Message from President Gene Beveridge

Kia ora all, I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday period and I’m excited to welcome you all back to a new season with NWOC, the best club in the country! The local calendar this year should stoke some fresh enthusiasm with a more focused Auckland Series for both forest and sprint orienteering later in the year, but first we’re looking toward NZ Champs. Not everyone will travel to NZ Champs, but we can all share the momentum of upskilling together at the early-season Build Up events. These will be a great chance to practise orienteering in a low pressure setting and reconnect with the community.

Newsletter Contents

• Calendar of Events in Auckland for 2023
• First NWOC Events for 2023
  • Build-Up Sprint Rosmini
  • Build-Up Forest event, Riverhead
• Katoa Po
• Taranaki Turkey Trot
• Schools Orienteering - Auckland Secondary Schools Sprint Series
• North West Membership Fees now due
• Member News
• Keep your brain working
• 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. 

First NWOC Events for 2023

Build-Up* Sprint Rosmini - Sunday 12 February

Start the 2023 season with a sprint - a great way to get your brain back in the zone for map reading! Note sprint orienteering doesn't necessarily mean you have to sprint - walking is allowed!  

• Start times between 10am and 12 midday. 
• There will be 3 courses offering something for all abilities: Long/Difficult; Moderate; Easy.  
• Pre-entry is required - enter here

Map snippet right is indicative only.

Build-Up* Forest event, Riverhead -Sunday 26 February

We return to Robinson Road, Riverhead for the first forest event of 2023. 
Riverhead Forest offers an area of pine forest and some native bush. Complex, detailed spur/gully terrain.  Some new tracks have been created especially for this event.  

Seven courses will be offered
- White          Very easy
- Yellow          Easy
- Orange        Moderate
- Red 1,2 & 3 Technical, challenging courses for more experienced orienteers
- Purple          Technical but less physically challenging course aimed at older orienteers

Red courses offer challenging, technical orienteering.   

White/ Yellow and Orange courses make greater use of tracks and easier terrain.

• Start times are between 10am to 12:00 midday. If you would like to do more than one course - please ensure you restart before 12:00 midday. 
• Course closure is 2pm. Please plan your start time to ensure you return to the finish by course closure time.
• Pre-entry will be required for this event and will open soon on Enter O.

More details to come about both these events on our North West website and our Facebook & Instagram pages.

*Build-up events refer to events scheduled in the period January to March of any year that are designed to help newcomers to orienteering find their feet and club orienteers prepare for Nationals at Easter. This is part of a new strategy developed by the three Auckland clubs designed to improve the way the Auckland calendar engages participants. The main idea guiding the construction of the 2023 calendar is a progression of competitiveness throughout the season. Refer to the North West December 2022 newsletter for more details here

Gate-Keeper Required

At the Riverhead event on Sunday 26 February we need someone to be on gate duty at the Robinson Road entrance to prevent non-orienteers from entering the forest in cars. We will pay someone $25 per hour to be gate security from 8am to about 3pm.

If you would like to be the gate keeper please email us at northwestorienteering@gmail.com

Member Help Needed Please

We need help from all members please for these and all other events that North West will host this year.  There are many opportunities to get involved from course planning to helping set up the event centre - there is a lot to be learned from doing so no matter what role you have. Plus you also get to meet and know Club Members - we’re a friendly bunch!

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

Schools Orienteering - Auckland Secondary Schools Sprint Series

The Auckland Schools Sprint Series is a 5 week series within each of the five regions of Auckland and is open for years 7-8 students and secondary school students.  The series starts in the week beginning 13 February and culminates in an Auckland Regional Final on 26 March (2 events on one day) for the top students qualifying from each region.
For those new to orienteering and wanting to give it a go, the Auckland Schools Sprint Series is a great way to get started and to try orienteering. The courses are through school grounds and generally not too difficult.  More info here 

Katoa Po - Saturday 11 & Sunday 12 March

The Katoa Po Explorer is a 4½ hour rogaine in three 90 minute parts, to be run over farmland and forest near Taupo on 11 and 12 March 2023.  

Two parts are run in the dark on Saturday night, and the last in daylight on Sunday morning, with free camping at the event centre in between.   The night rogaine is run alongside the annual orienteering night relays, and in addition there will be sprint events in Taupo on the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

More information here     

North West will enter teams in the night relay event and pay entry fees for these teams.  In the past members have travelled together to Taupo for a fun weekend.  If you're interested in being in a team, email us at northwestorienteering@gmail.com

Taranaki Turkey Trot - Saturday 18 February 

Back after 14 years the Taranaki Turkey Trot with a Twist arrives on Saturday 18 February.

Featuring a choice of 3 long courses (ranging from 7 to 17 km and we're told the long course will have more than 80 controls!)  It is a mass start, but embedded into the courses are a series of short sprints, which will test your legs and resolve.  These will form an additional competition -  the TURKEY KING & QUEEN of Sprints.  For the Open grade (Course 1) there will be a $100 prize each for the TURKEY ROYALTY .
More info here
 

North West Membership Fees for 2023 are due now 

NWOC membership rates are unchanged for 2023 and are due now please.

And as in 2022, we are again offering a combined deal of club membership/rogaine entry fee that offers good savings for those who love our rogaine series.  (We have 3 rogaines planned for 2023.) The new combo deal means you effectively get free entry to one rogaine – plus all the benefits of club membership.

To ensure you get members’ rates at all orienteering events, please pay your fee as soon as possible. Existing members can simply credit the club bank account (WESTPAC Account 03-0243-0247251-000 and include your name in the reference field.) No need to log in or re-register. Those selecting the membership/rogaine combo deal will receive a credit voucher before the start of the rogaine series.

Member News

Congratulations to North West Life Member, Matt Ogden who won The Goat Adventure Run at Tongariro on Saturday 21 January.  Described as a gruelling run across 20km of mountainous terrain with multiple ascents, descents, twists, and turns, Matt finished in 02:01:18. Congratulations Matt. 

And special mention to North West Member, Shaun Collins who recently took on The Revenant.  Described as an Ultra Adventure Run, competitors have 60 hours to complete the course of approximately 200km with 16,000m-ish of vertical ascent. Unsupported i.e no technology is allowed on course, so no phones, no GPS, no watches, Shaun missed a compulsory cut off time meaning sadly his race was over.  Shaun has entered The Revenant previously and is one of only 5 people to have completed it.  

Read more here 

Keep your brain working - new research describes orienteering as ‘very much a sport for life’.

Read the full article here 

New Members

A warm welcome to new member Holly Edmonds.