DROC members coped admirably with tough conditions at Chapel Flat for the 2016 Long Distance Champs.  Heavy rain saw creeks flowing and tracks turned into skating rinks.  The gold mining terrain added plenty of technicality.

Our Victorian Champions are Lanita Steer (W20E), Martin Steer (M50A), Sarah Davies (W16A) and Cassandra Dutton (W21A).  Runners up were Asha Steer and Janine Steer, with Peter Dalwood and Debbie Dodd in third place.  Simon Rouse narrowly missed a place by less than 2 minutes, over a distance of 13 km.

We are now looking forward to a great performance at the Relays at Brimbank Park on Sunday October 9.

The 2016 State Series wrapped up at Eppalock in September.  Simon Rouse claimed third place on course 1.  The points he gained were enough to send him to the top of the State Series rankings, a fantastic achievement, and well deserved after all the work he has put into his orienteering. Our other series winners were Lanita Steer, who won Course 2 by one point, and Luca Bogdanovits, winning on course 8. Runners up were Janine Steer, Sarah Davies and Arika Bogdanovits.

Simon also had a huge overall win in the recent Maxi 3 hour, cleaning up the entire course and scoring 1200 points in just under 3 hours – the only person able to achieve that feat.   Simon wasn’t the only DROC winner at the Maxi – Leo Theoharis was second in Mens Open, Alicia Dymowski won Open Women, and Vic Sedunary won Mens Ultravet.

It’s DROC’s turn again to organise the annual Club Relays, and we’ve selected a venue that will offer fast running and great spectating, without having to drive too far. The arena has parking, toilets, picnic areas and playgrounds. There’s no excuse for not being part of the action! Ian Dodd is planning exciting courses which will be a lot of fun for everyone.

There are 5 courses to choose from. Course 1 is the longest, and will be approx 7 kms. Course 2 will be about 5 kms long, and Course 3 will be around 3 kms, with Moderate standard navigation. Course 4 is Easy standard. Course 5 is a combination, with 1 Hard, 1 Moderate and 1 Easy leg. Each team requires three competitors.

The Relays are a fantastic day out as we all get together and barrack loudly for our clubmates! To enter, just let Debbie know which course you would like to compete on.

DROC salutes the mighty efforts of rogainers extraordinaire Vic Sedunary and Merv Trease, who won the Mens Ultravets category at the World Rogaining Championships in Alice Springs!  The boys put in a lot of long hours training, and their efforts certainly paid off.  Vic says that out of 24 hours, they only had one “inefficient” hour.  You can read all about the event in the September issue of Punchline.

Sarah Davies has been selected to represent Victoria at the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships in Queensland in late September.  Sarah will be part of the Junior Girls team, and we wish her all the best as she competes in the Sprint, Long Distance, and Relay competitions.

Relays – It’s All Over

Our girls finished a fantastic JWOC week in the Relays.  Lanita led off for the AUS 1 team, and Asha was first leg for the AUS 2 team, so they started together.  They stayed together right through the first loop, hitting the spectator control 1 second apart.  Lani pulled away on the short final loop, to finish in 32nd – her run was the best of all the Aussie girls.  Asha was not far behind in 37th.

Both girls have a lot to be proud of.  Lanita, in her last JWOC, had the best girl’s Sprint result for some years by finishing in the top 30; she came oh so close to making the A final in the middle, and she finished up with a great Relay run.  Asha was very consistent all week, and has had a great experience with the promise of more JWOCs to come.

Lanita Just Misses A Final

After an excellent run in the Middle Distance qualifier, Lanita was very unlucky to miss the “A” final – the top 20 go through, and she finished 25th.  Asha also ran consistently to finish 35th.  The terrain was steep and complex, and every second counted.   In the B final, both girls had small errors, and finished within one second of each other!  Lanita was 42nd and Asha was 43rd.

Girls Complete Tough Long Distance

Asha and Lanita both completed the JWOC Long distance race, at an altitude of over 2000 meters, and with more contours than you can count (check out the maps on the JWOC website).  Lanita was 82nd and Asha was 89th, both girls had clean runs and were happy with their results.

The Middle Distance qualifiers are on next (Wed), followed by the Final (Thurs), then the Relay (Fri).  Follow the team’s progress live at the JWOC website and check their posts and photos at the OA Facebook page.

The Orienteering Victoria website brings you a detailed daily update.

Lanita finishes 26th in JWOC Sprint!

Lanita’s strong sprint form this year continued at JWOC, where she blitzed the second half of the race to climb from 71st at the first radio check, to 26th overall – her best ever result at JWOC!  Lanita and Asha both wore GPS trackers, and it was fascinating to follow their progress in real time on the JWOC website.  Asha had a variable run, doing well in the first half but making a couple of small errors near the end in the complicated arena section with its myriad of fences.

JWOC swings into action this week, starting with the Sprint on July 10.  Our girls have been training in the stunning Swiss mountains – check out the photos – warning, you will be jealous of all that sunshine and scenery!

Timetable (Melbourne time):

• Sprint – 5pm to 8.30pm Sunday July 10 (Asha starts at 7.12pm, Lanita starts at 7.39pm)
• Long – 5pm to midnight Monday July 11
• Middle qualifiers – 6pm to 8.30pm Wednesday July 13
• Middle final – 5pm to 10pm Thursday July 14
• Relays – 6.30pm to 10pm Friday July 15

PARK AND STREET SATURDAY SERIES – ENDURO 2, JULY 2, BORONIA GULLY

PARK AND STREET SATURDAY SERIES – ENDURO NO 2, JULY 2, BORONIA GULLY

Our second long distance EndurO is on Saturday July 2, using a combination of maps covering Boronia and Ferntree Gully (yes there will be some hills … but also some lovely sections along creeks and bike trails).  This is a Score event with 40 controls – visit as many as you can to score as many points as possible.  There are four courses – 120 min Run, 120 min Walk, 90 min Run, and 90 min Walk.  PLEASE NOTE CHANGES TO THE PREVIOUSLY ADVERTISED 75 MIN COURSES.

Location: Boronia Park, Park Crescent (eastern end towards Dorset Road)
Start times: 120 min Run and Walk start at 2.00pm, finish at 4.00pm.  90 min Run and Walk start at 2.15pm (NOTE EARLIER START), finish at 3.45pm.

We provide: Maps, control cards, pens/pencils, plastic bags
Please bring a watch, and water.  There are toilets at the Start and out on the course.
Registration opens at 1.30pm.  There will be an important Briefing and map handout 5 mins prior to each Start time.
Cost: $5 adults, $2 juniors.  No charge for Saturday season ticket holders.

NEW QUESTION FORMAT!  Instead of choosing from 3 answers to a question, there will be a statement, with an answer of either YES or NO; eg “The letterbox at no 28 is made of wood”.  If the letterbox is made of wood, answer Y.  If it is made of something else, answer N.  We expect this will lead to less time spent at the controls, and more time to score points!

Another top DROC event – enquiries to Debbie Dodd, debbiedodd@iinet.net.au, or 0409 135 020.

DROC put on a show at Yellow Gum Park for our special MelbushO event.  We had upwards of 150 eager competitors who tested their navigational skills in the terrain which varied from steeply contoured riverside slopes, to gentle spurs and gullies, to complex mounds and pits – a little bit of everything.

Check out the full results, and some great photos, at www.melbusho.com.  The standout performer was junior James, who was second on course 4, and (unofficially) second on course 3.

Our fundraising efforts were hugely successful – we sold 150 jars of jam, and did extremely well with the raffle.  Not only will our own juniors, Lanita, Asha, and Sarah, be assisted with their travel expenses for JWOC and Aus Champs, but we’ll be able to make a donation to the Victorian Junior Squad.  Thanks to everyone who helped out today and made the day another success story.

Check the GALLERY for photos.

Lanita and Asha are off to JWOC!  The Australian team to contest the Junior World Orienteering Championships was announced, and the dynamic duo are part of the 12-member squad.  JWOC will be held from July 9-16, in the Engadine region of Switzerland.

It will be Lanita’s final JWOC and she has been training hard, proving her fitness and skill by winning the Australian UltraLong in South Australia, by 4 minutes.  Asha joins her sister for the second time, coming off some excellent results in the Australian Easter 3-Day carnival.

Lanita and Asha at the start of the UltraLong – click to enlarge

Before flying off to Europe, both girls will compete in New Zealand next month, in the Aus-NZ Test match, representing the Australian Bushrangers.

Our next MelbushO on Sunday June 19 at Plenty Gorge Park, will be a major fundraiser to support our Juniors.  We’ll be selling jams and relishes, and holding a raffle with a fantastic prize of a $120 voucher from Rebel Sport.  The next issue of Punchline will have a special feature on all our up and coming junior orienteers.

Congrats Asha and Lani, we wish you every success!