Hello North West members

There is light at the end of the tunnel! The changes in Covid Alert levels mean greater freedoms and we have already had an informal training day at Slater Road forest – with many thanks to Rob and Marquita and their kind neighbours.  When Auckland moves to the Traffic Light system next month, we will be able to transition to more normal events, although record-keeping and signing in with QR codes etc will be here to stay.  

In the short to medium term, at least, being double vaccinated – (both volunteers and participants, over 12 years) will become a prerequisite for clubs to be able to hold events.

We will hold our club AGM online, via Zoom, on Tuesday 7 December.
We are really excited that Gene Beveridge has volunteered to step into the role of NWOC club president in 2022. Gene is one of New Zealand’s top elite orienteers (not to mention being on the podium of trail races such as The Goat, Kepler Challenge etc) and also works as a personal coach and as Orienteering NZ’s Training Coordinator.  Many of you will be familiar with Gene’s Leg-by-Leg YouTube videos and NavChat series. Gene also owns and operates sports retailer Grassy Knoll Outdoor. I’m sure he will bring a welcome fresh take on orienteering to NWOC.

Events don’t just happen; it takes a team of volunteers to create event concepts, design great courses and deliver orienteering that is both fun and challenging. Being part of that volunteer team brings lots of benefits too, including working with other motivated orienteers, learning new skills alongside experienced course planners, being able to influence the type of events or coaching we offer club members, meeting new friends ….

But you don’t need to be an expert orienteer to volunteer and help out at events – organising helpers on the day (the event coordinator get a free entry) or giving an hour or two of your time to help set up tents or be on registration makes a difference.  Join one of our experienced orienteers collecting controls after an event and you will learn heaps about navigation.

Please don’t be shy about putting up your hand to be our new club Secretary/ administrator or webmaster or if you would like to be more involved with running the club and planning events in any way.

Hope to meet you in the forest again soon,

Kia kaha, Lisa Mead
President NWOC

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1. Events Calendar
2. AGM
3. Event report: Slater Road forest 13 November
4. Orienteering NZ Coaching qualification
5. NWOC events in 2022
6. Situations Vacant – we need a new secretary

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1.Events Calendar

November 2021
Sat 27   AOC SummerNav  Waterview (MapRun 6 event)
Sun 28   NWOC Club dinner, prizegiving and AGM Coatesville Settlers Hall  CANCELLED – see below

December 2021
Tues 07  NWOC Virtual/Online AGM  via Zoom. 7.30pm Please register for the AGM here.
Wed 08  AOC  SummerNav, Hamlins Hill
Sun 12   CMOC AOS 9 Waiuku Forest South                     NEW DATE (originally 22 Aug/ 21 Nov))
Thu 16   AOC SummerNav  Cornwall park, Haydn Ave

The AOC SummerNav events cannot take place under Covid Level 3, but are now being offered as orienteering training courses with MapRun6.  New maps (pdf versions for you to print out a copy) are being uploaded to the AOC website and in MapRun each Saturday (or thereabouts) and will only be on the Auckland club homepage for one week.  Details on MapRun are given here.

There is a QR code on the printed map to access the activity in MapRun. However, you can still find the event in the App using "Select Event" and then going to New Zealand > Auckland > Auckland O Club> ParkO > 2021 and choosing the map of interest. PDF versions of the maps can be found on the Auckland Club website.
Update: Events with 25 people are now possible and AOC may offer the SummerNav events with pre-entry and restricted numbers. Keep an eye on their website.

January 2022
7-16 January  South Island, NZ.   Oceania Orienteering Champs (or Not-the-Oceania Champs in the event the border is still closed with Australia): Plan your escape from Auckland and an orienteering summer holiday now!
Events include Sprints 7-8 January, Oceania Sprint/ Long/Middle / Relay 10-14 January and follow-on events in Duntroon/Oamaru 15/16 January.
Standard entries close on 14 December. All the details can be found here.

Thu 20  AOC SummerNav  Dilworth/Diocesan Campuses
Thu 27  AOC SummerNav  Ambury Regional Park

February 2022
Wed 02  AOC SummerNav  Cornwall Park
Sat-Mon 5-7 AOC Super City Sprints weekend. Enter here.
wed 09  AOC SummerNav   Monte Cecilia park
Sat-Sun 12-13 OBOP/Taupo Tūāraki Northern Regional Champs Taupo/ Rotorua region. Enter here.
 

Check out the NWOC club website for details of other events in 2022, including our Weekend Double AOS on 19/20 March with camping at Lake Kereta: https://www.nwoc.org.nz/events/

AOS = Auckland Orienteering Series – events generally have 9 courses of varying lengths and difficulty

2. Online Annual General Meeting Tuesday 6 December 7.30pm (approx. 1 hour).

This year our AGM will be a virtual affair via Zoom meeting. Details are on our website and you can register for the AGM here (log in using your NW membership ID or as a guest).  As mentioned above, we look forward to confirming Gene Beveridge as our new president and we are also looking for a new secretary. There is room for others to join the committee – do you see yourself as club coach or as webmaster?
We are proposing reduced membership fees and a combo-deal for the rogaines – your chance to vote!

3. Event report - Informal training day at Slater Road Forest 13 November 2021

Rob and Marquita (and their obliging neighbour) provided access to their wonderful forest terrain to create a self-guided, Covid-compliant, orienteering event. There were 4 red courses, an orange course and a yellow foot/ MTBO course.  The day was carefully planned to ensure there were never more than 25 people starting per hour and it certainly felt like a solo, wilderness event on the day, with mist and drizzly rain adding to the atmosphere.  The courses were challenging both technically and physically and after a couple of hours it was a case of finding flags before the ink control circles dissolved and the map disintegrated! But it was so good to be out and we had some very positive emails from participants who loved that there were real courses with actual controls.

Here's what top M70 orienteer Dave Middleton (below) had to say:
Hi Rob and M, thanks for today. It was great to get back in the forest. If you found a small grey walnut lying on the ground that would be my brain because I sure made more mistakes today than I have done in the last 10 years. But still good to get out. Thanks again…

   

Training maps at Riverhead Forest and Sanders Reserve
If you haven’t already checked out the training maps at Riverhead (red level orienteering) and Sanders Reserve (easy yellow level), then you can find the details below. The semi-permanent control markers in Riverhead have survived plenty of rain and checkpoint M has been rescued from under a fallen tree!
Note that the Riverhead control sites are not suitable for inexperienced orienteers – further details can be found here.
Check out the newly updated Resources/Coaching tab on the NWOC website home page for links to Permanent Courses, orienteering maps and MapRun6 events.

4. Apply to become a ONZ accredited coach.

It's time to kick off the coach qualification process and we want all clubs to have the opportunity to get some freshly qualified Advanced Coaches. Once these coaches are up to speed, they can help train Foundation and Development Coaches in their club.

ONZ is hosting the first online training for those looking to be advanced coaches on Monday 29th November at 7:30pm to 8:45pm. Details of the Zoom call will be distributed by email closer to the time.

Here's a quick preview of what we'll cover:
1. Why you should think "techniques before exercises".
2. Simple and consistent language for teaching.
3. How to include flexibility into the standard progression.
4. How to include flexibility into the recommend explanations.
5. How advanced coaches will qualify the foundation and development coaches and why it's important to be consistent.

There will be more online training sessions in the near future.
Link to application form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd4-GhemkgrZtCnkcElpW4s17M_KNZTXDRn4N3Nnzbv_q_WRg/viewform?usp=sf_link

5. NWOC events in 2022
We’ll kick off 2022 with our double header event on 19/20 March – a new map, two AOS events (middle and a long) and a novelty event, plus camping at fabulous Lake Kereta. The maps are very close to each other so make a weekend of it and come and camp at Lake Kereta, where the deer roam free and there are even hot showers!
Marquita is busy re-mapping Wilson Road, which we last used for orienteering around 20 years ago – A beautiful area with a wide variety of terrain: Mostly sand dune contour detail with: mature open
plantation forest; low visibility blocks: park-like areas with clearings, ponds and mixed stands of trees: steep and rugged slopes.
 
The Wilson Road map will offer lots of variety

09 April AOS event at Riverhead Forest, exploring more of the map which was first used in May 2021.

4 and 5 May and 18 May Year 7 & 8 zone days plus the Interzone final at Moire Park. We are always looking for more volunteers to help out at these mid-week events which introduce hundreds of Intermediate-age students to orienteering.

Rogaine Series 15 May/ 12 June/ 26 June
The  always popular rogaines are a great opportunity for club members to become involved with course setting and we can help pair you up with an experienced mentor.  On 12 June we will return to StoneyBrook, which until recently, has been a filming location for the Lord of the Rings Amazon series.

10 July AOS event at Slater Road/ Hedley Dunes

22-24 October Tuaraki Northern Region Champs – Woodhill region. Your chance to influence this weekend - do you want  standard Sprint, Middle and Long races or do you want double middle races with a chasing start? 
14-19 December - Junior Camp, based at Houghtons Bush Camp and Woodhill.  This will be a great opportunity to have intensive training on your doorstep and for Under-23 orienteers to be part of the coaching team – especially if you have undertaken the ONZ Coaching training.

If you would like to volunteer for any of these events in any capacity, contact  Club Captain Rob Garden (email: rgmg@xtra.co.nz) or  sign up on the Volunteer Sign Up sheet.

6.Wanted – NWOC Club Secretary for 2022

Annemarie Hogenbirk has been our fabulous club secretary since 2018. She plans to step down from the role at the upcoming AGM, while still being hands-on in other facets of running the club.

We need a new club secretary to join our committee- could this be you?

Job description NWOC Secretary:

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A committee of volunteer members runs North West Orienteering Club (NWOC). As secretary of the club, you will be responsible for preparing and distributing the agenda and writing minutes of the six annual meetings of the committee of the club and the AGM, supported by the president and the treasurer. In addition, you will be maintaining the central email of the club: archiving the incoming email and responding to it yourself, or forwarding relevant information to other volunteers within the organisation (general information about events, membership questions, invoice inquiries, questions around logistics for upcoming events, more strategic questions for the whole committee). A summary of the emails in between meetings often forms the basis for the agenda, with contributions from the president, treasurer or other members of the committee.

It is a job that can be done entirely from home, aside from the face-to-face meetings. It is a great way to learn more about the inner workings of the club, support fellow volunteers, and work with a great bunch of like-minded orienteers!

 Please feel free to contact Annemarie ( northwestorienteering@gmail.com) or Lisa (mead10b@gmail.com)  if you would like to volunteer or to discuss the role.
 

New Members
A warm welcome to Sarah Connolly and Rebekah Clews who both braved the rain and enjoyed the informal training day at Slater Road earlier this month.