St Just Point

The club’s first training event was on a brand new map between Bendigo and Eaglehawk on Saturday, called St Just Point.

Neil Barr had mapped and set some challenging middle distance courses on this previously unused mining terrain near California Gully. Around 30 people attended and enjoyed the courses despite the hot conditions. The training plan was for people to run their course twice and compare their performance on each. Only one person ran their course twice, the rest of us were too hot and tired.

A big thank you to the 7 members who stayed behind to help collect the 31 controls in the heat. It made this job much simpler for the organiser, and shared the load. Thanks: John Wilkinson (organiser and course setter for next week), Jenny Ball, Lorraine Leversha, Darren and Raelee Eenjes, Andrew Wallace and Jim Russell.

Full results available at the Results tab above;
summary results at https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/ResultList?eventId=4662.

Julie Flynn


Neil Barr

DSCN5428
Neil Barr

Vic Relays and the Rockhopper Trophy

The Victorian State relays are on Sunday 5th March (just under 4 weeks away) at Darebin Parklands. This is our chance to start the process of returning the Rockhopper Trophy to its rightful home. The more people who enter, the more points we can muster. A fun and social day that our club pays for. Your first step is to ensure you are a club member (a quick trip to Eventor will sort this) and then leave a comment or email Andrew Cameron at Andrew@n8health.com.au so he can enter teams. Teams can be serious or social. Deadline is by February 20th.

https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/4773

OA Merit Badges

Bendigo Orienteers would like to congratulate the following members who qualified for OA Merit Badges in 2016.

These badges are awarded to members who performed at a consistent level of achievement over a number of state and national level orienteering events.

Neil Barr               M60    Gold
Clare Brownridge        W21    Gold
David Brownridge        M21    Gold
Andrew Cameron          M45    Gold
Jimmy Cameron           M20    Gold
Don Cherry              M50    Gold
Karina Cherry           W16    Gold
Lachlan Cherry          M20    Gold
Darren Eenjes           M45    Gold
Serryn Eenjes           W14    Gold
Craig Feuerherdt        M40    Gold
Lachlan Feuerherdt      M12    Gold
Luke Feuerherdt         M10    Gold
Samara Fletcher         W16    Gold
Julie Flynn             W55    Gold
Peter Galvin            M75    Gold
Ben Goonan              M21    Gold
Richard Goonan          M21    Gold
Glenn James             M16    Gold
Leon Keely              M21    Gold
Michael Loughnan        M16    Gold
Laurina Neumann         W21    Gold
Archie Neylon           M14    Gold
Alison Radford          W65    Gold
Tony Radford            M65    Gold
Jim Russell             M55    Gold
Dianne Searle           W70    Gold
Peter Searle            M70    Gold
Caitlyn Steer           W14    Gold
Eleanor Williams        W10    Gold
Warwick Williams        M45    Gold
Charles Brownridge      M65    Silver
Daryl Fleay             M70    Silver
Peter Hill              M65    Silver
Leisha Maggs            W17    Silver
Nigel McGuckian         M55    Silver
Christopher Naunton     M21    Silver
Henry Cameron           M16    Bronze
John Chellew            M70    Bronze
Raelee Eenjes           Wop    Bronze
Hans Egefalk            M40    Bronze
Joshua Feuerherdt       M10    Bronze
Peter Forbes            M50    Bronze
Margaret Kertesz        W45    Bronze

We have not automatically purchased the cloth badges this year based on feedback from previous years. If you would like a badge, please let Nigel McGuckian know, or leave a comment on this post. There is no cost to you.

Membership Fees

Orienteering Victoria has raised their membership fees by $5/year for each member aged 12 and over. This was by agreement with the clubs in return for keeping the levies at the same level for 2017. You also get the Australian Orienteer magazine thrown in (which was optional for 2016).

Bendigo Orienteers membership fee will be $50/year per senior member and $7 per junior member (under 21)

This will be formally ratified at the AGM in February, and fees are not due until our O season starts in February. But for those who wish to get in early, Eventor is open for business: https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/MyPages/Memberships

Sprint Bendigo Weekend Competitor Information

The weather forecast for Bendigo is fine, sunny, and mid 20s both days – perfect. The organisers will not be providing water at the events on Saturday. Remember to bring your own.

SATURDAY

Please be aware that the competition areas for both events on Saturday are Out of Bounds except when competing. No exceptions.

Make sure you follow the 3-step entry process – 1. Pay; 2. Collect SI AIR stick; 3. Enter your course via the Touch screen. Failure to miss any one step will result in disqualification. Note: if you are competing in both races today, you only need to pay and enter ONCE, in the morning. You will receive two Start tickets, one for each race.

You MUST use your rented SI Air stick for the whole weekend, and return it after the Champs. Loss or damage incurs a replacement fee of $105. If you own an SI AIR stick, we will contact you separately as you do not need to rent one.

Course closure times will be strictly enforced today, to enable us to pack up and relocate between races.

Saturday morning – SIS Race 6, Bendigo South East College.

Register from 10.30am, start any time from 11am-12.15pm.

Clothing & Footwear: Running shoes and shorts are appropriate. Shoes with spikes or metal studs are not allowed.

Out of Bounds except when competing: All areas of the campus, including surrounding footpaths, are Out of Bounds except when competing. Please remain within the taped registration/parking area at all times.

Warm-up can be undertaken via the footpath east along Ellis Street (right when exiting the campus). Cross Sharon Street (take care) and continue east on public footpaths around the La Trobe University campus.

Saturday afternoon – SIS Race 7, South Star (Eaglehawk).

Register ONLY if you did not race in the morning. Start any time from 3pm-4.15pm. South Star is an approx. 20 min drive from SE College (14 mins from central Bendigo). Please factor this into your travel time. If using an in-car navigation system, the destination is Brewery Road, Sailors Gully.

Clothing & Footwear: Full leg cover is recommended and Orienteering shoes are appropriate

Out of Bounds except when competing: All areas of the forest that are bordered by Peg Leg Rd, Brewery Rd, Lethebys Rd, Lester St and Sailors Gully Rd are out of bounds.

Warm-up can be undertaken along Brewery Road.

SUNDAY

Please read the Event Information Sheet. Start lists are published on Eventor.

Our use of the venue is conditional on obeying Out of Bounds rules. The Fairplay rule – no entering, crossing, jumping over or reaching across – will be strictly enforced. There will be marshals on the course and they will not hesitate to disqualify anyone breaking the rules.

After the race, stay around for the Presentations, bring a picnic, and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. For those staying on in Bendigo, have a go at the Park Street Challenge – a 45 minute score event starting at 5pm.

Debbie Dodd

Park and Street Challenge

The Park & Street Challenge is now up and running in Bendigo. This is an initiative which several club members have been working on over the last 18 months. It has been funded by VicHealth through their Physical Innovation Challenge funding.

The challenge is running until 4 December. Maps were distributed in the Bendigo Weekly last Friday. If you didn’t receive a copy I will make sure there are some available at the Saturday orienteering events. To find out more check out the Park & Street Challenge Facebook page or check out http://parkandstreet.com.au/ web site to register.

Mars Bar Cup 2016

By Jenny Ball

Even though many club members were involved in championships in Queensland and it was AFL Grand Final Day, many people braved the cold to participate in the annual Mars Bar Cup (or Mahers Barr Cup) challenge held in the picturesque Sedgwick forest on October 1st.
It was great to see Lillian Maher representing her Maher family. Jimmy Cameron was in great form following his run in Queensland – he was the only one to visit all controls in the given hour (about 8.3 km).
Conditions were very wet underfoot. Gullies became water courses. Water courses flowed like creeks and many tracks had turned into water courses.
Most people managed to visit their selected controls in the hour. There were a few late penalties applied.
Brettt Houlden raced to the finish with 2 seconds to spare and Ian Johnson was delighted to complete a course successfully.
In the easy course Harrison Carter excelled with a time of 15.25 minutes and his sister Isabelle also completed the course in good time considering the conditions of the tracks.
At the end of the event all participants received a Mars Bar, which put a smile on many faces (thanks Jenny for donating the Mars Bars).
Thanks to John W, Lorraine L, Nola J and Andrew W, for picking up controls and also to Brett Houlden for bringing the trailer.

MARS BAR CUP 2016 RESULTS

In order of points scored.

Jimmy Cameron 400 (max)
Andrew Wallace 360
Nic Cherry 360
Tsegii Choijinsuren 360
Rod Gray 360
Derek Morris 355
Henry Cameron 340
Brett Houlden 340
Michael Loughnan 320
Katherine McMillan 320
Tim Dent 320
Kerryn Searle 300
Peter Forbes 295
Heather Jones 280
Colin Walker 280
David Jones 280
Lillian Maher 280
Terry Davidson 260
Ben English 240
Reuben Cameron 240
Bob Cameron 240
Elke Prielipp 240
Ken Dowling 240
Viv McMillan 220
Nola and Lorraine 220
Neave English 200
Ian Johnson 180
Di Searle 180
Anitra Dowling 180

Easy course…
Harrison Carter 15.25 min
Isabelle Carter 32.36 min
Jennie Friebel 72.38

CardiO Wrap Up

The new “CardiO” format was a great success with many positive comments. There were a few confused competitors at first and several didn’t read the clue sheet, one competitor even visited the same control twice (from different angles) and didn’t realise it. But the standout performance for the day goes to Jim Russell, who despite not posting the fastest time, won every “out” leg, i.e., the legs which repeatedly climbed up and over the ridge. He’s tough (as if we didn’t already know that) and went on to decisively win a Victorian Champs event the next day under even tougher conditions.

Is the CardiO format here to stay – watch this space.

Jim Russell – Head Coach, Orienteering Australia

The Board of Orienteering Australia is very pleased to announce Jim Russell has been appointed Head Coach of Orienteering Australia for the remainder of 2016 and 2017. Jim brings an enormous amount of enthusiasm, passion and expertise to the role of Head Coach, through his vast experience as an elite competitor and coach of many national teams. Jim has been the National Development Squad Coach for the past three years and his appointment is a natural progression, providing stability to the OA High Performance program.

Bendigo Orienteers Inc. offers its congratulations to Jim: he is a long time and highly respected member of our club and has been an integral part of every major development that has helped us to become one of the top rated orienteering clubs in Australia. He is always ready to lend a positive ear to any suggestions that would help improve the efficiency of the club’s operation and the quality of our events.

Congratulations and well done Jim.

jim