Author Archives: Debbie Dodd

OV’s MapLink initiative, introduced in 2020 to provide a means for orienteers to continue with their sport during Covid lockdowns, has been announced as one of four Finalists in the VicSport Awards for 2020.  The category is Sport Initiative of the Year, sponsored by Sports Accounting Australia. Award winners will be announced at Marvel Stadium on June 3 2021

This award recognises the work of individuals, clubs, teams, groups or organisations who have succeeded in enabling more people to participate in sport activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new award for 2020 highlights the innovative work that sport has promoted to keep people active and connect with members.

For more information go to https://vicsport.com.au/2020-victorian-sport-award-finalists

This nomination is a fantastic recognition of the many orienteers who contributed maps and courses, designed scoring programs, set everything up in MapRun, and took part in MapLink over many months. There is no doubt that the rapid and successful return of Park Street orienteering events last summer was greatly assisted by MapLink; and we are delighted that a number of MapLink course setters will have their efforts recognised as we use their courses during the current Winter season.

While MapLink is hibernating for now, we’ve continued to publish all new Park Street maps for anytime use, as part of our extensive library of DIY maps.  MapLink remains ready for use any time there is a lockdown in Victoria which prevents orienteering events from going ahead. Find out more

Our Bio:

MapLink (DIY Orienteering) – Orienteering Victoria
At the commencement of lockdown, Debbie Dodd put out a call to the Orienteering Victoria community who produced a total of 138 new courses accessible in urban areas under a DIY initiative called MapLink. Available via MapRun (an app that allows users to upload, save and share their completed courses for virtual competitions), Facebook and Google Docs were also utilised to track a virtual scoring system. Between April and September 2020, 2,140 participants were recorded completing a course and the online activity enabled Debbie to ensure enthusiasm, fitness and entertainment levels remained high through lockdown while the use of technology has opened new avenues for the orienteering community.

Police Paddocks Reserve was used for a MelBushO event for the first time last Sunday.  Despite the rain, competitors enjoyed a variety of terrain, from a complex network of tiny tracks, to open grassed slopes and lightly timbered spur/gully, and some more vegetated patches.  Tracks were generally faster than bush, but we were all in need of off-track practice after a year’s break!  Thanks to course planner Carl Stemp, and Dandenong Ranges Orienteering Club, who introduced many newcomers to the joys of bush orienteering.

Results   Splits

If you missed out, we have good news!  The courses have all been set up in MapRun, for you to try any time.  You can download and print your own map.  Simply head out on foot or on your bike; take your phone or watch with MapRun loaded, go to the start as shown on the map, and look for one of the five courses in “Events Near Me”.  You can also try the “All Controls” map as a Score course, and see how long it takes to get the lot!

Police Paddocks Course 1

Police Paddocks Course 2

Police Paddocks Course 3

Police Paddocks Course 4

Police Paddocks Course 5

Police Paddocks All Controls

MelBushO makes its long awaited and very welcome return, with a series of Sunday morning events in bush terrain near Melbourne. The series kicks off in March with three events:

• March 7 – Woodlands Historic Park, Greenvale – online entry and information
• March 21 – Police Paddocks, Endeavour Hills – organised by DROC – online entry and information (open from early March)
• March 28 – Maroondah Reservoir, Healesville – online entry and information (open from early March)

In 2021, we require pre-entry via Eventor for MelBushO events, to follow our Covid Safe Plan. This means we can minimise queuing, remove the need for touch screens, and use pre-payment to avoid handling cash.  Controls will be in SI Air mode for contactless punching, and other covid safe measures will be followed.

Online entry and payment, using PayPal or POLI, is quick and easy. It means minimal queuing on arrival, a guaranteed map, and no need to worry about the wallet.  Entries close on the Thursday evening prior to the event.  Not used Eventor? Here’s how to create an account, and register for an event.

More about MelbushO in 2021.

Congratulations to DROC’s newest Park Street Champions and Gold Medallists Helen Walpole (Womens Open); Ian Dodd (Mens Supervet) and Ian Greenwood (Mens Supervet PW); Silver Medallists Peter Hobbs (Mens Open), Sarah Love (Womens Open), Denise Pike (Womens Supervet) and Rosalind King (Womens Supervet PW); and Bronze Medallist Ian Davies (Mens Senior). Also contesting the Final were Andrew Hester, Damian Spencer, Andrew Perkins, Debbie Dodd, Mark Besley, and Peter Grover.

The Final was conducted on the Cavills Corner map on February 24. Pamela King was the course planner; Peter Dalwood was the event advisor, and Mark Besley was the scorer.  DROC were host club for the 2021 Champs.  Well done to all participants, and to the organising team!

Click here to see all the Results and the Competition Map

It was like a reunion in the car park of the only Championship event to be held in Victoria in 2020, as we caught up with friends who we hadn’t seen since the Melbourne Sprint Weekend way back in March.  Thanks to Melbourne Forest Racers for their determination to make the event happen – a great way to wind up the year.  Skills were rusty as we tried to remember which finger our SIAC sticks went on, how to use our compasses, and what all those symbols on the map meant. But once on the course it all came back, and we had tons of fun navigating the complex streets, lanes, and stockyards of historic Kensington.

Congratulations go to winners Helen Walpole and Peter Grover; runners-up Sally Barlow, Amber Louw, Simon Rouse and Ilze Yeates; and third placegetters Peter Dalwood, Ian Davies, Asha Steer and Janine Steer.  Each will receive free or discounted entry to the MFR Summer Sprints in early 2021.

Melbourne Summer Series is up and away, operating under Orienteering Victoria’s Covid Safe Plan.  Choose from any of the four weeknight series.  With multiple groups of 100 now allowed, we have room for everyone, with no pre-entry requirements.

Guidelines for participants, organisers, course planners and scorers are now available here, including:

• What to expect at events
• QR code checkin
• Season and Multi pass arrangements

Missed an event? Get the maps for Anytime use here

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SUMMER SERIES:   www.vicorienteering.asn.au/summer

To give Melbourne orienteers some much-missed bush orienteering, we’re offering four free training sessions during November.

• Sunday November 8 – Police Paddocks, Brady Road, Endeavour Hills (25 km limit applies)  Event Information and Online Entry – opens Nov 1
• Saturday November 14 – Jumping Creek Reserve, Warrandyte    Event Information and Online Entry – opens Nov 7
• Sunday November 22 – Panton Hills    Event Information and Online Entry – opens Nov 15
• Sunday November 29 – Brimbank Park    Event Information and Online Entry – opens Nov 22

Pre-entry via Eventor is required for these four training sessions.  Entry for Police Paddocks will open on Sunday November 1, and close on Friday November 6, or when the maximum of 60 entries is reached.  Entry to the other three sessions will open one week ahead of each session.

These sessions will operate under the OV Covid-Safe Return to Sport Plan. Entry conditions apply – details on Eventor. Please read the OV Participant Guidelines before entering.

Each event will have two Line courses (5 km and 3 km), and a Score course. Police Paddocks will have an additional 7 km (Long Hard) course.

The events are divided into two separate timeslots – 10.30-11.15am, and 11.30am-12.15pm.  When entering, you must choose one of these two timeslots at the same time as you select your course.  You must arrive, check in, and start your course, within your timeslot. Only 10 people will be allowed at Registration at any one time.

Control locations will be marked with hanging tapes, or permanent course markers at Brimbank Park.  These events are self-timed and there are no published results.  There are no toilets at the venues.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

The next Melbourne City Race will be on Sunday April 18 2021 – rescheduled from November 2020, so that we can deliver all we promised, hopefully without too many restrictions in place.

The 2021 Melbourne City Race heads to the seaside!  You’ll explore the best that Port Melbourne has to offer, including Beacon Cove, Station Pier, Bay Street and the famous South Melbourne Market.  There’s a maze of irregular narrow streets and lanes, perfect for navigating!  You’ll also enjoy an amazing array of architecture from quaint cottages and historic stone pubs, to multi million dollar apartments on palm tree lined boulevards. There are beautiful parks and gardens, and of course the foreshore, where you’ll taste the salty tang of fresh sea air.

You’ll have a chance to warm up on Saturday April 17, with a Park Prologue.  This will be a park map in the inner east, with location and format to be announced. It will feature a network of narrow streets and lanes, small parks, and riverside trails.

Pre-entry will be required, and entries will be open on Eventor in March 2021.  Discover Port Melbourne from a new point of view!   www.melbournecityrace.com.au

As winter comes to a close, we’re starting to think about Summer events. The new orienteering fixture is in place, and we’re ready to roll with park street events just as soon as we get the official go-ahead for community sport.

To download and print the fixture, simply head to www.vicorienteering.asn.au/summer.  Click on the image to open a high quality pdf, which you can download and print.  This page will also be the place to find out everything you need to know for events from October onwards, including any changes to dates and locations, and guidelines for participants as we operate under our Return to Sport plan.

See you soon!!

All organised orienteering events have been suspended from July 8 until further notice, for any residing in metropolitan Melbourne. This means Park Street Winter Series events, MelBushO events, the RMIT Sprint Double, and all other orienteering activity, will not take place until restrictions allow organised sport to resume again.

However, individual outdoor exercise is allowed, as long as you manage hygiene and social distancing, and do not travel outside the restricted area of Melbourne. We have two great ways to keep you actively orienteering, and connected to your sport.

MAPLINK  https://www.vicorienteering.asn.au/maplink

MapLink is there for you –  the MapLink Library now has almost 100 Park Street courses, right across Melbourne, with new courses added every week.  You can complete as many courses as you like, where you like, in your own time frame. We have an online self scoring system and a Facebook page to keep you connected.  You can help by setting a course, sending it to voa@iinet.net.au, and letting us share it with everyone.  Find out more about Set-Send-Share.

DIY MAP LIBRARY https://www.vicorienteering.asn.au/resources/diy-library/

We have over 100 previous maps and courses already set up, ready for you to download, print, and use in your own time frame. You’ll find a great selection of park street, sprint, MTBO and bush maps – including DROC’s own Map Archive, Bayside Kangaroos Maprun library; most Park Street maps from 2019 and 2020 (and some golden oldies from way back); a great selection of sprint training maps from Fredo and Mikkel, and some Sprint Into Spring, Vic Autumn Series and MelbushO maps.

We also have a special offer for club members.  You can request a digital copy of our Permanent Course maps, which will be emailed to you.

Stay safe when exercising: