News Down Under

[mharky]

http://jwoc2007.orienteering.asn.au/News/?ItemID=1779

No real news, just a photo.

Seems like BA have succesfully managed to lose everyones bags. Good stuff.

[the duncan]

its good to see you can always rely on BA for somethings!!
i say a wee prayer everytime i fly, out of the last 3 long haul flights i have done, my bags have gone awol!

[PMG]

Jason has a new role as press oficer:
From http://www.orange.yourguide.co.au

Coach tips open event By MICHELLE COOK


ORIENTEERING
GREAT Britain coach Jason Inman believes having the Junior World Orienteering Championships in Australia next week has opened up the competition this year.

The Brits are one of 26 teams in Orange preparing for the global event which will be held in Dubbo next week.

This will be the first time the championships have been hosted by Australia and Inman said the unfamiliar terrain could level the field.

"We've never had a competition outside of Australia," Inman said.

"So for the first time ever it's very even. We'd normally expect the Scandinavians to really dominate.

"I think out here it's probably open for a lot of people do well. In the Brits, we'd like to see some of our guys in the top 10."

Inman said the terrain is unique to Australia and requires competitors to be fit as well as talented orienteers.

"It's a very uneven surface and you have to be very agile as well as quite powerful and strong," he said. "It's very rocky under foot. The demand is really upon the cleanliness of your navigation rather than the speed you travel.

"We'd normally expect the Scandinavians to really dominate."

"We like to think the Brits, as quite well-rounded navigators, that we should go okay."

Three of the Brits were training at Bloomfield yesterday with the trio showing a healthy rivalry with each other.

Hector Haines is the youngest in the Great Britain team at 17 and will make his championship debut next week.

Duncan Coombs and Joe Mercer are both 20 and will contest the final championships.

"Joe's been doing quite a lot of running and Duncan has been doing quite a lot of orienteering work so it will be interesting to see who gets the better results from the running or the orienteering," Inman said.

"The sprint it going to be very fast so it might pay off for the fitter guys. The middle and classic distance is going to be for the real orienteers."

Junior World Orienteering Championships team liaison officer Nick Dent said six maps in the Orange region had been made available to the visiting teams.

The coaches for each team design the training from the maps provided.

Some of the other teams in Orange this week include New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Hong Kong, Japan, USA, Canada, Estonia, Lithuania and Russia.

[King Penguin]

Three of the Brits were training at Bloomfield yesterday with the trio showing a healthy rivalry with each other.

.

Where were the others ?

[mharky]

the pub

[ruth]

being careful not to train too hard when jetlagged??

[rob f]

we've never had a competition outside of europe, surely
unless jase really is a wallaby in disguise

[candyman]

A slight misquote from media superstar Mr Inman, he did say europe, his interview also appeared on the local tv evening news along with some shots of the lads ripping up the pavement.

The rest of our team were back at the accommodation taking it easy as they were still a little under the weather after the long flight over. All had participated in the morning training on a granite map.