In January 2015 when I first started putting out a monthly High Performance News it was an attempt to address what some had described as a lack of communication between ONZ and their top athletes. I never imagined that I would reach issue 100. What has surprised me is that there is rarely a dearth […]

So, another year begins. Starting with Oceania in Tasmania, 2023 has already seen some encouraging performances, especially from some of the junior elites, and from Lizzie Ingham who, gaining personal places through her wins in W21E, has increased our possible team size for Switzerland. With regard to Oceania Championships the acceptance by IOF of the […]

September tends to be the quiet month as the IOF season holds its breath waiting for the final round of the World Cup and the main interest in New Zealand, for those going, is the Australian Carnival. Although there has been a very thin NZL representation in the 21E classes, special mention must go to […]

August has seen a continuation of the 2022 international season with both World Cup Round 2 and the World University Championships. Although it has been quiet on the domestic front, the culmination of NZL’s major participation in the 2022 international season (except for the final round of the World Cup which is still to come) […]

Following on from the first sprint WOC July has been another month dominated by sprint orienteering at the international level. The devastating forest fires in Portugal reduced JWOC to also being a sprint only event, making it the third JWOC for which NZL athletes have missed out on the full experience. Be that as it […]

I hope everyone enjoyed watching WOC. The TV coverage was amazing and the view given was probably better than that seen on the ground. As we now turn to JWOC in less than a weeks time, I have confined myself to a general overview. However, QB2022 is not forgotten and there is a brief report […]

What an exciting month of orienteering! Starring with the final round of the National Sprint League and culminating in Tim Robertson’s fabulous performances in Sweden at the World Cup. Sandwiched in between were the test races for WOC in Denmark where, as well more great results from Tim, Penelope Salmon showed that she can be […]

The main focus of March since the NSL round has been the first set of JWOC trials held in the Wairarapa. After 2 years of no international competition these saw an eager field of around 30, split evenly between the men and the women, line up for their chance to prove that they should be […]

With omicron leading to there being very little to report on during February I deliberately delayed this HP News until after the first round of the National Sprint League. We also have Godzone currently under way with its usual significant number of orienteers scattered through the teams. Aside from actual events there has been progress […]

A promising start to 2022 with the successful not-Oceania Championships (reported below) has, perhaps predictably, descended into uncertainty with the outbreak of the omicron variant of Covid leading to cancellation of both the Super City Sprints and the Northern Champs. However, there are some positive signs both in terms of planning ahead – notably a […]

With another disrupted month, the recent Pokapu Championships have at least given us one event to report on. The main news however is the final disappearance of any chance of Australian participation at Oceania in January. Most of these events will therefore revert to being New Zealand only events and will not hold official Oceania […]

With Auckland, and now parts of Waikato, still in lockdown and the consequent cancellation/postponement of the Northern Region Championships it has been a very quiet October. The ever evolving Covid situation also means that planned events such as the Under 23 Camp, and even a local version of Oceania are in doubt. The latter has […]

With lockdowns continuing to varying degrees around the country September has been another difficult month. With doubt now on not only the Oceania Championships but also the Northern Championships it has been difficult to keep motivation up, especially for those stuck in Level 3.  Nevertheless, the world goes on around us and planning continues on […]

With Covid hitting the country orienteering has dropped somewhat off the radar in the last few weeks in New Zealand. Indeed, there is a rapid re-assessment of future events and training camps taking place. However, as well as some on-line activity there has been the second round of the World Cup and Jukola to watch […]

WOC2021 proved both exhilarating and frustrating for many in New Zealand. The latter through the inability to send athletes from home shores, the former because of Tim Robertson’s astounding success in winning a bronze in the sprint. Although mentioned below, I’d like to re-iterate here that, having seen the masses of documentation and regulations that […]

After the loss of Queen’s Birthday 2020 to Covid-19 it was a near-run thing that the 2021 version did not get disrupted by the Canterbury flooding in the week leading up. However, we escaped and a report follows below. WOC2021 is also on the immediate horizon, with Toby Scott and Tim Robertson the only NZL […]

May has been the month when, albeit with strict precautions against Covid, international orienteering came out of hibernation with the European Championships aka. World Cup Round 1. At home the NOL continued with the rescheduled Riverhead Orienteering Weekend. On the administrative front discussions have continued on a trans-Tasman league and on how best for New […]

Finally, after three months of relative inactivity, the national orienteering scene got under away in April with not only a highly successful and competitive ONZ Championships but also the first of the 2021 Regional Championships, the South Island Championships. These are both reported on below, along with a look at the international scene, which starts […]

With the loss of Riverhead Weekend to an Auckland lockdown, like January and February, March has come and gone without a real start to the national orienteering scene and we are left looking towards the ONZ Champs at Easter. Fortunately, activity did not grind to a halt everywhere, with a well-attended training camp run by […]

February always seems to me to be the month of the best weather and, for someone like me coming originally from the north of England, generally too warm for really serious orienteering. Nevertheless, it is the month when things (notwithstanding SOW) generally start to kick into action, thoughts start (I hope) to focus on training […]

Welcome to the 7th year of HP News – not something actually anticipated all those years ago. Hopefully it continues to provide a useful service even, at times like these. Most pertinent this month, at least to me, is the announcement that, thanks to the agreement of Auckland OC, a Knock Out Sprint will be […]

As we reach the end of troubled 2020 the main HP focus in December has been the Under 23 High Performance Camp in Nelson. This is reported on below with some additional information on fitness testing at these camps and what it may, or may not indicate. Also, plans for the 2021 NOL, an update […]

After the drought, the flood. So it was in November with all 3 regional championships in a space of 4 weeks. There was also some interesting information coming out from IOF regarding the prospects and intentions for WOC/JWOC2021, as well as the positive impact of the WREs held at the ONZ Champs. Also, below, the […]

And so it came to pass….after a 9 month gestation the baby that was the 2020 ONZ Championships was finally born, and what a weekend it was. Even without the trimmings of split times, results boards, social etc. etc, the general feeling seemed to be that everyone was so glad to actually have a major […]

At last, after several months in abeyance, an event (the Ultralong, to report on! Not only that but the renewed prospect of the ONZ Champs at Labour Weekend (even without the relay) and hopefully more to come after that. So, sit back, take a deep breath, and read on….                                                                                                                                                             Malcolm Ingham (mandg.ingham@xtra.co.nz) Ultralong The […]

Like the advertising quote from Jaws “…just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…” here we are again, with events, at least in Auckland, back in abeyance. Hopefully it does look, notwithstanding the extra week and a bit continuation of Levels 2.5 and 2, as though things are under control […]

Firstly my apologies….although I sent out the pdf version of this News last weekend, as I didn’t have full internet I forgot about this Web version. If there are any avid readers out there who wondered where it was, read on….. As events pick up in New Zealand but second waves of Covid-19 hit many […]

Three weeks into Level 1 and signs of orienteering life, at least in New Zealand, are starting to emerge. PAPO were first off the mark with an OY on 14 June attended by about 175 people. More local events have taken place around the country including Bay of Plenty, Palmerston North and Wellington. The Auckland […]

Well, if I thought April was difficult to find anything to write about, it was nothing on May! However, as (touch wood) the drop to Level 1 appears just over the horizon there is now at least the opportunity for some forward planning for what remains of the 2020 orienteering season. Read on. Malcolm Ingham […]

After 5+ years of writing HP News this is the first time I have had to put one together with absolutely no actual events or training camps to report on! It leaves me therefore to at least keep people up to date, as far as possible, with the likely implications for domestic and international orienteering […]