2008 Archive

Orienteering Australia has announced today that Bill Jones (ACT) will be the Federation’s new president, effective immediately..

Bill comes to Orienteering Australia with vast experience as a competitive orienteer and in orienteering administration. He started his orienteering life as an active member of the Waggaroos club, before moving to Canberra in the late 1990’s. He has made a strong impact in Canberra — culminating in a 3-year term as OACT President which finished this year.

Bill’s other major contribution is in the adoption of technology in orienteering, including the adoption of electronic punching and, more recently, the use of SI radio controls as part of the 2007 Voice of the Forest JWOC commentary team.

Bob Mouatt, OA’s Immediate Past President welcomed the Board’s decision, saying, “I thoroughly endorse the Board’s decision to appoint Bill Jones President.  I have known Bill for quite a while and consider him to be an excellent choice.  We have spent a lot of time working together on many activities at both ACT and national levels.  Over the past 12-18 months we have collaborated on making the OACT website a focal point for both regular and prospective orienteers.  The biggest challenge for Bill and OACT will be to find somebody to takeover many of the tasks he currently performs for OACT, as he won’t have time to do just to both.  I wish him and Orienteering Australia all the best for the future.”

The Board of Orienteering Australia has received the report of the Selection Appeals Committee in respect to the second appeal lodged by Jess Davis (Tasmania) against her non-selection in the 2008 Junior World Championships team. The report of the Selection Appeals Committee considered the case lodged by Jess Davis and in summary recommended that the appeal be dismissed.

The Board of Orienteering Australia has now ratified the recommendation of the Selection Appeals Committee and confirms that the women’s team to contest the Junior World Championships is (in alphabetical order):

Brigid Anderson           (QLD)
Rachel Effeney              (QLD)
Belinda Lawford           (ACT)
Krystal Neumann          (QLD)
Laurina Neumann         (QLD)
Aislinn Prendergast       (VIC)

Mike Dowling
Director, High Performance

Orienteering internationals Troy de Haas and Kathryn Ewels proved they are among the fittest off road runners in Australia when they took on Australia’s best mountain runners on Saturday on Mt Tennant in Namadgi National Park in the Australian Mountain Running Championships.

The 11km men’s course had an elevation gain of around 1,000m and de Haas finished second in 56:38 to four-time Australian champion Scott Mctaggart (52:20), with Australian mountain running rep Steve Brown of Wollongong third in 58:12.

The women’s 8km course had an elevation gain of 850m and three-time WOC rep Kathryn Ewels finished 3rd in 48:59 behind Australian mountain running reps Jessamy Hosking (46:24) and Vanessa Haverd (47:57).

The final information for races 10 to 12 of the SILVA National Orienteering League can be downloaded here:2008NOLRound4-Bulletin3.pdf

For other information check the event website: http://www.tasorienteering.asn.au/sun_coast.htm

Orienteers have to run fast to be successful, and there are few better examples than some of Australia’s elite women. Over the weekend two regular Australian team members shone outside their regular orienteering events. Kathryn Ewels (VIC) won a round of the Athletics Victoria Cross-Country series whilst Hanny Allston (TAS) won New Zealand’s marathon title.

A short interview with Kathryn Ewels appears from 3 min 18 in this Athletics Victoria clip (click on it twice to go to Youtube if it doesn’t work initially).

Hanny’s win came after a tough week in which sadly, her athletics coach died. More about Hanny’s triumph here.

After a short break during April, the 2008 SILVA National Orienteering League returns with Round 4 in St Helens, Tasmania on 17-18^th May. This region has hosted many major events, and the courses are sure to be challenging. These races are the second selection races for the Australian team to compete at the World Championships in Czech Republic in July.

Entries are due this Wednesday April 30^th– so athletes and NOL managers are requested to send them in ASAP.

A few updated details-

•  Anyone wishing to run the NOL/WRE races has to use the proper entry form which can be downloaded from http://www.tasorienteering.asn.au/sun_coast.htm

• Pre-entry with payment for these races is absolutely essential and the deadline for entries in April 30^th.
• Entries will only be accepted by mail (no e-mail) to:  Sun Coast Classic; 11 Havenbrook Drive; Trevallyn 7250
• Entry fees per race are $20 for M/W21E and $15 for M/W17-20E.

The Board of Orienteering Australia advise that it has received notice of an intention to lodge an appeal against the composition of the Australian team to contest the Junior World Championships in Sweden in early July. This follows the announcement of the team by the Board last Saturday after the selection panel reconsidered the selection of the team as a consequence of a prior appeal. Under the rules of Orienteering Australia an Appeals Selection Committee is being constituted to hear the appeal.

Mike Dowling
Director, High Performance

The 3-event weekend in forests east of Castlemaine and north of Ballarat proved popular and challenging for the strong 18-man field in M21 Elite. Sunny and dry conditions were perfect for riding with excellent courses thanks to Geoff Armstrong (NE) and Mark Valentine (EU). Adrian Jackson scored clear wins on the Middle and Sprint events with Alex Randall taking the Long-Distance by a 1 minute 40 second margin over Adrian. The 10 women in W21 Elite showed promise of things to come at the MTB / WOC in Poland with Thorlene Egerton (Qld) winning the Long-Distance, Jen Graham-Taylor (WA) topped the AUS riders on the Middle-Distance, and Melanie Simpson (NSW) scoring her first win in the Sprint. Six men in M17-20 Elite fought out the best competition ever seen in this age group with Peter Markworth (Vic) victorious in the Long and Middle Distance events while QLD’s Kurt Neumann captured the Sprint.

In the Mens’ division, the Victorian Nuggets have a stranglehold on the competition with Adrian Jackson, Alex Randall and Tony Clark holding the top 3 places, NSW Stinger Paul Darvodelsky is hot on Tony’s heels just 2 points behind in 4th place.

The Womens’ division sees QLD Cyclone Thor Egerton  leading NSW Stinger Melanie Simpson and WA Nomad Jen Graham-Taylor.

Position Vacant: Manager, Coaching & Officiating Development

Orienteering Australia is seeking an enthusiastic and effective communication oriented person to manage the development of our coaching and officiating development programs.

Selection Criteria. You will have high level communication skills, the ability to meet critical deadlines, possess high level organisational skills, well developed inter-personal skills, the capacity to maintain and develop curricula and a passion for the development of coaching as an integral component of the development of Australian orienteering at all competition levels.

Duties. Your duties will include; managing coach development for Orienteering Australia, overseeing the development and maintenance of curricula for the accreditation of Coaches and Officials under the ASC National Coaching Accreditation Scheme (NCAS) and National Officiating Accreditation Scheme (NOAS), being the OA Liaison Officer with the Australian Sports Commission on Coaching and Officiating matters and acting as the Executive Officer of the Coaching Committee of Orienteering Australia.

Remuneration. A salary of $9,120 pa, plus WorkCover insurance and a 9% Superannuation Guarantee contribution is offered for this 0.2 full-time position to be worked on a flexible basis, or $6,080 pa, plus WorkCover insurance and a 9% Superannuation Guarantee contribution if the undertaking of curricula development is excluded.

Initial Appointment. The initial appointment will be from 1 May 2008 to 30 June 2009, with the possibility of a two-year extension subject to satisfactory performance and the availability of funds. The ASC review of quadrennial funding will be undertaken in the first half of 2009.

A copy of the position description and associated information can be obtained here.

For further information contact Mike Dowling, Director High Performance on (03) 6244 7173 oroa_highperformance@netspeeed.com.au

Applications addressing the selection criteria should be submitted to

Orienteering Australia Inc.
PO Box 284, Mitchell BC ACT 2911
orienteering@netspeed.com.au

Applications close 31 May 2008.

The Junior Selection panel has completed the process of reconsidering the composition of the Australian team for the Junior World Championships following the appeal lodged by Jess Davis (TAS) against her non-selection being upheld by the OA Selection Appeals Committee.

The junior selection panel did not change their original deliberation as to the composition of the team based on the application of the published criteria and acting on the direction of the appeals findings with respect to the application of those selection criteria.

The report of the Junior Selection Panel has been ratified by the Board  of Orienteering Australia and confirm that the women’s team to contest the Junior World Championships in Sweden as advised by the Junior Selection Panel is (in alphabetical order);

Brigid Anderson           (QLD)
Rachel Effeney              (QLD)
Belinda Lawford           (ACT)
Krystal Neumann          (QLD)
Laurina Neumann         (QLD)
Aislinn Prendergast       (VIC)

Mike Dowling
Director, High Performance