Previous news and announcements

Our second summer sprint will be held at Shenton College. This is a great opportunity to practice for the NOL events being held in March this year in Perth - including public races that everyone can participate in, regardless of your skill or fitness level. Come and enjoy the challenging navigation around the school buildings and sport areas!

After a hot week, an early sea breeze made for comfortable running along the banks of the Canning River. It was interesting to see the many different route choices on the long and medium. Upload your routes to Livelox if you haven't already done so.

The first MetrO event for 2025 will be in the western suburb of Swanbourne. It's near the coast so you could indulge in a swim before or after the event.

MetrO Event 4, held at Trigg, proved a thrilling challenge for participants, with a brisk sea breeze, rugged hills, and bushland testing the skills of all competitors. The course showcased the area's natural coastal beauty and offered varied terrain that kept runners engaged and on their toes.

Friday 24th - Monday 27th January

OWA is organising a summer orienteering camp at Camp Quaranup, Albany. A team of OWA coaches will lead activities on site and nearby maps for three days and three nights towards the end of the January School holidays.

We are looking for young people who enjoy orienteering, want to learn more about it and have a fun time with other young people! The Summer Junior Orienteering Camp is open to juniors aged 10-20 years old who have participated in at least one OWA...

The first-ever Summer Sprint Series event was held on the last day of November at Lumen Christi College. This venue had not previously been used for an OWA event, but it proved to be a very interesting area for a sprint event. The courses started off in the built-up area of the school, then  transitioned into a small bushland area with a route choice leg around a lake before returning to the campus buildings.

The area, which features a mix of urban streets, parks, and more bushy/grassy areas along the Canning River, is relatively flat. Leg protection is advised for the medium and long courses.

The third event of the 2024-2025 MetrO Series was held at Wireless Hill Park, with participants running through the surrounding bushland and the hilly streets of Ardross, Booragoon and Alfred Cove. With controls located all around the assembly area, participants ran off in every direction possible creating a frenzy at the start. Similarly, they came from various different routes into the finish causing there to be some most exciting sprints at the end.

The MetrO series continues, this time close to the coast, so a picnic and a swim is an option.​ The course takes in combination of bushland, beach setting and urban streets for an interesting mix of surfaces.

The second event of the 2024-2025 Metro Series was held at Yokine Regional Open Space, running through the dog parks and suburbs of Yokine and Coolbinia. The weather conditions were sunny and clear skies, with a howling wind that snapped the finish flag numerous times!

For the first time, the MetrO events are interspersed with sprint events this year. The first of these events in the new Summer Sprint Series will be held on Saturday 30 November 2024 at Lumen Christi College in Martin. This is a new map that has not been used for an event before. It contains an area with school buildings and covered walkways as well as sport fields, parkland, and a small area of bushland.

The next MetrO event is centred in Wireless Hill Park, with picturesque views and bushland with trails throughout surrounding the assembly area. Water fountains, toilets and other facilities such as a playground and BBQs are located in the park near the assembly area.

The first event of the 2024-25 MetrO series was a whirlwind containing numerous routes for all courses, with lots of learning curves for our Course setter and MC, Riley McFarlane. Thankfully, he had a strong assisting team of his mother, Sharon McFarlane; Western Nomads Manager, Mark Lommers; SI Coordinator, Melinda Richards; Administration Officer; and Ekaterina Klyukina, Computer Operator.

Our second summer series event is in Yokine. This map contains flowing roads with many alleyways, which may be difficult to spot from afar, providing plenty of route choices for all courses. There are several water fountains and toilets adjacent to the arena, and plenty of parking available.

As it was our 50^th year celebration we took the event back to the Craft Hall in Menora, where it has been held in some past years. The hall was decked out with gold tablecloths and light features which provided a pleasant ambience. Also decked out were a few people who fully subscribed to the 70’s dress theme, mostly notably Vanessa Smith and Robert Graieg!