The Jim Sawkins Classic is a Handicap competition with two Divisions:

• Division 1, on ACT League course Hard 1, an open competition for all ages and genders.
• Division 2, on all other ACT League Hard courses, a restricted competition for competitors of all genders, but excluding men aged between 21 and 34.

Competitors’ times are ‘corrected’ in accordance with the same Age/Gender factors used for ACT League and Runners Shop Twilight Series competitions to determine the winners.

The top three placings in each division are below, and complete results for both divisions are available here.

Jim Sawkins Division 1

Jim Sawkins Division 2

Results from the event are available here.
Livelox GPS tracking is available here.
John Harding’s photos from the event can be viewed here.

Current standings of the 2026 ACT Junior League are available here.
The current standings for the 2026 ACT League are available here.

The post Jim Sawkins Classic 2026 Results appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

Happy midway through 2026. Winter can bring some beautiful cool clear days to get out into the bush or in our urban environs. We are just past the midwinter break and are back into the second half of the Metro Series. The mid-week events that have continued throughout this time, and they continue to provide a great way to see the urban side of Canberra while testing your navigation skills. Meanwhile, the northern hemisphere summer provides great appeal to orienteerers from this neck of the woods. We’ve had EYOC, JWOC, WOC, and O-Ringen over the past month or so. Watching some of the orienteering facebook feeds, Canberra and the Bushflyers are well represented over in Europe (but more about that later). The latest is the University Orienteering Championships (occurring at the moment) and at least one more world cup events yet to come.

We currently have 151 members! Recently, we have had some new members and returning member join us. 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.

Emily Farmer, Nick Farmer, Andrew Wilson, Moonbi Taylor, Simon Taylor, Elliot Cooper, Jasper Cooper, Kate Corbett, Thomas Scott, Mark Vardy, Sally Vardy, Jack Wilkinson, Clara Grant, Jen Grant, Max Bywood, Isaac McAuley, Peter Kerman, Ross Wilkinson

This newsletter spends a good chunk of space covering the achievements of our successful performers, either at the elite level or in the respective age categories. But for a good number of us, just participating and making it around the course is all a sufficient challenge. So, feel free to bathe in the success of our club mates and continue to enjoy the orienteering experience for what it is to you.

Finally, thanks to the work of everyone who contributes to making the events happen. Orienteering is not a simple sport to organise. It requires a number of people to create one event, and to put on multiple events requires many more. The Bushflyers have a good contingent of willing helpers, but there is always room for more. I’d encourage everyone to try to get out and help with an event, though feel free to start small and assist some of the more experienced members. I understand that the Oceania events will require a good number of helpers so please see what you can do.

Recent Events

Since the last newsletter, we have run four events, all very fun and well attended.

Twilight Series

The Twilight Series concluded with the Commonwealth Park event. Thanks to Justine Hobson for setting the course, and Valerie Barker for organising. The Bushflyers had a good representation across the handicapped Twilight series. Ryan Stocks, Matty Maundrell, Patrick Maundrell, Naomi Penton and David Stocks all featured in the top ten at the end of the series.

Metro Series

We had two consecutive events in the Metro Series in June, the first at the Pinnacle with Leanne Haupt setting her first course, and then at Stringybark Hill where Toby Lang was the course setter. Both events were conducted under the clear morning skies. Leanne added a fun mini challenge with the log piles on the far side of the Pinnacle.

Toby set some courses that provided a stiff challenges for a number of us. Also, big thanks to Valerie Barker (Pinnacle) and Nina Davis and Ian de Jongh (Stringbark Hill) for organising those events and the string of helpers setting up, tidying up, and collecting the controls.

Our most recent event was the fun run around Narrabundah Hill on the course set by Peter Antcliff and organised by Helen Sheridan. It is a location with plenty of blackberry plants to ensure you take home some memories from the course in the form of scratches on your arms and legs.

Upcoming Events

The good news is that we have plenty to look forward to in the rest of the year. The following events are the ones that the Bushflyers are down to run or assist with, so feel free to contact Jo Hobson if you can assist with any of these.

ACT Middle Distance, 8 March, Birkenburn

The ACT Middle Distance championships were held back in March out at Birkenburn, east of Bungendore.

Bushflyers had 33 out of 311 entries

Results included:

1. Nina Davis (W21Sport), David Stocks (M21E), Jenny Hawkins(W80A), Naomi Penton (W16A), and Chris Andersen (M60A).
2. Ben Mansell (M16A) and Ian de Jongh (M21Sport)
3. Katherine Maundrell (W20E), Carol Harding (WOpenB) David Penton (M40A), Chris Stocks(W55A), and Valerie Barker (W75A)

This event formed part of the first Capital O, that hosted two sprint events on the Saturday at Radford and the University of Canberra. Combining the sprints with the longer bush course provided a full weekend, though with the benefit of the Monday public holiday to recover a little bit prior re-entering the real world.

ACT Long Distance, 17 May, Split Rock, Cootamundra

The ACT long championships were held out at Cootamundra in May. I didn’t get out to this event, but the map and courses looked very challenging. Definitely a great setting to give the more experienced orienteerers to test their skills. Thanks to David Stocks for setting the course, Matt Stocks for being the event controller, and Jo Hobson for being the event director and a host of others with the running of the event. We also received some assistance from other Canberra club members in running this event and that was greatly appreciated.

Bushflyers had 26 out of 286 entries

Results included:

1. Justine Hobson (W21E), Ryan Stocks (M21E), Blair Trewin (M55A), Jane Barnett (W65AS), Valerie Barker (W75A)
2. Ian de Jongh (M21AS), Nina Davis, and Ross Stewart (M65A)
3. Toby Lang (M21E)

Summer Swarm and Annual Awards for 2025

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 (25 Oct – details below) 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. I’ll add that we didn’t get any nominations for our Fly Swat Award (for the silliest mistake, biggest blunder, heroism under fire, most humorous moment etc.) or Bluebottle awards (Services to Bushflyers), but please start thinking about possible nominations from this year’s efforts.

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 ageclass, 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 Gold
• Ben Mansell M14 Gold
• Chris Andersen M60 Gold
• Coral Dow W70 Bronze
• David Jenkins M65 Bronze
• Greg Terrill M60 Silver
• Helen Sheridan W45 Bronze
• Ian De Jongh M21 Silver
• Justine Hobson W21 Gold
• Katherine Maundrell W20 Bronze
• Katie Liesinger W35 Bronze
• Kelvin Meng M21 Bronze
• Matty Maundrell M16 Gold
• Natalie Miller W21 Gold

I have distributed most of these but I still have a few to hand out.

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.

The 2025 winner was David Penton

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)

OACT Awards

The Bushflyers were well represented in the Orienteering ACT awards. It is great to see our members getting recognitions for their efforts.

Mike Cassells Award for Services to Orienteering – Susanne Harrysson

Susanne was nominated for a number of contributions including the following:

• OACT President from April 2022 to April 2025
• Leadership of Learn-to-Orienteering (L2O) programs
• Managing SC-ORE series of orienteering for the younger school students
• Co-ordinates the Sprint series

Wehner Cup, ACT orienteer of the year – David Stocks

David Stocks won the Wehner Cup for the 2025 ACT orienteer of the year. A commendable 3rd place went to Matthew Stocks.

Australian Schools Orienteering Championships Service Award – Valerie Barker

Valerie was recognised for more than two decades of dedicated service. In that time she has taken on the role of Manager of the Australian Junior World Orienteering Championships team on multiple occasions amongst many other contributions.

Audun Fristad Junior Encouragement awards

And it is nice to see our juniors getting recognised, well done to Ruth Morrison and Arlo Foxlee, with Ruth in the Bushflyers top.

ASOC

After last year’s exciting Australian Schools Orienteering Championship in Brisbane, ASOC in 2026 is part of Oceania Championship in Canberra in late September. The announcement of the ACT team is yet to be made (I understand that there are still qualification events taking place), but I expect that we will have some good representation from the Bushflyers again. Although the event is local, the Bushflyers will provide a contribution to each member to support their participation in this event.

AOC – Tasmania

Back in April, the Australian Orienteering Championships were held in Tasmania. We had 26 Bushflyers competing with some as CBR Cockatoos out of almost 800 competitors. Below are some of the great results, but special mention goes to Justine Hobson and David Stocks who came second in the 21-elite category for the middle distance event. A fantastic effort.

Sprint
1 – Ian de Jongh (M21AS)
2 – Patrick Maundrell (M14A), Helen Sheridan (W Open B)
3 – David Penton (M40A), Ben Mansell (M16A), Tom de Jongh (M65AS)

Middle
1 – Ian de Jongh (M21AS)
2 – Helen Sheridan (W Open B), Tom de Jongh (M65AS), Justine Hobson (W21E), David Stocks (M21E)

Long
1 – Ian de Jongh (M21AS)
2 – Naomi Penton (W16A), Tom de Jongh (M65AS)
3 – Rachel Penton (Open Easy), Matthew Stocks (M55A)

2026 National Representative Teams

International events are wonderful opportunities for our elites to experience orienteering on an international stage. 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. The following Bushflyers have been representing Australia in competitions overseas this year or will be shortly.

EYOC 2026, 24-27 June, Nova Gorica, Slovenia

Ben Mansell had his first experience at international competition in Europe. From the reports I’ve seen, it was tough conditions for the team (very hot), but Ben had an excellent sprint race, coming in 25th.(out of 106), just 1.39 mins behind the winner. You can check out the results, courses and more here – eyoc2026.si/competition.

JWOC 2026, 29 June – 7 July, Kariskrona, Sweden

Katherine Maundrell and Matty Maundrell represented Australia (and the Bushflyers) in the Junior World Orienteering Championships. And it was also great to watch them and the other Canberra representatives, Elye, Owen, Hayden and Adriana compete. Although it isn’t always about performances, Elye’s tie for second place (with Cooper Horley) in the sprint was an extremely impressive result. And Katherine and Matty performed very well in the sprint, coming in 17th (out of 150) and 60th (out of 177) respectively. If you are interested in checking out the results and course (for the sprint and other events), here is the website to relive the events – jwoc2026.se

World Cup 2026 Round 2, 28-31 May, Sweden

Katherine Maundrell also represented Australia in the second round of the World Cup.

World University O Championships 2026, 28 July – 1 August, Portugal

As mentioned up front of this newsletter, Justine Hobson, Toby Lang, David Stocks are competing in Portugal right now. Again, it seems to be very hot.

World Cup 2026 Round 3, 5-9 August, Czechia

And finally, Justine Hobson and David Stocks will be representing Australia in the third World Cup event.

Oceania Orienteering Championships

You have probably seen that the Oceania Orienteering Championships are on in Canberra from 27 September to 4 October this year. This will be a great chance to compete in a large event in our local region. For more information, the Oceania 2026 website has plenty of information and including Bulletin 1. Along with having the expectation of a good compliment of members participating, the Bushflyers are supporting the running of events at Stromlo and ANU South. Thanks to those that have put their hands up to help out with these events.

Blair Trewin – IOF Vice President

Bushflyer member, Blair Trewin, has been appointed as Vice President of the International Orienteering Federation for 2026-2030. He is a previous president of Orienteering Australia, and though now resides in Melbourne he is a frequent visitor to Canberra and enters several events under the Bushflyer banner. Congratulations Blair and thank you for taking on another role representing Australia on the world stage.

Autumn Bushflyer Swarm – Save the Date – 25 October 2026

Please mark Sunday 25th October in your diary for our second local Swarm of 2025. I’m happy to host the event at my place in Weetangera (25 McLachlan Cres). 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.

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 July 2026 appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

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.

The Jim Sawkins Classic is a Handicap competition with two Divisions:

• Division 1, on ACT League course Hard 1, an open competition for all ages and genders.
• Division 2, on all other ACT League Hard courses, a restricted competition for competitors of all genders, but excluding men aged between 21 and 34.

Competitors’ times are ‘corrected’ in accordance with the same Age/Gender factors used for ACT League and Runners Shop Twilight Series competitions to determine the winners.

The top three placings in each division are below, and complete results for both divisions are available here.

Jim Sawkins Division 1

Jim Sawkins Division 2

Results from the event are available here.
Livelox GPS tracking is available here.
John Harding’s photos from the event can be viewed here.

Current standings of the 2025 ACT Junior League are available here.
The current standings for the 2025 ACT League are available here.

The post Jim Sawkins Classic 2025 Results appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

To mark the occasion, there was a display listing historical highlights, a selection of club photographs, and a selection of early maps prepared by Parawanga club mapping teams. The maps included several areas which are no longer suitable for orienteering.

In addition to David and Sandra Hogg, who hosted the first meeting, two other foundation members, Maurice Ongania and Trevor Dowling, attended. Maurice has been the club’s most successful elite orienteer, representing Australia at WOC on six occasions and winning three Australian Individual Championships and the inaugural Pacific Orienteering Championships. Trevor was a driving force in forming Northside Navigators in 1977, which attracted several Parawanga members, and later gave rise to Bush Flyers.

Former Parawanga and ACTOA President, Tim Pulford, was welcomed back to orienteering after a long absence, along with his daughter, Jane.

The cutting of the 50th anniversary cake was scheduled for 12 noon and, right on cue, the cloud which had been around all morning began to clear away and, a couple of minutes later, the club President, Liz Dunbar, arrived back from her course to conduct the cake-cutting ceremony. Extra cupcakes in Parawanga colours were made by club members and donated to the Blue Lightning stall for sale.

For those who missed it, the display can be seen at the OACT Office, where copies of the old maps are available. The historical highlights and photographs can also be viewed here.

The post Parawanga Celebrates 50 Years at Mount Taylor appeared first on Orienteering ACT.

THE FIRST YEAR

April 1975. Proposal in ACTOA Secretary’s report to the AGM for forming ACT clubs within ACTOA.

21 May 1975. A Belconnen-based orienteering club was formed – the first ACT club.

16 July 1975. Parawanga Orienteers adopted its name, colours and logo.

7 September 1975. Informal Parawanga club championships held at Mount McDonald event.

9 November 1975. Parawanga teams competed in the inaugural Australian Club Relay Championships near Wagga Wagga.

THE REST OF THE 1970s

April 1976. Design for the first Parawanga T-shirts adopted, cost $4.00 per shirt.

26 August 1976. First Annual General Meeting of Parawanga Orienteers was conducted with its Constitution adopted.

1976. Parawanga was the first club to organise the ACT Championships, including making a new map for the event (Oakey Creek in Pierces Creek Forest).

1977. Several members left Parawanga to join with departing Majura Macropods members to form Northside Navigators (which later formed Bush Flyers).

12 November 1978. Parawanga organised the inaugural ACT Relays in Stromlo Forest.

1979. Parawanga organised the Australian Club Relay Championships at Burra Creek, including making the map – the first ACT club to organise a national event.

17-18 November 1979. The first of several Parawanga social weekends at Guthega.

THE 1980s

1980. Parawanga was the main club involved in organising the inaugural Pacific Orienteering Championships at Mulloon Creek, with club member, Maurice Ongania, winning the M21 title.

1982. The first Parawanga Pent-O was held in Canberra, with courses set by young Parawanga juniors – the first of several such events.

1984 to 1987. Parawanga teams, variously composed of Maurice Ongania, Roger Nicoll, Geoff Lawford and Ian Prosser, won the M21A class for four successive years at the Australian Club Relay Championships.

December 1984. End of year dinner with 52 attendees and the first presentation of the Blue Man Award (a blue garden gnome) for services to the club. The recipient was Peter Plunkett-Cole.

January 1985. The first Parawanga O-suits were produced, including a club badge.

1985. Parawanga was responsible for managing the parking at the World Orienteering Championships at Bendigo.

1986. A night Street-O event was held in Weetangera, in conjunction with a club meeting.

1987. Parawanga organised the Australian Individual Championships at Corin Forest.

1987. Parawanga fielded 28 full teams (an all-time record?) at the Australian Club Relay Championships held at Ed’s Hollow (Ballinafad Creek), but finished just behind Red Roos on points.

1987. Parawanga Paragraphs was established as a printed club newsletter, continuing until 1994, when it was incorporated in the ACTOA newsletter.

1987, 1989 and 1991. Parawanga teams won the W21A class at the Australian Club Relay Championships. Team members included Mary McDonald, Kathryn Weir, Jenny Bourne, Ljubov Simson, Liz Abbott and Nicola Plunkett-Cole.

1988. The Parawanga Constitution was amended to bring membership dates in late with the amended ACTOA Constitution.

1988. Parawanga was the leading interstate club at the Australian Club Relay Championships in Western Australia, with the event dominated by local club teams.

1989. Parawanga organised a weekend orienteering camp at Birrigai.

THE 1990s

October 1990. One of the club’s founders, Mike Cassells, died when returning home following the Australian Championships Carnival in Victoria. He is commemorated through the Mike Cassells Award, crafted by his son, Graham, and awarded each year for services to ACT orienteering.

1991. Several experienced Parawanga members left the club to help form Abominable O-Men.

1992. Parawanga organised the Australian Individual Championships at Non-Smokers Flat (Corin Forest).

1993. A streak of yellow was incorporated into the new Parawanga O-suits, imported from Sweden, price $67.

1995. Parawanga organised the Australia–New Zealand Challenge Individual event in conjunction with the ACT Championships at Orroral Crossing on Parawanga’s first OCAD map.

1997. The Parawanga Constitution was amended to change the dates of its financial year.

1997. Parawanga organised the Australian Relay Championships at Timbertops.

January 1998. Parawanga members organised the High-O at Perisher.

1998. Parawanga windcheaters were produced (several members are still wearing them).

1998. The ‘Hasten Slowly’ Snail Award was instigated.

THE 2000s ONWARDS

Easter 2000. Parawanga members were the Carnival Directors and all 3-Days course planners for the Easter carnival, which included two World Cup races. Ex-Parawangan, Geoff Lawford set the World Cup courses.

2004. Parawanga Paragraphs was revived as an electronic newsletter.

2004. The ‘Most Improved’ Award was instigated.

2011. Parawanga organised the Australian Long Distance Championships (World Ranking Event) at Badja.

2016. Parawanga organised Day 2 of the Australian 3-Days on the Murdering Shed map.

PARAWANGANS IN NATIONAL TEAMS

WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS

From 1976 to 1993, there was at least one current, past (*) or future (**) Parawanga member in every WOC team, as follows:
Maurice Ongania – 1976, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987
Rudi Huettner – 1979 (NN*)
Jenny Bourne – 1981 (WR**), 1983 (WR**), 1985, 1987
Kathryn Weir – 1987
Liz Abbott (Kessell) – 1987 (KO.W**), 1989 (also Team Physiotherapist in 1991)
Ljubov Simson – 1991 (AO*), 1993 (AO*)
Cathy Hogg – Team Physiotherapist 2005

JUNIOR WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Kirsty Bruce – 1991, 1992
Susie Hogg – 1991
Andy Hogg – 1992, 1993
Cathy Hogg – 1994
Nick Hain – 1999
Geoff Stacey – 2008
Tara Melhuish – 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Zoe Melhuish – 2018
Ella Cuthbert – 2019
Owen Radajewski – 2024, 2025

The post Parawanga Orienteers History Highlights 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.