The 2016 Australian JWOC team assembled in Sent on Sunday for the 5 days of pre JWOC preparation with a focus on 1. terrain familiarisation, 2.  mental techniques 3. technical challenges of each discipline and 4. creating team harmony and focus. A detailed plan for the 5 days has been prepared by the two coaches who are working with the team during the week-Julian Dent and Ralph Street. These two older elite athletes who have both recently achieved impressive results in the two biggest relays in orienteering- Ralph being in the winning team at 10Mila in Sweden and Julian in the second placed team at Jukola in Finland, have prepared a structured program for the athletes to prepare each athlete for the challenges of the JWOC competition which starts on Sunday with the Sprint Distance in Scuol.

Some of the tam have been in Europe for some time competing and training and all have arrived in Sent healthy and relaxed. There are three newcomers to JWOC competition in the team- Aston Key, Tara Melhuish and Zoe Dowling. We have some experienced JWOC team members with Matt Doyle, Henry McNulty, Lanita Steer and Anna Dowling all having been to at least two previous JWOC’s and are all competing in their last JWOC before moving into senior elites. Winnie Oakhill, Asha Steer Patrick Jaffe, Simeon Burrill and Jarrah Day are competing in their second JWOC.

The JWOC week of competition is very challenging as all athletes compete in five events over the six days. The Sprint on Sunday is followed by the Long Distance event on Monday which will be held at an altitude of 2100m. A rest day follows and then there is the Middle Qualification , Middle Final and the team Relay on the Friday. There will be live streaming on the JWOC website of all the finals and the relay including GPS tracking for some athletes.

2016 Australian JWOC Team at Tarasp

Nick Dent