Havelock North teen claims gold, silver at Oceania Orienteering Championships

• Havelock North High School student Amy Nicoll, 17, won gold and silver at the Oceania Orienteering Championships.
• Nicoll gained an International Orienteering Federation world ranking and a middle-distance orienteering diploma.
• She aims to compete further in orienteering and pursue a private pilot’s licence by year-end.

A keen Hawke’s Bay teen runner has taken out a gold and a silver while representing New Zealand in one of Australasia’s premier orienteering events.

Havelock North High School student Amy Nicoll, 17, surprised herself by winning gold in the W18 class middle-distance run at the Oceania Orienteering Championships last month, gaining an International Orienteering Federation world ranking and a middle-distance orienteering diploma, along with a medal.

She also scored a silver in the W18 class long distance, gaining further points towards her ranking, another diploma, and medal.

However, her official world ranking is yet to be announced.

Nicoll became interested in the sport when the Hawke’s Bay Orienteering Club came to visit her primary school, where she was already competing in cross country.

“I hadn’t done it before and we did about two or three maps and then I ended up beating the entire school at it,” Nicholl laughed.

“I love the running, when I was super young, I would run all the time like at school as a punishment – I would just run and run.”

Nicoll’s parents then started to take her to all the local orienteering events with the goal of improving her focus.

“It was basically just to try and make me think before I act, because I probably wasn’t that good at it when I was younger and it’s led on to something I didn’t really expect,” she said.

“Next thing I know, I’m winning national titles and representing the country.”

The 2025 Oceania Orienteering Championships were held across the Santoft Forest, south of Whanganui, from January 18 to 27.

Racing through different types of forestry and terrain, Nicoll came 14th in her first race which was a sprint, her least favourite event.

However, the next day was the middle-distance clocking in at 4.2km, Nicoll’s preferred event.

“The middle distance is slightly more technical as opposed to the long distance which is more of a runners' map,” she said.

“You have less attack points, less handrails, it’s more about your navigation and compass bearings.

“It’s quite a skill to be actually quite academic at the same time as you’re trying to be really physical. It’s kind of the meeting of the two. It’s quite a nerdy sport for athletes.”

After all handicaps were applied to the middle-distance results, Nicoll ended up with first, finishing in 30 minutes and 58 seconds – a time that was good enough to have won the W21A class by over 30 seconds.

Now, with her final year at high school ahead of her, Nicoll is looking forward to competing in more running events in orienteering, cross country, and athletics, and potentially going further with her athletic career.

But currently she only has one job that she really wants to do.

“I want to get my private pilot’s licence by the end of the year,” Nicoll said.

“I want to fly private jets eventually.”

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier. He reports on all stories relevant to residents of the region.