DROC fielded four teams in the 2023 Victorian Club Relays, held at Woowookarung on open spur gully terrain, on Sunday April 2.  Our Course 1 team of Simon Rouse, Ian Davies and Damian Spencer tackled the complex 6 km course, finishing a very strong 4th out of 9 teams.  On Course 3, the team of Peter Yeates, Ray Scaddan and Carl Stemp were comfortably midfield in 5th place.  The Newburys were unable to defend their 2022 title on Course 4, with an unfortunate mispunch.  But it was our Course 5 (Mixed) tea, of Elijah Spencer, Glenn Meyer and Sally Barlow that had the result of the day, in second place. Well done to all our teams!

Some great performances, and podium finishes, by DROC members at the Oceania Championships in Tasmania!  The week kicked off with a Sprint race at the UTAS campus in Launceston, always a good challenge.  The action then moved on to the St Helens area, for the Long and Middle Distance Champs, and the Relays.  The Long Distance was a gruelling day on a very physical map with lots of bracken and fallen timber.  The Middle Distance was on a new map in tin mining terrain, much less physical but more technical with small and subtle contour features as well as swamps and creeks.

Congratulations to our podium placers:

• Peter Dalwood – second place in the Oceania Sprint, first place in the Oceania Relay
• Simon Rouse – third place in the Oceania Sprint, first place in the Oceania Relay
• Lanita Steer – first place in the Oceania Relay
• Janine Steer – third place in the Oceania Relay

Other strong performances came from Pam King, 4th in the Sprint; Simon Rouse, 4th in the Long Distance; Janine Steer, 5th in the Middle Distance.

Lanita Steer was selected to represent Australia in the Australia-New Zealand Challenge team, and her team’s win in the Relay, along with her top 10 placings in the individual events, have helped Australia take a resounding victory.

Congratulations to everyone taking part and toughing it out.  Check out our GALLERY.

DROC members have been out enjoying great weather and great course at Summer Series!  Check out the Gallery for photos.  Find out more about Melbourne’s Summer Series of park street orienteering.

The 2022 Victorian Club Relays were held on a glorious day, on an intricate and interesting map at Argyle, near Heathcote.  Although not particularly hilly, there were plenty of complex erosion features, numerous tracks, and unexpectedly full creeks and ponds.  Victorian forest is usually a dusty grey-brown, but thanks to the rain, this was verdant green.

Although the results were dominated by Melbourne Forest Racers, DROC had some great results and several podium finishes, including a win to the Newbury Navigators.  As a result, we claimed second spot in the Rockhopper club competition.   Check the GALLERY for more great action shots like this one!

SPRINT SHOWDOWN – Sunday 13 November, RMIT Bundoora

Online entry is closed, but you can enter on the day, while maps last.

Info Flyer

Two races in one event! A sensational Sprint Showdown double header at the Sports Centre, RMIT Bundoora West Campus, McKimmies Road.

Two races for one entry fee!! Enter and pay once, and run twice. Adults $15 (total entry fee). Cash or card accepted at Registration.

Kids Run Free!! DROC encourages juniors to compete by offering free entry for anyone under 21.

Toilets, showers, cafe (hot/cold food and drinks) and bag drop at the Sports Centre – your Showdown Hub.

Race 1 – a classic Sprint with 1 min start intervals – choose one of the four courses. Start any time between 10am-11am:

Course 1 – Hard, 3.4 km
Course 2 – Hard, 2.8 km
Course 3 – Short Hard, 2.0 km
Course 4 – Moderate/Easy, 1.6 km

Race 2 – the Sprint Showdown, featuring head to head racing, 30 second start intervals, loops and pivots. Starts between 12.15pm-12.45pm:

Course 1A or 1B – Hard, 2.9km                 View map snippets
Course 2A or 2B – Hard, 2.5 km               View map snippets
Course 3A or 3B – Short Hard, 1.9km     View map snippets
Course 4A – Moderate/Easy, 1.6 km

Things to note:

Maps are NOT on waterproof paper – BYO map bag.  The pre-start is under cover, and registration and download will (probably) be located inside the Sports Centre.

Parking is free on Sundays; park in Car Park 4 and walk south to the Sports Centre.  If CP4 is full, head to CP3 instead.

Everyone needs to check in on arrival, and collect a Start ticket.

Wednesday 20 October will see the first use of the Mitcham map under its new name, Stirling Hill.  The map has been renamed in honour of Ian Stirling; we invite everyone to come along and remember Ian, with a map in your hand and some (long awaited) sun on your face.  The start location is Heatherdale Reserve, Purches Street.  Whilst the start window is 6.30pm-7.00pm, there will be presentations afterward (at approx 8pm), for the Monday, Wednesday and Saturday Winter Series.  We will also mark two milestones, including Pam King becoming a Touring Legend of The Millennium Club with 1500 events.  There will be a portable BBQ brought along for anyone who wants to BYO dinner.  Please stay on after your run or walk, for this special evening.

What a brilliant two days of urban racing! From the complicated geometry of the new map of Waverley Stadium, to the intricacies of the Tatterson woodlands, and finishing with a Grand Tour of Williamstown, the three races were very different but all equally fun.

Maps and Photos

For the opening event, Damian Spencer produced a beautiful map, and set courses which took full advantage of the concentric circle layout, and featured the historic oval and grandstand as the centrepiece. At Tatterson we were confronted with an unexpected family day, fair, footy matches, and full car park; but we managed to get things up and running, and send runners out into the woodland in head to head match races, using butterfly loops on courses planned by Toby Cooper. Some of the wetland areas seem to have expanded recently!

The finale was an epic, with mapper and planner Ricky Thackray setting true urban long distance courses – a mixture of long legs with multiple route choices, and fine navigation in the small but complex pockets of parkland and Botanic Gardens. Everyone had a chance to experience the Williamstown foreshore and the city views from Point Gellibrand. The random prize draw was a highlight of the weekend! Results and splits can be viewed via Eventor. MCRW will be back in 2023, hopefully back on the Docklands map where it all began.

The Melbourne City Race Weekend on October 8 and 9 is the perfect add-on to your AUS Champs trip to Victoria!  Spend a few days relaxing in Melbourne, then gear up to be part of Australia’s only City Race, back for its third edition.  Online entries are open now, and close on Tuesday October 3.

The weekend features three amazing races:

Saturday 8 October am – WAVERLEY STADIUM, Mulgrave  Enter here

An exciting new urban map featuring the famous Waverley Park, home to AFL teams Hawthorn and St Kilda during the 1990s – a must for sports history fans!  Expect a compact but complex map, based around the heritage-listed stadium and oval.

Saturday 8 October pm – TATTERSON, Keysborough      Enter here

A short distance south lies a fascinating pocket of woodlands and wetlands, sports facilities, a unique playground, and safe, quiet streets. But the main attraction is the notorious “tree maze!”.  The race format will pit you against your rivals head to head!

Note: public transport is limited; transport by car is recommended for both Saturday events,

Sunday 9 October am – MCR at WILLIAMSTOWN     Enter here

Taking in the wonderful seaside sights, sounds (and smells) of the historic township of Williamstown, the 2022 Melbourne City Race will be an incredible mix of complex urban navigation, coastal scenery, maritime history, and the bustling village atmosphere that the area is famous for.  Williamstown is a short distance from the CBD by train, or an easy drive over the West Gate Bridge.   Afterwards, enjoy the local Sunday market, grab lunch in one of the numerous cafes or pubs, visit Scienceworks, cycle the Foreshore Trail, or soak up the spectacular views across Hobsons Bay.

More details at www.melbournecityrace.com.au

Our next MelbushO is on Sunday July 17, at Jells Park in Wheelers Hill. Enjoy the adventure of using a map to explore the park in a new way!

Courses range in length from 2.5 to 6 km, and offer plenty of variety and challenge for everyone. There will be many controls in a relatively small space, and numerous changes of direction, so you’ll need to keep in contact with the map at all times, and check the fine details.

Registration, parking, start, finish and toilets are all in close proximity, at the main car park off Waverley Road. For details, course lengths and notes, and terrain photos;  please read the Information Sheet before entering, to help decide on the right course for you.

Kids Run Free at DROC – Dandenong Ranges Orienteering Club is offering free entry to this event for anyone under 21.

We strongly encourage everyone – including juniors – to pre-enter, to avoid long queues, and to ensure there are enough maps for all. Enter and pay online via this link, by Thursday 14 July.  Entries open Monday June 4.

Enquiries to Debbie Dodd, tel 0409 135 020 or droc@iinet.net.au

The fourth MSW was another fantastic feast of top quality sprint orienteering, featuring three new maps and a hectic program.  DROC was front and centre as the largest participating Club.  We were also the organizing club for Race 3 at Manor Lakes College; and we coordinated the critical tasks of Registration and Finish/Results.  Congratulations for some excellent individual performances, with particular mentions to:

• Denise Pike – overall winner, W70, and winner of Race 1
• Simon Rouse – overall runner-up, M40, and winner of Race 6
• Pamela King – overall runner-up, W70
• Sarah Love – overall third place, W50
• Rhys Eddy – overall third place, M Open

Asha Steer, James Love, Amber Louw and Sally Barlow all represented Victoria as part of the Vikings team.

Check our GALLERY for lots of action photos!