|
|
|
|
A special bulletin explaining the Easter 2021 Australian 3 Day Carnival via Q&As has been released and is available for download here. Version 4 of Bulletin 1 has just been released, giving all the event information.
This is set to be a terrific carnival on superb maps.
For more detailed info please go to the event website here or email the organisers.
There are multiple events offered as part of the four day Easter long weekend carnival and in the week and weekend following it.
- The first weekend (Apr 2-5) has events in Orange (Fri) and near Molong (Sat-Sun-Mon) where we revisit the intricate granite Gumble map.
- Midweek (Wed-Thu, Apr 7-8) are informal events. Wednesday is a Sprint in a park in Orange, while Thursday is a Middle Distance in the historic gold mining area at Ophir Diggings.
- The second weekend moves to bushranger territory and the awesome granite Seldom Seen maps near Eugowra (Sat and Sun, Apr 10-11) for the NSW Middle and Long Championships. You can see Bulletin 1 here. This is the postponed 2020 NSW Championships. Entries close March 21.
The cut-off date for registrations is March 7 for the Aus 3 Days. Late entries will be permitted until March 10 but attract a surcharge of $15 per event. We strongly encourage you to pre-enter. You can choose to enter one or two days of the Easter – see the How to Guide.
Please register for the events via the event links on Eventor.
The organisers have also released an important statement on the availability of water and the supply of control descriptions. You can read it here.
|
|
Victoria is hosting the opening weekend of the National Orienteering League from 13-14 March. These events will double as the opening weekend of the Vic Autumn Series, so there will be course options for all ages and experience levels.
The Eureka Challenge on Sunday, will NO longer be a Hagaby, instead it will be a Long 'line' course.
But now a update on what is being planned for the NOL weekend (*all start times to be confirmed)
- Saturday morning is a Sprint in Gisborne, 1st start from 10 am*
- Saturday afternoon is a Middle on Mt Alexander, Harcourt, 1st start will be around 2 pm*
- Sunday morning will be a Long on Petticoat Gully, Creswick, 1st start from 10 am*
All events are on EVENTOR, where entries are now open and you can also find links to the Embargoed areas/old maps on the OV Embargo Page.
It has been very testing times, not only for the organisers, but for athletes that want to attend. With State borders opening and shutting on what seems a daily basis, it is very hard to plan. OA has updated and published 'NOL Special arrangements for 2021', which will be used as a guideline to cancelling a NOL weekend. This is available on the OA website.
Taking all of this into account, the events are still being planned as if it will be a NOL weekend, with some fall back plans. The 2 events on Saturday are still planned to go ahead as is, but changes could be made if the NOL status is removed, and the events become State events instead.
Accommodation/Places to stay: Organizers suggest Castlemaine, but any place between Harcourt and Ballarat will make it easier to get to the Event on Sunday morning.
|
|
 
A NOL round with two NOL races, and a 3rd minor event is planned for the Anzac weekend in 2021. The events are as follows
- Saturday 24th April – PM – Middle Distance NOL and WRE – Wiela Bunyip Reach, Course Planner Steve Cooper
- Sunday 25th April – AM – Long Distance NOL loop race and SA Long Distance Championships – Crooked Straight – Course planner – Simon Uppill
- Monday 26th April – AM – Sprint event at Renmark Schools – Course planner Lanita Steer
Bulletin 1 is available in Eventor, along with available classes for each event, and the previous maps of Wiela-Bunyip Reach and Crooked Straight.
The Monday is a public holiday in SA, hence some accommodation venues are asking for a 3 night booking minimum.
 
|
|
Selection criteria have been published and nominations are open for the following national teams in 2021:
World Orienteering Championships
Junior World Orienteering Championships
Selection criteria can be found here.
Nominations are via the online form here.
|
|
Orienteering Australia is urgently seeking new Board members. We will have a number of vacant Board positions to be filled at the AGM at Easter. The Board consists of seven elected positions and only three existing Board members will be standing for re-election. (Blair Trewin and Bruce Bowen have reached their maximum terms under the new Constitution and are ineligible to stand for re-election).
Under the new structure, the Board is elected as a group and then elects its own Chair. The Board also determines which specific positions are to be created from amongst its membership, although it is expected that the existing positions of Technical, Finance and High Performance will be retained in some form.
If you are interested in contributing to the strategic direction, management and growth of orienteering in Australia, we would be very pleased to see you put yourself forward for election. Although past Board (or equivalent) experience at a State level can be advantageous, we have had many successful Board members in the past with no previous experience in orienteering administration. It is also definitely not a requirement to be a current or former high-level competitor.
There is a wide range of skills which will be useful to have within the OA Board. Some of the skill areas which would be particularly useful to us are:
- Communications and marketing
- Project management, both specifically in the IT area, and more generally
- Finance and budgeting (note we are looking at outsourcing the bookkeeping part of the job)
- Governance (a legal background may be useful here but is not essential)
We are seeking a Board with the best possible gender balance and therefore especially encourage female candidates to put themselves forward. We would also welcome younger Board candidates; we have had numerous Board members under 40 in the past.
Board meetings typically take place online one evening every 4-6 weeks. In normal circumstances, there is also the Annual Conference on a weekend in December, as well as the Annual General Meeting (normally at Easter).
The standard term of office is for three years (with a maximum of three terms). As a transitional arrangement, some of the positions elected at the 2021 AGM will expire after one or two years (we expect that two of the current Directors will stand for the two one-year positions).
If you would like to discuss a potential role on the Board further, please contact the current President, Blair Trewin, at president@orienteering.asn.au or 0413 849 309.
Nominations may be made by State Associations, OA Committees, or by existing Directors. If insufficient nominations are received by 7 March 2021 (28 days before the AGM), they may be made from the floor at the AGM. Nominations, indicating the nominator(s) and the nominee’s consent to the nomination, should be sent to the Executive Officer at eo@orienteering.asn.au.
|
|
|
 
The article "Life at Orienteering High School" was written by Frida Melin and translated by OA's Foreign Correspondent Caroline Pigerre. It was originally published in Skogssport Sweden's Orienteering Magazine. Thank you for sharing this article with us Caroline.
For juniors in Sweden, after they finish primary school, most choose to attend a high school which specialises in a particular subject, activity or sport. For orienteering, juniors can choose between going to a local high school where they live at home and continue to train with their orienteering club, or attending an orienteering high school (OLGY) where they live on campus and train as part of the school life. Some people might choose not to continue their orienteering. So what does life at an orienteering high school look like? Emilia Bergström and Ebba Lindell tell us about their experiences.
Emilia runs for the club OK Rodhen and is in her second year studying with the Nationally Approved Sports Education program at the OLGY in Uppsala. Ebba runs for the club IF Thor and is in her second year studying with the National Sports High School program at the OLGY in Sandviken.
What does a usual week look like at your respective high schools?
- In Uppsala we have training every morning. So we have time to train and then get ready for school to start at 10:30am Monday – Friday. School finishes between 15:15 and 16:30 depending on the day. In the afternoons there is time for extra training, otherwise we usually cook dinner and socialize. Each week is a little different with training, however there are usually 4 organised trainings each week. Depending on the time of year, the training will vary, but at the moment we are in a base training phase so we usually have a long run on Mondays. On Tuesdays we usually take a minibus to an orienteering training session. Then, on Wednesdays and Thursdays we will have an interval session and a strength session, says Emilia about the school in Uppsala.
- Ebba says that in Sandviken, on Mondays they train in the afternoons. The type of training depends on which season it is. When it is competition season, we usually have an easy session for recovery. On Tuesdays, we have the longest training of the week, usually running for over an hour and we often travel to a relevant map which can be at times a fair way away. The Tuesday session is usually a long run on a technical orienteering map at an easy pace. The next training session of the week is Wednesday morning with a strength session. The strength itself depends on the competition season as well, to limit muscle soreness and lactic acid to be able to better perform for the races. On Thursdays we often have a high intensity training in the afternoon, for example a speed or interval session.
What is the dormitory situation like at your schools?
- All the orienteering students (of mixed age and gender) live along the same corridor together. We each have our own rooms with a toilet and shower which is nice. We have a common kitchen, dining room and social space. I think it works well, says Emilia.
- In Sandviken, we live in apartments which we share with two other orienteering students. So there are 2 or 3 of you sharing an apartment. I think it works quite well because it makes it easy to socialise, but you can always close your door if you need some alone time, says Ebba.
How much of your food do you need to cook each week?
- The lunches in Sandviken are provided by the school every day, and we also get dinner there on Monday and Thursdays. So it is only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays that we cook by ourselves in our rooms. But it is actually quite fun to cook what you want to eat anyway, says Ebba.
- In Uppsala, we cook everything by ourselves: breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks, says Emilia.
What is the community like at OLGY?
- I think there is a great community. You can mix with anyone and you are always welcome and included. We do a lot of things together so it is really fun, says Ebba.
- I would say that there is a really good community. We have a great group and there is a good atmosphere at the trainings, says Emilia.
Why did you choose your respective schools?
- I think that for me, it was always going to be Uppsala, because I had heard that it was a good OLGY and I prefer to train in the mornings. I think that the school itself is good and the teachers take into consideration the balance between school and sport because it is a sports high school and all the other students there are also athletes. OLGY Uppsala is also close to where I live which makes it easy for me to go home for the weekends, says Emilia.
- I chose Sandviken because it is close to home. I go home almost every weekend. But I also think that it is the best orienteering high school in Sweden. I feel really great there and I think it all works really well for me. I don’t think that I have experienced any homesickness at all, finishes Ebba.
After having interviewed Emilia and Ebba, it seems that going to an orienteering high school is a great opportunity, where you can develop in all areas: training, school and socially.
|
|
There will be a L3 controllers’ workshop on the Tuesday immediately after the Easter 3 Day Orienteering Championships in Orange , so if there are any controllers who need to reaccredit at L3 or are interested in moving up to L3, please get in contact with Jenny Cassanova.
The amended Appendix 5 about controller accreditation, which has been changed to state that the reaccreditation period is now 5 years instead of 4 is here. This includes copies of the accreditation/reaccreditation forms.
The points required for accreditation/reaccreditation haven’t changed, and are still to be accrued over an 8-year period, and attendance at a controllers’ workshop is to occur within that 8-year period.
|
|
The Global Development Commission have updated their collection of basic orienteering education material.
Here is the link to the Education webpages. There are heaps of interesting orienteering activities for different age groups.
Great resource for school's orienteering!
Among a lot of material for teaching orienteering, you can find how to draw a sprint map.
You can also find the latest up-to-date versions of “Cool, Awesome and Educational” in English.
If you are missing any material that you feel should be shared to others, please send an email to: GDC@orienteering.sport
|
|
Improvements has been added to Eventor to make it is easier for new orienteers to register and join either an orienteering club or a casuals group. The process has been simplified to make it easier for beginners.
Other changes have been made to the process to discourage people from registering without joining a club or a casual group. As you would be aware, when this happens the new registrant does not belong to a club or a state association, and thus cannot be found except by a handful of national administrators. Many of the 'Cancel' buttons have been removed and 'Save' buttons half way through have been replaced with 'Next' buttons. Hopefully people will now complete the full registration and joining process.
Attached is documentation to show all the steps involved. You are most welcome to use this directly or modify it for your state or club.
How to register and join an orienteering club or casuals group PDF Version ; Word Version
|
|
Orienteering Australia has released the January 2021 update of its National Orienteering League Guidelines.
The updated documents can be found in the Operation Manual here.
Direct link to “2021 NOL Orienteering League Guidelines” here.
Direct link to “2021 NOL Special Arrangements” here.
|
|
The March 2021 digital edition of The Australian Orienteer is ISSUE No 200 and is now available for download here.
We look back over the years to the creation of the magazine in 1979. As well, Ross Barr looks at the progression of control descriptions in Park-Street O; Debbie Dodd tells how MapLink helped to keep Victorians sane; a claim reinforced by Bruce Paterson in RadiO CorOna; Brodie Nankervis shows how young mappers have come to the fore in Sporting Schools; there's nutrition advice from the NSW Institute of Sport; Duncan Currie's "JEFF" cartoon expands to a full page; and there's the usual O-Spy, Spot the Difference, MTBO and Top Events sections
Another one certainly not to be missed.
For better legibility we recommend that you download the magazine (rather than view on-line), particularly for reading complex maps such as those in Spot the Difference.
|
|
The conversion of Orienteering Australia to a company limited by guarantee was unanimously agreed by a Special General Meeting held on Monday night. As part of the change, a new Constitution for Orienteering Australia has been adopted. The changes will take effect when OA’s new registration has formally been accepted by ASIC, which is expected to happen within the next few weeks.
Orienteering Australia has now taken the same legal form as most other national sporting organisations, following the governance recommendations of Sport Australia. The change does not appreciably alter the relationship between OA and the State Associations and will have only a limited effect on the day-to-day operation of orienteering in Australia.
One change which will occur is the Board will be elected as a group of independent directors, who will then elect a Chair and portfolio directors (such as High Performance, Finance and Technical) from amongst their number, rather than those positions being directly elected. The first election for the new Board will take place at the AGM at Easter. A 9-year term limit has also been introduced for Board members. The current President and Director (Finance), Blair Trewin and Bruce Bowen, have reached this term limit and will be ineligible to stand for election to the new Board. A formal call for nominations for Board members will be issued shortly.
OA would like to thank the State Associations, and the external members of the governance working group, Melissa Gangemi and Robert Spry, for seeing this process through to its completion.
Link to the new Constitution (subject to minor editing to complete and update details).
|
|
Australia is synonymous with summer and sport. When these two extremes, hot environmental conditions and vigorous exercise, are combined it can produce a health and safety risk to athletes, officials, and spectators.
This topic provides information for all, so that participation in sport and exercise in hot conditions can be done in a safe manner. This information is intended to increase awareness of the risk to health and performance, and guide practice so that heat-related illnesses can be avoided.
Exertional or exercise induced heat stroke is a form of hyperthermia—a condition where the normal internal core temperature of the human body (generally 37°C) is elevated by as little as 2 to 3°C (39°C to 40°C) or higher.
Although the incidence of exertional heat stroke is rare, sporting bodies and event organisers are encouraged to understand the risk factors and have a clear policy regarding the risk of heat illness during competition and other sport participation.
Heat illness - defining the problem
Heat policy guidelines
Signs and symptoms of heat illness
This article was written by Christine May, Senior Research Consultant, Clearinghouse for Sport and can be found in full here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
