WOC 2014 Italy 5th July-12th July

The Australian team to compete in the World Orienteering Championships which begin this Saturday 5th July in Italy have all been getting some quality training and also some good competition experience in the Italian terrain in the past week.

All team members competed in the three day Alpe Adria event which was held in the very physical and also technical terrain of the Cansiglio forest in the foothills of the Dolomites north of Venice. The sprint event was held in the town of Conegliano on Saturday evening and the local authorities closed the roads in the centre of the town for the event.

The Alpe Adria event included a long distance race, terrain relay, sprint distance event and a middle distance event. The Australian terrain relay teams both Women and Men had wins in the relay- a morale boosting performance leading to the WOC relays on Saturday 12th July. The women’s team of Jasmine Neve, Hanny Allston and Vanessa Round had a comfortable 8 minute win after a very fast second leg from Hanny. The men’s team (Simon Uppill, Lachlan Dow and Julian Dent) was always in the lead after Simon running the first leg came back in first place.

Hanny (5th) and Simon (7th) had good results in the long distance event and Hanny followed this with an even better performance in the Sprint winning this event by 9 seconds with Lizzie Ingham in second place. Rachel Effeney had a 5th place, Felicity Brown 9th and Jasmine Neve 12th in this event. In the mens event Julian Dent was 5th, Lachlan Dow 13th, Simon Uppill 14th and Chris Naunton 29th. In the middle event Simon Uppill demonstrated very good form in this difficult terrain with a second place, Julian finishing in 8th place. In the womens event Jasmine Neve showed good form with a 4th place behind the winner Lizzie Ingham and Vanessa Round was 12th.

Alpe Adria women relay Alpe Adria men relay

More details about these events and other team info can be found on the WOC blog

http://australianorienteeringteam.blogspot.it

The team has now all moved to Luserna for the pre WOC camp. The two WOC coaches,Tom Quayle and Wendy Read have arrived in Italy and along with the team will spend the next four days preparing for the competitions which begin on Saturday 5th July.

The WOC program is

Sat 5th July Sprint Qualification– Burano 9:00-11:00, Sprint Final Venice 15:30-17:25 (Women-Hanny Allston, Rachel Effeney, Felicity Brown. Men Julian Dent, Simon Uppill, Lachlan Dow)

Mon 7th July Mixed Sprint Relay– Trento 17:25-18:40 (Rachel Effeney, Hanny Allston, Julian Dent, Simon Uppill).

Wed 9th July Long Distance– Lavarone 12:00-16:55 (Women-Hanny Allston, Vanessa Round. Men-Simon Uppill)

Fri 11th July Middle Distance– Campomulo 12:00-16:55 (Women-Jasmine Neve, Vanessa Round. Men- Julian Dent).

Sat 12th July Relay –Campomulo 13:00-16:45 (Women-Hanny Allston, Jasmine Neve, Vanessa Round. Men-Julian Dent, Lachlan Dow, Simon Uppill).

Reminder that live WOC will be available including GPS at

http://www.woc2014.info/woc.php

The new structure of WOC in 2014 with no qualification races for the middle and the long distance events means that we are only allowed one runner in the mens long and middle distance and two women in the long and middle distance. This has been determined by our performances at the two previous WOC in 2012 and 2013. As the number of runners we will have next year is partially influenced by how our runners perform this year as well as the performances we achieved in 2013, the outcomes from WOC have both an individual significance for each of the team members but also a team significance for the future. This team significance relates to our performances in the middle, long and relay only.

On behalf of all Australian orienteers we wish all the team the best for WOC this year.

2015 National Orienteering League program announced

The 2015 National Orienteering League program has been finalised as follows.

Round Date Event Location/Map
1 Sat 7th March Mixed Sprint Relay Sydney – map TBC
2 Sat 7th March Sprint Qualification Sydney – map TBC
3 Sun 8th March Sprint Final Sydney – map TBC
4 Fri 3rd April Elite Prologue Jamestown SA
5 Sat 4th April Easter Day 1 Middle distance Southern Bri Glen Jamestown SA
6 Sun 5th April Easter Day 2 Long distance Bri Glen-Tunderri Jamestown SA
7 Mon 6th April Easter Day 3 Relay distance Mulga Valley Jamestown SA
8 Sat 23rd May Middle distance AUS v NZ Canberra (OA organized)
9 Sun 24th May Long distance AUS v NZ Canberra (OA organized)
10 Sun 28th Aug Ultra Long Ballarat
11 Sat 26th Sept Aus Champs- Sprint Victoria
12 Sun 27th Sept Aus Champs- Middle Victoria
13 Sat 3rd Oct Aus Champs- Long Victoria
14 Sun 4th Oct Aus Champs- Relay Victoria

Consider a tax-deductible donation to the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) to support orienteering projects

With the end of the financial year approaching at the end of this month, please consider a tax-deductible donation to the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) to support orienteering projects ranging from the JWOC team to club equipment. To donate, go to donations for further information and a downloadable ASF donations form.

Australian MTBO Championships a success in Alice Springs

alicemtbo
Rhiannon Prentice 2nd W14

The Australian MTBO Championship Carnival has had a very successful weekend in Alice Springs.

Over 120 competitors from all Australian states and New Zealand have navigated their way around the many kilometres of single track trails surrounding Alice Springs.

Saturday’s middle championship was held on the west side of town and finished at the Albrecht oval, Larapinta. The terrain was extremely rocky and rugged in sections and the elites had quite a bit of sand to contend with too. Courses were well set by Steve Sullivan, requiring some intricate map reading but also crucial route choices.

The long title was on an even larger and more complex area of tracks on the east side of Alice, starting and finishing adjacent to the Todd River at the Telegraph Station complex.

Most courses had some massive route choice legs but also included a lot of single track riding. Many riders found themselves in a maze of tracks vehemently hoping they had selected the correct one leading to their control. Lee Merchant was the course setter and was warmly thanked for the challenges he presented.

The final event, the sprint, will be held on Monday, again on the west side, with courses set by former WOC representative, Paul Darvodelsky.

The women’s elite had a large field, including three former WOC representatives. ACT’s Julie Quinn has made a successful return by winning both titles with Carolyn Jackson the runner up for both. Marina Iskhakova took third in the middle, with Norwegian based Melanie Simpson third in the long.

In the men’s elite Paul Darvodelsky had the fastest time in both events but was riding unofficially given that he lives in Alice and knows the tracks well. Alex Randall (VIC) won the middle from Steve Todkill (NSW) while Chris Firman (QLD) took the gold in the long, with Alex Randall second.

A surprisingly number of riders have managed to win both titles although there has been close competition in all age classes.

Three Alice Springs residents have been successful in gaining the podium so far in the competition. St Philips student Jordyn Kindness has won both events in the W14 class. Georgina Landy rode strongly against very experienced orienteers to place a close 3rd in the long championship in W40. Cecily Sutton did brilliantly for second place in W60 in the long also.

In the Australia v New Zealand Challenge the Aussies lead 10 classes to 6 after two days. The small contingent of Kiwis did extremely well to be 4 all after day 1 but the Aussies won 6-2 on day 2.

Day 1 – NZ won W50, M50, M60, M70.

Australia won M21, W21, M40 & W70.

Day 2 – Nz won W50 and W70.

Australia won W21, M21, M40, M50, M60, M70.

Sunday evening saw 120 people attend a buffet dinner and presentation night at The Chifley Resort – Alice Springs. Leigh Privett (Albury Wodonga) was the extremely pleased winner of the 29 inch carbon Norco bike donated by the sponsoring bike shop, Ultimate Ride.

 Class winners Australian MTB Orienteering Championships

Middle Long
W14 Jordyn Kindness (NT) Jordyn Kindness (NT)
W21 Julie Quinn (ACT) Julie Quinn (ACT)
W40 Nicole Haigh (NSW) Nicole Haigh (NSW)
W50 Deb Bain (NZ) Deb Bain (NZ)
W60 Kathy Liley (VIC) Kathy Liley (VIC)
W70 Dale Ann Gordon (VIC) Yett Gelderman (NZ)
M14 Harrison Keeble (VIC) Hamish Keeble (VIC)
M20 Tim Jackson (VIC) Angus Robinson (VIC)
M21 Alex Randall (VIC) Chris Firman (QLD)
M40 Neil Ker (QLD) Craig Steffen (QLD)
M50 David King (NZ) Duncan Sullivan (WA)
M60 Michael Wood (NZ) Peter Cusworth (VIC)
M70 Chris Gelderman (NZ) Tim Hackney (NSW)

Australian MTBO Challenge Team Announced

mtbochallenge

Congratulations to the following riders selected in the Australian team for the AUS v NZ Challenge during the Australian Championships in Alice Springs from June 14-16.
M21
Chris Firman QLD
Alex Randall VIC
Ricky Thackray WA

M40
Neil Kerr QLD
Dave West NSW
Craig Steffens QLD

M50
Bruce Paterson VIC
Andrew Power NSW
Duncan Sullivan WA

M60
Rick Armstrong NSW
Peter Cusworth VIC
David Firman QLD

M70
Blake Gordon VIC
Tim Hackney NSW
Keith Wade VIC

W21
Carolyn Jackson VIC
Melanie Simpson NSW
Natasha Sparg WA

W50
Prue Dobbin VIC
Heather Leslie VIC
Ann Scown ACT

W70
Dale Ann Gordon VIC
Helen Smith SA

Update on Eventor

At the Orienteering Australia AGM held during Easter several states put forward motions relating to progressing the development of Eventor. An update on the progress of the items discussed at the AGM is described below.

One of the suggestions put forward was that the newly established Eventor Working Group (EWG) be comprised of a representative from each state to ensure broad representation. This idea was originally considered when developing the new governance structure however, as suggested by Andrew Lumsden (NSW), it was decided that a smaller group would be more effective and efficient in developing documentation. Under the agreed governance structure all specifications will be circulated via the Eventor Discussion Group (EDG) for discussion and input. Each state currently have multiple representatives in the EDG and anyone else interested in providing input can join.

With respect to the EWG, two additional people have nominated and been accepted onto the EWG. The EWG is now comprised of 4 individuals including Rob Edmonds (Victoria), Jack Dowling (WA), Ian Rathbone (Tas) and John Cooper (QLD). The OA Director Media & Communications (Craig Feuerherdt) will be providing assistance in the initial instance to ensure the members are across everything that has happened to date.

OSA put forward a (amended) motion that “The board of OA develop a plan to resource the upgrade of the Eventor System to suitable standards including but not limited to a more user friendly membership module and the ability to produce statistical data to meet our reporting obligations.” These items will be among the top priorities for the EWG.

In addition, ONSW put forward two motions. Firstly that the EWG circulate the priorities among the states by 31 May. The current list of priorities is available for viewing at https://www.dropbox.com/s/3rk4hspigu438ex/Bugs.xlsx (this link has also been publicised on the EDG). This list has been compiled from a range of sources. The EWG will be working on the development of specification documents for the high priority items (5) of which there are currently 15 items, many of which encompass multiple issues.

The second motion was that specifications be submitted to the Swedish Orienteering Federation (SOF) for quoting by 30 June. Given there will be multiple specification documents, it is important that the EWG consider the most appropriate way of putting the documentation together to ensure everything fits together. Taking some extra time now will ensure the best outcome for OA and its affiliates both financially and functionally. The EWG will circulate draft specification documents via the EDG for comment prior to submitting them to the OA Board (via the Director Media & Communications) for approval and subsequently forwarding them to SOF for quoting.

If you want to participate and contribute to improving Eventor please join the Eventor Discussion Group.

Early Bird Entry Discount Entry For Oceania Championships In Tasmania Finishes Midnight Sunday May 31

Did you know that the early bird discounted entry finishes at midnight next Sunday May 31 for the Oceania Orienteering Championships to be held in Tasmania next January?

Did you know that like all major Australian orienteering carnivals there are courses and categories for everyone to take part in too regardless of age or experience?

Well don’t delay, enter you and your family now for a super orienteering based holiday. Talk to your friends and get them to enter too. Meet heaps of people from all over Australia and overseas and make new friends that will last a lifetime. What better way to spend early January in the north and east of Tassie.

Here’s How To Go About Entering

Check out the program for the carnival at http://oceania2015.com/program/

Check out all the info on the entry page at http://oceania2015.com/entry/.

Make sure you read the Entry Process Information for Oceania document on the page first before entering.

Go to the Eventor Australia entry system page to enter. Make sure you register first too before starting the entry process if you haven’t already done so.

As an added bonus by entering for Oceania by the early bird entry deadline of May 31st to take advantage of discounted entry fees you will also go in the draw to have $100 refunded from your Oceania entry. If you have already entered you are automatically in the draw.

And at the carnival website oceania2015.com there is lots of other info all about the Oceania events and also The Hobart Shorts which is being held in and around Hobart the week after the Oceania Championships Carnival.

Also, don’t forget to like us on Facebook too. Just search for Oceania2015OrienteringChampionships.

Queen’s birthday long weekend 3 day carnivals in NSW and South Australia

Orienteering South Australia Flinders Carnival, 7th – 9th June:

Yalanga, Tjuringa and Tintookies Orienteers invite you to join us in the Flinders for three days of first class orienteering.
Entries are now open through Eventor and close on Mon 2nd June.
For more information go to our website and follow the link.www.sa.orienteering.asn.au
SA Night Championships & OY: Rawsnley Park. Sat 7th June
Badge & OY: Rawnsley Park: Sun 8th June
Middle Distance Event: Wilpena Creek: Mon 9th June

NSW QBIII at Dubbo, 7th to 9th June:

The ONSW QBIII 3 days this year is at Dubbo on 7-9 June and Western Plains Orienteers invites you to enjoy some of the best granite maps in Australia, if not the world, at Sappa Bulga, used for JWOC in 2007. Entries close next Tuesday on Eventor. See http://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/1810

Early bird entries for Oceania 2015 closing soon

Less than 14 days left to get an early bird entry to Oceania Championships. Check out all the info on the entry page at http://oceania2015.com/entry/.

Make sure you read the entry process information first before entering on the page.

And after Oceania stay on for The Hobart Shorts in Hobart, Tasmania’s capital city. 6 events in and around Hobart with plenty of time to check out the sights of Hobart between races.

Go to The Hobart Shorts page for all the latest information at
http://oceania2015.com/the-hobart-shorts/

2014 Australian Foot Orienteering Championships update

Early bird entry rates for 2014ausochamps only last until 30 June so enter now for the best value. See http://www.wa.orienteering.asn.au/karrak-karnival

The organisers of the 2014 Australian Championships at the Karrak Karnival in Western Australia are also pleased to announce that all the events will have the O-Lynx runners’ live progress and results display system together with live streaming of commentary and results to the internet for your smart phone, subject to providers’ cover.
This has become possible thanks to a bequest to OA in the will of Moira Whiteside, a former Garingal Orienteer (NSW).
We have also recently found better camping and modest accommodation closer than any other to mid week and second weekend events. Read about Muresk Institute via the Latest Karnival News panel on the web site.

From Ken Brownlie, OWA.