Australian Challenge Formidable
ORIENTEERS MUST BE CAUTIOUS
By Our Orienteering Correspondent

New Zealand must approach the second Australasian orienteering championships against Australia tomorrow morning with caution. Complacency in any member of the team would only invite disaster.

For example, the reigning Australasian champion, the Swede A. Perrson, was not good enough to qualify for the Australian team this year. In fact, two other scoring members of the Australian combination which won the contest against New Zealand in Viectoria last year, T. Kerr and R. Frederick, although top orienteers also failed to make the Australian team. All of the New Zealand scoring combination, D. A. G. Pirie, R. M. Doherty, B. King, and P. Cunningham, are again in this year's team. C. Battley from last year and two newcomers, A. Nicholls and D. Townsend, complete the New Zealand line up.

Australia will field their national champion, S. Lantz, a Swede of outstanding ability. Only Pirle of the New Zealand team beat him in last year's international.

A. Tarr, 10th last year, has advanced to be the leading points scorer in his home state of Victoria and he is a very heady orienteer with more skill than most.

R. Harris, second in the Australian championships this year, is the complete outdoors man, a passionate canoeist who has conquered the notoriously rough Bass Straight and an Outward Bound instructor.

R. Dominish has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the sport, won one of the Australian selection trials and finished midfield in this year's world championships although only in his first orienteering year.

D. Hogg is an experienced bush walker and has been active in orienteering since 1969. A thinker, he does not make the mistake of too much haste when taking course bearings and as a result is always on target. This makes him a dangerous adversary.

I. Herbert is another in whom the Australians have a lot of faith and his performances in the two training races held this week reveal his ability to be above average.

T. Andrews, the team manager-runner, always rises to the occasion when the crunch comes, as proved by his remarkable victory in the Victorian championships last year when he ranked as the outsider.

New Zealand pin much hope on Pirie and Battley to win the first and second fastest times, as without any doubt they are the fastest in the field as runners.

Battley has developed an exceptionally keen sense for the sport and should, therefore not repeat his failure of last year.

Doherty has a very cool head - an invaluable quality in the strange bush - while Cunningham and Townsend possess considerable pace.

The New Zealand championships in senior, intermediate and novice divisions for men and women, open to all, will be held in conjunction with the international but will start later.

Waihou Forest, owned by Henderson and Pollard, will be the venue for tomorrow's race. The approach is off the Maraetai road just past the Beachlands turnoff.

New Zealand won the toss and decided to send Australia off first.

The starting order is:

Australia: T. Andrews, D Hogg, I. Herbert, R. Dominish, A. Tarr, S. Lantz, R. Harris.

New Zealand: A. Nicholls, R. C. King, D. Townsend, R. M. Doherty, P. Cunningham, C. Battley, D. A. G. Pirie.

The race starts at 10.30 am