NWOC newsletter February 2021

Hello everyone - I hope you have been making the most of the wonderful summer weather and perhaps enjoying some of the park events on offer.

 After a Covid Alert Level 2 hiccup the Auckland Schools Sprint series finally got off to a brilliant sun-soaked start on 23 February.  There will be 5 weeks of sprints held over three zones, culminating in the sprint finals on 11 April. The series is now managed by Lactic Turkey but with the support of several of our club members – and club equipment. Helpers and parents have the chance to run a course after the students have completed their races.

 It is time to sharpen up your orienteering skills as NWOC has two major multiday events coming up shortly.  The weekend of 6/7 March will showcase the club’s new Riverhead map, which has been produced by Cameron de L’Isle. It promises to be a good lead up to the Nationals in early April – see more details for the Riverhead Orienteering Weekend (ROW) below.

Thank you to all of you who have already renewed your club membership for 2021 -there has been a great response.  Membership ensures that you receive the benefit of reduced members’ entry fees at events run by all clubs, and includes Orienteering NZ affiliation so that you are eligible for titles at the upcoming Nationals. In addition, the club pays entry fees for club members at the Katoa Po relays (March), the Auckland interclub relays; we offer travel subsidies for Junior training camps, as well as some club training days, newsletters and cameraderie.

I look forward to seeing you out orienteering soon!

Lisa Mead
President NWOC
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1. Events Calendar
2. Auckland Schools Sprint Series – How to get started video
3. ROW
4. Katoa Po night relay and rogaine
5. NZOC2021
6. Club membership for 2021
7. New members
8. Godzone race 2021

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1. Events Calendar

March
Mon 01 AKSS (West) Rutherford College
Wed 03 AKSS (Central) Sacred Heart College
Thu 04 AKSS (North) Rosmini College
Thu 04 AOC Summernav Auckland Domain
Sat 06 AOC Summernav NIGHT event Mutukaroa Regional Park/ Hamlins Hill
Sat 06 NWOC AOS 1 Riverhead Forest Middle distance
Sun 07 NWOC AOS 2 Riverhead Forest Long distance
These events comprise ROW- Riverhead Orienteering Weekend on a new forest map.
Pre-entry (by 3 March) via EnterO: https://entero.co.nz/evento.php?eventName=row-2021

Mon 08 AKSS (West) MAGS
Wed 10 AKSS (Central) Auckland Grammar School
Wed 10 AOC Summernav Monte Cecilia
Thu 11 AKSS (North) Orewa College
Sat 13 Taupo Katoa Po Night relays – https://entero.co.nz/evento.php?eventName=kpnr-2021
Sat13  Taupo Katoa Po Night rogaine https://entero.co.nz/evento.php?eventName=kpex-2021
Sun 14 Taupo Katoa Po Explorer Daylight rogaine – 9.30am.  See Enter O details above
Mon 15 AKSS (West) Waitakere College
Tue 16 AOC Summernav Cornwall Park
Wed 17 AKSS (Central) Epsom Girls Grammar
Thu 18 AKSS (North) Takapuna Grammar & Belmont Intermediate
Sun 21 AOC AOS 3 Temu Road, Woodhill Forest
Mon 22 AKSS (West) Henderson High School (rescheduled from week 1)
Wed 24 AKSS (Central) Diocesan School (rescheduled from week 1)
Thu 25 AKSS (North) Birkenhead College/ Birkdale Int.(rescheduled from week 1)
Sun 28 CMOC AOS 4 Totara Park
Sun 28 OBOP  Sprint event in Reporoa (Bay of Plenty) followed by a Middle distance event close by. Details here:  Pre-entry is preferred.
Mon 29 AKSS (West) Avondale College (rescheduled from week 1)

April
Fri 02 NWOC NZ Champs Sprint – Long Bay
Sat 03 NWOC NZ Champs Long South Head (new map)
Sun 04 NWOC NZ Champs Middle Lake Kereta (new map)
Mon 05 NWOC NZ Champs Relay – Lake Kereta

NZ National Champs entries are now open - first deadline 12 March: https://entero.co.nz/evento.php?eventName=NZOC2021

Tue 06 Knock Out Sprint for Elites, followed by a single sprint race for the public. Pre-entry here:
Sun 11 AKSS Final Morning - Akoranga Campus, Afternoon ‐ Massey University Oteha Rohe Campus
Sun 18 AOC AOS 5 Turkey Ridge South
19-21 NZ Mountain Bike Orienteering Champs, Alexandra (Central Otago)
Sat 24 South Island Orienteering Champs (Long Distance)  Earnscleugh Station, Alexandra
Sun 25 South Island Orienteering Champs (Sprint)  Molyneux Park, Alexandra
Mon 26 South Island Orienteering Champs (Middle distance)  Letts Gully West, Alexandra
For information on the South Island Champs: https://sites.google.com/dunedinorienteering.org/2021-sic

29/30 Apr/ 01 May North Island Secondary School Champs  Palmerston North/ Bulls
For all the details visit: nissoc21.orienteering.org.nz

Check out the club website for details of other events in 2021.
AOS = Auckland Orienteering Series – events generally have 9 courses of varying lengths and difficulty.

2. Auckland Schools Sprint Series – Beginner tips video
The Auckland Level 3 Covid alert level unfortunately resulted in a delayed start to the Auckland Schools Sprint Series; however, events from the first week have been re-scheduled to late-March.
If you are new to the sprint series then this brilliant Youtube video by  Madeleine and Shaun of Lactic Turkey is highly recommended viewing.  Don’t worry if it is your first time – here is all you need to know to get started: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kauXZR9QK80&feature=emb_title

 NWOC volunteers at Murrays Bay Intermediate school

 3. Riverhead Orienteering Weekend

Kicking off the orienteering season in Auckland in 2021, the Riverhead Orienteering Weekend (ROW) promises to be epic. Brand new maps, produced by Cameron de L’Isle who writes that this is world class terrain, with few tracks, a mix of intricate and subtle contour detail and a delicious range of vegetation types. The weekend includes a middle distance and a long distance on two separate sections of a new, never used before map, as well as a night event organised by AOC on Saturday night (Hamlins Hill, not Riverhead). The new Riverhead map is just 10 minute drive from the North Shore, this is a weekend you can't miss! Join us on the 6-7 March - see details and a link to the event bulletin here. The course planner has written: Low visibility gully spur with areas of subtle detail - this is Riverhead at its best. A lack of tracks lends to epic route choice for most courses and makes this area particularly special."
 This event will be part of the National O League 2021 for elite orienteers – a great opportunity for Aucklanders to score points!
There will also be easier white, yellow and orange courses for less experienced orienteers and we will have some coaches on hand to help newcomers. If you are new to orienteering, we recommend choosing a white or yellow level course.

Please pre-enter by 3 March  https://entero.co.nz/evento.php?eventName=row-2021
Make sure you arrive early enough to allow time to check out a few controls on the model map.

4. Katoa Po Relays- Taupo
Katoa Po is a Maori translation for “all night” and the event is the annual interclub night relay hosted by the Taupo Orienteering Club.  The first relay was held in January 1981. Teams of 7 people compete for the Owl trophy and teams of 5 compete for the Po Kerukeru trophy.
The Programme
Saturday 13th March - 40th Katoa Po Relay Starts at dusk ( Also 8.30pm Explorer Night rogaine)
Sunday 14th March - 90 minute Mini Rogaine Start 9.30am.

See the  Taupo club website for further details. 
We hope to get several NWOC teams together and regain the Owl trophy. All runners are welcome and NWOC will pay members’ entry fees for those who compete in a NWOC 5 or 7 person relay team.   This year you can enter for Katoa Po online here by 09 March.

The Katoa Po Explorer is a new teams event that has been designed for adventure racers wanting to practise their night navigation and teamwork. This event will comprise a three hour rogaine on Saturday night and a 90 minute rogaine on Sunday morning for teams of two or four. The course has been designed by experienced adventure racers, but will be set for a range of abilities, from beginners to expert. The winners of the Katoa Po Explorer event will be able to receive a special coaching session from Gene Beveridge – one of NZ’s adventure racing/orienteering gurus.

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 Carswell always brings lots of high-powered headlamps which light up the night (we can loan you a torch). Better still, no-one fails, as all competitors score points for their team (there are time penalties for missed checkpoints but no disqualifications). The relays don’t actually last all night- usually all completed just after midnight.
 Stay and camp at the event 35 minutes out of Taupo and compete in a fun rogaine event on the Sunday morning. Please contact Trevor Carswell if you have any questions about running for a NWOC relay team: trevnallie@gmail.com.  Entries online as above.


5.NZOC2021 New Zealand Orienteering Champs – hosted by NWOC.

The Nationals (NZOC2021) at Easter are getting close, and the dedicated NZOC2021 team is working out the remaining details at full speed.

If you have not entered yet, please do not wait too long, to avoid having to pay extra. Entry with standard fee entries closes Friday 12 March 2021 at midnight.
Late fee entries close a week later, Friday 19 March 2021, with a 50% late fee added to the standard entries.

The event website is the main source of information for NZOC2021, with previous maps of the embargoed areas and Bulletin 1 available for downloading. There is also a Facebook page
f you wish to participate in online social interaction with your fellow competitors and the event organisers. The final way to get more information directly on your phone screen is by
signing up for the dedicated NZOC2021 newsletter, with previous newsletters available via the  previously mentioned event website.

Four events in one long weekend

Good Friday, 2 April, will start with a Sprint in Long Bay, on Auckland’s North Shore. With specialist urban-sprint setter Renee Beveridge and her mischievous mind, this promises to be a challenge for all abilities.

 The remaining three events all take place on South Head, using two brand-new maps for the Long and Middle, and old favourite for the Relay at Lake Kereta.


Camping 'on site'

With three of the four events scheduled for a compact area on South Head, basic camping ‘on site’ at Leighton’s farm (320 Wilson Road, Helensville) is an option for the duration of the event.
A great option to minimise driving and maximise the time socialising and unwinding with old and newly made orienteering friends. Camping is available from Friday night after the Sprint
event (2 April) until and including Sunday night (4 April). Camping costs are $12 per person per night. Leighton’s Farm has basic facilities: six toilets and four showers, and one big tent for shelter, but no electricity or cooking facilities.

Leighton’s farm is a 450-acre deer farm, with perfect flat areas for camping. Native kanuka trees provide shade, while deer and turkey roam free. Unfortunately, this means that there are NO DOGS or other pets allowed on site.

If you are interested in the Leighton’s Farm camping option, please indicate this while registering for the event online (under ’Merchandise’), or add your camping wishes later.

Covid and Camping

Organising an event this size is no small undertaking, and is made more difficult in times of Covid. We are continuing to plan for this event at Alert Level 1, with contingency plans for Alert Level 2. More information about Covid-19 and NZOC2021, including the Covid-19 plan developed in close consultation with ONZ, can be found here.

In the original plan, camping at Leighton’s Farm would not be permitted at Alert Level 2 (gatherings up to 100 people). In consultation with ONZ, the NWOC exec has decided to offer camping at Level 2 up to a maximum of 100 people in total.

In the event that more than 100 people are booked to camp and the Auckland region is at Alert Level 2, camping will be restricted to the first 100 people registered to camp, “first registered, first served”. Refunds will be offered to those who have booked, but can no longer camp due to gathering restrictions. When planning to camp, please make sure you have a back-up plan.

Parakai Springs

The hot pools at Parakai Springs are only 20 minutes’ drive away. All NZOC2021 participants can access Parakai Springs at a 50% discount for the duration of the weekend, by mentioning you are taking part in the National Orienteering Champs. A great way to relax sore muscles!

Volunteers and container-hoarders?

A big THANK YOU to club-members who have already volunteered their time and expertise for a variety of roles – if you would like to be part in making the 2021 Nationals a great success, please contact Annemarie on NZOC2021@gmail.com. All offers of help are very welcome!

For the Sprint event, we are unable to secure tents into the ground with pegs. As a result, we need A LOT of 2-3-4 litre empty containers (like the ones used for milk / washing powder / oil, with a handle), which can be filled with sand or water and subsequently tied to tent corners. Please start saving up your plastic containers: these can be dropped off at 20 Highwood Grove in Torbay, or bring them to the upcoming Riverhead Orienteering Weekend.

We need heaps of them, so please start collecting!

6.Club membership for 2021

If you are a past/ current club member all you need to do is pay your annual membership online to the club bank account (03-0243-0247251-000) with your name and 2021 subs as the reference.  If it is a while since you have updated your membership details, it is a good idea to log into your club account and update details such as your mobile phone number and Sport Ident details if applicable.  Contact Lisa (mead10b@gmail.com) if you cannot remember your log in details.

If you are new to North West O Club then you can register online as a new member here or at https://www.nwoc.org.nz/registration/

Junior membership $20
Adult $60
Couple $100
Family $120
Over 65 years/Unwaged $20)

7.New members

Welcome to new club members Ella Hutcheson and Oliver Braun. We look forward to catching up with you in the forest soon!

8.Godzone 2021

Godzone is one of the most challenging of New Zealand’s team expedition adventure races and it comes to the North Island for the first time in March 2021.  While fitness, endurance and team dynamics all play an important part, success also depends on decisive, accurate navigation and map reading skills. The South Island’s Chris Forne has long been a key ingredient in the success of leading teams and Nathan Fa’avae, one of New Zealand’s top adventure races is now a keen orienteer, along with his whole family.  Alongside Nathan and Chris Forne, North West member, Stuart Lynch is also a key member of top New Zealand teams, including winning multiple Adventure Racing World championship titles. The three of them, together with Sophie Hart, make up hot favourite Team Avaya.

A number of other orienteers are competing in Godzone, including former NWOC members Tom Reynolds and Matt Jeans in Ataraxia-Macpac and Anne Gray in team Mainline with Confidence.

Live-tracking this event is addictive! Follow them from 5 March  here .