Author: craigf

Ron Pallas as Chairman, and a number of his supporting committee including International Controller Christine Brown (Tasmania), Rob Vincent (Carnival Controller) and Teams Liaison Manager Nick Dent, all met in Dubbo over the weekend to meet with the IOF’s Event Controller Urs Hofer (from Switzerland) for the first time. Joining the group were the various event course planners including former JWOC competitors Dave Shepherd, Julian Dent, Dave Meyer, and former Australian international representative Jock Davis who met with their respective controllers and spent two days on the proposed JWOC competition areas to assess the terrain and to begin the long process of course planning and vetting.

Two productive days were spent by all as it gave Urs Hofer the opportunity to both see the terrain first hand and to meet with all concerned with the event.
On seeing the almost completed maps, and having a chance to run over the terrain, Urs Hofer commented that the complexity of the terrain, with its’ variability of runnability, would test the world’s best junior orienteers and that the eventual winner would certainly earn the title of Junior World Champion.

With the event being held outside Europe for the first time, OANSW are anticipating up to 300 competitor from overseas. Team Liaison Manager Nick Dent has had positive responses from 20 countries, with a further 9 countries still to decide on making the journey “Down Under”.

Pictured Below: Various shots of the Terrain

In parallel with the JWOC competition, being staged from 7^th to the 13^th July 2007 in the Dubbo region, will be the Western Plains Carnival, which will include the NSW State Championships, the Australian Schools Championships and culminating in the Australian National and Relay Championships.

In a blow to the Australian team Julian Dent has been forced to withdraw from the World Orienteering Champs (WOC) in Denmark in August. Julian was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the upper tibia in late March. He had hoped to return to training in time to prepare for WOC but an MRI-scan showed the fracture was more serious then first thought and it will now be a further six weeks before he can run.

After a spectacular debut in Japan in 2005 where he was 22nd in the middle distance race, his hopes were high for 2006. Chosen to run both the sprint and middle distance races, Julian was also in the frame to form part of a strong relay team with David Shepherd and either Troy De Haas or Rob Walter. Unable to run at the Easter 3-Days his selection was based on his efforts last year and his early season form which saw him win two out of the three opening rounds of the National League, only beaten by Swiss international David Schneider in the other.

He was intially still optimistic that his form would be good come August, “Even though I was unable to race in Victoria I knew that I would have enough time to train well and be peaking come WOC. Unfortunately an extra six weeks puts that in jeopardy so the best thing to do was to withdraw so that maybe someone can take my places in the races”.

Julian is only 20 (21 next Thursday 19th May), and has many years of competing at the top level ahead of him and remains positive and focused for the future. “At my age managing injuries is the biggest priority and I’m focused on getting back for the Australian Championships in Perth and helping the NSW Ultimax Stingers win the National League title. Beyond that, Ukraine 2007 is the next big goal”.

His recovery will include cycling on a windtrainer at home before progressing to road cycling, strength and conditioning work at the ACT Academy of Sport gym, and pool running. “Pool running is painfully boring but at least I’ve got Tommy to keep me company”, Dent joked in reference to fellow injured elite Tom Quayle. His injury will also give him some more time to focus on helping organise JWOC 2007 where Julian will be setting the long distance courses.

The Australian Orienteering community wishes Julian a speedy recovery and looks forward to seeing him back in the bush in the near future.

Australian Orienteers have been signing up to the online training diary, www.attackpoint.org, in droves. The American-based website allows users to log their training activities online for public viewing. Being able to view each other’s training is a good motivational tool and it certainly has worked. The site also allows users to comment on each others training making for some good-natured banter.

The elite orienteers to have joined include David Sheperd, Troy De Haas, Rob Walter and most of the JWOC 2006 team. Roughly 25 Australians have joined to date. To join, view the training or laugh at the comments visit http://www.attackpoint.org/

The sun was shining, the prickles were sharpened and the kangaroos out in force in anticipation of WA’s first Badge Event of the season. The courses were well set although the map had a few interesting additional tracks and vegetation changes.

In the women’s race Cath Chalmers, continuing her good form and determination, sustained an aggressive pace through scattered rock and thick bush that line the hillsides to win the day by over ten minutes. Sarah Dunnage ran up from W18 to take out second place, while Kellie Whitfield, recently selected for the Australian Junior Team to run in Lithuania in July, finished a very close third just over a minute behind.

In the Men’s race, it was always going to be a battle for the minor placings behind Craig “Mufti” Dufty and that’s how it eventuated — but with the added interest of Craig starting just behind most of the other starters. Craig took the time lead from the first control and never relinquished it in 9.3km of the prickliest and rockiest of our WA scarp maps — a far cry from Easter’s enjoyable running.

Ben Corry, a newcomer to orienteering moved into second place between controls 3 and 4, battled it with Steve Fletcher who had made the 5hr journey down from Geraldton for the event. Craig caught Steve on the ground at 5 and together they mowed down John at 7. All three were together until a long hill climb to control 10 where Steve faltered and John managed to re-catch Craig and get to control 10 first. From there they stayed as a pair until Craig pulled away down a rocky hillside before the last control. Steve lost the 2 minutes he had gained on John and also made an error at the penultimate control handing 2nd place to John.

Full results can be found on the OAWA website.

Thanks to “on-the-ground” reporters Karen Staudte & John Toomey.

After second place in last year’s Tiomila, Norwegian club Halden is back in the winners’ circle. This year Mats Haldin’s impressive sprint finish after a dramatic battle on the last leg was enough to give the Norwegian club its seventh win in nine years.

Going into the last leg Halden had a lead of one minute over a pack of three Swedish clubs: Sodertalje, IFK Goteborg and Leksand. The chasing group quickly caught Halden but Niclas Jonasson, Leksand’s anchorman, disappeared after a bad route choice. This left three runners to fight it out, Mats Haldin, Vesa Taanila for IFK Goteborg and last year’s winner Petr Losman, Sodertalje. In the last section of the course Taanila managed to get a gap of nearly thirty seconds on the other two runners but then Mats Haldin began to close in with Losman struggling to keep up. Towards the last control Haldin caught and passed Taanila and made one last, decisive surge.

A notable absentee from Halden’s winning team was former Australian David Brickhill-Jones who recently sustained an ankle injury. Impressive Australian performances came from Rob Walter who ran first leg for Malungs OK, coming in just one minute from the lead and Troy De Haas who had the eleventh fastest time on the seventh leg competing for Finnish club Rasti Kurikka.

In the women’s relay on Saturday, it was another Norwegian club that triumphed after Marianne Andersen for Nydalen managed to hold off the fast finishing Simone Niggli-Luder for Swedish club Ulricehamn. Andersen was sent out on the last leg with a three minute lead after a fantastic fourth leg by teammate Elisabeth Ingvaldsen. ‘I just tried to get into a good rhythm, but then I got tired, I looked over my shoulder a few times, but I never saw Simone’, said Andersen to Orientering.se, ‘It was a fantastic feeling to run down the finishing straight, I was so relieved that the course was over and I didn’t have any controls left’ she added. Allison Jones (pictured with her team) ran a solid first leg for her Swedish club OK Linne which eventually finished in an excellent sixth place.

Clubs now have six weeks to regroup and prepare for their assault on the next big relay of the year, Jukola, in Finland.

Orienteering Australia has announced the team of 5 men and 5 women to contest the World Championships in Denmark at the start of July.

The women’s team is dominated by Tasmanians, with 3 of the members commencing their careers in the island State. It is headed by Hanny Allston who last year recorded Australia’s best ever result at the world championships – a 6th in the long distance race in Japan.  The team includes two newcomers to the world championships – Grace Elson and Anna Sheldon.

All of the men’s team have had previous WOC experience, including Troy de Haas who last year recorded Australia’s best ever men’s result – a 7th in the sprint race.  The team is as follows:

Men		Women
	Julian Dent* sprint middle		Jo Allison* sprint middle relay
	Troy de Haas sprint		Hanny Allston sprint long relay
	Eric Morris long sprint		Grace Elson sprint middle relay
	David Shepherd middle long relay		Anna Sheldon long middle
	Rob Walter middle long		Danielle Winslow long
	Brett Weihart Men’s Coach		Sue Neve Women’s Coach

The selection of Jo Allison and Julian Dent is conditional upon their demonstrating adequate form and fitness on or before the Queens Birthday weekend in June.

The men’s relay team will consist of David Shepherd and two others. The two others will be selected by the WOC coaches in consultation with the Chairman of selectors prior to the commencement of the WOC week.

Orienteering Australia congratulates all those selected athletes and looks forward to their successful participation at the world championships.

Those chosen in the world championship team are reminded that their selection is provisional until they have returned a signed athlete agreement to Mike Dowling as responsible OA Director. Once the signed agreements have been received the OA Director Finance will be authorised to remit an up front grant for initial travel expenses.

Paul Liggins

OA Chair of Selectors