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
Official O time and current Melbourne weather forecast
set your watch now!
Park and Street Orienteering - Latest news
Cremorne
Monday, 17 June 2013
With Melbourne so well covered, it's a treat to have a fresh new map, and this was a particularly tricky one, with numerous small streets and lanes, parks, overpasses and underpasses, and the added complication of the Yarra bike trail with its floating pontoons. There was a lot of detail to read and it was highly enjoyed by the 70 competitors. Thanks Sandy!
Despite the small area, there was plenty of length in the courses (thanks to the long run south of the river) and only three A runners got the lot - Andrew, Jim and Rob filling the top spots. Phil had an easy win on B over a late-returning Stephen, and Philippa pipped Peter by a point to take third. Interestingly, all of the C runners were a minute late so their 3 point penalties were effectively negated. Ray, Pete and Charles all scored 32 points. Andrew power walked his way to a win with 58 points, ahead of Steven on 54. Ros led a contingent on 52 to take third.
So who is looking the goods overall? With the best 10 scores counting, and only 8 events held so far, the frontrunners (and walkers) are those with the highest attendance - Roger, Peter K and Noel on A; Deb, Stephen, me and Philippa on B; Ray, Pete and Ewen on C; and Andrew, Michael, Bernie and Derek on PW. The highest averages (for those with 4 or more events) are held by Jim T and Peter M on A; Stephen and Ray on B; Ewen and Ray on C; and Andrew, Michael and Stephen on PW.
Next week we move away from the city and out to the east. Glenfern Run is at the bottom of the Dandenongs, and there are some significant hills to test your mettle, as well as some long linear stretches of parkland along the creek.
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| Park and Street Recent News |
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Cremorne
Monday, 17 June 2013
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Warralong
Friday, 14 June 2013
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Tunstall Junction
Friday, 7 June 2013
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Knox Fields
Friday, 31 May 2013
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Nortons Park
Monday, 27 May 2013
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Belmore Parklands
Friday, 24 May 2013
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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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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