ACT Orienteering to celebrate 50th year golden jubilee with Broulee event

As the sport readies to celebrate its 50^th year golden jubilee in the capital, Hogg is shocked at how much orienteering has changed.

Oversized compasses have been replaced with a light-weight thumb attachment, while maps are digitised by computers and include everything from contour lines to termite mounds.

"It has been very satisfying to see orienteering grow, I have certainly enjoyed watching how it has developed and particularly how people have joined in," Hogg said.

Hogg was president of the Orienteering Federation Australia based in Melbourne in 1970 and when he moved to Canberra in 1971, introduced the capital to the sport.

He tracked down a map of Black Mountain from a geography lecturer and re-drew it to use it for orienteering purposes.

With the help of some donated compasses and word of mouth, 21 competitors competed in the first orienteering event in Canberra on May 16, 1971. Half a century later, 430 orienteers will contest a golden jubilee event at Broulee this weekend.

As the popularity of orienteering has grown year to year the sport has had to evolve to keep up with the demand, and develop with the newly available technology.

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"The new technology has made it certainly a lot easier to organise in many ways," Hogg said.

"It has made it a more exact sport in terms of the navigation required and for most people made it more enjoyable."

Orienteering ACT board member Bob Mouatt is equally amazed at the sport's growth during his 44-year involvement in Canberra.

"It was all manual originally, I organised my first event in 1978, everything was manual - we had to type things up in typewriters and now everything is electronic," Mouatt said.

One thing that hasn't changed is Mouatt's love and passion for orienteering, and he played a large role in organising this weekend's event.

"We were only expecting we would get 200 to 250, we started to see the entries climb over 300 and go up to 430, we were taken by surprise," Mouatt said.

"Even though I'm 82 and I've got osteoarthritis in my ankle, I've had a total knee replacement, a hip replacement I still manage to get out there. I love the challenge."

Participating in the event are the Canberra Cockatoos, a group formed of the capital's best orienteers. They will face competition from athletes across Australia.

Grace Crane, a Canberra Cockatoo and Australia representative, fell in love with the sport at a young age.

"I got into orienteering in late primary school when there was a twilight series on a Wednesday after school, I went along to those and got hooked really quickly," Crane said.

Crane represented Tasmania before moving to Canberra, and has represented Australia for almost 20 years winning multiple titles. She also holds the accolade for achieving the best result by an Australian relay team at the Orienteering World Championships, when they finished fourth in 2006.

She will go head-to-head with South Australia's Olivia Sprod this weekend in a rare head-to-head race, meaning the competitors will start at the same time.

"That will make it very difficult because with orienteering you have to think about where you are going and so many other things."

Crane is married to Cockatoos manager Matt, who was expecting a strong showing from the Canberra team.

"We have a big team out, it's the final race of the weekend so we will all be there in strength and hope to finish it off in style," he said.

Another 50^th year celebration will be held in Canberra next Wednesday, with a restaging of the first race at Black Mountain. That event coincides with World Orienteering Day, and Hogg encouraged Canberrans to come and try the sport.

"Anyone thinking about coming along, come see what it's like, ask for help If you need it and see where you go from there," Hogg said.

Orienteering ACT will host a 50th year event on Wednesday, May 19 at Black Mountain from midday. The event is freely open to the public, and participants are encouraged to register beforehand.