Orienteering Australia is pleased to announce the appointment of WOC Foot-O Coaches for 2006-07. OA has altered the structure of coaching and management of the WOC team moving away from the previous model of a manager and a coach to that of having a men’s and women’s coach who share the managerial duties. The men’s WOC Coach for 2006-07 will be Brett Weihart and the women’s coach Sue Neve.

Brett began orienteering in 1982 in South Australia. He represented Australia at junior level and was part of the team that went to Sweden to compete in the first ever Junior World Orienteering Championships where he gained Australia’s best placing of 40th in the Classic (there was only Classic and relay in those days!). Not too long Brett Weihartafter that JWOC Brett met his lovely Swedish wife Camilla and has been living in Sweden ever since with his family (including a new born so Brett will be busy!).

Brett brings strong orienteering and leadership experience to the role of men’s coach. He has 15 years orienteering experience in the Nordic countries, was coach/manager for Australian team at Nordic Orienteering Champs in 2004, assistant coach for the Australian team at WOC 2004 and has been co-ordinator with overseas-based Australians in Europe in 2004 and 2005. In terms of leadership he is, in his non-orienteering life, Chief Financial Officer at Göteborg-Landvetter Airport (Sweden’s second largest airport), was a manager at Ericsson in different roles from 2000 to 2005 and has completed Ericsson’s 12 month Core Leadership Programme.

Sue Neve brings a wealth of experience at the elite level of competition, having been a member of Australian teams at numerous WOCs including the 1985 World Championships in Bendigo. She is ‘stepping up’ from two years as coach of the Bushrangers, Australia’s elite development team, and has coached and managed the Bushrangers in New Zealand and Australia. Importantly, from OA’s perspective, she also brings personal skills of having a mature, balanced approach in a competitive framework and we look forward to having Sue coach the women’s team.

Of course the arrival of new coaches means Jim Russell’s ‘reign’ as WOC coach concludes…….for the moment! Jim through the years has been a great servant to orienteering having been WOC coach, JWOC coach, JWOC manager, WOC assistant manager as well as assisting in numerous roles and jobs in state and national orienteering. We say ‘ends for the moment’ as it is a sure-bet that Jim, with his tremendous work ethic and knowledge of orienteering, will continue in some role or other in the future. OA thanks Jim for all the effort he has put in as WOC coach over the past two years and looks forward to whatever roles he takes on in the future.