Author Archives: Debbie Dodd

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!!!

The Australian Easter 3 Day Championships were held in Victoria’s Loddon Shire, and DROC was responsible for the all important job of Registration and Information, across the four days of competition.  The following weekend, we co-organised the Victorian Long Distance Championships at Mt Korong, with Bendigo Orienteers.  Both weekends were hugely successful, with the club providing a highly visible presence, and the friendly and efficient service that we are well known for.

The weekends brought personal successes for club members as well, especially for Simon Rouse, who took first place in all three Victorian Championships!

• Easter Day 1 – Damian Spencer 3rd
• Easter Day 2 – Debbie Dodd 2nd, Damian Spencer 3rd
• Easter Day 3 – Damian Spencer 3rd
• Easter Overall – Damian Spencer 3rd

The following club members also successfully completed all three days:  Asha Steer, Debbie Dodd, Elijah Spencer, Mark Besley, Frankie Shin, Janine Steer, Ian Davies, Rob Murphy, Stuart McWilliam, Peter Yeates.

• Victorian Short Distance Champs – Simon Rouse 1st
• Victorian Middle Distance Champs – Simon Rouse 1st, Martin Steer 1st
• Victorian Long Distance Champs – Simon Rouse 1st, Martin Steer 3rd, Chris Klep 3rd

Visit our GALLERY for some pictures.

Dandenong Ranges Orienteering Club is hosting the final Bike-O 75 event for this summer, on Saturday 1st March. Assembly is at the lovely Eagles Nest picnic ground at Silvan in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.  Enjoy some fantastic riding amongst the tall timbers. Hope to see you all out there for a terrific evening. Don’t forget to bring a few coins for our post event refreshments.  This is a MapRun event.  Online entry is now open; entries on the day are also accepted  – cash payments only, due to lack of mobile coverage at Eagles Nest.

Please ensure you download the event in MapRun before arriving, either at home, or stop off at Silvan Reservoir (where there are toilets).

Enter Now!

Find out more about Bike-O 75

The Park Street Champs were held at Stirling Hill on Mitcham.  Ilze Yeates set a great course that was both physically and mentally challenging, providing a true test of the best.  Congratulations to all the winners, whose names are now recorded on the Champs Honour Board.

Click here to view all the results, the map, and photos from the night.

Well done to the DROC Champions and Gold Medallists – Ian Dodd (below) and Ian Greenwood!  Ian D won the Mens Supervet category on C course.  Ian G took out the Mens Supervet PW category for the 8th year in a row.

Our Silver Medallists were Ian Davies and Rosalind King.  Other Champs participants for DROC were Mike Whitton, Andrew Perkins, Jess Salmon, Pam King and Peter Dalwood.

Head to our GALLERY to see more photos from the 2025 Park Street Champs.

Congratulations to DROC members Peter Hobbs and Simon Rouse, who were selected to the Australian team to compete at the 2025 Oceania Championships, in New Zealand.  They joined 11 other Victorians in the team, and contested the Oceania Sprint, Middle, Long and Relay distance events.  Peter competed in M40, and Simon competed in M45.

Peter stepped onto the podium three times, winning a silver medal in the Middle Distance, a bronze medal in the Long Distance, and another silver in the Relay.  He just missed a place in the Sprint by a tiny margin.  What a great Carnival!

Simon was a little further down the results in the individual events, but was a member of the winning Relay team on the final day, heading up an Aussie clean sweep in M45.

Here’s Peter (furthest left) with his Middle Distance silver medal (click to enlarge):

The 5^th Melbourne City Race at Port Melbourne will mainly be remembered for some wild weather! The day started off sunny, warm, and calm.  Then mid-morning, westerly wind squalls came through, playing havoc with tents and flags, while papers blew everywhere as we madly scrambled to secure everything.  Meanwhile at the Start, there was a huge crash as a tree toppled nearby, damaging cars belonging to nearby residents. At the same time we had to reposition a control, whose location was causing a building alarm to go off.   Then came the rain …  All part of City Racing.  Most people completed their course and stayed dry, and the presentations and random prize draw went ahead as planned.  By the time we packed up, the sun was back!  Gotta love Melbourne in spring.

With over 150 participants, this was the year’s biggest event.  We welcomed a team of 15 from Victoria University (VUPA), who had a fantastic time and loved the experience.  Congratulations to successful team members Narangerel, Tahseen and Ali!

We had some super close results on most courses, with results decided by mere seconds – and even a dead heat for first on W4, between Sophie A and Sophie T!  Congratulations to all placegetters.

The Melbourne City Race will be back bigger and better than ever, in November 2025!

Results and Splits

Maps

Photos

Find out more at www.melbournecityrace.com.au

We promised you something different – and Mt Lilydale certainly delivered!   The outdoor sections of this hilly campus are tricky enough, but when you add in the interior of a building with multiple entry points, a furniture maze in the centre, and more complications created by locker banks, corridors and internal doorways, you have something really out of the ordinary.  Fantastic job by mapper Peter Dalwood and course planner Pam King.

Today’s winners of the Flying Furlong, a gallop between the second last control and the  finish line, were Lucas Kent (30 seconds), Luca Topley Vlahos (33 seconds) and Sam Scadden (46 seconds). Congratulations!  You can collect your prizes from Registration at Ruffey Lake next Sunday.

We’ve updated the Series Standings – click here to see your overall points score after 3 races.  Heading up Course 1 are Matthew Layton and Keely Williams. On Course 2, Geoff Armstrong has a 2 point advantage over Sarah Love.  And on Course 3, Eofy Greenhan has the lead ahead of Elijah Spencer.   Series winners will receive their prizes at the Victorian Sprint Championships on Sunday 1 December.

Results and splits

Photos

Maps

Indoor map legend

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.   There are 9 amazing races on the calendar.  These fun, family-friendly events are perfect for newcomers, and will also test the skills of experienced orienteers.

TARRALLA WETLANDS, SUNDAY 27 OCTOBER, Civic Drive, Croydon

What a great place to explore with a map! No matter what pace you tackled the course at, there was an adventure to be had.  All courses began with some tricky legs around the council buildings and fences, requiring immediate focus on careful map reading.  After the road crossing, everyone enjoyed numerous controls along the newly landscaped creek, before preparing themselves for the Mad Dash around the athletics track.  Then it was on to the Giant Frog, the final control, and into the Finish!

Congratulations to course winners Torren Arthur, Sarah Love, and Izzy Greenhalgh.  Torren was pipped for the Mad Dash by James Love, who ran the 200m leg in a dashing 35 seconds.  Sarah was the Mad Dash winner on course 2, and Izzy took out the prize on course 3.

Our lucky random draw winner this week was Victoria Greenhan, who wins a free entry to the Melbourne City Race, just by pre-entering for today’s event.

The Series Scores have been calculated – check them here.  Your best 4 scores are counted, and series prizes will be presented at the Victorian Sprint Champs at Tarneit on Sunday December 1.

Tarralla Results and Splits

Maps

Photos