Summer Series is about to get under way!  Events take place four nights a week all over Melbourne, as well as in Geelong, Surfside, and on the Mornington Peninsula. For runners, courses will be scatter format (ie. pick the fastest route to get to a designated number of controls) with courses ranging from 3.5 to 10km. Power walkers, you’ll be sticking with score format, aiming to collect as many points as you can in 65 minutes.

How to find out more:
Click here to see the tables of coming events and results, to find more information about each series, and to access useful links.
Click here to see all coming events until the end of March.
Click here to find:

• A pdf version of the printed colour brochure
• The latest guidelines for participants
• A file to upload to your device’s calendar
• A master map of where the events are
• Course setting instructions and map note templates

Club members can buy Season Passes, on sale from September 30. These are great value – the savings are more than the cost of a club membership. Click here for all the details, prices, and savings.

DROC has acquired a new mountain bike map, at Tallarook in central Victoria (north of Mt Hickey). Graham Wallis once again volunteered to set courses, for the 4^th Vic MTBO Series event.  The area has a reputation for being steep, but part of the map is on a plateau with gentle contours and good, wide forest roads.  There is a steep drop off the escarpment to the east, but courses did not venture down there.  Unusually for a DROC mountain bike event, we had fine, clear weather!  The tall timber was a picture.  Graham’s courses were well received as always – a good challenge, with plenty of route choices.  We look forward to future uses of the map.  Thanks to all the riders who came along and christened the new map.

Click here for Results, Splits, and Livelox

Click here for photos

Candlebark Park is a real gem – nestled into the eastern side of Fitzsimons Lane and joined to Westerfolds Park by the Main Yarra Trail, it also connects to Lower Eltham Park, providing plenty of varied terrain.  The southern slopes have mainly open forest, interspersed with a network of narrow tracks, some of them crazily complicated as mountain bikers continually reshape them.  Out on the river flats in the centre of the map, there are some interesting erosion features.  Longer courses usually venture over the footbridge and across the Yarra, where they’ll find an equestrian cross country course, a miniature railway, and sports fields, with more forested slopes to the west.  It’s an ideal location for MelbushO, as the course planner can cater for all levels.

Helen Walpole did just that, with a Long Hard course (right) providing plenty of navigational challenge as it criss crossed the entire park.  The long legs were particularly fun!  Courses 2 and 3 provided shorter versions but with just as much to test orienteering skills; many returning participants commented on how tricky it was, and how they really enjoyed having to think the whole way.  Less experienced orienteers could tackle the moderate course 4 (below), while younger ones and newcomers enjoyed their first experience on course 5, which gave them a chance to explore either side of the river.

The weather proved testing, with showers interspersed with sunshine, on and off all day.  Enthusiasm wasn’t dampened, with courses universally enjoyed by all.  The DROC crew once again put on a smoothly run event, with results posted online within just a few minutes of the last finishers collecting their lollies and returning their hired SI sticks.

A big shoutout to both Helen and Damian, who both arose in the cold, dark and wet to put out 30 controls.  We also had heaps of help to bring them in quickly afterwards, which is very much appreciated!

FUN WITH MAPS!  Sunday April 28, 10am-1.30pm, Abbey Walk, Vermont

Eighty new orienteers came along to Abbey Walk last Sunday, to have some Fun With Maps, and learn some navigation basics. After an introduction, everyone chose from four different activities. The kids loved using their maps to hunt down ‘Pirate Pete’s Treasure,’ before moving on to a ‘Follow The Line’ course, a ‘Map Memory’ course, and the ‘SI Challenge’ – set up just like a MelbushO event, with a short line course, a chance to experience the start procedure just as they would at an event, and to practice the skills they’d learned, as they completed the course and received a splits printout. It was also an opportunity to ask lots of questions! Takeaways were souvenir maps and splits prints, stickers, and plenty of info about upcoming events. It was a perfect day for families to get outdoors with a map – which is what it’s all about! With smiling faces all round, we look forward to seeing how they go at their next orienteering adventure.

View more photos here

Wow, what a fantastic new map!  The first Mt Lilydale Sprint was held at the MLMC campus, which slopes down either side of a steep hill.  There are stairs everywhere, with multiple levels, and lots of nooks and crannies – as well as a market garden, small farm, and vineyard!  Congratulations to the mapping and course planning team of Damian Spencer, Peter Dalwood, and Wayne Love, who created a highly readable, detailed and accurate map, and memorable two-part courses with great route choices all the way through.  We had so many positive comments, that we’returning later this year, to use an enormous indoor space to create an Indoor-Outdoor event with a difference.  Look out for this in November 2024!

Click here to see the maps

Click here for results and splits

Click here for photos

Click here for route analysis on Livelox

CONGRATULATIONS to our 2024 Park Street Championship Medallists!  The Champs were held on DROC’s High Hampton map, last Monday, which truly tested decision making skills at every turn.  Medals will be presented at the Awards Night on Wednesday March 27, which follows the final Summer Series event at Tally Ho.  We’ve hired a hall and hope to have some catering.

GOLD – Martin Sime, Peter Dalwood, Ian Greenwood, Rosalind King

SILVER – Ian Davies, Pamela King

BRONZE – Ian Dodd, Phil Torode

Thanks to Peter and Ilze Yeates who took care of the all important Finish.

Click here to see the results, and the competition map.

Click here for photos

Six DROC members contested the Oceania Sprint carnival on the North Island of New Zealand.  New Plymouth hosted the Lonely Mountain Sprints, a series of five races including the Oceania Knock-Out Sprint and Sprint Relay.  The action then moved to Auckland for the Triple Crown, which incorporated the Oceania Individual Sprint.  It was a successful trip, with Pam King taking out third place in the Lonely Mountain Sprint series, first place in the Oceania Sprint, and first place overall in the Auckland Triple Crown.  Peter Dalwood was third overall in the Auckland Triple Crown, while Peter Yeates and Debbie Dodd were both fifth in the ATC.  We all had a great time, and enjoyed the variety of sprint venues, which ranged from small but complex school campuses, several gorgeous gardens, a cemetery, Auckland University’s city campus, and the last race at the Auckland Viaduct, right on the waterfront.

Head to our GALLERY to view some photos.

Sprints are big news in 2024, and we kicked off with a bang!  We’ve been fortunate enough to have Monash entrust us with their amazing Learning and Teaching Building (LTB) – and we used it to full advantage, with controls located on each of its four levels.  This was a rare and unique opportunity to orienteer in an outstanding multi-level indoor environment.  It was mad, manic, magical and magnificent!  We might even do it again next year …

How it worked: it was a 2 person, 4 leg relay, with each person getting to run twice.  Runner 1 completed the first Outdoor leg; runner 2 completed the first Indoor leg; runner 1 completed the second Indoor leg; runner 2 completed the second Outdoor leg.  There was a map flip, pivot controls, and relay variations, as well as an A4, 1:4000 map for Outdoors, and an A3, 1:1000 map for Indoors.

Photos (thanks Frankie!)

Maps

Results

Thanks to course planner extraordinaire, James Love; and to the DROC crew who once again provided another top DROC event!

Congratulations to the following club members who finished 2023 in the National Rankings. Points were earned for placings at the Oceania Championships, Australian Championships, and Australian 3-Days.

• Janine Steer
• Peter Dalwood
• Simon Rouse
• Lanita Steer (National League)

The 2023 Victorian Sprint Championships, hosted by Yarra Valley Orienteering Club, were held on November 26 at Whitefriars College, Donvale.  The map was first used for the Knockout Sprint Final of the 2022 Melbourne Sprint Weekend.  Set on a considerable slope, with many oddly angled buildings compressed into a small space, the map is a nicely challenging sprint venue.  DROC had a strong contingent taking part, and we certainly looked impressively colourful in our new race shirts, gathered under our new club flag.

After competing in the Championship races, many of us had another go in the fast and furious Mad Dash, which was heaps of fun with its small group mass starts and head to head racing.

Here are our winners and placegetters – congratulations!

• First Place and Victorian Champion:  Janine Steer
• Second Place:  Asha Steer
• Third Place:  Pamela King, Debbie Dodd, Sally Barlow, Helen Walpole, Ian Davies

Visit our GALLERY for some photos.