Parawanga

Parawanga Orienteers is a Canberra orienteering club catering for all ages and all skill levels from the novice or occasional orienteer through to those who have or are aspiring to represent Australia at World Championship events.

Established in 1975, Parawanga is Canberra’s oldest orienteering club with a fine history of orienteering achievements locally and at the national level. In addition to competing and organising events, the Parawanga club has a social program that includes regular club meetings followed by pizza dinner, and an annual Xmas BBQ. We welcome newcomers of all ages, assisting those who are new to orienteering and supporting their orienteering development as their interest in the sport grows.

When the club was formed in 1975, its members wanted a name which sounded attractive, provided a link of appreciation with Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander past, and had some relevance to orienteering. The name ‘Parawanga’ was selected from a dictionary of Aboriginal words available at the time. While the origin and ownership of the word was not documented, its meaning was quoted as ‘spirit of madness which appears in the form of a mirage’. In an orienteering context, this was interpreted as reflecting those lapses in mental judgement commonly experienced when an orienteer imagines erroneously that what they see in the terrain matches where they think they are according to the map.

Even the best orienteers can make such mistakes, and Parawanga recognises them through its annual ‘Snail’ award to a member who makes one or more major mistakes but perseveres to eventually complete the course. Other annual awards made by the club are the ‘Blue Man’ trophy for the member who has contributed the most to the club for that year, and an award for the member who has shown the greatest improvement in orienteering performance compared with the previous year.

If you are looking for an orienteering club that is all inclusive and offering a mix of social and orienteering activities then Parawanga may be the club for you. If you want to find out more about Parawanga Orienteers, please contact our email address or just turn up at a Canberra orienteering event and look for people wearing the blue, white and yellow Parawanga orienteering shirts.