The Australian team for JWOC 2005 Australia goes into the 2005 Junior World Orienteering Championships with high hopes for some impressive results. Leading the team will be Julian Dent and Hanny Allston -both impressed at the Easter 3-day with second places in very competitive elite fields, and will expect to improve on their previous JWOC results.

Jasmine Neve and Erin Post will both be returning for the third time and will also look forward to strong performances in Switzerland; Erin won the last day of Easter a pressure situation, and Jasmine’s excellent run against elite opposition in the Oceania Championships relay in New Zealand suggests that she will be a more consistent competitor this year.

Conrad Elson and David Meyer competed in JWOC 2004 in Poland. Conrad was in excellent form in the second half of last year, finishing second to Julian Dent at the Australian Championships; illness ruined his 2005 Easter, but he should be fit by July. David won M20A at Easter, and has raced creditably at both senior and junior levels over the last couple of years.

Three boys and three girls will be making their debuts in 2005. For all the first-timers, an A final place in the short race or a top-half result in the long race would be a very respectable result.
Simon Uppill and Vanessa Round won impressively at last year’s NSW championships, and followed up with wins at Easter. Louis Elson has run well in his age group for many years, and was an obvious selection after his second place finish at Easter. The remaining team members will be Ryan Smyth, Zebedy Hallett, and Ainsley Cavanagh. W-20A winner at Easter, Sophie Barker, was unavailable for selection.
Australia has seldom made the most of its opportunities in the JWOC relays and is yet to make it beyond ninth in either class. The fact that many team members will be eligible to compete at JWOCs for the next couple of years suggests that the results achieved by this team will be improved on leading up to JWOC 2007 in Australia.