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Xmas 5-Days entries are now open, and will close on December 14.
This year's carnival is in the Southern Highlands, and there will be no enter-on-day - so don't miss out!
Events will be run in accordance with the NSW Health requirements at the time.
We have a bush sprint, 3 bush events and an urban sprint.
(1) If you are intending to run the same class for all 5 days, please enter here via Eventor.
(2) If you are entering individual days or wish to enter different classes on different days, use the daily entry event for each of the days.
An updated information sheet is on Eventor.
Eventor Australia - Event information: 2021 Xmas 5days (orienteering.asn.au)
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This year, ONSW are bringing coaching to the Xmas 5 days!
On Days 2, 3 & 4 of the carnival (Dec 27-30), there will be three types of coaching offered: moderate, elite, and general.
“Moderate” would include adults who are inexperienced (i.e. running Moderate courses) and children.
“Elite” would include more experienced/capable juniors, being intended for those at or close to NOL standard.
“General” would include those who readily complete a Hard course, but are not up to Elite standard.
If you are interested in be a part of this great initiative as a coach, please contact Jamie Kennedy (ONSW coaching director) at jamieken74@gmail.com or Brodie Nankervis at coaching@orienteering.asn.au
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Stunning rock pagodas were the feature of the NSW Championships near Lithgow, which were held on Nov 20-21 after much rescheduling due to covid.
Around 300 competitors from four states enjoyed cool conditions with less rain than forecast, thankfully also for the organisers.
Former JWOC rep Melissa Thomas wound back the clock to win W21A on both days, ahead of SA-Big Foot junior star Emily Sorensen who was running up an age class.
In M21A it was a Victorian trifecta on both days, with Patrick Jaffe and 2019 junior world sprint champ Aston Key sharing the spoils, and Brodie Nankervis in third place each time. The trio are ranked Australia's top three male orienteers.
For the Long at Long Swamp on Sunday, the very recent high rainfall and the significant regrowth since the fires (and limited access to the area during lockdown) meant some hasty replanning over the 10 days leading into the weekend.
A big thank you to our hosts Central Coast and Uringa whose preparations were hampered by the long lockdown but still put on a superb weekend.
Results, splits and Livelox are here: Orienteering NSW - NSW State League (onsw.asn.au).
Anyone who attended the NSW Champs at the weekend is asked to fill out the very brief Course Setter of the Year survey here. These surveys determine who wins the prestigious course setter of the year award.
 
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Congratulations to the Canberra Cockatoos Senior Women team who have been named as finalists for the 2021 CBR Sport Awards Team of the Year award. The other finalists are the Brumbies rugby union team and the Olympic Rowing Men’s Quadruple Scull. The complete list of finalists is available here.
The Awards ceremony will be held as a virtual event on Thursday, 2 December, register to attend on the CBR Sport Awards event website.
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Orienteering has been ranked in the top 15 of Sporting Schools Sports participation in a recent survey conducted by Sport Australia during Term 2 2021.
Ranking up there with sporting giants of Cricket and Volleyball, orienteering has delivered multiple programs to both primary and secondary schools across all states.
A huge congratulations to the dedicated teams of orienteering coaches and volunteers who deliver these programs and introduce the sport of orienteering to hundreds of potential new orienteers and their families.
You can view the report at Microsoft Power BI to see the number of sporting school grants delivered in a postcode for Term 2 as well as the number of participants in each school.
The report also shows the quality of our coaches and shows areas where we could improve to get participation in orienteering events at the school level into participation at the family level.
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Thank you to ONSW's Anthony Scott for allowing the reproduction of this very useful training article. With the Easter 2022 Orienteering Championships in the granite terrain near Kingaroy in Queensland, we may all benefit from these navigational tips.
In Australia, granite terrain provides some of the most complex orienteering challenges and are often used for championship events. At first glance, these maps look like an overwhelming array of small black dots that are difficult to distinguish from one another, making accurate navigation virtually impossible. However, there are some basic techniques that help simplify the detail and allow the navigator to safely and accurately keep contact with the map. These are summarized below.
1. Contours – the best navigational aid, and the most reliable.
Always think contours, even on complex rock maps. As you navigate to each control, observe the major landforms (hills, ridges, gullies) around you, and check that they match the contours on the map. Check if you should be climbing, dropping or contouring. Also cross-check smaller contour features (shallow gullies, small knolls and small spurs), along with any major point features (large boulders, cliffs and rock surfaces) that might help confirm your location.
2. Always have a plan!
At each control, orientate your map, turn towards the next control and make a plan. Take lots of care to get the correct exit direction.
3. Simplification.
If possible, especially on long legs, look for a route choice that uses simple linear features (fences, tracks, watercourses) or clearings that take you around any complex rock detail. It might be a less direct route but can provide much faster running and easier navigation. Re-enter the rock at the last minute, and preferably use a large attack point.
4. Traffic light orienteering.
Changing speed to suit the navigational difficulty is a vital tactic for granite terrain. Faster running is possible when following linear features, running across clearings or approaching very large catching features. However, it essential to slow down and possibly even walk when re-entering complex rock areas or approaching controls. This is particularly so if the attack point is vague or the control is sited in the middle of detailed rock or low visibility forest.
5. Reading the rock detail
In complex rock, it would be difficult (and slow) to read every boulder. Try to identify more obvious features that will stand out from the hundreds of smaller rocks. This will include large boulders and cliffs, which are easy to see, or rock surfaces that are mapped with a unique shape. Large rock surfaces also have the advantage of making good running. In some instances, it might also be possible to follow a distinct line of rocks.
 
6. Placing the rock in the terrain
The safest navigation uses a combination of contours and rock detail. Check where the rock is located in relation to the terrain. Is it near the top of a hill, next to a shallow gully or on a steep slope facing a particular direction? Is it in or near thick vegetation or on the edge of a clearing? Thumb the map very carefully, and maintain close contact by cross-checking the rock detail, the contours and any other mapped detail. Take your time and walk if necessary.
7. Attack point
Use a big attack point that will help guide you through the complex rock towards the control circle. The attack point should be large and easy to distinguish from the smaller rock detail. Examples might be a large knoll, a saddle, watercourse junction, a LARGE boulder or cliff, or a prominent rock surface.
8. Approaching the control
Once you reach your attack point, you should stop and read the detail within the control circle. Then take your time, walking if necessary, and carefully cross-check the map. Keep scanning left and right as you approach the control.
9. Control description
Always check the control description before entering the control circle so you know what feature the control is on. Also note the height of the feature, and whether it is at the foot, on top, or on a particular side. If possible, approach the control from the side that the control is on, as you will see the flag much more easily.
10. Short legs in complex rock
If the leg is short and passes through complex rock detail, carefully check your exit direction and maintain very close contact with the map. Walk if necessary. 10 seconds can save 10 minutes!
11. Check the control code!
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Orienteering Australia is seeking volunteers to fill team manager and coach positions for WOC, JWOC and WUOC(subject to any further COVID-19 restrictions).
● World Orienteering Championships, Denmark, 25-30th June 2022
● Junior World Orienteering Championships, Portugal, 10-16th July 2022
Further details of the events can be found at eventor.orienteering.org.
Team managers and coaches will have their travel costs paid for by OA. It is expected that each team will convene a week before the championships for final training and familiarisation.
COVID-19: Teams will only be selected if OA considers participation to be feasible given the prevailing COVID-19 health situation and associated government recommendations and restrictions. A final decision on if and how Australia will participate will be made prior to team announcement.
If you are potentially interested in any of the positions, please contact Fredrik Johansson (OA High Performance Administrator) by Thursday 16th of December with a brief outline of your experience or qualifications. Fredrik can provide more information on the roles and specific requirements. More details here.
OA High Performance Group
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This month Brodie sat down with Olivia Sprod, South Australian elite orienteer who is on the rise, with an impressive NOL season in 2021. Olivia has had her fair share of Australian representation in the past, racing at JWOC in 2014 and 2015, then WUOC in 2018. Recently she has broken into the senior women ranks, being selected in the 2021 WOC Merit team. Liv has recently moved to Spain, and we are sure we will see her on the world stage again very soon!
Hey Liv, firstly, how is Spain?!? Can you tell us a little bit about where you are at the moment and what you are doing?
Sure thing! Where I am today started from a plan in January 2020, with the intention to move overseas. Unfortunately, my timing with world events wasn’t great… so I spent last year trying to find work and a way to keep the dream plan alive. Happily - and with much paperwork - I moved to Spain in September this year.
I’m currently living on the Mediterranean coast in a town called Elche, teaching English in a primary school. I work in a government run program to get native English speakers into schools. It’s great! Spain is fantastic. To most Europeans, my town may look standard but I’m loving the old buildings - it’s so different from what we have in Australia. The weather mostly feels like home and I’m enjoying the Spanish language and lifestyle, so far so good!
  
I must say I am feeling quite jealous now! Lets take it back a little, can you give us a bit of background to how you got into the sport and your journey to where you are now?
I did my first Orienteering course in 2008 at a have a go day in Belair National Park. What hooked me was the fact that this was a sport where I could beat the boys (they ran too fast and got lost) and 13-year-old Olivia thought that was pretty great. Since then, I’ve traveled with teammates and friends to annual Schools Champs, then on to NOLs annually. Sadly, these days I don’t have much luck beating the boys in my age category.
My approach has always been slow and steady. Running was never my advantage in orienteering, so since 2018 I’ve been working on that. Minimising injuries and enjoying other interests in life (work, uni, hobbies) has helped me to see my strength grow steadily. I worked up a good routine towards the end of 2019 and I think this was my key to having a successful 2020 sprint NOL round. That kept me motivated to keep training through the various restriction changes of 2020. So when 2021 came around, I was in a good form for the NOL season. It has taken me a few years to get top placings in the Women’s Elite class but it’s certainly satisfying and I’m feeling happy.
To continue reading about Olivia's orienteering tips, her favourite O-places and much more, please click here.
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Orienteering for the visually impaired was written by Mårten Lång and published in the Swedish Orienteering Magazine Skogssport. The article was kindly translated by OA's Foreign Correspondent Caroline Pigerre. Thank you Caroline!
The project Vägvisaren (Guide) aims to be able to offer orienteering to people with a visual impairment. The project has now been running for over a year.
“We have started an exciting collaboration with a similar project in the USA”, says Tomas Yngström, project Guide’s leader.
“The vision for Vägvisaren is for even those with visual impairments to be able to come out and try orienteering. The first aspect is to create a sport – orienteering for people with visual impairments. The second aspect is to create and produce maps that the blind or visually impaired can use. This means that the project will contribute to the visually impaired being able to take a different route home from the store for example. This would mean a huge feeling of freedom; to be able to go “where you want” and not just the same way you always go. And the third aspect is aimed at schools, so that students with visual impairments can participate in orienteering classes. This means being able to produce more tactile maps”, said Tomas Yngström at the outset of the project.
Tomas works fulltime on the project, which is financed by 3,7 million kronor from the Swedish government. Malin Yngström and a person from Örebro county’s Para-sport association each work 25% for the project.
Achievements after one year:
- “2020 was in many a different year. Due to Covid-19, we have not had the close contact with schools and sports teachers that we intended. We will start doing so as soon as the Covid restrictions allow. But on the other hand, we have initiated a close collaboration with a similar project in the USA, which is run by Russ Meyer (who was recently elected to the IOF’s Precision Orienteering committee)”, says Yngström.
 
“The American project is building an app for iPhone using Microsoft Soundscape. The app creates a sound map on 3D, where you type in an address and it creates a ‘sound-beacon’. Then you receive a pulsating sound. If you turn the phone in the wrong direction, it silences, and when you return to the right direction, you get clear sound signals.
In the version of the app that is currently being developed, it is possible to create several different sound signals, and you can direct the app to places which do not have an address as it is based on longitude and latitude. In this way, it is possible to create an orienteering course. And the plan, if we think in terms of orienteering, is that the person who goes the shortest way is the winner. Then, of course, we want to include the tactile map (a map which you feel with your hands) in Vägvisaren, our project. So one idea is that you could make an orienteering course with a couple of sound controls, followed by a couple of controls where you use the tactile map and so on”, says Yngström.
- “The biggest challenge with the tactile maps is that they are time-consuming to produce. It will work as long as this project is ongoing. But perhaps not in the long run. Therefore, we want to continue working alongside the sound project.”
What are the advantages of the application and the tactile maps?
- “I see it as if the app is perhaps primarily aimed at the general public. There is a safety aspect to consider, so that, for example, you know that you will find home or wherever you are going, and you also don’t have to learn a lot of map symbols. But the tactile map is very important if we look at the competition context. With this, you also get a better picture of what your surroundings look like. When it comes to the tactile map, I have, among other things, made a map of the station in Örebro. There, I have had the help of some blind people who provided input about the map symbols. There is no standardisation for tactile maps yet, but we are approaching this step by step. Then there is a challenge when it comes to the scale of the tactile maps. It depends on how small the map features are, as the symbols on the maps cannot be too small, because it must be possible to read (or feel) them to interpret the map”, says Yngström.
Pictures:
- In conjunction with the Special Education School Authority’s sports days in Eskilstuna, students were able to test map-reading using a tactile map.
- Vägvisaren’s project leaders Tomas and Malin Yngström.
- The map extract shows the platforms between track 3 and 4 at Örebro Resecentrum, and the dotted line shows the continuation of the platform.
- The map is from an area in Örebro where a blind person lives. The map is for them to be able to get a picture of the surroundings where the bus drops them off.
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Tony Simpkins is the Technical Convenor of Orienteering Western Australia.
He has kindly sent a reply to last month's OA eNews Letter to the Editor by Nick Wilmott regarding water on orienteering courses. Thank you to Tony for sending in this reply.
I’ve been orienteering almost as long as Nick, and this topic has come up for discussion many times over the years. As Nick alludes to – but doesn’t specifically acknowledge – it is a safety issue, and there have been some near-death experiences in Australia due to lack of hydration and/or incorrect hydration.
If carrying water is mandated, then just as there are people refusing Covid vaccination or forgetting to use their QR code, there will be people refusing, or forgetting, to carry water on an orienteering course. Requiring event organisers to enforce the carriage of water by competitors, with possible outcomes of reduced entries or denying someone a start, may bring even more serious problems that the organisers just don’t need for the sake of not being prepared to provide water on courses.
I agree that providing water under pandemic conditions is not easy, but most states have found a solution. I also agree that some venues, especially the more challenging orienteering terrains, make water provision difficult. In my view however, there is always a course setting solution. Having attended many course setting and controlling workshops, and run quite a few myself, I now believe that water controls – and vehicle access to them – should be a prime consideration for setters and controllers BEFORE they commence planning any courses, in the same way that choosing an assembly area and having suitable terrain for easy courses are essential considerations. This should be one of the first topics covered at any setting or controlling workshop.
From a personal point of view, carrying water would mean that my orienteering suffers. Orienteering is not just a running event, and many people find it impossible to perform at their best when their concentration is affected throughout a race by wearing a water belt or backpack. I know from experience of both that there is no such thing as a comfortable method of carrying water that you can put on and forget about. I can only orienteer well when my concentration is 100% on the map and course, with no physical distractions. If carrying water was mandated, I would refuse, which would probably mean having to give up orienteering.
At present the OA Competition Rules require water to be provided on courses with a winning time of more than 30 minutes. The same Rules require that winning times are achievable, with the runnability of the terrain and climatic conditions taken into account. If pre-planned from the initial stages of preparing an event, it should not be difficult for event organisers to accommodate the Rules to achieve winning times and allow for the provision of water.
Changing the Rules requires months of consideration by the OA Technical Committee, followed by endorsement of the OA Board. Such endorsement is unlikely without majority support from members of the Technical Committee (ie State technical representatives). A change to the water rule would also set OA Rules apart from those of the IOF, which could have repercussions for the running of international events (eg Oceania Championships, World Masters, JWOC, World Cup and WOC) in Australia.
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Orienteering Australia is seeking a General Manager, responsible for the national bodies core business administration. The role is crucial to the delivery of services to orienteers, liaison with government stakeholders and support of OA staff.
Duties include:
- Secretary to the OA Board.
- Oversee OA staff.
- Co-ordinating OA’s committees.
- Managing OA’s communications.
- Building the relationship with Sport Australia.
- Ensuring OA has procedures that ensure it works well and allow the smooth transitions when staff or volunteers move on.
- Ensuring OA has robust policies and procedures for efficient operation.
This is a paid position of 30 hours per week.
Enquiries – Craig Steffens 0418871193 craig.s@orienteering.asn.au
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The December 2021 Australian Orienteer magazine is available online here.
The December edition covers JWOC 2021 with the performances of two Norwegian and one French "almost Aussies" highlighted. We analyse routes chosen by placegetters in the Women's Long Distance at WOC 2021. There's some details of the 2022 Melbourne Sprint Weekend and of the 2022 AUS Championships carnival.
As well, some clubs are celebrating significant milestones so we bring you a little of their history. There's an opinion piece by Raphael Mak on why he thinks Orienteering will never become an Olympic sport. Sport Integrity Australia gives some advice to Masters competitors, while Ian Dodd discusses philantropy in sport. And there's the usual MTBO, Spot the Difference, News and O-Spy sections, as well as an intriguing piece by Peter Hopper on forensic orienteering.
Yet another one not to be missed.
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