Author Archive: Richard

Long weekend in Kaapsehoop!

A quick wrap up from ROC legend Nicholas Mulder on the recent Kaapsehoop O-Ringen held from the 22nd to the 24th of March. Enjoy!

_________________________

A small but dedicated field of orienteers made the journey down to Kaapsehoop over the long weekend in March to take part in ROC’s Mpumalanga O-Ringen. The weekend of events started off with a Friday night event on the very technical map in the Kaapsehoop Rockery. Alex Pope and Brian Gardner organized 3 challenging but fair short courses here. The intense rock detail left some competitors staring at their maps in bewilderment and wishing they had stronger headlamps. To add some spice to the event, there was even some mist drifting in from the escarpment and affecting navigation on the higher parts of the map. In the end everyone made it home safe and no search parties were needed!

On Saturday morning a long distance event took place at Nooitgedacht Towers. Distances were slightly reduced to account for the steep forested terrain around the watch tower, with the longest Brown course only covering 7.2km, but utilizing the maximum of 5% gradient in doing so. Planning good routes was tricky for Stephanie and Nicholas Mulder, but the steep climbs were alleviated by ensuring that the event start was at a much higher level than the finish. Many of the participants felt the legs burning on some of the steeper legs but it was the steep downhills that proved to be most problematic for some of the older competitors.

The final day of competition was again held at high altitude (2000m), this time on the Elandshoogte map. This map hasn’t been used since Big 5 in 2013 but Ian Bratt and Eugene Botha ensured that all map changes were up to date for the event. The courses were thoroughly enjoyed as the competitors got to run in stunning forests on a much flatter gradient. Eugene managed to plan some interesting route choices on the longer courses, ensuring that finishers were soon comparing split times and routes to determine which ones were best.

The two forest events were used to determine the winners of the O-Ringen and congratulations must go to the following course winners: Alex Pope on Brown, Kirsten Chambers on Blue, Cameron Morrison on Green, Pat De Klerk on Light Green and Gemma Green on Orange.

Well done ROC!

Western Cape’s first night golf course event!

This past Saturday saw PENOC hosting the Western Cape’s first night golf course event! Following the success of Gauteng’s night events, this PENOC edition didn’t disappoint. A great turnout and great conditions rounded off a well planned sprint event. Check out the event report here and the results here.

Orienteering Development in the Northern Cape

An update on the amazing work being done by our Development team Karen and Richard:

Two years ago trail runner Warnell Engelbrecht asked on Facebook when we would be bringing Orienteering to Namaqualand? Soon after we got the ball rolling by meeting up in Cape Town and doing some basic Orienteering training in his uncle’s dining room. Warnell was determined to share his navigational skills knowledge with local school children, especially after having heard about a group of teachers and children getting terribly lost on a camp and having to spend the night on the mountain.

After a challenging year of trying unsuccessfully to get schools to introduce Orienteering, Warnell teamed up with teacher /adventure programme organizer Elvin Saal and they have become a pair of passionate hardworking Orienteering ambassadors who are clearly making their mark. Last April Timothy and I travelled up to Sprinkbok to do coaching and mapping training with them as well as initiate the project with work in Dr Isak Van Niekerk Primary. Taking part in the Western Cape Champs made the pair realize how much they had to learn but also reinforced how vital skills could be taught to children through Orienteering activities.

In the past 6 months Elvin and Warnell have mapped and visited 7 different schools in the Springbok, Okiep, Concordia and Nababeep areas. The children have thoroughly enjoyed the activities and teachers they have worked with have clearly seen the benefits of introducing Orienteering into their schools.

This year Warnell and Elvin hope to also be able to reach out to areas like the Khaima, Kamiesberg and Richtersveld regions. They also hope to get pupils competing in events at neighbouring schools as well as take some children to participate in the Western Cape Champs.

Well done Elvin and Warnell. We look forward to working with you to keep growing Orienteering in Namaqualand.

-Karen Chambers

Over 420 participants take part in first OSL event of 2019!

Orienteering Schools League kicked off to an amazing start this past Monday with a massive turnout of 420 participants!

The training event at Bryanston High School saw all the participants honing their skills in preparation for the official league events starting this Monday the 28th of January.

For more information on OSL, visit the OSL Facebook page, or the 2019 OSL page on the SAOF website.

Robin Hills Street_O

Robin Hills Street-O

WHEN Tues 20 March 2018 (Registration from 5:45 pm, start 6:30pm)

WHERE Starting from 1st Robin Hills Scout Hall, Oorbietjie Road

WHAT 60/90 minute night run/walk with navigation

COST R160/team, paid before midnight Sunday 18 March 2018 Late entries before start at R200/team

ENTRIES: Enter online at www.orienter.co.za or email Karen at o-ventures@wol.co.za with proof of payment, the course you are doing, your team and members names and phone numbers.

CONCEPT: You and a partner, with the aid of a map and clue sheet, will have 60 (short course), or 90 (long course) min to lo-cate as many checkpoints as possible, answering questions at each point to show that you have been there. The further the checkpoint, the greater the value and the winner is the team with the highest score at the end of the allotted time.

11th March 2018 – The Coves Hartebeespoort

Urban Event #4

It is well worth coming out to The Coves on March 11th for the 4th of the Urban Series. We held the SA Sprint Champs there last year and it is a nice mix of urban and bushveld areas. Leg cover is recommended. Many of the residents will be participating so lets make them welcome to our great sport.

About The Coves

The Coves Estate Located just 40 minutes from Johannesburg and Pretoria on 196 hectares of the western Hartbeespoort Dam shoreline, The Coves is a low density residential development. It combines a pristine farmland environment with unmatched security and exceptional facilities and recreational amenities.

Situated within the panoramic embrace of the majestic Magaliesberg mountain range. The Coves has been designed with meticulous attention to detail and care for the environment around natural features such as open farmland, streams, forest walkways and dams. In this tranquil landscape you can truly unwind, while enjoying a variety of outdoor leisure activities. The Coves boasts a top quality private airstrip and hangars, fully serviced jetties and boathouses and an outstanding clubhouse with swimming pools and squash and tennis courts.

Interesting New Orienteering at The Campus

ROC added a new feature at last Sunday’s event at The Campus. Alex Pope mapped a section of the underground parking. The parking was shown as a separate map next to the main map. Several people were caught out when they got to the transition point. Mainly because they had not read the event noticeboard!

Tim Chambers and Michele Botha cruised to victory in the men’s and women’s events while mother and daughter Tania and Sarah dead-heated for second. Alex plans to map the rest of the parking, so maybe we will have the first totally underground orienteering event!

See the upcoming events here.

Urban Series 2 – Wits Main Campus

Join us at Wits University for the second sprint event. The event sheet is HERE.

Orienteering is a competitive form of land navigation. It is for all ages and degrees of fitness & skill. It
provides the suspense and excitement of a treasure hunt. The object of orienteering is to
locate control points by using a map and compass to navigate through the area.

Urban Series has begun

The Urban Series has kicked off with a well attended event at Emmarentia Dam. There were surprise winners in both woman’s and men’s events. Kirsten Chambers beat Michelle Botha while Alex Pope beat Tim Chambers.

World Orienteering Day 2018

WOD 2018

The next World Orienteering Days will take place on May 23rd 2018! We aim to beat the record participation of 288,000 people in 2017.