Tim Robertson (New Zealand) has won the Junior World Orienteering Sprint Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria today.

Robertson completed the 3.7km course through the parks and streets of Samokov in 14 minutes 41 seconds, six seconds ahead of Piotr Parfianowicz of Poland.

Robertson was third at last year's Junior World Championships in the Czech Republic.

290 athletes from 36 countries are competing in the Junior World Orienteering Championships in Bulgaria this week.

The event continues with the middle distance, long distance and relay events.

RESULTS

Men

1. Tim Robertson NZL 14:41
2. Piotr Parfianowicz POL 14:47
3. Anton Johanson SWE 14:51

21. Nick Hann NZL 15:40
69. Shamus Morrison NZL 16:26
103. Ed Cory-Wright NZL 17:37
107. Callum Herries NZL 17:40
 -  Cameron Tier mp

Women

1. Sara Hagstrom SWE 13:15
2. Heidi Martensson NOR 13:20
3. Miri Thrane Odum DEN 13:22

59. Alice Tilley NZL 15:23
68. Rebecca Gray NZL 15:48
79. Sonia Hollands NZL 16:06
98. Sophie Harrison NZL 16:55
 -  Kayla Fairburn NZL disq
 -  Helena Barnes NZL disq

Official website:
jwoc2014.bg

The New Zealand Orienteering Federation has selected the following athletes to represent New Zealand at the Junior World Orienteering Championshiops in Borovets, Bulgaria 21– 28 July 2014.

Men
Ed Cory-Wright PAPO
Nick Hann Wellington
Callum Herries Hawkes Bay
Shamus Morrison Wellington
Tim Robertson Hutt Valley
Cameron Tier North West

Women
Helena Barnes North West
Rebecca Gray North West
Kayla Fairbairn North West
Sophie Harrison PAPO
Sonia Hollands Counties Manukau
Alice Tilley North West

Non-travelling Reserves
Matthew Goodall Counties Manukau
Vida Fox Hawkes Bay

Team Manager
Anna Robertson

Team Coach
Rob Jessop

The 2013 Canterbury Orienteering Champs over Show Weekend marked the third round of the SuperSeries and the last chance to secure valuable points ahead of the final race in St Arnaud at shores of Lake Rotoiti at the start of December. The Middle Distance was held on the Tuhaitara near Woodend, the Sprints at Kura Tawhiti near Castle Hill and the Long Distance at Acheronnear Lake Coleridge.

A highlight of these events was the competition between Nick Hann and Chris Forne. Hann blitzed Forne on the sand dunes at Woodend Beach, then confidently backed this up on the rocks of Castle Hill before finally succumbing in the forest. With Forne missing the Super Series final at Rotoiti because of the Adventure Racing World Championships in Costa Rica, their rivalry will hopefully resume in the new year at Sprint the Bay in the Hawkes Bay in February.

In the womes elite Georgia Whitla stamped her mark on the competition winning all three days. Laura Robertson and Lara Prince ran her close at times, but Georgia was running strongly and seemed very in control.

In the junior grades there were some good one off performances from Matt Goodall, Lauren Holmes, Lauren Turner, Ed Cory-Wright and Alistair Richardson.

The Wellington Orienteering Champs were held in the northern Wairarapapa over Labour Weekend.  The Long distance was held on hilly intricate farmland typical of the region.  Local junior Nick Hann won comfortably in the Elite Men, while Lizzie Ingham, returning from working and competing in Australia was chased harder by both Laura Robertson and Penny Kane in the Elite Women.  In the Junior Elite Women rising star Kayla Fairbairn of Auckland was trailed home by locals Lauren Turner and Lara Molloy, while Callum Herries managed to hold it together for the whole race to win convincingly.

The highlight of the event, for the elite fields at least, was definitely the knock out sprint held on Sunday. Eketahuna was more of a prologue, one for the cameras but it still accounted for Herries and Canterbury elite Tane Cambridge as only the top 12 qualified for the semi-final (with the elite and junior elite fields combined). Rathkeale College was the venue for the real deal and it proved more than adequate. Detailed buildings surrounded by nice forested grounds gave just enough challenge at speed.

The format was two semi-finals of 6 in each gender, with the top two in each going through to the final along with the two fastest losers. In the womens first semi-final Lizzie Ingham disappeared off the radar early and required a great comeback to recover lost time and out-sprinted Kayla Fairbairn for the win. Penny Kane finished third and had an anxious wait to see if she would go through as one of the fastest losers. She just made it. It was Laura Robertson, Georgia Whitla and Piret Klade coming through in the second heat, and Lauren Turner just failed to upset Kane by 10 seconds.

In the men the first heat had the most depth and the six were only separated by 30 seconds. Surprisingly though it was Jamie Stewart, Shamus Morrison and Devon Beckman who qualifed with Tim Robertson the one left crossing his finger but to no avail though. Duncan Morrison spoiled our top sprinters party finishing a strong 3rd in the second heat to Matt Ogden and Nick Hann to knock Robertson out.

The final was perhaps slightly less dramatic, but only because of the dominance of two athletes, Matt Ogden and Laura Robertson clearing out their races. In the latter case it was definitely an example of the apprentice overcoming the master. Robertson's rival and coach Lizzie Ingham watching her glide into the distance.

After the sprint, the middle distance returned to the farmland for tight, intricate and accurate courses with a variety of leg lengths and direction changes. Nick Hann dominating after Matt Ogden made early errors. In the junior women two different contenders came to the fore, Sonia Hollands and Rebecca Gray, dominating proceedings and demonstrating their technical proficiency. It could have been Gray's day, but a lonely and late mistake let Hollands through. While in the junior men Callum Herries tore it up, with some of his competition running elites.

Georgia Whitla won the Auckland Champs middle distance last Saturday, but it would have been a hollow victory. The joy of orienteering comes from performance not results, and dropping 7 1/2 minutes to win an elite middle distance is not the performance to tickle a self-respecting elites fancy. She was hardly the only one plunging the depths of Woodhill forest though last weekend.

Auckland Orienteering Club put on three events over the two day weekend, with the Woodhill Middle followed by a Sprint at Farm Cove on the Saturday and a long distance at Woodhill on the Sunday. 

One athlete that is always remarkable though is the irrepressible Chris Forne. Having barely run since his injury in the World Games in Augu he still managed to compete against the much younger elites including Junior World Champ Matt Ogden in his own terrain. Along with Nick Hann the three were a long way ahead of the other elites in their split times, brutal navigational efficiency and speed through the terrain. Tane Cambridge and Tim Robertson held on to their boot straps but the others were left eating their dust.

The stand out result in the womens grade was Laura Robertson win in the long distance. One early mistake, but otherwise very consistent, and well clear of Greta Knarston and Penny Kane.

In the junior elite men it was good to see Matt Goodall register a couple of wins in the forest, and Tommy Hayes take out the sprint. Devon Beckman was close every time and Callum Herries was leading both the sprint and long for significant periods before just not finishing it off. The junior elite women was dominated again by Alice Tilley, who has been proving hard to beat recently. Kayla Fairbairn was the next most consistent but only made second in the sprint with Sonia Hollands and Rebecca Gray having a good run each. Lauren Holmes wasn't far off the pace either, just looking for the next level of improvement to get her right up with the others. Good racing.
 

The Orienteering SuperSeries for 2013 kicks off this weekend with Round One held at the Auckland Orienteering Champs.  Saturday sees a technical Middle Distance event held in Woodhill Forest followed by a late afternoon Sprint based on Half Moon Bay in East Auckland.  Sunday's Long Distance returns to intricate dunes of Woodhill forest. 

A change in format for the 2014 World Orienteering Champs to be held in Italy in July has meant that New Zealand has been allocated less places in the Long and Middle Distance events.  So places on the team are at a premium and hotly contested over the coming summer. 

The Mens elite grade will be hotly contested with junior elites Nick Hann of Wellington and Tim Robertson of Hutt Valley vying with incumbent team members Tane Cambridge and Chris Forne of Christchurch.  Although not racing all events this weekend, ex-Junior World Champ, Matt Ogden's inclusion forthe Sprint and Long Distances should make for some exciting racing.

The Womens elite grade features a number of Junior elites transitioning into the senior grade with Laura Robertson of Hutt Valley, Renee Beveridge and Jula McMillan both of Auckland looking to claim a place on the team for next year.

Round Two is set for the Wellington Orienteering Champs over Labour Weekend.

New Zealand orienteer Tim Robertson (Hutt Valley) took third place in the Junior World Orienteering Champs Sprint in Czech Republic.

Robertson took 14m 47s for the 2.4km course through Hradec Králové, one of the oldest towns in Czech Republic. He was just 12 seconds behind the Swiss winner.

Nick Hann (Wellington) had the best result of the Kiwis in the long distance race finishing 14th.

Attention now turns to Finland for the World Orienteering Champs with races through out the week.

New Zealand orienteer Matthew Ogden has won the Middle Distance Junior World Orienteering Championships in Slovakia.

Ogden completed the 4.8km course in 27min 55sec, 13 seconds ahead of Jan Petržela from the Czech Republic.

The forest used for the race was steep in parts with intricate terrain detail including gullies and marshes.

Only the top 20 competitors from each of the three qualifying heats, held the previous day, went through to the A final. The remainder competing in the B and C finals.

Nick Hann, from New Zealand, also qualified for the A final, finishing in 21st place..

The best New Zealand result for the women was Laura Robertson finishing 27th in the A final.

All New Zealand Results

Men A Final
1. Matthew Ogden
21. Nick Hann

Men B Final
2. Tim Robertson
25. Duncan Morrison
45. Liam Paterson

Men C Final
7. Ryan Batin

Women A Final
27. Laura Robertson

Women B Final
21. Cosette Saville
27. Sarah Anderson
29. Selena Metherell
30. Jula McMillan

Full Results
http://jwoc2012.sk/files/middle-f/results.pdf

Men A Final Split Times:
http://www.jwoc2012.sk/files/middle-f/M20A.HTM

JWOC 2012 Middle Final: Maps and Results
http://news.worldofo.com/2012/07/12/jwoc-middle-final-maps-and-results-2/

Matt Ogden at last year's Junior World Champs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyaMgAcGrqQ

Race three of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) World Cup will be held on Hawke’s Bay farmland in January 2013.

Over 200 athletes are expected to take part in the World Cup races in New Zealand starting with a middle distance event over intricate sand dunes on a coastal strip around Otaki and Waikanae. Race two is a sprint event based in Wellington City while race three will be a middle distance event over farmland between Rissington and Patoka to the west of Hastings.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule says “Congratulations must go to members of the Hawke’s Bay Orienteering Club who have worked so hard to bring this event to the region. This is the first time since 1994 that the World Cup has been raced in New Zealand.”

Mr Yule says “These types of events are great for our accommodation providers, tourist attractions and retailers. January 2013 is going to be a massive time for Hastings District and we look forward to our visitors enjoying a positive experience during their stay.”

“Race three of the World Cup will double as a round of the Oceania Championship and that should see a further 600 athletes come to the region. The venue for the races has been chosen with spectators in mind but will prove very challenging for the competitors, Mr Yule says.”

Organisers are promising varied terrain for the three rounds which includes fast sand dunes, rolling farmland with bush and pine plantations, open farmland with intricate limestone rock and the urban setting of Wellington City.

The Hawke’s Bay round will include a World Cup MODEL event on Saturday January 12th which also acts as race six of the Oceania Carnival. On Sunday January 13th, race three of the World Cup will be held which will double as race seven of the Oceania Carnival. The three races in New Zealand are compulsory events for anyone who is serious about contesting the overall world title.

Competitors and supporters will be invited to a prizegiving/farewell dinner to be held at the Hawke’s Bay Opera House on Sunday January 13th 2013.  

The Orienteering World Cup Carnival has become part of the recently released Hawke’s Bay Regional Events Strategy. The strategy focuses on having different organisations work in collaboration and form partnerships to ensure Hawke’s Bay is an event friendly destination. The orienteering event is a great example of this, with five organisations joining together to support and promote the event.

The organisations involved are Hastings District Council, Napier City Council, Tourism Hawke’s Bay, Hawke’s Bay Orienteering Club and Sport Hawke’s Bay. 

Further details are available at http://www.oceania2013.co.nz/

More superb results for Lizzie Ingham and Chris Forne at the World Orienteering Championships.

A third top 20 placing for Wellingtonian Lizzie Ingham at the World Orienteering Championships - in the middle distance - makes her the best performed New Zealander at a World Championships.

Lizzie’s 18th place in the Montagne de Lachat map near La Féclaz in France was a hard-fought effort on a course designed to test the world best to the limits, with all expected to make some mistakes in the rocky and intricate forests in sight of Mont Blanc.

The ultimate winners Thierry Gueorgiou (France) and Helena Jansson (Sweden) made the smallest of mistakes and recovered within seconds.

Ingham was one of just two women (Helena Jansson the other) competing in all three finals after three successful qualifications, and was orienteering fantastically through the forest, with minimal mistakes and staving off weariness almost to the end.

But it was the last of the tricky controls in the forest that cost her a top ten placing as she overshot it, relocating on the clearing past it and returned having lost 3 minutes of crucial time.

The three individual placings of Ingham - 11th, 18th and 13th - have been slightly bettered in single instances by Katie Fettes (10th in long) and Tania Robinson (16th in the middle), but none have put together such a comprehensive week of world-class performances.

Chris Forne, who has in the past reached the top twenty twice in a Worlds week was also in good form and closed out his week with a second top 30 placing.

After his gruelling 5.4km race, Forne as first starter was cautiously optimistic of a good performance: “It was real tricky, and hot too. I’m pleased with my run but a minute lost on finding the last forested control might cost me a few places.”

After 80 minutes of waiting all the results were up and Chris’s 28th was the third in the top 30 for the men in the week with Ross Morrison 25th in the sprint and Chris 25th in the long.

Along with Lizzie Inghams 3 top 20 places and the excellent middle distance qualification races of Penny Kane and Amber Morrison the 2011 team have put together a superb week in challenging terrain.

And more is to come - the team relays - with high hopes for both mens and womens teams who have raced themselves into top form.

The relays commence at 2:00pm (12:00am NZ time) and 2:30pm (12:30am NZ time), and comprise teams of three men and three women.


Results: World Orienteering Championships, Savoie Grand Revard, France
Middle distance, La Féclaz, August 17

Women 3.8km

1 JANSSON Helena SWE 33:10
2 BOBACH Ida DEN 34:26
3 WYDER Judith SUI 35:11
4 KAUPPI Minna FIN 35:19
5 VINOGRADOVA Natalia RUS 35:28
6 ALM Maja DEN 35:31
7 ANDERSEN Marianne NOR 35:49
8 RANTANEN Merja FIN 36:32
9 BILLSTAM Annika SWE 36:42
10 CHATAING Amélie FRA 36:59
18 INGHAM Lizzie NZL 39:08
38 MORRISON Amber NZL 47:30
40 KANE Penny NZL 47:51

Men 5.4km

1 GUEORGIOU Thierry FRA 34:38
2 ÖBERG Peter SWE 36:59
3 LUNDANES Olav NOR 37:01
4 KRATOV Oleksandr UKR 37:30
5 VYTAUTAS GVILDYS Jonas LTU 37:45
6 GONON François FRA 37:46
7 LASSEN Tue DEN 38:26
8 MUELLER Matthias SUI 38:40
9 ADAMSKI Philippe FRA 38:43
10 ROLLIER Baptiste SUI 38:55
29 FORNE Chris NZL 43:31


 

New Zealands top orienteers face a day of truth today in the World Orienteering Championship Middle Distance final.

Last Sunday four of the six person team advanced through the heats, all three of the women: Lizzie Ingham, Amber Morrison and Penny Kane as well as the indomitable Chris Forne.

The middle distance is the most technically demanding of the three individual disciplines. With winning times of around 30 minutes, tomorrows events will take place largely on a steep and rocky karst slope under the shade of mature beech trees. Competitors will pop out to the glare of the spectator arena before a final loop that adds to the drama.

In World Championship finals all competitors wear a gps tracking device that feeds live onto the internet and into the television broadcast that is displayed on a big screen at the event. Mistakes can be seen and replayed around the orienteering world.

Of the kiwis, Lizzie Ingham is the most likely to feature near the top of the results list. She has stepped into top echelon of world orienteers this week. Three confident and secure qualification races capped by 11th and 13th places in the sprint and long finals. A top ten result is very plausible.

Morrison and Kane are also eyeing top 20 results. Morrison who qualified an outstanding 5th in her heat seems to be finally over the foot problems that have dogged the beginning of her elite career. The challenge tomorrow will be finding the right opportunities to use her undoubted speed. Kane on the other hand will be looking for the rough detailed legs to gain an edge on her competition.

As for Forne, what can you say. The world 24hour rogaining champion prepared for this championship with a 200km mountain race and a road cycling tour of Iceland. He will bookend it with a month travelling in Nepal and the World Adventure Racing championship in Tasmania. He is not your usual athlete! Starting first expect him to hold the lead until at least halfway down the field.

As for the favourites, eight times world champion Thierry Georgiou must be a good chance although Swede Peter Overgrown defeated him in the qualification. While in the women it is hard to go past the all conquering Swedish team who have garnered five of the six medals won to date.