The Orienteering Australia Board and Australian Government National Sport Integrity Unit have approved an OA match-fixing policy. This is publicly available in section 1.26 of the OA Operational Manual at Administration/op_manual/
The policy is a requirement of Australian Sports Commission funding for all ASC-funded sports. Although sports betting on orienteering is unknown in Australia, it does occur in some European countries for some events. Under the policy Australian orienteers defined as “relevant persons” in the policy (currently members and officials with WOC and MTBO WOC teams) must not bet on orienteering competitions, whether in Europe or anywhere else, or otherwise participate in match fixing.
Team- Chris Naunton, Murray Scown, Dave Meyer and Simon Uppill.
Heather Muir, Hanny Allston, Clare Brownridge.
Last weekend the Australian Bushrangers competed in three events against the NZ Pinestars in areas south of Auckland. Even though NZ won the test series there were some very encouraging performances by members of the Australian team.
Hanny Allston and Simon Uppill had some very good race experiences against some very good NZ opposition.
Hanny won all three events and her winning margins on Day 2 (5min 40sec) and Day 3 (4min 5 secs) indicate that she is rapidly approaching the level she wants to be at by the time WOC comes around. It is great to she her performing so well and obviously enjoying being back orienteering.
Simon had a very consistent weekend two thirds and a fourth against some very good NZ runners on areas that were very pyhsical. These events gave Simon some good race experience after missing the WOC Trials in May.
JWOC representative Heather Muir competing against senior elites had three steady runs improving after Day 1 to have two 6th places. Heather showed very good consistency in her orienteering and the three events gave her some good physical trining for JWOC in early July.
For the other members of the team these events provided valuable feedback on their level of competitiveness against international competition.
The areas used were open farm paddocks with many fences, steep slopes and some sand dune terrain which provided the small amount of technical challenges on the courses. You certainly need strength to be able to orienteer in this terrain.
Bushrangers v Pinestars June 1st, 2nd and 3rd in NZ
The Australian Bushrangers compete in three events over this weekend in NZ against the NZ Pinestars.
The Bushrangers team comprises
Hanny Allston, Clare Brownridge, Lauren Gillis and Heather Muir
Chris Naunton, Dave Meyer, Murray Scown and Simon Uppill.
Hanny and Simon are both members of the WOC team for the World Championships in Finland in July and will be using this opportunity to get some good competition against the best from NZ before they travel to Finland.
The team sees at return to representing Australia for Dave Meyer who last represented Australia at JWOC in 2005. Also in the team are Murray Scown who is coming back after an ankle injury last year at WOC, and Chris Naunton who performed very well at Easter 2013.
The womens team also comprises one of our JWOC representatives Heather Muir and two aspiring elites Clare Brownridge and Lauren Gillis
The NZ team comprises Matt Ogden the JWOC winner from 2013 and Chris Forne and Tim Robertson who have both made WOC finals.
The maps to be used are near Waiuki, South of Auckland and are described as open sand dune grazing country. The course have plenty of climb with the M21E on Monday having 7% climb.
Australian Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships update
Carolyn Jackson doing a massive PB on the hill climb in Alice Springs stage racePaul Darvodelsky warming up – 2nd in 50+
Bulletin 2 for the 2013 Australian MTBO Championships at Gympie in Queensland is now available on the Bulletin page of the event site…http://www.ausmtbochamps.com/
Alice Springs News.
The 2014 Australian Championships will be held in Alice Springs on June 14-16 next year. Note that this is one week later than the June long weekend as previously advertised due to the need to avoid clashing with the Finke Desert race. DON’T book accommodation yet – there are several group bookings being organised at good rates. A website for the event and more information will be available shortly.
WOC team member Carolyn Jackson won the 50+ category of the 7 stage Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro race in Alice Springs a week ago. More notably she was 10th female overall in a race won by leading Aussie elite mtb rider, Rowena Fry. Carolyn’s improved fitness saw her take almost 30 seconds off her 300metre hill climb time (average 11% climb) from previous years -1 minute .53 to 1minute 25.
MAP MAKING in ESTONIA.
WOC organisers making tracks for 2013 World Championships.
Australian team of ten selected for WOC in Finland
Vanessa Round (photo courtesy of World of O)Simon Uppill
The 2013 Australian Boomerangs Team to attend WOC in Finland from July 7th-13th has been selected, as per the selection criteria, on the basis that the following athletes have the greatest potential, from among the available nominees, to make a final at WOC 2013 or at least be within the top 60 (top 20 in their heat).
Relay – Hanny Allston, Vanessa Round, and one other to be decided by the coaches during WOC week.
The race preferences of the nominees have been taken into account where practicable, however, the OA selectors consider that the race schedule of the first 3 days precludes anyone who is selected for sprint from being also selected for long.
Schedule of races for 2013:
Sun July 7th – Long Qualifier Mon July 8th – Sprint Qualifier & Final Tues July 9th – Long Final Wed July 10th – rest Thurs July 11th – Middle Qualifier Fri July 12th – Middle Final
Sat July 13th – Relay
With the removal from 2014 of qualifying races for middle and long distances at WOC (to be replaced by a 4-person mixed sprint relay) the number of athletes which a country is permitted to enter in the middle and long distance finals, which will each have a field of about 80 competitors, will be based on that country’s previous results.
Results down to 60th place in 2013 will contribute to a country’s ranking and therefore affect the number of athletes which it is allowed to field in 2014. Therefore, results achieved by athletes who are 16th-20th in each of the 3 qualifying heats will be relevant, as Australia’s results achieved at WOC 2012 and 2013 will directly influence the number of places we are allowed to fill in 2014.
The placing achieved by Australia in the relay is also relevant to next year’s allocation of finals places, therefore the WOC coaches will use their discretion to decide the final composition of the relay team.
Selectors: Jenny Casanova (men only), Kay Haarsma, Tom Quayle, Wendy Read
Coaches: Tom Quayle, Wendy Read
Jenny Casanova
Chair, Senior Selection Panel
May 15th, 2013
MTBO Update – Manager sought for 2014 AUS v NZ Challenge
A manager is sought for the Australian team for the January 2014 Australia-New Zealand MTBO Orienteering Challenge, to be contested in the North Island of New Zealand from Saturday January 4th to Saturday January 11th.
The manager will need to help with the ordering and distribution of riding tops and co-ordination of the team in NZ. Additionally it would be desirable if the manager could arrange accommodation and transport for team members looking to travel as a group. Craig Steffens, the previous manager of the 2012 NZ trip, is willing to assist. The position can be filled by either a riding or non-riding applicant.
Please contact Kay Haarsma (kayhaarsma@hotmail.com) as soon as possible, but by the end of May, if you are interested in this position.
UPCOMING EVENTS
2013 -Please note that the ACT MTBO Sprint Championships will double up as the Australian Sprint Championships. This event will be held on Oct 19th on the beautiful Sparrow Hill map, with the ACT middle distance at Kowen in the afternoon and their long champs at Pierce’s Creek on Oct 20th. http://act.orienteering.asn.au/events/?EventID=2861
2014 – Keen mountain bike orienteers can look forward to riding in many new places next year. Initially there will be an Australia v New Zealand challenge based in the North Island of New Zealand. This will go from Saturday January 4th until Saturday January 11th with events on most days.
Then, on the June long weekend there will be a second Australia v New Zealand challenge, in conjunction with the Australian Championships. This event will be in the breath taking venue of Alice Springs with all formats (sprint, middle and long) being conducted. You can fly into Alice Springs from any major city, then catch a shuttle bus to the door of your caravan park, hotel or resort accommodation. All events will be on the edge of town, just a few kilometres away, so there is no need to hire a car. Of course you may well want to stay an extra few days to see all the wonderful sites in the Red Centre.
Then from August 27thPoland will host JWOC, WOC and Masters World Championships concurrently at Bialystok, some 200kms NE of Warsaw.
A team of 5 men and 5 women has been selected to contest the M/W21E Bushrangers’ Test Match against the New Zealand Pinestars in NZ on June 1st-3rd. Selection is based on results achieved in Silva National Orienteering League races in 2013. If any athlete becomes unavailable for one or more races they will not be replaced; therefore, reserves have not been named.
The primary focus of this team is that it provides development opportunities for athletes wishing to progress to international competition; however, some athletes have been named on the basis that these races provide preparation for international races in 2013.
Men
Bryan Keely David Meyer Chris Naunton
Murray Scown Simon Uppill
Women
Hanny Allston Bridget Anderson Clare Brownridge
Heather Muir Laurina Neumann
Kathryn Preston, who had two placings in last weekend’s NOL races, has been selected as the Australian women’s representative to attend the World Games in Cali, Colombia, from August 2nd-4th. Initially this position had gone to Hanny Allston, but she has since withdrawn. Only the top-ranked nation from within the Oceania region is allowed to submit a team, and in 2013 that nation is New Zealand. However, Australia has been awarded one women’s place based on Australia’s results achieved at the World Games 2009 in Chinese Taipei.
The 2013 Australian WOC team will be finalised towards the end of next week, following races in which the European-based athletes will be competing on May 11th and 12th in Sweden and Switzerland. The goal of the 2013 team will be to maximise potential for allocation of finals positions to Australia from 2014 onwards, when there will no longer be qualification races in middle and long distance, only in sprint, and when a mixed sprint relay will be added to the race programme.
WOC team nominations were received from (in alphabetical order)
Women: Hanny Allston, Bridget Anderson, Felicity Brown, Susanne Casanova, Lauren Gillis, Jasmine Neve, Aislinn Prendergast, Vanessa Round, Anna Sheldon
Men: Bruce Arthur, Evan Barr, Joshua Blatchford, David Brickhill-Jones, Julian Dent, Lachlan Dow, Kasimir Gregory, Bryan Keely, Leon Keely, David Meyer, Ian Meyer, Chris Naunton, Matthew Parton, Simon Uppill
Lizzie Ingham winning the Middle Distance at Orroral (photographer Carol Harding)
Lizzie Ingham made it three out of three in the long distance event at the SILVA National League weekend in Canberra. This time she was untroubled, already having a decent gap on the field by the fifth control. By that stage she had caught four minutes on Kathryn Preston, and the two were together for most of the rest of the course, with Preston taking second place. Grace Crane completed the placings.
Rob Walter was many people’s choice for the long distance race given his third in the sprint and recent endurance running form. For the first 80% of the course he lived up to that, taking an early lead after Matt Crane lost some time on the early controls. He was still two minutes in front at 22 – but then missed 23 altogether. That left the way open for Crane, who had also trailed Lachlan Dow through the first half of the course but got the edge on him through two butterfly loops towards the end. Evan Barr was third, an excellent result after returning from Sweden for the trials.
Matt Doyle took his first junior National League win after a close, fluctuating battle with Ian Lawford and Brodie Nankervis, whilst Heather Muir came out on top over the Victorian pair of Mary Fleming and Lanita Steer.
The Victorian Nuggets swept the four team classes today, which leaves the Cockatoos one point in front of the Nuggets in the mens’ competition, and four points behind in the women’s.
The Australian WOC teams are expected to be named following next weekend’s overseas trials
Lizzie Ingham dominated the first day of the Australian WOC trials, held in conjunction with the ACT Championships weekend. While the locals competed for selection, she won by the huge margin of nearly three minutes in the sprint. It was a closer-run thing in the middle distance after she made mistakes early, but she overran Grace Crane late in the course for a 13-second win.
Her sprint margin was inflated by the fact that the two locals who might have challenged her on speed, Crane and Rachel Effeney, both crashed out of contention within the first couple of controls. That left a tight battle for the second in which Kathryn Preston ultimately prevailed, ahead of a dead-heat between Jasmine Neve and Susanne Casanova. In the middle distance, Ingham and Crane were four minutes clear, with an unexpected third going to the experienced Allison Jones, in rough and low-visibility granite terrain which claimed many victims.
The two men’s races were both decided by two seconds. In the morning, Bryan Keely led through much of the course, only to lose the lead, and the race, when he dropped 41 seconds at the apparently straightforward third-last. Matt Crane had slipped a little behind early but overhauled Lachlan Dow in the closing stages for a narrow win. Brodie Nankervis and Rob Walter, at opposite ends of the experience spectrum, tied for third.
In the afternoon, there was an unexpected win for Rob Preston, returning to form after the dramas of Easter. It was a closely fluctuating battle throughout between him and Crane, decided narrowly in favour of the Stingers runner over the last couple of controls. Dow, continuing his good weekend, completed the placings.
It was a good day for the Canberra Cockatoos, who took the team points for both senior classes in both races. They have taken over the lead in the men’s competition and have closed the gap on the Victorian Nuggets to two points in the women’s.
Results are available for the sprint and middle distance events.
David West & his wooden framed bikeCallum FaggKarl WithersJoyce Rowlands
After the Victorian Championships last weekend, which doubled up as selection trials, the following riders have been selected to represent Australia at the World Championships in Estonia, in August.
Junior Men – Tom Goddard (TAS), Angus Robinson (VIC), Karl Withers (QLD)
Elite Men – Callum Fagg (TAS), Chris Firman (QLD), Alex Randall (VIC) & Ricky Thackray (WA)
Elite Women – Carolyn Jackson (VIC)
Coach – Ian Dalton (WA)
There are two newcomers to international mountain biking. Yr 12 student Angus Robinson will be debuting in the juniors after showing significant improvement in fitness and navigation over the last year. 24 year old Tasmanian Callum Fagg joins a unique group of orienteers who have raced for Australia both on foot and bike, as he was also in a Jwoc foot orienteering team. Over the last few years he has shone in the road racing scene.
Chris Firman, after finishing his Jwoc career with a great 5th last year, will be racing in elites at WOC for the first time. He did well to win the Victorian sprint championship at his first major elite race, especially after just recovering from a broken shoulder. Alex Randall won the other two elite Victorian titles and has been riding strongly in long enduro races. Ricky Thackray rode consistently at the trials and is looking forward to his second WOC.
Tom Goddard rode brilliantly to win all three Victorian M20 titles, and is currently ranked no 5 in the National U23yrs cross country list. He is determined to do well in his third and final Jwoc championship. Karl Withers was 2nd in the middle and 3rd in the sprint and is heading off to his second Worlds. Carolyn Jackson defeated arch rival Marquita Gelderman (NZ) in the long Vic title and was a close second in the other two events. Carolyn is faster than ever before and has been racing sensationally in enduro races, so selectors had no qualms in sending her to battle the World’s best in Estonia.
After the first round of the National Series Victoria (255 points) has a commanding lead over Queensland (108 points) and New South Wales (103 points) in the state competition.
The Individual leaders, with points in brackets, are:
A manager is sought for the Australian team for the January 2014 Australia-New Zealand MTBO Orienteering Challenge, to be contested in the North Island of New Zealand from Saturday January 4th to Saturday January 11th.
