Oceania Orienteering Championships - Australia New Zealand Challenge Cup

New Zealand convincingly won the second Australia New Zealand Challenge Cup, part of the Oceania Orienteering Championships, at Craigieburn on Wednesday 7 January

After a close victory for New Zealand in the first Challenge Cup, the Kiwis took to the forested hillsides at Craigieburn, Canterbury, for the tough courses set by New Zealand international Jenni Adams.

Early in the day the challenge seemed evenly matched with the Aussies winning the men's 16 and women's 60 age-classes, and the Kiwis the women's 16 and the men's 40 classes.

Then the tide turned with all but two of the remaining ten classes going the way of New Zealand.

The one bright spot for Australia was the excellent victory by Australian Champion Simon Uppill in the Elite men's class, for the Oceania Long Distance Orienteering title.

Finnish orienteers featured in the elite class with Miika Henrelahti finishing second in Elite men, and his partner Mari Vaananen winning the Elite women's class.

Competitors in the Elite class from as far afield as Ireland, Germany, New Caledonia, Sweden, Italy, Finland, Denmark and the USA were full of praise for the Craigieburn terrain and the course.

"Not something I could run on all the time; tough and challenging but bloody enjoyable" quipped Australian Jim Russell, who placed third in the men's 40 age-class behind Kiwis Bill Edwards (Hutt Valley) and Mark Lawson (Auckland).

The Australia-New Zealand Challenge Cups for Relay and Individual distances now belong in New Zealand, although the Australian team did forget to bring them across to New Zealand.

Results
Australia-New Zealand Challenge Cup - Individual Distance. January 7, 2009, Craigieburn.
New Zealand 10 classes:Australia 4 classes

Age-classes won by New Zealand
M20; M40; M50; M70; W16; W20; W21Elite; W50; W60; W70.

Age-classes won by Australia
M16; M21Elite; M60; W40.