2008 Archive

The bright spot for the Aussie team was Bridget Anderson’s race to finish in 9th place in her qualification race to ensure her a spot in the A final tomorrow. The race will finish again in the Hogsbro Pistol range which is full of nettles except where they have mowed around the finish area and nation tents. The map is a remap of an old area with a different mapping style from the previous mapper making it barely recognisable from the pre race competition map.

Some sad and sorry stories again have plagued some of the team’s results. Oliver Mitchell the best of the Aussies boys and managing to make the B final, regretting his lack of fitness due to a stunted preparation with a knee injury earlier in the year. Lachlan Dow was very disappointed in his race as he misread 11 to 12 as 12 to 13.

The boy’s team morale is a little low after today’s race and the young ones are finding it a bit tough. Leon Keely and Nick Andrewartha both were having a couple of bad legs costing them valuable time in the race. Geoff Stacey and Oscar Phillips also struggled to find competitive race times but had better races technically than Leon and Nick.

Laurina Neumann was a little unlucky to be in a faster qualifying heat missing out by 2 places – if she had done that time in a different heat would have qualified. Krystal Neumann and Aislinn Prendergast also gave strong performances but just missing out on qualifcation. Belinda Lawford failed to be careful enough in reading her control numbers looking for 36 and finding 46 in a parallel error. Rachel Effeney also found the green and technical terrain a challenge. The girls are a little disappointed and just hope to have good runs tomorrow to restore some confidence in their orienteering ability. Competition pressure gets to the best of them and the experience will help them to understand what is required for the future. Coaching advice has been to go out, have fun and enjoy the challenge in the finals.

General Organisational comment.

The model event was really an extra training as it modelled very little of the championship area. It was not printed on an offset printing map and it did not have proper controls out with numbers on them. It also did not have any sample drinks as stated in the rules sport drinks and water stations would be demonstrated.

There are some unhappy teams leaders about with regard to some of the technical omissions of the organisation for this years JWOC. The meetings consist of basic questions around information which should be clearly stated in the bulletin and they end with the organisers scurrying off to fix some problem that arises as a result. For example the start list of the sprint had to redone and was not ready for the team leaders meeting; the leaders had to wait for the start list for the qualification to be given out; the numbers as stated in the bulletin were completely wrong and the bus times also had to be readjusted. Organisationally this JWOC is not very good compared to the superb job done last year by Australia. We have found this extremely surprising given the status Sweden has in the orienteering world and are very disappointed in this aspect of the Championships.

Hilary Wood &  the JWOC Team

In Wednesday’s middle distance qualification race in Änggårdsbergen, Bridget Anderson was Australia’s only A-final qualifier, to finish in 9th place in the heat won by the 2007 JWOC champion, Jenny Lönnkvist, although Laurina Neumann was less than a minute off qualifying. In the other heats, the Australian women were close to qualifying, with Aislinn Prendergast just over a minute behind the final qualifier in her heat. In heat A, Norway’s JWOC2007 long distance champion Siri Ulvestad made amends for missing the 2007 middle distance final with a fast 23:57, and looks to be the one who could challenge Lönnkvist. In the same heat, the new sprint world champion Emma Klingenberg just missed out on qualifying, finishing in 22nd place, andNew Zealand’s Lizzie Ingham and Kate Morrison qualified in 8th and 19th places respectively.

In the men’s races, Oliver Mitchell was the closest to qualifying, at 10:20 in the heat won by Timo Sild, who had the fastest qualification time ahead of Sören Bobach (Denmark) and ToreBjørseth Berdal (Norway).

Men qualification race A

1. Sören Bobach, Denmark, 27.04
2. Erik Sagvolden, Norway, 28.10
3. Olli-Markus Taivainen, Finland, 28.19
20. Denis Danchenkov, Russia, 32.17
47. Geoff Stacey, Australia, 42.24
48. Oscar Phillips, Australia, 43.12

Men qualification race B

1. Timo Sild, Estonia, 25.55
2. Leo Laakkonen, Finland, 26.06
3. Matthias Kyburz, Switzerland, 26.33
20. Paul Lützkendorf, Germany, 31.29
36. Oliver Mitchell, Australia, 36.15
52. Leon Keely, Australia, 48.17

Men qualification race C

1.Tore Bjørseth Berdal, Norway, 27.50
2. Adam Chromy, Czech Republic, 27.57
3. Severin Howald, Switzerland, 28.17
20. Rafal Podzinski, Poland, 32.06
47. Lachlan Dow, Australia, 42.20
52. Nick Andrewartha, Australia, 49.59

Women qualification race A

1. Siri Ulvestad, Norway, 23.57
2. Venla Niemi, Finland, 24.19
3. Mariann Ulvestad, Norway, 25.16
8. Lizzie Ingham, New Zealand, 27.03
19. Kate Morrison, New Zealand, 30.29
20. Carla Guillen Escribá, Spain, 30.31
27. Krystal Neumann, Australia, 34.03
Belinda Lawford, Australia mp

Women qualification race B

1. Signe Klinting, Denmark, 26.53
2. Gabija Razaityte, Lithuania, 27.44
3. Judith Wyder, Switzerland ,27.53
20. Ona Rafols Perramon, Spain, 34.20
25. Aislinn Prendergast, Australia, 35.18
33. Rachel Effeney, Australia, 38.16

Women qualification race C

1. Jenny Lönnkvist, Sweden, 23.27
2. Ida Marie Næss Bjørgul, Norway, 24.58
3. Karine D’Harreville, France, 26.03
9. Bridget Anderson, Australia, 28.19
20. Julia Blomquist, Great Britain, 30.19
22. Laurina Neumann, Australia, 30.45

This years sprint was in a mixed urban area with residential apartments surrounded by open park land and interspersed with patches of typical Swedish glacial terrain. Apartment blocks in various formations: squares and interlocking L shapes made decision making hard in picking the fastest route as the red line invariably went through a number of buildings.

Some creditable performances were shown in the sprint race from the young members of the team, Lachlan Dow being the best of the Aussie boys and Bridget Anderson showing improvement as the best of the Aussie girls.

Belinda Lawford again shows her promise being only seconds behind Bridget Anderson. Krystal Neumann held herself back to maintain contact with her map and was a little afraid to “go for it all out”. We are sure that with experience and building confidence she will improve in the next races. Rachel Effeney was about half a minute behind Belinda and unable to keep the pace up for the entire length of the course. Aislinn Prendergast got a little stumped in the circle at the 4th control in the first bit of forest picking the difference between the bare rock, rock face and a boulder this cost her a least a minute, a long time in a sprint race. This can be a common confusion as these features although they sound distinct can blend together in the heat of the moment. She was unhappy with her result in this race.

In the boys Lachy Dow showed us his promise and finished within 2:30 minutes of the winner  (the challenge was to finish within 2 minutes of the winner for this young first timer). Nick Andrewartha ran most legs well but is cursing himself for missing the 7th control with a brain fade and the forest terrain taking him south and not south-east as was needed. Oscar Phillips (pictured) ran steadily for the main part with a couple of offline diversions at 7-8 and 13-14 otherwise safe and sure with is route choices. Geoff Stacey put in a solid navigational run however admitted he just didn’t run fast enough and perhaps some less swift route choices on some legs. Oliver Mitchell was also solid navigationally but also need to run faster and is still recovering from a cold from Jukola.

Unfortunately equipment failures of one kind or another plagued Laurina Neumann and Leon Keely. Laurina failed to take her bib number and top to the start after going over this procedure many times beforehand and thus unable to start the race, despite last ditch efforts by the manager and Laurina.  She was pretty devastated and upset about this and vows to ensure all her equipment will be with her next time. The difficulty lay in the fact that this year the bibs have a chip identifying the runner and time in them, making it essential for the runners to ensure they are attached firmly to their racing tops with eight pins!

Leon started the race well and was running well however a slight fall on a rock saw his compass disintegrate in his hand and then he had to navigate by map features without a compass. As  a substantial part of the sprint was in forest this made the next leg tricky and slow for Leon as he was drawn south off his line by forest and buildings. He regathered himself for the next legs but had to take safe and sure track routes when forest routes may have proved shorter and faster with a compass.

As mentioned before many JWOCers this year have family watching and they were second only to the Danes in spirit in the finish arena, raising encouraging cheers for our runners as they ran into the sports arena and around the finish chute.

Hilary Wood & the JWOC Team.

The Board of Orienteering Australia are very pleased advise a new part-time Manager, Coaching & Officiating Development has been appointed. Dave Meyer will commence duties on July 1st 2008 and will be based at the OA national office in Canberra.

Dave is also undertaking a degree in Sports Management at the University Of Canberra, competes for NSW in the National League and has a keen interest in coach development.

Dave can be contacted via email at oa_accrediation@netspeed.com.au or though the OA National Office at PO Box 284, Mitchell BC ACT 2911, phone (02) 6162 1200.

Mike Dowling
Director, High Performance

The Australian WOC Team is in Czech Republic in preparation for the World Championships which begin in less than 2 weeks. They’re logging their days activities and training on Attackpoint –  follow the action (and even make your own comments) here.

It was a good day for Australia in the sprint at the World Masters Orienteering Championships in Portugal on Monday. Four Australians won medals, led by Natasha and Warren Key. Natasha was Australia’s best performer, repeating her qualification result to finish second in W35 behind Finland`s Katja Honkala. Warren had not been so impressive in qualifying but came good in the final, taking out the bronze in M45.

Australia`s other two medals came from the opposite end of the age spectrum. Hermann Wehner only just scraped into the A final but performed when it mattered and took bronze in M80, a result which was matched by Jeffa Lyon in W75. There were also near misses for Jim Russell, yesterday`s fastest qualifer, and Blair Trewin, who came fourth in M45 and M35 respectively.

The competition continues after a rest day with the first long distance qualifier on Wednesday.

Emma Klingenberg (Denmark, 13.40) and Stepan Kodeda (Czech Republic, 13.21) were crowned 2008 Junior World Orienteering Champions in the sprint distance in Gothenburg on Monday afternoon.  In the women’s race every second counted literally with the top 3 being separated by only 2 seconds. Norway’s Silje Ekroll Jahren took 2^nd  in 13.41 and Sweden’s Jenny Lönnkvist was 3^rd in 13.42.  The men’s race was almost as close, Sweden’s Johan Runesson taking 2^nd, also just one second behind in 13.22.  Denmark’s highly fancied Sören Bobach was 3^rd in 13.28.

The terrain for the sprint was a combination of urban apartment buildings, parkland and rocky, forested hillsides interspersed with small paths.  This demanded a challenging combination of quick route choice decisions, the abilty to adapt to the changing terrain types and fast running to succeed. 

Bridget Anderson (49^th, 15.24) and Belinda Lawford (57^th15.37) showed they are adapting well to the new terrain to produce Australia’s best results on the day. One of the youngsters of the Australian team, Lachlan Dow showed he has plenty of potential for the future, to be Australia’s best man on the day finishing 84^th in 15.41. Leon Keely had a bit of bad luck and smashed his compass at the 6th control, while Laurina  Neumann also had some bad luck leaving her number and competition top at the centre and was unable to start without them. 

The next race is the middle distance qualification on Wednesday July 2^nd

All Australian results:

Lachlan Dow, 84, 15.41
Nick Andrewartha, 109, 16.19
Oscar Phillips, 110, 16.20
Geoff Stacey, 125, 16.52
Oliver Mitchell, 132, 17.16
Leon Keely, 151, 19.05

Bridget Anderson, 49, 15.24
Belinda Lawford, 57, 15.37
Rachel Effeny, 71, 16.03
Krystal Neumann, 88, 16.59
Aislinn Predergast, 96, 17.21
Laurina Neumann Did not start

The Australian JWOC team is going through the final stages of preparation in Gothenburg. Saturday was a rest day in the city: catching a movie or just hanging about browsing the internet. The weather is changeable and it is still hard to work out what to wear!

The all important question of rooming has been decided, with two people per room.  Middle distance training proved tough and steep with a lot of legs needing fore planning to avoid getting stuck on the top or bottom of a cliff in the wrong place.  A team photo was taken and another more official one back at the clubhouse.

On Sunday, the team moved into the JWOC accommodation and have settled into their spacious accommodation very nice location with a map and controls to run to run around the centre. Some Aussie fans have already visited and wished the team good luck. Nice kitchen to cook up some extra food if necessary and it all looks good for Monday’s sprint.

Hilary Wood.

Jim Russell led the way as Australia had a good day in the sprint qualification at the World Masters Orienteering Championships in Portugal. He won his heat in M45, narrowly ahead of two other former WOC competitors, Joe Brautigam (USA) and Jon Musgrave (GBR).

Natasha Key was second in her heat in W35 and will also have an excellent chance of winning a medal in the final on Monday. Others whose qualifying performances suggest that they have at least an outside chance of a medal included Ann Ingwersen (3rd, W65) and Blair Trewin (3rd, M35). More than 25 Australians reached A finals in total, including Terry Bluett, Bob Allison and Dick Ogilvie in the fiercely competitive M60 group.

The course was different to what most of the Australians were used to, spending much time in the alleys and stairways of old Leiria. A further challenge was provided for the longer courses, who had their first few controls in the 12th century castle.

The finals will take place on Monday. Results from today are available on the WMOC website.

The Australian Team has settled into the IK Uven clubhouse south of Goteborg and enjoying the Swedish forest. We have raised the Australian flag at the clubhouse with great pride. The weather has been changeable and we need to take a range of clothing to cover all possibilities!  The weather is gradually getting warmer as the week progresses.

Some of the team have been in Sweden for over 2 weeks and trained last week under the tutelage of David Shepherd and Jo Allison.  A few are battling the affects of competing in Jukola having coming down with colds.  Simon Uppill is with us and giving the team some valuable training advice and Julian Dent is joining the camp on Wednesday evening to give some last minute tips for orienteering in Swedish terrain.  The locals are little perplexed about our use of their clubhouse and use the facilities without a worry.

The clubhouse is comfortable and well equipped for cooking our own meals and the cooking groups are doing some great dishes which are consumed readily and with enthusiasm.

We are gradually easing into the Swedish way of life and relaxing with some light technical training in between. The team has done some long training on Partille-Gunnilise and met up with the New Zealand team today for some short relay legs and practice in mass starts on Oserjo.

Tomorrow the team plans to do some middle distance training on Jonsered Norr. Updates from the team will be posted on the JWOC Team Blog.

Hilary Wood