Discussion: To call yourself and Australian orienteer

Invisiblelog posted something on another orienteers site today saying "in order to call yourself and Australian orienteer you need to finish an age class course at Cantara.
And about 5 other maps, which we can all disagree on. "

Im curious to what people think those 5/6 maps/ areas are.

one of them would have to be the cascades

and possibly pittwater

Whats with the 'and'? Surely you don't have to cut and paste other peoples typos?

I haven't run at Cantara. Therefore I can't be an Aussie orienteer. Guess I'll have to drag out my British passport and go run for them.

it has worked for others...

but not very well.

Yeah do it!!

Darn - I thought orienteering since I was about 5 or 6, having run in every State and having an Aussie passport would do it - I've never been to Cantara (although I have run with the map a few times)

Me too (not since I was 5 or 6, but since before Fletch was 5 or 6). Maybe he meant 'in order to call yourself an(d) invisible orienteer ....'

You can be defensive about it or you could take it as interesting discussion point along the lines of 5 or 6 Australian Orienteering experiences you should try to have. I for one would think my life as an Australian Orienteer a little poorer had I never run on Cantara similar with Kooyoora... It reminds me of the top 10 Australian areas thread really...

does m10 count? i still made mistakes!
Just looked at results, i was 7th and only 29secs behind the winner! - guess who. talk about a close one!

You will note he din't say you had to run well on each area only finish a course. Australia has a wide variety of terrain and I think that it is importantto have experienced them all. Catara like Kooyoora is a unique experience. Along with Pettycoat and Pargodas that makes four distinctive terrains whihc round out yor Australian experience. Really topshelf spur/gully is a bit more probelmatic.
Then one needs to consider those maps that should be experienced, but definitely only once. We have plenty of those Pyrites Creek, Wombat Wallow and anything East of Melbourne are in that group.

Most epic spur gully I've been in is Wilpena Spurs (sorry Victoria). And I have run at Cantara: a good area indeed but similar to quite a few other international sand dune areas.

One of the Flinders areas (doesn't matter which one) definitely has to be on a list of this type.

I've been on plenty of sand dune areas overseas too, but nothing quite like Cantara, because of the role the vegetation plays in preventing straight-line running at the small scale (even if your broad route is essentially a straight-line route). The dune formations themselves are much more complex at the far end of Pittwater.

Candyman - wasn't intending to be defensive. Maybe I need to learn to use more emoticons seeing as my tone of voice is somehow lost over the internte ;)
Wish I had had the chance to run at Cantara and many other places since my orienteering became more sporadic over the last decade.

Hill PArk Dale (2006 Oz Champs) probably isn't anything special by national or international standards, but it certainly stands out in WA as the only map with some big rock on it.
I know I found Cascades insanely hard back in 2000 and haven't had the chance to go back and see if I learnt anything from it.

Some of the older WA maps present some challenges to finish courses on, but only because the maps are so bad :)

Pittwater definitely. I suppose I'm biased being from Hobart, but it is by far the most technically complex map I've ever seen. GPS tracks from there are most enjoyable to watch :)

If you feel the need to prove yourself tough enough to call yourself an Australian Orienteer then completing a course on Pinjarra Hills would be a good start.

How to start a thread without really trying.

Cantara... its the vegetation stupid. Agree with Blair. Not many areas where I appreciate the joy of occasionally crawling. Not many areas where I feel so totally on the edge of losing myself for much of the race.
What other 5 did I have in mind.
Pittwater. Different vegetation, same on edge feeling. Wish I'd been to the Latvian 3-days this year. Looked similar.
Cascades and Kooyoora. I'd be tempted to say a very Australian experience, except that I've been to the Vedavoos or however you spell it (Wyoming).
Creswick/Petticoat Gully.
Ganguddy.
I could be convinced on adding a couple more maybe.
Jason's Task
Which spur gully? Flinders, Cyanide Dam, Inverary all have their pros and cons.

PS Feel free to proof read me. After two books through the commercial publishing process, I'm used to it and over it.

Pinjarra Hills - thanks for the mention c-man. Spare a thought for the mapper/course setter. And what a run by Warren, 1 minute over the planned winning time.

do people remember stockton sand dunes. they were pretty good at the time (mid 80's) but not as good as Cantara. i see no one has mentioned any Sydney sandstone maps and Toota Maroota is definetly off the list.

Stockton is good if and only if there has been a recent fire. I went there in 2005 and it was virtually unrunnable because of heavy bracken.

I think a sandstone area should be on the list, Ganguddy being as good as any.

Too many spiders at Stockton...

Every State and Territory (I am missing NT but I did do the Rogaine there last year)

havnt read all of this thread so this might come out of left field but i think in order to call youself an australian orienteer you must win a prize at every event you enter.
if you cant get in the top 3 in one of the 300 or so A classes(you should be able to, there will only be about 5 competitors in each A class), go to A-Short(should only be down to just 2 of 3 competitors here), if you still cant get on the podium in A-short go to B(you should win this class because by now you will be the only competitor and someone will have set a course just for you)
...if you still cant manage to win a prize in any of these classes go and pick up one of the many left over prizes which werent claimed because there was more of them than there were competitors

That equally makes you an American orienteer. Or Canadian, or ...

Ev - no left over prizes from WA champs any more. they don't make the badges up until after they see who enters (and finishes) :) The fact that I was beaten by half an hour and still came third in M21A this year backs up your general point though.

good move by WA fletch, i really think we should do something about the number of classes we have,
juniors, seniors and veterans is enough classes for most sports, why not orienteering
is there really that much glory in coming second in M65B?

to call yourself an aussie orienteer you have to have been involved in a discussion that has been removed from AP.

That seems to happen to the Aussies on every BB/forum I've ever seen.

For the record we have reduced classes in Vic.
This year's Vic Long Champs had 8 finishers in M21E. There were 13 finishers in M65A. On numbers there would seem to be a stronger case supporting M65 than M21. There was no M65B class offered. Instead there was a Long Open B with 6 Finishers and a Short Open B with 1 finisher. B course place getters received certificates, not badges. And the badges were not produced until after entries closed. Question is how much of their entry fees are people prepared to pay for place badges for small classes (like M21A which had 2 finishers).

My experience at Cantara was fun and I remember emerging from a complex bit of dunes area to see Jules haring along in M10 knowing exactly where he was going and I was relocating! He said Hi Mum! and happily went on his way while I worked out where I was! Who remembers the big lobster in Kingston!
I've orienteered at Cantara,Pittwater, Kooyora, Big Badger, Honeysuckle, Jason and the Arganauts(St Helens) now that was a good area, among many.So many great areas in Australia. And more coming just wait for the World Masters09 at Lithgow!

>>>>to call yourself an aussie orienteer you have to have been involved in a discussion that has been removed from AP.

Hooray! I'm an Aussie Orienteer!!!