Saturday, August 7, 2010

Daily Quiz 3

Hi everyone
Today we moved from the youth hostel into our new accommodation for the woc week. It's an apartment hotel and looks the goods. We received our internet connection late at night, so will blog more tomorrow! Right now, it's time for bed. But before that - check out the correct order of watches. Great job to Rachel, Jo, Grant and Allison who got it right!

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DAILY QUIZ 3

We hope you enjoy the challenge of this next one... the good ol' "o" kit/box/bag. We are a pretty organised bunch of orienteers... please order them from top to bottom. This round is tricky, GOOD LUCK!
PS - Grace has arrived!

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Friday, August 6, 2010

Daily Quiz 2

Well well well, it seems it's harder to match shoes to feet than we thought...

Thank you to everyone who had a go! Well done Rachel - you are in the lead with 7 points (of a possible 9)

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Our next quiz lies in the photo below...

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Once again, please submit your answers before 10pm (Western Australian time). Everyone is encouraged to have a go - even if you didn't have a go in round 1... you never know your luck!! That signed Aussie top is worth it's weight in Aussie gold.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Team Profile Part I

How well do you know the athletes in the Aussie team? How do you think they get on around the dinner table? Are there fights over the queue for the toaster? Will anyone dare admit they they are a fan of Tony Abbott while Julian is listening? Find out in our team profiles! Once again an expert psychologist has devised a series of questions designed to give you an insight into the personalities of our national team.

Shannon Jones

Attackpoint: Miss Jones

Running: Sprint and Long


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Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Drive or Ride? Drive

Nike or Asics? Nike

Mountains or Beach? Mountains

Iced or Cinnamon? Iced

Toast or Cereal? Toast

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Public

City or Country? City

Long Run or Intervals? Intervals



Simon Uppill

Attackpoint: simon87

Running: Sprint, Middle and Relay


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Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Drive or Ride? Drive

Nike or Asics? Nike

Mountains or Beach? Mountains

Iced or Cinnamon? Cinnamon

Toast or Cereal? Cereal

Abbott or Gillard? Gillard

Public or Private? Public

City or Country? City

Long Run or Intervals? Long Run

How to...

...run 11 to 10 (sorry for any confusion, but I ran this part of the course backwards in training).








from the control run north of the red line through the marshes (open area in the left part of the photo)













stay in the marsh and run through the saddle to the north of the white hill in the middle of the leg (straight ahead in the photo).












run across the marsh to the hill with the control on it (forest in the background), past the small lakes in the marsh.












the small lakes in the marsh are quite obvious features.











from the top of the hill, run down to the mound with the control. can you see it in the picture? running through the heather and blueberries in the forest is even tougher than the marshes!












the control site (a mound)- we were looking for small white tags on the ground.












and yes, you get wet feet!









Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Daily Quiz

In the lead up to WOC we will be bringing you a daily quiz.

The stakes are high - higher than Galdhøpiggen which is Norway's highest mountain (2469m). The winner will receive a signed Australian top.

Fine print:
* One point per correct name
* Order the names from LEFT to RIGHT
* There will be 4 competitions, one each day from Wednesday to Saturday
* You have to submit your answers by 10pm each day
* Submit your answers in the comment field
* The winner is the person with the most points after 4 rounds
* If there is a tie the winner will be the person who submits round 4's answers the earliest.

DAILY QUIZ 1:

Who do these shoes belong to?

(hint - Grace Crane is still in the UK)

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GOOD LUCK!

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The jet-lagged members of the team rose earlier than those already acclimatised to day and night and we all had a great breakfast at the youth hostel in Tronders.

Afterwards, a full carload headed up to Iladalen for some technical training.


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Anna, Vanessa, Kathryn, Robbie and Dave all ripped up the moss and are happy with their progress in this tough terrain.

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Anna enjoyed checking out the differences in the moss, bogs, marshes, grasses...

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The two other car loads went to Saupstad - a suburb of southern Trondheim which was a mix of residential and forested parts. The finish was at the local biathlon stadium and the locals were fanging around the bitumen paths then firing at the range. We kept clear of that and did a course instead. The stinging nettles in the beginning were a bit disconcerting but luckily it was just a bad patch!

When we were warming up the sun even came out!

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We abided by the rules of the centre
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After lunch and a rest we headed off to a local orienteering event about 30mins drive away. The girls opted for a 4.7km course while the boys did a 6km one. There were plenty of hanging marshes to use for running and it was a good hit out with emit too. The results are below with photos to come shortly.


Results

The drive there took us past a big lake called Jonsvatnet and some of the girls stopped for a swim.
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Oh and by the way, Anna spotted this sign as she was driving from the airport in Trondheim...
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Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Touchdown in Trondheim

The Aussie team has assembled here in Trondheim, Norway for the World Orienteering Championships (WOC). The racing starts this Sunday with the Sprint Qualification and Final around the streets of Norway's 3rd largest city.


The view from our accommodation.

The team is acclimatising well to the Norwegian summer and getting used to the local terrain, with plenty of relevant training mixed with plenty of recovery. With most of the team arriving here at the Trondheim youth hostel over the past two days, we have all had slightly different preparations.

Simon Uppill arrived via the World University Championships in Borlange, Sweden. He placed 23rd in the long distance race which shows some great form coming into WOC where he will be running the middle, sprint and relay races.

Vanessa Round arrived via Sweden and Switzerland where she showed great form at the World University Championships in Borlange, Sweden. She placed 18th in the long race, and she will be racing the middle and relay here in Trondheim.

Jasmine Neve arrived in Trondheim via China, Sweden, Scotland and Oslo, Norway. While having a eventful journey through China, she enjoyed some quality training and preparation with Aussie expats Jim-Oystein Nybråten and Cassie Trewin in Oslo. Jasmine will be running the sprint and middle competitions at WOC.

Anna Sheldon arrived via Orebro, Sweden. Running the famous O-Ringen competitions, which was a great introduction back into Scandinavian terrain. Anna is running the long distance competition at WOC.

Dave and Anna enjoying breakfast.

Shannon Jones arrived direct from home in Canberra, Australia. Where she has been finalising her preparation with some Cross Country racing and a 5km PB. Shannon is running the sprint and long distance in Trondheim.

Shannon and Kathryn recovering after their training run.

Kathryn Ewels arrived from Melbourne, Australia after rounding off her preparation with some fast cross country racing, placing first in the Victorian 15km Championships in 54.12. Kathryn is racing the long and relay here at WOC.

Rob Preston has arrived via Sweden. Reacquainting himself with Scandinavian terrain after a 7 year break. Rob competed strongly at O-Ringen, already feeling at home in terrain which will suit his strengths. Rob is racing the long distance at WOC.

Rob settling into his room.

David Shepherd arrived yesterday direct from Canberra, Australia. David is looking forward to a return to racing in his favourite terrain here in Scandinavia and his preparation has been on track showing good form in local races in Australia. David is racing the middle, long and relay here in Trondheim.

I ( Julian) arrived direct from home in Canberra, Australia. Hungry to get back into the forest and competition here at WOC. I'll be running the sprint, middle and relay.

Grace Crane will be arriving here in Trondheim on Thursday from her base in the UK, after finalising her preparation with a training camp and competitions here in July. She showed good form in terrain which will suit her strengths. Grace is running the sprint, middle and relay at WOC.

Coaches Wendy Read and Rob Lewis have arrived direct from Australia, and have everything ready to go this week to ensure our preparations are on track.
Team physiotherapist, Victoria, will arrive from London on Thursday to ensure everyone is primed for the first races on Sunday.

Everyone is settling in to the comfortable surrounds of our base at the youth hostel, with Jasmine and Vanessa laying down the gauntlet, baking great Kanelbulle. What will be next?
With plenty of training options around for all, this afternoon most team members will be having a solid hit out at a local club race on relevant terrain for the qualification races.



Stay tuned to the blog for maps, pics, videos and the latest news from the Aussie team here at WOC 2010 in Trondheim!