Nav Chat #24: October 2022
This month we hear from top Christchurch junior, Felix Hunt about recent races and training, discuss the value of training programs, managing risk in technical areas, and avoiding routes on extremely steep slopes.
Nav Chat
Nav Chat #23: September 2022
This month we hear from Marquita Gelderman on the challenges of MTB orienteering, discuss how to manage fatigue from training, and share some ideas around the difficulty of cancelling orienteering races in bad weather.
Nav Chat #22: August 2022
This month we hear from Heidi Stolberger and Scott Smith about their experiences at WUOC in Switzerland, discuss the many difficulties at the World Cup in Estonia and suggest how best to use online GPS tracking to improve your orienteering.
Nav Chat #21: July 2022
This month we hear from Nick Hann about his approach to mapping and dive deeper into JWOC, route planning in advance, and specificity in training.
Nav Chat #20: June 2022
This month we hear from Tim Robertson on his WOC races and dive deeper into some of the GPS tracking. We look at a lot of maps including Queens Birthday, EYOC and 5 Days of Italy.
Nav Chat #19: May 2022
This month Tom and I hear from Malcolm Ingham about knock-out sprint orienteering and check out the exciting sprint racing happening in Europe. We discuss some training ideas targeting knock-out sprints and take a look at many of the maps from the recent World Cup, where Tim Robertson received 2 silver medals.
Nav Chat #18: April 2022
is month Tom and I hear from Will Tidswell on his unexpected NZ Champs in isolation and thoughts on his final JWOC in Portugal this in July. We also flesh out the interplay between navigation and concentration, hear about some analysis Gene did on routes that deviate from the straight line, and discuss preparation for major races.
Nav Chat #17: March 2022
This month Tom and I hear from Penelope Salmon on her fantastic track times, how she handles sprint orienteering and her move the USA. We also flesh out admin mistakes, hear about GODZone, look at World Ski-O Champs, and take a look at recent and upcoming events.
Nav Chat #16: February 2022
This month Tom and I hear from Dougal Sheppard on the trail running series he’s organising in Christchurch. We also flesh out what makes good and bad stepping stones and handrails, discuss changes to women’s race distances, and take a look at ski orienteering. And as always, we share news from around the country.
Nav Chat #15: January 2022
This month Tom and I hear from Ronan Lee on his transition from the junior elite to senior elite grade and his speedy track times. We also discuss some of Gene’s take home points from the Not Oceania races and take a look at World of O’s top courses from 2021. And as always, we share news from around the country.
Nav Chat #14: December 2021
This month Tom and I hear from Joe Lynch on the recent Under 23 and Wellington Junior Camps that he attended as an athlete and coach respectively. We also discuss mental models and heuristics, and how training should be structured given how we learn and think. Additionally, we geek out on some of what World of O has to offer at this time of year. And as always, we share news from around the country.
Nav Chat #13: November 2021
This month I hear from Lizzie Ingham on her experience of the past 2 years which have been very disruptive for sporting communities. I also discuss tips on breaking the rustiness we often feel after periods without orienteering. And as always, I share news from around the country.
Nav Chat #12: October 2021
This month Tom and I hear from Briana Steven on the rise of the University of Canterbury Orienteering Club (UCOC). We also discuss tips on conveniently coaching beginners, NZ’s recent MTBO success and some student job offers! And as always, we share news from around the country.
Nav Chat #11: September 2021
This month Tom and I hear from Val Robinson on what orienteering was like in the ’70s including the first NZ team to compete at WOC. We also discuss the JWOC terrain and some of the techniques that would have been useful, and where to train these in NZ. And as always, we share news from around the country.
Nav Chat #10: August 2021
This month Tom and I focus on difficulty, where it comes from and how to spot it before you make a mistake. We hear from Toby Scott after some very challenging World Cup races in Sweden and discuss the surprisingly hard controls that caused some big mistakes. We also look at the some training ideas to help prepare you for different kinds of difficulty.
Nav Chat #9: July 2021
This month Tom and I focus on sprint distance. We hear from Tim Robertson after his bronze medal in the WOC sprint and look at some ways to improve the skills required for terrain like the fortress used the challenging race. We also look at the other WOC terrain. And as always, we share news from around the country.
Nav Chat #8: June 2021
This month Tom and I focus on middle distance. We hear from NZ Champs 2020 course setter Yvette Baker about her approach to planning middle distance courses and we suggest some easy ways to get started doing middle distance training with a quick example using Purple Pen. And as always, we share news from around the country.
Nav Chat #7: May 2021
This month Tom and I focus on OrienteeringNZ’s coaching framework, a project I’ve been involved in. We take a look at this online resource that anyone can use at www.orienteering.org.nz/coaching-framework and hear from Jean Cory-Wright who had a major influence on how the project came together. And as always, we share news from around the country
Nav Chat #6: April 2021
This month Tom and I focus on the technology used to help make orienteering more spectator friendly with guests Daniel Monckton and Jan Jager of North West Orienteering Club. They were behind the scenes at NZ Orienteering Champs earlier in the month running the SPORTident and O-Lynx systems for live results at the finish and live splits from radio controls mid-course. We glean some tips and tricks on how to set up these systems in different environments. We also take a look at spectator run-throughs and consider some useful mental strategies for dealing with them and we even have a training course idea to help you cope with mental pressure and distractions. And as always, we share news from around the country.
Nav Chat #5: March 2021
This month Tom and I focus on adventure racing with guest Scott McDonald of Team Motueka who were the top team to pull out of the GODzone adventure earlier this month. We focus on the navigation required for adventure racing and compare the use of handrails on topo maps verses on detailed orienteering maps. As always we share news from around the country.
Nav Chat #4: January 2021
This month Tom and I focus on sprint orienteering with guest Renee Beveridge, prolific course setter for the Auckland Secondary Schools Sprint Series, and some examples of how to approach course setting for training exercises. As always we share news from around the country including some of the best maps and courses we’ve seen recently.
Nav Chat #3: December 2020
This month Tom and I focus on rogaining with guest Tim Farrant after his win at NZ Rogaine Champs, and some analysis using the concept of points per minute including advice on how to apply this method. Tom also plans a surprise rogaine live! As always we share news from around the country including some tricky mapping of tunnels with the new sprint orienteering symbols.
Nav Chat #2: November 2020
This month Tom and I discuss my training routine while I’m injured, we go deep on Cameron de Lisle’s project putting LIDAR maps onto omap.nz, we take a straight up look at how to use contours the smart way in hilly terrain and share news from around the country.
Nav Chat #1: October 2020
This month Tom and I discuss our fitness going into NZ Champs, have a close look at some of the techniques required for success at this Champs from Palmy local Kyle Higham and share news from around the country.