All races can be followed on IOF-TV. Follow NZ’s eight runners this week as they battle for World Cup points in both the streets and the forest. With a mix of experienced and newer athletes this will be an exciting competition to watch with terrains similar to the 2021 WOC races and the also first big […]

Josie was born in Murchison and grew up in Richmond and Timaru. She was an Economist in the forest industry, and then moved into health management. Her most recent job was Service Manager in the Radiology department with the CDHB where she was highly valued by her colleagues. In her 20s Josie was a runner, […]

In the first week of July, Rob and Marquita competed in the Czech 5-day MTBO event, held every 2 years since 2005 and sort of the O-Ringen of MTBO. This year saw 900 competitors, the biggest MTBO event ever, apparently.  Usually held near the city of Plzen, famous for the beer, this year was instead near a […]

This year we’ll find ways to test your knowledge about orienteering in New Zealand to celebrate our 50th year anniversary. The answers will be after the ‘Last points’ at the end of this news email. (You may need to click on the three dots at the base to see the full newsletter).  Many thanks to […]

What better way to start the month than attend a major competition in the form of the Kings Birthday orienteering events hosted by CMOC and Waikato. Three very entertaining and testing days, starting with the complex sprint map at Waikato Campus, then fighting the cutty grass and swampy conditions in the middle and long. Congrats […]

Just like ONZ, Hillary Outdoors is also celebrating 50 years of operation in 2023. This charitable trust was created from the strong vision of Sir Graeme Dingle and his friend Sir Edmund Hillary. The Hillary Challenge is designed for senior students and has been going strong since the first event in 2001 and the junior Get2Go Challenge started five […]

Another award winner to highlight – Lyndon Haugh from Taupo Orienteering. Lyndon Haugh joined the Taupo Orienteering Club after the Pinelands Orienteering Club wound up  Since then, he has been a very active member of the Taupo club, holding the positions of committee secretary, and he has now been Chairman/President for the last 14 years. When Lyndon […]

Over the past 10 months I was very fortunate to receive the opportunity to go to the University of California, Berkeley to complete my Masters of Engineering and while the study experience sounded amazing there was one big question on my mind: What about going orienteering??? I knew the orienteering scene was a bit smaller […]

The decisive moment of the men’s knockout final at the Sydney Sprint Weekend (SSW) 2023 was the exit from control 9. It was in the middle of the campus, hidden from spectators. I wasn’t there, and I haven’t spoken to the athletes. How can I be sure that was the decisive moment? Typically, the story […]

Amelia Horne from Nelson Orienteering Club has been wearing the NZ Athletics shirt debuting at the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships recently. In the lead up to this race Amelia claimed the bronze at the 2022 New Zealand Short Course Trail Championships. On Friday Amelia ran the short trial race in Austria alongside […]

In July 2022, the Minister for Sport and Recreation, Grant Robertson, announced that a new entity would be created to strengthen and protect the integrity of the sport and recreation system in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Integrity Transition Programme (ITP) has been tasked with establishing the Integrity Sport and Recreation Commission – with the goal […]

Little stories from our O community, in ONZ’s 50 year.  Memories from junior camp can stay with you forever… In the photo above – faces you may recognise: Rob Murphy’s father Bob Murphy is third from the right, Curtis Shuker’s grandfather is fifth from the left- Barry Shuker, and Dick Burbage from BOP is on the right . Dick […]

This year we’ll find ways to test your knowledge about orienteering in New Zealand to celebrate our 50th year anniversary. The answers will be after the ‘Last points’ at the end of this news email. (You may need to click on the three dots at the base to see the full newsletter).  The answers can be […]

View from the chair I have really enjoyed reading some email/blog updates from Matt Ogden recently. Matt is the archetype learner, always thinking and analysing, ultimately trying to learn better ways of doing things. So it has been fascinating getting insights into his thought processes and learning, and how he is applying this to his […]

On Tuesday 16th, 400 Secondary and Intermediate Schools students competed in the Auckland Secondary Schools Rogaine Championships at Humphries Farm, near Waimauku on the 16 May 2023.  The map, named Stoneybrook, is a very hilly affair with many spur gully complexities that highly rewarded the students who meticulously planned their routes to avoid unnecessary climbing.  The event […]

If you’re an ‘Orienteering Purist’, please read no further, as no responsibility accepted for raised blood pressure! Lack of a map; lack of time and covid – were just some of the factors against planning an orienteering introduction event for St Theresa’s Primary School. But, at this level, does it really matter if things don’t […]

In April this year we noticed the Auckland University Orienteering Club facebook swing back into action. They were having a fourth reincarnation with the aim to create “a fun community for orienteers in the big smoke” . What was happening behind the scenes was to get the club approved by Auckland University, and now they […]

This year we’ll find ways to test your knowledge about orienteering in New Zealand to celebrate our 50th year anniversary. The answers can be found here.Many thanks to Bryan Teehan’s ongoing work to compile a history of ONZ this year. If you have any memorabilia, photos, or old programmes etc, do pass them on. Q1: […]

Last week we held the AGM for ONZ, where we presented the annual report for 2022 and passed two important changes for the sport; a revised constitution and a new Event Levy and Affiliation fee policy. I won’t go into the detail of what these changes are, as these have been described elsewhere, including previous […]

We caught up with Yvette Baker after seeing her photographed on the same podium (with the same time) as Alistair Landels. So a  Kiwi living in Britain and a Brit living in NZ decided to take over the podium for the Day 2, Middle event at High Dam in the Jan Kjellström International Festival of Orienteering 2023. Yvette […]

By Geoff Greenwood, 2022 Head Coach 2022 was the first time in three years that we had sent our Secondary Schools orienteers across the Tasman to compete against the Australian States, and just the second time with the two selected teams, NZ Karahiwi and NZ Harua competing for the Southern Cross trophy. This meant a […]

We asked North west if we could reprint the tribute article on Robin Ambler from last year.  Robin Ambler, Long-time North west Orienteering Club member passed away in late September last year. Robin’s daughter Kirsten Blake and grandson Blake are NW club members and Robin’s wife Gay is also well known to the club. Dave Middleton encouraged […]

Little stories from our O community, and it is ONZ’s 50 year,  We know many come to orienteering to hone their navigation. We have some seriously multi-skilled sports people, who are looking for regular navigation and fitness training  Lisa Ainley (PAPO)- from MTB races and ultra trail runs into orienteering Lisa loves to find new and interesting challenges […]

Many clubs have concluded their summer series events, with the focus shifting to Autumn events with the prospect of some more challenging terrain on farms and forest maps. One of the great highlights of Autumn is the Katoa Po night relays, hosted by Orienteering Taupo. I love this event and try to make it every […]

This year we’ll find ways to test yourself on what you know about orienteering in New Zealand to celebrate our 50th year anniversary. The answers will be after the ‘Last points’ at the end of this news email. (You may need to click on the three dots at the base to see the full newsletter).Many […]

Those who have been involved in Orienteering circles for a little while will likely know Jenni Adams – PAPO President, ONZ Council member, JWOC Manager…  There is very little Jenni has not achieved and/or been involved in with within orienteering in NZ in recent years. What many may not know is that Jenni is an astrophysicist that […]

Early in January Paul Ireland and I had a call from Rob Garden asking us to set an event in Riverhead in February. We asked to use the Robinson Rd map and we decided on the south end of the map as that was due for felling next year and the northern end had been used last […]

Firstly I’d like to thank all the planners and organisers of the Waitangi weekend – it was a great weekend of racing with some superb courses.We were both travelling out of Europe for the first time this summer and also competed in the Oceania carnival in Tasmania. The KO sprint was a real test physically […]

Katoa Po is New Zealand’s premier night orienteering competition! Teams of 5 or 7 battle out their navigation in the darkness. Steve Oram has been a regular participant and rates this weekend full of events a highlight.  Katoa Po is always a highlight of the calendar and this year was no different. There was a good number […]

A belated Happy New Year to you all, and hoping many of you have had a positive start to 2023. That said, I know a few of our community have been impacted by the recent flooding  – our thoughts are very much with those of you affected, and hope the clean-up and fixes get you […]