Cool, misty rain deepened the colours of the bush at Honeysuckle Creek, providing an atmospheric backdrop for a day of unpredictable racing at the Oceania Relay Championships. Honeysuckle Creek has an impressive international orienteering pedigree, having previously hosted a round of the World Cup in 2000.
Australia enjoyed a dominant performance in the Australia–New Zealand Relay Challenge, taking 16class wins to New Zealand’s 4 to secure the Brown Memorial Trophy.
The women’s elite race delivered the biggest drama of the day. Four teams were still in contention after 2 legs, with the New Zealand 3 team leading and eventual winners New Zealand 2 sitting back in 4th. On the final leg, Kaia Joergensen produced the decisive run, recording the fastest time to bring New Zealand 2 through to victory. New Zealand 1 finished just 38 seconds behind, with Orienteering Australia 1 another 47 seconds back in 3rd.
Australia took the honours in the men’s elite relay. Leith Soden kept Orienteering Australia 1 well in contention on the opening leg before David Stocks moved the team into the lead on leg two. Aston Key then completed the job with the fastest final-leg time, securing victory ahead of New Zealand 1.
Australia was also strong across the Youth and Junior Oceania classes, taking victories in M20E, W20E, M18, W18 and M16, while New Zealand dominated W16.
Courses were set by Eoin Rothery and controlled by Cath Chalmers, with Emily Walter and Tom Walter leading the event organisation alongside fellow Red Roos volunteers. The Honeysuckle Creek map was updated by Fredrik Johansson.
The Oceania Carnival now moves from the forests of Namadgi into its busy midweek program with the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships and Flight of the Bogong public events.
Photos
You can view photos from the Relay via the link below. Please credit the photographer when sharing these photos!
Official photographers for the Carnival are Tom de Jongh (photosbytom) and Kelvin Meng (photosinsitu.com). Other Orienteering Australia certified photographers have also contributed to our albums for the Carnival. Check for the photographer’s name at the bottom left of each photo.
Results
Official results for the Oceania Relay Distance Championship on Eventor.
