recovered well enough to complete the placings.

Todd Neve continued a good week to take out the junior men’s race ahead of Oliver Poland and Brodie Nankervis, while Heather Muir also made it another win ahead of Lilian Burrill and Amy Buckerfield.

Crane’s win keeps the women’s individual title in the senior National League alive. She closed the gap to Rachel Effeney to six points, enough to take the competition outright if she wins tomorrow and Effeney is third or worse. The senior women’s team title is also up for grabs over the weekend, with the Queensland Cyclones extending their lead over the Victorian Nuggets to five points today, while six points cover the Canberra Cockatoos, Tassie Foresters and Nuggets in the junior men’s competition.