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!

The 2022 Park Street Championship final was held at Jack’s Magazine, a map that certainly tested everyone!  Congratulations to all of the DROC Champions, Medallists, and Finalists.  Medals will be awarded on Wednesday March 30, at the last Summer Series event at Ringwood Wilds.

Gold Medallists – Tony Bird, Debbie Dodd, Ian Greenwood

Silver Medallists – Damian Spencer, Ian Dodd

Bronze Medallists – Christine Palmer

Koomba Kaos certainly lived up to its name!  Our first event since mid 2021 kept us busy, and everyone had a great day unscrambling Ian’s courses.

Check out the event wrap, maps and results here.

Head to our GALLERY for more photos from the event.

Come along to Lillydale Lake on Wednesday January 12, and christen our brand new colour map!  Choose one of the four scatter courses for runners, or a 65 minute score course for power walkers. Start any time between 6.30pm and 7.00pm; bring your smartphone for checking in and MapRun use.  Most of the controls are in parkland, and you can enjoy a lakeside picnic afterwards – a perfect family event.

Start from: Bellbird Park, Akarana Road (off Swansea Road), Lilydale.  Register and pay on the day.  Enquiries: 0409 135 020 or voa@iinet.net.au

ENTRIES NOW OPEN – PRE-ENTER ONLINE BY THURSDAY JANUARY 13.
Entry fee: $10 adults. Kids Run Free at DROC events!  Juniors must pre-enter, but no fee will be charged.  ENTER HERE!

This could be the Kraziest event of 2022!  With terrain varying from fast open sports fields and parkland, to winding trails, pockets of bush, and rough, vegetated wetland, this map will have you constantly changing direction, pace, and technique.  Featuring sprint style course setting by former Aus Sprint Champs and NOL Sprint Relay planner Ian Dodd – but over longer distances – this event will Konfuse and Konfound.  There are many controls in full view of the arena, so no pressure …

Start location: Wantirna Reserve, Mountain Highway, Wantirna

Map: Koomba Park, full colour, 1:4000 scale
Sportident timing will be used, in Air mode. Please enter with your SIAC if you have one; non-SIAC SI sticks are also fine, and can be borrowed from Registration if you don’t own one.

Start times: arrive and start any time between 10am and 11.00pm. Courses close at 12.30pm.

Choose any of the four courses:

• Course 1 Kaotic – 5-5.5 km, Long Hard (28 controls)
• Course 2 Konvoluted – 4-4.5 km, Shorter Hard (27 controls)
• Course 3 Komplex – 3 to 3.5 km, Moderate (24 controls)
• Course 4 Kruisy – 2.5-3 km, Easy (16 controls)

Covid rules: bring smartphone for QR code checkin at Registration. Follow rules for physical distancing, hygiene, and face coverings. Check the Orienteering Victoria Participant Guidelines at https://www.vicorienteering.asn.au/return-to-orienteering/

The 2021-22 Summer Series features events all over Melbourne (Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays), as well as Geelong (Thursdays), the Surf Coast (Saturdays in January), and the Mornington Peninsula (one Sunday per month),  Events start from November 8 for the four Melbourne Series, and the Geelong Series.

HOW TO FIND AN EVENT

• Pick up a printed fixture at an event
• Download and print your own fixture
• Find Park Street event details via our online Coming Events pages
• Check Eventor – events are currently being uploaded up to 4 weeks in advance
• Download calendar files (csv) from here – you can edit the file to include the Park Street series you plan to attend, then import it to your device’s calendar.