Counties Manukau Orienteering Club is proud to host the 2024 Auckland Schools Orienteering Rogaine Championship! 

Rogaine is a form of cross-country navigation, or orienteering, in which individuals or teams visit as many checkpoints/controls as possible within a given time limit. For this event we have set the limit at 90 minutes.

Participants travel on foot, navigating by map and compass. Instead of following a defined course, the controls may be visited in any order. Each control is allocated different points which are acquired by competitors through visiting the control.

The competitor(s) in each category and grade with the highest score wins! In the case of equal points, the quickest times will determine placings. Please note that points are deducted from your overall score for late returns.

Participants may return to the Event Centre area as often as they like, and do not have to stay out for the entire time allowed.

The event will be suitable for all ability levels (total beginners to experienced rogainers), with controls for less experienced orienteers (very near or visible from tracks and fences), and graduating to more developing orienteers, as well as red controls, which are designed for more experienced orienteers.

For the latest information, please check Counties Manukau Orienteering’s website (cmoc.co.nz), social media postings (facebook.com/cmorienteering), or contact us at [email protected] and we will be happy to point you in the right direction!

Event details

This year the event will be held at the iconic Tōtara Park in Manurewa. Here are the details:

  • Date: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
  • Location: Tōtara Park, Manurewa, Auckland (Wairere Road entrance)
  • Timing: Registration opens at 10am, Starts from 11am, expected completion time (after prizegiving) of 1pm

Embargo: Tōtara Park is embargoed from 10 April 2024 until 29 May for the purposes of orienteering, or orienteering skills training. Please note that this does not include the adjacent Auckland Botanic Gardens.

Entry details:

  • Secondary school students (Years 9 through 13) entries are to be completed online via College Sport’s EnterNow system.
  • Intermediate school students (Years 7 and 8) email details as per spreadsheet (2024 Rogaine Championship Entries) to Val Robinson, by the school’s Sports Coordinator or delegate.

Entry fees: $15 per individual, $30 per team of two. (SportIdents will be provided to all participants and hire fees are included in entry price.)

Entries close: Wednesday 22nd May 2024 at midnight

Entry category and grade details

The individual category is for experienced orienteers only. If you are inexperienced or new to orienteering you must run as part of a team, preferably with a more experienced orienteer. The event organisers retain the overall decision whether a competitor may compete as an individual or must be in a team.

Categories:

  • Individual boys/open (IB)
  • Individual girls (IG)
  • Teams of 2 boys/open (2B)
  • Teams of 2 girls (2G)

Age grades:

  • Senior – Year 12/13
  • Intermediate – Year 10/ 11
  • Junior – Year 9
  • Year 7/8

Mixed teams are permitted, however girls or nonbinary/agender runners in “mixed” teams with boys must enter the “boys/open” category. Pairs must stay together at all times.

Timing system: SportIdents (regular) will be supplied by the event organisers and allocated to all entries, one per team. SportIdent Air will not be turned on for this event. SportIdents will be available for pickup at Registration at 10am; please send one person (sports coordinator, teacher, or adult representative) from each school to pick these up to hand out to your students. These will be collected at the Finish.

Safety

  • Whistles: If injured or distressed, the recognised signal for assistance is a series of six short blasts on the whistle. Do not use your whistle unless it is an emergency. If competitors hear this signal, they are expected to render assistance. Please ensure at least 1 person remains with the distressed party, while others inform the event organisers (Controller – orange vest) and officials so that they can respond appropriately.
  • Roaming in-field coaches/safety staff: We will also have coaching and support staff (pink vests) in the field to assist as required, do not hesitate to ask them for support as required.

 On the day information

 Recommended equipment to bring:

  • Water/lunch/snacks – there will not be any shops or vendors on site.
  • Shoes with a grippy sole like sneakers/trainers (not school shoes!)
  • A compass (if required)
  • A whistle (optional, but recommended)
  • Raincoat or jacket
  • Change of clothes for afterwards, in case you get muddy/wet
  • A pen, felt, or highlighter to plan your course, and
  • A watch to ensure you return by the 90 minutes allocated

Driving directions:

  • From the North: From the Southern Motorway, take the Hill Road off-ramp. Turn left onto Hill Road. Go straight through the roundabout (still on Hill Road), then turn left onto Wairere Road and continue to the road end.
  • From the South: From the Southern Motorway, take the Takanini off-ramp and proceed towards Manurewa on Great South Road. At the traffic lights in the centre of Manurewa, turn right onto Hill Road. Follow Hill Road over the motorway, go straight through the roundabout (still on Hill Road), then turn left onto Wairere Road and continue to the road end.
  • Parking for private vehicles is available in the carpark on the right (89 Wairere Road, Totara Park, Auckland 2105); however, when full (this is a public carpark), please considerately use the surrounding streets, with the exception of Ysabel Crescent – which we recommend buses use as a drop-off and pick-up loop.

The Event Centre (Registration, bag drop, Start/Finish area) is adjacent to, and visible from the car park.

Event timetable:

  • 10am: Registration opens (and pickup of SportIdents)
  • 10.30am: Briefing by Start area
  • 10.40am: Maps distributed
  • 11am: Mass start
  • 12.30pm: Finish (all competitors must be in by 12.30pm)
  • 12.45pm: Prizegiving

Terrain notes: Moderate to steep farmland with areas of native bush, tracks, fences, and streams. Please check the Hazards Board at Registration on the day for any final updates.

Important course information:

  • There is work in progress in the Botanical Gardens (adjacent to Tōtara Park) and construction vehicles could pass through the area of the Gardens we are using. Please be aware of, and keep well clear of all vehicles.
  • Look out for other park users, especially mountain bikers on the tracks.
  • Cows are gentle, but keep away from them and do not drive them into paddock corners.
  • Cross fences at posts, and gates at the hinged end. Leave farm gates open or closed as you find them.
  • Single-strand temporary electric fences can be easily gone over or under. These will be on.
  • With the variable growth of recent plantings there can be patches of “difficult to run” among the “slow run” that are not shown on the map, and vice-versa.
  • Make sure you clear and check before you start.