Easter 2019 Carnival Western Australia: Message to the Orienteering Community
Release Date: 27th June 2018
As many of us in the Orienteering community know it is often a major challenge to select good areas to host events, as is managing the right to access them. Despite previous assurances and against all expectations Orienteering Western Australia has recently learned that we have been denied access by the WA Water Corporation to the planned, and mapped, areas of the Helena Valley in the Perth Hills for the 2019 Australian 3 Day Championship.
While appeals processes are underway we are not confident that any reversal of the decision will happen in time to plan courses and hold the 2019 Australian 3 Day event at Easter 2019. We have therefore decided to relocate the events to another high quality area on private farm land south east of Perth.
With this change comes a great opportunity to provide a new structure for the 2019 Australian 3 Day Championship for both Elite and non-elite competitors.
The Australian 3 Day will be decided by the cumulative times across a Sprint, Long and Middle distance race for all competitors. All days will be set to Australian standard distances/winning times in each discipline. This will provide a test of all round orienteering ability across 3 races on 3 maps in 3 different disciplines over 3 days to find the true overall Australian 3 Day Champions in all classes.
Australian 3 Day Championship: 3 Days, 3 Areas, 3 Styles
The event will now be
- Saturday Sprint Distance
Scotch College Campus, Perth Metro (west)
extensive grounds and complex buildings - Sunday Long Distance
Hill Park Dale, Beverley (1hr 15mins SE Perth)
high quality WA granite farmland with good contour features,
mixture of remnant vegetation, cleared paddocks, extensive rock detail - Monday Middle Distance
Umuna, Beverley (1hr 15mins SE Perth)
high quality WA granite farmland with good contour features,
mixture of remnant vegetation, cleared paddocks, extensive rock detail
Hill Park Dale and Umuna were first mapped and used for the Australian Long and Relay Championships in 2006. They both offer good, fast running to the confident orienteer while providing challenging detailed navigation in the rock.
What’s happening Good Friday?
This will be a standalone event, with both an Elite level race and Family Teams race plus the chance for all to warm up their compasses ready for the competition to follow. This event is still in the planning but expect a new map in the Perth Metro area. More details to follow shortly so watch this space!
What about Narrogin?
The format and timing for the Australian Sprint Championships and the Australian Middle Distance Championships, on two new maps at Narrogin, following the Australian 3 Day Championship over the Easter weekend remain unchanged.
When will entries open?
We are working hard behind the scenes and still plan to have entries open in mid-August 2018. Keep an eye on our website, Facebook page and Eventor for all the details in the coming months.
We will also have a contingent of Orienteers from Western Australia at the National Championship Carnival in South Australia who will be happy to talk to you about the wonderful orienteering opportunities Easter 2019 will offer you and how to make the most of your trip to Western Australia.
Sometimes changes to plans must be made due to bush fires, change of ownerships or change in policy by the landowner. While we are frustrated and disappointed that we cannot host the event in the Helena Valley catchment we at Orienteering WA are very happy to welcome people back to the fast running and complex granite terrain in the wheatbelt.
The opportunity to enhance, via the areas we have available, the variety and structure of the Australian 3 Day competition, while complementing the Australian Sprint and Middle Distance Championships will make for a wonderful carnival of quality and challenging orienteering
We look forward to seeing you all in Western Australia in 2019 and thank you for your support.
Richard Matthews
President, Orienteering Western Australia
