Orienteering at Passchendaele

The Passchendaele State Forest, outside Stanthorpe, will be the venue for an orienteering event on Sunday, being conducted by the Bullecourt Boulder Bounders Club.
Club publicity officer Liz Bourne said that this plantation forest was a good venue for both experienced orienteers as well as those new to the sport.
“It contains a good track network as well as areas of detailed granite rocks, which require careful navigation so it suits all levels of ability,” she said.
“We are offering seven courses at Sunday’s event and are expecting a good roll up of local members as well as a number of competitors from Toowoomba and Brisbane.”
Bourne said that many of Queensland’s better orienteers were heading to Victoria at the end of the month to compete in the Oceania Carnival, which incorporated seven events, including the Australian Championships.
Most of these events will be conducted in granite terrain so they are keen to get in some training in the local terrain ahead of this competition and would be attending this Sunday’s event.
In addition to these competitors, local Darling Downs students in the Queensland Schools team will also be hoping to gain more experience in granite terrain before they also head south later this month.
She said local people who would like to come along and try out orienteering were also most welcome to attend the event at Passchendaele.
“We will have short, easy courses for beginners and instruction available on the basic map reading and navigational skills,” Bourne said.
“People of all ages and levels of fitness can take up orienteering as we have competitors from eight to 80 years regularly taking part.”
The assembly area for the event will be the Passchendaele Forest Station on Amiens Road with starting times from 9am to 11am.
For further details about Sunday’s event go to www.oq.asn.au or contact (07) 4683 6374.