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March / April 2009 ISBN 0227-6658
JWOC 2008 2009 Sprint Camp Ski-WOC 2009 10 Questions New Volunteer Award
09 Sass Peepre Jr Camp
The Editor’s meanderings...
When I initially started preparing this issue it was
February. I like winter! Normally, it is a time when
I participate in all the those wonderful snow related
sports. Unfortunately, this winter I have not done
much of that at all. In all honesty, I have not even
taken my skis out of storage. Pathetic! Isn’t it? Es-
pecially with the amount of snow we have received
here in the Maritimes. But, I certainly haven’t
skimped in the exercise department. I mean just the
shoveling of snow alone... I do not have a snow-
blower and the double wide driveway is proving to
be quite difficult to keep clear of snow. The snow
banks at the end of my driveway were, at their high-
est, well over two and half meters high. But, all my
physical exploits aside, there is one Canadian orien-
teer who knows how to keep active and to pursue
her orienteering goals during the winter months.
And, I have included in this issue of Legends some
coverage of her Ski-O exploits.
How do you stay in shape during the off-season?
What type of training do you do? This year I have
undertaken a new running regimen. Last year I had
become one of those infamous weekend warriors.
With my only physical training often being just in
the event that I had registered for. But, I am now
well into a marathon training plan that should hope-
fully get me back on the right track to making exer-
cise a regular part of my lifestyle. And, though it
has detracted from my ability to pursue some of my
other favourite winter activities, running has helped
keep me off the couch, ...(cont. page2)
ONB Adopts Super Club Concept
New Brunswick Orienteering at its last AGM abolished
the multi-club system that it has operated under since its
inception as an association. The executive and voting
members of the association adopted in its place a ―super
club‖ concept where the association itself becomes the
one official club for the province.
The move was undertaken with the idea that by centraliz-
ing administration that the unnecessary duplication of
effort by club administrator’s would be eliminated.
The process is ongoing and its effects on the sport are
still too early to evaluate. Let’s hope this is a positive
step forward. To learn more about what is happening in
New Brunswick refer to their website (address on page 2).
2009 Senior National Team Selection Races
The Foothills Wanderers Orienteering Club in Calgary
will organize the 2009 senior national team selection
races on May 23 and 24. The members of the 2009 senior
team will compete at the 2009 World Orienteering
Championships in Hungary (www.woc2009.hu). Details
will be available on www.orienteeringcalgary.ca. All Na-
tional Team contenders must declare their intention to try
for a spot on the team by email or in person to national
team coach Magnus Johansson ([email protected]) by
end of day Friday May 22, 2009. The 2009 team will be
(… continued on page 3)
Canadian Orienteering Associations
Alberta Orienteering Association http://www.orienteeringalberta.ca
Orienteering Association of British Columbia www.orienteeringbc.ca/
Orienteering New Brunswick www.orienteering.nb.ca
Orienteering Association of Nova Scotia www.orienteeringns.ca
Orienteering Ontario www.orienteeringontario.ca/
Orienteering Quebec www.orienteringquebec.ca
Saskatchewan Orienteering Association http://orienteering.sk.ca/
Yukon Orienteering Association www.yukonorienteering.ca
For a complete listing including the clubs: http://www.orienteering.ca/associations_clubs.htm
(from page 1) … and it has kept me outside as well. I
hope all this training will pay off when the snow starts
melting and it becomes time once again to step off the
roadway and head back into the woods. For many of us
in Eastern Canada that should coincide roughly with
the National Orienteering Week (NOW, May 2nd to
May 10th, 2009) . Do you know what is planned in
your area? Can you help? More importantly spread the
word, bring a friend and participate in an event.
Another of the reasons that I haven’t gotten around to
many of the winter sports that I enjoy so much is that
the dynamics of my family life is ever changing. I am
adapting to the uncertainties of schedule-work once
again, and my wife and children are starting to pursue
their own interests and activities. As the children get
older there seems to be less and less where the family
participates as a whole, or in activities together. That
had always been one of the beauties of orienteering. It
was a family activity. Something that we could practice
together... The distances that we have traveled together
for orienteering, can roughly be equated to many of our
life experiences. But the children are now at a junction
in their lives where they must make a decision. I hope
the skills they have developed and the experience they
have gained will help them in this process. And,
though I find it tougher and tougher to compete with
their friends and diverging interests, I can still hope.
Hope, that the introduction that they have had to orien-
teering will translate into a continuance in the sport. In
this issue of Legends I have included a recounting of
the exploits of several of our Junior National Orien-
teers at JWOC last year. I hope that they will provide
inspiration to other young orienteers.
I don’t know why, but every spring I look forward to
orienteering with a renewed passion. It seems that I fall
in love with the sport all over again. Is it just the effect
of the spring season? Or, is there more to it? I mean the
anticipation of the first event is like… well, I’ll leave
that up to your imaginations. Have you ever pondered
why orienteering is seen, by some, as boring when it
attracts such passionate and interesting people. And,
because we are such a passionate lot could we not also
assume that orienteering is a romantic sport? Okay,
okay, stop laughing. And, prove me wrong! This is the
challenge I throw out to all of you… Why don’t you
share with fellow orienteer’s the love you have for the
sport, or relate some of the intimate moments that you
have shared because of orienteering. But please, even
though this sport is of Scandinavian origin, nothing too
racy….
PSL
Manitoba Orienteering Associationwww.orienteering.mb.ca
(...continued from page 1) named shortly after the selec-
tion races in Calgary. The team will be selected based on
the race results in the M/W elite categories and by the
discretion of the national team coach. Up to 2 non-
traveling alternates may also be named by discretion.
Magnus Johansson (National Team Coach)
JWOC 2009 Canadian Team
National Team Coach Magnus Johansson has announced
the names of the athletes who will compete at the 2009
Junior World Orienteering Championships in Italy this
summer. The team was selected by Brian May, Katarina
Smith and Magnus Johansson.
Women: Angela Forseille, Emily Kemp, Emily Ross
Men: Colin Abbott, Eric Kemp, Damian Konotopetz,
Graeme Rennie, Graham Ereaux, Lee Hawkings. The
alternate is Jeffrey Teutsch.
Congratulations to all participants and good luck in your
training and preparations for JWOC!
World Masters Orienteer-
ing Championships
If you are planning on attending
the Masters Games in Sydney in
October there is a bunch of us
who would like to participate in
orienteering as a "Team of
Canadians". The games are from
Oct. 10th to 17th. Their web site
is at www.2009worldmasters.com
We could consider group accommodations, team apparel,
socials, car pooling, etc. Nesta Leduc started the ball
rolling but you can contact me or Gloria to collect and
distribute ideas.
Cheers, Bill Anderson
(Bill’s e-mail address is: [email protected] )
Correction:
In the last issue of Legends I made a little error in the
presentation of the WOC write-up by our National Team
members. The write up credited to Louise Oram in the
newsletter was not hers, but rather the first part of Wil's.
Louise’s was somehow left out during formatting. Sorry
about that Louise, I believe I have found your submis-
sion and it is included below. PSL
WOC 2008
I enjoyed the forest and the competition, as the chance to
compete against a field like this does not arise often. I
was glad that a few other Canadians had come for the
spectator races and to support us, and that we had excel-
lent team leaders in Magnus and Andrea. This year’s
WOC made me think hard about what it takes to be a
truly elite orienteer.
Louise Oram
COF RULE REVISION
We are undergoing a revision of the COF rules that will
be voted on at the 2009 COF Annual General Meeting in
Manitoba. There has not been an update since 2004 and
the rules are definitely in need of revision. The current
rules are at www.orienteering.ca/pdfs/COF_rules.pdf.
Mike Smith with assistance from Randy Kemp and
David Ross have created a draft of rule revisions. You
can find this draft and an update of the process at
www.orienteering.ca/rule_revision.htm. Please send any
comments and further suggestions to Mike Smith at
Mapper Needed
Yukon Orienteering Association is seeking mapper(s) for
the summer 2009, to help us prepare maps for major
races to be held in 2011. Three areas are in Whitehorse
itself, three areas are nearby. Mappers must be willing to
commit to a minimum of 5-6 weeks worth of work if re-
muneration for travel to Whitehorse is expected.
Please contact Ross at [email protected] or Brent at
[email protected] for more specific details.
This past summer eight Canadian juniors travelled to
Gothenburg, Sweden to compete in the Junior World
Orienteering Championships (JWOC). Here are some
stories and memories from their experiences.
Colin Abbott
JWOC experience: The Food
I have two words for you that sum up the JWOC culi-
nary experience. I feel they manage to encompass all the
nuances and complex flavours we savoured in our two
weeks in Sweden. The two words are: Military Cafete-
ria. I can't think of anything better to describe what we
ate at JWOC. We were living at a military camp, getting
served mass produced military-style meals (in a cafete-
ria) and we ate alongside the few soldiers who remained
at the camp.
The breakfasts were all the same. Bread, cheese, bolo-
gna, hard-boiled eggs, runny oatmeal and cornflakes
were all staples in the morning. The lunches weren't
much better. They were always boxed and pre-packaged
so we could take them with us to training or races, and
they were usually the same thing. A juice box, a con-
tainer of pasta, a white bun and maybe an orange made a
typical lunch.
The suppers were the worst. It was here that the true
skill of the military chefs came shining through. These
meals were long on carbs, salt, fat and sauce and short
on fresh vegetables, identifiable meat, fiber and general
nutrient value. A typical meal would be rice slathered in
JWOC team Left to right-
Randy Kemp (leader), Lee
Hawkings, Molly Kemp
(cheerleader), Colin Abbott,
Emily Kemp, Carol Ross, Fraser
Ross, Graham Ereaux (front),
Robbie Anderson, Damian Ko-
notopetz. Photo by David
Ross (leader)
a brown-tinged sauce containing (I think) limp cubes of
ham, button mushrooms, beans, flour and a whole lot of
salt.
Luckily for us, there was a grocery store not more than a
kilometer from the military base, where we were able to
supplement our diet with some slightly more tasty food.
It was there that we discovered a highlight of our trip,
Yoggi. This yoghurt was, simply put, amazing. It was
cold, flavourful, drinkable and it came in at least ten dif-
ferent flavours. By the end of the week, we had amassed
a collection of at least twenty, one litre containers of the
stuff. Along with Yoggi, we stocked up on nutella and
bread, fresh fruit and some chocolate. This tided us over
between meals, and made the whole experience much
more enjoyable.
The Yoggi collection
Robbie Anderson
One of the things I’ll remember most about JWOC 2008
was the training camp prior to the event. I traveled to
Gothenburg a week before the competition in order to
get a bit of training on local maps. The amount of high
quality terrain and maps available within the city is
amazing, and this meant that we could reach all of our
trainings by city tram or bus. It was refreshing being in a
city that was so orienteering friendly.
Since it was my last JWOC, I was really focused the
months leading up to the event on training hard so that I
could have good races and improve on last years results.
I think I was more focused on running fast and getting
good results however that I wasn’t focused on the little
things in order to have clean races. My races didn’t go
as well as I’d hoped but I learned a lot, and beating both
American teams in the relay was a definite plus.
Graham Ereaux
There are about a million things I could talk about when
it comes to my trip to Sweden for the 2008 Junior World
Orienteering Championships. But all in all, there are a
couple of things that really stood out for me.
Firstly, spending time with other orienteers from around
the world was phenomenal! Whether it was playing ping
pong, frisbee or even piano, it was so much fun to be
interacting with others who shared a lot of the same in-
terests as me.
Secondly, traveling around Gothenburg and getting to
experience Swedish culture was also a great treat. An
amazing adventure which I distinctly remember was
when we took a ferry out to some islands just outside of
the Gothenburg harbour. While exploring the islands,
we got to see the amazing Swedish coastal landscape
and also dunk our heads in the Baltic Sea.
Lastly, the orienteering in Sweden was unbelievable!! It
was such an amazing experience to race with the
world’s best orienteers on some of the best maps in the
world. The orienteering I experienced in Sweden really
opened my eyes to what kind of possibilities there are
when it comes to this amazing sport. Over all, JWOC
2008 was an extremely inspiring experience and I can’t
wait to represent team Canada in Italy this coming sum-
mer!!
Lee Hawkings
In any athlete’s career it is a major stepping stone to
move from competing provincially or nationally to com-
peting internationally. JWOC 2008 was my first experi-
ence representing Canada and it was unforgettable. It
was also my first time travelling by myself and I learned
a lot about responsibility during my three weeks of trav-
elling.
The trip started out with a marathon flight (21 hours total
travelling time) from home in Whitehorse, Yukon to
Gothenburg, Sweden. It was a slightly scary but also em-
powering to arrive in a foreign country at night and suc-
cessfully navigate the public transit system to our desti-
nation at the Karingberget military base.
Colin and I arrived a couple of days late for the training
camp and had only about 4 days of training on the local
maps before the actual races. The most amazing thing
about the training camp was that we could get changed
into our O-gear, throw lunch and our shoes into our
backpacks, and then hop on the tram and bus system
which would take us within walking distance of the
many nearby maps. A highlight training session was
when we hiked in and dropped our stuff at the shore of a
nice little lake. We went training and then had a swim,
after which we dried off on the sun-warmed rocks.
Canadian JWOC bathing beauties relax on the beach
in Gothenberg after a grueling training session
During the actual week of competitions there were many
memorable moments for me. The first was finishing the
sprint through the chute which was lined with hundreds
of screaming orienteering fans. It was my first time see-
ing for myself how serious they take our sport over here.
Another memorable moment was racing the long event
in 30 degree heat and falling asleep in the team tent af-
terwards from sheer exhaustion.
Far and away the best part of the whole trip was just
making new friends. Not only did I meet many people
from other countries but I got to know the other mem-
bers of the Canadian team very well. All in all, JWOC
2008 was an awesome and unforgettable experience. I
am extremely excited to be selected for the JWOC 2009
team and I am looking forward to representing Canada
once again in Primiero, Italy.
Emily Kemp
JWOC 2008 in Gothenburg, Sweden was a very exciting
but also a very daunting adventure. I knew that there
would be incredible orienteerers from all over the world
there, and so my personal expectations of how I would
place against these amazing athletes were pretty shaky.
Feeling crumby right before the start of the sprint race
because of a yucky cold did not help my situation at all,
but heading into the starting area made me feel like a
horse ready to burst out of the starting gates. The race
was a complete blur, but one moment will stay clear in
my mind forever and was one of the most exciting mo-
ments in my whole JWOC experience. I punch the go
control and take off down the finish chute. The din of
cheering is overwhelming, but above everybody the an-
nouncer comes on with his running commentary. "And
here comes Emily Kemp..... from Canada?" Hearing that
just made me so proud to be representing Canada and
wearing the Canadian jersey in those races. Now that
JWOC 2009 is in the headlights I am super duper ex-
cited to take another crack at it. I know what I'm up
against now, and my training will be epic leading up to
the competition. Thank you for all the support and to our
team leaders who were so great at giving that start-line
psyche-you-up talk … ― win, but for heaven's sakes,
have fun!‖
Randy Kemp (Team Leader)
Canadian JWOC Team leaves small carbon footprint
in Gothenburg, Sweden
The City of Gothenburg, home to JWOC 2008, is quite
famous for its intricate and vast public transport system
using trams, buses and ferries. During the JWOC training
camp, the week before the actual races, the Canadian Jun-
ior Team travelled exclusively on the public transit system
to all the training maps. Because all twelve maps avail-
able for training were within 20 km of the event centre,
the average travelling time on public transport, including
transfers, often took less than one hour. There were even
two training maps within a short walk from the event cen-
tre.
Planning for a typical training session would involve care-
ful analysis of the tram and bus maps and schedules the
night before to determine the most efficient route choices
to the training map with minimal wait periods between
tram and bus transfers. It was our goal to be on the train-
ing map by 10:00 AM each morning but not to leave the
event centre until the latest possible moment to maximize
sleeping-in time (remember we are talking about teenag-
ers!!!).
I would also faithfully announce to the team the scheduled
time at which the tram would be leaving the tram stop. It
is important to note that the stop was located 500 metres
from the entrance to the army base where we were staying
and our barracks was located an additional 300 metres
from the main entrance to the base. Swedish transit sys-
tems are, for the most part, quite punctual. Therefore, the
800 metre total distance to the tram stop was a leisurely
10 minute walk or a frantic 3 minute sprint. There was
some unintended interval training by certain athletes!
We also used the trams to travel to the tourist highlights of
downtown Gothenburg and used the public ferry system
to explore the Archipelago islands and swim in the North
Sea waters.
Use of public transport to go orienteering was quite a re-
freshing and worthwhile experience, but the truly amazing
feature of Gothenburg was the many maps within its city
limits.
During my first year, 2005, our team had no coach and
really no idea what we were doing, which was still a
step up from Canada having no team the year before.
Then awareness of JWOC starting building among the
Canadian juniors, more athletes wanted to attend, we
had to start having trials and parents started coming as
coaches. This year we had more coaches than ever and
much more of an idea of what JWOC is all about as we
piece together and share our experiences with younger
athletes. Even more exciting, we had our first A-finalist
I'd ever seen this year (Go Emily!), which was so moti-
vating for the whole team.
As for my experience is Gothenburg, well, it was amaz-
ing. I met lots of wonderful people, orienteered in great
terrain and was quite pleased with my races. I loved
Sweden and I'm now scheming how I can get back
there! I think this year was my best JWOC experience
so far, although it's a close call. I'd like to thank my
Dad, Randy and Mike for all they did for me as coaches
and team leaders. Speaking from experience, all the hard
work you put in as coaches makes it so much easier for
us athletes to focus on our races. I'm hopeful that my
JWOC experiences aren't quite over yet as I would love
to go back as a coach in a couple years time to share
what I've learned and pay forward all the support that
has been given to me.
JWOC Junior Canadian Team waiting for the limo to arrive. L to R: Lee Hawkings, Damian Konotopetz, Emily Kemp, Carol
Ross, Colin Abbott, Molly Kemp (Team Cheerleader), Randy Kemp (Team Leader) Photo taken by David Ross (Team Leader)
Damian Konotopetz
JWOC 2008 in Gothenburg, Sweden was an amazing ex-
perience for me last year. I found out firsthand what ori-
enteering in Europe was really like. Running the sprint,
middle and long distance was challenging as there wasn’t
a whole lot of rest in between races and the hot weather
didn’t help. All of the courses and maps were technically
challenging and very well planned out which made them
very enjoyable to run despite my frustrations with count-
less mistakes. The race that I enjoyed running the most
would either have to be the sprint or the long distance.
The week of orienteering in Gothenburg was awesome
even though I had some disappointing results. Neverthe-
less I managed to do my best and gained tons of experi-
ence that I will definitely use to my advantage in Prim-
iero, Italy this year. Getting the opportunity to compete at
JWOC last year and not doing as well as I had hoped has
motivated and inspired me even more to do better and ful-
fill my goals this year in Italy!
Carol Ross
Last summer's JWOC in Gothenburg was the fourth and
final JWOC I competed at, which made my time there
somewhat bittersweet. While I'm slightly sad that I will
never again race at JWOC, it is so exciting to see how the
Canadian JWOC team has grown over the past few years.
(This article was originally published by Ultimate Ori-
enteering on http://www.ultimate-orienteering.com)
This February, the Greater Vancouver Orienteering Club
hosted its 4th annual sprint orienteering training camp.
The goal of this three day camp is to offer plenty of
sprint orienteering opportunities and help motivate ori-
enteers before the main racing season starts. This year
we were fortunate to have over 40 out-of-town orien-
teers. Participants came from across the continent, rang-
ing from national team members from both Canada and
USA, to a sizable over-65 contingent. The participants
navigated their way through 6 training sessions, 4 races,
and 174 controls.
The camp started off with two sprints on Friday evening,
before darkness set in. The first was a warm up sprint at
the University of British Columbia, a large university
with around 50,000 students. Following this was a race at
Acadia Residences, an intricate student housing area next
to the university. The race was won by the current Cana-
dian Sprint Champion Patrick Goeres, a Manitoban cur-
rently living in Vancouver. In the evening we discussed
the various route choice options from the race using a
projector and Routegadget.
Race at Acadia Residences
Saturday has traditionally been the long day with a total
of five sprint sessions. This year all five sessions were
held in the downtown core of Vancouver amidst sky-
scrapers and busy roads. The program consisted of two
normal point to point courses as well as three special
sprint-relevant exercises. These exercises stem both from
the need to practice special sprint skills and from restric-
tions caused by the location of the terrain. The first exer-
cise was orienteering-intervals, or "o-tervals" for short. O
-tervals allow you to run at a higher speed than normal
thereby forcing you to read the map faster than you
would during a race. Each o-terval was around 500m in
length and the break between each was about 2 minutes.
To help participants push the pace, several orienteers
were started at the same time with slightly different
courses. The group gathered again before the start of the
subsequent interval. Each o-terval stayed within a city
block thereby avoiding crossing any busy roads. The area
used could normally not be used for orienteering, but is
excellent for this type of training.
Another exercise was aimed at practicing the start of a
sprint race. As there are not very many sprint races in the
season, perfecting the start of a race can be difficult. Par-
ticipants received a package of 11 small map segments
stapled together. Each map had a start, possibly a control
or two, and a finish. The goal was to quickly adjust to the
new setting and run controlled out of the start. At the end
of each segment was a start triangle indicating where the
next segment started. This new start triangle was located
near the edge of the current map so that when the partici-
pant flipped to the next map a brand new start scenario
would appear. Effectively the orienteer had 11 chances
of perfecting the start procedure.
After the Saturday training sessions, we saw presenta-
tions from Nevin French and Lehel Fenyo at the commu-
nal dinner at the Roundhouse Community Centre. Nevin
gave a thought provoking talk on getting sponsorship for
orienteering, encouraging people to take a closer look at
what we can give in return to potential sponsors. Lehel,
an elite orienteer from Hungary, gave a presentation
about what World Orienteering Championship (WOC)
participants can expect to see this summer. Lehel grew
up very close to where WOC is to be held this year. Both
Nevin and Lehel's presentations are available on the
sprint website.
Sunday featured a two part race in the morning. The first
acted as a setup for the chase start event later in the day.
This year’s race started near the scenic Capilano Lake, at
the base of Grouse Mountain. The setup was won by
Øystein Sørensen, a former Junior World Orienteering
O-tervals Downtown Vancouver
Champion in Relay, who is currently an exchange stu-
dent in Vancouver for one year. Following this was an
exciting chase start sprint, with three butterfly loops at
the end to spread competitors out.
The final session of the camp focused on flow and con-
centration. A special 1:2,000 scale map was made of a
small, yet detailed area. The controls were closely spaced
and often on similar features. The goal of the exercise
was to be smooth in and out of the control, and not to be
distracted by other runners or controls. This exercise can
be useful in small, detailed areas that would otherwise
not be used for orienteering.
Plans are already being made for next year's camp. Since
the 2010 Winter Olympics are scheduled for the usual
time of the sprint camp, we are planning on holding it in
March or early April. This camp can easily be combined
with trips to the Olympic venues in Whistler and Van-
couver. For more information and to access all maps and
results from previous camps check the sprint website:
http://sprint.whyjustrun.ca. A number of good photos
taken this year by Wil Smith are available at http://
orienteering.smugmug.com.
(The photographs used here are some of those mentioned
above. PSL)
Submitted by Thomas Nipen
Set up race at Cleveland Dam
Ski-Orienteering and the World Championships (By the editor)
You‘re thinking, I have heard of this…? That was my first reaction. I know that it exists as a sport. I mean, I have seen it on the IOF website and in articles in Orienteering North America (ONA). But, I have never been to an event, or even heard much about ski-orienteering in Canada. At least not until recently. But, from the first time that I have heard mention of the sport it was something that intrigued me. I mean, a unique sport within an al-ready unique sport. How cool! It must be neat to tell someone that you are a ski-orienteer. Of course, they would have no idea what you are talking about, but it definitely is a guaranteed con-versation starter. Even if the person has no interest in sport in general, it is something that is so unusual that it would pique their curiosity. I‘m sure your average couch potato would think it crazy, but the adventurous outdoor types would be captivated and want to learn more. When I heard that we had an orienteer(er) from Canada that would be participating in the world ski orienteering championships I definitely wanted to learn more.
So, who was going to represent Canada? Marie-Cat was the answer I received. A lot of you would need nothing further than that to know who she was. But, though I have met many people involved with orienteering, I can‘t say that I have met her. I knew the name. Where had I heard that before? I grabbed some old orienteering newsletters and magazines and started quickly perusing them. While leafing through an old issue of ONA, I found the answer. The answer was staring me straight in the face. ―The Injury Chronicles‖, Marie-Catherine Bruno was the person who wrote this series of articles for the magazine. Her name was also all over the place in past is-sues of the COF newsletters, and on the results lists from many different orienteering events. Marie-Catherine has played a prominent role in orien-teering in Canada then. Well, I guess it was time for me to come out of my isolated little bubble and learn some more about her and Ski-WOC 2009. Well to learn more, I started where I always do these days, I ―Googled‖ Marie-Catherine Bruno. One of the first websites that showed up, during my research, was the following: http://www.thesolemate.com/. This is a busi-ness that Marie-Catherine had set up, but on the web page it also gave a nice overview of her background and the start of her interest in orienteering and ski-orienteering. I hope she doesn‘t mind but I copied the following from her website:
Marie-Catherine grew up in rural Quebec in the hills of the Laurentians. By the age of 5 she was al-
ready on cross-country skis. “I remember trying to keep up to my dad on my little plastic skis! It didn’t take much time for him to buy me real skis!” I skied (both downhill and Nordic) and played volleyball until the age of 20 where repetitive shoulder injuries kept me out of both sports. That’s when I discovered orienteering. I had always loved maps, so that seemed like the best sport for me! The only problem was that although I could ski, I could not run at all. I worked on my running religiously, but it took forever to even get decent at it (I was born with a congenital defect of the hips, so running is very painful). It is probably because of all those health problems that she decided to study in the medical field.
At age 22 she graduates from McGill University (Montreal, Quebec) in Physiotherapy. Soon after graduation she starts specialising in Sports Medicine and Manual Therapy techniques. “I have always liked the pressure from trying to heal an athlete fast when there is an important competition coming up” says Bruno. As a student, Bruno worked as a bootfitter in a ski shop. After years of physiotherapy she
Fig. Photo from M-CB’s website.
started missing her old bootfitting job and went back to it part time. “That’s when I realised that I could combine both... ...my expertise as a physio and my years of training as a bootfitter”. “I started doing a lot of realignment of the skeleton using proper orthotics.” Marie-Catherine went back to school and came out with a certifi-cation in Pedorthics and is now a Certified Pedorthist as well as a Registered Physical Therapist.
Now when she is not working in her own orthotic laboratory (The Sole Mate – Custom Orthotics & Foot-beds in the mountains of British-Columbia) she designs training programs for other orienteers (she has an unfinished Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology), nordic skis and orienteers. She has represented Canada on many WOC teams and WC Teams but her true love remains ski-orienteering.
Well, I knew a little more about Marie-Catherine now. It was now time to learn more about her repre-senting Canada at the Ski World Orienteering Championships. I delved further into the myriad of results to my Internet queries. In doing so, I found that the most relevant, interesting and personal were articles that were prepared by a local British Columbia newspaper and a news release prepared by Charlotte McNaughton (COF). I have included the series of press releases and the results that I found on-line be-low.
Vernon Morning Star
Published: February 19, 2009 6:00 PM http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/vernonmorningstar/sports/39876238.html
Bruno gets big support
Marie-Catherine Bruno is heading to the World Ski-orienteering Championships March 3-8 in Japan Marie-Catherine Bruno asked her friends for a little help last Tuesday night at Silver Star Mountain Resort. The ski-orienteering athlete was basically ambushed with support as 103 people attended a dinner and bag auction at The Bulldog Grand Cafe, raising almost $4,000 to help get Bruno to the world champion-ships in Japan. ―It was a very emotional night,‖ said Bruno, 37. ―I was overwhelmed with the support. I now have my entry fee and accommodations covered.‖ Ski orienteering is a cross-country endurance winter sport which requires an extremely high level of both physical and mental fitness. Standard cross-country skiing equipment is used, along with a map holder attached to the chest. The championships go March 3-8 in Rusutsu, but Bruno arrived there Tuesday night. ―I‘ll be doing some training camps to give me a chance to check out their maps. It‘s really important to play with the skis and wax. It is very humid there, so I‘ll have three different pairs of skis.‖ A 5-foot-10 McGill University grad, Bruno has for the last 10 years represented Canada at several World Cups and World Orienteering Championships across Europe, Asia and Oceania, but never at a ski event. Once she qualified for the elite world ski-orienteering event, she began thinking of ways to raise the $6,000 to get there. ―My heart sank as I realized I couldn‘t do it – it was too expensive,‖ said Bruno, an orthotics business owner. ―That afternoon, I dragged myself off the couch for a training ski and bumped into a Silver Star lo-cal who shared this piece of advice with me: ‗Marie-Cat...the only things I regret in my life are things that I
didn‘t do.‘ It hit home so I am going.‖ Bruno will compete in the sprint, middle and distance races in Japan. She warmed up for the worlds by winning the women‘s open class at a meet in Stake Lake near Kamloops a few weeks ago.
The SIRC Sport Research Institute
http://www.sirc.ca/news_view.cfm?id=26887
BC Athlete Representing Canada at the Ski Orienteering
CALGARY (March 4, 2009) – The Ski Orienteering World Championships are underway in Rusutsu, Ja-pan. Marie-Catherine Bruno of Silver Star, BC is representing Canada at these championships. Bruno also competes in the traditional form of orienteering done on foot and she has competed three times at the World Orienteering Championships. Altogether 133 athletes representing 19 nationalities are taking part in this year‘s ski orienteering world championships. Russia has the largest number of competitors, with 6 men and 6 women in their team. The home country Japan has ten athletes competing, as do also Kazakhstan and Sweden. Finland and USA have sent four women and five men to take part. On Wednesday the athletes begin their quest for world championship medals in the sprint distance event. The sprint winning time is estimated to be 11 minutes both for women (3.3 km) and for men (3.7 km). Later in the week will be the middle and long distance events as well as the relay. The ski orienteering world championships are held every two years. The 2009 event website which in-cludes live results is www.orienteering.or.jp/swoc2009/. Canadians last competed at the ski orienteering world championships in 1996. Canada‘s best ever result at the championships was by Gabrielle Savard of Calgary, AB who placed 18th in 1984. ―After a few years of not many ski-orienteering events in Canada, we‘ve had a resurgence of ski-orienteering over the last few years.‖ explains Canadian Orienteering Federation President Charlotte MacNaughton. ―And we are looking forward to much more ski-orienteering in Canada in the future.‖ Charlotte MacNaughton, COF President
Vernon Morning Star
Published: March 12, 2009 6:00 PM http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/vernonmorningstar/sports/41180109.html
Bruno goes solo to earn relay 10th
Vernon‘s Marie-Catherine Bruno helped Canada finish 10th Sunday in the relay portion of the World Ski-Orienteering Championships in Rusutsu, Japan. Each country sent their top three racers, but Bruno was the lone Canadian so did all three loops herself. I look around and it doesn‘t take much time for me to realize that I‘m lined up with some of the 15 fastest
women in the world,‖ said Bruno, 37. ―There is not a single person in that lineup that I‘ve beaten this week. Oh boy, please don‘t let me make a fool of myself. The gun goes and your Canadian is already dead last. That‘s OK, I‘ll just pretend I‘m reading my map – remember, it‘s always important to look good.‖ Bruno made up time with some strong classic running on her skate skis and began her last descent into the final control. ―I punch it and the crowd is going nuts. Have they never seen a bean pole with a maple leaf on her back? Well might as well give them something to cheer about so I hammer my fastest offset ever and make it in. They‘re still cheering. OK, OK group, I‘m done, you can chill now. I turn around and there she is, coming up the hill BEHIND me. I recognize her, it‘s Theodora from Bulgaria, ranked top-10 in the world in ski-orienteering and world cup skier in nordic.
―At this point I am pretty sure I‘m in my bed and mom is gonna wake me up to go to school. But no,
it‘s real, it‘s all real. I‘ve beaten Bulgaria...turns out she made a mistake at the top and allowed me to pass her. Ladies and gentlemen, your Canadian team is in 10th place. I‘ve done it, I‘ve beaten some of the fast-est women in the world. I am not sure how to describe the feeling, but it‘s darn good that‘s all I can say.‖
Bruno finished 29th in the fourth race of the championships, a middle-distance event.
Vernon Morning Star
Published: March 08, 2009 6:00 AM http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/vernonmorningstar/sports/Map_malfunction_DQs_Bruno.html
Map malfunction DQs Bruno
After a Canadian record 32nd-place finish in the sprint race Tuesday, Vernon‘s Marie-Catherine Bruno was disqualified from Friday‘s long distance race after a controversial map malfunction at the World Ski-Orienteering Championships Tuesday in Rusutsu, Japan. Hoping for a 90-minute finish, the 37-year-old orthotics business owner finished in 1:41:00, good for a top-30 finish. However, there was one glitch. ―The organizers came running out of their little hut, asking for the backup card of my electronic punch – that‘s never good when they want to see that,‖ said Bruno, in an e-mail. ―Anyway, they took it away, came back telling me I had missed No. 7. ‗No way‘ I told myself, that was the motherbleep of a control right at the top of the monster wall. I sure went to that one. If I was gonna skip a control, I would have skipped the wall, thank you very much. ―Anyway, their little computer said I had been to control 120, but that I was meant to go to 121. I could have sworn my map said 120, not 121. But hey, you never know, after a climb like that, who knows how much juice you actually have left in your brain. So I took that and went back to my hotel room, but still in disbelief.‖ Bruno said it was not until dinner when one of the Americans, a much more experienced ski-orienteer than her, said that when she finished, officials told her she had gone to 119 when she was meant to go to 112. The American was reinstated after officials ruled the computer had been wrongly programmed. ―After hearing her story, it became clear to me that it was what had happened to me. I ran over to the of-fice, begged to see my map,‖ said Bruno. ―They wouldn‘t let me, but I saw the look on their face when they looked at it - they looked very surprised... suspicious I would say. Anyway, they wouldn‘t say what they could see but they said they would call for a meeting with the jury.‖
Unfortunately for Bruno, officials ruled her protest was filed past the one-hour limit, so the DQ stood as called. ―I am for sure bummed about that because I would have scored good international points for finishing in the top-30, but at the same time, I am still really proud of my race and I now know that even though the top-15 women ski way faster than me, the top-25 is totally achievable.‖
Results from the Ski-WOC 2009 website:
A Summary of final-entries received showed 104 participants from 19 federations. Official Results: Sprint 32 (111) Marie-Catherine Bruno Canada 0:16:03 Middle 29 (118) Marie-Catherine Bruno Canada 0:56:13 Well done Marie-Cat!
Fig. Marie Catherine Bruno on her way to the finish line of an event at the World Ski Orienteering Championships in Rusutsu, Japan. Photograph submitted by Marie Catherine.
Club/association: Manitoba Orienteering Association
Tell us a little about yourself. 52, Married, 3 children, love
the outdoors
Are you orienteering at all? Looking forward to participating in the 2009 orienteering season. Very excited about our club
hosting the Westerns and Canadians this summer.
Are you competing in any other sports? What other interests do you have? I enjoy snowshoeing, cross country skiing, la-
dies hockey and hiking with my dogs.
How did you get introduced to the sport? By a friend of mine who orienteers.
What are your goals for 2009? I consider myself to be somewhat ―directionally challenged,‖ so orienteering is just the sport I
need. It has helped me become more aware of my surrounding, better at map reading and my sense of direction is definitely
improving. When I first started orienteering I was happy just to find a few controls and make it back to the finish. This year my
main goal is to finish every race I participate in - no DNF’s . Also, I usually have two bad (I mean bad) legs, so I would like to
improve on that as well.
What race are you looking forward to? The Westerns and Canadians here in good old Manitoba!
What is your favourite orienteering memory? I was orienteering a wilderness event in Hartney, Mb. My time for the race
was not going to be anything impressive (quite bad actually) so I decided I would just take my time and enjoy the great out-
doors. As I was coming around some bush I heard an animal cry out, so I went to have a look. I saw a tiny little fawn standing
there looking at me with these big brown eyes, calling for it’s mother. It was a wonderful sight and one I will not forget for a
long time.
What result were you most proud of? Finishing most of my races and having some good legs throughout the season.
What is your worst orienteering memory and why? I was running a wilderness event in the MOC’s Long event. The begin-
ning of the race went fairly well but as I got to the last couple of controls, I was really having trouble staying focused. I was
making some bad decisions and just struggling. I punched my second last control; looked at my map and new I only had about
100 meters to get to the lat control. Somehow (don’t ask me how because I still wonder what on earth I was doing) I went off
in the wrong direction. About 40 minutes later I finally came into the finish. The goods news is I did make it back in and I did
finish the race – no DNF! Maybe we won’t discuss what my time was. Oops!!!
What is your favourite terrain and why? I love the wilderness events where I can enjoy being out in the forest and nature as I
orienteer.
10 Questions. I liked this series of articles from previ-
ous issues of Legends. But, I have expanded the scope
of series from just elite level athletes to those that we
are likely to meet while participating at orienteering
events, and those that play an important role in the
organization of the sport. To start with, in this issue,
I included an orienteer from Manitoba and the newly
elected president of Orienteering New Brunswick.
PSL
Maggie Mabon
What was the best orienteering / training advice you have re-
ceived? If I am not sure where I am on the map – RELOCATE –
and don’t wait to long before relocating.
What is your favourite flavour of ice cream? McDonald’s va-
nilla cone
Baseplate or thumb? Baseplate but want to try thumb.
Club/association: Falcons, Orienteering New Brunswick
Tell us a little about yourself. I like adventures and to travel.
Orienteering is an ideal activity to accomplish both these things. I
have reached retirement age and my goals are to do some hiking in
the Canadian Rockies and visit the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Are you orienteering at all? There is no winter orienteering in
the province. It’s starts up next month and the first event will be
to run an orienteering clinic.
Are you competing in any other sports? No.
How did you get introduced to the sport? I was introduced to
orienteering approximately 11 years ago by a fellow worker and
scout leader Garth Holder. My first event was at Centennial Park,
Moncton, NB, organized by the Smith’s in early spring 2008?. It
was a memorable day of trying to navigate on a colourful map
which was confusing to me. I remember looking for a control with
a group of people and finding it first. It was by accident that it was found and not by good navigation. As I recall the moment
and remember one comment from one of the Smith clan, ―not where it should be‖.
This one adventure lead to another than another and quickly I was hooked on orienteering.
What race are you looking forward to? To participate in the 2009 COC’s
What is your favourite orienteering memory? I must say Swiss O week 2006.
What result were you most proud of? Completing a middle event at the 2007 COC without making any errors or course cor-
rections.
What is your worst orienteering memory and why? At Wentworth, NS during a B-meet. Got totally turned around after a
map exchange. Went 180 degrees in the wrong direction and went off the map. Saved by someone else having difficulties.
What was your favourite Canadian terrain and why? I do not want to hurt anyone’s feeling in the Maritimes, but, the west-
ern Canadian terrain, Prairies through to BC. It is more open and runnable.
What was the best orienteering / training advice you have received? Stay focus and moved the thumb along your route.
What is your favourite flavour of ice cream? An ice cream that is no longer available. Chocolate ice cream made with fluff
(white marshmallow like substance used for dipping fruit into)
Baseplate or thumb? Thumb compass.
Harold McQuade
Fig. Harold McQuade at the 2006 North American Champion-
ships. Photo by David Cady
During a recent telephone conference of the Canadian
Orienteering Federation Board of Directors a suggestion
was made to develop an award to recognize the volun-
teers whose efforts are instrumental to the functioning of
orienteering in Canada. It passed, with unanimity, when
it was suggested that this award be named in honour of
Patricia (Pat) de St. Croix. Pat passed away in 2008.
Even I, as a relative newcomer to the national orienteer-
ing scene, knew who Pat was. I had the pleasure of
meeting her and getting to know her. In fact she became
to the family and I ―the friendly face‖ in the crowd. She
was interesting and she took an interest in the people she
was talking to. Her interest in orienteering and her zest
for life were also quite contagious. This is just what I
had gathered from my limited interactions with her and
her family. I knew that there was much more to her than
the little I knew. To me, she was the perfect example of
an ambassador for the sport of orienteering in Canada.
And as I found out, I guess I was not alone in that senti-
ment.
Pat and her family have been involved with Orienteering
since their first event in 1970. And as one its pioneers
played a prominent role in her own way. She was a per-
son who was always willing to help out. She will be re-
membered by many for her teaching, unwavering dedi-
cation and involvement in the sport of orienteering.
PURPOSE… The Patricia de St. Croix Memorial
Award will be presented annually to a volunteer or vol-
unteers who have significantly contributed to the sport
of orienteering in the past year(s) with service of the
quality, dedication and unstinting devotion exemplified
by Pat de St. Croix.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT… The recipient of the
Patricia de St. Croix Memorial Award will be identified
on a special awards page of the Canadian Orienteering
website where an acknowledgment of the achievements
of the recipient may also be kept for public viewing.
WORK IN PROGRESS… At present the COF execu-
tive are working on the finer details of this award and its
selection and nomination processes. Your input would
be appreciated if you wish to contribute to this process.
After all, don’t you agree that it is time to start recogniz-
ing the volunteers on which our sport is built?
PSL
Do you have something you would like to
see included?
Do you have some interesting stories to
tell?
Are there people or events that you would
like to see profiled?
If you answered “yes” to any of the above
please feel free to contact the editor (Paul
Looker) of this newsletter.
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: (506) 357-9788 (best method to ini-
tiate contact, evenings New Brunswick time)
Fig. Pat de St. Croix at the 2006 North American Championships.
Photo by David Cady (Pat was one of the first orienteers that the
photographer met, that was in 1975)
The Patricia de St. Croix Memorial Award
2009 Sass Peepre National Junior Training Camp August 24 – 26, at Carberry, Manitoba
This year’s Sass Peepre National Junior Training camp will be held in Carberry, Manitoba. Accommodation will be
in a school called Carberry Collegiate. We hope all you enthusiastic juniors will come back to renew old friendships,
spike more controls and learn new ways to exhaust your coaches.
Start: Monday, August 24, about 9am
End: Wednesday, August 26, about 5pm
Location: Training will be at 2 orienteering maps: Yellowquill in Spruce Woods, about 15km south of Car
berry, and Seton North about 10km east of Carberry. Transport to maps will be in coaches’ cars.
Accommodation: will be at Carberry Collegiate. Participants will sleep on the floor of the gym and a classroom
(boys and girls separated). We will have access to a kitchen, a canteen, showers and change rooms.
Meals will be prepared by volunteers.
Other events: Western Canadian Championships August 21-23
Relay August 27
Canadian Championships August 28-30
Camp Fee: $100.00 which includes accommodation and meals.
$50 of this fee is non-refundable.
Consider contacting your own club for a subsidy.
Registration: Send your registration form, along with the fee, to the registrar. The fee and form must be received
by the registrar by July 31, 2009.
Registrar: Anne Teutsch, [email protected] phone 613-226-4677
1 Revol Road, Ottawa ON K2G 0B8
Camp Coordinator: Kitty Jones
For registration information: Contact Anne Teutsch, see above
For all other information: Contact Kitty at [email protected] or 403-282-5235.
CALLING ALL COACHES!!
We need adults to volunteer to help coach at all levels from beginner to advanced. We also need adults to volunteer
to help prepare the meals (2 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 2 suppers). Whether you are a National Team athlete (either
current or past), or a parent of a camp participant, please consider offering your time.
Coaches and cooking volunteers will receive free room and board at the camp. Sorry – no honoraria!
If you have a vehicle, you will be asked to help with transporting participants the short distance to training sessions.
We will pay for your gas.
Contact Kitty to join the fun!
Coaches’ Meeting: Sunday, August 23, sometime in the afternoon or evening
location TBA
2009 Manitoba Sandhills Orienteering Festival
(August 21— August 30, 2009) Includes WCOC’s,
COC’s, Junior Camp, AGM, and fun events.
Registration is underway. There is still time for great
deals on early registration.
The WCOCs will take place in the Lauder Sandhills near
Hartney, MB. The COCs will take place in Spruce Woods
Provincial Park on a new map called Hog's Back.
ORIENTEERING CANADA - a one year subscription Junior aged members are eligible to participate in the
Junior Participation Program
Liability insurance coverage Eligible for selection to the High Performance Program
(HPP) - Senior and Junior Tiers.
Eligible to participate in COF programmes - National
Coaching Certification Program (NCCP); Officials Certification Program
Eligible for selection to the National Teams to the World
Championships and other international events.
Eligible to win awards at Canadian, North American and
Asian Pacific Orienteering Championships
National team members are eligible to receive financial
support to the World Orienteering Championships—Senior and Junior
Eligible to compete in orienteering events in other
international orienteering federation member nations.
Eligible to receive lower entry rates where offered to
members.
Existence of a national federation and office is a major
factor for Provincial / Territorial Associations to receive funding from provincial governments for: administration, staff, travel grants, athlete grants, programs etc.
Province / Territory President President’s E-Mail Provincial / Territorial Office
Nova Scotia Michael Price [email protected]
New Brunswick Harold McQuade [email protected]
Quebec Michael MacConaill [email protected]
Ontario Ian Sidders [email protected] [email protected]
Manitoba Jennifer Hamilton [email protected] [email protected]
Saskatchewan Kevin Ansdell [email protected]
Alberta Don Riddle [email protected]
British Columbia John Rance [email protected]
Yukon Barbara Scheck [email protected] [email protected]
PROVINCIAL / TERRITORIAL ASSOCIATIONS
President Charlotte MacNaughton [email protected]
Finance Andree Powers [email protected]
Director Alex Kerr [email protected]
Director Ian Sidders [email protected]
Director Paul Looker [email protected]
Director Mark Rosin [email protected]
Athletes‘ Representative Brent Langbakk [email protected]
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR THE NEXT NEWSLETTER — May 31, 2009
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Canadian Orienteering Federation Fédération Canadienne de Course d'Orientation 1239 Colgrove Avenue NE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2E 5C3 tel (403) 283-0807 fax (403) 451-1681 [email protected]
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Non COF members—$12.00 per yr. Overseas/USA subscribers send a Postal Money Order or a Bank Draft in Canadian funds payable to the Canadian Orienteering Federation. ADVERTISING RATES—PER ISSUE: Outside back cover $150, Inside back cover $100, Inside full page $75, One-half page $50, One-third page $35, Business card size $20.
Breathe Magazine & the Canadian Orienteering Federation The Canadian Orienteering Federation is thrilled to announce that we’ve entered into a partnership with Breathe Magazine (www.breathemag.ca). Breathe Magazine is a Canadian magazine that looks into the lifestyle of those involved in adventure and endurance sports. To celebrate the partnership, there’s a Canadian Orienteering Federation Special Promotion! You can subscribe to Breathe Magazine for only $10! That’s one year of Adventure and Endurance articles to keep you going for more than 50% off the cover price.
Breaking news: National team member Patrick Goeres will be writing a column about orienteering/adventure running in Breathe Magazine starting in the June issue. We’re excited about this partnership and we are looking forward to more great orienteering content in Breathe Magazine.
To subscribe, visit: www.breathemag.ca/subscribe and enter coupon code: “COF9421” or mail in this subscription card.
