Revival of orienteering in Whangarei

Thomas Reynolds is only a temporary visitor to Whangarei but he is getting behind a cause which he thinks will benefit the city: the revival of orienteering.
The 22-year-old is a fifth-year medical student on a one-year placement at Whangarei Hospital and an already successful orienteering competitor who has contested at national and international levels and has aims of becoming this year's national champion. He became a supporter of a group of enthusiasts wanting to restart the Whangarei Orienteering Club when he made the move north.
"The club has been out of action for nearly five years," Reynolds said.
"It wound down in large part due to volunteer fatigue.
"Orienteering can be labour intensive and the small group of organisers up here got burned out. The number of events shrank and the club merged into one of the bigger Auckland clubs."
However, recently the club has restarted, thanks largely to enthusiastic Whangarei locals led by Anna Hainsworth and a core group of volunteers, some new to orienteering, he added.
Slowly the group has started running street and park-based orienteering events during the week, with the aiming of getting new people interested.
The club's enthusiasm seemed to rubbing off on the public, with new faces, young and old, attending club events, and from what he could tell, Reynolds reckoned there was some talent in the region. With some training and more exposure to orienteering they could go far.
Reynolds started orienteering seven years ago at school, initially for fun and because it made the running training he was doing more fun.
"From there I got some coaching early on and improved quickly.
"Orienteering is a great way to experience some pretty special places in the outdoors and I enjoyed that element. I was also racing mountain bikes at a national level and the off-road running complemented this well."
Life is pretty hectic for the medical student, who still races mountain bikes, and is also trying to train for the upcoming National Orienteering Championships in Hastings at Easter.
Racing takes place on different areas in rural Hawkes Bay. These areas are embargoed so competitors cannot visit them before the event.
Reynolds will contest the elite men's grade and go up against New Zealand's other top competitors. He's familiar with the pressures at this top level however, having won the NZ title in 2008 while still in the junior grades. Since then, he has placed third in 2009 and second in 2010.
"I am aiming to retake the title this year, though. I have an extensive race schedule leading up to nationals so I have been spending 14-16 hours a week running in preparation. I have been focusing on my speed through rough terrain so have been running up in Pukenui forest," he said.
The nationals start on April 22 and conclude on April 25.
For more information about Whangarei Orienteering and upcoming club events and training days, phone Anna Hainsworth 021412041 or Paul Potter 094361957.