Preliminary dates or NZMTBO, plus  pre-events in Otago and mid week training events.  MTBO Championship eventsSaturday 24 April 2027 Morning Mass Start – Bottle Lake Afternoon Sprint – Red Zone (extended from the existing map) Sunday 25 April 2027  Long Distance – Willows Monday 26 April 2027  Middle Distance – Crocodile    Continue reading… Pre-events – Central Otago Saturday 17 April 2027 – Chatto […]

“If you want flat terrain – get on the water.” Wellington orienteer Dick Dinsdale summed up the 2026 New Zealand Orienteering Championships before a single control had been punched. The Sprint at Rathkeale College was fast and technical, mixing open grounds with tight bush tracks to finish. Joseph Lynch continued his strong Oceania 2026 form […]

Start lists and Bulletin 2.0 for the 2026 New Zealand Orienteering Championships are now available on the programme page. Bulletin 2.0 is the comprehensive guide to everything you need to know about the event, so competitors are encouraged to read it carefully. Start lists for the Sprint, Middle, and Long events can be viewed by […]

A short wait for entries to open after a long wait to see this terrain, and Wellington club members are buzzing with excitement. The Coonoor area is a striking contrast to the sand dune terrain they usually compete on. As Russell Higham describes it, this is true limestone country, featuring rocky outcrops, large depressions, and […]

REQUISITE READING – Bulletin 1 for Nationals 2026 so you can plan ahead, and you can have a squiz at the previous orienteering maps for Rathkeale and Riverlands. Link to the NZ Orienteering Champs Bulletin One here  follow the event facebook page and website

Following on from last months Compass Point, Joolz has engaged personally with members from a few clubs to find their opinions on relays. Diverse experiences shape how orienteers think about the relay format. Please send your own personal and club feedback on relays to ONZ  Click here to share your thoughts Llew McGivern (CMOC)Relays are exciting and electric. […]

Following club feedback from Hawkes Bay Orienteering Club, ONZ is keen to hear from members as to how they value the relay being part of the Nationals Championships format. The relay is logistically challenging to organise, takes place on a separate day (the final day), and has around half the participants of other events at […]

(1) ONZ Sprint Distance – Friday 3 April 2026 – Rathkeale College, Willow Park Drive, Masterton All building and grounds at Rathkeale College are embargoed to all orienteers until the day of the event. Exception is for genuine educational purposes. (2) ONZ Middle Distance – Saturday 4 April 2026 – Rewanui Forest Park, Blairlogie The […]

Nationals 2026 planning is underway. The event is being brought to you by the Orienteering Hutt Valley, Orienteering Wellington, Red Kiwis, and the Wairarapa Orienteering Club, with Orienteering Wellington as the leading the organisation.The weekend will contain the usual Sprint, Middle, Long, and Relay events. All will be based in the Wairarapa, with new maps […]

Issued by: Orienteering WellingtonDate Issued: July 2025Deadline for Submissions: 1st August 2025Contact Person: Paul Teesdale-Spittle, t-s@xtra.co.nz 1. Introduction Orienteering Wellington is seeking experienced orienteering mappers to produce one or both of two new orienteering maps for the Nationals 2026. We invite mappers to submit detailed quotes or estimates for the specified mapping work, adhering strictly […]

The weather brought its fair share of unexpected challenges, but we (of course!) navigated through them. Thankfully, the first aiders were reading books, and we were incredibly lucky that the big tent collapse only took out a couple of TV screens well after most people had left for the day. We’re also grateful nothing got […]

An edited version of an article in the Vic MTBO e-news describing the events:  A small group of Australians who travelled to Otago for the 2025 New Zealand MTBO championships on 1-3 February 2025.  The sprint and middle was in Alexandra, an hour east of Queenstown. The first half of the sprint was in a […]

In version 1.1 of the “NZOC2025 Embargo Notice” Woodend Beach South has been added to the already embargoed areas. The embargo of the Woodend Beach South area is in place from the 22nd of November 2024. Please read the full version 1.1 embargo notice here

Explore the diverse Canterbury region of the South Island for Easter 2025. All the New Zealand nationals championship events will be within 90 minutes of Christchurch International Airport. Join us for challenging orienteering across a variety of terrain with newly mapped areas. The nationals website is undergoing small updates but in the meantime we also have brief […]

We’ll see you out there at Nationals very soon. It will be a big competition with high hopes for the next team heading to the Junior World Orienteering Champs (JWOC) in the Czech Republic at the end of June. The excitement is brewing as young orienteers are up jostling for top JWOC positions. Talented orienteers like Zefa Fa’avae, Kaia […]

The O Champs Relay on 1st April is your last opportunity to get a run on the iconic Crater Block – Te Pūtake o te Maunga.  We’d love to see more orienteers taking up this opportunity and enjoying the fun of a relay event, but get in quick by Friday 22 March. For an extra bonus […]

Run in top quality events on the Crater Block map, and enjoy the thermal wonderland of Rotorua and Taupō. Entries are now open for the NZ Orienteering Champs taking place at Easter 2024, including three events on the epic Crater Block map, Te Pūtake Maunga. Enter now via enterO Early bird entry fees apply until Sunday 25 February. Be an extra […]

A unique opportunity to experience the legendary Crater Block map! Experience Easter in the thermal wonderland of Rotorua and Taupō. We highly recommend booking accommodation in/near Rotorua early, as Easter always books up fast. Put these dates in your diary: 29 March – 1 April 2024. Follow the event on facebook here

Orienteering Bay of Plenty and Taupo Orienteering are delighted to host the NZ Foot Orienteering Champs in easter 2024. Planning is well underway, and we will be publishing the first bulletin in the near future. In the meantime, orienteers are advised that embargoes are now in place for the competition areas with immediate effect. Embargo […]

The New Zealand Orienteering Championships 2023 will be held Friday 7th April 2023 to Monday 10th April 2023 in Hastings and Elsthorpe, hosted by Hawkes Bay Orienteering Club. (Plus a knock out Sprint Tuesday 11th April 2023). Bulletin One will be published as soon as possible. This embargo applies to all New Zealand Orienteering Championship […]

NZOC2022 was a celebration of 50 years of New Zealand Orienteering Championships, and what an amazing weekend of orienteering we had. The primary objective of the Event Team was to deliver a truly memorable event, to build on the successful nationals of the past and once again showcase the amazing sport that we do. To […]

The 2022 New Zealand Orienteering Championships will be held in the Nelson / Tasman over Easter weekend 15th – 18th April 2022 hosted by Nelson Orienteering Club The Embargo notice has been updated to version 3 (02/03/2022) with updated areas – Relay location moved from Rabbit Island East to West. The Embargo notice was previously […]

NOC and ONZ met on Monday night to discuss NZOC2022 in the current COVID environment. As an organising group we recognise the uncertainty ahead and the challenges faced by many. However, at this stage, we are comfortable that we can proceed with hosting NZOC2022 at Easter with the support of ONZ. The team have been busy […]

Nelson Orienteering Club has delayed the close of early bird entries to the New Zealand Orienteering Champs until 11:59pm on Friday, 11th February 2022.   You can still enter with confidence of a full refund prior to then at: https://entero.co.nz/evento.php?eventName=NZOC2022   As with our local club events NOCs priorities are: That our volunteers feel safe […]

The World University Orienteering Championships 2022 are scheduled to be held in Switzerland from 15-22 August 2022, and will consist of individual sprint, middle and long distance races, a sprint relay and a forest relay.  Competitors must satisfy the following conditions: • Athletes must be at least 18 and less than 25 years of age […]

Nelson Orienteering Club invites all orienteers to the 50th New Zealand Orienteering Championships from the 15-18 April 2022. Programme: Friday 15 April – Sprint – Nelson College Saturday 16 April – Middle – Canaan Downs South Sunday 17 April – Long – Canaan Downs North Monday 18 April – Relay – Moturoa East “I am very pleased to be welcoming everyone to my […]

Nelson Orienteering Club are excited to announce the initial embargo notice for the New Zealand Orienteering Champs 2022. The Sprint Distance embargo covers the campuses of Hampden Street School, Nelson College and the Braemar Campus of Nelson Hospital. The Long Distance embargo covers the whole of Canaan Downs but still allows access from the Harwood […]

Update Note from the GM View from the Chair Sport National Orienteering Awards announced JWOC paper team named 2021-2025 ONZ Strategic Plan released – a new focus for our sport Sports People Interview with ONZ Council Member Tom Reynolds Events Queens Birthday Weekend – 5-7 June 2021 2021 Australian Champs NZ MTBO Champs Nationals round-up […]

Photo by Gene Beveridge (2020) Kia Ora and greetings,Welcome to the very last newsletter from the NZOC2021 team: the courses have been evaluated between competitors caught out at yet another artificial barrier on the Sprint, the medals have been handed out, and the last borrowed pieces of equipment are on their way back to their owners. Thanks for […]

The North West Orienteering Club team has preparations for this year’s New Zealand Orienteering Championships (NZOC2021) well underway, for an exciting Easter Weekend of orienteering and renewing friendships in under two weeks from now! Entries have closed, camping information will be emailed out shortly, clubs will be asked for input on their relay teams, and […]