Finnish Productions: Queens Birthday Footage

Great video from the recent Queens Birthday races produced by Mick Finn. A who's who of New Zealand orienteering with Michael Smithson outsprinting Lara Prince to steal the show...

Landscape like Holistic View and Orienteering

The title of this video reminded me of the title of Borat..."Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan". Unfortunately the dialogue inside doesn't reach the outstanding heights of:

"My name-a Borat. I come from Kazakhstan. Can I say first, we support your war of terror! May we show our support to our boys in Iraq! May US and A kill every single terrorist! May your George Bush drink the blood of every single man, woman and child of Iraq! May you destroy their country so that for the next thousand years, not even a single lizard will survive in their desert!"

It does however point out that if you keep your eyes open and look around the broad landscape as you are orienteering you are more likely to do better than if you are staring at your feet. Quite rightly it reminds us that nature in detail is too chaotic to comprehend and we need to be aware of our lines of sight and simplify. It reminds me of an old orienteering saying with a cunning double meaning... "if you can't see squat"....

Helsinki Snake Breeder back from the Dead.

Helsinki Snake Breeder, World record naked inline skate record holder, ex Australian and long time friend of New Zealand orienteering, David Brickhill Jones, more commonly known as BJ, is back from the dead with a 4th place in the Finnish sprint champs.

And while i'm on the Nopesport theme, they have some great new coaching stuff promised with the first installment a guide to setting up your training for the next season...

Riders of the Storm

Jamie asked me to do a bit of a write up of the Night Race at the Queen's Birthday event...I was a bit reluctant as I didn't want to come across as a bit of a skite, but after reading it through on Attackpoint I think its suitable to post! So here it is, this is my first hand account from the front end of the Night race. Also to make reading potentially easier you can find the map here .

Being part of the Southerly Storm, we felt that tonight we had to step up to uphold the honour of being masters of night navigation in New Zealand. There was a nice friendly Southerly blowing, it was raining solidly, really quite cold. Being later to the start than I would have liked I was all hyped up, well warmed up and all ready to race.

The start was right under a huge cliff and it seemed likely that there was going to be a split in the main pack at the gun. When we started, everyone paused for a moment figuring out the map and gradually making a decision where to go. Most people went to the right and I managed to get myself to the front of the pack with Brent leading. Second control I saw Brent go down the hill and thought he must have gone to a split, so I went to my control straight ahead and got it at the perfect height. it was about here I sunk into some serious mud and slowed up crawling my way up to the control, punching first, waking the control up, only to be engulfed by people coming into my exit direction from the control. I was all hyped and when Tane gets on a sports field he can some times turn into a psycho! So I barged the crowds out of my way, losing traction and falling all over the place, finally getting out of there!

3 was again a mud bath, and on the way to 4 I saw a field mouse scrambling up the bank as us mad orienteers passed by like some kind of lightning storm. Brent realised that 4 was a control (no. 8) from the middle race and let us all know...so we had little trouble finding it again. By the time we had got to no. 5 the main pack had diminished considerably. 6 was a long leg, the sort of leg that Chris Forne would have gone straight on...so thats what I intended on doing. After a bit of track running the pack had strung itself out, so I think it was Brent, Matt, Myself, Mark Lawson and Smithson out in front. I went up the hill at some point not really knowing exactly where I was which was quite silly. Brent went round the hill and after some fluffing about by myself and Matt we arrived at the control around the same time.

7 and 8 were straight forward. Nine I was a bit wayward and started to feel the stitch coming on (note to self: avoid apple juice before a race) by this stage I could sense someone else on our tails, Mark came into view and apparently Smithson was close behind. 10 Brent suggested going round which we were happy to do, while Sneeky Smithson went up the spur and round the top. We got there just before him and nailed the next few controls. At 12 I did a bit of a double back as I realised I couldnt get up a little cliff to get the control and confused Mark slightly I suspect. I punched and ran of with Matt and Brent. Mark punched the control (maybe?) then followed us off round the hill to the next control only to get halfway and question whether or not he had punched 12...so he went back and we never saw him again.

13 I took the lead, smashed it up the hill only to spot a light off to my left which I thought was Matt but it turned out it wasnt as he was right behind me. Further behind was Brent who now seemed to be struggling. I was first to 14 through some nasty blackberry, Matt got ahead of me at 15.

Then came the hill at 16. This was where the race started to heat up. The pack of three, Tane, Brent and Matt where back together again. We struggled up the hill, I punched first and took off fast around the hill cause I was in the lead. Matt was close behind, Brent dropped off the back and it was a two horse race.

I gained a very small lead on Matt out of the hill control, struggled through the worlds most difficult fence, Matt arriving just as I was through. Then it was a flat run. I knew Matt could out run me but the angry Tane came out to play again and I started to wind up the motor and flew across the paddock spotting the control a long way off. I knew I needed to be smooth with the punch and I was. There was a patch of mid green in front of me and the last control, I risked it all and went straight into the middle of it, got through no problem. I could sense Matt behind me, but not as close as before, still to close for comfort. I ran hard down the track to the last control, feeling a little apprehensive when the control didnt come up as soon as I would have liked but still with the gas peddle on...(like Andy J and the rock in the middle of the road we encountered on the way to the Aramiro race) Matt apparently hesitated a bit here, which saved me a bit from being sprinted off. After punching I sprinted hard, there was no way in the world Matt was going to get past me. I finished solidly as I like to do and excitedly went to download.

First Super Series Victory ever for me. I good one to win, Southerly Storm 1st, 2nd, 4th. Maintaining our Night Navigation dominance without Chris, Aaron or Carsten.

Thinking about Rock...

Thought I might gradually go through a few of my navigation lessons from the weekends events, which were among others things the final of New Zealand's Super Series for another year. The Super Series was dominated and won by Lizzie Ingham in the womens and Darren Ashmore in the men.

The first race of the weekend was on rolling farmland punctuated by outcrops of ignimbrite rock. Making for some fast running and some detailed technical navigation. The first six controls are on the map excerpt below...

No 1: My map is orientated, I am at the start triangle, jumping a fence (not marked on the map of course) and contouring down to the cliff. The obvious attackpoint is the white triangle of vegetation directly below the cliff.

No 2: When navigating in rocky areas the most important map features are the brown ones, the contours. I was stoked to see the control description for what looked like a potentially detailed circle read "gully". Attack from above and its easy.

No 3: The terrain was looking too fast to veer off to the track, and again reading the contours I could see the control was on the rock outcrops on a spur. Coming in slightly from the right, no worries.

No 4: Quick decision to the left, it looks faster on the ground. Make sure to go back up after the first patch of green.

No 5: Same as above but a water tank to give the control away. Sometimes people stop reading things like water tanks/tracks/fences etc. Your only goal is to get the control the fastest and safest way possible.

No 6: Bearing, track, second line of rocks (rocks often sit in lines or clusters that you can simplify to aid navigation)....and off on a longer leg...

NZ Route Gadget

Lets get behind this initiative! After lots of campaigning we have a second chance to make route gadget in NZ work! Its a great tool for race analysis and making the most of the electronic technology we have invested so much in. It is a tool that has been established in other orienteering countries for a long time and that we have missed a trick by not having...however the benefits to you are reliant on you and your peers getting in there and drawing your routes. Make time to make it happen. NZ Route Gadget is here

Ross wins again

Ross is proving himself the equal of any sprint orienteer in Europe, most recently defeating Klaus Boch in a two sprint show down as part of a Danish National Series. Check out the report here, and the second race map below.

Ross's writing upholds a long Kiwi tradition of laconic understatement. Not taking ourselves too seriously is one our strengths (as well as one of our weaknesses). I especially enjoyed this quote...."It would've been a good route choice if I was a midget (I mean a real midget)."

What was the best thing about Queens Birthday Weekend?

Today a majority of the New Zealand O Squad Blog readers return to their little hobbit holes in various parts of our fair land having braced the perils of the South Waikato. It was another extremely succesful long weekend of orienteering that saw the generational revolution of orienteering in this country tilt further on its axis. Young is now dominant (although in the guys the old elites keep winnning;-)) and the schools competition was a huge success.

At 29, this author is feeling a bit past it (he finds himself increasingly hanging out with the gray haired and bald bastards) so in the next couple of months the O Squad Blog will introduce a couple of younger more "with it" authors. (in the junior grades and like writing about orienteering get in touch!). But in the meantime though and before we get some maps scanned to discuss some of the great navigational challenges of the weekend....we are keen to get your thoughts...

What was the best thing about Queens Birthday weekend 2009?