Promising Raumar junior Vilde Kinneberg has won the very competitive Women’s B class at the 2011 Australian Xmas 5-Days Orienteering Carnival. Vilde competed in 5 different race formats in 5 days – sprint, middle distance, long distance, mass start and then a pairs loops event
. Her consistency was remarkable
. Vilde handled the challenging terrain around Newcastle, NSW, like someone who has been living and training in Newcastle for years. Apart from winning the overall competition for Women’s B class, coming 1^st in the day 4 mass start race was another highlight
for her. Vilde is really loving her time in Australia, and has said that she would like to come back to Australia and do some University study in the future. She loves the weather, and she really likes the friendly Aussies that she has been meeting and spending time with.

Aslak Kinneberg has also been competing in the Xmas 5-Days competition, running in the very demanding Men’s B class. Aslak’s wife Lene has said that he looks very tanned and fit at the moment and that must be why he has completed all 5 races in impressive fashion – the first 5 day event he has completed in many years. Aslak has enjoyed the Orienteering terrain around Newcastle during this competition, but also says he needs a good massage now to help him recover. Aslak has impressed many at the event with his ability to complete 5 races without using a compass – quite remarkable, especially in the terrain encountered during the day 4 mass start race.

Lene Kinneberg has enjoyed racing against her daughter in the Women’s B class. A troublesome knee problem has been an issue for her during the competition, and she had to rest from the long distance course on day 3
. Lene has found the terrain much trickier than she expected, but has looked very much at home in the forests around Newcastle . She has also enjoyed the atmosphere of the
competition each day. Racing has started at 8:00am in the morning, and competitors have been driving home on most days by 11:00am. Lene has enjoyed the chance to relax and recover each day of the competition – swimming, sun tanning at the beach, visiting Norwegian friends Bjorn and Thor Mella and families and shopping are favourites.

Full results for the 2011 Xmas 5 Days event, split times for each course each day, and the chance to view maps and courses on Route Gadget can be accessed through http://www.nsw.orienteering.asn.au/.

The Australian Xmas 5-Days event will be held around the small town of Beechworth, not far from the Victorian – NSW border in 2012
. Competition will be in high quality granite and gold mining terrain. With a World Cup event in New Zealand at the start of January 2013, some Norwegians might like to escape the cold winter and try an Orienteering experience ‘down under’. Aslak, Lene and Vilde would be happy to provide you with contact details for your Raumar friends in Newcastle if you would like to train and compete in our next Australian Summer.

Now it is time for more relaxation and holidaying for the Kinneberg family again. They will visit Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains of NSW, travel to the Australian Capital city of Canberra and walk to Australia’s highest peak in the Snowy Mountains in the next few days, before relaxing in Sydney prior to flying home to Norway on January 10.

It has been fantastic to have Aslak, Lene and Vilde staying with us here in Maitland, and we one day hope to travel to Norway and experience your beautiful country and your challenging Orienteering terrain. We also hope to meet some of the special friends that our son Josh has made when spending time with the Raumar Club in 2010 and 2011.

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to you all.

Russell, Karen and Nicola Blatchford

Vilde and Nicola after day 3

Fit and tanned Aslak and satisfied Vilde after beating her mother