Red Hill with a Difference – Wednesday 9 December
Sunday, 6 December 2015
 Enjoy orienteering on one of the
best mapped areas in Canberra (courtesy of Bob Allison). Bring the chairs,
rugs, nibbles and drinks and relax after the run, soaking in the amazing views
as the sun sets over the Brindabellas.
Yes, the
Assembly Area and Start are at the top of Red Hill in a lovely grassed area with
panoramic views over Woden Valley to the Brindabellas.
Parking is at
the centre and northern end of the Red Hill summit ridgeline, leaving the southern
end of the restaurant carpark for restaurant patrons.
The Finish is
lower on the western hillside so don’t worry about excessive climbs on the
courses. Actually the climbs on course are
less than many of the courses set previously at Red Hill, using the normal lower
Start locations.
Five courses are on offer:
Orange
1 5.5km, 21 controls
Orange
2 4.1km, 16 controls
Orange
3 2.8km, 10 controls
Green 2.3km, 11 controls Blue 1.5km, 14 controls 
The Orange 1 course provides a mix
of short sharp legs broken up by several longer legs with plenty of route
choices to consider.
Orange 2 provides similar
challenges but over a smaller area.
Orange 3 has
been designed to provide route choices that avoid difficult fence crossings and
steep climbs, but with enough challenge to make it interesting.
The Green
course will suit a range of orienteering skills. The more confident orienteers will be able to
complete the course by going cross-country, whereas the less experienced can
use linear features such as tracks, creeks, powerlines and fencelines. The Blue
course returns to the Finish winding through beautiful bush. No need to bring cash. You can pay your entry fee via Eftpos at this event!
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SC-ORE School Orienteering – A “Starter Pack”
Friday, 4 December 2015
SC-ORE orienteering is a great entry level
orienteering experience for children. This school safe series, held on Thursday
mornings in Term 4 has generated exceptional enthusiasm amongst
participants.    First trialled over 4 weeks in March 2015 and now repeated with
some tweaks and improvements, the 4 weeks in November has seen 13 teams – (52
junior orienteers) put their bodies and brains to the test before the school
bell tolled.
  
Above Centre: Presentations made by Junior Cockatoo Stephen Melhuish and Honours reps Ella Cuthbert and Caitlin Young. Held before school at a different school each week, teams (two
boys and two girls) competed in a sprint relay format. It provides quick,
quality feedback that encourages children to take the next step. It is
hoped that this formula will ensure a transition into a lifelong love
of outdoor adventure sports!! And the end result of the 4 weeks series – Aranda
1st, Campbell-4 2nd, Majura Blue 3rd.Well
done! And the final SCORES of the SC-ORE series are here   
Pictured above L to R: Aranda team, Campbell -4 with teacher Libby Gerner, Majura Blue and all other Majura teams. More pictures on OACT Facebook.
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Major Awards Presented to Two Couples
Monday, 30 November 2015
 Photos, from the
left: Michael Burt (OACT President), David Poland, Toni Brown, and Julie Sunley.
Orienteering ACT’s
major awards were presented to two couples at the Annual Awards evening at the
Southern Cross Yacht Club at Yarralumla on Sunday evening.
The prestigious Mike
Cassells Award for Services to Orienteering in the ACT was presented to
hard-working couple Toni Brown and David Poland. Both Toni and David have prioritised,
modelled and committed themselves to the active encouragement and development
of children at all levels of their orienteering participation and
progress. Their commitment to such a
range of opportunities has been significant in its breadth, its innovation and
the generosity of the time and energy they have given to the multitude of
tasks.
The equally prestigious
Jim Sawkins Award for Event Management was presented to Julie and Sean Sunley
(who unfortunately were not able to be present) who have single-handedly staged
mountain bike orienteering events in the ACT for several years. They have performed a wide range of tasks
from course-planning through to managing all computer-related aspects of the
sport.
The competitive
aspects of the sport were also recognised at the Awards evening. Jo Allison (pictured right) was announced as the Orienteer of
the Year and consequential winner of the Wehner. This was her fourth of the title. She first
won the Cup in 1991, and then again in 1992 and 2007, but she has a little way
to go to match Jenny Bourne who won the Cup six times from 1990 through to
2008. The complete points table is here.
The Bushflyers won
the Southern Cross Inter-club Challenge for the 14th time in the 17 years that
the competition has been staged. The points table for 2015 is here.
10 Audun Fristad
Awards (the oldest continuously presented Orienteering awards in the ACT) which encouragement
awards for juniors were presented to: Riley Lane (Parawanga), Justine Hobson (Bushflyers),
Tamara Needham (Red Roos), Jennifer Kerr (Parawanga), David Stocks (Bushflyers),
Braeden Jaugietis (Grammar Junior), Ben Hobson (Bushflyers), Brendan Wilson (Bushflyers),
Joseph Wilson (Bushflyers), and Toby Lang (Bushflyers).
The Age Class
winners were: Sub-junior: Patrick Miller, Ella Cuthbert; Junior Stephen
Melhuish, Tara Melhuish; Elite: Matthew Crane, Jo Allison; Masters: Ari
Piiroinen, Ana Herceg; Super-masters: Ian Prosser, Carol Harding; Improvers:
Ryan Stocks, Zoe Melhuish.
Photos from the evening are on Facebook
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SC-ORE Round 3 - Aranda Primary School holds the lead
Thursday, 26 November 2015
Round 3 of the popular SC-ORE (November) School Orienteering attracted a large cohort of parent spectators at Majura today. This popular, school safe orienteering held on Thursday mornings has generated exceptional enthusiasm amongst participants. Today 13 teams - 52 junior orienteers put their bodies and brains to the test before the school bell tolled. Their infectious enthusiasm a pleasure to witness!  Held before school at a different school each week two boys and two girls from each school compete in a mixed relay format. Viewed by many as a perfect "starter pack" SC-ORE provides an introduction for children before they start on the regular Wednesday twilight summer or Saturday winter series.   
While Aranda currently holds the top spot, it is possible that at least one other team could pip them from their post should something untoward was to happen next week! as for the other top performing teams - Campbell 1, Gowrie and Majura Blue are holding firm while Turner and Nth Ainslie Jelly's have put in some strong, though not entirely constent performances. Still, placings remain an open book! Stay tuned................Check out Results here. Pictures from previous weeks can be found at OACT Facebook. A reminder: This Saturday - How to read a University Orienteering Map - at the ANU - see Events page Scroll down for more news stories about orienteering in ACT
  
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Runners Shop Twilight #7 -Wanniassa Hills –Wed November 29th
Monday, 23 November 2015
Come and savour the scenic delights of Mt Wanniassa on
Wednesday evening.
Courses were set at 30,000 feet with “blue pen”, pencil,
paper maps and string by Dr. Murray Scown as he returned to the US after a few
weeks in OZ. Modifications have been made by local inhabitants.
During site checking, the controller and organiser travelled
around 8.6km and climbed 270m. Remember to take in the flowers and the views
while you are on your course, you will have earned that highlight.
  
Three Orange courses with distances of 4.9km, 3.4km and
2.1km will be available along with the regular Green (2.1km) and Blue (1.9km).
Abominable O-Men are certain the courses will challenge the
brain and brawn of all competitors.
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Australian 3-Day
2016 - ISAACS RIDGE – sneak preview
Shown here from Wanniassa Hills, this will be the venue
for Day 1 of the Australian 3-Day Easter Carnival from March 25th
to March 28th 2016. There will be courses of all standards
available. All carnival events will be within 60 minutes of Canberra CBD. Check
the event website HERE
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SC-ORE School Orienteering - Event 1 a great success
Saturday, 14 November 2015
SC-ORE (November) School Orienteering - a pilot in school based, school safe orienteering held the first of its 4 events on the Gowrie Primary School map. 13 teams - 52 junior orienteers put their bodies and brains to the test before the school bell tolled.
See results tab for team outcomes Pictures can be found at OACT Facebook.
DONT FORGET: Sat & Sun 21 & 22 Blue
Sparks Bush Training Camp near Braidwood ACT.
Blue Sparks and NSW WildFires again partnering in this terrific juniors
training. Stacks
serious training (and fun). See events page.
Register by sending an email to bluesparksact@gmail.com
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Festivities by the Lake - Dinner & Award Presentations.
Thursday, 12 November 2015
 Where: CSCC Yacht Club, Mariner Pl, Yarralumla. When: 6pm, Sunday 29 November. Come along to this picturesque lakeside location to celebrate the end of another successful year of orienteering for OACT and to support our very worthy award recipients. The evening will include great food, presentations of perpetual awards, most improved awards, and the Audan Fristad encouragement awards for juniors. We'll also have a couple of special guest speakers giving a short talk to motivate us all! There's plenty of space for our youngest members to play! RSVP by Nov 19 via Eventor. Event details and prices 2015 OACT - End of Year Dinner 29 November.pdf Please see the weekly bulletin for information about nominating members for the perpetual awards - help us recognise the great work of those who contribute so much to our sport. Nominations due 16 Nov.
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SC-ORE is on today
Thursday, 12 November 2015
Yes . SC_ORE is on today. See you there. For more information please see the events page. For more news articles please scroll below . A reminder too that entries for the Primary School Champs close tonight.
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Red Roos to Celebrate 40th Anniversary at The Pinnacle
Tuesday, 10 November 2015
The Red Roos will
celebrate their 40th Anniversary in staging the event at The Pinnacle on Wednesday. If the myth is
correct the Roos (then under the name of Red Kangaroos) were founded by John
and Karan Walker on 11 November 1975. There
was some other momentous activity in Canberra on the same day, but it is
insignificant when compared to the founding of the Roos. The other founding
members included John and Kathy Saw, Ian Johnson, Dave Roberts, Hilary Gunn,
Joan Goodrum and Laurel Lander.
On 2 February
1984 the name was changed from Red Kangaroos (which was taken from the Walkers’
former club, Red Kangaroos (Victoria)) to Red Roos to avoid confusion with the
parent club. On Wednesday, the Roos will
display examples of their previous ‘O’ suits and other clothing, as well as albums
of photos from 1979 to 2005; see here for some 50 photos from those albums.
Course
Planner Bill Jones has prepared interesting two Orange courses with a variety
of short and long legs on both courses.
The course details are:
Orange 1: 4.9 km, 140 m climb, 13 controls Orange 2: 3.5 km, 105 m climb, 9 controls Green: 2.2 km, 68 m climb, 13 controls Blue 1.9 km, 52 m climb, 11 controls
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Test your skills at Black Mountain - Twilight #4 this Wednesday
Sunday, 1 November 2015
Come
and test your orienteering skills on this week’s courses which have been set in
the lovely but somewhat challenging terrain of Black Mountain North. Assembly details here
Experienced
Parawangan orienteers Tony Garr and Jon Glanville have planned the courses,
which include:
Orange
1 - 5km
Orange
2 – 3.5km
Green
– 2.5km and
Blue
- 1.9km
You
can still purchase season passes through Eventor or at
the information table on Wednesday.
The
Map Mates will be running their 3rd competition event, and are
improving really quickly as they have training each week, and complete their
mapping exercises between events.
  
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Orange 3 an Option on Wednesday at Campbell Park
Tuesday, 27 October 2015
 For location details please always look at the events page where there is a map which shows driving instructions. This is the News page. An Orange 3 course
will be an option at Campbell Park on Wednesday for those for whom the 4 km
Orange 2 might be too long or for those Green course regulars who would like to
try an Orange course as the Orange 3 course is only 200 metres longer. Bushflyers course planner Tristan Miller will
be offering the following courses: -
Orange 1: 5.5 km, 15 controls
- Orange 2: 4.0 km, 11 controls
- Orange 3: 2.9 km, 10 controls
- Green: 2.7 km, 8 controls
- Blue: 1.7 km, 8 controls
Campbell Park is one
of Canberra’s picturesque nature parks (see Facebook for photos) and most popular venues for metropolitan
orienteering events. On 30 October 2013
Campbell attracted a record number of entries (211) and participants (276) for a
Twilight event and one of the largest EOD events in the ACT in the past 30
years. With good weather, the record
could be broken on Wednesday.  This is also Map Mates Event No 2 and more than 40 have registered. Highlights this week include team photos ( BYO Camera) and prizes for those dressed in the best uniforms. Scores from the Map Mates series will be posted on the nearest Gumtree ! For those who enjoy children's activities don't forget that SC-ORE ( see link to your left) starts soon on Thursday mornings from 8 am - 9am for four weeks in November .
Theo, our French coach, will also be holding a map navigation workshop for adults at the event.
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Fadden Pines offered fun fast forest racing!
Thursday, 22 October 2015
Set amongst pine forest, with a fun maze to trap the
unwary (yes those of you who reached over, or snuck under were spotted), lots of kids ventured out as did some of our
fastest runners. Theo Fluerent, Dave Shepherd and Ewan Barnett each spent less
around 13 minutes in the forest and some ACT Junior girls too must have found
some fast running some clocking time of under 18 minutes.
  
40 children signed up for their first Map mates
session. Based on the form of former Map Mates graduates, expect to see at
least a few of this years Map Mates juniors selected in the All Australian
Schools team within five years.
Pictured here Map Mates graduates/Honours team members 2014 and/or 15: Tristan Miller, Ella Cuthbert, Noah Poland, Caitlyn Young, Patrick Miller. Moving to the bush next week, Bushflyer junior boys
Tristan and Patrick Miller are sure to have a good one in store for us all at
Campbell Park, behind Russell offices.
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Twilight #2 at Fadden Pines today is on !
Wednesday, 21 October 2015
Fadden Pines – expect some O-Mazing Fun!
  
Yes! this event is on today!. Orienteering events are only cancelled if there is a Total Fire Ban which is unlikely today ! Bushflyers Coral Dow as organiser and junior Noah Poland are
putting on the show.
Give them support – and enjoy Week 2 Twilight from 5 pm and Map Mates #1 from 4.30 pm with an intricate maze for all. Kids can use the maze from 4.30 pm. Orange courses will use it after that.
Fadden Pines offers lots of fun for family and friends. Plenty
of children’s playground and BBQ setting for an evening outing. Don’t miss it!For location and details see Events page
( Scroll down for a news stories on Mountain Bike Orienteering . Don't forget the Theo's coaching opportunities )
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ACT MTB Orienteering Treble Opens with Middle Distance Championships
Saturday, 17 October 2015
A fine and warm morning greeted 54 riders at the 2015
MTBO Middle Distance Championships on Saturday morning at Sparrow Hill, Kowen
Forest. The Championships
were the first leg of a treble of events being staged over the weekend.
The event was organised by Abominable O-Men, Julie and
Sean Sunley, who have been bringing MTB Orienteering to the ACT for the past
few years. Assistance on the day was provided by club members John Scown, Jane
Saye, John Shelton Agar and Connor Bendle, along with support from invited
Parawangans Pat Meithke and Rob Jessop.
The challenge for the course planner, Ann Scown, was to
not have anyone remember where they might have ridden in 2014. Reportedly this
was achieved as most returnees had a different experience of the wonderful fast
flowing tracks of Sparrow Hill.
Courses challenged the navigation and climbing ability
of all from W14 to M80. Most competitors finished their Middle Distance with
enough energy to tackle the intricate tracks of Bruce Ridge later in the
afternoon at the Sprint Distance race. Others, however, chose to give the
racing a miss and enjoy the rest of the tracks that Kowen Forest has to offer.
There were a couple of first time riders who showed
they have just what is needed for some fast racing. A little more concentration
on navigation will see them do very well at future events. The results are on Eventor and here, the splits are
here and on Winsplits by course.
Some photos are on OACT Facebook page
A full report of this weekend’s three events will be published
after the Long Distance Championships
on Sunday.
Story and photos by Ann Scown
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Newcomers swarm to Radford for Opening Twilight Event
Thursday, 15 October 2015
The first event of the 2015-16 Runners Shop Twilight Series was set on delightful
grounds of Radford College. Newcomers and regular orienteers took great delight
in the challenging courses set by Peter Antcliff. Making good use of both the
technical campus buildings, the hillside elevation and the bushland backing, orienteers
were challenged to a good technical workout.
  
The number attending the Map Mates introductory session
exceeded all expectations. 35 + children turned out to give orienteering a go.
Some had never tried the sport before while others were keen to bring along
friends to introduce them and their families to the sport. The introductory
session allows for families to “try before they buy”. Map Mates teams will now
register in order to be part of the Map Mates series which runs for the next 4
weeks. For more information go to http://act.orienteering.asn.au/gfolder/2015OctMMflyer3p.pdf
  
Three Radford College students took the opportunity to share their sport with the Radford Principal Mrs Fiona Godfrey. By all accounts she was somewhat taken with the energy coming out of the orienteering community as well as the enthusiasm shared with her by students Rosie Goggs, year 10, Justine Hobson and Rosie Waddell-Wood, both Year 5. Other Radford students stepped up to help out with the explosion in numbers - Adam Philby (Yr 12), Ben Hobson Year 7 and Sam McKinney Year 5. Huge thanks to
Radford College for its hospitality, and to Peter Antcliff, David Poland and
all the volunteers on the day. The results are here, the splits by course are here and on Winsplits here
Season Passes still available to purchase - excellent value, even if you have missed the opening event of Twilight. Click http://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/2995 to purchase.
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