Previous news and announcements

Many thanks are due to those who made the Bunbury Weekend events happen. Thanks to everyone who assisted in making the SWOT 40th Anniversary a great night, especially Kayleen for the gift bags, cake and decorations; Robyn for collating a history of SWOT in photos; and Jill and others who brought along articles and photos to make the night a huge success.

Come and join in the most sociable and fun event of the year, with courses for people of all abilities who like the achievement of handing over to a team member. Come, wear your club tops and help your club vie for the prestigious Rutty Rock.

Enter individually and let your Club Convenor know your preferences well before the entry deadline Sunday 10/8/2025, as teams will be finalised on Tuesday August 12^th.

Sunday saw a great turnout at Yetar Spring with over 100 orienteers venturing out into the bush. Pre-entries had been low, but an influx of junior camp participants and more casuals than usual, thanks in part to the recruitment efforts of Hadrien and Ellie at the Desert Fireball Network, got the numbers up.

Sat 26^th & Sun 27^th July, 2025

This double-header Championships weekend has two courses on offer: a sprint on Saturday afternoon, and a Middle Distance bush course on Sunday morning. Come along for one or both, whether competing for the trophy or strolling around at your own pace. Note that pre-entry for championship courses is now closed. Some non-championship courses will be available to enter on the day.

Our next MTBO event will be in Dwellingup, offering three line courses: Long (~30 km), Medium (~20 km), and Short (~10 km).

More information will be available in Eventor soon.

5-7^th July 2025

We really liked the quiz night,
We learnt a lot in the bush,
Lake Leschenaultia is a really good sight,
And I am glad the food here is not moosh.

Sat 19^th - Sun 20^th July, 2025

Come to the Bunbury ’25 Weekend on 19-20 July and help us celebrate SWOT’s 40^th anniversary!

The weekend is packed full of fun: novelty events on Saturday afternoon, followed by an evening celebration at the Parade Hotel, and a traditional bush event on Sunday morning. Plus plenty of other thing to see and do around Bunbury, so why not come down and make a weekend of it?

Weather-wise the day turned out much better than the previous day, which was the day spent by the course setter putting out most of the controls. Air temperature on Saturday was around 9'C, together with a fair bit of rain and even a bit of hail.

This middle distance event tested even the most experienced competitors, with a well-set course across some technically demanding terrain. Between the tight navigation and physical challenges, it was a rewarding day of racing that showcased the very best of WA orienteering.

Yetar Spring is a well used area that's worth coming back to as the courses are set to keep you on your toes and a smile on your face! Traverse the mostly open eucalypt forest with scattered rock features watercourses and a smattering of 'green'. Both the H2 and H1 feature a late-course 'X-fighter loop' to battle it out for bragging rights.

The WA Classic event was held at Frazzle in the June long weekend. We were lucky with the weather. Despite threats of rain and wind the expected downpours held off till after both events were completed, awards presented, and controls collected.

There are rocks, gullies, creeks and bare rock surfaces to keep you navigating carefully. Whilst much of the map has been updated the vegetation boundaries are varied in accuracy and some green areas are more runnable.

This is a State Orienteering League (SOL) event. More information on SOL events can be found on the WA State O League page.

The 2025 champs were held on Wednesday, May 28^th at Fred Jacoby Park in glorious sunny weather - cool enough to enjoy running but very pleasant for spectators. Approximately 400 young orienteers participated. It was the first time for many years that both Primary and Secondary schools participated on the same day (14 Secondary and 6 Primary schools).

Our next mountain bike orienteering (MTBO) event is based out of the ‘Kalamunda Mountain Bike Park’ (Camel Farm) - a popular mountain biking area. Three line courses will be available: 10 kms, 20 kms, and 30 kms, approximately. Note that SI Air will not be activated.

The season’s second low-key bush event was held at Armadale PS. Rain during the previous day had slowed the pre-entries, but entries on the day brought the total number of competitors to 57. The weather in the morning was mostly nice, although there was one heavy shower midway through the event.