Message from President Gene Beveridge

Kia ora all

Firstly, thanks to Matt Hopper and Nick Harris for setting the recent event in Woodhill Forest. The Kereta Dunes area is truly world class orienteering terrain and I hope most of you made it out to enjoy the experience. Looking forward, our club’s attention will turn to putting on our famous Rogaine Series in May. These events form a major portion of the club’s income, so please find ways to help out at these events and ensure they retain their reputation as a great day out for all.

Newsletter Contents

• Calendar of Events in Auckland for 2023
• Next NWOC Events
• Schools Orienteering
• Riverhead Forest Training Map
• Event Report
• Member News
• New Members

2023 Event Calendar

All upcoming events in the wider Auckland area are listed on our NWOC website here
New Zealand wide events are on Orienteering New Zealand’s website here
Check the links above for details of events coming soon.

An event to note coming up in a couple of months is the Kings Birthday Weekend 3 day event which doubles as the Tūāraki-Northern Regional Championships for 2023.   

Details will be posted here

While entries haven't opened yet, Bulletin One with the latest info is available here 

Next NWOC Events 

Bivouac Outdoor Rogaine Series 2023

Next up on our NWOC Calendar is the first event in our Bivouac Outdoor Rogaine Series.

This year's three 90-minute Foot Rogaines will be held on:

• Sunday 7 May - Slater Road, South Head
• Sunday 21 May - Karaka Swamp
• Sunday 11 June - Grass Track, Muriwai

All event info is avilable on our North West website here  Hover over the words Rogaine Series to see the drop down menu for more info.  

Entries are now open on Enter O here  Enter NOW and be one of the first 50 people to enter and thus be in the draw to win a fabulous pack donated by our wonderful event sponsor, Bivouac Outdoor. 

Speaking of giveaways, we have prizes to the value of $1800 to give away during the series - thanks again to Bivouac Outdoor. 

For those new to rogaines, these events have a mass start and there is a range of controls to collect; 10 easy, 10 medium and 10 difficult. Everyone has 90 minutes or less to see how many controls they can get.  The events are very social, great for newcomers and as well as all the prizes, there's our famous lolly scramble!

Member Help Needed Please

We need help from all members please for the rogaine series and all events that North West will host this year. Helping on the day of events is really appreciated - you can help set up the event centre e.g pitch tents, be on registration, direct people to parking, pack up at the end of the day, collect controls - there’s a variety of jobs and something for everyone. Plus you also get to meet and know Club Members.

Club Members who regularly help with events are given vouchers for reduced entry fees for other North West events.  If you can help please contact Club Captain, Rob Garden rgmg@xtra.co.nz or 021597070 

North West Members Shared Lunch

Sunday 14 May, at the event hosted by Auckland Club, we invite all North West members to gather for a shared lunch. We suggest getting together around 12.30 pm. We will set up a table near the Event Centre and invite all members to BYO something to share for lunch. To our new members, we hope you will come along so we can meet you. 

Schools Orienteering - Auckland Secondary Schools Champs 

Coming up on Tuesday 30 May, the 2023 AKSS Individual Champs event is being managed by Shaun and Madeleine of Lactic Turkey Events with support from host club NWOC. Shaun & Madeleine need help from club members on the day please - the venue is the beautiful Leightons Farm (by Lake Kereta). If you can help please contact Shaun at lacticturkey@gmail.com

Riverhead Forest Training Map

In previous newsletters we’ve provided information about a training map we’ve created for the Robinson Road area of Riverhead Forest. The Robinson Road Training map is available to download from the NWOC website. In the NWOC website, go to the Resources/Coaching tab - then to Permanent Courses - then Training map.  Select Training maps and click on Download map.
Earlier we said we would leave the flags out for at least March/ April  - we’ve extended this to around the end of May given the dry weather (so far!).

Event Report - Kereta Dunes

Sunday 16 April saw lots of people venture up South Head to our event on the Kereta Dunes map. Course Controller, Nick Harris described this map as ‘pure Woodhill' and it was great to get feedback from many people saying how good it was to be back in Woodhill and orienteering in fast, open, pine forest.  
Our thanks to Controller Nick, Setter, Matt Hopper and Coordinator, Trevor Carswell for the many hours they spent preparing and planning for the event.  Matt & Trevor were new to these roles and they both commented they have new insights into orienteering from this experience. 

Member News

Auckland Secondary Schools Sprint Series Finals

The 2023 Auckland Secondary School Sprint Series was held over 5 weeks in February and March.   At the end of March, the top 10 in each age group from each of the 5 Auckland zones were invited to compete in the Finals Day. 
Two North West members placed in the top 3 in their grade:

• Tahi Harris from Mt Albert Grammar who, with a clean sweep winning both the morning and afternoon races, finished first overall in Year 9 Boys
• Charli Spence from Pinehurst School who after a 4th placing in the morning, finished 2nd in the afternoon to finish 3rd overall in Y10/11 girls. 

Congratulations Tahi & Charli.   

 Photos Charli (L) & Tahi (R)

Pinehurst School Members

Staying with the AKSS Sprint Series, several Pinehurst students have recently joined North West and are part of a bigger group of Pinehurst students who competed in the  Sprint Series. North West member, Kaye Griffiths, coordinates orienteering at Pinehurst and provided this report of the finals event

"Out of 47 Pinehurst Orienteers, 18 made the cut for selection from the North Shore Zone with 13 being available on the day.  370 students took part in the finals. After the morning race, 5 Pinehurst Orienteers were sitting in the Top 10, which meant they had the pressure situation of being held back from starting until all the rest of the competitors in their grades had started. They were then set off at 1 minute intervals, with the fastest competitor from the morning starting last.  Final results were calculated from the combination of morning and afternoon race times. Congratulations to all the finalists, especially to Charli Spence who placed 3rd in the Y10/11 girls and also to the following who all placed in the Top 10 of their grades - Otto (6th Y8 Boys), Aaron (8th Y8 Boys), Joel (7th Y9 Boys), Ben (10th Y9 Boys)."

World Orienteering Champs 2023

Two North West Members, Gene Beveridge (President) and Matt Ogden (Life Member) were recently named in the team to represent New Zealand at the 2023 World Orienteering Champs to be held in Flims Laax, Switzerland from 11 to 16 July.  Gene will compete in the Long event and Matt in the Middle and Relay.  Congratulations Gene & Matt - we wish you well.

Photo - Gene Beveridge (L) & Matt Ogden (R)

New Members

A warm welcome to new members, Cheryl Atkins, Megan Blank, Pam Boss, Amanda Charlton, Louisa Currie, Holly Edmonds, Donelle Fletcher, Kathryn Lydiard and Keita Morris.  We are looking forward to meeting you all soon.