HP Training Camp- St Helens, Tasmania
Preparation for World Cup Races 2015!
The best of the elite orienteers currently residing in Australia have gathered together in St Helens, Tasmania to share their knowledge and get to know the terrain. There are 22 athletes including 4 New Zealanders and world champions. Hanny Allston(Australian World Champion Sprint in 2006), Matt Ogden(NZ JWOC Middle Distance Champion 2012) and Lizzie Ingham, 3rd in World Cup Sprint in Wellington 2013.
WOC coaches Tom Quayle and Wendy Read are leading the camp aiming to improve technical orienteering, at speed, adaptability to new terrain, and routines. High Performance Director, Lance Read is also closely watching the development and performances of the athletes. Also assisting with the camp are Roch Prendergast, Hilary Wood, David Quayle and Nick Dent.
Training commenced on Thursday 2/1/14 using the Golden Fleece map. The focus for training was to heighten awareness of the orienteering process and routines used during an orienteering race.
Friday saw 2 sessions one in the morning involving a head to head racing with 3 athletes completing 6 short courses on the Lively Bogs map.
After a well earned rest the afternoon training was a corridor exercise to highlight fine navigation and map contact on Mt Pearson map. This area is going to be very similar to that which is embargoed for the World Cup Long distance event.
Corridor Mt Pearson.All corridor pdf.pdf
Saturday(AM) was training on the Golden Fleece map which is close to the World Cup embargoed area and there were two courses with butterfly loops.
In the afternoon the squad returned to Lively Bogs for some competitve challenge with teams of two completing four short courses with a mass start for the men on the first leg. Some exciting man/man and women/women running was the feature of this exercise. Coach Tom had put runners into the pairs hoping for some even competition. Teams were competing for some at the time, unknown prizes. The eventual winners were the pair of Andrew Barnett and Lizzie Ingham, with Toph Norton and Laura Roberstson a close second.
Sunday was a drive to Bicheno to do some sprint intervals and a sprint course on the unique sprint map used for the Aus Sprint Champs in 2012.
More maps and also some split times for the training exercises to follow. Some training photos will be on the OA Facebook page.