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Congratulations to NSW Juniors Michele Dawson, Kasimir Gregory and Alex Massey who have all been selected to represent Australia in the 2012 Junior World Orienteering Championships in Slovakia in July. The selection is well deserved after strong performances by all three in the March and Easter selection races. All three are pictured below in action over the weekend at the Easter 3-Day Competition in Stanthorpe, Queensland.
Other athletes that also excelled over the weekend and picked up first placings included Ewan Shingler (M10A), Daniel Hill (M16A), Angus Roberts (M17-20A), Miles Ellis (M35A), Jock Davis (M45A), Eric Baker (M55+AS), Neil Schafer (M85+A), Marina Ishakova (W21A), Jenny Enderby (W40A), Jane Watt (W55+AS), Toy Martin (W65A) and Maureen Ogilvie (W75A).
In the open elite ranks Tracy Marsh, Joshua Blatchford and Matthew Parton were impressive posting highly competitive results across the weekend.
The Easter competition was spread over four events with the terrain ranging from complex granite to more open fields. Good results required both technical skills to navigate through the tricky granite detail as well as speed and endurance.
On the social side the local National Parks were visited by many plus the restaurants, wineries and local produce stalls were very well received with many orienteers stocking up for the trip home. Thanks to Orienteering Queensland, the many volunteers that contributed to the weekend as well as the Stanthorpe and Warwick towns for a memorable weekend.
The final and deciding race this weekend at Belanglo Forest will see the crowning of the first DuO Adventure Race Series champions. The series placings are still up for grabs in both the long and the short course, male and female classes, and with over 75 competitors signed up the competition should be fast and furious. There will be some entries on the day available for both individual and pairs teams. Event organiser Greg Bacon has a new element this time too, with a novice course included to allow sporty families a chance to let the children have a run too. The novice course is only 8km MTB and 1km foot stage, so that parents will have time to finish the novice course with their children and still have time to tackle the short course by themselves. With a sausage sizzle starting at 11am there will be every incentive for competitors to get back as quickly as they can!
A short 2.5 km course contained within the Gardens and the Civic Theatre precinct had participants zigzagging forth and back trying to select the most efficient route. Garden beds and buildings created natural barriers so participants had to choose their route carefully and with so many cross-overs it was inevitable that some would get confused and find themselves at the wrong control site.
Estonian born Arvo Ambel chose well and slipped around the course in a shade under 11 minutes almost 2 minutes quicker than second placed Alex Davey. Trent Seaman also had an excellent run finishing just 16 seconds further back in third place.
New to orienteering but old in the art of preparation, Lachlan Billett entered his first orienteering competition to use it as a warm up for the Riverina Schools Championships scheduled for May 8. With mother Amanda in tow he coped with the tricky course quite satisfactorily finishing a creditable sixth. Po King Chung was another trying orienteering for the first time. An error near the sixth control cost her some time but she managed to find the other controls easily enough and finished ninth.
Thanks to John Oliver for this report
Aidan Dawson was already helping out a fellow orienteer, by shadowing a junior squad member around their course on the Cascades map at the recent Easter Carnival in Queensland, when he came across Josh Blatchford injured in the forest. Josh had fallen awkwardly and hurt his leg and was 
making his way painfully back to the finish. 'I was very glad to get Aidan's help, as although I didn't know at the time what I had done to my leg, it was painful and I was making slow progress,' said Josh.
A scan showed a break which will take Josh out of competition for ten weeks and put a hole in his plans for his first attempt to get on the Australian team for the WOC this year. Although only a temporary setback it will be a great disappointment for this young elite runner. His solid representation of Australia at the Junior World Orienteering Championships has positioned him well for moving on to the next stage of his international orienteering career.
