
Two weeks to enter the Nationals!
A week ago, we at Orienteering Wellington outlined our plans to proceed with the NZ National Orienteering Championships (‘Nationals’) and the criteria for making a decision.
The Government has this week given clear direction that Auckland will still be in COVID-19 Alert Level 2 as of 30 September, with no definite date for leaving Alert Level 2.
In the interests of planning and certainty, this means that we must move forward with our Level 2 plan. We have advised Orienteering NZ of this and they support our decision.
Key elements of the Level 2 plan:
- Nationals will be a 3-day event.
- Long distance on Saturday, Middle distance on Sunday, and Sprint on Monday.
- People will be assigned to ‘travel groups’, according to their club or where they are travelling from.
- Elites will be allocated their own time block, regardless of travel group.
- World Ranking Event status still applies for long- and middle-distance events.
- No food, coffee or water at the event centre, and limited other facilities—so come well prepared!
COVID Tracer QR codes for contact tracing, good hygiene practices, and physical distancing where possible are all an expectation of participation at Nationals 2020.
We know that things will look and feel a bit different, but you’ll appreciate that we are here to ensure that everyone has a safe and fun competition.
Find out more and enter the Nationals.
What if alert levels change?
None of the key elements of the Level 2 plan that are listed above will be revisited, even if COVID-19 alert levels across the country are below Alert Level 2 on the day.
We know that people want to catch up and compare notes. In the situation that all of New Zealand is at Alert Level 1, you will more likely see a more relaxed approach at event centres—but one that conforms to the expected public health practices of that alert level.
For detail about what happens if alert levels anywhere in New Zealand exceed Level 2 as of 23 October, see our decision criteria.
Everyone must register to enter
Entries for Nationals are now open until midnight Friday 9 October 2020.
All entries from April were voided, so anyone who intends to come and join the forest fun needs to re-enter the Nationals. Until your name appears on the list of confirmed entries, you are not entered. Further, you are not automatically entered, even if we have your entry fee.
Speaking of which, we will also be getting in touch with people whose money we have to ensure that they receive the correct reimbursement in light of our moving to a three-day event. We are also in touch with our volunteers to reconfirm their arrangements for helping.
We appreciate your commitment to attending Nationals—make sure you’re entered by midnight Friday 9 October.
Find out more and enter below.
Bring your ONZ trophies
Please bring your trophies to Nationals. If you aren’t planning to attend this year then pass them on to someone who is planning to attend, or return to Christo Peters at Orienteering NZ.
Event sites
The map below shows the location of the event sites.

Embargoed areas
The following areas are embargoed for orienteering until after Labour Weekend. No training is within this area shown with a map of any sort, to test route choices or take part in any activity that may give a navigational advantage.



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Ngā mihi
Nationals 2020 Organising Committee