Photo: John Scown chatting to Eric Andrews and Liz Bourne at the 2016 OA Dinner in Canberra last month.

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing this afternoon of Orienteering Queensland Life Member, Eric Andrews, in St Vincent’s Hospital, Toowoomba.  Eric has made an outstanding contribution to orienteering at both a state and national level for more than 30 years and will be very sorely missed.  On behalf of Orienteering Qld, I offer Liz and family our sincerest condolences.  Details on Eric’s Memorial Service to follow.

Felicity Crosato
President, Orienteering Queensland, Thursday 19 May 2016

Eric Andrews citation, 2015

Eric has been involved with the sport of orienteering for more than 30 years, as a competitor,

administrator, selector, technical director, event organiser and mapper, and few other

Australian orienteers have made a greater contribution to the sport in so many different

areas. His efforts have been recognised by being made a Life Member of the Queensland

Orienteering Association in 2001 and being awarded Orienteering Australia’s Silva Award for

services to orienteering in 1992. He gained the Stanthorpe Shire Council’s Australia Day

Award for Sports Administration in 2001 and in 2006 he won the Queensland Outdoor

Recreation Federation’s Outstanding Achievement (Individual) award for his services to the

sports of orienteering, rogaining and mountain bike orienteering.

Apart from his many other contributions to orienteering, Eric has also played a major role in

event management over the last 26 years. As well as organising hundreds of local and state

events, he has also made a significant contribution to the conduct of many major national

events. He was the principal organiser of the 1982 Military Orienteering Championships in

Queensland in 1982, an organiser of the Family Relays at the Australian 3 Days at

Cherrabah in 1987 and technical co-ordinator for the 1991 Top State Carnival which involved

six events, including the Queensland and Australian Championships. Eric was also the

technical director and course setter for the 1995 Australian 3 Days Orienteering

Championships at Crows Nest.

He undertook the role of event co-ordinator and technical director of the Asia-Pacific

Orienteering Championships Carnival in July 2000 which covered a total of nine events,

including the Australian and Asia-Pacific Championships. He also co-ordinated the 2001

Christmas 5 Days which were held in Queensland.

In 2004, he was event co-ordinator for the Australian 3 Days Orienteering Championships

held at Ipswich which was part of an extended carnival that also involved the Australian

MTBO Championships, the Australian Middle Distance Championships and the Southern

Downs Championships.

More recently, he undertook more than four years work to co-ordinate the Australian

Orienteering Championships Carnival which was held at Maryborough in September/October

2008. This major event involved 15 separate events over a 12 day period including all

disciplines of the Australian Championships – sprint, middle, long and relay – as well as the

sprint, middle and long distance events for the Australian Mountain Bike Orienteering

Championships. Two of the foot events and two of the MTBO events were also designated IOF World Ranking Events. This event was a finalist in the Queensland Outdoor Recreation

Federation’s 2009 Outdoor Event Award .

He has also organised and set courses for the WOC selection trials in Queensland in 1997

and 2001.

Eric’s voluntary work over decades as an event organiser has been characterised by a high

standard of professionalism and the ability to bring together a large number of volunteers

from many clubs to work effectively as a team. His skills in strategic planning, leadership,

knowledge of, and attention to technical details have proven invaluable in delivering major

carnivals of a very high standard that have been well received by the orienteering community.

His abilities to liaise effectively with land owners and managers, government agencies,

sponsors and a range of community groups have also contributed to the success of our major carnivals.

He has also sought to share his knowledge with other orienteers and encourage their

professional development by conducting regular event organiser’s workshops.

Eric has been chair of the OA Technical Committee from 2013 to the present.