Australian Junior Orienteering Team

The Next Few Days

2012-01-13T22:11:00.009+11:00

Wednesday began with that dreaded part of the camp that is never loooked forward to by the Squad. The 3Km time trial.

On a rough grassy oval in Dixon, with an uphill, into the wind back straight it proved difficult to produce good times. Max Neuman was our standout performer posting a time of 9:58.

The rest of Wed. was spent concentrating on sprint technique. Josh set some great courses on a simple map of the camp. He ran a knockout style competition that culminated in a final for the best 4 qualifiers. Controversy was the order of the day for the final with a control on the inside of an uncrossable fence. Competitors either reached over the fence to touch the flag or opened a gate that was maped as uncrossable and ran to the control. As a result all bar about 5 of the squad were disqualified. Brody was crowned the winner even though he swam across the pool to get to the flag. The winner of the girls was less clear and is still pending an appeal.

Wed. evening was then off to ANU to run the ACT twilight sprint event.

The offending Sprint Course

Thursday was spent AM at Kowen Forest with a map memory, simplification exercise in pairs followed by a 3 loop course where each person started on a separate course and passed through a common control before finishing.

A great talk from Shannon Jones in the arvo on sprint orienteering proved to be valuable to all. Her story of her road to success and her techniques used in sprint orienteering held the interest of all and generated some probing questions.

It was then off to the pool for another of those dreaded group sessions. The swim sets. This was then followed by a BBQ at the pool. It seems that a lot was learnt from the day.

National Junior Squad Begins 2012 - Canberra Camp

2012-01-10T21:47:00.004+11:00

Hanny has their attention

Nineteen juniors from around Australia began the 2012 orienteering year with the first day of camp in Canberra. After the gathering was complete and lunches consumed the squad ran from the camp ground, across the road to Mt Majura West for the first training exercise. With Hanny, Josh and Karen along to help all were keen to do well and impress the experts.
Each athlete had to hang a flag, run around a predertermined course using the flags hung by their fellow athletes back to their own flag and bring it in. If they were not fast enough it was likely that some of the flags on their course had gone.
Michele was adamant she had hung hers in the correct place but no one could find it. It turned out that someone had actually stolen it. Don't tell Grant anyone!

Back at camp Hanny gave a great talk on what it take to be a champion orienteer. Very informative and for most inspiring.

One of the courses

Middle Final Day

2011-07-08T05:34:00.005+10:00

Middle Arena

Having read all the info coming out of the JWOC web page and also the posts on the OA web page I have a feeling most of the suporters of our team are better informed than we are.

Some info from inside the team may clear up some of the mysteries. Max mispunched in the qualification and I am not sure even he knows how it happened. He was a little off line going to control 4, relocated and found his correct control. The problem at the finish was that no punch was recorded. Who knows??.
Josh in the B final had a line from his 10th control crosing over the line from 14 to 15 but very close to 14. He navigated from 10 to 14, his second last control then to the finish but unfortunately missed out a loop of 3 controls. Up until that point he had been running well. Very upsetting and disappointing for him.

Another point of interest was the disqualification of Angela Simpson and the second place to Tove Alexandeson by 20 sec. The leg from 5 to 6 can be seen below and the description to go with it. Does this mean it is a compulsory route? The gate near 6 was open but had an official at it. Many runners like Tove, Lilian and Josh ran to the gate and were turned back. Josh claimed that by the time he had sorted it out and replanned his route he had lost at least a minute. Angela was missed by the official and ran through. As a result she was disqualified. Does this set up constitute a compulsory route?? No tapes, no compulsory route marked in the discriptions. No one seemed to be sure of the correct ruling.

Profile time Again

Lilian, Josh and Krystal

Name: Lilian Burrill
Age:19
Years in JWOC: 3
State: QLD
Best result ever: Easter W16
Favourite Sports Person: Roger Federer
Favourite Map: Sappa Bulga
Long run or Intervals: Long run
Long, middle, sprint or relay: Middle
Favourite Terrain: Granite
Aussie Rules, rugby, soccer or other: Rugby
Music: Techno and Pop
Thongs, shoes, sandals or high heels: Thongs
Fold or scrunch (Map): Fold
Who would you most like to do your tick check?: Taylor Lautner

Name: Josh Blatchford
Age: 19
Years in JWOC: 3
State: NSW
Best result ever: Australian Long 2010
Favourite Sports Person: Nick Riewolt
Favourite Map: Wattle Ridge
Long run or Intervals: Long run
Long, middle, sprint or relay: Long
Favourite Terrain: Granite
Aussie Rules, rugby, soccer or other: AFL
Music: Alternative
Thongs, shoes, sandals or high heels: Havaianas
Fold or scrunch (Map): Fold
Who would you most like to do your tick check?: Hermione Granger

Name: Krystal Neumann
Age: 20
Years in JWOC: 3
State: QLD
Best result ever: 1st, Oceania Schools 2008
Favourite Sports Person: Myself
Favourite Map: Dubbo
Long run or Intervals: Intervals
Long, middle, sprint or relay: Middle
Favourite Terrain: Granite
Aussie Rules, rugby, soccer or other: Soccer
Music: Techno
Thongs, shoes, sandals or high heels: Sandals
Fold or scrunch (Map): Fold
Who would you most like to do your tick check?: Kate Morrison

Lachlan and Belinda

Name: Lachlan Dow
Age:19
Years in JWOC: 4
State: ACT
Best result ever: Australian Sprint 2011
Favourite Sports Person: Usain Bolt
Favourite Map: Badja South
Long run or Intervals: Intervals
Long, middle, sprint or relay: Relay
Favourite Terrain: Sand Dunes
Aussie Rules, rugby, soccer or other: AFL
Music: Rock
Thongs, shoes, sandals or high heels: Shoes
Fold or scrunch (Map): Fold
Who would you most like to do your tick check?: Eddie Betts

Name: Belinda 'Bun' Lawford
Age: 20
Years in JWOC: 5
State: ACT
Best result ever: Easter 2009
Favourite Sports Person: Thierry Georgiou
Favourite Map: Kooyoora
Long run or Intervals: Intervals
Long, middle, sprint or relay: Long
Favourite Terrain: Sand Dunes
Aussie Rules, rugby, soccer or other: Soccer
Music: Techno
Thongs, shoes, sandals or high heels: Thongs
Fold or scrunch (Map): Fold
Who would you most like to do your tick check?: Rafael Nadal

A couple of random items. What makes these so interesting??

Relay Day Tomorrow

Team 1 Max (1st leg) Josh (2nd) Lachlan (3rd)
Team 2 Oliver Oscar Ian

Team 1 Lilian Krystal Belinda
Team 2 Jaquie Claire Georgia

Good luck to the team. Anything is possible.

Messages on this blog have been very much appreciated. Thank you everyone for your suport so far.

Long Day and Rest Day

2011-07-06T05:50:00.010+10:00

LONG DAY

The long day was looked forward to by some with excitement and anticpation, while others were slightly apprehensive of the extra time in the forest and the physical challenge that the long presents.

The results were mixed; the boys were somewhat happy with their navigation, but were frustrated with their lack of speed. They found the hills physically more difficult than anticipated, and the green was suprisingly more prevalent than in some of the training maps. Lachlan took the best result of the day with a 50th place. Overall, the boys were happy with the improvement in their consistency of navigation and are looking forward to the middle distance tomorrow.

The girls saw a few dramas and a few tears. Belinda was extremely unhappy with a couple of errors but proved with the rest of her course that she is running and navigating well and could be much higher in the results. Krystal is struggling with a recurring leg injury but pushed through the course well, determined to make her last JWOC a good one. Clare hit misfortune with a stick in the eye near the beginning and did well to finish with limited vision, spending the next two days pirate-style. Georgia navigated well but admitted that she was limited by her fitness and short preparation; however she did improve significantly on her previous long result. Jacqui worked hard but had one significant error in her course and found the hills very challenging.

And now for Lilian! Matter of habit meant that Lilian entered the start with her Australian SI instead of that allocated to her by the organizers. Had the bus with her bag not left just a minute before, all would have been fine, but by the time the bus returned her start time was lapsed and she was forced back to a start time 20 minutes after the last starter. This meant a longer wait and also a potential cumulative time of over 4 hours. Not only that, but by the time she started, they had begun to remove controls from the forest, meaning that she was DNFed. However, Lilian coped with all this with a calm control and cheerfulness that impressed us all.

Overall, the feeling was that the Australian team showed more consistent navigation, better preparation and showed significant improvement on last year's results. Congratulations Aussies!

REST DAY
The organisers offered two organised rest day activities, and the Australians chose to head out to the Baltic sea, for a bit of sightseeing and perhaps relaxation on the beach.

The highlight of this trip was the attitude of the Polish Surf Life Saving force. After some brave Aussie and New Zealand girls had braved the not-so-warm Baltic waters of the northern Polish town of Wladyslawowo, they were told by a lifeguard to get out of the water. A long dispute between the organiser of our excursion and the lifeguard ensued, revealing that as they were an "organised group" the girls were required to do a warm up, be counted into the water, leave the water periodically to be re-counted, and to stay in the shallow waters before some yellow buoys. The ridiculousness of this had us all in fits of laughter, and after a short swim hardly justifying the long argument, the Aussie girls left to see the town.

Wladislawowo turned out to be a seaside resort town, but not really in the Australian sense. The town was a mass of small market stalls, beer tents, clothing outlets and small carnival rides. The crowd on the beach grew to thousands throughout the day (with none being caught actually swimming!) and the girls had waffles and browsed the stalls before getting some interesting henna tattoos and returning to the bus.

One interesting item in the town was a minature display of the stadiums which will be used for the Euro 2012 soccer competition in Poland. The display was a series of foam, balsa wood, metal and cloth models of the stadiums, some about two meters across and the middle one being impressive at about 4 metres across and 1.5 high.

It was a reasonably short outing but enjoyed by all who went. It helped to relax the athletes before they begin to prepare for the middle distance qualification tomorrow.

PROFILE 3

Georgia and Max

Name: Max Neve
Age:19
Years in JWOC: 2
State: VIC
Best result ever: Schools 2009
Favourite Sports Person: Simone Niggli
Favourite Map: Warby Ranges
Long run or Intervals: Intervals
Long, middle, sprint or relay: Sprint
Favourite Terrain: Urban
Aussie Rules, rugby, soccer or other: Soccer
Music: Techno
Thongs, shoes, sandals or high heels: Shoes
Fold or scrunch (Map): Fold
Who would you most like to do your tick check?: Mary

Name: Georgia Parsons
Age: 18
Years in JWOC: 2
State: ACT
Best result ever: Nationals 2007
Favourite Sports Person: Steven Bradbury
Favourite Map: Honeysuckle Creek
Long run or Intervals: Intervals
Long, middle, sprint or relay: Middle
Favourite Terrain: Spur Gully
Aussie Rules, rugby, soccer or other: Other
Music: Indie
Thongs, shoes, sandals or high heels: Thongs
Fold or scrunch (Map): Fold
Who would you most like to do your tick check?: Myself

By Aislinn

Interview with Josh Blatchford

2011-07-04T20:54:00.002+10:00

Check out this interview with Josh Blatchford following his run in the JWOC Long Distance Race.

Sprint Day

2011-07-04T07:15:00.006+10:00

Doing this very late at night after 3 meetings and 2 trips to event office so this will be a little brief. Sorry to those of you hoping for more after our first day.

As is to be expected it was a day of mixed results with a couple of good runs, some average ones and some not so good ones.

The course began with a tough hill climb and then involved several traps for the unwary. It was easy to take a route choice and find yourself in a dead end.

For the boys Max has bounced back into form with a clean run and finishing 29th less than 1:30 behind the winner. Lachlan was 37th and Ian was 41st. These 3 boys were only separated by 17 seconds from each other. The next of the boys to finish was Oscar in 68th, Josh in 79th and Oliver in 88th. These boys were also only separated by a margin of 23 sec. To highlight the competitiveness of the boys competition it is worth noting that our six boys were all separated by about 1 minute and 10 sec. (results)(W20 Map)(M20 Map)

The girls also performed well in a very strong field. Belinda overcame a very nervous start to finish in 46th place with an if only factor of 50 seconds between her and the top 5. Lillian, 96th, Claire, 99th and Georgia, 104th had solid runs with some errors but said they had touble getting into a rythm and stuggled to run smoothly. Krystal, 112th had a her calf problems flare up (aggrivated by the initial steep climb) and struggled on bravely to finish. Jacqui, 126th best outcome for the day was her strenght of personality in boucing back from a run in which she said she could do nothing right. "All good" she said. I'll be back.

Well done to the whole team. It is a pleasure to work with such a strong and motivated group!!

Not many photos today. Valerie took lots but she has gone to bed. I shall try to do more tomorrow.

The team warming up

Team Profile (attempt 2)

Oliver Poland
age:16
Years in JWOC: 2
State: ACT
Best result ever: 17th at Oringen
Favourite Sports Person: Julian Dent
Favourite Map: ADFA
Long run or Intervals: Intervals
Long, middle, sprint or relay: Middle
Favourite Terrain: Sandune
Aussie Rules, rugby, soccer or other: AFL
Music: Indie
Thongs, shoes, sandals or high heels: Heels
Fold or scrunch (Map): Fold
Who would you most like to do your tick check?: Max

Name: Claire Butler
Age: 20
Years in JWOC: 2
State: Tas
Best result ever: Easter 2010
Favourite Sports Person: Bear Grylls
Favourite Map: Polish
Long run or Intervals: Long run
Long, middle, sprint or relay: Long
Favourite Terrain: Granite
Aussie Rules, rugby, soccer or other: None
Music: Alternate
Thongs, shoes, sandals or high heels: Bare feet
Fold or scrunch (Map): Fold
Who would you most like to do your tick check?: Magical Matt

Ian Lawford
Age: 18
Years in JWOC: 2
State: ACT
Best result ever: School Relay 2010
Favourite Sports Person: Barry Dawson(the Cougar)
Favourite Map: Dubbo
Long run or Intervals: Long run
Long, middle, sprint or relay: Middle
Favourite Terrain: Granite
Aussie Rules, rugby, soccer or other: AFL
Music: Filthy Filthy House
Thongs, shoes, sandals or high heels: Thongs
Fold or scrunch (Map): Fold
Who would you most like to do your tick check?: Barry Dawson

Opening Ceremony Day

2011-07-03T06:26:00.013+10:00

Today was always planned as an easy day training wise for the team.
Valerie and I drove to Gdansk to return the buses leaving Aislinn to take the team on a bus trip to the model map for the sprint. All reported that they had a good look at the map and that it did not seem to offer any surprises.

One wobble in the fabric of all that is well was the disqualification of the Ukraine team from participating in the sprint. We can only assume they ran in an out of bounds area during the model.

Lillians birthday tomorrow the 3rd, so maybe we will do something or maybe be wont. Can't have her distracted form her real purpose for being here.

After heading of to our first team officials meeting it was back to the accommodation to brief the team and then prepare for the opening ceremony. A quick evening meal,a bus trip into town and we were lined up for our march (behind a brass band) around the town square and into our places in front of the town hall. I will let the photos tell the story.

Our entertainment

Bun and George under the spot light of the local media

Profile Time

Oliver Claire and Ian

You will have to wait in excitement and anticipation for these as the folder is in Valeries room and I dare not wake her up to get them as it is now 11:15.

Sprint final tomorrow and we are ready so look out!!

2 days out!

2011-07-02T04:53:00.005+10:00

Dzień dobry!

The day started off pretty glum with rain forcast and alot of cloud cover which brought temperatures that the queenslanders struggled with and were accused of needing to harden up. This set the scene for the day which was chosen to finish the week off in a relaxed manner with a optional training/running session on a map that we had been on previously in the week. Only a few of us went to this, the rest of us chilled in the hotel and decided to make the most of the time that breaky finishes and had a brunch/morning tea instead (thankfully our food isn't making us vomit, like the food at the other A accommodation). The training reportedly went well for the team members that decided to get a little bit more practice out in the forest.

The afternoon brought the middle, long and relay model event. This area was just like anything we had run on throughout the last week, with the main features being hilly, fast terrain with gully features that tricked many of us up a little bit with some accusations that the mapping didnt seem right on a control or 2.

Model map

After training, the team went to the shops to stock up on food and essentials before the vans are taken back tomorrow as the hotel is too far from town to walk there and back and there are no real shops in the vicinity. This might make travelling a little bit hard for us throughout the jwoc week but everything should run smoothly. With 1 day to go till our first race, being the sprint, we have a relaxing day tomorrow, with the sprint model while the vans are taken back followed by the opening ceremony in the evening. It should be an exciting day!

We've decided to put in profiles of the team. Here are the 2 newest members of the team: Oscar and Jacqui.
Name: Jacqueline Doyle
Age: 16
Years in JWOC: 1
State: QLD
Best result ever: East Anglican Champion W10
Favourite Sports Person: Tony Abbott
Favourite Map: Passchaendale
Long run or Intervals: Long run
Long, middle, sprint or relay: Middle
Favourite Terrain: Spur Gully
Aussie Rules, rugby, soccer or other: AFL
Thongs, shoes, sandals or high heels: Sandals
Fold or scrunch (Map): Fold
Who would you most like to do your tick check?: Bear Grylls

Name: Oscar McNulty
Age: 16
Years in JWOC: 1
State: WA
Best result ever: Schools Individual 2009
Favourite Map: Scotch College
Long run or Intervals: Long run
Long, middle, sprint or relay: Sprint
Favourite Terrain: Granite
Aussie Rules, rugby, soccer or other: Soccer
Music: Indie
Thongs, shoes, sandals or high heels: Bare feet
Fold or scrunch (Map): Fold
Who would you most like to do your tick check?: Blake Lively

Krystal :)

Thursday Sprint Training

2011-07-01T06:32:00.009+10:00

Nothing of note or excitement to post today. Doing this at a late hour as no volunteers came forward dazzle you all with their offerings.

Began the day by setting out a sprint course on a map called Bliza. A well drawn and accurate map that was used for the Baltic Cup earlier in the year. It actually includes the local miltary accademy and some of the chapels visited by Pope John Paul when he spent time praying for our souls. The only problem encountered was me leaving the maps in the bus on the other side of a 55m high hill and as a result had to run back and get them. Surprisingly no one else volunteered.

Preparing to Sprint

analysing the result

The squad then returned to the Hotel and prepared to visit a Castle in Malbork some 2 hours drive south of our base. As none of the boys saw the need to expand their cultural experience of Poland it was left to all the girls and their honourary female driver to fly the Ausy flag.
The experience was well worth the trip as the Castle was amazing. It was at some stage the largest castle in the world with an even more amazing history.

Tomorrow will be an easy day training wise with an easy session for some (except Aislinn) in the morning and then a visit to the Model area for the long, middle and relay. Lets hope lessons have been learned and satisfying results for all are upon us.

Training Day 3 - Relay

2011-06-30T06:19:00.011+10:00

Today the team set off to a slightly different type of map for some training for the JWOC relay. In contrast to previous maps, this area was characterised by slightly more variation of vegetation, undulationg contours (compared to the more usual steepness), and even some marshes in and around depressions or gullies.

The exercises set by Roch involved a warm up of about 2-2.5km, followed by a few mass start intervals, but relay style with forking just to make it interesting. The area was lightning fast and a real high pace was need to keep near the front, like the JWOC relay is expected to be. But the subtleness of the contours ensured we still stayed on our toes navigationally.

Im sure all team members considered it another very useful day of training. For those of you unable to experience the wonders of the beautiful polish terrain, we have a bit of headcam footage, courtesy of Ians new headcam, for you to drool over.

If we can get the hotel internet working better we might be able to provide you with a few more videos from the past few days. Possibly not even all orienteering related.

The afternoon consisted of mainly relaxing and swimming at the hotel for the athletes.

And a trip to 'the Kalvaria' for Valerie and Aislinn who hadnt had enough walking carrying everyones drink bottles in the forest today. They walked 5k and encountered 25 little Chapels from the 17th Century.

Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow. Morning Sprint training on our only sprint map is most likely on the cards.

writed and posted by Josh.

Training Day 2

2011-06-29T04:58:00.006+10:00

Today was spent honing the team's long distance skills. The morning saw the team filing in for an interesting breakfast spread before piling into the bus to travel to a nearby 1:15000 map. A quick relay-style sprint got the team puffing before they headed off to challenge each other on a few long route-choice legs.

The girls and boys paired up and agreed to take different route choices on 1 to 2 km legs. The excersise was enlightening in that the athletes found their route choices to take similar times regardless of which option they chose, as long as each had planned their leg in advance and had stuck to their plan. Ian and Lachy added interest by wearing Ian's new headcam, and managed to catch on film a spectacular stack by Oscar, who disappeared downhill in a cloud of leaves, dust and flailing limbs.

Returning to the hotel found the athletes stocking up on an unusual lunch (uncooked pastry with pork filling) and relaxing before Valerie dragged everyone out to see the sights of Wejherowo and visit the uneventful event centre.

Finally found a way to control Aislinn and Belinda

Posted by Aislinn

In Poland and Training

2011-06-28T04:45:00.010+10:00

As I finally have the internet in this Hotel mastered I am able to put some information here for the expectant few. Have had to move 3 times within the Hotel to find a position where the I am able to get a signal strong enough to log on.

As for the Team. Most managed to meet up at the Hostel in GDansk with the exceptions of Oliver, Lachlan and Krystal. They managed to meet up with the squad in Wejherowo (vay - hair- ovo) at Hotel Victoria. Some did refer to it as 'where are we O' initially but we have since been reeducated by Valerie.

GDansk from Valeries tower

After ariving at the Hotel, collecting everyone together and settling into our rooms, the team headed off for an easy run on one of the nearby maps. All are finding the terrain interesting and are excited by the prospect of competing in what, to us, seems familiar and manageable.

A couple of mishaps to report so far. One was Oscar arriving without his luggage in GDansk, fortunately it arrived at our Hotel the next day and the other was Valerie dropping the keys to her bus whilst out in the forest taking photos. After a mild panic and some frantic searching they were located on the ground at the head of a gully about 500m from the bus. PHEW!!.

Training began in earnest today(27th) with some middle distance skill training on a 1:10000 map. Map memory drills were followed by some hard and fast control picking exercises. All seemed happy and displayed good skills in the terrain( starting to sound like report writing).

Heading out to a 1:15000 map tomorrow for some long training. Lets hope the weather stays as it is. Fine, sunny and about mid to low 20's. So far so good. More to come.

2011 JWOC Squad Assault On Poland

2011-03-10T18:03:00.003+11:00

The 2011 Aussy Juniors have begun preparation for their attack on the World Champs in Poland later this year. The initial assault began with a camp in Canberra in January and will continue this weekend at the NOL event (also in Canberra). The squad is training hard and looking forward to seeing how things have developed by testing their fitness on the Middle, Sprint and Long events over the 2 days of the NOL. Lets hope all goes well. Good luck all.

The Final Report

2010-07-18T06:27:00.003+10:00

Hi all. It seems the last blog for the JWOC 2010 Australian team is up to me. Having just read some of the blogs from Attackpoint(bun and Joshb) I realised that things have been left a little open ended.

Having finally getting onto a computer for the first time since JWOC I will post this in the hope that some may have a last look.

As pointed out by Bun, the team was amazing and very supportive of each other. As coach, and I am sure the manager would agree, I found the cooperation and the determination of the group to be second to none. After being together for two weeks you would usually find that with a group of 12 individuals tempers would become a little frayed. This was never the case. They were a pleasure to work with and always looked after each other. Well done team. Lets do it again next year.

As the pictures show the team worked hard at making an impression on the last night and, as a result set the standard for all. I believe that a great night was had by all and it seems many tales of some of their exploits may leak into the system. All I know is that everyone was able to get up at 7:00am for an 8:30 departure time and that, although looking a bit tired were in a cheerful and happy state to travel.

With 10 of the 12 eligible to return to Poland in 2011 I am already looking forward to working with them. Thanks team for your support of Valerie and myself and I hope we were able to go some way towards offering you the help and support you needed.

Bring on Poland!!

The Girls Showing the UN Troops how it should be done

Bronzed Aussies. How could anyone resist

Middle Final Day

2010-07-10T05:17:00.006+10:00

Today dawned bright and sunny on the middle final and brought out some determined Aussies wanting to prove themselves in the even more technical terrain. The courses began with a few controls in an intricate and very difficult clear area and ended with similar terrain to the middle qualification.
The day produced some mixed results with decent runs from Sarah and Lilian to place fairly well in the B final, though both were frustrated with errors. Lachy and Kurt also pulled out some tidy runs to finish well up on the board. Other runners were frustrated with errors but most ran well and continued to improve in the tough terrain.
All runners are looking forward with anticipation to tomorrow's relay race, and also to tomorrow night's banquet!

Results

Routes

Sarah sporting the Linebreak tights

Lachy at the spectator

Looking east along the track from beside the two knolls on the north west side you see the terrain below. Can you work it out?

Middle Qualification(Not so Long Long Day)

2010-07-09T05:20:00.007+10:00

Today the Australians bounced back with Belinda qualifying for the finals and better results all round for the rest. This meant that the squad headed back to barracks with more positive and cheerful attitude. "Today I felt like I could orienteer again" was a quote that reflected the attitude of all.
Most enjoyed the courses and the more open terrain than they experienced in the long. Obviously there was an element of disappointment with Ian and Kurt missing the final by 40 and 44 seconds respectively and errors by the others adding to their frustration of not making the final.
Frustrations aside it was impressive how the whole squad bounced back after the disappointment of the long day and dug in and had a real go at their respective courses. Well done team. No squibs and quitters in this squad.

Results

Belinda in qualifying form

The support team

The Long Long Long Day

2010-07-07T18:46:00.002+10:00

The Long competition day is aptly named as it always turns out to be a long and difficult day both for the athletes and coaches. Once again the start times determined the Bus timetable with some of us leaving at 7:00am.
Once at the start area the problems began. A 10 min downpoor ensured that everything was wet. On arrival of the second bus an announcement was made that the start would be delayed for 30min. This meant that Kurt, Claire and Sarah, who had done most of their warm up, had to sit down and start again later. Oh, wait, another meeting. The start is now delayed by 40min. We still don't really know why. This delay caused some dramas and uncertainty back at the barracks but, to their credit the team just shugged their shoulders and got on with the job.
The sun came out, the coaches got sunburnt and by 2pm all the athletes were in the forest. The two coaching zones kept Aislinn and Valerie busy looking after the athletes and taking photos. The usual tension and streess of keeping an eye on the clock, wishing the best for all and then concern as to what might have happened to some added to the emotional mix of the day.
Eventually the whole team had crossed the line and it was time for reflection.
Each member of the squad had worked hard and finished the event determinedly all the way to the finish. All runners had some good legs, some average ones and some very poor ones. The general consensus was that a week is not enough to master the intricacies of navigating in this very specialised type of terrain. A large percentage of the course is track running and then each athlete has to master the varying vegetation and sand dune contour detail.
Confidence in most cases is a bit battered bt all have expressed a determination to learn how to be better and are planing to bounce back for the middle. Study of splits has shown that the Australians are as fast, and at times as good as the best and there is a pervarading determination to prove this. Heres hoping they can.
To add insult to our wounds another bus muck up meant that most Australians spent 2 hours waiting at the finish for a ride home. On arriving back at 7:45 and a late meal ther was little energy to update this log yesterday. Appologies for the late Blog.

Results

Routes

2010-07-07T18:29:00.000+10:00

Waiting for delayed buses

Pre race warm up

Pick the vegetation boundary

The Sprint Day

2010-07-06T06:07:00.003+10:00

At last after a week plus some of preparation the event got underway with the sprint. As each start time determined which bus was to be caught it was the resposibility of each athlete to get themselves organised and to the event on time. On the first bus the driver got lost in the university and needed help to find the drop off zone. An accident in the tunnel caused problems for the organisers but fortunately all our team managed to get safely to the start area and on time.

After being hidden away in a hedge enclosed assembly area, athletes made a 350m trip to the warm up arae and then their prestart. Then, after only a 20m run from the pre start runners burst into view only to be confronted head on by about a hundred barrackers yelling their support(even a couple of vuvuzela and a cow bell) even before they had reached the start triangle.
All were taken by surprise but most, except for Claire and Brea(who made major errors on the first control), managed to concentrate and have solid runs. Claire and Brea, to their credit, gathered themselves up and made sure the rest of their course was competitive.
None claim to have had the perfect run and have told sagas of hesitations, lost time and poor route choices.

Overall a very good outcome for all. Well done Australia!!

Photos From The Sprint

2010-07-06T00:10:00.003+10:00

Opening Ceremony

2010-07-06T00:04:00.003+10:00

Low spectator numbers did not detract from the excitement and fun of the opening ceremony. All teams in one place and an interesting performance from a troupe of unicyclists(they were amazing). Speeches were short and sweet and then home to prepare for our sprint.

Day At LEGOLAND

2010-07-03T04:48:00.003+10:00

A lot to see. Millions of blocks and almost as many photos. One display had 2.1 million blocks in it alone.

Not a lot to report today. A two and a half hour drive to Legoland. 5 hours in the bus. Traffic on the return was so bad with two traffic jams that we just made it for dinner. A phone call and a need for the food to be brought back out for us. Not to worry, plenty left.

The Lines are Being Drawn

2010-07-02T03:58:00.006+10:00

A message from the manager (that's me, Valerie)!

Many of you are interested in housekeeping matters, and what our accommodation is like. We've actually been rather fortunate to have been accidentally upgraded to our official JWOC accommodation for the whole of training camp as well so we are enjoying being in 2 person rooms with ensuite bathrooms. The canteen serves delicious food - loads of choice, and plenty of it. The Barracks look very ordinary from the outside but are well appointed inside. Mind you, working out how to use the washing machines and dryers has been a challenge! We do now have plenty of clean clothes, however...
Roch and I are driving 9-seater buses, and each of us has tried to drive on the wrong side of the road only once! Generally, the Danes are courteous and safe drivers and driving has been easy. It has been fairly quiet around the camp so far, but the teams are beginning to arrive in earnest today.

Battle lines have been drawn and the nonsense has begun.

A tired and grumpy team headed off today for training after some hard games of football and team baiting exercises late into the night. The aftermath has been blamed on the USA as their flag appeared on our bus. They claim no knowledge and have blamed either the South Africans or the United Kingdom. Retaliation will be swift.

Legoland tomorrow for the children of today

A high level of concentration for our relay practice. Only one managed to be confused after our extensive briefing.

Lilian is carefully visualising her approach to the next challenge. Not Last Minute Lilian this time!

Oscar on his way to another change-over in the 4-person relay practice event today. Now it's the girls' turn to maintain the winning pace.

Yet Another Day in Sand Dunes

2010-07-01T00:48:00.014+10:00

Wednesday carried on from where Tuesday left off. Wet and stormy, but by the time we had driven the 70km to Vester Torup the sun was out again. Very windy but fine.

Another set of drills in sand dune terrain, but not quite as far or demanding as the day before. Once again off to the beach for our recovery. Next step will be yet more shopping.

Not yet another complicated and confusing exercise

Rest of the teams recovery method

Sarah and Claire's recovery method

Finally the team is together and on a Map

2010-06-30T03:37:00.007+10:00

Finally the whole team is together.

With the arrival of Kurt on Monday evening we are able to present you with a photo of the whole team.

After a shopping expedition in Aalborg the real training began on the Barracks with a sprint training session on Monday evening.
Tuesday morning was then a trip to Bulbjorg for some sand dune expierience. The drive, advertised at 58km turned out to be 75 and took about an hour fifteen. It seems distance measurement in Denmark is flexable. The whole team did well interpreting the map and puting thier skills to the test with some hard fast exercises in the complex terrain.

There will be no following on this camp. We are a team of individuals.

Brea was a little overheated after her hard work

The cool down after a day on Bulbjorg

First Days In Aalborg

2010-06-28T20:39:00.004+10:00

The beautifuly sculptured gardens and rare architectual splender of the team accomodation.

The Australian boys add quality and class to their environment

The girls enjoying the delights of their Military Barracks accomodation

After a four hour drive yesterday the team arrived in Aaborg and spent some frustrating time searching for our accomodation. Nothing was made easy by the fact that everything is closed (including the tourist centre) on Sunday. No maps to be found. Eventually our navigational skills were outshone by a local walking a dog.
No maps available to the teams until 4 pm Monday so the team is spending the day shopping and sightseeing in Aalborg

2010-06-27T06:37:00.002+10:00

A reenactment. Claire showing the position to use in case of a proposition. And yes, she does still have the bag.

Seeiing the sights of Copenhagen on the way out to a meal

The Tour Has Begun

2010-06-27T06:16:00.005+10:00

After a long and disorienting flight 9 of the 12 team members met up today in Copenhagen. Lilian, Georgia, Belinda, Sarah, Brea, Claire, Oscar, Josh and Ian spent the day seeing the sights of the city and catching up with Valerie and Roch at our Hostel on the river and along Hans Christian Anderson Drive. Lachy, Kurt Oliver will meet up with the team when they arive in AAlborg after a 420km drive tomorrow.

2010-06-18T10:09:00.003+10:00

The 2010 Team at Pitwater Tasmania

Oscar

2010-06-17T22:42:00.000+10:00

Hi its Oscar. I head off to Denmark on Saturday. Brea and I are travelling together. Then we go to Sweden for a few days training before going back to meet up with the rest of the team. I'm feeling strong and healthy and pretty happy with how I have been training.