Australian Orienteering Team

Beechworth 2012 elite training camp

2012-01-15T12:18:00.001+11:00

The first elite training camp for 2012 was held around Beechworth in Victoria last week. Sessions were attended by up to 18 people which was a great turn out. The Beechworth region is famous for gold-mining history, a bakery, and plenty of good orienteering terrains. The Christmas 5-days will be held around this region this year from December 27-31 and will be a great lead up for any international orienteers heading down-under for the World Cup races in New Zealand.

Beechworth 2012 photos

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Monday evening- Sprint training at Beechworth's Latrobe University Campus.
This was a rerun of the 2003 Australian Sprint Distance Championships (prior to IOSSM)

Tuesday morning- Kangaroo Crossing

Tuesday evening- Beechworth

4 x 1km intervals, run as a variety of chasing starts.

Wednesday morning- Barambogie North

Relay training with 6km course and some splitting. Really nice forest and some good competition.

Wednesday evening- easy cycle for some, running intervals for some, or getting two stitches in your leg puncture if your name is Bridget.

Thursday morning- Barambogie South

Tough session with 4x 1km courses. First leg was a brutal uphill leg to be run at max effort, followed by 6 or 7 downhill diagonal legs and a good break in between each course.

Thursday evening- Beechworth

Short 3km hagaby around the best parts of the local beechworth map.

Friday morning- Warby Ranges

Route choice exercise run in pairs.

Friday evening- Warby Ranges

Relay training exercise

Saturday morning- Rowdy Flat

Started with a map work over the first part of the men's Oceania Middle Distance course.

First course 2.4km, followed by 2.1km chasing start.

Bruce Arthur's GPS route

Saturday afternoon- for some a relaxing afternoon at the Dederang Picnic races, followed by a 1650m foot race around the track. Congrats to Jasmine Neve and Vanessa Round for placing 1st and 2nd in the women's, and Ratsky for 2nd place in the mens race.

It was a great start to 2012 for the squad, and finished off a tough two weeks a training for those who attended the National Altitude training camp at Falls Creek the prior week. The next event on the national squad list is the Sprint the Bay event in New Zealand which is also followed by a training camp.

Thanks to Jim Russell for his help with the camp, and to Albury Wodonga Orienteering Club and VOA for access to the orienteering maps. The Rowdy Flat and Kangaroo Crossing maps are now embargoed until the Victorian Championships later in 2012.

Australian Elite squad training camp- internationals welcome

2011-11-19T17:09:00.001+11:00

Orienteering Australia is holding an Elite Squad training camp being held from Jan 2-9 based at Beechworth, Victoria. This period is a popular time for European visitors to Australia so if any international orienteers are interested in attending they can contact the organiser below.

For this camp the new “Rowdy Flat” map (used for the Oceania Middle Distance Championships) and the very old “Kangaroo Crossing” area will be amongst the maps utilised. To do so the organisers have been given special permission by Orienteering Victoria, as these areas are being used in September 2012 for Victorian Championship middle and long distance events.

Thus there will be an embargo on both maps mentioned above, which will take place from January 10th 2012. This gives any orienteer the chance to run on these areas until that date.

Additionally, other orienteers are invited to participate at the January camp, especially keen juniors.

For more information on this please contact Rob Preston – rob_preston AT hotmail.com

Sprint the Bay

Also, in February, after the Sprint the Bay carnival (4-6th) in NZ there will be a senior squad training camp from Feb 7-12th. Other keen orienteers, juniors or seniors are also invited to participate in this. For more details contact tour leader Jim Russell - jymbo@dodo.com.au

Event details at www.sprintthebay.org

Crane and Round in Middle Final

2011-08-20T04:03:00.002+10:00

Australian team runners Grace Crane and Vanessa Round had their individual day of reckoning in the forests of La Feclaz today with the 2011 Middle distance final.

After a solid qualification last Sunday they were expecting a tough technical challenge. Grace started early and was the leader through the early TV controls. With a trademark safe start Grace looked set for a top 20 result but mistakes on the tricky 6th and 7th controls cost dearly in a competitive WOC Final with Grace finishing up in an excellent 27th place.

With a strong qualifying position Vanessa started amongst some favoured runners. After a solid start Vanessa was caught by World champion Dana Brozkova and they missed the troublesome 8th control together. But Vanessa stormed home in the hot and tough conditions to finish in 35th place.

Results

Map and GPS Tracks

Relay

Both ladies will be backing up for the Relay tomorrow and they will be joined by Jasmine Neve.

In the men Simon Uppill will lead out, Julian Dent 2nd and Rob Preston will bring the team home.

The Relay is final race of WOC 2011 and is expected to be very technical and could produce some surprising results.

Watch live at:

live.woc2011.fr

Julian Dent 24th in Long Distance Final

2011-08-19T20:23:00.001+10:00

The Long Distance final of the 2011 WOC was the longest in history, with a handful of athletes breaking 2hrs. French favourite Thierry Gueorgiou was a class above the rest of the field, winning by 4mins from Pasi Ikonen (FIN) and Francois Gonon (FRA).

Julian Dent lost time early in the course, on controls 2 and 3, but gathered momentum for the last half of the course to move through the field to finish a credible 24th place in his first Long Distance Final. Below is a copy of Julian’s GPS route, and some photos of the day.

WOC 2011 Sprint Final

2011-08-17T17:17:00.001+10:00

Congrats to our finalists and their great results- Simon 37th, Grace 24th, Rachel 35th.

The final results can be found here- http://live.woc2011.fr/data/uploads/result/rl_woc2011_sprint.pdf

but we are still waiting for the qualification results…..

Below are some photos and video from the final.

Tomorrow is the Long Distance Final at Le Feclaz, where we will all be supporting Julian Dent in his first Long final. Most of the team is heading up early for a crack at the spectator races, a great chance for some relay training.

Sprint Qualification Debacle!!

2011-08-16T22:18:00.001+10:00

This morning’s WOC Sprint Qualifications in Aix-Les-Bains has been shrouded in controversy with large numbers of athletes disqualified for crossing forbidden features.

Simon Uppill had a great run to qualify in his very competitive heat and is the only Aussie man to make the final. Julian Dent and Rob Preston lost a little time and finished outside the top 15. There is some controversy about the final results as Jules and Rob were also listed as disqualified despite not being aware of crossing any forbidden features. Hopefully this will be cleared up later on…

Grace Elson had a pretty clean run and qualified well for the women’s final. Rachel Effeney also had a pretty good run and was originally placed in equal 16th with a Chinese girl, but was reinstated to 14th place after a nail biting wait for Wendy and Rob to come out of the team leaders meeting with final start lists. A great result for Rach at her first WOC, she is excited and relieved to be running the final this afternoon! Mace run well in the first part of the course and was feeling good, but unfortunately lost too much time on a tricky leg towards the end to qualify.

There were 3 areas of infringements;
1. Jumping down an impassable cliff near men’s #5/women’s #4
2. Running through cafeteria’s in the town centre (marked as purple hash)
3. Running through olive green areas near the finish

Apparently 54 women and 41 men crossed the wall, but their results were allowed to stand due to it being unclear where the wall ended. Nor were any people DSQ for crossing an uncrossable crag at no. 3 on the women's.

Starts have supposedly been delayed by 45minutes, and hopefully online coverage can be followed at the WOC2011 live website. It should be an exciting race once things get moving after this mornings kerfuffle! The rest of the team is getting ready to cheer our qualifiers on… GO SIMON, RACH AND GRACE!!!

And here are some pictures of our team from the opening ceremony and parade which was held last night, to a great local turnout!

WOC 2011 Qualification races

2011-08-15T21:55:00.001+10:00

The first race for WOC2011 was the Long Distance Qualifications, with Australia being represented by Julian Dent, Rob Preston, Vanessa Round, Jasmine Neve and Aislinn Prendergast.

The courses were very tough as expected, with the mens winning times much longer than expected. The courses started with some relatively easy to navigate but very physical legs through steep open meadows in the blazing sun, then the second half was through the much slower technical forest.

Julian produced our best result to finish in 13th position in Heat A and qualified for the final. “I was technically I was happy with my run, although I made a small mistake after a steep climb at the end of the long leg. It was physically very challenging…”

Rob was pretty disappointed with his run, particularly selecting a very poor route choice on long leg #5 which cost him a lot of time. He had some good sections in the more technical middle section but made a few more mistakes near the end as he got tired. “The highlight of my race was getting caught, and following Thierry for the final loop of 4 controls. And I repaid a favour to my favourite Swiss Orienteer (and multiple world champion) by showing him where he was at the 2nd last control!”, Rob said.

Jas, Ness and Aislinn had a frustrating day, missing the finals by 8, 24 and 85seconds, in 16, 17 and 18th positions. Vanessa and Jasmine said they were overly cautious but it really became evident that you really need to have a clean and fast run to qualify- qualification really is tough! Jas had some trouble with the difficult longer route choice and made some mistakes on the more technical legs in the forest. Vanessa was well on track to qualify until losing too many vital seconds at the second last control. Aislinn had a really good run, but made one significant mistake on a difficult leg, to just miss out. Overall a great performance for her first WOC, and she can be confident in her ability to qualify.

Julian will run the long final on Thursday.

WOC 2011 Middle Distance Qualifications

Sunday saw competitors back at Les Creusantes for the middle distance qualification. The girls started first, with Jas drawing the very first start block, and Vanessa and Grace following up.

Jas started well, but made two big mistakes at the 4th and the 8th controls. Ness had a screamer and qualified in 8th place. Grace felt that she was bit scrappy overall, but qualified comfortably in 13th.

The boys had excellent runs in some very cut throat heats. Robbie finished in what looked, for most of the day, like a very promising time, but was pushed into 19th place at the end of the day, missing out on a place in the final by just … seconds. Simon ran well but lost vital time on a route choice towards the end and was pushed into 19th place at the end of the day. Both were a bit disappointed- there was really no room for error for qualifying for the men’s races. Julian struggled with illness from the night before. He said he had no energy and felt weak during the race. He was also disappointed with some mistakes towards the end of his course.

Ness and Grace will run in the final on Friday, and the boys will shift their focus to the Sprint and Relay.

Today is a rest day with a model event for the sprint races tomorrow, last minute walks around the town of Aix Les Bains where the sprint qualification race will be held tomorrow mornin, our usual baguette lunch and some attention from Steve, our physio.

Follow Grace, Mace, Rachel, Simon and Jules in the sprint races tomorrow at the WOC2011 live results page http://live.woc2011.fr/

Here is a great action shot of Rachel doing some sprint training- speed and agility around sharp corners is crucial!!

These great pictures and more at http://runners.worldofo.com/woc2011_AUS.html thanks to www.worldofo.com

Aussie Boomerangs Training camp update

2011-08-12T22:50:00.004+10:00

Another blog post from the Aussie Team, the day before the WOC races start tomorrow with the Long Distance qualification...

final day of Swiss O week in Flims

Previous to our official training camp beginning last week in France, a few WOC team members (Wendy, Simon, Aislinn, Mace, Jas, Ness and Robbie) attended the Swiss Orienteering Week for some pre WOC race training. We stayed near Flims and caught chair lifts and cable cars up the mountains to almost 3,000m to race next to glaciers. The biggest Aussie triumph of the week was coach Wendy Read zooming past the world champion, Simone Niggli Luder, in the finish chute on day 2! Yep, she sure did!

Rob checking out the views of Mont Blanc from Aguille du Midi

The team then drove (via a pizza shop in Chamonix for some) to the little French mountain village of Arith for our week long WOC training camp. Rob L, Rach and Grace joined us there. We staying with our newly adopted French family, Sophie, Chef Gerard and two year old Remy, who made us delicious four course evening meals, and helped us out with a game of trivial pursuit.. in French.. We were joined on a few evenings by French trampers who were stopping on their way though the mountains. Sophie, Remy and Gerard have promised to come and watch the sprint race.

post training discussions after our first day... a lot to learn

interesting area of Le Creux qui Sonne, note the wide route choice from 6 to 7- a bit of respite from the forest is definately a worth while choice!

We found out pretty promptly what all the fuss over the French terrain was about. Our first few training sessions in the French forests saw us running over 20 minute kilometers.. Vanessa and Jas agreed that “there is so much detail on the map that it's tricky to read, but there is even more detail on the ground..” Luckily we have all steadily improved. By the end of the week everyone had had at least one good run.

The sprinters were pretty happy having beautiful little French towns to run around. However, they had to get up early to avoid the crowds on their training maps. Mace described the sprint terrain as “fun, but tricky with lots of little alley ways and confusing route choices.”

Shopping for lunch at the Annecy markets after a sprint training session. Unsuspectingly we purchased the most smelly cheese possible, some of it is still lingering in the fridge a few days later!

We moved to our WOC accommodation in Aix Les Bains yesterday. We settled in to our rooms, and received our accreditation tags. The model events opened yesterday and long and middle distance runners spent the morning out in the forest.

The 'bush O' girls team frolliking in the meadows of Le Revard. The long distance races are supposed to include a mixture of open meadows and intensely technical forest...

The competition starts tomorrow, with the long distance qualification. Ness, Jas, Aislinn, Robbie and Julian will be running. Keep your fingers crossed for us and check out our results on the WOC website!

You can follow our results and view the full program by visiting the WOC website at: www.woc2011.fr

Jas and Ness check out the view of Mont Blanc from a 'hilltop' after a training session in the forests below.

The view from our WOC accommodation- we are self catering here, so are no longer enjoying Gerard's French cuisine, but are making sure we still a variety of fine smelling cheeses!

Boomerangs training camp quiz

2011-08-11T06:42:00.000+10:00

After 4 days of training in France, we are slowly buildingour confidence in the French terrain. Theforest is beautiful, very green and full of berries, but very technical withlots of rock and contour detail. The villages for sprint training have complexold towns and busy fresh produce markets to make spotting passageways (andsprinting) difficult. For the training camp are based in the small town ofArith, 800m above sea level, which is close the maps, mountains and is coveredin snow in winter. At the moment it is green rolling hills, wildflowers andquaint old buildings.

As it is only one week out from WOC we have been taking iteasy, except for Wendy and Rob who have spent hours marking up maps for us.Most of the team members have done two short training sessions a day, theFrench terrain is very difficult and practice makes perfect.

We have been slow on posting this year but here is pop quiznumber 1 (let’s hope there is a number 2...).

1. How many WOC virgins are in the team this year?
a.      5
b.     3
c.      2
d.     10
e.     None

2.                  French terrain is:
a.      Complex contour details
b.     Karst outcrops and sinkholes
c.      Alpine meadows (with cows and bells)
d.     Steep slopes
e.     All of the above

3. Bare rock, marked as light grey on the mapbelow, is:

a.      Flat, open and fast. Like granite in Australia.
b.     Mossy, hard to spot, and slippery. Like rocks inSweden.
c.      Jagged, ankle breaking with deep deepholes. d.     Twisted shapes covered in rubble. For example nearthe glaciers in Switzerland.
e.     None of the above.

4.                  What is the name of our team mascot?a.      Jean Pierre. A local orienteer who has been givingus tips.
b.     Matilda, the boxing kangaroo. A tried and truemascot.
c.      Les Pinpins. Rabbits from a very popular French storybook.
d.     Remy. Our host’s 2 year old son. e.     None of the above. We are still open tosuggestions and welcome anyone who is willing to wear a giant fluffy boomerangsuit.

5. For lunchwe eat:

a.      Baguettes avec fromage de la boulangerie
b.     Pain au Chocolat de la patisserie
c.       Abricots et Framboise de la marché
d.     Saucisson avec Cola
e.     All of the above

6. Which team members studied French in year 12 andact as translator?a. Aislinn and Rachel

b.     Rachel and Jasmine
c.      Wendy and Aislinn
d.     Mace and Jasmine
e.     All of the above team members

7.               Which team member left their compass and phoneat training, 25 minutes drive away?a.   Jasmine
b.     Vanessa
c.      Robbie
d.     Wendy
e.     All of the above

8. In 4 days of training which team member hassustained all of these injuries, a wasp bite, stick in the eye and cut up theirarm and stomach by running into a barbwire fence:
a.      Robbie
b.     Jasmine
c.      Simon
d.     Grace
e.     All of the above

9. Julian Dent is currently:

a. Sipping cocktails in the Caribbean

b. Training three times a day in the French forest

c. Asleep in his bed

d. Working in Sweden

e. All of the above

10. At our training camp Gîte,La Fruitiere d’Arith, we get this, see picture, for dessert every night:

a. False. We celebrated Rob’s 36th birthday withthe delicious berry tart.

b. False. If we ate dessert like this every nightwe would be too fat to train the next day.

c. False. On other nights we have had crème brulee,semolina pudding with brandy and raisins, and apple pie.

d. True. Chef Gerald, our host, is a pastry chefand he is practicing for entering his tart in a local competition.

e. True. We make them ourselves from the fruits wecollect in the forest.

The first person* to respond to this blog with the 10 correct answers will win a fabulous prize. And since this quiz is quite dependent on knowing the personalities of a few team members we will have a 2nd category for non-Australian quiz masters.

*entrant must also be a fan of Orienteering Australia on Facebook

Ok off to bed, and tomorrow we leave Arith for Aix les Bains.

Australian Boomerangs prepare for WOC2011 in France

2011-08-10T19:55:00.001+10:00

When you are preparing to head overseas you always expect you will have lots of time when you are a full time orienteer training for WOC. But its amazing how your day can be filled up by breakfast, training, lunch, training, dinner and a bit of social time. So after 3weeks in Europe here is the first report from the Australian Boomerangs preparation for the World Championships in France. Grap a coffee and bagette, its a long one.

Thursday 14th July
I (Rob) met Julian and Felicity in Annecy and headed to my friend Sylvain's place in Chambery. We were fortunate to stay with him prior to moving into our Gite (authentic French holiday house) in Lescheraines. Julian had already run a long distance training exercise with the Swedish and Czech teams. 2hrs on the toughest map in the region- Le Revard, was a gutsy way to start his WOC campaign. I decided to skip a terrain run for the day, and headed out with Sylvain for a run from his place. Good thing I didn't go orienteering, I had enough trouble just staying on my feet!

Friday 15th July
On Friday we ran a course on Le Creux qui Sonne, that the French team had set and we were lucky to find out about as there were flags in the forest. We soon learned how important it was to training with flags, as the difficulty of the terrain means you can spend a lot of time wondering if you are in the correct place. While taking over an hour for 5km isn't setting the forest alight, I was pretty happy with my first session.

In the afternoon we went to Le Revard, where Julian and I ran a middle distance training exercise set by the Czech/Swedish conglomerate. I soon learned how quickly things can go wrong in Savoie Grand Revard. After getting totally lost twice, banging my knee badly, losing my SILVA compass magnifer (then some how finding it 5mins later), and finding 5 controls I called it a day and headed back to the car. Jules didn't have a great day either, but did persist with the whole course.

The panorama view from Le Revard looking down to Aix les Bains (on our only sunny day)

Saturday 16th July
Thanks to Julian's contacts we piggybacked on the Sweczechs again, for a Middle Distance training race with SI. I was first start, pretty daunting heading into a very tough first control. I ran quite controlled and got to #9 before making a big error. It took a while to relocate in a region of countless knolls and small gullies and I lost about 3mins there. I ran 46mins, with the best 36mins, but I was far from last so that was encouraging. And it was my first victory over Julian since he was about 15...

In the arvo we moved into our Gite in Lescheraines, which is very close to the training maps Montage de Bange and Prepoulain. For company we had Graham Griswood, Doug Tully, Holly Orr and coach Toni staying with us. Jules and I ran a second session together on Montage de Bange (or The Wall as the Brits like to call it) with a headcam (hope to edit it sometime). This map was the first training map made, and probably the scariest looking. It is also probably the least relevant so we haven't spent much time there. But we set a short course, in what must have been an easy part of the map, so we didn't have much trouble. The bare rock is seriously impressive though. Not much like Aussie granite slabs, much more like running across knifeblades of limestone with numerous potholes of death in between.

Panorama view from Montage de Bange down to Arith and Lescheraines

Sunday 17th July
Today was a day where you definitely wanted to stay in bed. Torrential rain and not very warm about 8degrees at Le Revard. And it was like that all morning. But this was also a session that you couldn't miss- Relay training organised again by Sweczechs. Even the French boys turned up and there was sprinkling of other nations.
The course involved 3 x 2km courses. First course was ok.

I lost 15mins looking for the 1st control on the 2nd loop. I actually ran past it but didn't think it was mine (thought it was way too close to the track). The proceeded to search on a green hillside for a pit with the rest of the Swedish women's team. It would have been good relay training if I was running the women's relay...
Kept on going on the last loop even though I was dead last. My brain was literally freezing and I managed to run the last two controls in the wrong order anyway. Got back to the car to find Julian and GG both had pulled out thinking they were way behind and cold. It was probably the coldest/wettest I've ever been Orienteering.

Monday 18th July
Today we (including Rob, Jules, Aislinn Prendergast who has arrived, Felicity, Holly) headed to Le Grand Roc, a map close to Annecy and used for the World Cup Long distance race last October. The forest here was much nicer, and we were able to improve our speed and get some confidence back. Everything seemed to make much more sense on this map. We ran on 1:15000 for 90mins so this was a Long Distance specific session.

Julian and Felicity headed to Annecy for some sightseeing and sprint training in the afternoon, while I was more interested in some couch time and watch le Tour.

In the evening I went for another session on The Wall. It rained again. I finished very cold and disillusioned. I really found out how hard this map was today. Full respect for Thierry who has done night sessions on this map.

Tuesday 19th July
We had another session on Montagne de Bange, this time running the Swiss team Middle Distance selection race. This area was relatively nice for running, not nearly as deadly, but I didn't feel comfortable wearing the non-metal studded X-talons. I ran most of the course well apart for losing 4mins looking for #6 (and getting caught by Felicity). For the 2nd half I was also a bit sloppy as I tried to put more pressure on myself. Lets just say I wouldn't have made the Swiss team...

Lescheraines church

Wednesday 20th July

Prepoulain- Long distance training
Swedish long distance trials. Lost 16mins on #1 otherwise it wasn't too bad... It felt very lonely up on the mountain and I had to convince myself a few times to keep going.
Jules had a pretty good session though, and is starting to get back into the swing of it.

Thursday 21st July
We headed back to Le Creux with Jules, Aislinn, Doug and GG for a relay/middle qual training session set by Toni. We did a mass start, with a few splits and it felt good to race a little faster. I was within contact for most of the race, only wasting a bit too much time making sure I was in the correct place or looking for a small blue tape. Jules was again happy with his last session in the forest before WOC.

Finally the sun came out in the afternoon and Jules, Felicity and myself went for a run around Lescheraines. Here are a couple of pics of our pleasant little village.

Friday 22nd July
Sprint O training at Montmelian. I wasn't going to run, but after I set the course I thought it looked pretty fun. I was pretty happy with my nav, but the hill in the 2nd half was brutal on tired legs. Good to get a higher intensity session done before heading to Alpe d'Huez. It was turning into a beautiful day.

The Tour de France- well what an amazing day. I'll do a full blog about it later....

Saturday 23rd July
Jules and Fel headed back to Geneva, then flew to their new home in Stockholm, Sweden. Well actually straight onto a train to northern Sweden for the Swedish 5 days. Sounds like it was a tough week up there, but they finally got to see some sun.

Aislinn and Roch headed back to the forest for a final punishing session on Le Revard before catching the train to Paris for a bit of R&R and Cadel cheering.

While I got the bus down to Grenoble to watch Cadel smash out the Time Trial of his life and end the day in the Yellow jersey.

TDF Time trial finish

Sunday 24th July- Cadel day
I didn't do a whole heap, just went for a run from Sylvain's, and headed into Chambery to find a pub with the Tour on TV. It took a while, and I know the WOC Sprint final area pretty well now, but finally found The Tour. I had a tear in my eye as Cadel climbed the podium in France. So many past disappointments and sleepy mornings became irrelevant.

Monday 25th July
Well I was now flying solo, and without a car. But I didn't let that stop me from getting a bit more training in. I borrow Sylvain's bike and rode for nearly 2hours (and 1000m climb) to Le Revard. Then I attempted the course from the Savioe National event from May. This race was won by Thierry in 91mins, and 2nd was 8mins behind, and he had been caught by the Frenchman anyway. This was an epic session. I got lost big time looking for #5, but mostly because I couldn't understand a big area with new forestry work and extra tracks. I decided to leave that section out and modify the course after that. After 2hrs18mins I had done about 20 controls and actually ran them relatively well. But there were still a few improvements to be made before I challenge the best. With a long ride home I was pretty knackered that night.

Tuesday 26th July
Again I rode up onto the plateau, and this time did an easy session with Sylvain for company on Le Creux. We ran together and it was good to help teach him a little about how to orienteer in this terrain. Kind of like the blind leading the blind, but its good to help reflect on your own technique.

Wednesday 27th July
I finally left Chambery and headed to Chamonix for a few days, then to Switzerland. But I'll leave that for another time.

me with Mont Blanc in the background

now I need to head for a coffee and pain au raison before the lazy French head for a siesta. Au revoir

Team Profile Part V

2010-08-15T17:00:00.008+10:00

Jasmine Neve

Attackpoint: secret trainer

Running: Sprint and Middle

Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi

Drive or Ride? Ride

Nike or Asics? Asics

Mountains or Beach? Mountains

Iced or Cinnamon? Cinnamon

Toast or Cereal? Cereal

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Public

City or Country? Country

Long Run or Intervals? Long Run

Kathryn Ewels

Attackpoint: secret trainer (see NSW Stinger)

Running: Long and Relay

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Drive or Ride? Ride

Nike or Asics? Asics

Mountains or Beach? Beach

Iced or Cinnamon? Iced

Toast or Cereal? Cereal

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Public

City or Country? Country

Long Run or Intervals? Long Run

David Shepherd

Attackpoint: Shep

Running: Middle, Long and Relay

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Drive or Ride? Ride

Nike or Asics? Nike

Mountains or Beach? Mountains

Iced or Cinnamon? Cinnamon

Toast or Cereal? Cereal

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Public

City or Country? City

Long Run or Intervals? Long Run

Jonsvatnet

2010-08-14T06:29:00.003+10:00

The team relaxed with a swim in beautiful Jonsvatnet - a typical fresh, clean Norwegian lake.

Now during the races, we're drinking fresh, clean drinking water, from... Jonsvatnet!

*if you are the Norwegian police this is a fictional story.

Team Profile Part IV

2010-08-14T03:30:00.008+10:00

Vanessa Round

Attackpoint: 007

Running: Middle and Relay

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Drive or Ride? Ride

Nike or Asics? Nike

Mountains or Beach? Mountains

Iced or Cinnamon? Cinnamon

Toast or Cereal? Toast

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Public

City or Country? Country

Long Run or Intervals? Long Run

Victoria Simpson

Attackpoint: Posh

Team Physio

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Drive or Ride? Ride

Nike or Asics? Asics

Mountains or Beach? Beach

Iced or Cinnamon? Iced

Toast or Cereal? Cereal

Abbott or Gillard? Abbott

Public or Private? Private

City or Country? Country

Long Run or Intervals? Long Run

Wendy Read

Attackpoint:

Coach/Manager

Coke or Pepsi? Rum and Coke

Drive or Ride? Ride

Nike or Asics? Asics

Mountains or Beach? Beach

Iced or Cinnamon? Iced

Toast or Cereal? Cereal

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Public

City or Country? City

Long Run or Intervals? Long Run

Rob Lewis

Coach/Manager

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Drive or Ride? Ride

Nike or Asics? Nike

Mountains or Beach? Mountains

Iced or Cinnamon? Cinnamon

Toast or Cereal? Cereal

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Private

City or Country? City

Long Run or Intervals? Intervals

Long Final

2010-08-14T01:36:00.006+10:00

Yesterday was the epic long final here at WOC 2010. The sun was out and the action was aplenty with Aussie Anna Sheldon flying the flag for the Aussie Team.

The Long Arena.

Anna was pumped for the 9.9km in the Trondheim terrain, which was expected to be very tough! As spectators this was blatantly obvious with the Granasen ski jumps towering over the arena, and unfortunately (for the runners) a control flag up the top!

Strong all the way.

Anna had an early start and came into the finish strongly posting an early competitive time with the Aussies chearing loudly. Eventually ending up in 38th place!

Powering to the finish.

Anna said that it was "missiontastic! a tough slog the whole way, my aim was to get the controls cleanly, and I'm satisfied with my race, but looking forward to another crack next year!"

Well done Anna!

Crossing the line!

Meanwhile, on the rest days Team Australia has been preparing for the two remaining races in WOC 2010.
The middle Final tomorrow with Simon, Dave, Vanessa and Grace ready to go!

These four find various ways to relax....

Vanessa loves to draw, and they are quite remarkable too!
This is down at the local beach and is in overlooking Trondheim fjord just down from our accommodation.
A photo taken by Robbie, of Jasmine, drawing Vanessa, drawing the fjord!

Grace just loves to orienteer! She has been preparing out at the model area for the final and resting up with Craney (her British hubby) who is also running the Middle final for GB!

Simon relaxing for the Middle Final on the interweb and drinking Coke!

Shep prepares for the Middle Final by ...?

And the rest of us are preparing for the relay on Sunday, in the sun...

and making sure we don't get injured...

Apparently Trondheim hasn't had weather like this since 2000....for real!

Can you name the silhouettes?

Stay tuned tomorrow for the Middle Final @

http://live.woc2010.com/

Hviledag (rest day)

2010-08-12T02:17:00.003+10:00

Today was a rest day for WOC competitors and what great weather we had! It was 24 degrees and sunny :-). It doesn't mean we rest all day though! There's plenty to do in Trondelag, Norway. This is what some of the team got up to today - with the highlight being the Aussie Supporters Arvo Tea at the castle.

*Grace, Simon, Vanessa, Wendy and Jasmine went middle distance training in the morning
*Kathryn and Robbie went kayaking
*Anna went to the beach
*Wendy, Vanessa and Victoria went on a cruise to an island
*Shep and Julian caught up with their family
*Coach Rob, Shannon and Julian competed in the World Chasing Start Orienteering Champs at Kristiansten Festning (which also coincided with the WOC Tour). Julian went for broke and came home with the glory.

Bits and pieces from the day...

Coach Rob relaxing at the beach after the World C.S Champs

Heading to the Norwegian "vik"

The downtown

The flower bridge - every time we have crossed this footbridge we have seen 2 people watering the flowers

These WOC flags line the main street

Thanks for supporting us!
It's been great having so many Aussie supporters here in Norway. This afternoon we hung out at the castle and enjoyed some Norwegian food.

Caption competition...

2010-08-11T21:32:00.001+10:00

Team Profile Part III

2010-08-11T05:27:00.003+10:00

Rob Preston

Attackpoint: NSW Stinger

Running: Sprint and Long

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Drive or Ride? Ride

Nike or Asics? Nike

Mountains or Beach? Beach

Iced or Cinnamon? Cinnamon

Toast or Cereal? Cereal

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Public

City or Country? Country

Long Run or Intervals? Long Run

Anna Sheldon

Attackpoint: Bomb

Running: Long

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Drive or Ride? Ride

Nike or Asics? Asics

Mountains or Beach? Beach

Iced or Cinnamon? Cinnamon

Toast or Cereal? Cereal

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Private

City or Country? Country

Long Run or Intervals? Long Run

Behind the Scenes - The Team Hotel

2010-08-11T05:10:00.003+10:00

Ever wondered what the team gets up to when they're not out training or racing? Here's a few snaps of a few of the team members in action...

Most of the time is spent like this... watching TV, the interweb, reading...

Then Posh gives out the call, "dinner's ready". This seems to make Rob happy.

Getting between Simon and his dinner is like stepping between a bear and her cubs, but this map seems to be getting away with it... for now.

Can't talk, eating.

Waiting for someone to bring out dessert... "just take the photo and go get it".

Satisfied... now to watch a post-tour crit on the box.

Behind the scenes - at the start of the long quali

2010-08-11T03:23:00.007+10:00

At the World champs the start procedure is quite different from the SILVA National League... Firstly you get bussed out with all the other competitors and coaches.

Trondheim has bikes for people to use around town. Melbourne and London have just launched a similar scheme although the Norwegians have had their system going for decades! These bikes are at the Central Station.

This is us waiting for the bus - we are often first there!

Mainly we catch a bus so we don't get to check out the Finish Arena. Obviously it also means you don't get to see the last control. There's a lot of waiting around at the start too... but you do get to sneak a look at what the World Champions do to prepare before their race. Maybe the qualification is different, but I have to say - they look very relaxed!! Maybe the final is a bit different.

When we arrived this afternoon we all lined up to 'sign in'. Afterwards, Wendy found us a great possie in the paddock and we had about 1.5-2 hours before our start. You'll be pleased to know the toilets are similar!! A couple of portaloos which were a bit on the wiffy side...

After we signed in, we lined up again to get our emit thingo and timing band. The boys also had to collect a gps harness. You also get given a 'warm up map'. This is a small area with some controls. Apparently a few years ago a girl got lost on the warm up map at a World Cup race and missed her start...

The warm up map - do you risk shattering your confidence if you head out and make a mistake?! Actually, today's warm up map was nice and easy.

Here is a photo of the warm up area. You can see a guy above the cliffs near #1.

Here is the communal tent for all nations to use. Above it you can see the first warm up control.

Emit stuff

As you can see, some teams come well prepared - the Swedes even have their own oversized Swedish tent. Here they are hanging out in front of it.

There's a lot of prancing around at the start too. Approximately 200 competitors need to strut their stuff and go through their pre-race warm up routines. Some listen to music, others read, some have a snooze. Robbie preferred to relax lying down

When it's time to race you start with 2 other people (in a qualification) so that 3 of you begin at the same time - of course you don't have the same first control!! Actually, the courses are usually so different that you may only share one or two common controls. Anyway, that's about it for what happens at the start!

STOP PRESS - Anna makes it through to the FINALE!! Congratulations, good stuff :-)

mIdDlE qUaLiFiCaTiOn - MoNdAy

2010-08-10T03:58:00.009+10:00

Today's stage of the 2010 WOC carnival was the middle distance qualification. The Aussie troupe of runners headed off on the official buses at 12pm, with first starts happening from 2pm. It was the first race of the week for Shep and Vanessa and both were keen to stamp their authority on the Norwegian terrain with solid runs.

It was predicted that the terrain would be tough, as the distance for the women was ~3.1km and the men had ~3.5km, both with an expected winning time of 25 minutes.

Once again there was a vocal group of Aussie supporters - even Linus Quayle (3 months old) was barracking for the Australian runners (and not the Swedes).

In the end, 4 runners made it through to the final...

Shep - Good enough! Solid race technically but didn't run real quick. Very tough terrain and tricky orienteering, it's hard to be completely clean on maps like this and I ran the safe routes where I could. Feeling pretty sick and not breathing easily so I'm going to skip the long and get healthy for the final and the relay.

Julian - Devastatingly dissapointing, diaboloically disastrous performance. Lost over 4 min on No.1, tried to stay positive but continued to lose time on 4 and 5. Looking forward to bouncing back with the boys in the relay!

Simon - Lost time early, in the green at controls 1 and 3. Got going well, running smooth and clean in the later part of the course in the marshes and rockfaces. Nice terrain, and happy with the qual run. Prioritising eating, sleeping and training leading up to the final.

Grace - Pretty scrappy race, with only 1 perfect control, but managed to avoid major errors and happy to be through to the final.

Vanessa - I was very relieved to make it through and am really looking forward to the final! I had a pretty poor run, losing time on the first leg and also losing contact on our long leg...but it was a pretty tough course for everyone!

Jasmine - I have to admit it was a fun course, trickier than I thought it would be. I had no big disasters but a very scrappy and slow run. I nearly fell off a cliff heading to control 3, and nearly drowned in a marsh on the way to no.6... I plan to go back and torch the forest tomorrow out of spite...

Coaches report - great to see 4 runners getting through to the final, and Jas would have been a shoe-in if it weren't for the marshes.

David Andersson who runs for Malungs OK club in Sweden (same club as Julian and Simon) won his heat today...

Jasmine negotiating her way to the last control

The last control and the start of the finish chute - a steep and tricky descent which brought a few people unstuck!

Can you spot something unusual about Jas?

Check out the official middle qualifier photos here

Congratulations Rachel!!!

2010-08-09T03:05:00.003+10:00

Well done to Rachel who is the winner of the World's hardest Australian Orienteering WOC 2010 Trondheim quiz. Rachel's sleuth work may have included looking at those plates without salad (Shep and Simon), vegetarian option (Shannon, Shep and Grace) and portion size (though Julian did go back for seconds). Rumour has it that Grace's mum was able to pick out her daughter by looking at Grace's left hand holding the dinner plate - impressive!

A signed Aussie shirt is coming your way Rachel - good stuff!

S P R I N T

2010-08-09T03:01:00.013+10:00

The sun was out in force at today's WOC Sprint race in Trondelag, Norway.

s p r i n t q u a l
The sprint team of Grace, Jas, Shannon, Simon, Robbie, Julian and coach Rob set off on the team WOC buses early this morning. All WOC competitors were mandated to take the official buses - so that we couldn't drive around the area of Sverresborg Folkmuseum beforehand! Shannon, Grace and Jas were wedged in the bus between World Champions Helena Jansson and Minna Kauppi - they looked relaxed too!

The quarantine area was a school south of the map... we had previously guessed that it might have been at the northern end - heading into the forest first, but alas, it was not.

We hung around for an hour or two until our starts and away we went. The pre-start call up was 12 minutes... and all up we probably ran 1.5km along through to the real start and finish arena. You could hear the loud speaker and commentary as you approached the start and all of a sudden you got your map and popped out in full view of spectators while you were making the first decisions for the course. Exciting stuff!

The qualification area was probably less forest than we had anticipated which kept a few of us happy! There was some quick route choice decisions to be made, full contact with the map and a solid speed required. The urban part included 4-5 controls in a tiny area of ye olde style Norwegian buildings with doors leading everywhere, which was fun but you had to keep up on the run. The middle section included the forested area and the remainder was in some residential streets.

Julian, Grace and Shannon were happy to make it through and Jas, Simon and Robbie put in top efforts but missed out on the final this time.

i n b e t w e e n r a c e s - o n e h o u r
* shower
* eat
* rehydrate
* go to next race

s p r i n t f i n a l
The sprint final arena was pretty spectacular - located in Trondheim Square in the down town. We hadn't actually been able to check out any of the sprint final area beforehand because it was embargoed the day we arrived exactly one week ago!

Once again, we had the usual accessories for the race...compass, control description holder, emit brick, emit timing band for arm and this time a gps tracking device worn on our back.

The quarantine area was Trondheim athletics track down by the river and as we made our way to the start it was pretty obvious we were going to emerge in the middle of the town square. The last 40 metres was through a shopping mall (but there was no time for window shopping)! Thousands of people, massive tv screens, loud speakers with English and Norwegian commentary and music blaring greeted us as we stood on the ramp ready to start. We ran through the down town, over the bridge, up to the fortress, along some parkland, back into the streets, over the bridge and back through the streets... You can check out the courses on the woc website www.woc2010.com

It was a fantastic sprint area with plenty of route choice and masses of people (compared to back home anyway!) to keep things interesting. A lot of fun and a great experience. The Aussie competitors had mixed feelings about the races today - check out some comments below.

Qualification:

Simon
" Pretty scrapy all over, bad route choice on the long leg, but happy to be within 1.20min of Khramov who won the heat"

Rob
"I worked hard from the pre-start to put a gap on Daniel Hubmann who started the same time but he caught up by the start. There were heaps of spectators throughout the first part of the course and I was very relieved to get into the map quickly and run well up to the 11^th control. I missed a little through 12-14 but finished course well, just lacking a bit of speed. I’m very happy with my WOC debut. The opportunity to release some nerves will be a great benefit for the upcoming Long qualifier.

Julian
" A good start, but I lost time on No.11, not looking at the leg calmly and losing 25sec. Happy to make it"

Jasmine
"Todays qual race was a bit disappointing. My nerves got the better of me and I made some mistakes, some bad decisions and wasn't moving fast enough to match the qualifying pace. Though it was nice to have the afternoon off to watch the others in the final. Round 2 tomorrow!"

Shannon
" Wasn't very good, lost 20 sec on No.5, didn't have a lot of flow, but happy to make it through."

Grace
" Happy with the run, navigation was good, but because it was a little longer, I tired a little"

Final:

Shannon
" Extremely disappointing, made a massive mistake in the fort where I mistakenly went through the underpass and had to come back in to get on top of the wall. Amateur hour!"

Grace
" Hesitated and got confused on the first leg, but the rest was good, and I was happy with the technical part, but just not quick enough to get my goal of top 29!"

Julian
" An average run which I'm content with. Need to improve smoothness, lost 10 sec coming the wrong way out of 1 and other little mistakes, generally happy with route choice, but more work to do on sprint technique"

Tomorrow is the Middle qualifier which kicks off at 2pm Norwegian time. Shep, Simon, Julian, Jas, Vanessa and Grace are all competing and we filled them up with lasagna and the famous chocolate risotto which tastes as good as it sounds.

Thanks to coaches Rob and Wendy and to Victoria for all their running around after us today.

It was also cool to have so many Aussie supporters at the race! Good luck in the WOC Tour event tomorrow!!

Daily Quiz 4

2010-08-08T06:17:00.005+10:00

Welcome to Round 4 of the Australian WOC Team's hugely popular Daily Quiz. The IT crew at Blogger have asked us to make this one a tad more difficult to slow you all down so we stop overloading their servers. But first, the answers to Round 3, we know you've been hitting the Refresh button all night, so here they are...

The Oh-Kit/Bag/Box-Diddlies belong to

Simon, Jasmine, Vanessa, Grace, Anna, Shep, Kathryn, Wobbie, Shannon, Julian.

No participants got them all right, but Rachel still holds a small lead over the chasing bunch.

Now for your final and most difficult task yet, identify whose plate of dinner this is. Remember, some of these athletes may have gone back for seconds... And is that meat I can see on some of those plates?

Team Profile Part II

2010-08-07T19:32:00.004+10:00

Julian Dent

Attackpoint: None (does secret training)

Running: Sprint, Middle and Relay

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Drive or Ride? Drive

Nike or Asics? Nike

Mountains or Beach? Beach

Iced or Cinnamon? Cinnamon

Toast or Cereal? Toast

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Public

City or Country? City

Long Run or Intervals? Intervals

Grace Elson

Attackpoint: GraceE

Running: Sprint, Middle and Relay

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Drive or Ride? Drive

Nike or Asics? Asics

Mountains or Beach? Mountains

Iced or Cinnamon? Cinnamon

Toast or Cereal? Toast

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Public

City or Country? City

Long Run or Intervals? Long Run

Daily Quiz 3

2010-08-07T06:45:00.003+10:00

Hi everyone
Today we moved from the youth hostel into our new accommodation for the woc week. It's an apartment hotel and looks the goods. We received our internet connection late at night, so will blog more tomorrow! Right now, it's time for bed. But before that - check out the correct order of watches. Great job to Rachel, Jo, Grant and Allison who got it right!

DAILY QUIZ 3

We hope you enjoy the challenge of this next one... the good ol' "o" kit/box/bag. We are a pretty organised bunch of orienteers... please order them from top to bottom. This round is tricky, GOOD LUCK!
PS - Grace has arrived!

Daily Quiz 2

2010-08-06T04:51:00.002+10:00

Well well well, it seems it's harder to match shoes to feet than we thought...

Thank you to everyone who had a go! Well done Rachel - you are in the lead with 7 points (of a possible 9)

Our next quiz lies in the photo below...

Once again, please submit your answers before 10pm (Western Australian time). Everyone is encouraged to have a go - even if you didn't have a go in round 1... you never know your luck!! That signed Aussie top is worth it's weight in Aussie gold.

Team Profile Part I

2010-08-05T21:48:00.003+10:00

How well do you know the athletes in the Aussie team? How do you think they get on around the dinner table? Are there fights over the queue for the toaster? Will anyone dare admit they they are a fan of Tony Abbott while Julian is listening? Find out in our team profiles! Once again an expert psychologist has devised a series of questions designed to give you an insight into the personalities of our national team.

Shannon Jones

Attackpoint: Miss Jones

Running: Sprint and Long

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Drive or Ride? Drive

Nike or Asics? Nike

Mountains or Beach? Mountains

Iced or Cinnamon? Iced

Toast or Cereal? Toast

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Public

City or Country? City

Long Run or Intervals? Intervals

Simon Uppill

Attackpoint: simon87

Running: Sprint, Middle and Relay

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Drive or Ride? Drive

Nike or Asics? Nike

Mountains or Beach? Mountains

Iced or Cinnamon? Cinnamon

Toast or Cereal? Cereal

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Public

City or Country? City

Long Run or Intervals? Long Run

How to...

2010-08-05T18:02:00.007+10:00

...run 11 to 10 (sorry for any confusion, but I ran this part of the course backwards in training).

from the control run north of the red line through the marshes (open area in the left part of the photo)

stay in the marsh and run through the saddle to the north of the white hill in the middle of the leg (straight ahead in the photo).

run across the marsh to the hill with the control on it (forest in the background), past the small lakes in the marsh.

the small lakes in the marsh are quite obvious features.

from the top of the hill, run down to the mound with the control. can you see it in the picture? running through the heather and blueberries in the forest is even tougher than the marshes!

the control site (a mound)- we were looking for small white tags on the ground.

and yes, you get wet feet!

Daily Quiz

2010-08-04T23:01:00.002+10:00

In the lead up to WOC we will be bringing you a daily quiz.

The stakes are high - higher than Galdhøpiggen which is Norway's highest mountain (2469m). The winner will receive a signed Australian top.

Fine print:
* One point per correct name
* Order the names from LEFT to RIGHT
* There will be 4 competitions, one each day from Wednesday to Saturday
* You have to submit your answers by 10pm each day
* Submit your answers in the comment field
* The winner is the person with the most points after 4 rounds
* If there is a tie the winner will be the person who submits round 4's answers the earliest.

DAILY QUIZ 1:

Who do these shoes belong to?

(hint - Grace Crane is still in the UK)

GOOD LUCK!

Tisdag

2010-08-04T06:46:00.004+10:00

The jet-lagged members of the team rose earlier than those already acclimatised to day and night and we all had a great breakfast at the youth hostel in Tronders.

Afterwards, a full carload headed up to Iladalen for some technical training.

Anna, Vanessa, Kathryn, Robbie and Dave all ripped up the moss and are happy with their progress in this tough terrain.

Anna enjoyed checking out the differences in the moss, bogs, marshes, grasses...

The two other car loads went to Saupstad - a suburb of southern Trondheim which was a mix of residential and forested parts. The finish was at the local biathlon stadium and the locals were fanging around the bitumen paths then firing at the range. We kept clear of that and did a course instead. The stinging nettles in the beginning were a bit disconcerting but luckily it was just a bad patch!

When we were warming up the sun even came out!

We abided by the rules of the centre

After lunch and a rest we headed off to a local orienteering event about 30mins drive away. The girls opted for a 4.7km course while the boys did a 6km one. There were plenty of hanging marshes to use for running and it was a good hit out with emit too. The results are below with photos to come shortly.

Results

The drive there took us past a big lake called Jonsvatnet and some of the girls stopped for a swim.

Oh and by the way, Anna spotted this sign as she was driving from the airport in Trondheim...

Touchdown in Trondheim

2010-08-03T16:34:00.012+10:00

The Aussie team has assembled here in Trondheim, Norway for the World Orienteering Championships (WOC). The racing starts this Sunday with the Sprint Qualification and Final around the streets of Norway's 3rd largest city.

The view from our accommodation.

The team is acclimatising well to the Norwegian summer and getting used to the local terrain, with plenty of relevant training mixed with plenty of recovery. With most of the team arriving here at the Trondheim youth hostel over the past two days, we have all had slightly different preparations.

Simon Uppill arrived via the World University Championships in Borlange, Sweden. He placed 23rd in the long distance race which shows some great form coming into WOC where he will be running the middle, sprint and relay races.

Vanessa Round arrived via Sweden and Switzerland where she showed great form at the World University Championships in Borlange, Sweden. She placed 18th in the long race, and she will be racing the middle and relay here in Trondheim.

Jasmine Neve arrived in Trondheim via China, Sweden, Scotland and Oslo, Norway. While having a eventful journey through China, she enjoyed some quality training and preparation with Aussie expats Jim-Oystein Nybråten and Cassie Trewin in Oslo. Jasmine will be running the sprint and middle competitions at WOC.

Anna Sheldon arrived via Orebro, Sweden. Running the famous O-Ringen competitions, which was a great introduction back into Scandinavian terrain. Anna is running the long distance competition at WOC.

Dave and Anna enjoying breakfast.

Shannon Jones arrived direct from home in Canberra, Australia. Where she has been finalising her preparation with some Cross Country racing and a 5km PB. Shannon is running the sprint and long distance in Trondheim.

Shannon and Kathryn recovering after their training run.

Kathryn Ewels arrived from Melbourne, Australia after rounding off her preparation with some fast cross country racing, placing first in the Victorian 15km Championships in 54.12. Kathryn is racing the long and relay here at WOC.

Rob Preston has arrived via Sweden. Reacquainting himself with Scandinavian terrain after a 7 year break. Rob competed strongly at O-Ringen, already feeling at home in terrain which will suit his strengths. Rob is racing the long distance at WOC.

Rob settling into his room.

David Shepherd arrived yesterday direct from Canberra, Australia. David is looking forward to a return to racing in his favourite terrain here in Scandinavia and his preparation has been on track showing good form in local races in Australia. David is racing the middle, long and relay here in Trondheim.

I ( Julian) arrived direct from home in Canberra, Australia. Hungry to get back into the forest and competition here at WOC. I'll be running the sprint, middle and relay.

Grace Crane will be arriving here in Trondheim on Thursday from her base in the UK, after finalising her preparation with a training camp and competitions here in July. She showed good form in terrain which will suit her strengths. Grace is running the sprint, middle and relay at WOC.

Coaches Wendy Read and Rob Lewis have arrived direct from Australia, and have everything ready to go this week to ensure our preparations are on track.
Team physiotherapist, Victoria, will arrive from London on Thursday to ensure everyone is primed for the first races on Sunday.

Everyone is settling in to the comfortable surrounds of our base at the youth hostel, with Jasmine and Vanessa laying down the gauntlet, baking great Kanelbulle. What will be next?
With plenty of training options around for all, this afternoon most team members will be having a solid hit out at a local club race on relevant terrain for the qualification races.

Stay tuned to the blog for maps, pics, videos and the latest news from the Aussie team here at WOC 2010 in Trondheim!

Learning Fast

2010-04-26T18:56:00.017+10:00

Training here in Sweden had been going well. With the first competitions at Kolmårdenskavlen now passed last weekend. The time has gone quickly with some high quality training. But the highlight of the trip Tiomila, is coming up this weekend.

The first weekend of competition at Kolmårdensdubblen was quite successful. My first race in Sweden for 18 months was the middle distance on Saturday and I was really looking forward to getting into the forest. I was happy with my race and felt strong over the 5.5km, missing 25 sec on one short leg and some wobbly routes. I ended up in 3rd place over 1 minute behind the winner, Swedish national team runner Mattias Millinger. The gap was large, but the result was encouraging. The prize for 3rd was a Swedish axe...strange, I don't think that will be coming home.

On Sunday it was the 5 man relay Kolmårdskavlen. Malungs OK, had a strong team and I went out 4th of 5 legs, with David Andersson on the last leg. Erik Rost put me out in 6th place 4 minutes behind the leaders OK Linne. I was not very happy with my race, with some mistakes throughout. But I managed to gain some time on the leading team sending out Daid in 5th place online 1.20min behind. David ran strongly on the last leg to bring us into 2nd position only 40 seconds from the victory. So the team and the club were quite happy with the result.
This showed some good signs for Tiomila in two weeks time.

After recovering from the weekend of racing the week has been full of some high quality orienteering training. Based in Falun close to clubmates in Malungs OK and staying with Swedish national team runner and Malungs OK clubmate David Andersson and his partner Lina Eliasson, the training opportunities have been endless.

The quality of orienteering technique training is quite intense but very beneficial for the World Championships in August. With new ideas for training and racing leading up to the World Championships in Trondheim, coming out of a good week of training.

However on Friday a small hiccup hampered my program for the weekend. With what seemed like an insignificant fall in the forest turning into 4 stitches and a swollen knee. This meant that there was no training or competition at Stigtomtakavlen on Saturday and Sunday. But the knee is recovering fast and I'm looking forward to resuming the training on Monday leading into the next races, with the Eliteseries sprint on Friday and the big one, Tiomila on Saturday night.

Malungs OK, has announced our team for Tiomila, and with everyone fit and healthy its exciting to be part of it.

Malungs OK - Tiomila Team

1) Anders Åkerman 9,1 km
2) Martin Hammarberg 12,2 km
3) Erik Rost 16,8 km
4) Lars Åkerman 8,8 km
5) Thomas Carlsson 12,2 km
6) Johan Lindberg 6,1 km
7) Jimmy Birklin 5,8 km
8) Julian Dent 11,2 km
9) William Lind 11,2 km
10) David Andersson 17,0/12,0 km

You'll be able to watch all the action from next weekend here with live Web TV available for $10.

WOC 2010 Preparation Heating Up

2010-04-14T18:36:00.011+10:00

The Australian orienteering team preparations for the World Orienteering Championships (WOC) 2010 is heating up just like the weather in Scandinavia. The snow is melting fast after a long and cold winter, unveiling this years battlegrounds for the WOC medals. The focus this year will be solely on Scandinavian terrain as the World Championships return to orienteering's traditional home of Scandinavia, in Trondheim Norway in August.

After racing the first National League races in Australia, I (Julian Dent) have headed over to Sweden to train and prepare for WOC in Scandinavian terrain. Over the next three weeks I'll be training and competing with Malung Orienteering Club, who have been long supporters of Australian orienteers. Beginning with Grant Bluett and Rob Walter and more recently Simon Uppill and myself, they provide great opportunities and support for training in Scandinavian terrain. The competition and training program over the next three weeks involves:

15/16 April: Training Camp

17 April: Kolmårds Middle Distance
18 April: Kolmårdskaveln

24/25 April: Stigtomtakaveln

30 April: Swedish Eliteseries Sprint Distance

1/2 May - Tiomila Relay

You'll be able to follow progress here and on my Attackpoint blog.

Long Final and goodbye!

2009-08-25T00:05:00.000+10:00

Yesterday was the final of the long distance course. Swiss stars Simone and Daniel were unbeatable. Our own stars Hanny and Kathryn did great in the unique "karst" terrain - especially at the end when it was rough, tough and steep.

Afterwards, we had the banquet and were pretty happy with the aussie songs that made it - Men at Work and Kylie were some of the hits played.

Today we all separated and said our goodbyes...

Kathryn (who actually left straight after finishing her course!) is off to Italy to compete in the World Mountain Running Champs

Jasmine left with the Americans at 3.30am to catch her early morning flight to Melbourne (via Germany and Asia of course!)

Grace left this afternoon to fly to her (temporary) home in Leeds ;-)

Rob and Anna are flying home to Melbourne (after 2.5 years in London!!)

Victoria is flying to her current base in London and is super pleased with her increased knowledge of orienteering :-)

Hanny is off to Finland to soak up the sun for a week or so

Shannon is going home to Canberra

Wendy and Lance are spending 3 days in Budapest then on to further european adventures - lucky!!

Thanks for reading our blog and cheering us on from home, we have had a great time over here in Miskolc, Hungary!!!!!

Hanny fanging it through the spectator chute

Kathryn with a couple of kms to go...

Cheering on the others

Victoria hears some surprising news from the commentator

Jas is pumped about something

The aussie girls! Kathryn has already started her journey to Italy with her parents.

Things are getting tense after spending 2 weeks together ;-)

Thank you for your hard work looking after us Anna and Rob!!

Rest Day

2009-08-23T04:54:00.000+10:00

There were no WOC events today - tomorrow is the last one and it's the LONG FINAL. We have Hanny and Kathryn running. They are already tucked up in bed for a good night's sleep.

Last night we had dinner with the Aussie supporters in a traditional hungarian restaurant. Today some people went running and swimming in Lillafured, then there was a shopping trip, ice cream at the castle and much much more.

Hmmmm, no thanks!

The happily married couple at the head of the table - Victoria and Jasmine. Kylie is the bridesmaid.

Aussie supporters and team mates

Swimming in Lillafured - yes, the water really is that green

No other tourists thought swimming was a good idea...

Lack of a harness and climbing shoes did not deter Jas from the rocks.

Ice cream at the castle

Jasmine and Nagy

Victoria and Kathryn

Victoria and Hanny - last race tomorrow girls!!

Relay Day

2009-08-22T02:35:00.000+10:00

Traditionally the relay is held on the last day of competition but not this year! In the absence of an Aussie Mens team, we decided to choose another country to back. This decision was not made lightly. After much deliberation and plenty of debate (ok it was an easy decision) we decided to choose the Swiss. Switzerland has amazing scenery, awesome chocolate and ice cream as well as spiky chestnuts. And aren't we glad we did! They won (after the first 4 teams stopped due to an injured swede).

Photos courtesy of Victoria's camera.

Our honorary team mate warming up

Still warming up...

Congratulations boys!

We are so proud of you guys

Why do you look shocked that your team mates are taking sneaky photos?

Great work team!

After the adulation of the Swiss boys taking gold, it was time to focus on the Aussie girls team. Another top 10 performance!! Well done girls :-)

Kathryn through the spectator

Kathryn and Hanny changing over...

Maryanne Andersen through the spectator in the lead - superstar!

Hanny flying through with just a small loop to go

The arena was packed!!

Shannon and Victoria sample the local sweet cuisine, yuuuuuuuummmmmm. Sweet sweet sugar donut thing.

kAtHrYn 5Th iN sPrInT fInAl!!!!!

2009-08-21T04:23:00.000+10:00

Kathryn had a blinder to make the podium in today's sprint final - what a LEGEND!!!!!!!

Kathryn came 5th :-)

The results board!

Kathryn in 5th and a Finnish girl in 6th

The top 6 - 2 swedes, a swiss, a dane, a finn and an AUSSIE!!!!!

Kathryn and our physio extraordinaire Victoria

A proud coach with the star

Media were jostling to talk to Kathryn after her race

Kathryn gets a hug from renowned OA reporter Wendy Read

Kathryn starts hydrating for the relay

The aussie contingent are eager to hear about Kathryn's race

Kylie, Victoria and Hanny are part of the cheer squad

Kylie and Jas spot Kathryn on the huge screen!!

Middle Final

2009-08-20T03:28:00.001+10:00

Today was the first final of the 2009 World Orienteering Championships. Hanny came 18th and Grace 15th (one better than last year!) We are all really proud of them both - it was a really tough course and area.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR COACH ROB!!!!!! We are about to celebrate with some cake :-)

Hoot dog anyone?

Does Rob look older or is the week looking after the girls taking its toll... ;-)

One of our stars of the day cooking dinner for us!

Chilling out at dinner

Happy birthday Rob!!!!!

How else would you want to celebrate your 30th birthday?

Hanny cutting the cake

Anna and Rob eating some yummy home made cake.

Kathryn multi-tasking (looking at the sprint map and eating cake)

We gave rob some really cool presents - like the thing that Jasmine is holding.

Tuesday - rest day and opening ceremony

2009-08-19T02:51:00.000+10:00

Today was a pretty chilled out day. Some people went out to a sprint training map, Jasmine went to the Hungaria Cup and there was even a trip or two to Tesco. At 5pm everyone assembled outside for the Opening Ceremony. We are sending our best thoughts to Hanny and Grace for the middle final tomorrow!!!

From the long qualification

So hot right now

We are the lead out team for the parade!!

This is us

Wendy and Lance came over for a cup of tea and Lance showed us his strawberry bag :-)

Poser!

Huge team ;-)

Getting ready...

GROSS!!!!!

Christmas happens in August here

Hanny did us proud by giving the Athlete's oath

Some of the other teams

Monday - Long Qualification

2009-08-18T04:34:00.000+10:00

Today was the long qualification. Hanny and Kathryn had solid runs and qualified in 5th position in their respective heats. Grace had a good run but unfortunately lost a couple of minutes towards the end. We had dinner together at a pizzeria (we cook ourselves usually) and some yummy ice cream for dessert. Tomorrow is a rest day, though we do have the official opening ceremony to look forward to.

Kathryn and Victoria went to Miskolc Tapolca - some thermal "cave baths"

Some of the team checked out the "Biker Pub"

These guys weren't afraid of the green water

Jasmine wants a career where she can use a headset (ok, so she wants to be Troy)

Uh oh - what is the red card on the windscreen?

Oops - shouldn't have parked here

Our first night out for dinner... our team took up one table. Then the Finns arrived and took up about 5 tables :-)

Ice cream for dessert

Middle Qual-WOC has started!

2009-08-17T00:17:00.000+10:00

Today was the Middle Qualification.

Jas, Grace and Hanny were the athletes representing Australia.

Grace and Hanny both finished 11th in their heats.

Jas found the terrain technically and physically tough and now is looking forward to enjoying Miskolc.

The final for the middle will be held on Wednesday.

STORY BY KATHRYN

Grace finishing strongly

Jasmine, Hanny and Shannon

Victoria enjoying the cafe scene

Kathryn's coffee had honey in the bottom

Shannon and Jasmine look at the middle courses

What a cool place!!!!!

Coach Rob hanging out in the downtown

Kathryn in Miskolc

Some of the countryside

Kathryn, Shannon and Jasmine

Jasmine couldn't decide what souvenir to buy her Mum...

Saturday

2009-08-15T21:38:00.000+10:00

This morning Rob, Victoria, Grace and Jasmine headed out to the model for the middle qualification. Kathryn, Hanny and Shannon stayed behind and went for their own runs before relaxing in the sun. We bought some lunch stuff from Lidl (about a 5 min walk) and plan to relax this arvo!

Walking across the road to Lidl

This is where we are staying

People in Hungary must be called Grant too

Enjoying the morning

Jasmine loves the local chocolate covered cheese cake things...

Hanny found a cool car

No, we didn't really buy the goldfield packets!!

They like to sell beer here

Wondering what to buy...

Friday

2009-08-15T02:37:00.000+10:00

We are here!!!! The Aussie girls have moved into their accommodation at the university of Miskolc. It's awesome! Really new apartments and very comfortable... though we were sad to leave the cool village of Lillafured.

This morning Grace, Wendy and Lance drove to Slovakia for some long distance training. This arvo we trained on a sprint area near the thermal 'cave baths' in Miskolc Tapolca and now Kathryn and Jasmine are cooking dinner.

Jazza getting a massage by physio Victoria with Kathryn surfing the net in the background

The girls caught a train from Lillafured to Miskolc

Hanny and Kathryn

Jasmine catching some rays in Lillafured

Yummy - you can get a wide variety of chocolate cereal in Hungary...mmmm... This one even makes you fit!

Grace likes coke

Shannon working on the blog (and wearing half lycras)

Jasmine loves mushrooms

Kathryn cooking up a storm

Last night in Lillafured

2009-08-14T01:01:00.001+10:00

On Thursday morning Rob, Lance, Hanny, Grace, Kathryn and Jasmine headed out for some middle distance training. Wendy and Shannon stayed home with their colds. On Thursday arvo the Reads + Kathryn + Shannon checked out to a sprint training area.

Last night we got to try some traditional Hungarian dessert - chestnut pudding. The boys wanted a big serving, and they got it!

On Friday the team is moving from Lillafured to the official WOC accommodation at the University of Miskolc.

Wendy in some sprint forest

The view from Shannon and Jasmine's room

Jasmine in the town of Miskolc (pronounced Mish-koltz)

Some forest somewhere

The team arrives

2009-08-12T23:56:00.001+10:00

Australian team members Hanny Allston and Grace Elson arrived on Tuesday night together with Lance and Wendy Read. Kathryn Ewels wasn't too far behind, arriving on Wednesday at lunch time. The team have been making the most of the training opportunities and enjoying the awesome weather...

PS - Grace saw 2 snakes in her first outing in the forest!!

Eating lunch on the balcony

We found some padlocks near the canal

In an erosion gully

The yoghurt comes in bags!!

Wendy checking out the map

Quite steep here...

Breaky, yum yum

Miskolc

2009-08-10T23:22:00.000+10:00

Coach Rob, Jasmine and Shannon met up in Budapest airport last night and travelled to their pension in a cute little village called Lillafured. We trained this morning on a nearby map and spent the afternoon checking out the town of Miskolc.

Our pension in Lillafured

Getting ready to go training...

Even though the forest was beautiful, Jasmine got some prickle things on her

WOC it up!

2009-08-03T16:53:00.000+10:00

The Australian girls are gearing up for the World Orienteering Championships in Hungary later this month. Jasmine Neve will be finalising her preparations in Italy, Grace Elson in England and the three others Hanny Allston, Kathryn Ewels and Shannon Jones will depart their homes in Australia within the next week. All 5 girls are looking forward to the training camp ahead.

Hanny

Kathryn

Grace

Jasmine

Shannon

Australia 4th in World Games Mixed Relay

2009-07-19T21:29:00.000+10:00

Australia equaled its best international result in a relay, with a 4th position in the mixed relay at the World Games in Kaohsiung today.Simon Uppill showed his calm and confidence on the world stage with a great opening leg providing a great start to the relay, coming in 7th position 1.21 min down. Kathryn Ewels had a storming run, and her best of the weekend to bring the team into 4th position, only a few seconds behind 3rd. I (Julian Dent) went out just behind World Games champion Daniel Hubman, and had a good first half, but tired baldy in the last part of the race to handover to Hanny in 5th position, 2min 18 sec behind 1st position. Hanny had a good run to pick the team up into 4th position, after battling for the bronze medal with Norway.

The team is stoked with the result, and happy to show the Europeans that we can match it with them!

From Drop Box

Simon finishing strongly on first leg.

From Drop Box

Simon had a great run to put the team in a good position!

From Drop Box

Kathryn finishing after a great run on 2nd leg.

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The team discussing the course!

From Drop Box

Me handing over to Hanny. I was stuffed!

From Drop Box

Hanny waiting to head out with World Champ Minna Kauppi.

From Drop Box

Hanny heading off on the last leg.

From Drop Box

Hanny finishing in 4th position

Hanny Wins Gold

2009-07-18T23:33:00.000+10:00

A golden day for Hanny Allston and Australia in Kaohsiung today.A dominating performance by Hanny, gave Australia its second ever gold medal at the World Games orienteering event after Grant Bluett's gold in 2001.
It was a much cooler day which greeted us today, with a nice breeze making conditions much nicer than Friday.

Hanny had a smooth run and stuck to her race plan, which involved taking safe routes, staying out of the forested green areas and sticking to the tracks as much as possible. It payed off with a dominating run, 1.16 min clear of second placed Minna Kauppi of Finland.

Interview with Hanny

From Drop Box

Hanny on the Podium

From Drop Box

The Aussie flag rising high!

From Drop Box

Hanny with her Gold medal!

From Drop Box

Hanny stoked with her efforts!

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Aussie supporters on the big screen.

From Drop Box

Simon finishing on the big screen. Simon ended up in 23rd position, with a solid performance, showing over the two individual competitions that he can mix it with the best in the world.

From Drop Box

Kathryn resting up after her solid 19th position. She had a solid run, but never felt like she had her rhythm in the terrain, but her consistency over the two competitions shows she is amongst the best in the world.

From Drop Box

I (Julian Dent) finished up 13th, after a good start, but a small mistake late in the course cost a few places,I definitely have room to improve for the relay tomorrow.

What a great day for Australia today!

We'll be hoping to continue the success with the mixed relay tomorrow starting at 14.00 local time. (16.00 AEST)

Team Australia
1. Simon Uppill
2. Kathryn Ewels
3. Julian Dent
4. Hanny Allston

Silver Medal for Hanny in the Sprint

2009-07-18T00:38:00.000+10:00

Wow what a day! Hanny showed she is well and truly back to her best with a 2nd place in the Sprint Distance at the 2009 Kaohsiung World Games. There was nothing to unexpected about the day- it was hot, and humid, as we have come to expect. It clouded over not long after the women's start which cooled things done a little, and some ominous storm clouds threatened but never delivered. On the other hand, the Aussies DID deliver!

Hanny had a pretty early start, and held her lead for most of the time until current Middle Distance and Relay World Champ Minna Kauppi posted a time of 14.17- 22.3 secs faster than Hanny.

Kathryn finished 15th- 1.34mins behind Hanny and not far of a top 10 results. This was equal to her best WOC result- in last years Long distance race. She missed time on a few controls but was reasonably happy with her result

Simon put together a great race and was really happy with his 17th place. He was only 10secs away from kiwi Ross Morrison in 10th place which shows how close he is to cracking it big time.

Julian was 22nd and a bit disappointed. He missed a few best route choices and tired a bit towards the end. But he has had a great preparation and hopefully he'll be rewarded with better results in the middle and relay.

Model Event & Opening Ceremony

2009-07-17T11:51:00.000+10:00

Yesterday the Aussies got their first taste of orienteering in Taiwain, with a look at the model terrain in Central Park, Kaohsiung. It was good to get out for a run here in Kaohsiung, and get into the local climate.
The whole city has really had a makeover in preparation for these Games, with new development along the "Love River", providing a nice green esplanade in the city center, as well as the complete redevelopment of Central Park, not only providing a suitable location for our model event but a great place for the locals to practice their Tai Chi in the morning!

The whole city and its people have been very receptive of the athletes with volunteers assigned to each sport, as well as each team, to provide assistance throughout the day.

From Drop Box

The model event was only a short jog from our hotel, which was great to get the legs moving!

From Drop Box

Kathryn taking in the model area.

From Drop Box

Simon making sure he stays hydrated!

From Drop Box

Hot and steamy after the model event!

From Drop Box

Central Park - model map

In the afternoon the team rested and got some sleep in preparation for a late night at the opening ceremony, with some tropical downpours throughout the day, it made for a steamy night at the opening ceremony!

From Drop Box

Excited before the march into the Stadium.

From Drop Box

Getting to know the other Aussie athletes before the athlete parade. The other sports represented from Australia included, Ultimate Frisbee, Sumo, Parachuting, and Wakeboarding.

Entering the stadium in the athlete parade.

From Drop Box

Hanny inside the stadium, with a packed house of 40,000 on a steamy night.

From Drop Box

All team lining up after the athlete parade.

From Drop Box

Rob and Kathryn enjoying the Opening Ceremony

From Drop Box

All the Aussie Team at the Opening Ceremony of the World Games 2009

From Drop Box

The massive fireworks display kicks into action!!

From Drop Box

They certainly put on a great show for the 40,000 spectators and the athletes!

From Drop Box

Simon showing his delight with the express trip back to the hotel after the opening ceremony. With the competition beginning soon, to be able to get back fast to rest up was important, and thanks to our gun Taxi driver, who wouldn't even let police stop him, we got back to the hotel in record time!!

Watch the Sprint action live this afternoon from 16.00 AEST.

Aussie starters:

Hanny - 14.07
Kathryn - 14.14

Simon - 15.11
Julian - 15.24

Watch live here

Team Arrives into buzzing Kaohsiung

2009-07-16T11:25:00.000+10:00

The team has arrived into Kaohsiung, a city buzzing with excitement with the arrival of the World Games to Taiwain. With a deafening welcome from the local children at the airport to the massive nightly firework display over the Love River, Kaohsiung is certainly putting on a show. Tonight the World Games opens with the opening ceremony in the 40,000 solar powered stadium. Tomorrow the first orienteering competition begins with the Sprint around Kaohsiung Fine Arts Museum. Expect some heated racing with an expected top of 33 degrees, and plenty of humidity to match, the Aussies should be well prepared to handle the conditions.

Above Photo: Team arrives fit and ready to race at Kaohsiung airport, to a warm welcome from the local school children.

Above Photo: The hundreds of school children welcoming teams at the airport, they provided a deafening and warm welcome!!

Above Photo: The team waiting in the accreditation center for the World Games, City Hall, Kaohsiung.

Above Photo: Accredited and ready to race! The team outside the accreditation center.

Above Photo: The team soaking up the great city atmosphere along the Love river, after checking out the firework display!

Follow the action live from 16.00 AEST, here.

Aussie team complete training in Hong Kong

2009-07-14T23:29:00.000+10:00

Overnight all members of the Australian Team came together in Hong Kong for their last full days training before jetting off to Kaohsiung tomorrow morning.
With the arrival of Simon Uppill, as well as Kathryn Ewels and coach Rob Preston over the weekend, the Aussie team is fit, healthy and ready to fire in Kaohsiung.

The team has acclimatised to the humidity and heat by training at some of the many park maps in Hong KongSome of the open parks in the dense city!

Julian getting ready to train with the Hong Kong Squad

Training at North Park, New Territories

Training at Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon,provided some tricky intense legs and open parkland running similar to Taiwain.

Simon, Kathryn and Rob headed out to Tin Shui Wai to round off their training today.

Coach Rob Preston, having a run himself at training.

Simon finishing up his session today.

Training in Hong Kong

2009-07-14T19:05:00.000+10:00

Hanny Allston and myself Julian Dent were the first team members to arrive in Hong Kong to start acclimatising the the 30+ heat along with the 70% humidity.

We had some great assistance from the local Hong Kong orienteering association to organize some quality sprint training.
First though it was off up the "Peak", sitting 552m, above the city of Hong Kong (and our accommodation).
Rumour on the run that Hanny 'broke' Julian on the way up, was purely speculation, with no hard evidence to back it up. But the run certainly got the body into gear in the dripping conditions, and we certainly got some funny looks from the tourists up the top!

Hanny recovering from her first run up the Peak.

It was then off too training with the Hong Kong senior and junior squad. With a world Champion in their midst, they were all excited to get some tips.

Hanny in Action at Yuen Long Park

Julian in action at Yuen Long Park

After training Hanny and Julian then did a short presentation for the Hong Kong orienteers, on Sprint orienteering techniques and training for orienteering. They seemed to enjoy the insights into training from an Australian perspective and were keen to get some tips!

What is the World Games?

2009-07-14T17:04:00.000+10:00

Some of you may be wondering what actually is the World Games.....

The World Games itself were first held in 1981, they are an international multi-sport event, designed for sports which are recognized by the International Olympic Committe (IOC), but are not in the Olympics. It is run by the International World Games Association (IWGA), under the patronage of the IOC.

So essentially it is the breading ground for Olympic sports, or second rate sports, depending which way you look at it.

However in the past, sports in the World Games have been elevated to the Olympics, such as Triathlon, while other have been disappointed, with sports such as Tug of War and more recently Softball being demoted to the World Games.

Being held every four years, the World Games has grown since its inception to now include 26 sports in Kaohsiung, with nearly 5000 participants and includes an opening and closing ceremonies.

Orienteering was first introduced in 2001 in Japan, with Australia's own Grant Bluett, taking the the Mens title. Since then the orienteering program as been expanded. This year in Kaohsiung, Taiwan the following events will be included:

Friday 17th July - Sprint
Saturday 18th July - Middle
Sunday 19th July - Mixed Relay (2x Women, 2x Men)

Stay tuned for more news from the team's training camp in Hong Kong......

Welcome to the Blog

2009-07-14T16:17:00.001+10:00

The Australian team for the World Games is currently in Hong Kong, to complete their preparations for the World Games to be held in Kaohsiung, Taiwain from the 17 - 20th July.
Over the next week, you'll be able to follow the teams preparation, competitions and weird and wonderful stories of competing and training in Hong Kong & Kaohsiung right here on our blog.
Coming up......

What is the World Games?
The Aussie Team
Training Camp in Hong Kong!
Team Profiles
Competition Preview

So stay tuned for more in the coming days!