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Entries are now open for the Australian MTBO Championships.
A Carnival for everyone!
The events will be held in the Kurri Kurri and Neath area from 25th to 27th March 2022.
The event centre and camping (on 24 - 26 March) is at Cessnock Pony Club grounds.
- Thu 24 Mar | Practice Event Map Run | from 1.00pm | Killingworth South (near Newcastle)
- Fri 25 Mar | Mass Start | from 1.00pm | Neath
- Sat 26 Mar | Sprint Distance | from 9.00am | Stanford Merthyr
- Sat 26 Mar | Middle Distance |from 2.00pm | Pelaw Main
- Sun 27 Mar Long Distance | from 9.00am | Neath
CLASSES: M/W 12, 14, 16, 20, 21, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 | Two Recreational classes for each event |M & W E-MTB Recreational Class | Pairs in the Recreational class | Families: Parents with children under 12 may ride in the Recreational Class (single entry fee applies).
Limited EOD in the Recreational class. No EOD for the Mass Start event. EODs should attend registration asap to reserve a map. A full range of classes will be offered for the Championships.
All entries for the championship events must pre -enter through Eventor.
Bulletin 2 has been placed on each event page. If you are camping at Cessnock Pony Club you only need to select the service on one of the event entry pages. Details on the practice event (Thursday) will be posted after 13th March on Eventor.
Hope you can join us!
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ONSW is organising a Junior Training camp based in Armidale in the week before Easter. There is a competition weekend on 9th and 10th with a Middle distance event on the Sat afternoon and a long distance event on the Sun morning. The events are on granite. We then have a camp from Mon to Wed inclusive, with training on granite as well as presentations and social opportunities.
The camp is based at NEGS, a boarding school in Armidale, which will be providing most of our catering. We have broken the camp into 2 parts - Part A - the weekend, and Part B - the midweek. This means that those who can only make the events on the weekend can be part of the camp. Many on the camp will then drive to Kingaroy on the Thursday in readiness for Easter.
ONSW would like to warmly invite junior orienteers, coaches/managers/parent helpers from all states to attend the camp. Timetables for each day, cost, accommodation, and transport details are available in the Camp Bulletin.
The camp is aimed at juniors in Year 6 and upwards, transitioning to Moderate, transitioning to Hard and improving at Hard.
Entries are now open. Register through Eventor by 11 March.
Part A of the camp is listed on April 9 in Eventor and Part B on April 11.
Any questions, email Helen (ONSW Junior Manager) or phone 0478226601.
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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 role has been upgraded from a casual position to a full time role.
More details and Job Description
Enquiries – Craig Steffens 0418871193 craig.s@orienteering.asn.au
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A new position has been created to help support MTBO at a national level. This paid part-time position will have functions including the promotion of national MTBO events and series, maintenance of national rules, guidelines and standards, support for high performance squads and will work with the new OA MTBO Commission to drive MTBO growth around Australia.
The Development Officer in conjunction with the High Performance Management Team will aim to develop, foster and retain junior and senior elite riders and to provide them and the wider orienteering community with an exciting and well supported set of national activities and international opportunities.
The position is a casual contract for 2 years paying $30/Hr and an estimated 5 Hrs per week. The full job description can be found on the OA website under Administration > OA Officers.
If you have a passion for MTBO and are thinking of applying or have questions, contact Craig Steffens 0418871193 craig.s@orienteering.asn.au
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The High-O had been a regular summer event in the NSW Snowy Mountains and Victorian Alps in the nineties and the Albury-Wodonga Orienteering Club (AWOC) brought this event back this summer as a three-day orienteering event in the ski village of Dinner Plain in the Victorian Alps. The format changed from the traditional 2-day long-distance alpine orienteering event. This year it was a smorgasbord of five events, for a bargain total entry fee of $50.
I treated myself to the three events on the smorgasbord that didn’t require wheels, whereas my Finnish-Aussie race partner, Virpi Komulainen, treated herself to four races. The first event on 22 January was a sprint race through Dinner Plain, won by Mace Neve and Ewan Shingler. It took us through the various ski chalets of Dinner Plain, across playgrounds, amongst snowgums and over ski-runs. A MTBO race followed, that Virpi took part in on roller-skis, setting off like a true Flying Finn along the Great Alpine Road towards the first control before the terrain slowed her down a bit. The maps marked the location for our BBQ later that evening.
 
Sunday’s third event was in the style of the traditional epic High-O race. Competitors needed to pair up, and the 16- and 19-year-old siblings Ewan and Nea Shingler showed endurance beyond their years to win the long-distance course. Unique control locations included the “stationary kangaroo” (a kangaroo skeleton). Event 4 was another MTBO race, that took racers out past the tent sites where we freecamped at JB Plain. Again we gathered for dinner after the day’s races, this time at the Dinner Plain Hotel.
Monday’s fifth and final event was the Keen Relay. Leigh Privett explained how it would all work. The first leg runner would run a 2.8km sprint around Dinner Plain, hand the map and SI stick to the second leg runner to run the 2.4km sprint course on the flipside. The map was to be flipped again for both runners to run the final sprint relay course together, shown in a different colour on side one of the map. But before setting off, we would self-handicap ourselves by lining ourselves up at the 0, +5, +10, +15 or +20 minute signs held up by the AWOC organisers, and make challenges to teams who were giving themselves too beneficial a handicap. The handicapping system worked well - Virpi and I ended up in a 3-way sprint finish. The maximum handicap wasn't big enough to keep speedy juniors at bay though, with Ewan and Nea winning again.
 
The High-O was even more fun than the ones I raced in from 1990 to 2000 around Falls Creek and Kiandra. Big thanks to Leigh Privett, Peter Mousley and all of AWOC for reviving the event. It was fantastic to see Hugh Cameron, the first organiser we met as we arrived, running the Covid check-in process. Despite becoming an octogenarian just the day before, and being retired from his Department of Education, OA presidency and IOF Council roles, he was on his feet helping to run the event from beginning to end.
We hope the High-O is here to stay on the O-calendar. Perhaps there will be a roller-ski or knockout sprint race on next January’s smorgasbord menu!
This report and photos were kindly provided by Tracy Bluett
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The Australian Orienteering Carnival is a carnival for all abilities – make it your own
Many Orienteers in Australia have never been to one of the Australian Orienteering Carnivals. The great thing about these carnivals is they have something for everyone. They have four event types, sprints, middle distance, long distance and relays and more courses to choose from than a normal orienteering race. If members of your club are heading to the Australian Championships this year then why not join them? Apart from being the first championships for three years, the carnival is being held in a beautiful and historic part of Victoria – a great place for a holiday and it will showcase a variety of terrains; from a historic school to areas with gold mining and granite.
Even though some of these events are called Championships, there is no qualification or exclusion Unlike just about every other sport’s national championships, the “nationals” in orienteering are open to any orienteer that wants to give it a go. Usually that means eight or nine hundred giving it a go . Whilst there will be lots of opportunities to see Australia’s best competitors in action, there will be nine diverse and high quality events that will have lots of ordinary orienteers out there. They will be enjoying the challenge of navigating around their courses without being too concerned if they win or lose, and quite likely without having done any training other than attending their local events.
What’s really special about the carnival though is that it is the Big Event of the year. You will be amongst orienteers from all over Australia, and with any luck, many from New Zealand and beyond. The carnival also embraces the Senior schools championship so every state sends their schools teams and NZ sends teams over as well. The great thing is you can enter the types of event you want and can even chose different classes on different days. Some people enter their own age class for some events but chose to enter a shorter course for the longer events. Others chose to run “up” against the elites for the sprint event wanting the challenge of comparing themselves to the best. Some people enter everything while others cherry pick the events that suit them. How many of the nine events you do is up to you.
There are lots of distractions in the area. Lots of historic towns, great local wines, areas known for their restaurants, pubs and breweries or sit down at a gemütlich café or give the bike a spin.
So come along, and create a carnival that suits you. If you want any help with entries then please contact entriesaoc@vicorienteering.asn.au.
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Orienteering Australia makes a number of awards annually for services to orienteering. Nominations are now called for the following awards:
• Silva Award for Services to Orienteering
• Silva Award for Services to Orienteering Coaching
• David Hogg Award for Services to Event Management
Details of these awards, and the criteria for selection, are available through the OA Awards page (Section 1.16 of the Operational Manual). Individual orienteers or clubs can make nominations through their state association.
The information regarding these awards is currently being reviewed and some details do not apply for the current year. In particular, the closing date for nominations from state associations is 28 February 2022. Nominations should be forwarded to the OA Awards and Trophies Manager, David Hogg at dhogg@homemail.com.au with a copy to the OA General Manager at gm@orienteering.asn.au . If an unsuccessful nomination for an award has previously been submitted, please resubmit it with any appropriate updates. It is acceptable to nominate a person for more than one award.
Further information is available from David Hogg on 0247 023 252 or 02-6254 2325.
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Nominations are invited for new inductees for the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame has two divisions – the athlete division to recognise outstanding performers, and the general division to recognise overall contribution to the sport. There is a limit of two inductees per year for the general division but no limit for the athlete division. Candidates are not eligible for induction into the athlete division until the fifth year after they last competed at World Championships level (i.e. 2017 or earlier for 2022 inductees).
The nomination criteria and historical background are available here and in Section 1.35 of the OA Operational Manual.
OA recognises the significant gender imbalance in the current Hall of Fame membership and particularly encourages female nominations.
Previous unsuccessful nominations submitted after 2019 remain active and do not need to be resubmitted. Unsuccessful nominations made prior to that date will require a fresh nomination.
Nominations for the Hall of Fame are made via State Associations and should be submitted to the OA Awards and Trophies Manager, David Hogg, at dhogg@homemail.com.au with a copy to the OA General Manager at gm@orienteering.asn.au by 28 February 2022.
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This month Brodie sat down with Krystal Neumann, Queensland senior elite who has had an impressive career of Australian representation. Krystal first ran for Australia at the Junior World Championships in Sweden in 2008 and since then has donned the green and gold 11 times (not including world cups or Oceania schools)! Recently she has been trying her hand at trail running, with some great results in 2021. Let’s find out what she has planned for 2022!
Hey Krystal, firstly, can you tell us a little about what you are up to now? What are your plans for 2022?
Hey Brodie! At the moment I am attempting to get myself sorted out to get back to some consistent training. I’ve had a bit of an eventful 6 months with quite a few changes; moving to a completely new area but yes, still Brisbane, getting a very new job and generally doing things a little differently. So just finding that routine again and getting my body sorted is the priority. I plan on getting back to some consistency, doing the NOL races, and generally enjoying training. Some nice long runs in cool places like the Bunya Mountains or Binna Burra are definitely in the plan somewhere. I am also entered in the BTU30 so hopefully I can get some decent training in before then.
A bit of mix of orienteering and trail running, sounds like a good start to 2022! So you have had a long and successful senior career – tell us a little about how you got to where you are now?
I just tried really hard to be honest. I came to orienteering ‘late’, starting when I was 12 years old (2003), but very quickly picked it up and won my first Australian Schools Championships in 2005, in Tasmania. I was a decent runner to start with so I think that definitely helped but we had a small group in Brisbane that trained together every Tuesday with Clive Pope, that included Bridget Uppill (Anderson), Laurina and Kurt (my sister and brother) and I think that is where a lot of my early improvement came from. I went to JWOC from 2008-2012 (skipping 2010 because of a back injury), took a year or 2 off, because I couldn’t see myself doing the training required for WOC at that time. I exchanged to Ireland for university and came back in time to fit in some training and (honestly by accident) made the WUOC team in 2014. From then it was WOC every year from 2015 in Scotland to Norway in 2019. Then COVID happened. During this time my training changed and increased a lot. I got myself a new coach at the beginning of 2016, Ralph Street, from Great Britain, which also coincided with moving to Stockholm to teach at an international school and train with Jarla Orientering for what ended up being 1.5 years. Ralph was my running and technical coach until pretty much the end of 2019 and helped massively, especially my technical. If you stalk my attackpoint (krysyjane) and look at the months and weeks from 2014 to the beginning of 2020/mid 2021 it gives a pretty good idea of how my physical condition improved during that time. We would analyse my training and my races pretty thoroughly. I also made a lot of sacrifices; with work and living (I didn’t keep any job at a school for longer than 1 semester or move out from my parents place because I knew I would be going to Europe midyear) and socially (choosing training or sleep over social activities). But also, I never really got injured. My last real injury was 2010. Since then it has been consistent training, without breaking myself to the point where I needed to take time off for injury.
  
Wow, what a journey, thanks for giving us such an insight into your career. What do you see as the most important part of your development as an orienteer? What would you go back and do different?
I definitely made the most improvement by having Ralph as my coach. We literally stripped my whole orienteering technique back in 2016 and started from scratch. I felt like I was learning from the beginning all over again, and it took a fair bit of resilience, persistence and trust in Ralph to do that. In 2015 I was making these big mistakes on generally 1 control every course that would cost me multiple minutes; we mostly eliminated these, and got me to a point where I could do every control well on an entire course. We discovered that if I wanted to run well I have to have 100% focus on exactly what I am doing, or I will make a mistake. My first race where this all came together was the NOL in Bendigo in 2018 at Yorkshire Hill where I won by 2 minutes in the middle distance. Safe to say I was stoked with that (until everyone accused me of following the 2nd place getter!). I have recently discovered it is exactly the same for me with golf, for context, if I see an ant in the grass next to my ball while I am hitting, it will probably not be a clean shot…
I don’t really know what I would’ve done differently. I always wanted to live and train in the Czech Republic, but couldn’t find a job, so maybe I would have done that before Sweden or something. I would probably try and not eliminate so much of my social life, and probably join a running club or 2 earlier than I did. I only started running with a group in 2019 (I think it was), but I guess that was because I lived further out of Brisbane with my parents, so I’m not really sure. It all worked at the time. If I changed anything I probably wouldn’t have gotten my current job, which is something I have worked up towards for years. The one regret I have is not going skiing in either winter I spent in Sweden.
Again, some great insight and key messages – sounds like having a coach and being involved in a running group are two things that have worked well for you. Alright, lets move into some quickfire questions: Click here to continue reading.
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This article was written by Mårten Lång and was published in the Swedish Orienteering Magazine Skogssport. It has been kindly translated by OA Foreign Correspondent Caroline Pigerre. Thank you Caroline.
“You can control a lot about how the trail network and the map look”
In Ski-orienteering, as a course setter, you are able to control a lot about the trail network and therefore how the map turns out. Unlike in foot-orienteering, it is possible to add another trail to the map at short notice, to be able to provide the participants with new challenges, says Sture Norén.
Sture Norén works for the orienteering and ski-orienteering high school in Älvsbyn in Sweden. He also has a background as an event organiser for both skiing and ski-orienteering. When Sweden and Piteå organised the ski-orienteering World Championships in 2019, Sture Norén was responsible for the courses and the trail network, and spent an enormous amount of time creating and building the trail network. “In ski-orienteering, everything relies on and is controlled by the snow conditions. This means that the map can change from season to season, but also can be changed between competitions.”
So will a ski-orienteering map from this winter look completely different to one from last winter?
“Well, there is a base trail network which is built upon, and this is the same from year to year. But then I try to always add a trail or two here and there, so that it is not exactly the same as before. I want the event participants to experience something new and different to previous years. And new trails can add interesting route choice options to the orienteering courses.”
What does the map making process look like for ski-orienteering maps?
“We start with a regular orienteering map. Then, following the IOF guidelines for ski-orienteering maps, all of the marshes are changed to the symbol for broad swamp. All of the green areas are changed to the lightest possible shade of green to indicate that it is tight forest and somewhere it is difficult to get through. That is the basic process. Then, I take off everything that you can’t see in the forest. For example, small rocks, goat trails, small knolls. The large rocks usually remain on the map. Basically, you can say that everything that you risk missing when moving at speed on the trails is taken off”, says Sture Norén. “The trail network and controls are then placed in the foreground of the map, because this is what you read the most when competing/training. That is why we work a lot with the different shades of purple colours to optimise the legibility of the map.”
The lakes freeze over in the winters – can you still go there?
“Watercourses (light blue colour) with a borderline show that you are unable to go over it. Without the borderline around, it is okay. When we make trails over the lakes, we usually add white under the green for the trail so that it is visible on the map.”
In parts of the country, the availability of snow is often a challenge when it comes to ski-orienteering; Is it still possible to get good training based on an already existing trail network at a ski stadium?
“The sport depends of course on the availability of snow. But if you can find a couple of places where you can add an extra trail, it can do a lot for the course and the challenge. The route choice problem in particular can be a big challenge for ski-orienteering”, says Sture Norén.
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OA is seeking expressions of interest from the Australian orienteering community to be a part of an athletes commission. This group of 4-6 individuals will represent the athlete body in decisions about orienteering in Australia. OA encourages athletes from both foot and MTBO disciplines, of any age, ability or gender, to consider being involved.
The initial members will help shape the exact role of the commission however it is likely to function similar to the IOF athlete commission (See terms of reference here). Some examples of the athlete’s commissions potential roles include:
- Athlete representatives in the OA coaching and HP committee
- Provide athlete angle/feedback to board on issues that affect athletes
- Bring athletes concerns/ideas to the board level
If you are interested in being a part of the commission, please email Brett Weihart (brett.w@orienteering.asn.au) and Brodie Nankervis (coaching@orienteering.asn.au) by Sunday February 27th, 2022.
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In a new promotional initiative, OQ has begun a series of promotional displays in several of the Brisbane City Council Libraries.
The displays feature simple and eye-catching information cards accompanied by lots of orienteering memorabilia such as the OQ Club Relay Trophy, O- shoes (well-used!), compasses, staplers, SI Sticks and Units, punch cards, AO Magazines and lots of maps.
The response from librarians has been very enthusiastic - they have appreciated having something different to display to the usual toys, craft and china figurines! There has also been lots of interest from the public too with comments such as “Love the theme”, “Inspired me to try out orienteering” and “Super display”.
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The March 2022 edition of The Australian Orienteer contains previews of upcoming NOL events, the Melbourne Sprint Weekend, the AUS MTBO Championships near Kurri Kurri, NSW, in late March, the Easter Carnival in QLD, with NSW State League events near Armidale just prior to Easter, and QB111 near Wagga Wagga in June.
There's an interview with the 2022 AOC Carnival Technical Director, Warren Key, about the terrain and other attractions in Victoria's Central Highlands. We cover the recent Xmas 5 Days Carnival in the NSW Southern Highlands and the High-O in Victoria's Alpine region, with maps and courses from both for you to peruse. Another recent event, Koomba Kaos, was a bush sprint lead-up to MSW in March. Ian Jessup describes some newcomer experiences at the Sydney Summer Series. The NSW Institute of Sport tells us about the development of processed foods and gives us some suggestions for healthy food ingredient swaps.
There's the solution to December's Spot the Difference puzzle, and a new one for March. O-SPY brings you some more "Quite Interesting" news and we have letters from Janet Fletcher (WA) and Trevor Sauer (QLD). The Top Events section rounds out another magazine full of interest for our readers.
Dispatch from the printer in Melbourne to State Associations is planned on or before Wed 23 February.
The MARCH 2022 magazine is at the printer and will be distributed to State Associations soon.
We have 18 maps and six event previews. Some with entry closing dates coming up very soon, such as Melbourne Sprint Weekend, Australian MTBO Championships near Newcastle, the Easter Carnival, and NSW State League events near Armidale.
You can download the digital version from Issuu, but for the maps with complex detail and for the Spot the Difference puzzles we suggest you wait until your printed magazine arrives.
Either way, another one not to be missed.
Michael Hubbert "The Australian Orienteer"
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O-Map Wiki is a brand-new platform, which aims to provide up-to-date and high-quality information on orienteering mapping. It extends information on the use of map symbols, map making methods, related terminology and resources.
The main objectives of the O-Map Wiki project are:
- on a volunteer basis to create a platform with up-to-date and high-quality information about orienteering mapping
- to provide broader information about map symbols in the current map specifications including photos of objects from the terrain and correct/incorrect examples of symbol use
- to describe different work-flows of map creation to serve as a guide to new mappers
- to educate about map generalization and legibility
- to reference other relevant resources
The project is mainly volunteer-based. Anyone with relevant experience in mapping can contribute text to the glossary or add a photo of an object from the terrain for the corresponding map symbol. Populating the system with quality data will not only help mappers, but will also be beneficial for many organizers, event advisors and competitors. The O-Map Wiki does not replace map specifications, but by bringing a range of information into the web environment, the wiki extends the ability to retrieve and share information easily.
The O-Map Wiki project was initiated by the IOF Map Commission and the development of the system was financially supported from the IOF budget.
The O-Map Wiki pages can be found at https://omapwiki.orienteering.sport, where there is also information for volunteers on how to contribute to the development of the platform.
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Volunteers remain key to ensuring sporting clubs and organisations across Australia can get back on track following the impact of the pandemic.
The Australian Government, through Sport Australia, has strengthened its commitment to attract and retain volunteers as we continue to navigate the safe return of sport at all levels.
Sport Australia’s latest AusPlay report has identified volunteering as the lifeblood for organised competition with an increasing number of opportunities identified, particularly for those with a disability, retirees, low-income households and people who speak a language other than English.
It found, almost three million Australians volunteer in sport, but additional support is needed to ensure organised competition returns stronger than ever following the impact of the pandemic.
The report also highlights the strong role sporting clubs play in rural and regional communities with volunteering more common outside of major cities despite having similar participation rates.
According to Ausplay, 23 thousand Australians orienteered this year. This compares to 12 thousand in 2019. 56% of participants were men; a majority of adult orienteers were women. To keep this number of orienteers able to compete in events and have successful clubs and associations to support them, many volunteers are needed. Is there a volunteer role you can fill?
Read the full article here.
Club and State AGMs are coming up very soon. Please consider taking on a role to help keep our great sport running.
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