Orienteering Association of NSW

The best of Australian orienteering were ready for battle in the WOC selection races at the Coalfields Classic this weekend.  Starting with a Sprint event around Newcastle University it was Matthew Crane who took the lead ahead of Simon Uppill and Toby Scott in the Men's 21E.   In W21E Rachel Effeney was on great form taking 1st place over a minute ahead of Grace Crane and nearly 2 minutes ahead of New Zealand international Lizzie Ingham.  The JWOC team were racing with some fine performances from the younger elites with ACT's Oli Poland not far off the senior elite pace, Tasmanian Brodie Nankervis and NSW Alex Massey tucked in closely behind.  Nicola Blatchford has clearly recovered from her recent injury problems taking third just behind Lilian Burrell and Heather Muir.

But the Sprint and the weekend weren't just about elites. With all three weekend races also nominated as NSW State Leagues nearly 200 club athletes were also out to try their luck on the Newcastle maps. The high quality of the mapping allowed planner Karen Blatchford to set some really challenging courses. High control concentration and multiple changes of direction on an area where route choice really made a difference to times meant that those who got it right were within seconds of their rivals, and those who got it wrong found their results tumbling down the Sprint Results.  Michael Burton of Big Foot Orienteers won a very competitive M40A class and Malcolm Roberts (Newcastle Orienteers) had an impressive win in the M50A. Bruce Meder (Garingal) was nearly over 2 minutes quicker than second placed Rob Preston in M60A; by contrast the margin in the W40A  was 1 second between Barbara Hill, also Garingal, and Nicole Haigh, Newcastle.

For most competitors less than 30 minutes running time out of their legs meant that they were still fresh and ready for the afternoon's Middle Distance event at Pelaw Main.  The site of an old colliery, Pelaw Main was mainly flat with intricate path detail requiring fast accurate running. Matthew Crane and Simon Uppill again took the top two spots for M21E but it was a real contest for the next five places which were only separated by 37 seconds. Lizzie Ingham, Vanessa Round and Aislinn Prendergast were the top three in W21E, the first NSW elite girl, Catherine Murphy of Uringa Orienteers a little off the pace down in 12th.  Local orienteers Scott Simson, Glenn Burgess and Graham Fowler of Newcastle Orienteers will have been pleased with their 1st places in M40A, M50A and M70A respectively.  Nicole Haigh (W21A), Gayle Quantock (W50A), Toy Martin (W65A) also took top spots for Newcastle. Middle Distance Results. 

Sunday's Long Distance race at Kitchener was also the World Ranking Event.  With a steep ridge to the south of the map and undulating eucalypt crisscrossed with an extensive creek and trail networks for the rest,  both physical and mental stamina were required.  With the longest courses checking in at 18.1km competitors will have been glad of the cool, dry running conditions.  The best Elites results for NSW were in the junior ranks with Alex Massey and Kasimir Gregory posting 4th and 5th in the M17-20E and Michele Dawson 2nd in W17-20E.  Rob Preston and Tracey Marsh were NSW best in the 21E races scoring top ten finishes with a 7th and 8th place respectively. Runners who managed the trifecta this weekend were Matthew Crane M21E, Ewan Shingler M10A, Duncan Currie M12A, Daniel Hill M16A, Daniel Orr M21AS, Barry Hanlon M75A, Karen Wallace OpenC, Sophie Jones W10A, Felicity Barker-Smith W18A, Barbara Hill W40A, Luke Robertson EOD Moderate Long Distance Results

These races were the first opportunity this season for the NSW Wildfires to get together for some fun as well as some serious racing. With a 'club' tent for meeting up with their friends, and brand new racing shirts the Wildfires were easy to spot. Wildfires leader Salme Fuller put on a string course and then ran a series of games for the under 12's after their races.

'It was great to see them all getting together, really engaging with the games and having fun,' said Salme. Salme has a fantastic repertoire of orienteering games and the children were treated to some of her favorites including Jump the Creek, Orienteering Soccer, Orienteering Bullrush and Compass Parachute.  The Wildfires will get together again at the Queens Birthday 3 Days in Armidale.

The Coalfields Classic got underway in Newcastle today.  The Sprint event was conducted at Newcastle University and the Middle Distance event at Pelaw Main.  Both events were part of the National Orienteering League and were also selection races for the Australian team that will contest this year's World Orienteering Championships.

RouteGadget and Splitalyzer analysis are available here.

Sprint results are available here.

The Classic continues tomorrow with the Long Distance event in the Werakata National Park at Kitchener where the elites will be challenged by an 18km course.

More news to come.....

Some of the best NSW juniors will be running hard this weekend as the Coalfields Classic includes the first selection races for the 2012 NSW Schools Team.   The team will compete in the Australian All Schools Orienteering Championships in Tasmania during the September school holidays.

If juniors are interested in nominating for the team, it’s not too late, but you had better be quick!  Entry on the day is available for this weekend’s events and selectors have generously extended the deadline for nominations to 13 May.  Full selection criteria for the squad is available here.  Late nominations for the NSW 2012 Schools Team should be emailed to Karen Blatchford (blatchy25@yahoo.com) with cc to Hilary Wood by email (hilary.f.wood@gmail.com) and note your name, school attended, date of birth and contact details.

In other junior news, Waggaroos hosted the Riverina Schools Orienteering Championships this week.  By all reports the day was outstanding with 60 young local orienteers competing.  The support of the Riverina School Sport Unit was very much appreciated. In Sydney, the Junior League started last Sunday at UWS Kingswood.  Times for all competitors are available here and the Junior League point score from the day is available here.  The ONSW Development Team has also been kept busy this week with 180 Mosman High students in the midst of a three week orienteering program.  Thanks to the support of Sydney Harbour Federation Trust the students were able to explore the historic defence buildings and magnificent harbour views at Georges Heights.  Active After-school Communities programs are also running in Sydney, the Hunter Valley and Illawarra this term and are keeping our wonderful coaches busy providing excellent orienteering experiences for primary schoolers.

Anyone heading to Newcastle for the Coalfields Classic this weekend should have another look at the event website.  It has all the latest bulletins, start lists and event information including a new press release from Australian Orienteering's Bob Mouatt describing how the SILVA National Orienteering League works, the elite competitors, their current standings and their chances in this weekend's races.

This weekend there was a veritable feast of orienteering.  The ACT Middle and Long Distance Championships near Canberra lured some of NSW best but there was still plenty of racing and competition across the State, from the 2nd Metroleague race out at Kingswood, to the the club event offerings at Yambo by the Central Coast Orienteers, and Ophir near Orange held by Goldseekers. 

Building on the success of the Space Racing series the Western Plains Orienteers hosted a coaching course on one of the Sappa Bulga maps last Saturday. Coaches Karen and Sean Hagan ran the course for fourteen members who wanted to move to or improve their performance on Moderate level courses. After revising basic skills, the participants tested themselves first on a short course and then with growing confidence, on a trickier longer course.  Review and reflection with the coaches consolidated their learning, giving them a solid basis to attend the Goldseekers event taking place on the following day at Ophir.

Thanks to Karen Hagan for this report

It was definitely worth turning up early at last Wednesday's Moonlight Madness in Cremorne. Early runners getting ready for their twilight sortie were treated to the evening illumination of the city, with ferries scuttling across the twinkling harbour towards our beautiful Opera House.  Once darkness fell and the race began there were more views to be had, including the eerily flashing green lighthouse at the end of the point.

There was a sizeable turnout for the event with nearly seventy  runners setting out, both individually and in groups, surprising the homecoming commuters walking up from the ferry point at Cremorne.  Planner Carolyn Haupt had set an enjoyable course where there were plenty of points for all, not just those with long legs and too much energy.  Average score on the course was 420.   Richard Green scooped up all the points in 42:40 with Glenn Horrocks and Steve Ryan in second and third places respectively.

Junior orienteers from across Sydney will descend on UWS Kingswood for the first of the 2012 Junior League season. With plenty of teams and individuals already signing up the League is set to have its best year yet.

For those still yet to sign up pre-entry is best but entry on the day is also available. Online pre-entry is open until Friday 4 May and can be accessed here. Anyone planning to enter on the day should email Barbara Hill here so she can ensure there are sufficient maps for all those who wish to run. Junior Leaguers who also run for their club in the Metroleague will run once and score twice on Sunday!

The Sydney Junior Orienteering League runs in school terms 2 and 3 on Sunday mornings and is aimed at Junior orienteers aged between 8 and 20. Beginners through to experienced orienteers are welcome with courses ranging from introductory level navigation through to harder courses that will challenge some of Sydney's best young orienteers. If you like a puzzle and problem solving plus getting out and active then the Junior League is for you.

The organising team in Newcastle spent a long evening on Tuesday this week finalising their plans for the big Coalfield Classic events.  Bulletins with more event details will be going up in the next couple of days and the start lists will be published on Monday.  There's a great line-up of competitors with many of the 2012 JWOC team racing, as well as senior Australian Internationals including Rachel Effeney, Kathryn Ewels, Grace Crane, Simon Uppill and Rob Preston.  There are a number of New Zealander elites also coming to try their luck and even some Finns.  With over 300 runners pre-entered there will be plenty of competition to go around.

Hungry for more orienteering or keen for some final training before the Coalfields Classic? Central Coast Orienteers are holding a Bush event near Morriset on 6 May on their 'Yambo' map. With courses from Very Easy, Moderate, Hard and Very Hard to choose from there is something for everyone to sharpen up their technique before the big races in Newcastle on the 12 & 13 May.

Please check the location - there has been a problem with the map loaded on the ONSW website. The correct map link is here. These directions will also get you there:

Directions from Sydney: Exit F3 freeway at Tuggerah and turn left into Old Maitland Road follow this to a T junction, turn right onto Yarramalong Rd and then left into Hue Hue Road. Take the first turn left into Jilliby Road. Follow this for 10kms and turn right into Mandalong Road at the intersection before Dooralong Hall. Follow this for 6kms (mainly dirt) to parking, assembly area.
Directions from Newcastle: Take the Morisset exit from F3 turn right into Mandalong Road and follow this to the top of the hill to parking, assembly.

Starts are from 9.30 to 11.30am

Melanie Simpson took the Women's Elite title in one of her last races in Australia before she leaves to take up a post in Norway.  Other NSW riders had success in the age categories with Rob Prentice and Malcolm Roberts taking first and second in M50, Duo Organiser Greg Bacon winning M60 against a strong field and Graham Fowler coming first in M70.  Carolyn Matthews from Newcastle took second in W40.   Full results and report can be found on the Australian Orienteering website here

Junior orienteers from across Sydney will descend on UWS Kingswood for the first of the 2012 Junior League season.  With plenty of teams and individuals already signing up the League is set to have its best year yet.

For those still yet to sign up pre-entry is best but entry on the day is also available.  Anyone planning to enter on the day should email Barbara Hill here so she can ensure there are sufficient maps for all those who wish to run.  Junior Leaguers who also run for their club in the Metroleague will run once and score twice on Sunday!

The Sydney Junior Orienteering League runs in school terms 2 and 3 on Sunday mornings and is aimed at Junior orienteers aged between 8 and 20. Beginners through to experienced orienteers are welcome with courses ranging from introductory level navigation through to harder courses that will challenge some of Sydney's best young orienteers.  If you like a puzzle and problem solving plus getting out and active then the Junior League is for you.

With the moving of the ACT championships to 5/6 May the weekend of 28/29 April became available for a necessary work weekend at The Hut.  As many of those interested are retired we were also able to add 26/27 April and get in the best part of 4 days of work.

The contingent of Chris Murphy (Hut Manager), Peter Howe, Dave Lotty, Ron Junghans, Ken Jacobson, Barry Pearce, Robert Spry and Kevin Curby totally refilled the woodshed with cut hardwood collected in the wilds of the forest.  As well as this the lawns were mown, the gutters cleared, the entry road made trailer-friendly, the accommodation building tidied up and some roadbase obtained to fill in part of the access track.

You will note the average age of the workers being well over 65!  Where were the younger Association members who also enjoy the benefits of The Hut?  All the workers present, as FOTHs (Friends Of The Hut), receive free accommodation at The Hut for the next year.
 

Major works to be completed in the near future include
. renewing the curtains in the lounge building (Uringa's Margaret Wilmott is on the job)
. replacement of the stove and some other minor electrical repairs
We are also looking at upgrading the showers, installing some more water storage tanks, and painting the lounge building inside and out.  Watch out for the next opportunity to become a FOTH!

An IKON club event record! Over thirty runners turned up for IKN's recent club event at Kurnell and were rewarded for their trip with perfect running weather, beautiful scenery and a thoroughly enjoyable course.  Organiser Ian Froude used the format similar to that used by Victorian clubs for street events where the map had 19 controls on it and the competitor chose to do any 10, 14 or 17 of these depending on the distance they wanted to run. Control sites were questions relating to permanent features with a choice of three answers on the clue sheet.

Each course was very competitive with seconds separating the runners. The Long course, which was approximately 6km long depending on route choice, was won by Ian Jones a good margin ahead of the rest of the field.  Competition was tight further down the rankings with less than two minutes separating 6th place from 9th.  This was also the case in the Medium, won by Georgia Jones, where the race was even closer with Sue Froude getting her 6th place only 45 seconds quicker than Salme Fuller whose 46:30 placed her 9th.  The Jones family took the final placing in the Short with Sophie Jones winning ahead of Greg Robinson and Eunice Wilson who were close behind. 

Thanks to Ian Froude for his help with this report.  The IKON results will be available here

Appin is Southern Highland Occasional Orienteers' most technical map with lots of fine navigation needed to get around Moderate and Hard courses.  It is also the hardest map to plan courses on because there is no vehicular access to any part of the map. Planner and organiser John took this in his stride with three trips to set up the event - first to tag all controls, then put out all controls, and then finally to actually run the event.

The Hard courses were steep, long and needed very fine navigation and it got the better of some of the runners, experienced as they were. There was representation from a number of clubs with Western Hills, Illawarrah Kareelah, Uringa and of course SHOO all in attendence.  Val Hodsdon conquered the Hard Long, Ted Mulherin the Hard Short and the two Jones girls from Uringa Georgia and Sophie won the Moderate and Easy respectively.

SHOO's next club event is on 2 June at Lake Alexandra, Mittagong.

Thanks to Lyn Malmgron for her help with this report

The last DuO Adventure race of the year was run on Sunday at Belanglo State Forest, and attracted the biggest field yet.  The series has grown in popularity over its three event run, attracting orienteers and mountain bike enthusiasts in equal numbers.  This last race saw a large contingent of participants from the ACT.

The courses were challenging but many lessons have been learnt over the series and this was probably the best yet. New courses were added to the championship long and short courses to allow as many people as possible to try out the event.  There was a new novice course which saw a number of youngsters having a go, and a mountain bike only course for those who prefer their orienteering on two wheels only.

Championship winners were decided at this race.  Mary Fein won the Women's Long Course both on the day and for the series.  Although she had a difficult run at The Dairy where she lost to Melanie Simpson,  her winning performances at Killingworth and Belanglo secured the top spot with 51 points from Carolyn Haupt's 46 and Hilary Ellis' 44.  Anna Hyslop from the ACT was second on the day; this was her first attempt at the DuO so if she decides to run in the full series next year Mary may find the competition next year has hotted up. 

Mens Long course winner Malcolm Roberts had a solid set of events through the series to take the top spot, but there were strong contenders bunched close behind. Jason Rutkowski took second; only 1 point separated Greg Barbour in third from Graham Horrocks and David Simpfendorfer in joint fourth. Many of the male competitors in the Long Course struggled with the foot O part of the course which was set around the Piggeries, a map well known to orienteers as one that can pose difficulties for even the most experienced.

Short course winner for the women was Carolyn Matthews with a near perfect score of 73. Toy Martin was a solid second in the series with Cath Chalmers third. Andrew Power, new President of Newcastle Orienteering Club, was the winner of the Men's Short Course, snatching the title from organiser Greg Bacon whose 6th place at Belanglo prevented him taking the overall title. Graham Fowler was 3rd,but things might have all been different if Rob Prentice had made the trip to Killingworth, as his two wins at The Dairy and Belanglo would have made him hot favorite for a title had he gathered the full DuO Adventure Race set.

Ewan Shingler won the novice course, accompanied by his father on foot.  The other novices struggled with the course but seemed to enjoy their ride out into the forest nonetheless. Eoin Rothery led the MTBO Long course home; Bridget Kelly the Short MTBO.

Full results and final championship standing can be found on the DuO Adventure Race page here.  Organiser Greg Bacon's detailed round up of the Belanglo race can be found here

Organisers of the event have become aware of a problem encountered with the On-Line entry system by competitors who wished to enter some, but not all of the three events being contested on the weekend of Saturday / Sunday May 12 and 13.

Whilst those entering On-Line were not charged an entry fee for events they did not wish to enter they were still asked to enter an age class for ALL three events. As a consequence, their name does appear in the list of entrants for ALL events, and clearly this has implications for map printing requirements and creation of start lists. A list of entrants for the three ‘Coalfields Classic’ events will appear on the event website shortly. Organisers thank all for their entry in the event and ask if all entrants could do a check of their entry details.

Please contact Russell Blatchford (blatchy25@yahoo.com.au / 0421 151061 / (02) 49341784 or Malcolm Roberts (malcolm.jon.roberts@gmail.com) to request a change to any details which are not correct.  The Organisers of the ‘Coalfields Classic’ apologise for any inconvenience caused.

After more than 15 years as President, Geoff Peel has stepped down from the position to be replaced by Andrew Power, who brings with him great management experience gained in his career within the electricity industry. Geoff’s retirement from the role was precipitated by the arrival of his first child, “Baxter Clark Peel”, who arrived on 21st March 2012. “Looks like it will be split starts for Margaret and me from now on”, he joked. “At least after all this time we might be able to get a run in the family relays”.

The new President, Andrew first tried orienteering in the late 70’s at Kotara High School. Orienteering is a family affair with both Andrew and partner Chris taking up orienteering more seriously in 2007 along with sons Oscar and Alec. Andrew is also a keen MTBO competitor. Andrew has some great thoughts on initiatives to make the Newcastle club even stronger and is looking forward to working with the club committee and members to make sure this happens.  Look out NSW!

Aidan Dawson was already helping out a fellow orienteer, by shadowing a junior squad member around their course on the Cascades map at the recent Easter Carnival in Queensland, when he came across Josh Blatchford injured in the forest.  Josh had fallen awkwardly and hurt his leg and was making his way painfully back to the finish.  'I was very glad to get Aidan's help, as although I didn't know at the time what I had done to my leg, it was painful and I was making slow progress,' said Josh. 

A scan showed a break which will take Josh out of competition for ten weeks and put a hole in his plans for his first attempt to get on the Australian team for the WOC this year.  Although only a temporary setback it will be a great disappointment for this young elite runner. His solid representation of Australia at the Junior World Orienteering Championships has positioned him well for moving on to the next stage of his international orienteering career.   

A short 2.5 km course contained within the Gardens and the Civic Theatre precinct had participants zigzagging forth and back trying to select the most efficient route. Garden beds and buildings created natural barriers so participants had to choose their route carefully and with so many cross-overs it was inevitable that some would get confused and find themselves at the wrong control site.

Estonian born Arvo Ambel chose well and slipped around the course in a shade under 11 minutes almost 2 minutes quicker than second placed Alex Davey. Trent Seaman also had an excellent run finishing just 16 seconds further back in third place.

New to orienteering but old in the art of preparation, Lachlan Billett entered his first orienteering competition to use it as a warm up for the Riverina Schools Championships scheduled for May 8. With mother Amanda in tow he coped with the tricky course quite satisfactorily finishing a creditable sixth. Po King Chung was another trying orienteering for the first time. An error near the sixth control cost her some time but she managed to find the other controls easily enough and finished ninth.

Thanks to John Oliver for this report