Discussion: WMOC2017 Registration Open

You are warmly invited to the WMOC which will be held as part of
WMG2017. Entries are now open and Bulletin 1 published.

As host city for the ninth World Masters Games, Auckland will welcome 25,000 athletes from more than 100 countries, competing across 28 different sports for the ten days of competition from 21 to 30 April 2017.

Come early to acclimatise and familiarise with New Zealand’s Orienteering terrain at the Oceania Championships over Easter weekend, and the "Middle Earth" events to be held near Rotorua, in the Central North Island’s geothermal region during the intervening week. Then stay on afterwards to explore our beautiful country.

WMOC - Sprint
Both qualification and final races will take place in the heart of the city. The qualification race will be around Auckland’s newest waterfront development: formerly a large industrial area, it is now a vibrant harbour-side of cafes, sleek apartments, parks and gardens. The terrain is varied, with areas of fine detail and lots of route choice, but little elevation difference.
The Sprint final will be held on The University of Auckland’s City Campus – a complex maze of university buildings set in undulating park-like surroundings with some formal gardens.

WMOC - Long
Two qualification races and the final will be run in Woodhill Forest, an extensive commercial exotic forest and recreation area northwest of the city. The forest is mostly radiata pine planted on undulating to moderately steep sand-dune terrain, with good runability. There are also small pockets of native New Zealand bush with reduced visibility and runability, and a coastal strip that contains more intricate sand-dune systems and variable vegetation including some rough open areas and some areas of windblown sand. There is a network of widely spaced forestry roads and some motorbike tracks, but otherwise there are few paths. The terrain is similar for all three races.

Woodhill is awesome!

How does the terrain compare to that of WMOC 2000 near Palmerston North?

Similar sand-dune terrain, more undulating and good run-ability

Old Map - Long Qual

Thanks.

As I was entering, it doesn’t seem that there are any open courses for the under age 35 group at the 2017 WMOC. It is usual to have these courses for accompanying younger family members. I have asked the organizers but have not gotten a response. Can anyone confirm that these open races have been cut from the 2017 program?

There are races the week before ish, http://oceania2017.nz

If our experience in 2002 is anything to go by, World Masters Games people are pretty sensitive about advertising any "public" events which might take people away from the WMG, so if such events are happening I wouldn't expect them to be promoted widely, at least at this stage. An e-mail enquiry to the organisers is probably the best option.

The Oceania Championships will be happening over the previous weekend, and will have classes for all age groups. The event format is not too different from NAOC (except that the relay is a forest relay and open to everyone), but the numbers are usually somewhat higher than NAOC.

Why do the younger people want to invade the games for oldies? Finally I am old enough to compete in masters and the youth of today want to take that away from me too! :-)

Actually at this stage I'm hoping just to get there because I have no idea what my working life will consist of in April next year.

@Martinpeat The link to bulletin 1 in your post is broken.

++Geoman's comment - we're booking flights, accommodation etc now, we need to know now if there will be public events for kids.

Geoman, undy:

The under-35s will have courses at WMOC 2017 according to a one-year-to-go article posted on the OrienteeringNZ website in April:

"For orienteering, supporters courses will be available for those under 35 as at 31 December 2017; at this stage details are to be confirmed."

Martinpeat, undy:

Bulletin 1 is linked from the Orienteering page at the WMG 2017 website.

Thanks. Cool bananas.