Category Archives: Uncategorized

Our 2016 event program is in place – here’s what we’re doing this year:

Mon Feb 29 – Park and Street Championships, Mulgrave. The most prestigious event on the Park and Street calendar will be organised by DROC and set by Ian G.   www.vicorienteering.asu.au/parkstreet/championship

Mon Mar 14 – Race 6 of the Melbourne Sprint Weekend, Parade College, Bundoora.  The exciting finale to a 3 day, 6 race Sprint Festival.  www.parkstreeto.com.au/msw2016

Sun April 17 – MelbushO at Cardinia Reservoir – Sunday morning bush orienteering close to Melbourne, perfect for newcomers.  www.melbusho.com

Sun June 19 – MelbushO at Plenty Gorge Park – Sunday morning bush orienteering close to Melbourne, perfect for newcomers.  www.melbusho.com

Sat July 2 – EndurO at Scoresby – challenge yourself with a 2 hour or 75 minute Runners or Power Walkers course

Sun Oct 9 – Victorian Relay Championships, Brimbank Park, Keilor

In addition, we organise numerous Park and Street Summer Series and Winter Series events throughout the year.  Visit our Coming Events page for details.

The Orienteering Victoria website contains a complete fixture of events in Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Not only was the DROC Christmas party a great opportunity to celebrate the festive season with a mouthwatering array of food, on a perfect summer evening.  Prez Pete handed out a record 19 Orienteering Australia Gold, Silver and Bronze merit badges, in recognition of a strong year for club members in National and State bush competition.

Gold: Peter Hobbs, Simon Rouse, Martin Steer, Peter Dalwood, Asha Steer, Lanita Steer

Silver: Ian Davies, Ian Dodd, Debbie Dodd, Peter Yeates, Sarah Davies, Janine Steer

Bronze: Merv Bendle, Mark Besley, Peter Grover, Christine Palmer, Pam King, Denise Pike, Ilze Yeates

On top of that, it was the Committee’s pleasure to announce three new Life Members.  Life membership is awarded to a very select group of people who have at least 15 years membership, and who have shown outstanding commitment to the club during that time.  The three people concerned all fit those criteria to a “tee”.  They are:

Petr Grover – current Secretary, active mapper and competitor since the early 1980s.  Peter is a quiet achiever who has held a number of committee positions, and provided us with many great maps over the years.

Pam King – joined in the 1990s, Pam has also held various Committee positions and is currently our map librarian – which involves making sure our maps are all up to date before each event, which is a massive job.  Pam is also involved in junior and schools orienteering programs.

Carl Stemp – while Carl doesn’t get along to too may events these days, he always supports the club in all its endeavours, and works enthusiastically at any task he’s given – from updating maps beforehand to collecting controls afterwards.  Carl has been heavily involved in junior and schools orienteering programs for many years.

Check out the March 2016 issue of Punchline for more about our Life Members.

Congratulations to our latest crop of Victorian Champions!  The Sprint Distance Champs were held at new venue RMIT Bundoora.  Great map, great courses, great results!  Our Junior Girls really shone.  On the Podium were:

1st place: Amber Louw, Sarah Davies, Lanita Steer, Janine Steer, Vic Sedunary

2nd place: Asha Steer, Debbie Dodd, Pam King, Martin Steer, Peter Dalwood

3rd place: Angus Hall

Cassy Dutton and Debbie Dodd also received their Sprint Into Spring Yellow and Green Jerseys, after 6 weeks of sprint racing.

Click to enlarge:             

Up and coming junior members Angus and Amber both competed at the Eastern Zone Primary Schools Orienteering Champs, held at Cardinia Reservoir Park.  We’re very pleased to report that they each placed second in their grade categories – great job!  The future is in good hands.  Angus has honed his skills during the year at MelBushO and it’s been great to see him running strongly and confidently.  Amber is new to orienteering this year but has learned fast and is doing well at Monday Summer Series.

It was DROC’s turn to host a Sprint Into Spring race.  The venue was Eltham College, using a new map, and courses set by Melbourne Forest Racers’ Aston Key.  The Key family have a long association with DROC and were instrumental in setting up the club 30-something years ago, so it was great to reunite.

Eltham College offered a great mix of technical and physical sprinting.  Aston’s excellent courses threw us straight into complexity with a series of short legs and a lot of detail to read, then some longer legs with plenty of route choices to ponder.  The terrain on the far side of the tunnel was completely different.  For those saving themselves for the green jersey leg, it came right near the end; and Aston had us concentrating hard all the way to the finish line.

Results;  Splits;  Race Wrap and Map;   Photos;  Jersey Points

Our thanks to Eltham College for their fantastic support in the leadup, and right through the day.  We’ll definitely be back!

Sprint Into Spring continued with Race 2 at Darebin Parklands, where competitors had a chance to show off their hill climbing prowess, on a course that was physically tough and mentally testing.  Once again DROC members were out in force, and we had some great “top 10″ results.

On the difficult Course 1, Peter Hobbs was 7th overall, another great result to add to the previous week. Simon Rouse just missed a top 10 finish. Ros King also finished 7th overall, on Course 3.  Cassy Dutton and Debbie Dodd were 1st and 2nd on the Sprint leg on course 2; Cassy was also 2nd on the Course 2 Hill Climb.

Here is where we sit on the all-important Jersey Points table:

• Course 1 Mens Overall (Yellow Jersey) – Peter Hobbs 5th, Simon Rouse 15th
• Course 1 Womens Overall – Lanita Steer 9th, Alicia Dymowski 12th
• Course 1 Womens Sprint Leg (Green Jersey) – Lanita Steer 7th, Alicia Dymowski 11th, Denise Pike 15th
• Course 1 Mens Hill Climb (Polkadot Jersey) – Ian Davies 9th, Simon Rouse =10th
• Course 1 Womens Hill Climb – Lanita Steer 5th, Denise Pike 10th, Alicia Dymowski 13th
• Course 2 Womens Overall – Sarah Davies 4th, Debbie Dodd 6th, Cassy Dutton 10th
• Course 2 Mens Sprint Leg – Ray Howe 11th
• Course 2 Womens Sprint Leg – Debbie Dodd 1st and Green Jersey holder; Cassy Dutton 4th, Sarah Davies 5th, Pam King 15th
• Course 2 Mens Hill Climb – Ray Howe 12th
• Course 2 Womens Hill Climb – Sarah Davies 3rd, Cassy Dutton 5th, Pam King 6th
• Course 3 Womens Overall – Ros King 2nd
• Course 3 Womens Sprint – Ros King 3rd
• Course 3 Womens Hill Climb – Ros King 3rd, and Polkadot Jersey holder (under 1 Jersey per person

Visit the Sprint Into Spring website for all the other results, news and photos.

Hooray! Sprint Into Spring is here!  DROC members were out in force at the first race for 2015, at VU St Albans.  The series kicked off well, with a big crowd, and with well set courses looping through the complex buildings and grounds of the campus.  We had live results displayed instantly on a large screen, to add to the excitement.

DROC members Sarah Davies and Debbie Dodd (pictured below) are the current Female Jersey holders on Course 2.  Sarah was fastest female overall to earn the Yellow jersey, finishing in the Top 10; and she also won the Hill Climb (but you can only have one jersey at once).  Debbie began her Green jersey defence with a win on the Sprint leg.  In other results, Peter Hobbs continued his top sprint form with a 6th place, in a very talented field indeed.

You can catch the action on Saturday October 24 at Darebin Parklands.  Meanwhile here are some more top shots by rolling reporter Peter Yeates.  Click on any image to enlarge.

Enjoy the challenge of a run or walk with a map, in Melbourne’s suburban parks and streets on Monday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings from 7pm, during October-March. Exercise body and mind! The aim is to use the map provided to navigate to pre-designated checkpoints in the fastest time or shortest distance.

These events are ideal for newcomers, families, and sporting or social groups. There are courses for runners varying in length from 30-60 minutes (approx 3-10 km), and a 60 minute course for Power Walkers. No special equipment or navigational skill is required. Bring a watch, and wear comfortable light coloured clothes and shoes. Events cost $4 for adults and $2 for juniors (under 21). We provide coaching to get you started. Register 30 minutes prior to the start time.

Click here for more information about Park and Street orienteering, including a complete Event fixture: www.parkstreeto.com.au

Enquiries: pas@vicorienteering.asn.au

It was our biggest undertaking since 1985 – an Australian Championship and World Ranking Event.  The transformation of an ordinary school campus in Ballarat began at 7am when Ian began placing controls and I taped off out of bounds areas.  By 9am the volunteer army had started to arrive, and were soon busy erecting tents, creating the finish chute, map changeover and start areas.  The TV screens and commentary gear were next.  By 11.30 things were hectic – the controller was checking the courses, and competitors were starting to arrive.  The first competitors – a small group of DROC volunteers – went out on the course at 12.30, and the rest of us held our collective breath as we waited to see if everything worked.  The elites were watching too, eager for a clue before their own starts 30 minutes later.

At 1pm on the dot the event got under way, and for the next 3-4 hours it was intense!  Starts every minute meant a congested course, with competitors coming through the map change, and into the finish, every few seconds.  Traffic management was vital, and no-one could afford to lose focus.

The arena was fantastic.  Instant results were displayed on 6 large screens. Spectators crowded onto the terraces to watch the action from every vantage point, including the commentary balcony.    Competitors did not disappoint, with many hurdling the fence onto the oval for the map change. Any mistakes here were in full view of the crowd!  The Ballarat Courier and WinTV both got great footage, featuring Ian Dodd and Lanita Steer.  For those wanting a more relaxed time, the grassy area, complete with O-shops, coffee van, and the colourful Schools tents, had a picnic race day feel.  The weather was perfect, and most people stayed right through to the presentations.

The day was flawless, thanks to the DROC crew who performed above and beyond. expectations.  Click here for photos from the day.

Besides organising two “world class” events, we all found time to compete, and some of us managed top five finishes, personal bests, and podium places!

• Victorian Middle Distance: Asha Steer 3rd W20E; Merv Bendle 2nd Mens Open B
• Australian Middle Distance: Lanita Steer 4th W20E
• Schools Sprint: Asha Steer 4th Senior Girls
• Schools Individual: Asha Steer 3rd Senior Girls (and named in the All Australian Team)
• Public Race: Lanita Steer 3rd Womens B
• World Series StreetO: Ian Dodd 2nd A Course
• Australian Sprint Distance:  Asha Steer 4th W20E; Lanita Steer 5th W20E; Martin Steer 5th M50A, Ian Davies 5th M55A
• Australian Long Distance: Lanita Steer 2nd W20E; Merv Bendle 3rd Mens Open B; Asha Steer 4th W20E; Debbie Dodd 5th W55AS
• Australian Relays: Asha and Lanita Steer 2nd W20E; Debbie Dodd 1st W45B

Lanita Steer won the National League trophy in Junior Women; Asha and Lanita were an integral part of the 2nd placed Victorian Nuggets Junior Womens team.

Click on the Gallery page to see photos from the Carnival.