Hello everyone

The orienteering year is now in full swing and it’s time to make the most of the fantastic summer weather and come along to some sprint races – SummerNav or one of the Auckland Secondary Schools sprint races – And that is just the beginning of a great start to the club orienteering season…

As you will see, we have a number of great events coming up in the first half of 2020 - don’t be shy about volunteering to help out at any of these events as we will need lots of person-power to make these events run smoothly. It is a great way to meet people and we also have a lot of fun.

We still need more day co-ordinators to arrange people-power and helpers for events later in the year, to make sure all runs smoothly on the day. It takes a bit of organization but is not a difficult role, and is a great way to get to know new people. We have a handbook for coordinators, so if you can help in any capacity at any event please get in touch with our secretary Annemarie Hogenbirk (northwestorienteering@gmail.com) or club captain Rob Garden (rgmg@xtra.co.nz).

Read on for a great report from elite club runner Alice Tilley on orienteering in China, how to sign up to run for NWOC at the Katoa Po relays next month (NWOC pays the entry fee) and upcoming events.

Thank you to everyone who has already renewed their club membership and a reminder to others that NWOC membership subs for 2020 are now due, so that you can take advantage of cheaper membership rates at events, be eligible for team selection, get free entry to the Katoa Po relays….

In this issue:

1. Auckland Secondary School Sprint Series
2. Upcoming events for 2020
3. Katoa Po night relays
4. Rogaine series
5. Orienteering in China – a report from NWOC club member Alice Tilley
6. Coaching
7. North West Orienteering Club membership renewal
8. On the move

1   Auckland Secondary Schools Sprint Series – AKSSSS
The Auckland secondary schools sprint series was started a number of years ago by Mike Beveridge and rapidly expanded from after school races for a few schools in West Auckland to a hugely popular series of races that now sees over 900 students competing across three different zones over a period of six weeks, before the top runners compete for series honours at the Auckland-wide final in late March. The races are open to students from years 7 to 13.

Mike is taking a well-earned break (while still taking a keen interest in student orienteering) and we are delighted that club members Madeleine and Shaun Collins of Lactic Turkey Events are managing the series from 2020.  Many of you will be familiar with Lactic Turkey’s excellent, and very professionally run events and we know that the sprint series is in great hands. There is a brilliant new website https://www.lacticturkey.co.nz/schoolsorienteering/ and you can also find a link to the website from the events tab on the NWOC website https://www.nwoc.org.nz/events/.

Madeleine welcomes club volunteers to help out at any of the school events – Western, Central and Northern zones: contact her at madeleine@lacticturkey.co.nz.

Club members and parents can run a course from 5pm, after the students have finished - $5 cash entry on the day. Ideally let Lactic Turkey know if you plan to run, so that they can plan on how many maps to print.

2   Upcoming Events for 2020
AOC Summernav
Auckland Summernav park events – started again on 21 January and run until 17 March: http://www.orienteeringauckland.org.nz/events/summernav/calendar/

AKSS Sprint Finals
Auckland Secondary Schools Sprint Finals - double race Sunday 29 March 2020. The morning final race is at Akoranga Campus and the afternoon final will be at Rangitoto College. Parents and public/ club members can compete on the courses at Rangitoto College.

We need volunteers to help out at this NWOC/ Lactic Turkey event and it is a great opportunity to run on a map most of us are unfamiliar with. No experience needed to help – just enthusiasm!
Contact the club on northwestorienteering@gmail.com if you can help out in the set-up of the afternoon final.

AOS-1 CMOC
The first Auckland Orienteering Series event is on 8 March at Tapapakanga Regional Park, Orere Point on the coast, south of Auckland, hosted by Counties Manukau Orienteering Club. The map was drawn by club member Cameron Tier and past experience guarantees you will get a good run for your money… plenty of hills, interesting pockets of native bush, a beach – and camping if you are keen to make a weekend of it.  Starts 10.00am – 12.30pm. Details: here.

AOS-2+3 NWOC
NWOC is organising the Auckland Orienteering Series (AOS) events 2 and 3 on 21/22 March. Both events will double as selection trial races for the NZ teams for the World Junior Orienteering Champs and the World University Orienteering Champs. The National O League races will also compete on the trials courses. New maps for both days will provide high quality orienteering with course planning for the Middle and Long events by Renee Beveridge, Geoff Mead, Cameron Tier and Gene Beveridge. The events will be on Turkey Ridge (access via Slater Road) and in Woodhill forest north of the Hedley Dunes map (access via Wilson Road). Everyone can compete at these AOS events plus you’ll see New Zealand’s best young elites in action. AOS events cater for all levels of orienteering expertise. From red (hard orienteering), orange (medium), yellow (easy) to white (very easy).
In the interests of fairness, the competition area is embargoed until the event. Check out the Embargo Notice here: https://www.orienteering.org.nz/news/map-embargoes-trial-races-for-jwoc-wuoc-21-22-march-2020/

Here’s what Gene has to say: “First time on the brand new map being used by @northwestorienteering for JWOC TRIALS. @camerontier will be setting an unforgiving long distance on the most varied area I've EVER been on. Seriously, this terrain is all curve balls.”

To run this amazing weekend of orienteering smoothly, we require many, many helping hands. If you intend to participate at least one of the days, please don’t hesitate and volunteer your services by adding your name to the on-line volunteer sheet to the task(s) you’d like to be involved with, and add your contact details to the column on the right. We’ll be in touch closer to the event.

If you have any questions, please contact Annemarie on northwestorienteering@gmail.com.

Rogaine Series
NWOC Bivouac Rogaine Series - Entries are open. See more below

Orienteering events outside Auckland – start planning those holidays:
National orienteering championships 2020, Easter 10 to 13 April, Manawatu  https://events.orienteering.org.nz/nationals/

Oceania Orienteering Championships – January 2021 in Canterbury  http://oceaniao.nz/

3   Katoa Po Relays 14 March 2020
Katoa Po is a Maori translation for “all night” and the event is the annual interclub night relay hosted by the Taupo Orienteering Club. Here is their invitation:
This year is special as it will have been 40 years since the first ever Katoa Po night relay was conceived and run. There will also be a “reminiscing” dinner on Friday night for those who planned and organised the various Katoa Po events – particularly the earlier ones. A special commemorative T shirt available for pre order at a cost of $20.

Trevor Carswell – Katoa Po specialist and renowned for illuminating the NWOC camp writes:

The FACTS:
The event centre is only 5 minutes from Taupo CBD. I arranged for the camp site to be opened a little earlier than normal so we’re not so rushed getting to Taupo.

Eligibility -

• Leg 1 No M14+, No W16+ (Running is light to twilight)
• Leg 2 No M16-65, No W18-55
• Leg 3 No M18-55, No W20-35
• Leg 4 No M20-45, No W21E
• Leg 5 No M21E
• Leg 6 Open
• Leg 7 Open

Exemptions to the above rules will be considered on their merits by the controller. The essential essence of the competition is fairness. The controller will use this as the guiding principle for determining if nominally ineligible runners can drop down a leg.

Estimated Winning Times -

• Leg 1- 15 minutes, median time 25 minutes (white)
• Leg 2- 20 minutes, median time 35 minutes (yellow)
• Leg 3- 30 minutes (orange)
• Leg 4- 40 minutes (orange)
• Leg 5- 50 minutes (red)
• Leg 6- 45 minutes (red, fences not shown on map)
• Leg 7- 50 minutes (red, fences not shown on map)

Special Rules -
Every team finishes, so there are no DSQs. Every missed punch incurs a 15 minute penalty. DNF are the slowest time for that leg (when all the penalties are added in) plus a 15 minute penalty. Placing’s are determined solely by time, including penalties.
Deliberate manipulation of the rules, eg having an overseas W21E running Leg 4, can incur additional penalties at the discretion of the controller.

The Programme
Saturday 14th March - Afternoon start from 2pm Short nostalgia warmup event on a NEW MAP – Rangatira Tomos using clipcards and draw your own course (just like the “old” days)
Saturday 14th March - 40th Katoa Po Relay Starts at dusk
Sunday 15th March - Mini Rogaine Start 9.30am

I’ll have some spare headlights and I’m sure we can carpool as in past years.

Hear from you soon,

Trevor

021 242 9900 /479 1384    trevnallie@gmail.com

We hope to get lots of NWOC teams together to make this a really special event and retain the Owl trophy. All runners are welcome and NWOC will pay members’ entry fees. 

Don’t worry if you are not experienced or are nervous about running in the dark – the first courses for the junior runners start on dusk and Trevor always brings lots of high-powered headlamps which light up the night (we can loan you a torch). The relays don’t actually last all night- usually all completed just after midnight.
Please contact Trevor Carswell  ASAP to put your name down for a NWOC relay team:

4   Rogaine Series
NWOC Bivouac Rogaine Series - Entries are open!  The first 50 entries into the whole series go into the draw for a fancy Osprey backpack courtesy of our main sponsor Bivouac Outdoors, so get your entry in soon!
We have four 90 minute rogaines planned for 2020. The series is hugely popular, not just with orienteers but trail runners and adventure racers too. Bring your friends or make up a team with workmates – it is a great introduction to the sport!  We kick off at Hidden Valley on the 19th of April, a farmland area near Kaukapakapa first used last year. Event 2 on the 3rd of May is in Riverhead Forest, pine forest with plenty of tracks. The third event will be on the 17th of May at the ever popular and scenic Lake Kereta and the series wraps up on the 7th of June on the Hedley Dunes map in Woodhill Forest. Plenty of variety and a great way to explore the Auckland hinterland so put the dates in your diary now.

5   Alice in China

The Orienteering World Cup Final was hosted by Foshan City in Guangdong, China from the 26^th to 29^th October. This was the first time China has hosted an IOF event. Guangdong province is located in the southern part of China and is known for their rich culture and history. The World Cup final consisted of a sprint relay, middle distance and an individual sprint. New Zealand was represented by Devon Beckman, Tommy Hayes, Lizzie Ingham, Tim Roberston, Laura Robertson and myself (Alice Tilley).

My favourite map of this event was the middle distance. Held at Xiqiao Mountain, the terrain was very unusual even for the top runners. The terrain composed of multiple dirt tracks crossing over each other, and low shrubs that were represented on the map as multiple shades of green over steep contour detail. There was a range of route choices to minimize the 5km distance and 290m climb, however the best route choices relied on quick decision making within the maze of tracks. The temperature was humid and muggy (30 degrees) making running at full pace challenging for all athletes.

The course seems straight forward on the map but the mixture of vegetation within the terrain and maze of tracks made it tricky to navigate. Tove Alexandersson had a gap of only 30 seconds in front of Natalia Gemperle with Julia Jakob in third. In the men’s race, Gustav Bergman had a steady pace to take the lead with Joey Hadorn in second place (+1:13mins) with Lucas Basset in third (+1:41mins). A link to the full results can be accessed here; Middle Distance Results.

The sprint relay was through Nanhai Movie set, a fast open area that required reading your map faster than you could run. NZ team Tommy, Tim, Laura and Lizzie miss-punched in the final leg while Devon and I ran in a composite team. At a scale of 1:4000, the map was similar to sprint maps we have back in New Zealand yet the scenery was very different. Based in an open-air film studio complex, there were numerous replica townscapes and temples providing a strong cultural atmosphere. The full list of relay results can be found here Sprint Relay Results .

The individual sprint in Songtang village had many tight alley ways that kept you on your toes for the whole race. Quick decision making and planning ahead was key for a clean race. Full list of results can be found here Individual Sprint Relay .

My first experience at an IOF world cup event competing alongside the best Orienteers in the world was inspiring. I would like to thank Foshan, Guangdong Province for providing such a challenging yet rewarding week of Orienteering.

Alice Tilley

 6. Coaching
 No need to leave the couch to improve your orienteering. Brush up on your orienteering techniques – check out this website which has lots of good information and videos for beginners through to race analysis for experienced orienteers. https://betterorienteering.org/

7   Renew your North West Orienteering Club membership
Subscriptions for 2020 are now due and the club would love you to consider renewing your membership to NWOC for 2020 now. Thanks to all of you who have already done so.
Here are some of the reasons why you should renew:

• Membership includes members' rates for entry fees at events - not just NWOC events but also those organised by other NZ clubs.
• Subsidised or free coaching and training sessions for club members of all abilities.
• The club covers relay team entry fees for the Katoa Po night relays (March – sign up now) and the Auckland relays.
• Receive regular email newsletters with news and reviews of club activities.
• Be eligible to apply for grants from the Club's Junior fund to attend Junior camp or some    overseas events.
• Participation in club trips, in the past we have had very popular and successful trips to
  Australia and within New Zealand.
• To be eligible to win a title at the national championships (Easter Weekend 2020) or to   represent New Zealand (e.g. JWOC / Australia & New Zealand challenges etc) you need to be a member of an orienteering club such as North West.

Orienteering New Zealand has recently added some new questions in the membership database, such as other sporting interests, and while we have many of your details in the membership database, we know that many of you no longer have a fixed landline phone or may have changed your email address from a school email contact to a personal email address. We recommend to check your contact details and other questions asked by ONZ; please logon on to our membership database, via the ‘member login’ button on the top right corner of the NWOC website www.nwoc.org.nz.

If you do not have your member log in user name or password, just click on the “forgot login details prompt. Enter your email address and your login details will be emailed to you. If you have any problems logging in or need extra information, please contact Lisa Mead (mead10b@gmail.com).

Please pay the club subscription by direct crediting the NWOC bank account: WESTPAC Account 03- 0243-0247251-000 and please include your name in the reference field (preferred method). Note – you do NOT need to log in to NWOC in order to pay your membership.

The subs are unchanged from 2019 (and 2015/2016/2017 etc.):

• $20 for juniors and unwaged
• $60 for seniors (21 and over)
• $100 Partners/ couples with no children included
• $120 for family living at same address (2 seniors and children over 10 years at same address)
• Over 65 years (generally not working) $20 per person

8   On the move
After a semester completing his degree in Vancouver, Max Griffiths is off to Sydney to begin his career with Google.
Tegan Knightbridge has moved to Blenheim to chase her dream of becoming a pilot.
Jess Sewell is studying in Canterbury.

We hope to catch up with you all again at orienteering events around New Zealand and beyond!