Only 1.08 seconds covers the top four placings in event #14 Runners Shop Twilight Series on Red Hill on Wednesday. All the top scoring competitors ran the 5.0 km Moderate 1 course. Ryan Stocks was fastest in 31 min 02sec, followed in quick order by Ewan Shingler in 31 min 36sec, Matt Crane in 31 min 39sec, Paul de Jongh in 31 min 42 sec and Martin Dent in 32 min 20 sec.

Elise Palethorpe, who moves into the open classes this year, confirmed her emergence as a competitive orienteer to be the fastest woman in 39 min 13 sec, over a minute faster than Grace Crane on 40 min 16sec, with a further two seconds to Shannon Jones. The full results are here and the Winsplits are here. The maps and John Harding’s photos are here, and some extra photos are here.

After the age/gender handicap factors were applied the top ten competitors were:

The margin of 5/100ths of a second between Martin Dent and Matthew Crane was one of the closest results this series.

After the scores from event # 14 were applied, Dent had the best possible score, with eight wins and is now unbeatable. The top five eight best scores in the standings are:

• Martin Dent RR A 1,000
• Shannon Jones AO A 988
• David Stocks BS A 980
• Ryan Stocks BS A 974
• Paul de Jongh BS A 959

David Stocks has dropped back to third place now that eight events count. He has a very slender opportunity to regain second by winning the final race and by Shannon Jones finishing no better than fifth in that race. The full standings are here.

The final event will be at Aranda Snowgums on Wednesday 3 March.

The post One Second Covers Top Four appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

Wildfire Sports Sponsorship Prizes

Wildfire Sports as the sponsor of the 2021 NOL season are offering prizes to the four season winners of the individual NOL competition on Saturday.
Prizes to the value of $100 will be offered to each class winner.

SportIdent Air+ (SIAC)

All events will be full SIAC events and competitors wishing to use SIAC sticks need to either buy their own SIAC stick or make their own arrangements to hire one, as none will be available for hire at the events.

Contact Information

Website: http://act.orienteering.asn.au/events/
Enquiries/Contacts: 0402 141 112, tate@t8photography.com
Level 3 Controller: Bill Jones
Event Director: Tate Needham

Saturday 15 May: Wildfire Sports Autumn Classics Prelude

Organising Club: Red Roos
Organiser: Tate Needham
Course Planner: Tate Needham

Location: St Peter’s Anglican College, Broulee.

Map/Terrain: St Peter’s Anglican College 2020. Scale: 1:4000, 2m contours.

A new map of the school campus, never before used for orienteering. The school has many buildings scattered around the campus with patches of forest, garden beds and plenty of fast running. Some of the school was burnt in the recent bushfires, so that part will be excluded from the event.

Event Format/Classes/Starts
This is a low-key prelude to the main events. Sprint style orienteering with self starting over a short start window between 9:30am and 10:30am. A single moderate course will be offered (at approx. 2.5km), in Men Masters/Open/Junior and Women Masters/Open/Junior classes. The course will feature head-to-head racing by using a A and B variations with loops. Course closure at 11:00am.

Saturday 15 May: Wildfire Sports Autumn Classics Day 1

2021 National Orienteering League # 5
2021 ACT League # 4
2021 NSW League # 3

Organising Club: Red Roos
Event Controller: Keith Fifield
Organiser: Tate Needham
Course Planner: Rob Walter

Location: Sand dunes between Broulee and Moruya on the NSW south coast.

Map/Terrain: Broulee Dunes 2020. Scale: 1:7500, 2.5m contours.

Event Formats
National League: Middle distance event, with chasing starts for each NOL class. The season point score at the beginning of the event will be converted to time. Competitors will start according to how far they are behind the leader in their class. After thirty minutes the remaining competitors will set off in a mass start. The event will count in all competitors’ season total and will be worth double points. Details of the conversion of points to time will be announced before entries close.
ACT/NSW League: For other than National League classes, the event will be a standard middle distance format, except for start intervals at one-minute instead of the usual two minutes.

Classes
National League: M21E, W21E, M20E, W20E.
ACT League Classes:
Men: M21A, M20A, M10, M12A, M14A, M16A, M35A, M40A, M45A, M50A, M55A, M60A, M65A, M70A, M75A, M80A, M85A, M90A; M95A; M35AS, M45AS, M55AS, M65AS
Women: W21A, W20A, W10, W12A, W14A, W16A, W35A, W40A, W45A, W50A, W55A, W60A, W65A, W70A, W75A, W80A, W85A, W90A; W35AS, W45AS, W55AS, W65AS;
Other Classes: MJuniorB, MOpenB, WJuniorB, WOpenB, M/WOpenEasy, M/WOpenVeryEasy, M/W10Novice.

Starts
National League Classes: First starts from 2.00 pm. Chasing start (see above) and then mass start of remaining competitors at 2:30 pm.
Other Classes: First starts from 1:00 pm. Queued starts at one minute intervals by course.
Course closure: 3.00pm

Sunday 17 May: Wildfire Sports Autumn Classics Day 2

2020 National Orienteering League # 6
2020 ACT League # 5
2020 NSW League # 4

Organising Club: Red Roos
Event Controller: Andy Hogg
Organiser: Tate Needham
Course Planner: John SheltonAgar

Location: Sand dunes between Broulee and Moruya on the NSW south coast.

Map/Terrain: Broulee Dunes 2020. Scale: 1:7500, 2.5m contours.

Event Formats
National League: The event will be a three-person relay for NOL state teams in each class. The event will count double points.
ACT/NSW League: For other than National League classes, the event will be a standard middle distance format, except for Start intervals at one-minute instead of the usual two minutes.

Classes
National League: M21E, W21E, M20E, W20E.
ACT League Classes
Men: M21A, M20A, M10, M12A, M14A, M16A, M35A, M40A, M45A, M50A, M55A, M60A, M65A, M70A, M75A, M80A, M85A, M90A; M95A; M35AS, M45AS, M55AS, M65AS;
Women: W21A, W20A, W10, W12A, W14A, W16A, W35A, W40A, W45A, W50A, W55A, W60A, W65A, W70A, W75A, W80A, W85A, W90A; W35AS, W45AS, W55AS, W65AS;
Other Classes: MJuniorB, MOpenB, WJuniorB, WOpenB, M/WOpenEasy, M/WOpenVeryEasy, M/W10Novice.

Starts
National League Classes: First leg mass start at 9:30 am
Other Classes: First starts from 9:40 am. Queued starts at one minute intervals by course.

Broulee Dunes Map

Events: The Broulee Dunes map will be used for both the Wildfire Sports Autumn Classics Day 1 and Wildfire Sports Autumn Classics Day 2.

Location: Sand dunes between Broulee and Moruya on the NSW south coast.

Map/Terrain: Broulee Dunes 2020. Scale: 1:7500, 2.5m contours.

This is a new map of a venue never previously used for orienteering. The map is typical south coast sand dune terrain which hugs the beach between Broulee and the Moruya airport. The vegetation is relatively slow and thick in places, but fast and open in others. The dunes get smaller and less distinct the further you are from the beach. There are a few tracks and a large creek running through the map. A recent bushfire has burnt through a section of the map, resulting in better visibility and faster running.

Map Extracts

Terrain Photos – click to enlarge

General Information

Previous Maps and Embargoes

There are no previous versions of the maps. See Embargoed Areas.

Accommodation

Big4 Ingenia Holidays in Broulee are offering a 15% discount for orienteers based on a two night stay (15 May – 17 May). They currently have all sites and cabins held for us, so bookings MUST be done by calling Tess on 02 4471 6247 (if you try booking via the website it will be booked out). Ingenia is a short walk to both the Broulee Dunes and St. Peter’s College events and they have a wide range of accommodation, ranging from camping (~$51 for 2 adults for both nights) to fancy “Beach Retreat” cabins (~$338 for 2 adults for both nights), and plenty in between. Please book as soon as possible, as the park fills up quickly and they will open bookings up to everyone soon.

Ingenia Holidays Broulee – Site Map

Ingenia Holidays Broulee – Site Sizes

Ingenia Holidays Broulee – Discounted Pricing

There is plenty of other accommodation available in Broulee and surrounding areas, including many holiday rentals, The Lodge Broulee Hotel, and camping at North Head campground near the Moruya airport.

Entry Fees

_{A Family maximum will be calculated by Eventor on the basis of two adult fees and the lowest junior fee.}

Enter

Entries are open via Eventor:

View all three events on Eventor

Individual Events:

Saturday 15 May: Wildfire Sports Autumn Classics Prelude

Saturday 15 May: Wildfire Sports Autumn Classics Day 1

Sunday 16 May: Wildfire Sports Autumn Classics Day 2

Entries will close on Eventor at 11.59 pm on Sunday 25 April 2021

Late Entries: will only be accepted at the discretion of the organisers.

Enter-on-the-day
Pre-entry only [EODs will be accepted for local residents only at the discretion of the organisers]

Start Times and Final Event Information: will be posted on Eventor by 11.59 pm Sunday 9 May 2021.

The post 2021 Wildfire Sports Autumn Classics – Bulletin 1 appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

The first event of 2021 ACT MTB Orienteering Series will kick off on Sunday 28th February 2021, starting at 9am at Majura Pines, parking at MTB Majura park car park, off Majura Rd.

This will be the first formal event in Australia to use the SI-AIR 1.5m range punching system, which is the MTBO world-standard. Come along and experience the atmosphere and speed of a big MTBO event.

Cathy Hogg, a very experienced course setter, has created great courses for all levels!

Starts will be open from 9:00am until 10:30am, with the course closure at 1pm.

• Four courses will be provided: Long (about 12.2km, 60 min winning time); Middle (9.4 km; 50 min winning time), Short (6km, 40min winning time) and Novice (3km; 30min winning time).
• We will have coaches at the start, who will help and explain to beginners what to do and will equip beginners with the key tips.
• Entry fee is $15 and we encourage you to pre-enter. Entries close on Thursday 11:59pm here.
• Limited Entry on a day still will be available.
• Map Board Hire and SI-Air Hire will be available ($5/each).

Enjoy navigation at higher speed!
Your ACT MTBO Team

The post World-Standard 1.5m SI-Air Range Arrives for ACT MTBO Series #1 appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

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.

The post Andy Calder: A Versatile Contributor appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

To say just a few words about Andy could be a really difficult task, but one I feel happy and also privileged to take on. Do I talk about his orienteering skills or his organisational skills, his love of life or his love of family and friends? His Australian life or his Finnish life? We became aware, last year, that our friend Andrew was struggling again with ill health and hoped that he would recover and continue life as usual but the leukaemia he had contracted had other ideas though, and it was this, on February 15th 2021, that finally took his life.

Rather than dwell on this, knowing Andy as I do, it would be better to talk about the things he loved and was so involved in, particularly the life he had created for himself in Finland.

Andy was a loyal and longtime friend who I met back in 1983 when my family joined the orienteering fraternity. Our lives followed similar paths and I found him to be a friend I could confide in. We had many interests in common and I was in awe of his intellect! We occasionally went together to the theatre in Melbourne, while others were enjoying the football…what a sacrifice he had made for me! Many of us, who now have grandchildren, trusted our then teenagers to Andy who escorted them, in his capacity as team manager, to overseas destinations to compete in orienteering championships. I’m sure there were many incidents on those trips that never made it to my ears. Some found their partners during these trips and also decided to make Scandinavia their home. I can remember saying to Andy that I didn’t mean him to make it that attractive!

He met and married Anneli who shared his love of orienteering, skiing and walking in the forest and who had the same love of nature that he had. They had many trips into the mountains and went when the urge to travel took hold. Every Christmas almost without fail, we received a card handmade, by Andy, showing a photo of the two of them on a remote track somewhere in the world.

On a trip to Scandinavia in 2008 where I spent a few days with Andy and Anneli, I was treated to a ‘short’ walk to the nearby shops to collect my watch which was in for repairs. “No, we’re not taking the car” he said, “it’s much too close”. We arrived back home after his ‘short’ 10km. walk, with me puffing and panting, trying to ‘keep up’. I, like many others, have such fond memories of times spent in Finland with Andy and Anneli…spas, swims in the lakes, forests, walking, picnics in favourite places and birdwatching tours. Many of us visited them in Espoo, Helsinki, which Johnno (Ian Johnson) and I did more than once and were immediately welcomed with a cup of tea and homemade ‘treats’ and then, seated out on the balcony, we were entertained with a description of all the birds which came into view. They even vacated their own bedroom so that we could be made comfortable and moved to another suburb to sleep, returning to join us for breakfast.

Andy made friends with their neighbours and knew how this life in Finland should be lived. He wasn’t afraid to give the language a go and took lessons in Finnish where he made good friends with some expats who were there to keep him company at the end when ‘Covid’ rules were eased by the Palliative care facility. He was a compassionate man and a straight shooter who didn’t suffer fools easily. He cared so much for the planet and our use of it and loved his wife/best friend dearly. Anneli was with him at the end and the view they had of the forest, from his hospital bed, seems to be entirely fitting.

I can’t imagine a world without Andy. He will be greatly missed by so many dear friends.

‘Kiitos’ Andy, thanks for being our friend,

Read more about Andy at Andy Calder: A Versatile Contributor 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.

Sue Quayle

Photos below: Andy competing at an ACT event; Andy and Julie at 1985 AUS Relays

The post Andy Calder: A Personal Perspective appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

Saturday 27 March, ACT Sprint Champs, ADFA

Saturday’s event will see orienteering return to the Australian Defence Force Academy campus for the first time in more than 10 years for the 2021 ACT Sprint Distance Championships.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to run on this rarely used map, originally mapped for Easter 2010 and now updated by Bob Allison for this event.

Further details are in the information flyer.
Enter via Eventor. Entries close 17 March.
There will be no enter on the day.

Sunday 28 March, ACT Relays, Mt Majura West

Sunday’s event offers exciting relay action on an updated map of a favourite bush area, Mt Majura West.

Unlike previous years, the event will be a true relay comprising four legs. Each leg will be approximately 2.5km of moderate standard navigation. Teams can be of one to four members, each running one to four legs.

Individual Easy and Very Easy courses will also be available.

Further details are in the information flyer.
Everyone must do an individual entry via Eventor by 21 March.
In addition:

• One CONTACT from each team must email the Organiser, Ann Scown, at scown@light.net.au, with the names of team members and running order.
• If you are running all four legs please email the organiser.
• If you wish to run in a team but are unable to find team members, the Organiser will randomly create teams. Please advise the Organiser how many legs you wish to run.

There will be no enter on the day.

The post Entries Now Open for 2021 Autumn Classics appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

The next ACT MTBO event is this Sunday 28 February, at beautiful Majura Pines, event entry closes this Thursday.

The post Riders Learn New Skills at MTBO Training Weekend appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

In winning race 13 of the 2020-21 Runners Shop Twilight Series at Arachnicopia on Wednesday, Martin Dent claimed his eighth win and fifth in a row for the Series. He clocked 23 min 53 sec for the 4.4 km Moderate 1 course, 27 seconds ahead of Paul de Jongh, with a further 10 seconds to Ryan Stocks. Grace Crane was the fastest woman in 33 min 38 sec, 44 seconds faster than next best Shannon Jones. The full results are here, the Winsplits are here and the maps and John Harding’s photos are here.

After the age/gender handicap factors were applied the top ten competitors were:

After the scores from event # 13 were applied, Dent had the best possible score, with eight wins and is now unbeatable. The top five best seven scores in the standings are:

• Martin Dent RR A 875
• David Stocks BS A 864
• Shannon Jones AO A 863
• Ryan Stocks BS A 855
• Paul de Jongh BS A 838

David Stocks was able to drop his worst score, 116, and has now moved into second place, but Shannon Jones could still regain second place with a couple of good results in the final two events.

The next event will be at Red Hill on Wednesday 24 February.

The post Martin Dent Claims Eighth Win in 2020-21 Series appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

SC-ORE is a participation-focused, team-based activity with some competitive energy. It is held in the safety of School grounds. Gather your friends, go online and register now, to make up a fabulous SC-ORE team. Students from all Primary Schools and home-schooled students are welcome.

Teams consist of four students (two girls and two boys) in Years 3 to Years 6 (preferably from the same school). Students in classes below Year 3 may enter if they are regular orienteers.

SC-ORE is held before school on Thursdays in Term 1. The Autumn 2021 Series starts on 4 March and continues for four weeks:

• 4 March: Charles Weston Primary School, Coombs
• 11 March: St Jude’s Primary School and Canberra Montessori School, Holder
• 18 Match: Weston Park, Yarralumla
• 25 March: Weston Park, Yarralumla

Students will need to be on-site by 7:45 am for an 8.00 am start each week. Events finish in time for students to get to school on time.

Visit the SC-ORE page for more information or go straight here to enter.
Entries close 26 February.

The post SC-ORE Autumn Entries Open appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

And, if someone has a car with a tow-bar and is willing and able to bring the Orienteering trailer (already packed) to the events, that would be a big help.

Contact Susanne for more info (schools@act.orienteering.asn.au).

• Thursday 4th of March – Charles Weston Primary School (Coombs)
• Thursday 11th of March – St Jude’s Primary School and Canberra Montessori School (Holder)
• Thursday 18th of March – Weston Park (Yarralumla)
• Thursday 25th of March – Weston Park (Yarralumla)

The post Volunteers Needed for Autumn SC-ORE appeared first on Orienteering ACT.