Summer Shorts and Sprints Add some sizzle to your Spring and Summer, at a brand new series of sprint and short distance races in parks and campuses on Sunday mornings. Race at a different venue each week during October and November – the perfect lead-in to the Melbourne City Race, the Victorian Primary Schools Champs, and the Victorian Sprint Champs. The 2026 Summer Shorts and Sprints Program is being planned, and will be posted here when finalised. SPRINT OR SHORT? SPRINTS are on campuses or in parks with more landscaped features and/or complex terrain. Courses are approx 3.5 km, 2.5 km, or 2 km. Map scale is usually 1:3000 or 1:4000. SHORTS are in less complex parkland. Courses are a little longer, at approx 4 km, 3 km, or 2 km. Map scale may be 1:5000 or 1:7500. Here’s what to expect: a great selection of full colour maps three action-packed, fun courses, with something for everyone from newcomers to top sprinters designed for fast thinking, with lots of controls, direction changes and route choices choose your own start time and course Sportident electronic timing, in Air mode (Sportident stick loan included in entry fee) Inflation-busting entry fees! Kids Run Free at SSAS events – applies to under 13s. Kids aged 13-20 pay just $6, and adults pay only $12 Coaching and assistance for newcomers, and a family-friendly outdoor activity; no limits on age or ability, and no previous experience or special equipment needed Prizes: All competitors will receive points each week, with 100 for the winner, 99 for second, etc. At the end of the 5-race series of Summer Shorts and Sprints, your best 4 scores will be totalled for your overall score. Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 males and females on each course. There are also weekly prizes on offer for the on-the-day winners on each course, and winners of the weekly Mad Dash leg. Check the current Series Standings here. Results are posted under the headings for each event, below. Other events: Sun November 23 – Melbourne City Race, Williamstown Seaport – click here for details Sun November 30 – Victorian Sprint Champs, RMIT Bundoora Questions? email enquiries@drocorienteering.com.au 2025 EVENTS: SSAS 1 - Sunday 19 October - University of Melbourne Burnley Campus - NEW MAP What a blast to kick off our 2025 season! A huge turnout, a fantastic new map, challenging fun courses – a great day. Click here to view the results and splits. Congratulations to our first week winners – Patrick Jaffe, Milla Key, Dion Keech, Clare Hawthorne, Ella Janes and Harry Perkins. The Mad Dash leg took place on the spectator run-through. Our fastest Dashers were Patrick Jaffe, Milla Key, Luca Topley-Vlahos, Shannon Williams, Takumi Okabe, and Ella Janes. SSAS 2 - Sunday 26 October - Tarralla Wetlands - EXTENDED MAP We had a great turnout at Tarralla despite the rain, which didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. Course planner Eric Louw provided fun, enjoyable courses which kept you on your toes with constant changes of strategy. Click here to see the Results, Splits, and Livelox maps. Congratulations to today’s winners – James Robertson, Sophie Taverna, Dion Keech (making it two from two), Genevie Perruzza (her first ever orienteering event!); Ellie Keech, and Toby van der Peet. The Mad Dash was re-christened the Mad Splash; winners were James Robertson, Amber Louw, Dion Keech, Sarah Love, Ellie Keech, and Toby van der Peet. Your prizes will be waiting for you at SSAS 3 next Saturday. Check the updated Series Standings here. Current leaders are Bruce Arthur, Sophie Arthur, Dion Keech, Nicole Williams, Toby van der Peet and Judy Prendergast. Remember, your best 4 scores count towards your overall result. SSAS 3 - Saturday 1 November - VU St Albans - UPDATED MAP Another great race in the warmest conditions so far. With the remote start and the first few controls in streets, followed by a monster leg into the university proper, this had a distinct urban race flavour. Confusion reigned inside the campus, with many controls in a small area, some tapes to avoid, and many twists and turns. Thanks to planner Toby Cooper, and the BK gang, for a fun day. Click here to see the Results, Splits, and Livelox maps. Congratulations to today’s winners – Matthew Layton (in a very narrow victory over series leader Bruce Arthur), Keely Williams, Bruce Paterson, newcomer Monique Jenkins, Takumi Okabe, and Lisa Draper. The Mad Dash winners today were Matthew Layton, Amber Louw, Yujiro Okabe, Monique Jenkins, Takumi Okabe, and Judy Prendergast. Your prizes will be waiting for you at SSAS 4 next Sunday at Stamford Park. Check the updated Series Standings here. SSAS 4 - Sunday 9 November - Stamford Park - NEW MAP Another great new map of this recently-opened parkland in the southeast suburbs. Organisers – Dandenong Ranges Orienteering Club. Take on the Stamford Stampede – prizes for the fastest Stampeders! Please car pool as parking in the immediate vicinity of the arena is limited. Enter online now Event format: Short Location: Stamford Park, Rowville Course lengths: 4 km, 3 km, or 2 km Registration opens: 10:30am Start times: 11am-12pm Courses close: 1pm SSAS 5 - Saturday 15 November - Pipemakers Park - NEW MAP Used in the first ever Sprint Into Spring Series but not since, this compact but highly complex park with its interesting industrial heritage in the inner west, has been remapped from scratch for 2025. Organisers – Bayside Kangaroos. Enter online now Event format: Sprint Location: Van Ness Avenue, Maribyrnong Course lengths: approx 3.5 km, 2.5 km, or 2 km Registration opens: 1:00pm Start times: 1.30pm-2.30pm Courses close: 3.30pm Parking: There are two areas where you can park. One is close to assembly and the other is 500m walk BUT the closer one involves driving along Van Ness Avenue and negotiating much traffic heading to Highpoint. Be prepared to wait in line before you can enter lane to turn left into Pipemakers Park. Riverside Sports area Parking: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jneNSzRYsN7o4DMb7 Corner of Newsom and Stanford Streets then walk 500m across Maribyrnong River via bridge and across park to assembly area. Pipemakers Park Parking: https://maps.app.goo.gl/KmbZLAPUNXxfxLH57 2024 EVENT RESULTS AND MAPS: 2024 Summer Shorts and Sprints PENOLA A surprisingly complex campus where precision proved to be more important than pace. Course planners Geoff and Claire made great use of the compact, complex campus, keeping courses tightly concentrated around the buildings, and using a map flip and artificial barriers to good effect. Results, Splits, Livelox Routes Maps TARRALLA No matter what pace you tackled the course at, there was an adventure to be had. All courses began with some tricky legs around the council buildings and fences, requiring immediate focus on careful map reading. Everyone enjoyed numerous controls along the newly landscaped creek, before preparing themselves for the Mad Dash around the athletics track. Then it was on to the Giant Frog, the final control, and into the Finish! Congratulations to course winners Torren Arthur, Sarah Love, and Izzy Greenhalgh. Torren was pipped for the Mad Dash by James Love, who ran the 200m leg in a dashing 35 seconds. Sarah was the Mad Dash winner on course 2, and Izzy took out the prize on course 3. The Series Scores have been calculated – check them here. Tarralla Results and Splits Maps Photos MT LILYDALE INDOOR-OUTDOOR We promised you something different – and Mt Lilydale certainly delivered! The outdoor sections of this hilly campus are tricky enough, but when you add in the interior of a building with multiple entry points, a furniture maze in the centre, and more complications created by locker banks, corridors and internal doorways, you have something really out of the ordinary. Congratulations to today’s course winners – Callum White, Geoff Armstrong and Mel Kent. Today’s winners of the Flying Furlong were Lucas Kent (30 seconds), Luca Topley Vlahos (33 seconds) and Sam Scadden (46 seconds). Congratulations! We’ve updated the Series Standings – click here to see your overall points score after 3 races. Heading up Course 1 are Matthew Layton and Keely Williams. On Course 2, Geoff Armstrong has a 2 point advantage over Sarah Love. And on Course 3, Eofy Greenhan has the lead ahead of Elijah Spencer. Results and splits Maps Photos RUFFEY LAKE We had a huge turnout on a lovely day at Ruffey Lake! Courses were planned by Ella, a member of the Junior Squad, and she did a great job. Today’s main skills were accurate bearings and reading the contours – and making sure you checked your control numbers. Each course had a different Hill Climb leg – for course 1, it was close to the end, from control 18 to 19. On course 2, it came right at the beginning, from control 1 to 2. And on course 3 it was between controls 2 and 3. Our winners were James Robertson/Matthew Layton, who tied on course 1; Dion Keech on course 2, and Ben Greenhalgh on course 3. Results and Splits Maps Photos DEAKIN BURWOOD On a scorching 36 degree day, it was time to tackle the multi-level challenges of Deakin Burwood, a campus that constantly changes – and each addition brings complexity and confusion. Dion Keech was our course planner, and Vida Fox led the MFR team in presenting a great event. Congratulations to course winners Tim Hatley (c1), Geoff Armstrong (c2) and Jenny Mitchell (c3). Results and Splits Maps Multi Level Mayhem and Mad Dash Mishaps This early leg created a lot of confusion early on, with so many route choices between the controls, including taking the stairs and heading upwards. However, while many people came unstuck here and lost a lot of time, it wasn’t the complex legs that caused most of the mispunches, particularly on course 1. The Mad Dashers fell for the old trap – See Flag, Run to Flag, Fail to Check Map or Number, Mispunch. Yes, there were two different controls at the end of the Mad Dash leg. See images SALESIAN COLLEGE Salesian may be small but it certainly packs a punch, with a bit of everything, from the elegance of Rupertswood Mansion, the heritage of the Ashes Oval, to multilevel school buildings, to chook sheds and an orchard. Course planner Stephen Collins set up some great route choice legs and kept us all on our toes with every step. So much fun! Salesian results and splits Salesian maps Photos – Salesian Sprint 30 Nov 2024