Australian Orienteering has hit new heights, with the excitement of live GPS tracking and video being offered at an event in Australia for the very first time. Orienteering is often thought of as a non-spectator sport, but with the promise of improving technology, nothing could actually be further from the truth.

For those who have experienced major European events, you may have come across event arenas complete with large screens emanating from  semi-trailers, screens filled with images of runners in technical terrain, GPS tracks of embarrassing mistakes, and close-ups of concern growing over competitors faces. Combine this with real times updates of split times, the suspense of seconds splitting the leaders and expert commentary and you have the making of a thrilling spectator event. And it will all hit Australian Orienteering this year in October.

But wait there’s more, unlike most sports, orienteers get to go out and experience the same terrain, get a sense of the challenges and mistakes in the waiting, and for the those lucky enough, the taste of success in their own class.

Combine all this with some of the best orienteering ever offered in Australia with the prestige of an international event that only hits the nations once every four years and you have an event that you simply can’t miss. The event management extraordinaire Darren “Dazzler” Meeking and the wily cunning of master Warren Key as course setter won’t disappoint.

Don’t believe us? Well get the one up on your competitors and watch a preview of the superb terrain and listen to the master Warren Key tell you about it himself. He wouldn’t exaggerate would he?

Oceania Carnival 2011 – Middle Distance Orienteering Championships Preview (9 mins) from Darren Meeking on Vimeo.