Hello everyone

After months without formal orienteering, there are events every weekend to choose from! North West has held two events in Riverhead Forest, a contingent of club members travelled to the Manawatu for the long delayed National Champs, the North Island Secondary School Champs took place in Tuakau/Waiuku Forest and there will be great events each weekend up to 6 December.

Huge thanks to all club members who have helped/ will help at our events - volunteers are key to club events and it is a good way to meet new people and learn new skills. 

NWOC has two more club events before the end of November, an Auckland Series forest event at Slater Road and our final rogaine - plus there is the Northern Region Champs this weekend and the Auckland inter-club relays on Saturday 14 November. See details of how to register for the relays below – NWOC will pay the entry fee for all club members.

Please can you bring your 2019 trophies along to the next NWOC club event – we will have a box at registration to collect these. 

The NWOC Club Champs are back!
The club committee had previously decided not to hold NW Club Champs this Covid-interrupted year.  However, Auckland Orienteering Club will now be hosting an Auckland Orienteering Series event in Woodhill Forest on 06 December, thus enabling all NWOC members to compete.

We will have our annual AGM, prize-giving and club End-of-the Year dinner at Coatesville Settlers’ Hall on Sunday 06 December, after the AOS event at Mushroom Road.  There will once again be a prize-giving, we are planning some fun activities and the chance to get together with orienteering friends.  The club will provide dessert and we will be sending out an invitation with more details in the coming weeks.

We also plan to showcase the results of our course-setting competition. Course-setting is an integral part of orienteering events and we are keen for more members to have a taste of what’s involved, without the pressure of it being an actual event! There is still time to get your entries into Renee.

Thank you to Annemarie for the great action photos.
 

Stay safe and I hope to see you in the forest soon!

Kia kaha,

Lisa Mead
NWOC Club president

people all of us have been committed to

1. Events Calendar
2. Auckland Inter-club Relays – enter now
3. Event reports
4. Slater Road
5. Rogaine #2
6. Club member profile – Johan Kvasnicka
7. Training and podcastsNWOC Club Champs
8. Club social, AGM and course setting competition
9. NWOC Club Champs

1. Events Calendar
November
              Sat 07    CMOC Auckland/ Northern Region Champs- Sprint (Wesley College, Paerata) & Middle
                             Distance at Kohekohe (Awhitu Peninsula). Pre-entry closed.
              Sun 08   CMOC  Northern Region Champs -Long at Plantation Forest, Maramarua. Pre-entry.
              Thu 12   AOC Summernav Cornwall Park, Haydn Ave from 5.30pm.
              Sat 14     AOC Inter-club Relays –Epsom Campus 2pm. Enter by 11 November - details below.  
              Sun15    NWOC AOS6 Slater Road Forest event. Entries now open on EnterO or here:
              Thu 19   AOC Summernav Churchill Park
              Sun 22  Whangarei O Club Mimiwhangata Coastal Park rogaine. This event on a brand new map is
                            sponsored by the Department of Conservation – free entry. Registration from 9.30am, start
                            11.00am – end 12.30pm.
                            Details and entry form: https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/150064
              Wed 25 AOC Summernav Auckland Domain Rotunda
              Sun 29   NWOC Rogaine – Te Rau Puriri Regional Park 90 minutes- event for teams or individuals
              Please note NO dogs at Te Rau Puriri as this is a farm park with sheep and friendly cattle.
              Entries are now open on enterO : https://entero.co.nz/evento.php?eventName=rogaine-2020

December
             Wed 02  AOC Summernav   Hamlins Hill
             Sun 06    AOC AOS event Mushroom Road, Woodhill
             Sun 06   NWOC AGM and social dinner at Coatesville Settlers Hall from 5.00pm
             Tue 08    AOC Summernav   Unitec Mt Albert Campus
             Tue 15   AOC Summernav    Ambury Regional Park

AOS = Auckland Orienteering Series – events generally have 9 courses of varying lengths and difficulty.
AOC= Auckland O Club, CMOC = Counties Manukau O Club

2. Auckland Inter-club Relays – Epsom Campus, St Andrews Road entrance. 
Saturday 14 November 2020, hosted by Auckland Orienteering Club
Registration open from 13:00; briefing at 13:45
First start 14:00 (2.00pm).

Teams are made up of 3 members and must be mixed: 1 male, 2 females OR 1 female, 2 males.
Our expert relay team selector, Allan, will select NWOC teams from all club members who sign up for the event. All entrants must be financial club members – NWOC will pay the entry fees for the relay.

There are 4 age grades and we need as a minimum, at least one team from each age grade to qualify for the trophy.
Young’uns (MW10 – MW12) White and Yellow course runners
Junior (MW14 – MW18)
Open (MW20 – MW40)
Master (MW50+)

Points will be determined by placings in each grade: 10 points for 1^st down to 1 point for 10^th. Only the club’s highest point score in each grade will count.
Format will be 3 sequential legs of approximately equal lengths in a sprint format with a winning time of between 12 and 15 minutes per leg.
NWOC can provide club Ecards/ Ident sticks for members who do not have their own.

Please enter by Wednesday 11 November by filling in the google form ( Name, grade, Age, Contact details): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1W03sIbirER7FnEYevbe-Z8LXHweDeBEPwOlZ9M5ni4E/edit#gid=0  or email Lisa at mead10b@gmail.com.

This year the event features a multi-level carpark to add a multi-dimensional twist to the courses. Please read the relay bulletin.
This is always a friendly, fun day – all members are welcome!

3. Event Reports
The North Island Secondary Schools Champs took place on the weekend of 17/18 October, with a sprint at Tuakau College and the long distance race in Waiuku Forest, with the terrain made tricky with abundant pampas/cutty grass.

There were some great NWOC results with Charlotte Spence taking 2^nd place in both the Year 7/8 Girls sprint and the forest champs; Taiga Kato was 3^rd in the Intermediate Boys sprint; Cara Bradding was 6^th in the very competitive Senior Girls sprint and 5^th in the forest champs.

The standout performance was Cameron Bonar’s win in the forest champs over long-time friend and rival Will Tidswell of Hawkes Bay. It was great to see the good sportsmanship on display.

Big thumbs up for Devon Beckman and Cameron de L'Isle, getting the technical stuff up and running at very short notice. Cameron set up a parallel timing system to CMOC OE (with radio controls and OLynx Live, so everybody could follow the results on their mobile phones), with Devon doing what he does best - highly entertaining commentary.

If you missed out on the North Island Secondary Schools, you can catch-up on some of the action. The excellent vlog created by the StreamShop has been loaded onto Sky Sport Next.
Saturday 17th October | Tuakau College watch here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmTYi8netKo
Sunday 18th October | Waiuku Forest: watch here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5uFxmHBcC0

National Orienteering Championship 2020 – hosted by Wellington Orienteering Club
The long-awaited champs took place over a perfect long weekend and delivered quality orienteering in forest terrain that demanded precision and concentration from competitors.  This was finally the chance to catch up with orienteering friends from around New Zealand to enjoy excellent course setting and smooth event organisation after a season so disrupted by Covid19.
Saturday’s Parewanui map featured quite vague, gentle contours, confusing many orienteers right from the start triangle, while the middle distance courses on the Osgiliath map provided tight orienteering on the coastal strip (dodging spiky macrocarpa tree branches) with myriad small depressions and some spaghetti-like Woodhill style contours.

The relay was spread over two very flat school campuses and the Levin showgrounds with the finish in front of the grandstand. No hiding from your mistakes here – in fact the terrain and pace was fast and furious, tricking a number of (nameless) runners into mis-punching.

Racing in the Men’s elite grade was very competitive with former club members Matt Ogden and Thomas Reynolds having very successful weekends while Cameron de L'Isle was also in the top half dozen in each race.

NWOC orienteers collected their fair share of medals and trophies, with special kudos to Nick Harris for taking out first place in M45 in all three races, including the sprint.

Congratulations to all NWOC medallists:

M12A Tahi Harris 3^rd Long distance
M20A Cameron Bonar 2^nd Long distance, 3^rd Sprint
M21E Matt Ogden (Nelson/ NWOC) 1^st Long distance,2^nd Sprint;  Cameron de L'Isle 4^th Long distance
M40AS Andrew Bell 3^rd Long distance, 1^st Middle distance
M40B  Jan Jager 3^rd Long distance, 2^nd Middle distance
M45A Nick Harris 1^st  Long distance, 1^st Middle distance, 1^st Sprint
M55A Mark Lawson 1^st Long distance, 1^st Middle distance
M60A Geoff Mead 1^st Long distance, 1^st Middle distance, 3^rd Sprint
M70A Dave Middleton 1^st Long distance, 1^st Middle distance
MW10 Easy Quinn Harris 1^st Long distance,2^nd Middle distance  Lauren Harris 3^rd Long distance

W40B Annemarie Hogenbirk 3^rd Long distance
W50A Marquita Gelderman 1^st Long distance, 1^st Middle distance
W60A Pip Poole 2^nd Long distance, 1^st Sprint
W60A Lisa Mead 1^st Middle distance, 2^nd Sprint

4. Upcoming NWOC event! Slater Road forest - Auckland Orienteering Series event 15 November 2020

"The terrain is a combination of steep hills and patches of complex sand dune features covered in mature pine forest. Areas of leafy undergrowth significantly reduce visibility, while most of the forest retains very high visibility and good runnability. A network of mountain bike tracks completes this exciting area."

Course Planner: Johan Kvasnicka. Controller: Gene Beveridge.
Start times 10-00am – 12.30pm. Details: https://www.nwoc.org.nz/events/56958
Please pre-enter this event using EnterO – https://entero.co.nz/evento.php?eventName=aos5-2020.
This is a NWOC event so don’t be shy about offering to help out on the day. Contact Rob Garden: rgmg@xtra.co.nz

5. Rogaine Series 2020
Many thanks to John Barrett and Darren Gosse for their work in planning and controlling the first 2020 rogaine. Also to Kay Knightbridge for coordinating the helpers, and to Annemarie Hogenbirk and Jan Jager for their expertise with the technology. And thanks to everyone who helped out on the day! Great to see all our coaches in hot demand and sharing their knowledge and tips before the rogaine.

While the numbers were down on previous rogaines (competing events, student exams, Auckland marathon on the same day…), we were treated to an interesting course with some tight checkpoints in a mix of native bush and plantation pine forest.

North West club member Gene Beveridge has put together a great educational tutorial called Leg By Leg where he interviews Nick Harris, one of the top place getters from the day to get an insight into how he planned and executed his route. It's a great learning tool and well worth the watch. You can find it here

The next and final event in the series for this year is on Sunday 29th November at Te Rau Puriri Regional Park. This beautiful park is located near the top of the South Head peninsula, past Parakai and is a stunning area right on the Kaipara Harbour. The event centre is right near the beach and should be good for a post-race swim and picnic. Please leave your canine friends at home for this second rogaine, as this is a farm park.
There is a walk from the event centre/ finish area to the start point in the centre of the map, offering lots of route choice and a great variety of control sites.

If you haven't already entered, you can do so online at www.rogaineseries.co.nz.

Many thanks to Borich Orchards and Bivouac Outdoors for their on-going support with sponsorship and prizes. Make sure to visit them in store or online at www.bivouac.co.nz for any of your outdoor clothing and equipment needs and https://www.boricfoodmarket.co.nz/ for a great selection of fresh foods and fruit.

6. Interview with NWOC club member Johan Kvasnicka

Johan entered the inaugural NWOC course-setting competition in 2018 and this month is course planner for the upcoming event at Slater Road. Johan missed the first rogaine at Riverhead last weekend in order to compete in the ASB Auckland Marathon, posting an impressive time of just 02:51:48.

17. Tell us a bit about yourself
    A. I'm 30 years old and have lived in Auckland all my life. I grew up in Greenhithe on the North Shore and went to Westlake Boys' High School where I first got into running, specializing in the 100 meters on the track. After high school I did a BE (hon) in Chemical and Materials Engineering at The University of Auckland. I now live in Hobsonville Point and work nearby.

Q. Number of years orienteering?
A. Six

Q. How were you introduced to orienteering?
A. My boss at work had been to the Riverhead Rogaine in 2014. He was selling it to everyone in the lunchroom. I checked out the event online and it looked really exciting. On that day, Cam Tier had just managed to outrun Gene to the finish. Follow this link to rewatch: 

As fate would have it, I'd just purchased a GPS watch with the intention of beginning to run regularly again. I showed up to the second Rogaine which was on the Turkey Ridge map and absolutely loved it! I was motivated to get fit so that I could enjoy orienteering even more. Follow this link to see my first ever event:.

Q. Key orienteering achievements to date?
A. When you first start at 24 years old in the open mens' category, it's hard to have many notable orienteering achievements. Sometimes I get a fluent run in; I think I got 1150/1200 in the last Rogaine :)

Q. Current orienteering project or goal?
A. I've just set the courses for the Slater Road event coming up. Under the expert guidance of Gene Beveridge, we iterated through various start positions and dozens of course concepts to come up with a set of courses that we think you will enjoy. I'm really looking forward to executing this event successfully and getting feedback.

Q. Favourite map and why?
A. The Waitarere Forest map in Palmerston North. I prefer fast flowing white forest maps with good visibility.

Q. Map you have yet to experience but aspire to orienteer on?
A. I'd like to experience the orienteering scene and terrain in Sweden one day.

Q. Orienteering heroes?
A. Cameron Tier and Gene Beveridge.

Q. Day job?
A. I've worked full time for the last 9 years as a 'Research Engineer' for a startup in Albany. I work in a fabrication lab, inventing, prototyping and testing a variety of new products.

Q. Other interests?
A. Numerous. In general, I derive a lot of energy advocating for health and fitness, so orienteering is a good fit in that respect. I run most days with the North Harbour Bays athletics club. Recently I ran the Auckland Marathon and am looking forward to running the Kepler Challenge next month.

7.Training
Gene Beveridge has produced several excellent podcasts and training videos. These leg by leg analyses of actual orienteering courses are really interesting. Recent interviews are with Will Tidswell (NISS sprint) and Anna Duston (NISS forest final); Gene takes them through their courses in detail, discussing techniques and route choice options – highly recommended, especially for beginner orienteers, but also anyone who competed at this event.
https://www.orienteering.org.nz/coaching/leg-by-leg-7/

https://www.orienteering.org.nz/coaching/leg-by-leg-8/

8. Club End of the Year Dinner/Prizegiving & AGM 06 December 2020

Don’t miss the social event of the NWOC year!
You can orienteer in the club champs in Woodhill Forest in the morning and then ditch your sweaty gear and come along to our AGM and annual club dinner and social evening at Coatesville Settlers Hall.

Either come at 5.00pm for the AGM or 5.30pm for the social function. Invitations to the AGM and club dinner will be sent soon.

This evening is also an opportunity to volunteer to help with our club events in 2021- from course planning to helping out on the day. Volunteering feels good (there is research to support this) and you will love seeing people of all ages enjoying our sport, learn new skills and make new friends. ex the Exec are busy

Course setting competition
Fancy having a go at setting an orienteering course? Need a distraction from looming exams? Do we have an opportunity for you!

The NWOC course-setting competition is suitable for any levels of experience, even if you have never set a course before.

Take a break from study, brush up your course-setting skills or learn some new ones by designing three courses – the entries will be displayed and the winner will be announced at our club dinner on 6 December.

The North West Orienteering Club Course Setting Competition 2020.

It’s back again! In 2018, NWOC organised a Course Setting Competition, which hadn’t been done in a long time. Many people joined in and created a range of courses on a map that most hadn’t seen before, let alone experienced.

While normally you wouldn’t want to put in all the effort to set courses and not actually hold the event, it can still be a fun exercise where you can do whatever you want without moving from the couch.

The map you will be setting on this year is called The Slump. It is a detailed farmland map in Hawkes Bay. This map was used for a chasing start event in the 2013 World Orienteering Cup. There are areas of cliffs and boulders, as well as a multitude of tracks, fences, and small areas of pine forest. As well as a pew ponds scattered around.

Before you start:
Download and install the free course setting software, PURPLE PEN from here.

 It literally takes a few seconds and you are away. Please download this onto a Windows computer. However, if you only have a MAC, there are instructions on the websites home screen about how to download and use it on a MAC.

 Download the Purple Pen event file and the Background (The Slump) map  here  https://cdn.revolutionise.com.au/news/1yaijptrngjmltt2.pdf ., which opens to a google drive folder with the necessary files. Put the downloaded Purple Pen event file and Background map files into a folder on your desktop that you can work out of and save your work to. Open the Purple Pen file, and the background map should already be loaded in as the background map. THEN START PLOTTING!!

 If you are a bit unsure about how to work Purple Pen and don’t want to read a massive instructions guideline, click here  to watch a Youtube tutorial. There are multiple Youtube tutorials, so if you don’t like this one, just search for another.

Course Setting Competition:
For this competition you must set three courses; a long red course 6-8km, an orange course 4-6km and a yellow course 3-4km. You can put the event centre, start, and finish wherever you want, and you have total freedom to have pivot controls, run-throughs, taped legs, and anything else you can think of.

Then describe each of your courses; why you set them that way, what you think the highlights of each course are, the most difficult legs, and any challenges you had setting these courses.

Judging Criteria:
A subset of the NWOC executive committee will be judging your courses. You will be expected to set each course in accordance to ONZs rules regarding what red, orange, and yellow should be. However, do not be afraid to make bold and challenging decisions.

Different aspects that the panel will be looking at will be: Course shape, route choice, variety in leg length and change in direction, appropriate difficulty, and special factors that would be important if this was to be at an actual event; e.g, Finish being visible to spectators or a spectator leg.

For guidance on difficulty levels, read the ONZ guidelines here.

Submitting your courses:
Once you have exported your courses to a PDF, email them and a blurb for each course to me (Renee) at Rabeo22@hotmail.com. Please submit entries by 25 November.

If you have any questions, flick me an email!

Each course will be showcased at the annual NWOC prize giving and we will award prizes and someone will become our new reigning NWOC 2020 course planner of the year!

9. North West Orienteering Club champs 2020 – 06 December 2020.

Trophies are up for grabs in the 2020 NWOC club champs which will be held in conjunction with the final AOS event for the year at Mushroom Road map in Woodhill Forest on 6 December. The table below shows the grade/ course you should compete in to be eligible for a club trophy. Please keep an eye on the NWOC website for further event details in due course.

Stay safe and I hope to see you in the forest soon!