Final Wrap for Taiwan

Well, the World Games in Taiwan is over and the South African orienteers are already back home. The remainder of Team S.A. is still in Kaohsiung, with the Rugby-7s boys still S.A.'s big hope for a Gold medal. Go Bokke! Further medal hopes lie with the Waterskiing team.

Pic: Taiwanese artistic design

Back to Orienteering, the WG Relay was won comfortably by the Russians after a nightmarish last leg from Sweden. Finland and Norway took silver and bronze, just edging out Australia into 4th place. Once again the weather was incredibly hot and humid, causing some concern as various runners collapsed over the hand-over line at the end of their legs. Performances seemed to be muted as various runners battled to overcome the strain of competing in these tough conditions in the previous two days. World Games organisers may well consider putting in a rest day between the Middle and Relay races, particularly in countries that will present such tough weather conditions.

The World Games proved to be a special experience for both of the South African competitors. It was also a superb gauge of their current abilities. Tania produced the best performances, far outstripping expectations and putting down two of the best senior performances from any South African female orienteer at International level. Her improved ability was certainly in part due to help from the SA Orienteering Federation, SASCOC and the National Lottery which had given both athletes funding that has allowed them to improve their training. One of the most important aspects to this was various tests that was done at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria, which produced results that allowed Tania to modify her training for better results. The success of this is very evident. Nicholas also managed to produce some decent results, with the better one coming in the middle distance. A big gap still exists however between the South African results and the top / middle of the field. This gap was strongly emphasized in Taiwan, where the reduced overall number of orienteers in the field makes it much more difficult for weaker nations to produce positive results. Both competitors however walk away with a much greater awareness of where they are and where they are going in the sport.

Pic: Nicholas, Tania and Sarah (CAN) waiting at a very artistic bus-stop in Kaohsiung

To the future, the host of the 2013 World Games has just been announced as Columbia. This means that the conditions, maps and terrain will probably be fairly similar to those experienced in Taiwan. i.e. the races will take place in parks and semi-urban settings, with warm and humid conditions once again prevalent. the World Games will thus once again take on a slightly different aspect than those of JWOC or WOC, with a strong focus on fast, sprint type orienteering. With the current crop of S.A. junior orienteers making their way through the ranks, it is probable, and indeed preferable, that these juniors will contest for the slots allocated to Africa at the 2013 World Games. It would be great to see a young team of 2 men and 2 women competing in the Relay event four years from now. The experience gained and lessons learnt by Tania, Nicholas and Ian will go a long way to making that possible.

Pic: Hong Kong city viewed from The Peak (great tram ride up here!)

Finally, the team enjoyed a stop over in Hong Kong on their way back home to South Africa. What an incredible city! It was also a great to compare two totally different East Asian cities. Hong Kong's skyscraper skyline even puts New York to shame!

Pic: The skyline of Hong Kong from the water's edge at the Ferry Terminal

One final note has to go to Taiwan for their love of fireworks. We watched 3 'official' firework displays down at True Love Pier. They took place each night. However, there were also plenty of impromptu fireworks displays on the streets. These normally involved roving 'gangs' of entertainers that would summarily close down various sections of streets and start a firework display without warning, leaving pedestrians and drivers diving for cover. Ian managed to get some great footage of one of these episodes.

Pic: Impromptu fireworks display on the streets of Kaohsiung

That's it for the World Games. The next focus for the SA National Team will be the World Champs in Miskolc, Hungary. The team comprises of Nicholas Mulder, Cobus Van Zyl and Eugene Botha. Unfortunately, no ladies took their places in this year's WOC team. Pieter Mulder is the team manager. Cobus is currently competing at the Swedish O-Ringen, whilst Nicholas will compete in the Swiss 6-Day prior to WOC. The team will then arrive 1 week early for a final training camp in Miskolc before the Champs get under way from 16 - 23 August 2009.

Will keep you updated!