Get your maps ready

More than 600 orienteers from across Australia will be converging on the Southern Downs over Easter to compete in the annual Australian three Day Championships being organised by Orienteering Queensland.
The Australian orienteers will be joined by 23 competitors from New Caledonia plus some from New Zealand, Finland and Great Britain, making it quite an international event.
Venues for the competition will include private properties at Applethorpe and Dalveen as well as the Talgai State Forest near Pratten.
There will be 24 courses offered to cater for all ages and levels of ability, from the under 10s to the over 80s.
Orienteering Queensland development officer Liz Bourne said that as one of the major events on the national orienteering calendar, the competition had attracted Australia’s top elite orienteers as it was also part of the Silva National Orienteering League series of events, which was a strongly contested interstate competition.
“The three-day event will also be a trial for those junior orienteers vying for selection in the Australian team for the Junior World Orienteering Championships which are being held in Slovakia in July so the junior elite classes will be a particularly strong field,” she said.
Ms Bourne said the Granite Belt region was very well known to Australian orienteers as it had hosted a number of national and international events over the years including the Australian Championships in 1983 and 1991, the Easter Championships in 1985 and the Asia Pacific Championships in 2000.
“Its detailed granite terrain provides for challenging navigation and orienteers also enjoy the many natural and other attractions the region has to offer.”
With so many competitors staying in the region, the competition is expected to provide a good economic benefit for the area with accommodation around Stanthorpe already filled up and people having to stay in Warwick as well.
In addition to this, the organisers have tried, wherever possible, to source their requirements from local suppliers.
“Stanthorpe Print’n Copy will be printing all of the competition maps, chest numbers and the event program while Action Graphics at Dalveen will be supplying the event merchandise of shirts and headbands,” she said.
“The Dalveen CWA and the Stanthorpe Pathfinders will be providing the catering for the events while the CWA will also be putting on the Championships dinner.”
Ms Bourne said all of the events would be open to the public and there would be Enter on the Day courses available if local people would like to come along and absorb the atmosphere of a major orienteering carnival.