Park and Street Orienteering
More Fun Than the Same Old Run
Learn more about Park and Street Orienteering: check out our cool video then click here to scroll down past the news ...
Coming Events and Current Results
Download the fixture for your calendar: WinterFixture2013
All Melbourne and Geelong Park and Street winter events are now loaded onto Eventor. You do not need to be registered or logged in to view and export the calendar from here.
You can also find all Park and Street events directly from Eventor by clicking on the Discipline dropdown box and selecting Park/Street Orienteering. Make sure you select the full date range for the winter season, i.e. March 27-October 31. You can refine your search by using the Advanced Search function, and entering (for instance) the day of the week or name of series, e.g. Saturday or Iceberg.
Check the latest information about The Millennium Club, MEFTY Award & Rankings here
NEW Rankings as at 31 March 2013
Official O time and current Melbourne weather forecast
set your watch now!
Park and Street Orienteering - Latest news
Research
Monday, 20 May 2013
I can never quite decide whether Research or Upwey is the more brutal map. It felt like we'd climbed a mountain just driving up to the start at the footy club ground! It felt like snow was imminent. The views from there are certainly panoramic. Russell set a demanding course with plenty of options out of the start. Many of us headed straight down to the bottom of the hill to pick up nearby 9, knowing we would regret it soon. That was followed by the long climb up to the aqueduct via 8 and 1. I heard a couple of people found themselves on the wrong side of the channel (not reading their maps carefully enough!) The reward was a scenic, flat run along the aqueduct between 19 and 17, then it was decision time. I opted for 12, then a long long slog to 6. Racked by indecision, I dropped 2, hoping that would allow me to get to 16 later. Alas it was not to be, as I struggled from 14 up about a hundred contours to 3, then home via 10.
None of the A runners were able to get all controls and return on time. Jim G got to all of them but came in 15 minutes late (that's known as getting your money's worth). Ian D was the winner with 55 points, ahead of Ian G on 53 and Jim T on 49. Stephen won B with 40 points, Lara was a well placed second on 36, just ahead of Ian S on 35. Ewen took out C with 36 (beating most of the Bs) ahead of Holly and Ray both on 27. A hotly contested PW field was headed by Michael and Andrew, both on 50 points, beating Josie on 46.
It's early days in the overall competition so we'll check in on that in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile our next event is at Nortons Park, always an enjoyable and popular venue, and (with a couple of notable exceptions) much flatter than Research!
Don't forget that next Sunday May 26 is the first MelbushO for 2013, at wonderful Woodlands Historic Park. Bring your friends and family and have a go at bush orienteering just a hop skip and jump away (and yes you're bound to see both kangaroos and jumbo jets). Check www.melbusho.com for details.
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| Park and Street Recent News |
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Research
Monday, 20 May 2013
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Mitcham Mystery Map
Thursday, 16 May 2013
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Waverley Parklands
Sunday, 12 May 2013
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Altona EndurO Sunday May 5 - Results
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
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Westerfolds Park
Sunday, 28 April 2013
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Hawthorn East
Friday, 26 April 2013
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Enduro at Altona Meadows - May 5
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
The first Sunday Special Enduro for Winter 2013 starts at Altona Meadows 10am May 5th on a new map using the Altona Meadows and Seabrook maps extended into the Sanctuary Lakes.
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Glen Iris
Thursday, 18 April 2013
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Blackburn Lake
Friday, 12 April 2013
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Summer Season Street-O Rankings
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Rankings for the 2012-13 Melbourne Summer Season of Park & Street Orienteering have been posted on the rankings webpage.
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Park and Street Orienteering provides an ideal opportunity for
mental and physical exercise. If you can walk to the local milk bar you
are fit enough to participate. You do not need a compass or any special
map reading ability.
Winter Season - the Saturday Afternoon Series runs from April to October, on most Saturday afternoons from 2pm.
There
is a Western Tuesday Night Series that runs in Autumn, and Monday and
Wednesday Night Series (eastern, southern and northern suburbs) that run
from Autumn through to Spring. A small torch or headlight is useful for
these events and night visible clothing is encouraged. These events all start at 7pm but you should arrive at 6.30pm to register.
Summer Season - there are four major Summer series: Southern (Monday), Western (Tuesday), Eastern (Wednesday), and Northern (Thursday).
There are also Geelong, Macedon Ranges, Wyndham, and Mountain Bike Orienteering (MTBO) series.
These events start at 7:00 PM sharp (except for Mountain Bike
Orienteering). You need to arrive at about 6:30 pm to register and
prepare before the start. You will need running gear or lightweight
clothing and shoes. Bring a drink when hot and a clear plastic pocket
(A4) for your map on damp days.
Parking
Look for the Red and White ORIENTEERING 
sign boards near the event start which will direct you to available parking.
If the parking areas are full then please park on ONE SIDE of smaller streets only.
Courses
Events usually have three to five runners' courses, ranging from 2.5 to 10km, plus a 1 hour power walking course.
Courses are started immediately after the event briefing when maps are handed out. By convention, you hold your map face down and only turn it over when the signal to 'start' is called. If this is your first event then you will be given your map and instructions well before start of the event.
There are two main competition formats:
SCATTER
This is the 'standard' format for summer running courses, unless otherwise indicated.
You must visit a number of control locations in any order. First to
finish wins. The number of controls may vary from event to event and
are specified on the map and confirmed at the start by the course
setter. Walkers can participate in these 'runners' courses especially
the shorter C & D courses.
SCORE
This is the 'standard' format for all walking courses and for the runners courses during Autumn, Winter and Spring.
Controls have values ranging from 2 to 5 points. The objective is
to collect as many points as you can before a set finish time. Penalty
points are deducted for being late so you need to bring a watch.
On Mondays in winter there is also a handicap format known as 37s. The handicapper allocates you a base score, or handicap, based on previous performance, and you must visit controls worth 1 or 2 points until your total score is 37.
Duration and Score
Finishing times vary depending on the course selected and the
longest is for walkers at 8:05 pm. Courses close at 8:15 pm and the
control plates are collected shortly after. It is important to always
report back to the finish even if you do not complete a course.
Participants carry a score card which they 'punch' at each control
plate visited. The card is handed in at the Finish where there is a
final punch, and your finish order is recorded. The scores are compiled
and published on this website and are also displayed at the following
event.
In most series a Category system is used to enable participants to
judge how they are going against people of similar ability. You can see
how this works by checking out 'overall scores' where you will find
many different groups of people who can choose to compete against each
other, themselves, or just enjoy a good walk.
Maps
Maps are usually black and white, A4 size at 1:10,000 scale and
with 5m contours. Maps will also contain other information, such as the
number of controls required on SCATTER courses, and the points value of
controls for SCORE courses. There is an important briefing just prior to
the start to advise of unavoidable last minute changes to control
locations (always a handy thing to know so listen up).
Participants retain their map on completion (although the next
event on the map in a later series will often have a different
start/finish location and revised control locations).
Wheelchair and Pram Accessibility
There is a printed program covering all the current series freely
available at all events. This fixture includes a Guide to Wheelchair and
Pram Accessibility.
Each event is rated from 'A' for Good (with sealed footpaths etc) through to 'D' for Unsuitable.
Clubs
You do not have to be a member of a club to participate. Regular
participants are encouraged to join a club and/or Orienteering Victoria. All competitors will be registered as casual members of OV; full financial members can purchase generously discounted season tickets.
There are many clubs to choose from. Memberships fees of a club are usually nominal. Clubs provide a great way to meet new people and get involved in social activities, mapping, or course setting.
For more information about Park and Street orienteering, contact the relevant Series Coordinator.
Contributing to this site:
You do not need to login to browse any of the material on this site. However, by pre-registering (using the Login panel below) you will receive your Login details that will enable you to upload your own material to help keep this site fresh and relevant. Contributions of articles and photographs to this site are both welcomed and encouraged. For more information, please contact your Series Co-ordinator or the Site Administrator. More Information Here