Photos: Andy with Marjorie and Ross Gilby (Carnival Secretariat at Badja); Andy with the team in Poland at JWOC 1994.
Andy and family began orienteering in 1978 when they joined the Red Kangaroos (ACT) club (renamed Red Roos in 1983) and the ACT Orienteering Association (ACTOA) (retitled Orienteering ACT in 2002). After spending a few years competing as a regular orienteer, Andy made his first significant contribution to the sport when he agreed to be elected to the position of Secretary ACTOA in 1982; a position he held for three years.
1984, his final year as ACTOA Secretary, was very busy for Andy because he also took on the task of being the Organiser of the 1984 Australian [Individual] Championships at Mt Clear, which was the first time the Individual and Relay Championships were held on the same weekend in the ACT. And with 1,028 entries (including 30 from overseas), the Individual Championships were biggest in Australia to that time.
The effort of organising such a large and significant event did not impact on Andy’s orienteering skills as next day he lined up in Australian Relays as the first leg runner in the Red Roos number one M35A team, including Paul Rand and Bob Allison, which won their class and helped the Red Roos win the inaugural Australian Champion Club competition, a title they have won 11 times in total. Andy became a noted Relay competitor and in 1986, teamed with Terry O’Halloran and Ian Johnson, to finish second in the M35A class at the Australian Relay Championships, when his club won its third Australian Champion Club competition.
Soon afterwards Andy became a member of the Red Roos team planning to conduct the 1989 Australian 3 Days at Big Badja. Andy took on the role of Carnival organiser. It was a major undertaking for one club and became the first time all three days would be held at the same venue, albeit with three different Assembly areas.
After a break from organising major events, Andy changed his contribution to being the Team Manager for the Australian teams competing in the Junior World Orienteering Championships in Italy in 1993 and Poland in 1984. He was a popular manager, with some of the team members still recalling fondly his rather poor ‘Dad’ jokes. 1994 was a pivotal moment for orienteering in Australia, as it saw Tom Quayle became the first Australian to step up onto the podium when he finished fourth in the individual Championships. A feat he repeated the next year in Denmark.
Andy’s contribution to Australian orienteering was versatile and significant and will never be forgotten. Read more about Andy, at Andy Calder: A Personal Perspective and at Keeper: Keeping Memories Alive
A celebration of Andy’s life will conducted in Helsinki at 10.00 am local time (7pm AEST) Saturday 27 February.