I hope you have had, or are having, a relaxing summer break.

There are plenty of opportunities to get out in the next few months. We are midway through the Twilight series and summer sprint series, and you can sign up for a Jan-Mar Street O pass or just find the individual events that suit you. There are some major events coming up further afield, with the Oceania Sprint Champs over the Australia Day weekend on the Central Coast and the Australian Champs over Easter down in Tasmania. And over the Canberra day weekend, there is a new Orienteering ACT event, Capital O, that includes sprint races and the ACT middle distant championships.

Since September we have had some new members join us. Many joined late in the year and will hopefully be out and about throughout 2026. We ended 2026 with 165 members! We hope our new members are enjoying the challenges of navigating around the town (street-O), buildings (sprint), and bush (mid, long) in Canberra and beyond. And if you see them out there please make them welcome.

Cheryl Clifford, Aaron Flugge, Benjamin Flugge, Charlotte Flugge, Rachel James, Steph Jones, Lauren Next, Joanna Vanzella, Suzie Gaynor, Jesse Grant, Imogen Hubber, Keliah Parcell, Namoi Tal, Ross Davies, Matilda Alexander, Alec Brosnan, Gilbert Earsman, Millie Eaton, Sigrid Edvardsson, Jamie Edye, Mala Edye, Zoe Fitzgerald, Hannah Hughes, Sam Huxham, Celia Jardine, Asher Kendrigan, R Marshall, T Marshall, Kynan McFarlane, Emily McMillan, Jack McMillan, Julian Merzian, Ella Pearce, Sophie Poyner, Scarlett Spouse, Albi Taylor, Aadi Umrao, Alma Wood, Benjamin Yung.

Bushflyer Swarm – Save the date – Saturday 14 February

Please mark Saturday 14 February in your diary for our first local Swarm of 2026. I’ll host the event at my place in Weetangera (25 McLachlan Cres). It will be from 5pm, with people bringing a plate to share (salad or dessert). I’ll provide some meat and bread and drinks to keep the group happy. And we have a pool that will come into its own if the weather is hot.

For those not familiar with the Swarm concept, they are social events for the Bushflyer club. They can either be held locally, at a residence of one of our members or after an event, or at an interstate event that has a few Bushflyers attending, often in a pub. They are another opportunity to get to know a few of your fellow members. We try to have two local events, with this one in October and one at the beginning of the year.

I’ll send out another notice about this event closer to the date but feel free to RSVP to me (cmj109@gmail.com) if you know you can make it.

This Swarm is the opportunity to do the Bushflyer annual awards. Please let me know of any nominations for any of the following:

• the Blue Bottle Award (Services to Bushflyers)
• the Fly Swat Award (for the silliest mistake, biggest blunder, heroism under fire, most humorous moment etc.).

We will also have the Orienteering Australia merit badges (awarded for participation in National and State level events), and the Ian Booth Award for most improved Master’s level competitor.

Bushflyers Organised Events

Thanks to all the Bushflyers who have been involved in organising and running the events this year. Nothing happens without the effort of our members, be it planning and setting the courses, or helping out with the logistics.

Since the last newsletter we’ve hosted five events. There are some pictures of Bushies competing, setting, and organising below, with a couple of the maps.

I would also like to acknowledge that the photos from local events are taken from the ACT Orienteering facebook page, and are the excellent work of John Harding, a Parawanga member and organiser of the Street-O series. If you are on facebook, it is well worth following the ACT Orienteering page for photos and other updates.

As usual, we have a number of events coming up that the Bushflyers are down to organise (though many are some way off). I’m sure that there are opportunities to help out if you have the time. Look out for an email from Jo asking for volunteers to help out, and thanks in advance for your continuing efforts to make this sport work.

2026 Membership Renewal

Thank you for your continued support of our club. We do hope that you’ll continue to be a part of the Bushies family in 2026. It is now time to renew your membership for this year, if you haven’t done so already. The easiest way to do this is via Eventor. If you need assistance, please contact the OACT office office@act.orienteering.asn.au

Bushflyer Clothing

I now house the range of Bushflyers’ clothing (O-tops and jackets mostly) for sale. As noted in previous newsletters, the range of sizes is becoming a little limited, but we will still be able to meet the needs of some of our members. Please check with me if you would like wear our Club colours, especially if you are competing in major interstate events.

Keep safe; keep well; and keep moving!

Craig Johnson (Club Convenor)
cmj109@gmail.com
0408 492 808

For Bushflyers Orienteering – where no-one gets left on the bench!

The post The Buzz – Bushflyers News January 2026 appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

I hope you are all travelling well.

It’s time for another edition of the Buzz to look back over the recent winter season and forward to the summer season of orienteering, and also get excited about what is happening between the two seasons.

Many of us have participated in the very enjoyable Metro, Street, and Sprint Series over the winter months. The Bushflyers members have been busy, organisig four of the twelve Metro events. We’ve also organised two events in the Classic Series, with one further event in the Classic Series to come next weekend at Glendale. Thanks to everyone who has helped out, particularly the course setters who have provided us with some excellent challenges and scenic vistas.

This weekend, some of our members have been up in the Armidale competing in the NSW Middle and Long championships, and a few have been participating in the Mountain bike orienteering series. This upcoming Friday there is an opportunity to do night orienteering at Mt Jerrabomberra. I’ve tried it once and it is a very different experience, well worth a try if you have the chance to go along. And in a few weeks, a bunch of Bushflyers will be making the trip to Queensland for the Australian Orienteering Championships, and the Australian School Orienteering Championships (including a good representation from our juniors). The ACT Mountain Biking Orienteering Championships follow on from that in the middle of October, and I expect that we will have some good representation at that event. So, although we are currently in between the winter and summer seasons, there is plenty going on.

Looking a bit further into the future, the Twilight Series is starting on October 22 and the Bushflyers are organising the first two events of the season at John Knight Park and Oakey Hill. And we are down for four more after those two, so there are plenty of opportunities to help the sport to prosper over the summer, either as an organiser, course setter, set-up helper, or control collector. We are always keen for more recent members to come along and help out. It is a way to get to know more of the members of the club.

Summer is also a great time to do street orienteering with the longer days making the evening run or walk around the suburbs a fun activity. The summer series starts up in October and it is a great way to become more familiar with Canberra. Although there are also still a few weeks of the winter series remaining that you can participate in.

And the summer sprint orienteering series will start up at the end of November. So, hopefully there is something for everyone in the period ahead.

Since June we have had some new members join us, and at least one returning to the fray. We hope you are enjoying the challenges of navigating around the town (street-O), buildings (sprint), and bush (mid, long) in Canberra and beyond. And if you see them out there please make them welcome.

William Cashen, Kate Murphy, Alex O, Chris O, Jenn O, Kathryn Rule, and Shona Prince

I would also like to acknowledge that the photos from local events included below are taken from the ACT Orienteering facebook page, and are the excellent work of John Harding, a Parawanga member and organiser of the Street-O series. If you are on facebook, it is well worth following the ACT Orienteering page for photos and other updates.

ASOC Representatives

The Bushflyers have six representatives in the ACT team competing in the Australian School Orienteering Championships, which is part of the 2025 Australian Orienteering Championships Carnival, being held in Brisbane over nine days in September-October. They are:

And it is also great to see David Stocks taking on the role of coach for this team, and Peter Miller is one of the team managers.

The ACT team should be very competitive this year, with a good level of experience in the team. Our Bushflyer members are case in point, with all of them having experienced ASOC in the past and often multiple times. And the Bushflyers club is pleased to providing sponsorship to Patrick, Ben, Naomi, Josh, Matty, and Kathryn to support them with their expenses associated with travel to Queensland.

Bushflyer Swarm – Save the date

Please mark Sunday 19th October in your diary for our second local Swarm of 2025. I’m happy to host the event at my place in Weetangera. It will be from 5pm, with everyone bringing a plate to share (salad or dessert). I’ll provide some meat and bread and drinks to keep the group happy.

For those not familiar with the Swarm concept, they are social events for the Bushflyer club. They can either be held locally, at a residence of one of our members or after an event, or at an interstate event that has a few Bushflyers attending, often in a pub. They are another opportunity to get to know a few of your fellow members. We try to have two local events, with this one in October and one at the beginning of the year.

I’ll send out another notice about this event but feel free to RSVP to me (cmj109@gmail.com) if you know you can make it.

Although this Swarm is not our annual awards gathering, I would ask that people keep the awards front of mind at upcoming events for when we ask for nominations at the end of this year. The awards we will need nominations are the Blue Bottle (Services to Bushflyers) Award and the Fly Swat Award (for the silliest mistake, biggest blunder, heroism under fire, most humorous moment etc.).

2025 National Representative Teams

Caitlin Young and Justine Hobson did a great job representing Australia over the Northern Hemisphere summer. They participated in World Cup events in Sweden, the World Orienteering Championship (WOC) in Finland, and Caitlin went to the World Games in China. If you didn’t catch their efforts you at the time, you can check out the Livelox replay for WOC here (woc2025.fi) and the photos below show that they are not in the Australian bush or usual metro environments.

The Bushflyers club was pleased to provide sponsorship to Caitlin and Justine to support them with their significant expenses associated with travel to Europe and China.

Bushflyers Organised Events

Thanks to all the Bushflyers who have been involved in organising and running the events this year. Nothing happens without the effort of our members, be it planning and setting the courses, or helping out with the logistics.

Since the last newsletter we’ve hosted four events. There are some pictures and maps below.

We have a number of events coming up that the Bushflyers are organising and I’m sure that there are opportunities to help out if you have the time. Look out for an email from Jo asking for volunteers to help out, and thanks in advance for your continuing efforts to make this sport work. The first two events of the Twilight series are not too far away, so please start thinking about whether you can help for those events.

Bushflyer clothing

I now house the range of Bushflyers’ clothing (O-tops and jackets mostly) for sale. As noted in previous newsletters, the range of sizes is becoming a little limited, but we will still be able to meet the needs of some of our members. Please check with me if you would like wear our Club colours, especially if you are competing in major interstate events.

Keep safe; keep well; and keep moving!

Craig Johnson (Club Convenor)
cmj109@gmail.com
0408 492 808

For Bushflyers Orienteering – where no-one gets left on the bench!

The post The Buzz – Bushflyers News September 2025 appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

I hope you are all well.

2025 is progressing at a pace, and there are many events that have happened in the past few months in the world of orienteering. We have had the ACT championships, many other local events, and some members are overseas participating in events further afield.

And I’d also like to congratulate and thank Nina Davis for taking on role of President role of the Orienteering ACT Board of Directors. And she won’t be alone as a representative from the Bushflyers, with Valerie Barker, David Stocks and Alison Inglis all taking on positions as Directors. Thank you all for your contributions!

This year we have had a number of new members join us, and a few returning to the fray. We hope you are enjoying the challenges of navigating around the town (street-O), buildings (sprint), and bush (mid, long) in Canberra and beyond. And if you see them out there please make them welcome.

Kirsten Wehner, Christian Piiroinen, Dean Davies, Aaron Broughton, Liam Broughton, Anthony Powell, Monica Lindemann, Dan Neluschi, Inge Stokkel, Cam McLaren, Caitlin McLaren, Clara Spencer, Thomas Spencer, Willem van Galen, Lucy Porter, Murray Wilson, Jane Gordon, Anne Maree Solomon, Lillian George, Christina Starr, Christopher Starr, Zhi-Hui Lim, Zhi-En Lim, Prisilla Reyenga-Holborow, Edith Rickerby, Christopher Bradley, Madeleine Gisz, Jack Shipton, Leanne Haupt, Grace Spencer, David Spencer, Sheryn Ringland, Orson Reynolds

This weekend the Bushflyers are responsible for the ACT League event at Picaree Hill and although the winter weather is here, it should be a fantastic day out. Thanks to everyone who is involved in making this event happen, particular Matt and Chris Stocks for setting the course and Valerie Barker for organising the event. And best of luck to the 24 Bushflyers participating.

Summer Swarm and Annual Awards for 2024

In February, we gathered for the Summer Swarm and reflected on the year that had been, enjoying good food and drink. Another swarm will be held towards the end of the year and we look forward to catching up in a social gathering away from the orienteering courses. Part of the Summer gathering was dedicated to reflecting on the achievements of our members through various awards and I’ve included these awards below.

OA MERIT BADGES

An aim of the Badge Scheme is to recognise the achievements of a consistent orienteering standard relative to one’s age-group peers.

The events at which badge credits may be earned are

• Australian Long Distance, Middle Distance and Sprint Orienteering Championships;
• Australian 3-Days;
• State Long, Middle or Sprint Distance Championships as nominated to OA;
• Nominated Orienteering Australia controlled badge events

An orienteer qualifies for an OA merit badge by earning three credits at specific events within a two-year period. The two-year period commences on the date of the event at which the first credit is earned.

While a large number of Bushflyers earn badges each year, Bushflyers buys and presents badges to club members when they are earned for the first time in an age-class, and in subsequent years if they achieve a higher ranking! (That means that if you win Gold in your first year, you will get a badge; but even if you win Gold for the next four years, you will have to wait for another five years and a new age class to be eligible for another one!)

• Ari Piiroinen, M60 Silver
• Ben Mansell, M14 Silver
• Chris Andersen, M60 Silver
• Chris Stocks, W55 Gold
• Craig Johnson, M50 Bronze
• David Penton, M40 Silver
• David Stocks, M21 Gold
• Emma Penton, W40 Bronze
• Helen Sheridan, W21 Bronze
• Joshua Mansell, M20 Silver
• Matty Maundrell, M20 Gold
• Naomi Penton, W14 Gold
• Nina Davis, W21 Silver
• Patrick Maundrell, M14 Gold
• Toby Lang, M21 Gold
• Tom De Jongh, M65 Silver

BUSHFLYERS FLY SWAT AWARD – Memorable moments and dastardly deeds
when everything splatted around you but you kept on buzzing anyway

CHRIS STOCKS
Control Descriptions

Chris Stocks at the Oceania Relay. She likes to have control descriptions in a holder, not on the map. She was first runner, so carried a little pair of scissors to cut the description from the map. Great idea. Except as she finished cutting off the descriptions she realised that they only had about 5 controls .. hmmm, a map flip. And she’d cut part of the map off for the other side. Luckily there were no controls on the bit she cut off.

BUSHFLYERS BLUE BOTTLE AWARD – SERVICES TO BUSHFLYERS

VALERIE BARKER

Valerie’s contribution to the Bushflyer’s is well known to most club members. Serving as convenor for seven years, represents just a small part of her contribution. She has been a constant presence at events around Canberra and the surrounds, taking on responsibilities for making events happen with great gusto. She is definitely worthy of recognition of her efforts to make the Bushflyers a great club to be a member of, and we look forward to her ongoing presence for many years to come!

Note that previous winners have been:

• 2018 Ross Stewart
• 2019 Alison Inglis
• 2020, 2021 – no club awards
• 2022 Matt Stocks
• 2024 Valerie Barker

IAN BOOTH AWARD

SILKE SPEIER

This is named after Ian Booth, a Bushflyers club stalwart who died suddenly of a heart attack in 2011. Ian enjoyed a red wine very much, so in the early years this award was based on a good quality red wine. In recent years, however, a gift voucher ($120) from the Runners Shop has been awarded in lieu of the wine. The prize is awarded to the most improved Master’s level competitor. It is calculated on relative improvement based on ACT League results. The winner must have competed in at least 50% of events in the year, and the award cannot be won by the same person on more than one occasion.

Previous winners have been:

• 2024 Silke Speier
• 2023 Craig Johnson
• 2022 Jo Hobson
• 2019 Matt Stocks
• 2018 Chris Andersen
• 2017 Anita Scherrer
• 2016 Valerie Barker
• 2015 Chris Stocks
• 2014 Carol Harding
• 2013 Toni Brown
• 2012 Robyn d’Ascenzo
• 2011 Pauli Piiroinen (the inaugural recipient)

Orienteering ACT Awards for 2024

Congratulations to the following Bushflyers who were recipients of 2024 OACT awards.

Audun Fristad awards
Gregor Dowe

Services to Coaching
David Stocks

2024 National Representative Teams

The following Bushflyers have been selected to represent Australia in competitions overseas this year.

World Orienteering Championships, 9-12 July, Kuopio, Finland

Justine Hobson, Caitlin Young
Non-travelling reserve David Stocks

woc2025.fi

World Games 2025, 5-12 August, Chengdu, China

Caitlin Young

theworldgames.org/editions/Chengdu-CHN-2025-14

The World Games is a multi-sport event for sports and disciplines that are not in the programme of the Olympic Games. It was last held in the USA in 2022, and the next is planned for Germany in 2029.

World Cup 2025 Round 1, 18-22 June, Idre Fjäll, Sweden

Justine Hobson, Caitlin Young

orienteeringworldcup.se

This event is happening as I send this out, due to the fact that I have taken a while drafting this newsletter. You can hop online and follow the events live if you are interested.

World Cup 2025 Round 2, 27-31 August, Belguim

Toby Lang

eoc2025.be

These international events are wonderful opportunities for our elites to experience orienteering on an international stage. Those travelling to Europe will be enjoying a range of training and competition opportunities in Europe both before and after their competitions.

We wish them all successful training and preparation, safe travel, and personal best performances in their competitions. The Bushflyers club is pleased to announce that it is again providing sponsorship to these athletes, to support them with the significant expenses that travel to Europe in particular involves for athletes in Australia.

I have included links to the relevant websites for the competitions. They are very exciting to watch in real time, and I do encourage you to follow our own athletes, and all of the other Australian team members, in their competitions.

ACT Championships

ACT Sprint Championships, 16 March, Australian National Botanic Gardens

Bushflyers had 45 out of the 199 entries in this year’s ACT Sprint Championship.

Results included:

1. Justine Hobson W21A, Matty Maudrell M16A, David Penton M35A, Patrick Maundrell M14A, Sam Dowe M/WOpenEasy
2. David Stocks M21A, Ben Mansell M14A, Lachlan Dowe M/WOpenVEasy, Julia Howard M/W JuniorB, Charlotte Papworth M/WOpenB, Andrew Hobson M55A
3. Nina Davis W21A, Naomi Penton W14A, Andrew Shipton M35A

ACT Middle Distance Championships, 5 April, Cooma

Bushflyers had 31 out of 280 entries

Results included:

1. Jane Barnett W55AS, Emma Penton WOpenB, Nina Davis W21AS, Ian de Jongh M21AS
2. Natalie Miller W21A, David Stocks M21A, Sam Dowe M12A, Ben Mansell M14A, Coral DowW65AS, Alison Inglis W55A, David Penton M40A, Valerie Barker W70A, Alan Sargeant M65AS
3. Joshua Mansell M18A, Blair Trewin M50A

ACT Long Distance Championships, 6 April, Highlands

Busflyers had 31 out of 263 entries

Results included:

1. Matty Maundrell M18A, Emma Penton WOpenB, Jane Barnett W55AS, Nina Davis W21AS, Christopher Bradley MOpenB, Alan Sargeant M65AS, Ian de Jongh M21AS
2. Natalie Miller W21A, David Stocks M21A, Sam Dowe M12A, Ben Mansell M14A, Matthew Stocks M50A, Coral Dow W65AS, Vicky Mansell W45AS
3. Chris Andersen M60A, Valerie Barker W70A, Patrick Maundrell M14A,

Bushflyers Events

Thanks to all the Bushflyers who have been involved in organising and running the events this year. Nothing happens without the effort of members, be it planning and setting the courses, or helping out with the logistics.

We have a number of event coming up that we are running and I’m sure that there are opportunities to help out if you have the time.

Sprint Series

Orienteering ACT has a sprint series of nine events starting on Sunday 29 June. The sprint course will be about 2.5km, with a beginner course of about 1.0km will be available at each event, with starts anytime between 9:30am & 10:30am. As with most local events you can get The Season Pass that provides a 40% discount on entry to all nine events.he easiest way to do this is via Eventor. If you need assistance, please contact the OACT office office@act.orienteering.asn.au

Bushflyer clothing

I now house the range of Bushflyers’ clothing (O-tops and jackets mostly) for sale. As noted in previous newsletters, the range of sizes is becoming a little limited, but we will still be able to meet the needs of some of our members. Please check with me if you would like wear our Club colours, especially if you are competing in major interstate events.

Keep safe; keep well; and keep moving!

Craig Johnson (Club Convenor)
cmj109@gmail.com
0408 492 808

For Bushflyers Orienteering – where no-one gets left on the bench!

The post The Buzz – Bushflyers News June 2025 appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

2024 has been another great year of orienteering offerings. From the local events, through to the state and championship events, I hope you have managed to get your fix of puzzling your way through the bush, suburbs, and other locales.

This is the first newsletter that I’m sending as convenor of the Bushflyers. I’d like to once again thank Valerie for her many years growing a great club. Valerie has sent through a message of thanks (included below), in particular for the card and gift presented to her at a recent twilight event.

The Bushflyers club have made some significant contributions to ensuring that we have had an array of events to participate in 2024. We have organised 12 events, including 2 twilight events last summer, 2 classic series events, the ACT Middle distance championships, 4 metro series events and 3 more twilight events this year. But the contribution of our membership extends beyond those events, contributing to the Learn and Play, Sprint series, street-O, mountain bike orienteering, training, score o, and taking on roles to keep the sport going. These contributions from many of our members to these events has been fantastic, and a big thank you to all that have made these events the successes that they have been.

I hope you manage to find an orienteering challenge in the months ahead, be it locally in the Street-O, twilight series and/or sprint series, or further afield at the Xmas 5-days in Sydney, or even further at the Oceania Championships over around Palmerston North in New Zealand.

And I wish you and your families all the best for the Christmas/New Year break. If you aren’t orienteering, I hope you are making the most of the warmer weather and recharging the batteries for a big 2025.

Australian Championships

The Australian Championships and Australian School Championships were held up in the Armidale region in late September and early October. There were some fantastic results, but perhaps more importantly, there were some fun and challenging courses for all participants. There were some excellent results, and I’d highlight David Stocks performance in the M21E, where he was the first Australian and 3rd overall, and Justine Hobson had a great championships with a 2nd and 3rd place in the W20E middle and long respectively.

Australian Middle Distance Championships, 28 September, Glenburnie.

Results included:

1. Ian de Jongh (M21 Sport); Nina Davis (W21AS)
2. Justine Hobson (W20E)
3. Patrick Maundrell (M12A)

Australian Long Distance Championships, 5 October, Glenburnie.

Results included:

1. Ian de Jongh (M21AS); Tom de Jongh (M65AS)
3. David Stocks (M21E); Justine Hobson (W20E); Nina Davis (W21AS)

Australian Sprint Distance Championship, 6 October, University of New England

Results included:

1. Ian de Jongh (M21A)
2. Patrick Maundrell (M12A)
3. Nina Davis (W21AS)

Australian School Championships

The Australian School Championships had some good representation from the Bushflyers, with special mention to be made for Matty Maundrell, who was selected in the Australian Schools Orienteering Honour Team (Junior Boy). It is great to see our younger club members participating at a high level including Josh Mansell, Max Johnson, Naomi Penton, Ben Mansell, and Patrick Maundrell. And unfortunately Katherine Maundrell was unable to compete due to injury even though she was selected.

Australian Schools Sprint Championships, 1 October, The Armidale School

Results included:

3. Matty Maundrell (Junior Boys)

Australian Schools Long Distance Championships, 2 October, Pine Tree

Results included:

3. Matty Maundrell (Junior Boys)

Summer Swarm and Annual Awards – SAVE THE DATE

Please mark Sunday 16th February in your diary for our first Swarm of 2025. I’m happy to host the event at my place in Weetangera. Based on the start of summer, I’m expecting it to be warm so that the pool will be in use by the young and young at heart.
It will begin from 4pm, with everyone bringing a plate to share (salad or dessert). I’ll provide some meat and bread to keep the group happy.

I’ll send out another notice about this event but feel free to RSVP to me (cmj109@gmail.com) if you know you can make it. At the swarm we shall be making our annual awards as well. We would love to have a huge turnout; newer members are especially welcome!!

NOMINATIONS: If you have nominations for the Blue Bottle (Services to Bushflyers) Award and the Fly Swat Award (for the silliest mistake, biggest blunder, heroism under fire, most humorous moment etc.), please email Craig with these at cmj109@gmail.com.

Message from Valerie

Dear fellow Bushflyers,

Thank you all for the beautiful Thank You card (handmade!) and potplant gift that was hand delivered to me last week. It was a huge surprise which I was delighted to receive!

I was very touched and quite humbled by everyone’s warm and generous messages as I end my time as Convenor of Bushflyers. Please be assured that your thoughts and good wishes mean a great deal to me.

I have had a wonderful time as the Bushflyers convenor over the past seven years; I am now enjoying slipping back to being a regular club member again, knowing that you are in the safe care of Craig, your new Convenor. I will remain a committed club member, and will continue to enjoy meeting new members and making people feel welcome! I’ve even ‘kept’ the banner (maintaining custody of!), as I am more likely to be at events outside of the ACT where it is great to have a focal meeting point for fellow Bushies. Craig will always know where the banner is, of course.

Thank you all again; it has been a pleasure and privilege to have been able to support you all. I look forward to continuing to seeing you out in the bush, ‘in control’ and enjoying our wonderful sport.

Valerie

Bushflyers Events

As mentioned earlier in the last newsletter, Bushflyers organised and presented the three twilight events so far this season, Twilight #3, Twilight #4 and Twilight #5.

Thank you very much to the following club members for setting courses and organising the event, and also to their teams of helpers who set up and pack up the event, manage the registration desk, and especially assist with control collection.

Twilight #3 Wednesday 13 November 2024
Course Planner: Dave & Naomi Penton Organiser: Ari Piiroinen

Twilight #4 Wednesday 20 November 2024
Course Planners: Matt Stocks Organiser: Jo & Andrew Hobson

Twilight #5 Wednesday 27 November 2024
Course Planners: Caitlin Young Organiser: Alison Inglis

Club events in the next few months

The Bushflyers are scheduled for following events in the current 2024/2025 Twilight season.

• Twilight #8, Location TBA, 5 February 2025
• Twilight #13, Commonwealth Park, 14 March 2025

Please look out for an email request from Jo Hobson for your assistance with these events.

Of course, course setters, organisers and controllers/vetters will be needed for the 2025 events in Metro and ACT League events as well. Don’t worry if you haven’t taken on any of these roles before as we have lots of people who would be happy to help you out with the practicalities. Watch for Jo’s emails, and consider how you might be able to support our club.

January-March 2025 MapRun Street Series

The Street O series is a fantastic way to explore Canberra’s suburbs. You can walk, jog or run around the courses, aiming for either a desired number of controls or working within a time limit (the walking challenge). Season Pass registration is now available for the January-March 2025 MapRun Street Series. The Street Series Season Pass provides a 40% discount on entry to all 12 events in the series, and is available to both OACT members and non-members.

Registration is available here: https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/21701

ACT Sprint Series

The ACT Sprint Series is a fun outing on a Sunday morning in summer. This year the plan is for seven events at schools and other campuses around Canberra. The program is below, and more information can be found at the following link at the ACT orienteering website (https://act.orienteering.asn.au/event-series/sprint-series/).

2025 Membership Renewal

Thank you for your continued support of our club. We do hope that you’ll continue to be a part of the Bushies family in 2025. It is now time to renew your membership for this year, if you haven’t done so already. The easiest way to do this is via Eventor. If you need assistance, please contact the OACT office office@act.orienteering.asn.au

Bushflyer clothing

I now house the range of Bushflyers’ clothing (O-tops and jackets mostly) for sale. As noted in previous newsletters, the range of sizes is becoming a little limited, but we will still be able to meet the needs of some of our members. Please check with me if you would like wear our Club colours, especially if you are competing in major interstate events.

Keep safe; keep well; and keep moving!

Craig Johnson (Club Convenor)
cmj109@gmail.com
0408 492 808

For Bushflyers Orienteering – where no-one gets left on the bench!

The post The Buzz – Bushflyers News December 2024 appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

With the winter (AL) season and the Junior League almost completed, and the ACT Championships (Middle and Long) held only a couple of weeks ago, a number of us are looking forward to the Australian Championships in Armidale, NSW, only a few weeks away, and then to the coming Twilight season for us all.

We have been fortunate to have enjoyed a very full program of orienteering this year, including the regular Metro, Classic and Mid-Week series and the MapRun Street Orienteering series.

Championship Events – ACT

Since the publication of the last newsletter in June, we have had many Bushflyers competing in the ACT Championships. As well, it was a Bushflyers team who organised and presented the ACT Middle Distance Championship. Thank you especially to Toby Lang, the course-setter, and Ross Stewart, the Controller, who made my job of organiser so easy. We had a great turnout of helpers on the day for the parking management, assembly area set-up, Start management, computer management, first aid roster, baking, and control collection.

Thank you to you all: Chris A, Kelvin M, Silke S, Greg T, Jo H, Andrew H, Justine H, Alison I, Peter M, Natalie M, Coral D, Susan B, Ken M, Josh M, Jesse P, Ari P, Craig J, Max J, Carol H

• ACT Middle Championships, 24 August, Wild Deer Sands. Results included:
  1. David Stocks (M21A); Natalie Miller (W20A); Valerie Barker (W70A); Ian de Jongh (M21AS); David Jenkins (M65AS); Nina Davis (W21AS)
  2. Paul de Jongh (M21A); Matty Maundrell (M16A); Chris Andersen (M60A); Justine Hobson (W21A); Alan Sergeant (M65AS)
  3. David Penton (M40A); Blair Trewin (M50A); Ari Piiroinen (M60A); Naomi Penton (W14A); Coral Dow (W65AS)

• ACT Long Championships, 25 August, Birkenburn. Results included:
  1. Paul de Jongh (M21A); Natalie Miller (W20A); Naomi Penton (W14A); Valerie Barker (W70A); Ian de Jongh (M21AS); Alan Sergeant (M65AS)
  2. David Stocks (M21A); Matt Stocks (M50A); Ross Stewart (M60A); Justine Hobson (W20A); Jesse Piiroinen (M21AS)
  3. Alison Inglis (W50A)

Well done to all participants and to all place-getters.

Congratulations

In June we were very pleased to acknowledge the several young orienteers who were selected to represent Australia in international competition this year, including JWOC, WOC, WUOC and the World Cup.
Bushflyers included in the various teams were Caitlin Young, David Stocks, Justine Hobson, and Natalie Miller.

A number of those of us at home were able to tune into the live broadcasts of these events, especially JWOC and WOC, to cheer our club-mates on. These broadcasts are always so exciting to watch! And then, of course, many of these orienteers (both representatives and family members) enjoyed the wonderful experiences of major European competitions, such as Jukolala and Venla (huge Finnish relays with thousands of competitors), O-Ringen, and the Welsh 5-Days. I know that all of the representatives are very keen to share their experiences and show you their maps, often of terrain so very different from anything we have here in Australia. Do ask!

The ACT team to compete in the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships (ASOC) in Armidale NSW (28 September to 6 October) was also recently announced.
Congratulations to the following young Bushflyers in the team:

• Senior Girls – Katherine Maundrell
• Senior Boys – Max Johnson, Josh Mansell
• Junior Girls – Naomi Penton
• Junior Boys – Ben Mansell, Matthew Maundrell, Patrick Maundrell

Places in the ASOC team are keenly sought, and it is exciting to note that we have so many Bushflyers, in all age classes.
We also acknowledge and thank the team officials, especially those who are Bushflyers: Ken Mansell (Manager) and David Stocks (Coach).

Bushflyers Events

Bushflyers have been organising and presenting a number of events over the past few months, in both the Metro and AL (Classic) series.

Thank you very much to the following club members for setting courses and organising the events, and also to their teams of helpers who set up and pack up the event, manage the registration desk, and especially assist with control collection.

It has been encouraging to note a number of our newer members enthusiastically taking on critical organisational roles as well.

• Metro Series: Junior League #5, Saturday 22 June, The Pinnacle
  Course Planner – Peter Antcliff
  Organisers – ???
• Metro Series: Junior League #8, Saturday 3 August, Remembrance Park
  Course Planner – Kelvin Meng/Alison Inglis
  Organiser – David Penton
• Metro Series: Junior League #11, Saturday 31 August, Farrer Ridge
  Course Planner – Naomi Penton/David Penton
  Organisers – Chris Andersen
• ACT Middle Distance Championships, ACT League #11, Saturday 24 August, Wild Deer Sands
  Thank you all!

Coming Events

Australian Orienteering Championships (AOC) & Australian Schools Orienteering Championships (ASOC) 28 September – 6 October, Armidale, NSW

aoc2024.com.au

Note that entries are now closed.

After the time and cost of travelling to WA last year, many of us are finding it much easier to travel to Armidale for this year’s Australian Championships.

At present at least 31 Bushflyers have entered, across a range of different classes including the ASOC events. I am really looking forward to going to Armidale again – it’s a long while since I was there. I shall have the Bushflyers flag with me, so that will make it easier for us to catch up at the various events, especially at those wonderfully exciting ASOC events, to cheer everyone on! Do join us all.

We wish all competitors, at whatever level of competition, good luck, clean runs, wonderful orienteering experiences, and opportunities to renew and develop friendships with our interstate and international competitors.

ACT Secondary Schools Championships 14 September

eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/19564

MTBO Carnival and Championships 18-20 October

act.orienteering.asn.au/event-series/mountain-bike-orienteering/2024-australian-mtbo-championships

Club events in the next few months

You will notice that on the OACT website and in Eventor that Bushflyers are responsible for the following events scheduled in the 2024/2025 Twilight season.

• Twilight #3, Cooleman Ridge, 13 November 2024
• Twilight #4, Remembrance Park, 20 November 2024
• Twilight #5, Bruce Ridge, 27 November 2024
• Twilight #8, TBC, 5 February 2025
• Twilight #13, Commonwealth Park, 12 March 2025

Yes, getting those three November events in a row was a deliberate strategy by our Event Planning committee representatives!

Before too long you will receive a request from Jo Hobson for your assistance with the events in the 2023/2024 Twilight Series. We are sure that course setters, organisers and controllers/vetters will all be needed. Don’t worry if you haven’t taken on any of these roles before as we have lots of people who would be happy to help you out with the practicalities. Watch for Jo’s email, and consider how you might be able to support our club.

Bushflyers Finances

This time last year, I spoke to you about Bushflyers finances – we had done a great deal of spending to support members, and national and international representatives, and our funds had dropped to a very low level. However, given the level of tithes we received from 2023 events, we have been able to continue to support all of our national and international representatives this year. Those competing in Europe each received sponsorship of $350 and our ASOC representatives will be receiving $100. This is less than in previous years, but we also acknowledge that as we are within driving distance of the ASOC/AOC events, individual costs are considerably lower than they were last year, for example. Our occasional Swarms and get-togethers have been self-catered, with everyone contributing to the food, which has also helped to bring down costs. Given that OACT took on a Bunnings BBQ in February, it was decided that Bushflyers could not pursue that source of revenue again.

I am confident that we remain on a sound financial footing, and that the hard work of all of us, in presenting events hence generating tithes, is being well paid back to our Bushflyers community.

Birthday Celebrations!

Happy 90th Birthday to one of our Bushflyers elders, Eino Meuronen
Eino will be enjoying special celebrations on 21st September – his actual birthday is 19th September.
Eino is no longer orienteering, but he remains a special member of the greater Bushflyers community. We all wish Eino much happiness on this special occasion, and good health and contentment in the coming years.

Transition Swarm – Saturday 26th October – Save the Date!

As we move from the winter season to the summer season, and the change to Daylight Saving time, it seems that a celebratory swarm should be on the calendar! This will mark the transition from Valerie’s successful tenure to Craig (Johnson).

Craig, our new convenor, has offered to host this, from 5pm onwards, Saturday 26th October, 2024. The suggestion is for people to bring either something to nibble, a salad, or a dessert, and Craig will provide pulled pork to complement the contributions. Craig has a pool that may be used if the weather has warmed up. Please put the date in your diary now.

Other news

• Do you subscribe to the OACT weekly e-bulletin? What about the Orienteering Australia monthly e-bulletin? Find recent OA e-news, August 2024 here.
  I encourage you to subscribe to each of these bulletins, to enable you to keep up-to-date at both a local and a national level. They have so many links to interesting and inspiring articles, news items, YouTube videos, health and fitness advice…
• Craig now holds the range of Bushflyers’ clothing (O-tops and jackets mostly) for sale. The range of sizes is becoming a little limited, but we will still be able to meet the needs of quite a few of our members. Please check with Craig if you would like wear our Club colours, especially if you are competing in major interstate events.

Keep safe; keep well; and keep moving!

Valerie Barker (outgoing Club Co-Convenor)
vnwbarker@gmail.com
0410 151 554

Craig Johnson (incoming Club Co-Convenor)
cmj109@gmail.com
0408 492 808

For Bushflyers Orienteering – where no-one gets left on the bench!

The post The Buzz – Bushflyers News September 2024 appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

As the weather moves from our beautiful Autumn to Winter, we are very pleased to welcome a number of new members: Moonbi and Simon Taylor; Bennie Berman and Tim Berman; Peter Brown; Kellie Wild, Gregor, Sam and Lachlan Dowe; Jeff Boyd; Selina Purcell; Mirielle de Rooy.

Some of you have been orienteering for some years, and others are relative beginners. No matter what your level of experience and expertise, you are all very welcome. Do make yourselves known to me and other Bushflyers at coming events.

(And see later for ways that you might acquire Bushflyers O-tops too!)

Our New Convenor

I have much pleasure in announcing to you that we have a new Convenor for Bushflyers – Craig Johnson. Craig offered his services a few weeks ago, so we shall be job-sharing for the next few months as co-Convenors. I assure you that he will be flying solo by the end of the year!

Craig is a relatively new Bushflyer and orienteer. But it is perhaps a natural activity for Craig to end up in. Growing up, bushwalking was a regular activity and that instilled an enjoyment of being outdoors and in the bush. He has also always loved playing sport, typically team sports (soccer, cricket, touch footy). Running featured only briefly during that time (Little Athletics, school cross countries). Since university, he relied on cycling to provide the base fitness, and any other physical activities were for fun. Hence, he has played ultimate frisbee for 25+ years revelling in that chaotic active wonderful sport that has no referees. He also had a stint with croquet during university, which has an excellent strategic element, and hopes to play it again when time permits.

For the past 10 years or so, orienteering has been in his family discussions, with the involvement of his brother Andrew, and niece and nephew, Ellen and Tenzing (all Bushflyers). He did a number of street orienteering events with his young children, and enjoyed the random element. And then Covid finally brought running into his life again, with the absence of other activities. Somewhat surprisingly, he found running more enjoyable than he remembered, and the final piece of the puzzle came when his son, Max, started orienteering at school. It is great to have an activity that lends itself to multi-generational participation, being out in the bush, and being both physically and mentally challenging.

He said to me that he really enjoys orienteering as it’s one way of running without really noticing it (as was ultimate frisbee too, I suspect)! I hope that we are able to introduce Craig to most of you over the next few months – he will generally be at the local events including both the Junior League and ACT League events. All communication and emails will automatically come from both Craig and me for the rest of 2024; I know that you will all make him very welcome.

Thank you, Craig, for your willingness and enthusiasm in taking on this role.

Events – Regional

8-10 June, KBIII, Rylstone region (NSW)

Last weekend we had a small but enthusiastic turnout of Bushflyers for the popular KBIII weekend. We had beautiful weather, challenging bush maps, including the amazing rocks of Minora Rocks (used last year for a NSW Championships event). We were able to enjoy a swarm at a Rylstone hotel on the Sunday evening – it was great to catch up on the previous two days’ events and pore over maps.

Congratulations to all place-getters, whether it was on an individual day or overall. (Eventor was not talking to the event organisers software very consistently, so these have taken a while to appear in an accessible format).

2024 National Representative Teams

The following Bushflyers have been selected to represent Australia in Europe this year.

Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC), 30 June – 7 July, Pilsen, Czechia

Natalie Miller, Justine Hobson (Res 1)
jwoc2024.cz

World Orienteering Championships (Sprint WOC), 11-16 July, Edinburgh, UK

Caitlin Young
woc2024.org

World University Orienteering Championships (WUOC), 1-5 August, Bansko, Bulgaria

Justine Hobson, Caitlin Young, David Stocks
wuoc2024.eu

These are wonderful opportunities for our young elites to experience orienteering on an international stage. Those travelling to Europe will be enjoying a range of training and competition opportunities in Europe both before and after their competitions: Jukola/Venla (huge Finnish relays, with upwards of 20 000 competitors); O-Ringen…

We wish them all successful training and preparation, safe travel, and personal best performances in their competitions. The Bushflyers club is pleased to announce that it is again providing sponsorship to these athletes, to support them with the significant expenses that travel to Europe in particular involves for athletes in Australia.

I have included links to the relevant websites for the three European competitions. They are very exciting to watch in real time, and I do encourage you to follow our own athletes, and all of the other Australian team members, in their competitions.

We have some family members travelling to Europe to support our juniors in person; we wish you all safe travelling. These are such exciting events to be a part of.

OACT Board and AGM

The OACT AGM was held on 18th April, and the 2024/2025 Board was elected.

Susanne Harryson continues as President, Valerie Barker as a Director (with a special interest in schools and junior orienteering), and Nina Davis was welcomed onto the Board as a new Director, bringing her expertise in marketing to share with the OACT community. Thank you to these Bushflyers for taking on these important roles.

OACT Events

The Junior/Metro League is now underway, and we have also had a number of significant AL events already this year! Juniors who have nominated for ASOC 2024 have already had a full program of selection events too.

We are looking forward to the announcement of the ASOC 2024 team in the next couple of weeks.

Bushflyers Events

Club Events

Thank you very much to Jo Hobson who is managing the Bushflyers roster. Thank you too, to the club members who were responsible for the following events:

• ACT League #4, Mt Taylor, 28th April
  Course–setter: Paul de Jongh
  Organisers: Nina Davis & Ian de Jongh
• Junior League #1, Weston Park, 11th May
  Course–setter: Ellen Johnson/Andrew Johnson
  Organisers: The Hobsons
• ACT League #8, Awoonga, 19th May
  Course–setter: David Stocks/Matt Stocks
  Organiser: Alison Inglis

The next events that Bushflyers are responsible for are:

Saturday Events – ACT Metro Series

• Junior League #5, The Pinnacle, 22nd June
  Course-setter: Peter Antcliff
• Junior League #8, Remembrance Park, 3rd August
  Course-setter: Kelvin Meng/Alison Inglis
  Organiser: Dave Penton
• Junior League #11, Farrer Ridge, 31st August
  Course-setter: Naomi Penton/Dave Penton
  Organiser: Chris Andersen

Sunday Events – ACT Classic Series

• ACT League #11, ACT Middle Championships, Wild Deer Sands
  Course-Setter: Toby Lang
  Controller: Ross Stewart
  Organiser: Valerie Barker

Many of you have recently indicated to Jo Hobson your interest in taking on a role for one or more of these events. Thank you!! If you feel you could contribute further please contact Jo on bushflyersroster@gmail.com. It is encouraging to see the continuing mentorship within the club, and our novice or junior members taking on course–planning roles especially. Remember that there will always be someone to assist you if you would like to take on a role in presenting Bushflyers events.

Thank you too of those who assist on the day, whether it is with setting up, manning the registration desk,
packing up or control collection. We cannot do it without you all!

National Events in 2024

Australian Orienteering Championships (AOC) & Australian Schools Orienteering Championships (ASOC)
28 September – 6 October, Armidale, NSW

You are advised to book as soon as possible. It seems that the construction of a very large solar farm nearby means that much accommodation, including motels and a caravan park, is being put aside for the employees and construction workers.

Other news

• Are you aware that there is a Bushflyers page on the OACT website? Go to act.orienteering.asn.au/category/club-news/bushflyers.
  Here you will find some club contacts, and lots of past newsletters.
• Do you subscribe to the OACT weekly e-bulletin? What about the Orienteering Australia monthly e-bulletin? Find recent OA e-news, May 2024 here.
  I encourage you to subscribe to each of these bulletins, to enable you to keep up-to-date at both a local and a national level. They have so many links to interesting and inspiring articles, news items, YouTube videos, health and fitness advice…
• And I continue to remind you that I have a range of Bushflyers’ clothing (O-tops and jackets mostly) for sale. The range of sizes is becoming a little limited, but we will still be able to meet the needs of quite a few of our members. Please check with me if you would like wear our Club colours, especially if you are competing in major interstate events.

Keep safe; keep well; and keep moving!

Valerie Barker (Club Co-Convenor)
vnwbarker@gmail.com
0410 151 554

Craig Johnson (incoming Club Co-Convenor)
cmj109@gmail.com
0408 492 808

For Bushflyers Orienteering – where no-one gets left on the bench!

The post The Buzz – Bushflyers News June 2024 appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

2024 is now well underway and we have been enjoying orienteering events over the summer with the Sprint series, and the second half of the Twilight series.

We are very pleased to welcome a number of new and returning members:

Some of you have been orienteering for some years, and others are relative beginners. No matter what your level of experience and expertise, you are all very welcome. Do make yourselves known to me and other Bushflyers at coming events.

(And see later for ways that you might acquire Bushflyers O-tops too!)

Summer Swarm and Annual Awards – Thank you!

Thank you very much to Ari and Maddy Piiroinen for generously offering us their home on Sunday 4th February, for our first swarm of the year and our Awards presentations.

1. OA Merit Badges

An aim of the Badge Scheme is to recognise the achievements of a consistent orienteering standard relative to one’s age-group peers.

The events at which badge credits may be earned are:

• Australian Long Distance, Middle Distance and Sprint Orienteering Championships;
• Australian 3-Days;
• State Long, Middle or Sprint Distance Championships as nominated to OA;
• Nominated Orienteering Australia controlled badge events

An orienteer qualifies for an OA merit badge by earning three credits at specific events within a two-year period. The two-year period commences on the date of the event at which the first credit is earned.

While a large number of Bushflyers earn badges each year, Bushflyers buys and presents badges to club members when they are earned for the first time in an age-class, and in subsequent years if they achieve a higher ranking! (That means that if you win Gold in your first year, you will get a badge; but even if you win Gold for the next four years, you will have to wait for another five years and a new age class to be eligible for another one!)

The 2023 OA Badge recipients are:

2. Bushflyers Fly Swat Award – Memorable moments and dastardly deeds

…when everything splatted around you but you kept on buzzing anyway…

Jesse Piiroinen
A little tale…of a little tail?

It’s very short and sweet! Ari tells us that Jesse mentioned on the way home from the Yarramundi Reach event in late November last year how he was very annoyed with his 20-second mistake between controls 10-11 on his course.

He was apparently running at the usual Jesse cruise speed around the bend of the lake. He had a green tree thicket hugging the lake and he was anticipating that he had to go about 50m to the control which was on some feature by the shore.

As he was running past the green thicket he heard a control being punched in the green. He thought that surely there could not be another control that close to his one. But he also thought it best to investigate, just in case.

Upon running and doing a little pirouette in the green he heard the control being punched again and very close. That was even more confusing! He then found a bird perched on a branch nearby happily mimicking the sound of the control punch. His comment was ‘Unbelievable!’ Ari’s rejoinder to Jesse was, ‘to concentrate on orienteering and not birds’.

3. Bushflyers Blue Bottle Award – Services to Bushflyers

No nominations this year!!

Note that previous winners have been:
2018 Ross Stewart
2019 Alison Inglis
2020, 2021 – no club awards
2022 Matt Stocks

4. Ian Booth Award

This is named after Ian Booth, a Bushflyers club stalwart who died suddenly of a heart attack in 2011. Ian enjoyed a red wine very much, so in the early years this award was based on a good quality red wine.
In recent years, however, a gift voucher ($120) from the Runners Shop has been awarded in lieu of the wine.
The prize is awarded to the most improved Master’s level competitor. It is calculated on relative improvement based on ACT League results. The winner must have competed in at least 50% of events in the year, and the award cannot be won by the same person on more than one occasion.

Previous winners have been:
2022 Jo Hobson
2019 Matt Stocks
2018 Chris Andersen
2017 Anita Scherrer
2016 Valerie Barker
2015 Chris Stocks
2014 Carol Harding
2013 Toni Brown
2012 Robyn d’Ascenzo
2011 Pauli Piiroinen (the inaugural recipient)

The 2023 winner is Craig Johnson

OACT 2023 Awards

Congratulations to the following Bushflyers who were recipients of OACT awards at the recent Presentations ceremony:

• Audun Fristad Awards (Encouragement to juniors):
  • Max Johnson
  • Ben Mansell
  • Patrick Maundrell

• Jim Sawkins Award for Event Management:
  • Ian de Jongh

• Services to Coaching:
  • Ken Mansell

Bushflyers Events

Since our last newsletter in January, Bushflyers organised and presented the following Twilight events.

Thank you very much to the following club members for setting courses and organising the event, and also to their teams of helpers who set up and packed up each event, managed the registration desk, and especially assisted with control collection.

• Twilight Series #8, Wednesday 14 February, Weston Park
  Course Planners: Josh, Ben, and Ken Mansell Organiser: David Penton
• Twilight Series #12, Wednesday 13 March, John Knight Park
  Course Planner: Justine Hobson Organiser: Chris Andersen

Club events in the next few months

We are now moving into the first events of the winter program; we have already had the 2024 OACT Sprint Championships, and have some important AL events on the calendar ahead, and the first Metro event in the next two months as well.
Of course, course setters, organisers and controllers/vetters will be needed for the 2024 events in all events as well. Don’t worry if you haven’t taken on any of these roles before as we have lots of people who would be happy to help you out with the practicalities.

Watch for emails from Jo Hobson, our roster manager, and consider how you might be able to support our club.

Coming Major Events

• 29 March – 1 April 2024 (Easter), AUS 3-Day Carnival, Lower Murraylands, South Australia
• 8-10 June, KBIII, Rylestone area, NSW
• 28 September – 6 October, Australian Championships, Armidale, NSW

We have a small number of Bushflyers travelling over to South Australia for the Easter Carnival, including several of our younger (Junior) Elites. These are important events as they are JWOC selection events.

For many of us, the Easter carnival offers not only wonderful orienteering, but also the chance to meet up with friends from across the country.

We hope that all competitors are fit and well (there is still quite a lot of COVID lingering…), have safe travelling, and the best results that you can manage – and lots of fun as well, of course.

2024 Membership Renewal

If you have not yet renewed your memberships for 2024, this will be the last newsletter you will receive.

Thank you for your continued support of our club. We do hope that you’ll continue to be a part of the Bushies family in 2024. Remember that the easiest way to renew your membership is via Eventor. If you need assistance, please contact the OACT office office@act.orienteering.asn.au

Other news

• Do you subscribe to the OACT weekly e-bulletin? What about the Orienteering Australia monthly e-bulletin? Find recent OA e-news, January 2024 here.
• I encourage you to subscribe to each of these bulletins, to enable you to keep up-to-date at both a local and a national level. They have so many links to interesting and inspiring articles, news items, YouTube videos, health and fitness advice…
• And I continue to remind you that I have a range of Bushflyers’ clothing (O-tops and jackets mostly) for sale. The range of sizes is becoming a little limited, but we will still be able to meet the needs of quite a few of our members. Please check with me if you would like wear our Club colours, especially if you are competing in major interstate events.

And finally…

I indicated at the recent Swarm that after about seven years, this year is to be my last as the Club Convenor; my family demands and commitments are beginning to take more of my time, and I have to listen to my adult children!

This presents an opportunity to you, perhaps to your family, to take on this role. We do not have elections or committees in Bushflyers, relying instead on the goodwill of all of you to take on a huge variety of roles within the club. I will be very happy to support and mentor the next Club Convenor, of course. Why not let it be YOU!

Keep safe; keep well; and keep moving!

Valerie Barker (Club Convenor)
vnwbarker@gmail.com (Please note my new address)
0410 151 554

For Bushflyers Orienteering – where no-one gets left on the bench!

The post The Buzz – Bushflyers News March 2024 appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

The Twilight season is now well underway, national championships are behind us, and suddenly we are almost in 2024! It is timely to reflect on recent events, celebrate successes and acknowledge all of the commitment and enthusiasm that so many Bushflyers, of all ages and skill levels, are showing as we enjoy all aspects of our orienteering.

As always, this is a busy time of the year for many of us, particularly families, as there are school celebrations to share and enjoy as well as all of the other seasonal festivities.

We wish you all a safe and relaxing Christmas, New Year and holiday period, whether you are at home or away, working or travelling, orienteering or doing other activities.

National Championship Events – Western Australia

A small but committed group of Bushflyers made the journey to WA in October, either as part of the ACT ASOC team, as an ASOC supporting family, or as enthusiastic orienteers wanting to enjoy the special challenges of that WA terrain. We were so fortunate to have such good weather – almost too hot on the Australian Long Championships day, where starts were brought forward by an hour to try to avoid excessive heat for later starters. Well done to all participants and to all place-getters, across all nine days of the carnival.

We are pleased to acknowledge and congratulate the following place getters:

• Australian Middle Distance Championships
  • 1st Max Johnson (M Short Hard)
  • 2nd Rachel Penton (M/W10 Novice)
  • 3rd Katherine Maundrell (W16A)
  • 4th Justine Hobson (W20E)
  • 4th Paul de Jongh (M21E)

• Australian Long Distance Championships
  • 1st David Penton (M35AS)
  • 1st Rachel Penton (M/W10 Novice)
  • 2nd Valerie Barker (W70A)
  • 2nd Tom de Jongh (M55AS)
  • 3rd Matty Maundrell (M14A)
  • 4th Paul de Jongh (M21E)
  • 5th Katherine Maundrell (W16A)
  • 5th Emma Penton (W Open)
  • 5th Justine Hobson (W20E)

• Australian Sprint Distance Championships
  • 1st Rachel Penton (M/W10 Novice)
  • 3rd Justine Hobson (W20E)
  • 3rd Valerie Barker (W70A)
  • 4th David Penton M40A)
  • 4th Emma Penton (W40A)
  • 5th Katherine Maundrell (W 16A)
  • 5th Ben Mansell (M12A)

Congratulations

1. Matty Maundrell, who was awarded the ASOC Rob Simson Memorial Shield for Best Newcomer 2023, at the ASOC presentations. This is a relatively new award and is a wonderful recognition of Matty’s participation in ASOC, and his commitment to developing his orienteering skills and experience.
2. All of the Bushflyers who represented the ACT in the 2023 ACT ASOC team.
   • Senior Girls – Katherine Maundrell
   • Senior Boys – Max Johnson, Josh Mansell
   • Junior Girls – Naomi Penton
   • Junior Boys – Ben Mansell, Matthew Maundrell

We also acknowledge and thank the team officials, especially those who are Bushflyers: Tom de Jongh (Manager) and Paul de Jongh (Coach).

… And more important acknowledgements

1. Patrick Maundrell – who abandoned his Moderate course at the Twilight Red Hill event on 1st October, to get back to the Assembly area and get support and assistance for badly injured David Hogg. This is a great example of exercising qualities of sportsmanship that are highly valued in orienteering. (I gather he later got out to compete an Easy course, which he flew around!)
   
2. Ken Mansell – have you read Ken’s article about orienteering as a family sport, in the latest (December) issue of The Australian Orienteer? Many of us can relate so well to this, having been introduced to orienteering through our children – at school, in Scouts or from other related sports.
   
3. The recent SC-ORE series, run during October/November, has again been organised by Susanne Harryson. Among the regular helpers were Ken Mansell, Tom de Jongh (photographer), David Stocks, Chris Stocks and Valerie Barker.
   
4. ACT Controllers’ Workshop (25th November) – Bushflyers participants were David Stocks, Matt Stocks, Paul de Jongh, Chris Andersen and Valerie Barker. Workshops such as these are so important to help build capacity and expertise in our club and state organisations, enabling the presentation of high quality events at local state and national level, with a particular focus on course-setting, controlling and organising.
   
5. Those juniors who are joining a large group of young orienteers from the ACT and other states at the Beechworth Junior Development Camp in December (Justine Hobson, Natalie Miller, Josh and Ben Mansell). You will have a wonderful time!

Bushflyers Events

Bushflyers have already organised and presented two events of the current Twilight series

Thank you very much to the following club members for setting courses and organising the events, and also to their teams of helpers who set up and pack up the event, manage the registration desk and, especially, assist with control collection.

• Twilight Series #1, Wednesday 25 October, Oakey Hill
  Course Planner: Matt Stocks Organiser: Valerie Barker
• Twilight Series #3, Wednesday 15 November, Gossan Hill
  Course Planner: Sanda Halpin/Alison Inglis Organiser: the Hobson family

Club events in the next few months

You will notice that on the OACT website and in Eventor that the following events are scheduled for the current Metro and Classic series, and then later in the 2023/2024 Twilight season.

• Twilight Series #7, Wednesday 6 December, Mt Jerrabomberra
  Course Planner – Peter Antcliff
• Twilight Series #8, Wednesday 14 February, Commonwealth Park
• Twilight Series #12, Wednesday 13 March, John Knight Park

You have already received a request from Jo Hobson for your assistance with the Mt Jerrabomberra event.

Of course, course setters, organisers and controllers/vetters will be needed for the 2024 events as well. Don’t worry if you haven’t taken on any of these roles before as we have lots of people who would be happy to help you out with the practicalities. Watch for Jo’s emails, and consider how you might be able to support our club.

Coming Major Events

• 15 – 20 December 2023, Junior Development Camp, Beechworth, Victoria
• 27 – 31 December 2023, Xmas 5 Days, Terrigal, Central Coast, NSW
• 29 March – 1 April 2024 (Easter) AUS 3-Day Carnival, Lower Murraylands, South Australia

Bushflyers Finances

Thank you to those of you who have responded to me following my long message in the last newsletter (August) about the state of our club finances. I am encouraged to note your support not only of my/club decisions, but also of the general trend in the use of our funds for our current members. I did mention the possibility of a Bunnings BBQ. However, that will not happen, or at least not in the early part of the year, as OACT is having a Bunnings BBQ in February. Do watch the regular bulletins for further details, including the ways that you will be able to assist our whole orienteering community.

A 2024 New Year Swarm and Annual Awards

It would be great to have a Bushflyers Swarm early in the New Year; we might consider a traditional Swarm at a member’s home (of the Bring a Plate to Share type), or perhaps a pizza get-together after a Twilight event, possibly the Bushflyers event at Commonwealth Park in February. Please feel free to make suggestions to me, or even offer your home.

And at that event, we will be able to make a number of presentations: 2023 OA Merit Badges, the Ian Booth Award for the most improved Bushflyer at Masters level (based on ACT League Events), and the Bushflyers’ own special annual awards.

Nominations: If you have nominations for the Blue Bottle (Services to Bushflyers) Award and the Fly Swat Award (for the silliest mistake, biggest blunder, heroism under fire, most humorous moment etc.), please email Valerie with these at vnwbarker@gmail.com. I know that I have been told of a couple of potential nominations for the Fly Swat award (although I will need a reminder, please!).

Other news

• Do you subscribe to the OACT weekly e-bulletin? What about the Orienteering Australia monthly e-bulletin? Find recent OA e-news, November 2023 here.
• I encourage you to subscribe to each of these bulletins, to enable you to keep up-to-date at both a local and a national level. They have so many links to interesting and inspiring articles, news items, YouTube videos, health and fitness advice…
• And I continue to remind you that I have a range of Bushflyers’ clothing (O-tops and jackets mostly) for sale. The range of sizes is becoming a little limited, but we will still be able to meet the needs of quite a few of our members. Please check with me if you would like wear our Club colours, especially if you are competing in major interstate events.

Keep safe; keep well; and keep moving!

Valerie Barker (Club Convenor)
vnwbarker@gmail.com (Please note my new address)
0410 151 554

For Bushflyers Orienteering – where no-one gets left on the bench!

The post The Buzz – Bushflyers News November 2023 appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

Thank you very much to the course-setter, Ross Stewart, and to Chris Andersen, the organiser, and his group of volunteers, for presenting such a great event, in such beautiful weather too! As always, all of you who helped with some aspect of the day were critical to the success of the event. Your volunteering is essential, and much appreciated. Thank you all.

For many members of the club, there will now be a break from regular weekend orienteering activities for a few weeks. A few of us, including six of our juniors, are looking forward to travelling to WA for the National Orienteering Championships including ASOC, in a little over three weeks’ time. We wish all competitors and supporting family members the very best of competition. Enjoy all of the new terrain and orienteering experiences, as well as the opportunities to catch up with old friends and make new ones. The Bushflyers banner will not physically be there, but you can be assured that we shall no doubt find other club members at the events, and support you all!

It is now timely to remind you that the Twilight season begins on Wednesday 25th October, at Oakey Hill. This is a Bushflyers event, and is followed four weeks later on 15th November with our second event, Twilight #4 at Gossan Hill.

OACT has the expectation that courses for all events should be finalised (or at least be well into the planning phase) six weeks prior to an event, to enable the appropriate permissions and land access to be gained in a timely manner. This means that we now need to identify planners and organisers for at least these two events as soon as possible.

Jo Hobson, our Bushflyers roster coordinator, will be sending out requests for personnel to set courses and organise Twilight events very soon, I am sure. However, you do not need to wait for the request. If you would like to do some course-setting and/or organising for either of these two events or for any other Twilight events (Bushflyers is presenting five over the season), please contact Jo as soon as possible (her contact is included above), and let her know. I think that Matt Stocks has already offered to set the courses for the Oakey Hill event (only 7 weeks away!), but there are plenty of other opportunities for setting and organising available. You are especially welcome to take on one of these roles as a novice! Please be assured that there are many experienced Bushflyers to support and assist you as you develop your skills.

We look forward to all of your offers of assistance for the coming Twilight events. Thank you all!

Safe travelling for those on the move, within Australia and abroad. Keep well and fit to all of us.

Valerie Barker (Club Convenor)
vnwbarker@gmail.com
6251 5459 / 0410 151 554

For Bushflyers Orienteering – where no-one gets left on the bench!

The post Bushflyers News Update, September 2023 appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

With the winter (AL) season and the Junior League almost completed, and the ACT Championships (Middle and Long) held last weekend, a number of us are looking forward to the Australian Championships in Western Australia, only a few weeks away, and then to the coming Twilight season for us all.

We have been fortunate to have continued to enjoyed a full program of orienteering this year, of course including the regular Metro, Classic and Mid-Week series and the MapRun Street Orienteering series.

Championship Events – ACT

• ACT Sprint Championships, 19 August, Canberra Girls Grammar. Results included:
  2. Ryan Stocks (M20A); Josh Mansell (M16A); Susanne Harryson (W55A); Nina Davis (M/WOpenB); Ruth Morrison (M/WJunior B)
  3. Ben Mansell (M14A); David Poland (M55A); Michael Mitchell (M65A); Valerie Barker (W65A)

• ACT Middle Championships, 19 August, Collector Hill. Results included:
  1. David Stocks (M21A); Ian de Jongh (M21AS); Matt Stocks (M50A); David Poland (M60A); Chris Stocks (W50A); Alison Inglis (W55A); Valerie Barker (W70A)
  2. Susanne Harryson (W55A); Max Johnson (M20AS); Nina Davis (WOpenB)
  3. Paul de Jongh (M21A); Josh Mansell (M16A)

• ACT Long Championships, 20 August, Foxlow Flats. Results included:
  1. Paul de Jongh (M21A); Ian de Jongh (M21AS); Matt Stocks (M55A); Ross Stewart (M60A); Susanne Harryson (W55A); David Penton (M35AS); Nina Davis (WOpenB)
  2. David Stocks (M21A); Robert Hembrow (M21AS); Justine Hobson (W20A) Alison Inglis (W55A)
  3. Chris Stocks (W55A); Birgitta Hembrow Gersey (W21AS)

Congratulations to all place-getters, whether it was on an individual day or overall.

Congratulations

In June we were very pleased to acknowledge the several young orienteers who were selected to represent Australia in international competition this year, including JWOC, WOC, the World Cup and a trans–Tasman Test Match. These included Caitlin Young, David Stocks, Justine Hobson, Natalie Miller, Toby Lang and Paul de Jongh.

A number of those of us at home were able to tune into the live broadcasts of these events, especially JWOC and WOC, to cheer our club-mates on. These broadcasts are always so exciting to watch! Several families also travelled to Europe in July, to be in-person support for competitors (especially at JWOC). And then, of course, many of these orienteers (both representatives and family members) enjoyed the wonderful experiences of major European competitions, such as the Swiss O-Week, and O-Ringen. I know that all of them are very keen to share their experiences and show you their maps, often of terrain so very different from anything we have here in Australia. Do ask!

The ACT team to compete in the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships (ASOC) in Western Australia (30 September to 8 October) was also recently announced.
Congratulations to the following young Bushflyers in the team:

• Senior Girls – Katherine Maundrell
• Senior Boys – Max Johnson, Josh Mansell, James Tailby
• Junior Girls – Naomi Penton
• Junior Boys – Ben Mansell, Matthew Maundrell

Places in the ASOC teams are keenly sought, and it is exciting to note that we have new Bushflyer faces in three of the four classes. Bushflyers are certainly very well represented in this year’s ASOC team!
We also acknowledge and thank the team officials, especially those who are Bushflyers: Tom de Jongh (Manager) and Paul de Jongh (Coach).

Bushflyers Events

Bushflyers have been organising and presenting a number of events over the past few months, in both the Metro and AL (Classic) series.

Thank you very much to the following club members for setting courses and organising the events, and also to their teams of helpers who set up and pack up the event, manage the registration desk, and especially assist with control collection. In some cases this has proved quite demanding, especially when key personnel have had nasty injuries. In particular, we wish Toni Brown a strong recovery from her broken leg, sustained when controlling the Isaacs Ridge event.

It has been encouraging to note a number of our newer members enthusiastically taking on critical organisational roles as well. Thank you all.

• Metro Series: Junior League #7, Saturday 19 July, Stringybark Hill
  Course–setter: Peter Antcliff Organiser: The Penton Family
• Metro Series: Junior League #10, Saturday 22 July, West Stromlo North
  Course–setter: Naomi Penton/Alison Inglis Organiser: the Mansell family
• ACT Sprint Championships ACT League #3, Sunday 25 June, Canberra Girls Grammar
  Course–setter: Silke Speier Controller: Matt Stocks Organiser: Valerie Barker
• ACT League #4, Sunday 30 July, Isaacs Ridge
  Course–setter: David Poland Controller: Toni Brown Organiser: Scott Wilkinson

Coming Events

Australian Championships, Western Australia 30 September – 8 October, 2023
wa.orienteering.asn.au/kambarang-2023

Note that entries close on 31st August.

Travelling to WA is a major commitment for us from the eastern states, whether we go as ACT representatives or as individuals and support crew! At present at least 19 Bushflyers have entered, across a range of different classes, including the ASOC events. I am really looking forward to going to WA again; while I shall not have not the Bushflyers flag with me this year, I am sure that we shall be meeting up at the various events, including those wonderfully exciting ASOC events, to cheer everyone on! Do join us all.

We wish all competitors, at whatever level of competition, good luck, clean runs, wonderful orienteering experiences, and opportunities to renew and develop friendships with our interstate competitors.

Club events in the next few months

You will notice that on the OACT website and in Eventor that the following events are scheduled for the current Metro and Classic series, and then later in the 2023/2024 Twilight season.

• Metro Series: Junior League #14 (incorporating the ACT Secondary School Championships), Saturday 19 July, Cooleman Ridge
  Course Planner – Josh Mansell/Ari Piiroinen, Organisers – the Penton family
• ACT League #4 Sunday 3 September Picaree Hill
  Course Planner – Ross Stewart, Organiser – Chris Andersen

Bushflyers are also responsible for:

• Twilight #1, Oakey Hill, 25 October 2023
• Twilight #4, Gossan Hill, 15 November 2023
• Twilight #7, Mt Jerrabomberra, 6 December 2023
• Twilight #8, Commonwealth Park, 14 February 2024
• Twilight #12, John Knight Park, 13 March 2024

Before too long you will receive a request from Jo Hobson for your assistance with the events in the 2023/2024 Twilight Series.

I am sure that course setters, organisers and controllers/vetters will all be needed. Don’t worry if you haven’t taken on any of these roles before as we have lots of people who would be happy to help you out with the practicalities. Watch for Jo’s email, and consider how you might be able to support our club.

Bushflyers Finances

You are probably aware that each of the Orienteering ACT clubs has its own funds in the form of a club trust account within the broader OACT financial structure. For many years, the Bushflyers account has been quite flush, and we have often been asked about how these funds might be used to support our club members. You may not know that our income is generated by tithes that are paid to clubs after they have organised and presented an event. Note that currently tithes are set at $150 for an ordinary event, and $250 for a Championships event.

This year, we have made a determined effort to support Bushflyers in a number of ways, and I am almost embarrassed to report to you that our account is now at an all-time low – we really have almost completely depleted our funds. This year we have made sponsorship payments of up to $400 for our international athletes, and $250 for our ASOC representatives – this has been a recognition of the post–COVID costs of travel, not only overseas, but also within Australia (the cost for our ASOC representatives is high, and there are several families with two children travelling too). This year, of course, we have had such a large number of younger Bushflyers achieving national and state selection. There is a long history of providing this sort of financial support – ask many of our older members whose sons and daughters have had their JWOC and ASOC selection supported by Bushflyers. My daughter was certainly one of those very appreciative and grateful recipients.

In previous years, our occasional Swarms and get-togethers have been self-catered, with everyone contributing to the food; however, over the past year or two, the club has provided pizzas and fruit – sometimes for up to 40 people. You know how hungry orienteers are, and the cost of pizzas these days! As well, we have purchased uniforms (this is usually in bulk), so I do have several hundreds of dollars worth of stock to hand. Bushflyers also buys the badges that we award annually, and of course, we provide other awards and prizes to recognise the achievements of our members. As you can see, it has not been difficult to support so many of our members so generously.

I do acknowledge, of course, that our funds are going to have to build up again, and that this will not be done within just a few months and on the strength of the 2023 tithes. However, I do still want to be able to continue to support our representatives next year. In thinking ahead, I am proposing that we tap into the recent fund-raising experience and success of the ACT Blue Lightning Squad; they ran one of the regular Bunnings BBQs (the staple of weekend visits to Bunnings) and made a considerable amount of money to support the ASOC team. We have immediate contacts and a clear organisational structure for such an event. My suggestion is that we book a date in perhaps March/April next year, outside the main part of the orienteering season, and commit Bushflyers to one day’s effort. Of course, most of us would need to commit to only a few hours work too! This would significantly boost our funds at the start of the year.

Please let me know your thoughts on this; and if you have any other ideas about possible fundraising, I’d be very keen to hear them. We do hope to have a Swarm towards the end of the year, using the home of one of our members (and we have already had an offer of a venue too – more details later). I think that this one will revert to our ‘bring a plate to share’ format. They have been very successful in the past, of course, and will be easy to manage in these more relaxed post–COVID times.

Other news

• Do you subscribe to the OACT weekly e-bulletin? What about the Orienteering Australia monthly e-bulletin? Find recent OA e-news, June 2023 here. This edition featured an interview with our own Justine Hobson too.
• I encourage you to subscribe to each of these bulletins, to enable you to keep up-to-date at both a local and a national level. They have so many links to interesting and inspiring articles, news items, YouTube videos, health and fitness advice…
• And I continue to remind you that I have a range of Bushflyers’ clothing (O-tops and jackets mostly) for sale. The range of sizes is becoming a little limited, but we will still be able to meet the needs of quite a few of our members. Please check with me if you would like wear our Club colours, especially if you are competing in major interstate events.

Keep safe; keep well; and keep moving.

Valerie Barker (Club Convenor)
vnwb@internode.on.net
6251 5459 / 0410 151 554

For Bushflyers Orienteering – where no-one gets left on the bench!

The post The Buzz – Bushflyers News August 2023 appeared first on Orienteering ACT.