The day before ANZAC weekend brought relentless rain, as dedicated North West orienteers headed out to place controls in conditions that felt closer to muddy wartime trenches than a sporting event. Fortunately, Saturday dawned clear and bright, transforming the landscape into a welcoming arena where the only challenge was navigating the terrain with map in […]

Since launching in Tauranga Moana in 2004, the Association of Intermediate and Middle Schools (AIMS) Games has grown from just 750 athletes to over 14,000 competitors from across New Zealand and beyond. What began with four sports has now expanded to include 27 different codes including orienteering.  The event booklet for 2026 is now available […]

Peninsula and Plains Orienteers welcomes you to the 27th annual Heights of Winter, to be held in Banks Peninsula, Canterbury on Saturday 13 June 2026.  Courses: 12 hour or 6 hour options. Location: Banks Peninsula with the start / finish at Orton Bradley Park, Charteris Bay, Lyttelton Harbour – a previous HoW location in 2009. Event centre: We will be using Base Camp, […]

Do you know rangatahi passionate about community impact and  leadership skills? The Sport NZ Graduate Programme can kickstart a career in sport or recreation. The Sport NZ Graduate Programme is a paid, 2‑year opportunity for young people to gain hands‑on experience and make a real difference across Aotearoa. What: Live Q&A webinar session with current graduatesWhen: Thursday 14 […]

World Orienteering Week is fast approaching!It will be celebrated from Saturday 16 – Sunday 24 May 2026, and guess what? Register your club’s events on the worldwide calendar to take part in a global celebration. There are already 465 preregistered locations across the World. Any event or activity taking place between the 16-24 May can be […]

Summary of key survey results 228 members completed the Voice of Participant (VOP) Survey. Below is feedback from Sport New Zealand where they have compared our results with results from previous surveys between 2021 and 2024: The results were really good across the board! Satisfaction, Value for money, Net Promotor Score (NPS) and Likelihood to […]

The ONZ AGM took place on Wed 29 April through the Zoom platform.  Attendees included representatives from every club, all members of the ONZ Board, 3 ONZ Staff Members and 10 other members,  38 attendees in total. DRAFT Minutes can be read here.  Officially these can only be approved at the 2027 AGM, but it is […]

As I write this I should be packing for Nationals, I’m super excited about the weekend and look forward to seeing many of you there. The Board (and especially Christo and Joolz) have been busy pulling the annual report together for 2025 and it’s been such a pleasure to sit back and read over the […]

Auckland Schools Sprint Series – A Trailblazing success! TrailBlaze Events has just wrapped up the Northern, Western, Central and Eastern zones of the Auckland Schools Sprint Series, and what a series it has been! Across five weeks and an incredible 22 events, we saw over 2,500 enthusiastic school students participate in the excitement of sprint […]

This year’s Katoa Po was held for the first time since 1994 on the Ōpepe farm . The weather did look a bit dubious earlier in the week but turned out to be fine on the day. Around 175 competitors took part in the events over the weekend with camping in a nice sheltered gully. […]

And the winners are: 1. People shot  Prolific photographer Annemarie Hogenbirk from Nelson Orienteering has won a prize for a photo of a very young orienteer. The photo was taken at the OY5 Canaan Downs, 22 November 2025, as part of Nelson Orienteering Club’s ‘Golden Bay Revisited’. The photo shows James Duncan, at that time 2 years and 4 months old. […]

This season the Auckland School Sprint Series has been running a trial using O-Zone to publish results and automatically calculate competition scores. Race results are imported directly from WinSplits and presented in a clearer, mobile-friendly format. This makes it much easier for athletes, coaches, and schools to quickly find results on their phones shortly after […]

Peninsula and Plains Orienteers have opened applications for the Coach position. The position is for the summer of 2026/27.  Please share it with any overseas clubs and orienteers who you think maybe interested to apply . More details here 

Many orienteers have been asking  on social media and in their local club news for rides to events or they are using their bicycles as a priority at the moment with rising petrol costs. If you have a electric car please offer spare seats to other orienteers. It is a bit tricky to ride to […]

The Board have had a number of discussions over the last year about home school students and their keenness to be able to compete fully in School Sport New Zealand (SSNZ) sanctioned events. Of ONZ Our North Island, South Island and National Secondary School competitions are SSNZ sanctioned events. SSNZ changed their rules in November last year […]

Waitangi weekend was a relaxed affair with a great turnout from other clubs (especially from PAPO). A relaxed vibe is how the club started 50 years ago, so it was fitting that the weekend followed through with this once again. There were no start times and everyone was camping or staying nearby, and incorporating the […]

The Dunedin Orienteering Club celebrated their 50-year Jubilee on Waitangi weekend 2026.  It has marked the growth of the club from humble beginnings in 1976 to a thriving club of over 200 members today. The club formed the same year that the NZ Orienteering Federation became incorporated, joining the IOF to send the first NZ team […]

The 46th Katoa Po promises a full weekend of orienteering and social activities for all in 2026. This year it will be based on an iconic map from the past Ōpepe which is around 10Km from Taupō and has been completely remapped. This area is rolling farmland incised with intricate gullies, and patches of grazed […]

Four Dunedin Orienteering families attended the Youth Orienteering Camp, December 20-22, in Christchurch. PAPO did an outstanding job of organising over a hundred kids who came from all over the country with great exercises, coaching and fun activities. The camp was based at Spencer Park Top 10 Holiday Park. Day one training was a short […]

Enter your best photo taken at an orienteering event in 2025, t&c’s apply, see below*. There will be three categories to enter:1. People shots (active / fun),2. Landscape shot (can have people in the distance, but the landscape is the feature)  3. Abstract / other subjects.The winning photograph will be taken by a current member […]

Michael Croxford and Sally Lattimore of Nelson Orienteering Club are fundraising for their son Leo to get a life changing bone marrow transplant in the USA and would like your support. The treatment is not available in New Zealand for his condition but is available for free in the USA but the travel, accommodation and […]

I hope you all had some time to relax over the summer. The orienteering year is gearing up with evening summer series after work throughout the country. At our Board meeting a few days ago we signed off the Business Plan and budget for 2026. A main area of investment is in the schools and junior area […]

Last year Orienteering Waikato celebrated 50 years with a special event at Waikato University. A sprint race in the morning and a relay event in the afternoon bookended a celebration lunch beside the campus lake. A couple of tables of club memorabilia were on display for everyone to peruse. Old club maps and old club […]

Junior Camp 2025 was the largest since Covid, with 69 young people, 13 junior coaches, and a dedicated team of adult helpers filling Houghton’s Bush Camp to capacity. Participants were kept busy from the very start with a wide range of orienteering activities around camp, in Woodhill Forest and at local sprint venues. The number […]

Coaches in orienteering are leaders in developing our sport; they mentor, motivate, and pull a whole lot of their own experiences together to share. Orienteering coaches play a unique role as connectors and ambassadors, bringing inspiration, expertise, and humility to the sport. Here’s what Tane Cambridge, Nathan Borton, Briana Stevens, Gene Beveridge, Llew McGivern & Jean […]

A winter rogaine turns an ordinary navigation event into a full-on adventure! This 12 hour and 6 hour rogaine in Banks Peninsula will be more challenging, way colder, darker, and way more memorable than your average rogaine. Your map-reading and compass skills will really get tested. This year’s winter rogaine will be in unmissable scenic terrain […]

All webinar  meetings are hosted in Microsoft teams.  Maze in the Olympics?On the 18th of February Göran Andersson will present Maze Orienteering.This webinar will be for one hour, presented two times.9:00 – 10:00 PM. Join here: Join the meeting3:00 – 10:00 PM. Join here: Join the meeting 9 events in 9 daysOn the 24th of March 9 […]

As we come to the end of the year and the winding down of events it’s a cool opportunity to reflect on the year. I hope you take some time to reflect on your own orienteering achievements and the contribution you have made to your club (or at a national level) – thankyou! Our junior and high […]

On 23/24 November, we had the privilege of competing in the New Zealand Rogaining Championships based in Luggate situated beneath the imposing Mt Pisa near Wānaka. Central Otago delivered its trademark beauty: vast tussock-covered hills, golden valleys, and skies so wide they seem to swallow you whole. Plus magically calm and warm weather to boot. It’s a […]

We caught up with three NZ orienteers who were selected for the World Mountain & Trail Running Champs. They have described the the running terrain, how their race day unfolded and the whole event experience.Pictured above are Dougal and Bronwen at the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships which took place in Canfranc-Pirineos from 25-28 September. It […]