The Melbourne City Race is back with more of what you love!

• More iconic locations in the historic Seaport district of Williamstown
• More categories to choose from, including our new 10 km Express route
• More comforts, with an indoor Race Hub, and post race massages thanks to Kieser Spotswood
• More prizes, including a huge 3 month membership with Kieser Spotswood
• A new Teams Challenge, for four or more

Choices galore – choose your start time between 11am and 12pm.  Choose your distance, from 3 km to 10 km.  Choose your pace – race as hard as you can, or stop and enjoy the scenery.  Choose how you get there – parking is available nearby, Williamstown station is a short walk away, and the Bay cycle trail goes right past!

Endless choices for afterwards – visit Gem Pier and HMAS Castlemaine, with discounted entry for all participants.  Refuel at one of the many eating places at Nelson Place, or hit the beach for a refreshing swim.  But don’t leave before the random prize draw!

ENTRY IS NOW OPEN, until Thursday 20 November.  Click here to enter

Want to know more?  Visit www.melbournecityrace.com.au

Thanks to our Race Partners – 4th Williamstown Sea Scouts; Kieser Spotswood; HMAS Castlemaine

Ahoy navigators!  Cruise on down to Rowville, to enjoy another brand new venue.  Recently landscaped, and expertly mapped by Peter Dalwood, there’ll be action a-plenty, with a great mix of open parkland, some oddly shaped water bodies, and some unique man made objects.  And don’t miss the fast and furious Stamford Stampede, with prizes for the fastest to complete the leg!

Please car pool if possible as parking may be limited. Also note that the Eastern Freeway will be closed all weekend between Bulleen and Doncaster Roads.

• When:  Sunday 9 November 2025, from 10.30am
• Where:  Stamford Park, Emmaline Row, off Stud Road, Rowville
• Who:  Dandenong Ranges Orienteering Club, courses planned by Pam King and Peter Dalwood

Course lengths:

• Course 1 – 4 km
• Course 2 – 3 km
• Course 3 – 2 km, easier navigation

How to enter:  use the online entry link to enter by THIS THURSDAY NOVEMBER 6.  All club members and casuals should pre-enter online if possible.  Entry on the day is accepted at Registration, while maps last.  https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/22733

Entry fees:  Adults (21+) $12; Juniors (13-20) $6; KIDS RUN FREE!!  No entry fee charged for kids 12 and under, but please pre-enter if possible, so that we know how many maps to print.

• Look out for the Mad Dash leg – prizes for the fastest Mad Dashers on each course!
• Free coaching with Joe – join our coach-in-residence Joe Hudd for some skills training sessions, open to all, at approx. 3pm.

DROC is returning to the popular Tarralla Wetlands for a Summer Short, on Sunday 26 October.  Recently extended to include Swinburne TAFE’s campus, this map has it all!  Enjoy the amazing variety on offer – parkland, wetlands, woodland, campus and civic buildings, sports fields, landscaped gardens, sculptures, bridges, bike trails, you name it.  The challenge will be successfully making the mental switch between each terrain.

There’s a Mad Dash leg on all courses, with prizes for the winners! Course 3 does not cross roads.

Choose any of the three courses:
Course 1 (Long) – approx 4 km
Course 2 (Medium) – approx 3 km
Course 3 (Short) – approx 2 km, easier navigation

Check in at Registration from 10.30am. Start any time between 11am and12pm. Course close at 1pm. Sportident timing will be used.

Enter and pay online at this link: https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/22731

Entry fees: $12 adults, $6 juniors 13-20, and Kids (12 and under) Run Free! Entry fee includes hire of Sportident timing device.

Please pre-enter by the closing date, to guarantee a map on your preferred course. You may enter on the day while maps last. Pay at Registration with cash or card.

Add some sizzle to your Spring and Summer, at a brand new series of sprint and short distance races in parks and campuses on Saturday afternoons or Sunday mornings.  Race at a different venue each week during October and November – the perfect lead-in to the Melbourne City Race, the Victorian Primary Schools Champs, and the Victorian Sprint Champs.

SPRINTS are on campuses or in parks with more landscaped features and/or complex terrain.  Courses are approx 3.5 km, 2.5 km, or 2 km. Map scale is usually 1:3000 or 1:4000.  SHORTS are in less complex parkland.  Courses are a little longer, at approx 4 km, 3 km, or 2 km.  Map scale may be 1:5000 or 1:7500.

Online entries for each event open 2 weeks beforehand.

Here’s what to expect:

• a great selection of full colour maps
• three action-packed, fun courses, with something for everyone from newcomers to top sprinters
• designed for fast thinking, with lots of controls, direction changes and route choices
• choose your own start time and course
• Sportident electronic timing, in Air mode (Sportident stick loan included in entry fee)
• Inflation-busting entry fees!  Kids Run Free at SSAS events – applies to under 13s.  Kids aged 13-20 pay just $6, and adults pay only $12
• Coaching and assistance for newcomers, and a family-friendly outdoor activity; no limits on age or ability, and no previous experience or special equipment needed

Prizes:

All competitors will receive points each week, with 100 for the winner, 99 for second, etc.  At the end of the 5-race series of Summer Shorts and Sprints, your best 4 scores will be totalled for your overall score.  Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 males and females on each course.  There are also weekly prizes on offer for the on-the-day winners on each course, and winners of the weekly Mad Dash leg.

Other events:

• Sun November 23 – Melbourne City Race, Williamstown Seaport – click here for details
• Sun November 30 – Victorian Sprint Champs, RMIT Bundoora

Questions?  email enquiries@drocorienteering.com.au

Congratulations to the club members who competed in Queensland at the 2025 Australian Championships – Simon, Mark, Pam, Peter, Darwin, Opus and Eofy.  For some it was their first experience of a major carnival, and they’ve come back full of excitement and enthusiasm for more!

Simon brought home a second place for the Australian Middle Distance Champs, and a third place for the Australian Relay Champs – after running the fastest first leg and setting his team up.  He also came fourth in the Australian Long Distance Champs, and fifth in the Australian Sprint Champs – an excellent all round effort!  Eofy, Opus and Darwin also earned 4th place finishes during the carnival, and all completed a very tough nine days of hard racing in hot weather.

Click on our GALLERY to see photos from the AusChamps week.

Summer Series is about to get under way!  Events take place four nights a week all over Melbourne, as well as in Geelong, Surfside, and on the Mornington Peninsula. For runners, courses will be scatter format (ie. pick the fastest route to get to a designated number of controls) with courses ranging from 3.5 to 10km. Power walkers, you’ll be sticking with score format, aiming to collect as many points as you can in 65 minutes.

How to find out more:
Click here to see the tables of coming events and results, to find more information about each series, and to access useful links.
Click here to see all coming events until the end of March.
Click here to find:

• A pdf version of the printed colour brochure
• The latest guidelines for participants
• A file to upload to your device’s calendar
• A master map of where the events are
• Course setting instructions and map note templates

Club members can buy Season Passes, on sale from October 6. These are great value – the savings are more than the cost of a club membership. Click here for all the details, prices, and savings.

Congratulations to our three winners of the 2025 Vic Series!  Simon Rouse won Mens 1 with 194 points out of a possible 200.  Damian Spencer won Mens 3, also with 194 points, while Elijah Spencer took out Mens 5 with a massive 197 points!

Check the final Series Standings here.

While our Sunday program takes a break until October-November, we have plenty of park street orienteering going on right through Winter!  Come along to any of our Wednesday night or Saturday afternoon events – all part of the Melbourne Park Street Winter Series:

• Sat 26 July – Mullum Mullum, starting at Peter Vergers Reserve, Maroondah Highway, Ringwood, starting from 2pm
• Wed 6 August – Ringwood Wilds, starting at the Heathmont Station car park from 6.30pm
• Wed 27 August – High Hampton, starting at the A W Oliver Reserve, Hampton East, from 6.30pm
• Sat 30 August – Chirnside Park, starting from Kimberley Drive Reserve, from 2pm
• Sat 20 September – Lillydale Lake, starting from Eyrefield Park, Hardy Street, Lilydale, from 2pm
• Wed 24 September – Not Notting Hill, starting at the Mt Waverley Shopping Village, Virginia Street, from 6.30pm

Find out more about Park Street orienteering at www.vicorienteering.asn.au/parkstreet

The next MelbushO is at Westerfolds Park, Templestowe, on Sunday 22 July, starting from the picnic shelter at Porter Street.  Most of the forested areas are unusually open and runnable – and wildlife is plentiful.  Westerfolds is the perfect venue for some fun orienteering for all ages – a great day out for the family!  There are toilets, a large picnic shelter, and plenty of things to climb onto or under.  Come along and have a go – all ages and abilities welcome, and coaching is available for newcomers. If you’re a regular orienteer, this is the perfect event to invite family or friends along to.

At MelBushO events, you can choose any of the five courses, and start any time between 10am and 11.30am.  You can borrow a “Sportident” timing device and a compass, at no extra charge.  You’ll be given a colour map at 1:7500 scale, which you’ll use to navigate between the controls, before returning to the finish.  The location is Westerfolds Park south – enter from Porter Street and head to the car park.  Register at the picnic shelter below.

Course lengths:
Course 1 – 6.5 km
Course 2 – 4.6 km
Course 3 – 3.6 km, harder navigation but physically easy
Course 4 – 4.3 km, moderate navigation
Course 5 – 2.3 km, easy navigation

Pre-enter online here.  Online entry closes on Thursday 19 June.  You can also enter and pay on the day, with cash or card.  Entry fees: $12 adults, $6 juniors (under 21), family maximum $30.  Questions?  Email enquiries@drocorienteering.com.au

We have a fantastic triple header in store for the June Kings Birthday weekend!  Centred around Daylesford and Creswick, come along and enjoy three top quality events:

Saturday June 7 – Vic Series 4, Sailors Diggings, Daylesford.  A recent burn means this forest is as open and runnable as it has ever been – a rare opportunity!  Event Information and Online Entry here

Sunday June 8 – Vic Series 5, Chapel Flat, Creswick.  A former Australian Champs map, the terrain is spur gully with some complex gold mining to test your fine navigation skills.  Event Information and Online Entry here

Sunday June 9 – Tipperary Springs Two Person Relay.  A fun way to round out the weekend!  Event Information and Online Entry here

Course lengths, driving directions, and other important information is on Eventor – check out the Event Information for each day.

These events are brought to you by Eureka Orienteers and Dandenong Ranges Orienteering Club.  There will be pretex maps, TV screens for results, catering by the Junior Squad – and PRIZES.  Did I mention the prizes???  These include a random draw prize for pre-entered competitors, so get your entries in before the cutoff date of Thursday June 6!!!