Congratulations to Nick Dent, (NSW), who has been appointed the High Performance Operations Manager, working 8 hours a week for Orienteering Australia.    He replaces Gareth Candy, who stepped down after accepting a new full time job, but who is still willing to contribute in a voluntary capacity.

Nick has a wide breadth of experience in orienteering, having competed since 1984, and raced in 15 different countries.      He is a Level 3 coach and was JWOC team coach in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009.  Nick is also accredited at Level 3 as a controller.  He recently controlled the 2012 WOC trials in Newcastle and also was event director for the World Masters Orienteering Championships in 2009.     Nick’s main role will be in administering the National Foot O League and National MTB-O Series.

His secondary role will be to support team coaches, managers and athletes by ensuring appropriate arrangements (support, equipment, uniforms etc) are made for Australian teams competing in international competitions.

The Australian elite team to compete in the three New Zealand World Cups in January has undergone significant changes with the withdrawals of Laurina Neuman, Bryan Keely, Max Neve and Dave Shepherd due to injuries and other reasons.   This has opened up opportunities for others to step up and race at the international level.  The adjusted team and their events are: