Compass Point – March 2022

By Christo Peters - Fri 1 Apr 2022 10:09pm

Update

Foreword from the GM

The countdown to nationals is well and truly on – in just over two weeks nearly 500 orienteers descend on Nelson and Tasman!

In this issue we review a range of events from the recent JWOC trials and the Lake Kerata double-header weekend to the Katoa Po night event. We also feature an extensive writeup of Godzone 2022.

Other articles include, World Masters Champion Rachel Drew taking us through October’s World MTBO Championships in Portugal. We also profile Counties Manukau Orienteering Club, the only club in the country with more juniors than seniors.

Ngā Mihi
Christo Peters | ONZ General Manager
027 714 0915
gm@orienteering.org.nz

View from the chair

Well, after 2 years of avoiding Covid like the plague (sorry), it is finally here amongst us. Certainly in my immediate family there have been several cases in recent days and weeks, including one of our boys currently, so I am writing this mid isolation. I hope for those of you also dealing with this, that you are OK and recovery comes fast.

Whilst there is disruption around, the great news is things are opening up again, and the news from the Government lifting restrictions is music to the ears of many clubs, especially those planning major events in the coming months. It is fantastic to see good numbers entering Nationals in Nelson at Easter, currently just short of 500 people – given the circumstances this is an excellent response for entries and we can look forwards to healthy fields in most classes. I know the organising team are doing some great work behind the scenes to pull this together and we are in for some fantastic courses and events thanks to these efforts. Continue reading…

Sport

Easing of Covid rules

From Friday 25th March new rules came into effect that make it dramatically easier to hold orienteering events. These rules include the removal of outdoor limits under red (previously 100 people) and the removal of indoor limits under orange. Public health and safety remains the top priority. Getting boosted continues to be one of the most important ways people can protect themselves from Omicron and severe illness. There is a much lower risk of being hospitalised if you are up to date with your vaccinations, which, for Omicron, includes a third or booster dose if eligible.
On the 4th April vaccine passes are due to be removed. Read the full update here.

Annual General Meeting – Thursday 5th May 2022

Thursday 5th May is the date set for the 2022 ONZ Annual General Meeting. The meeting will be held virtually commencing at 7:30pm.
The agenda, meeting link, and annual report will be circulated to clubs and confirmed attendees the week prior to the event.

Please use the following link to confirm attendance

Confirm attendance

If you have any questions about the AGM, please do not hesitate to contact our GM – gm@orienteering.org.nz or 027 714 0915

High Performance update

This update provides a detailed examination of the first round of the National Sprint League, looks at the second round of the National Sprint League, previews JWOC Trials and touches on the National Champs, Russia’s suspension from world orienteering and Godzone. Read the full February ONZ High Performance Report.

Expressions of Interest for JWOC and WOC Management Teams

Orienteering New Zealand is intending to send NZ-based teams to the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) held in Portugal in July and the World Orienteering Championships (WOC) held in Denmark in June.

ONZ’s National Council has appointed Jenni Adams (PAPO) as manager for JWOC and Malcolm Ingham (ONZ Performance Leader) to lead the WOC Team. To complete the JWOC and WOC management teams, ONZ invites nominations for the following positions. For more information and to apply, please follow this link.

Club Feature

Club Profile – Counties Manukau Orienteering Club

Brief club background: Counties Manukau Orienteering Club (CMOC) sees orienteering as a special sport that you can participate in from almost any age, and over your whole life. It has the potential to be an integral part of our communities’ wellbeing, both physically and mentally. The Club has a deep passion for removing or minimising barriers to participation (in particular cost).
CMOC has a commitment to developing youth orienteers, with a successful Sprint Series held annually in the Eastern and Southern zone schools which regularly attract upwards of 500 students. Continue reading…

MTB Orienteering

World Masters MTBO Champs | Portugal, October 2021

At the end of the European summer last year we were fortunate to have the World Masters MTBO Champs go ahead. It was touch and go for a bit given the rising Covid numbers at the time, and a bunch of additional restrictions were put in to keep the Masters competitors separate from the Juniors who were also racing. There was anxiety making sure we stayed away from Covid as we had to test prior to travel and also at the event itself before registering. However once we were over those hurdles it was time to concentrate on the event itself.

The racing was in central Portugal, in and around Abrantes. Fields were a bit smaller than usual due to Covid and the lack of racing over the prior 18 months, but the weather was spectacular and the courses incredibly dry and fast. Terrain wise it felt very Australian – 4WD with some single track, dry and a lot of Eucalyptus, not too much elevation change. Suited me well. Temperatures were up in the mid 30s for most of the races. Again – I love racing in the heat, though Liam wasn’t quite as comfortable. Continue reading…

Event Review

Katoa Po | Traversing Taupō turf in the dark

A night nav relay race for all ages

Katoa Po is one of New Zealand’s longest running orienteering events. Started in 1981, it’s seen teams from all of New Zealand do battle over Taupō’s unique volcanic terrains in the thick of night. One of the highlights of the event is the age restrictions placed on different legs of the relay. This means that teams encompass all ages – from 6 to 90, and all abilities.

Katoa Po is first and foremost a night orienteering event. Continue reading…

Central Junior Camp

The Lower North Island/Central regional training camp was based in the Wairarapa, giving the group opportunities to work on establishing and extending fundamental techniques on a wide variety of terrain. Coaching from Briana Steven, Joe Lynch, Kaia Jorgensen and Simon Teesdale allowed us to break the group into three cohorts based on experience and skills to be developed.

Day 1 on Riverside allowed us to explore compass and contours. The negative terrain created by old river beds to work on compass work. The hills allowed us to do relocation and route choice. The day finished with building this up to working at speed on a maze race testing the ability to link features and make choices at speed. Continue reading…

Lake Kereta | NWOC double-header weekend

After the success of Nationals 2021 and the camping options at Leighton’s Farm, NWOC wanted to put on a 2-day weekend with maps and camping all in close proximity. The old Wilson Road map, once owned by Rob and Marquita, had been nicely growing away over the last 20 years and with local contacts, permission was obtained to re-map it and use it for an event. After a preliminary scout by Rob, Marquita, Geoff, and Lisa. Rob and Marquita took another walk and confirmed it was in great shape for orienteering again.
Still in lockdown, Marquita jumped at the chance to do something more entertaining than water blasting the roof (and the house, the driveway, the patio, and anything else that looked grubby) to start on some re-mapping. Read on…

GODZone 2022

A few insights from many of our orienteers who were participating on what is considered one of the toughest GODZone events.

Editor Joolz Moore catches up with a number of orienteers who survived GODZone 2022. This year’s event saw numerous orienteers navigating many of the teams in this year’s event. We ask the following orienteers a number about their teams, preparation, and what it takes to compete: Craig Pelvin | Godwits, Carey Lintott | Duck Duck Gooseberries, Martin Peat | Team Gearshop, David Cowie | Pulp Friction, Tane Cambridge | Sneaky Weasel Gang, Nathan Fa’avae | Team Avaya, Brendan Hickman | Team Victory Vets, Tom Reynolds | Ataraxia X Macpac. Continue reading…

National Orienteering League Event 2 – JWOC Trails

The demanding Waiarapa terrain did not disappoint at the National Orienteering League (NOL) Round 2 / JWOC trials over the weekend. Both Saturday’s Middle and Sunday’s long provided robust challenges to team hopefuls, all vying to prove their worth and secure a spot in the 2022 New Zealand JWOC team.
The varied nature of the sometimes gentle, sometimes brutal gully spur terrain with unique hill systems and physically demanding pine forest truly tested our leading juniors. The Knolls of Leary offered up excellent micro-route choice and tight navigational challenges expected of a middle distance, while the tougher, sizeable hill systems of Mingimingi provided an excellent platform to test competitors with relentless route choice in the long. Continue reading…

ONZ Updates

Full speed ahead

NZOC2022 preparations are now at full speed, final checks are being made as we get to the nitty-gritty end of the beast that is organising the nationals. Checking control sites at Canaan Downs today with Brent, I couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful orienteering the area has to offer. Almost Scandinavian in places, but very distinctly New Zealand, there is something truly special about this terrain. The events on Takaka Plateau will definitely leave you wanting more. Stay posted for Bulletin 2 and the start lists which are due to be released next week.
by Matt Ogden, NZOC2022 Event Manager.

ONZ Council | Annual awards & prizegiving:

The 2022 Annual Orienteering New Zealand Awards will be held at the National Championships after the Long on Sunday 17th April. If the weather forecast looks untenable, we may move the event to after one of the earlier events.
A reminder to those with ONZ trophies to please bring them down to nationals. If you are not able to attend this year and have a trophy, please send it along with another member of your club.

ONZ Council | March news & updates:

At the March ONZ Council meeting, Council chose the recipients for the annual ONZ Awards which they hope will be able to take place at Nationals this year.

Council officially appointed Jenni Adams as 2022 JWOC Manager and Malcolm Ingham to oversee WOC. It was agreed that the JWOC Coach and WOC Assistant Manager roles would be advertised directly following the meeting and that applicants would have four weeks to express interest in the roles.

A discussion was had over the unsuccessful application to change the WOC individual qualification structure for 2022 given that NZ would not be in a position to send a full strength team to the proposed qualification event. While the proposal was not accepted, ONZ has not been adversely affected as we still receive two individual qualification spots for having the top ranked male and female in Oceania.

Council discussed the need to set up a committee to oversee ONZ’s 50th Anniversary in 2023. This will be put together following the National Championships.

Other items covered in the meeting included approval of the annual budget and further discussion on the High Performance Plan which will be signed off before the April ONZ Meeting.

All approved ONZ minutes can be accessed here.

In search of…

Looking for… a multisport navigator

Are you looking for a few new challenges?

Team Kumho are three experienced multisporters in their 40’s, looking for a team navigator. In the last year, during various adventure races and competing without a lead navigator they have realised that that it doesn’t matter how fast we are going if we go in the wrong direction. If you are a good navigator who can bike and kayak, they would love to hear from you. For the next year Team Kumho have outlined the following adventure races to enter: Kaikoura 24hr, T-Walk, Southern Lakes AR, Marokopa 24 hr AR, and the True West AR in Dec 2022 as a build up for GodZone 2023.
Two of the team are in Wellington, and one in south Canterbury – so they have bases for both North and South island events.
We all have various levels of navigation experience and can navigate, but we are not confident enough when the conditions are more difficult such as: night, dense bush and fog. AR is mainly about navigation, and it’s the teams with strong navigators who tend to do well, and not necessarily the teams which are the fastest- so we appreciate your help.

Pictured above:
On left – Milan Brodina:

Team Captain
GodZone top 4 finisher
24hr Solo World Championship, 5th in age group
Numerous multisport / adventure races in China

Center photo – Ruth Cornelius:

Team back-up Navigator
Top ten at Coast-to-Coast Multisport championship
GodZone 2018, 2022

On right – Alex Lark:

Packhorse
3x Ironman and 70.3 finisher
3rd at Tour of New Zealand road cycling race
Numerous multisport races in China

Get in contact with Milan: milanbrodina@gmail.com

International

International: Younger talent move in to lead the sport

Henrik Eliasson (38) hails from Sweden and has been in the position of CEO for the International Orienteering Federation(IOF) since the beginning of the year. He brings to the role a background in athletics as well as orienteering.

The new IOF Secretary General, Sondre Sande Gullord (32) is Norwegian, and started his role a month ago. His experience is with strategy and development within sports organisations. He is also a Vice President in the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

Both new IOF appointments show the move towards younger talent for management skills. See the IOF management announcement here

Earlier this month Orienteering Australia welcomed their new General Manager, Árpád Kocsik. Arpád comes from Hungary with strong ties to orienteering as an active competitor, event organiser, club secretary and has worked closely with the Hungarian federation until three years ago as Marketing and Communications officer promoting our sport in all of its variations. You might have noticed him in action as commentator at several major events in NSW such as last year’s State Championships. He has been a Level 0 coach with ONSW teaching the basics and tricks of orienteering to students throughout Sydney for the past two years

The Australian Championships Carnival is back baby!

As life returns to normal and border restrictions become distant memories we’re hoping to see all our New Zealand friends here for the 2022 Australian Orienteering Carnival. Featuring nine events in nine days from September 24 to October 2nd, The carnival includes four Australian Championship events (Sprint, Middle, Relay, and Long) and a state championship. All these events are open to everyone, as usual, and we hope to welcome back two schools teams from NZ. Each of the events are “stand alone” so it’s up to you how much you want to do.

This year the Carnival will be held in central Victoria with the championships mostly on the weekends. All events are within 90 minutes of Melbourne Airport, but we suggest staying in the area (Kyneton/Daylesford/Castlemaine – all historic gold mining towns). The four Australian championships are all on new areas and maps. There is a new complex gold mining map, a new granite area and some great school campuses for sprints including the school featuring the stately home where “The Ashes” were created. The other events are all on excellent areas hand-picked for this carnival.

Central Victoria is a great area to visit as the district contains many historic towns that developed during the Australian gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s. The town of Daylesford is known for its natural spas and nearby Ballarat was the heart of the gold rush. It’s also a great area for wine and fruit production and has some of the most amazing local produce, micro-breweries and boutique accommodation. You are still only a couple of hours from some great Australian beaches and landscapes (the famous Great Ocean Road) which could form part of your trip or a side trip between events.

The two weekends (24/25 Sept) and (30 Sept-2 Oct) feature the Australian and State championship events. The mid-week events (26- 28 Sept) are in great terrain but are slightly less formal. We’re hoping this is the first carnival with enough notice and certainty that our friends in New Zealand will join us and make a great event!

For details go to https://aoc.orienteering.asn.au/ and to enter please click on
https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events.
Or email the event communications officer David Jaffe at David_Jaffe@limebridge.com.au

Come on over!

Last Points

Last, but not totally lost – discoveries & reading for further adventures:

SUPPORT

The IOF have set-up a volunteers network to support other orienteers with hosting and travel etc Check out and hook into the IOF Global Orienteering Voluteer network.
On a more serious note, a Czech Republic facebook group has been created to help those from the Ukraine orienteering community to offer refugees houses and hosting. Share with your orienteering friends in Europe to help this along

TRAINING

Running for life – USA athlete & Two-time Olympic medalist Nick Willis: What It Takes to Run a Sub-Four-Minute Mile for 20 Years Straight

FUEL / GIVEAWAYS

The Crafty Weka Bar is recognised as the best Backpacking food of 2022 by leading North American outdoor magazine, Backpacker. The calorie to weight ratio was a deciding factor.

We have quite a few of the bite-sized bars to give away.

To enter just tell us some of the amazing places or adventures you have taken The Crafty Weka Bar. Send to us here and we’ll hand out your tasty bite after working up an appetite at nationals.

RESEARCH

Are you over 50? Would you consider drinking an all-natural berry formulation to boost your health? A study on blackcurrants, and testing the potential benefits of the whole fruit is looking for participants. Trials are running Palmerston North & Auckland by Plant Food and Research.

READ

A personal event report by orienteer Kelsey Breseman in the Yukon . This will get you into that relay feeling especially as we head into the Nationals relays soon. Kelsey runs a relay event on Yukon terrain that includes ski trails and a bowhunting range.

Happy orienteering until next time…
Joolz (editor) & Christo (ONZ GM)

How can we help? Me pēhea mātou e āwhina ai?

If you have a particular topic you are looking for on orienteering? Try browsing the search function on the ONZ website or search for an area under news and views in the main menu at the top of the page – you may find what you need. If you have an enquiry about the sport, do get in touch via any of our media below or email us here