Ed Cory Wright: Orienteering Commentator and Competitor on the New Zealand Orienteering Champs

The New Zealand Orienteering Champs, also known as the Nationals, is the top orienteering event in NZ.  

Competitors of all ages go for national titles in various categories. It’s a high-quality event with great maps and courses suited for everyone from beginners to the competitive.  

Three new areas have been mapped for Nationals 2025, only the relay and knockout sprint are on existing maps. 

Commentator and competitor Ed Corey Wright joined D'Arcy Waldegrave to discuss the ins and outs of orienteering.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Waldgrave from News Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
So we're going to adjust our focus to the little
known sport of orienteering. We did it at school right now,
it's a much bigger pastime sport than I expected. The
New Zealand Orientary National Championships on now and not to
take christ Church and we go to competitor and commentator

(00:34):
in the space, Ed Corey right about the fun and games.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
Good morning, Ed morning, you doing I'm doing well? Your
weekend is it's supposed to be a weekend off, matey.
It's supposed to be enjoying eggs and hot cross barns
and your relations and all that stuff. But are know
you're commentating in the New Zealand Orienteering Champs. Big day
today it's the middle event and then the long version
coming up tomorrow after the sprint yesterday. You won't stop, mate,

(01:03):
You're okay?

Speaker 4 (01:04):
Yeah, a jam back there the weekend. Yeah happens, happens
every every year for the last gosh how many years
I've been doing this, But yeah, it's excited for the
middle of Since today, could you took.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Us through the formats and now it actually operates for
the middle and the long distance.

Speaker 4 (01:20):
Versions absolutely, so yeah, it's an individual sport and with
like the middle distance today the Elites which is the
open grade. So anyone over the age of the age
of twenty one who's looking to do really well, it's about.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
I'm going to stop you right there.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
I thought it was teams place.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Is it just individual?

Speaker 3 (01:36):
No, No, it's individual.

Speaker 4 (01:38):
There is a relay at the end. The relays on
on Easter Monday, right, but yeah, the middle and long
today and tomorrow are both individual racis okay.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
So the difference between the middle and the long what
is it? Plainly it's distance. Yeah, So what are we
looking out for today? What are we looking at tomorrow?

Speaker 4 (01:53):
Yeah? So today specifically, the map is a sand dune map,
so it's pine Pine for us on on the coast
of north of krash at Waikuku Beach, really detailed, intricate,
intricate terrain, fast and very tri tricky navigationally, and then
tomorrow the long is on Mount cass just for the
north of christ Church, a little bit more sort of
steep spur gully and then mostly open for that race.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
So talk us through the process. If you're involved, How
does it start, what do you have to do? What
represents the best way to finish? First? Just talk to
us about that aid.

Speaker 4 (02:28):
Yes, as a competitor, I guess physical fitness is pretty important.
It's probably one of the most things, and then most
important things, and then being able to read a map
is at the core of orientering. But yeah, how I
prepare for a race from coming up to a weekend
or or something like that, making sure I'm fat, things
like that, knowing my start time, coming up to the start,

(02:51):
picking my map up, figuring out where I am on
the map, which is designated by a triangle on the map,
and then finding number one onto number two, number three,
all the checkpoints, getting them in order, and doing as
fast as I can is basically the way to win.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
So it's just using a map. You're just reading a map.
You've not got you know, compass, satellite technology you.

Speaker 4 (03:14):
Do, Satellite technology you do? Yeah, So just a mapping
a compass, that is it.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
So when you get to your mark point and then
is there information there about where your next mark point is?

Speaker 4 (03:25):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (03:26):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (03:26):
So another thing, another thing you're caring is what's called
a sport idem, which is essentially an electronic timing chip.
And when you get to the checkpoints, that's first first checkpoint,
we call them controls. First control you basically just put
this electronic market in the hole on the top of
the box and that's that. A beeps and you've you
have gone to that checkpoint, and then you carry on

(03:48):
to the next one. And is that at every every
tech point.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
So the long distance race is how long, the mid
distance is how long?

Speaker 4 (03:55):
So the middlestin today is four and a half k
for the elite men and four point one k for
the elite woman. So looking at about a thirty five
minute win time, is that all? Yeah? Pretty sure? Short
and fast? Why then the wind margint the win margins
can be anything from sort of twenty seconds to maybe
two minutes in the middle, but the long's a little
bit a little bit bigger differces gaps between between the winners.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
So how long we're looking at there?

Speaker 4 (04:16):
I think that yeah, the long to long race for
the men is ten point eight k with crucially five
hundred metes climb, which makes things a bit but brutal
looking at one time, with about nineteen minutes, I think
the winner we'll do tomorrow and the woman. I think
it is eight point one with four hundred mites clim
I don't know what to make of wiments.

Speaker 2 (04:35):
What's worse running through sand or running up hills.

Speaker 4 (04:40):
It's definitely a simitar spot for an interesting type of person,
isn't it. Yeah? I mean it can be brutal. I
would say the Long. The Long is much more physical
intensive than the middle saw. That speed all about nailing
the navigation, not making any mistakes, not losing time. The
Long is more of an ensurance race.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
Where's the strength of orienteering in New Zealand? Do is it? Sidered?
A particular center is.

Speaker 4 (05:04):
Pretty big in Auckland. There's quite a strong hold in
christ Church, especially amongst the universities like the University of
Canterbury have their own orienteering club and it's thriving. Yeah,
it's really, really, really big down there at the moment,
and these guys are sort of going off to Junior
World Champs and World Champs later on as well. But yes,
for across the whole country. One of the main things
I guess is is having good maps near having good

(05:25):
areas that are interesting maps to Auckland. You've got Woodhill
Woodhill Forest, which is huge and a very very popular
spot for orienteering. Christ Church have the coastal stuff up
north and also further inland near the likes of Castle
Village and things like that.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
And Ed Corey right, if people want to follow this,
where do they go?

Speaker 4 (05:44):
HiT's Orienteering dot or got envied and there's all the
information about the events there.

Speaker 2 (05:49):
Crager, thank you very much. You'm a wonderful rest of
your weekend. Eight minutes away from eight that's the New
Zealand Orienteering National Championship short yesterday, mid today, long tomorrow,
all and around the Canterbury region.

Speaker 1 (06:07):
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