2018 - A big orienteering year in South Australia
The early part of the year shows the continuation of the Friday evening Twilight Series which is followed by the shorter format sprint events in February. Being urban events these are great as introduction of orienteering to new comers, as well as providing opportunity for regulars to keep fit and practice basic orienteering skills. These events culminate in the SA Sprint Championships at Tatachilla College near Maclaren Vale
The Sunday event program commences in late March, with the following highlights
- Urban series to further introduce orienteering to newcomers in May
- Three events near Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges on the June long weekend
- In August the State Long Championships and the SA Night Championships on the areas northeast of Burra used for the 2015 Australian Three Days
The main program ends with the 2018 Australian Championships and Australian Schools Championships. The full program can be seen by clicking this link.
The program begins with three events in the Riverland of South Australia, in reasonable driving distance for those orienteers who wish to drive from the Eastern states. The areas are approximately three hours’ drive from Adelaide. Two areas with unique terrain area are located in the eroded areas adjacent to the River Murray. One area Crooked Straight has been used for orienteering in the past (previous YA map), however the area has been completed remapped along with the nearby Weila Bunyip Reach map using high quality LIDAR data specifically acquired for the map production. Some of the terrain is shown below. These areas are to be used for the Australian Middle Distance Championships and the Australian Relay Championships respectively. The Australian Sprint Championships will be held on the Renmark Schools campuses on Monday 1st Oct (this day is a public holiday in SA).
The events then shift to the Adelaide region, for the three days of the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships. The associated public events will provide the option for participants to enter three individual events or if entering all 3, a three day event.
The carnival concludes with the Australian Long Distance Championships and the SA Middle Distance Championships. The long distance event is the area of varied terrain comprising Gumeracha Goldfields. The area is spur-gully topography, but with mixed vegetation. Present are pine plantations from mature to younger pines, native forest often tending to be slower run, and some open areas. Rocky detail is common in the latter and some parts of the pine plantations. The native forest areas contain scattered gold mining areas. Route choice decisions will be the key for the longer courses at this event.
The final event which also concludes the 2018 NOL calendar, is the SA Middle Distance Championship at Keynes Gap. The area has been completely remapped based on LIDAR data. The terrain is mostly open farmland with large and extensive rock detail - shown below from the air.
