President’s introduction

Kia ora all. The season is cranking now with multiple events each week! I'd like to thank our recent event organisers Cormac Gray, Thomas Stolberger and Lisa Mead and the leaders of our recent training days Geoff Mead and Renee Beveridge. This was Cormac's first time course setting and I hope he learned a lot and the process has helped improve his orienteering skills too.

Newsletter Contents

• Auckland Calendar of Events 
  • Sunday 30 March at Robinson Road
  • Sunday 13 April at Whites Line, Woodhill Forest
• Club Nights
• Key events coming up around New Zealand in 2025
  • NZ Champs
• Schools Orienteering
  • AKSS Sprint Series - Finals Day
  • NZSS Rogaine Champs
• North West's Bivouac Outdoor Rogaine Series 2025
• Graze NZ - a new sponsor of North West Club
• Member News
  • Congratulations to Members
  • NWOC Training Day
  • Calling All Volunteers
  • Club Membership Fees due now
  • North West Club shirts
  • New Members

Auckland Calendar of Events 

For the first three months of 2025, we are in the early season phase of the Auckland Events Calendar. This is when school events start and club orienteers are getting themselves ready for NZ Champs to be held over Easter.  

Events coming up soon are:

• Sunday 30 March, Robinson Road, Riverhead Forest, hosted by North West Club.

Event details are here Pre-entry is preferred; please enter here

Note entry paying standard fees closes at 11:59pm on Wednesday 26 March.  
Entry fees increase after this time and close finally at 11.59pm on Friday 28 March. Limited on-the-day entry will be available depending on the availability of maps.

A special note about this event

This will be the last event on the older sections of this Robinson Road map as the forest is being commercial harvested and this is our last chance to use it!  This is a well-loved map that has been used for many events previously, including JWOC trials. The leafy forest is green and steep in some places and in others there are numerous gullies and creeks. Wherever you are the birdlife abounds – watch out for piwakawakas, ruru and more!  

Our Event Planner, Andrew de L’Isle and Controller, Paul Ireland, have spent many hours scoping the forest to provide the best possible courses and have created some new tracks for the yellow and white courses.  The event will provide a good warm-up for Nationals.

Riverhead Training Map

For anyone with some spare time  at the weekends between now and Easter, who wants to practice their orienteering skills in Riverhead, there are some flags out in the forest and a corresponding training map here. The flags are in the Barlow Road area; the opposite side of Riverhead to this Sunday's event at Robinson Road. 

• Sunday 13 April, Whites Line, Woodhill Forest, hosted by North West Club.

Event details are here Pre-entry is preferred; please enter here

Club Nights

Gene Beveridge is leading a series of club nights open to all members and non members. We expect these to be well attended by AOC and NWOC members. Each club night will have a main topic. 

• 26 March - School Sprint Series recap and sprint navigation analysis.
  • 6:30 for jog.
  • 7:00pm to 8:30 for indoor session. 
  • St George's Scout Hall, 13 Griffin Avenue, Epsom

Other Auckland events

All upcoming events in the wider Auckland area for 2025 will be added to our NWOC website here  New Zealand wide events are on Orienteering New Zealand’s website here

Key events coming up around NZ

New Zealand Orienteering Champs 2025

Nationals 2025 will be held in Canterbury over Easter weekend, Friday 18 to Monday 21 April and will include 4 events (Sprint, Middle, Long, Relay), one each day.  The NZOC website has all the information on Nationals 2025.

Note - Standard entry fees are available until Monday 31st March 2025. From Tuesday 1 April, late entry fees apply until the close of entries on Wednesday 9 April.

Schools Orienteering

AKSS Sprint Series 

The 2025 AKSS Sprint series has been running since mid-February with weekly events held in 5 zones across Auckland. This week is the last week; Finals Day is on Sunday 6 April. See Finals Day details here.  

New Zealand Secondary Schools Rogaine Championship

For those who don't qualify for the AKSS Sprint Finals, Orienteering Waikato is hosting the New Zealand Secondary Schools Rogaine Championship on the same day - Sunday 6 April. 

The event will be held at Waikoha Station, north west of Hamilton. Waikoha Station is a large sheep and beef farm. The map includes open farmland, native bush, pine trees, scattered rocks, steep hills and great views of Mt Pirongia and the surrounding countryside.

The event is 4 hours and is open to all secondary school students. There are also 2, 4 and 8 hour options available for non-school students. The 8 hour event also doubles as the NZ Short Course Rogaine Championship. 

Event Details here Enter here  Entries close Wednesday 2 April.

North West Bivouac Outdoor Rogaine Series 2025

Our annual North West Bivouac Outdoor Rogaine Seriesrogaine series is back again for 2025. Three 90 minute Foot Rogaine Events will be held on:

• Sunday 18 May, Riverhead Forest
• Sunday 25 May, Hucks Avenue, Woodhill Forest
• Sunday 8 June, Grass Track Road, Woodhill Forest

Sunmday 8 June event will double as the Auckland Secondary Schools Rogaine Champs. Students will start earlier at 10.15 - registration for students will be earlier too. Entry for Rogaine 3 for Year 7-8 students will be via a separate entry form on enterO. Years 9-13 students will enter via Auckland College Sport. 

All event info is available on our North West website here 

New Sponsor for North West Club

We are thrilled to announce Graze as a new sponsor of North West Club events. Graze are generously gifting us products from their Skinny Dipped Range to give away at our upcoming events. Think "crunchy roasted almonds, peanuts or cashews, thinly coated in delicious chocolate with a whisper of dustings" - these snacks are divine. A big thanks to Graze for their wonderful support. 

Member News

NZ Team for European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) 2025

Katoa Po - North West wins the Night Relay

Cargo Plus Coastal Challenge

Calling All Volunteers - Your Help Makes a Difference!

We’re reaching out to request your support in making our upcoming club events successful and enjoyable for everyone. Volunteering at these events is a great way to contribute to the club, meet fellow members, and have a little fun in the process!

The best part? There’s a role to suit everyone’s abilities, and the tasks are designed to be quick and manageable, leaving you plenty of time to still enjoy your run. Whether it’s lending a hand with setup, parking, at the start, collecting a few controls, or tidying up after the event, your help will be deeply appreciated.  And you won't be alone with some jobs, we'll buddy you up with an experienced club member.

What's even better, you'll receive a voucher entitling you to run for free at the next NWOC event! 

If you're available to assist, please add your name here, or email us at northwestorienteering@gmail.com or get in touch with the respective event coordinator, details below.

Together, we can ensure our events are a resounding success!

March 30    Riverhead Forest     Trevor Carswell    trevor@guard.co.nz   028 435 2713

April 13       Woodhill Forest       Pip Poole           p.poole@xtra.co.nz  

May 18        Rogaine #1            Tbc - any volunteers?!

May 25        Rogaine #2            Lisa Mead           mead10b@gmail.com

June 08        Rogaine #3            Jenny Cade         jjcadenz@gmail.com 

We also require help for the Year 7/8 Interzone Final to be held on Wednesday 14 May at Moire Park.  Roles include helping at the start, at registration and with timing. No experience required for registration and start help - all will be explained! If you can help please email us at northwestorienteering@gmail.com

North West Membership Fees for 2025 are due now 

NWOC membership fees remain unchanged for 2025 and are due NOW please. Thanks to those who have paid already. 

And as in the last couple of years, 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 2025.) The 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 NWOC's 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.

North West Club shirts

We have stock of short sleeved Bryzos brand club shirts.    

The shirts have short sleeves, mesh side panels and a short neck zip in the club's distinctive colours. Cost $65 per shirt - details under Shop on our website.

Get in now and purchase yours while stocks last.

To order, contact Lisa Mead mead10b@gmail.com. 

New Members

A warm welcome to all our new members - Lochlan, Miles & Nicole Blackwood; Austen, Conrad, Grant & Melissa Brunton; Carmen Chen; Nadia Corkery; Sabrina & Spenser Dewe; Dev Darji; Zion Feng; Alexandre Gangloff; Janey Gibbons; Anna Henwood; Martin, Rylan & Sarah Hill; Viggo Karlsson; Ryan & Sarah Li; Claire Liu; Joshua Miller; Maria & Niamh Mills; Pauline Rundle; Arietty Smith-Godoy; Cynthia Su; Bella & Sophie Sun; Harper, Hunter & Kylie Tipene; Milton Wang; Lavender Wei; Yudi Wu; Doris Xiao; Yu Ying Xu; Alice Yan; Kenneth Zong.

We hope to see lots of members at an event soon.