Robertson Gets First Win

Tim Roberston has claimed his first STB 2014 win and in turn the yellow singlet at Stage 3 - Sacred Girls. In the terrain that Matt Ogden labelled as the best in NZ, Roberston held off all other challenges with an 18 second win over Ogden. This means that Robertson now has an 11 second lead in the overall competition. 

In the women's competition Greta Knarston showed her class again with an one minute plus victory over Alice Tilley. Kayla Fairburn rounded out the top 3.

Expect faster running at Stage 4 Hereworth this afternoon but mistakes still will be made and time will be lost. 

Knarston and Ogden win Stage 1

Yellow goes to Matt Ogden and Greta Knartson after Stage One at EIT. Both competitors had a great start to stb with fairly clean runs in the technically demanding terrain. This will be the first time either wear an STB yellow singlet. Second spot in the men's race went to Tim Robertson only 2 seconds behind Ogden with Jula McMillan taking second place in the women's 1.01 behind Knarston. Winsplits will be up shortly.

Ogden Does It Again

Matt Ogden is now two from two after another strong performance to win the Sprint the Bay knock out stage. Ogden once again was closely followed by Tim Robertson, just 5 seconds behind. Robertson and Ogden lead out early establishing a half minute lead before the first knock out section. Both runners showed that they were the all-round sprint orienteering package, mastering the fast open sections as well as the technical building areas.Third place was taken by Ogden's club mate Gene Beveridge with a well paced race to finish strongly, picking up two places in the last three controls. The women's field was spiced up a tad with the late inclusion of Amber Morrison to give this mornings winner Greta Knarston a work out. Knarston and Morrison, much like Ogden and Robertson, ran the most part of the course together until taking separate route choices on the second last control. Morrison picked the quicker route and powered home for a 5 second win over Knarston. Third spot was brought home by Czech runner Vendula Horicickova who adds another podium finish to her tally for the weekend, albeit 1.27 off the winning time. Tomorrow mornings racing sees competitors put to the test on the tricky school campuses of Napier Girls High School and Sacred Heart College. This will be a test for all runners, where a totally clean run will be a great achievement.

Sprint The Bay 2014 - O-Lynx Live TV with Results

O-Lynx and STB are stepping it up once again this year. Our live-stream from each stage will consist of 2-3 TV cameras from out in the terrain with an overlay of competitors times as they punch coupled with event commentary. This will provide extra spectator value with our big-screen's at the event and for online followers who didn't manage to make it to STB this year, via live-stream.

So if you want a bit of free orienteering entertainment - tune in!

Event times in Eastern Standard Time (note: NZ is 18 hours ahead of EST):
6th February (7th in NZ)
Stage 1 - EIT: 4.30pm (EST)
Stage 2 - Tamatea: 11.30pm
7th February (8th in NZ)
Stage 3 - Sacred Girls: 3.30pm
Stage 4 - Hereworth: 11.00pm
8th February (9th in NZ)
Stage 5 - Hikanui: 3.00pm
Stage 6 - Kopanga Ride: 8.00pm

Separate live results at http://o-lynxlive.com/

See our website for more info:
www.sprintthebay.org

Final Bulletin Out Now! Still Time to Order.

The bulletin has been released on the website. Just go to the home page and click the 2014 Bulletin link. If you like the look of it and want a commercially printed bulletin there is still time to order one (before midday today). Just fill out the order form here.

Start List Out Now

The start list for Stage 1 EIT is now available right here. The bulletin for all stages will be released some time later today so stay tuned for that update! It's still not too late to order a bulletin, just go to this order form before midnight.

Model Event and Registration

Once again STB will be holding a model event the night before competition proper begins. This year the registration and model event will be based from Icons Restaurant in Havelock North (same location as Stage 6, 2013). Here you can enjoy a free model map, order dinner or a drink in the garden bar, fix any entry issues and get in that most important pre race banter with other competitors. The model and registration will be open 6pm-8pm on Thursday 6th February 2014.

Duelling Dual, Knock Out, Reverse and Chasing Starts!

If you were after variation look no further than STB 2014. We are mixing up the way we arrange the start draw this year to keep things fresh. Here is a quick overview of how things will work, with more details to come in the bulletin. 

Stage 1- EIT "Duelling Dual": this start will involve two people from the same grade starting together. The course will be a pivot based loops race with a common last loop. 

Stage 2 - Tamatea "Knock Out": After all other grades have finished get ready to see some fast and furious elite orienteering action! For elite grades only, we will be holding STB's first knock out race! It will work a little different to the usual knock out races due to time constraints. Competitors will be mass started from the event centre. After around 8 minutes of racing the field will come through the event centre for a map change. At this point the first half of the field will get there second map. If you aren't fast enough to make the cut then unfortunately your race ends there! Then, after a further 4-5 minutes there will be another map change and another cull of the field. Once again you need to make sure you are in the right half of the field if you want to win the stage! From there its just 3-4 minutes back to the finish. All competitors will get an official time for this stage. Runners who make the final cut will get their actual time and those in the second and third cuts will be given a time relative to their deficit when they are knocked out. For example: A.Runner is knocked out in the second cut. He was 32 seconds behind making the final loop. His time is then calculated as the last place in the final plus 32 seconds. 

Stage 5 - Hikanui "Reverse Start": Usual STB stages start with the leader of each grade starting last. For this stage though we will mix it up - The leader of each grade will start first. This will also be one of the toughest STB stages so watch out for some big changes in the results! 

Stage 6 - Kopanga Ride "Chasing Start": For elite grades only we will have a chasing start based off the overall standings. The bulletin will be released on Tuesday 4th February with key race information within.

GoPro Video from Tue Lassen's STB 2013 Stage 4 race at Napier Central

Post by Sprint the Bay.

Dirty D Sprint The Bay 2014 - Welcome! Hawkes Bay | New Zealand

That's right folks, once again it's on! From the 7-9th of February 2014 (Waitangi weekend) you're all invited to 3 days of awesome sprint races against on high quality sprint maps at the event that just keeps getting bigger and better each year! As always there will be some great new areas and of course you'll see some of the classics brought back with a full makeover!

Check out our website for entertainment, event info and more at: http://www.sprintthebay.org 

Entry is already open - early-bird entry closes at 11.59pm on the 30th of September 2013 - so get amongst it people!

Check out our 2014 promo video to remind yourselves why you're coming ;)

Bulletin and Start List Out Now!

The Sprint the Bay 2013 online bulletin is out now. This has all the important race info for every stage. For those that ordered a printed magazine bulletin they will be available for payment and collection at the registration and model event this Monday between 4pm and 7pm (compulsory for all competitors to attend). There is also a start list for the first stage available online - for those who ordered a printed bulletin this is included. See you all on Monday, we hope you are all just as excited as we are!

Important Event Info

In 2013 we will be holding an event registration the day before the first stage. The registration will be held at STB HQ - 24 Tauroa Road Havelock North. We ask all competitors to attend any time between 4pm and 7pm. Here you can pay, collect race packs, pick up hire SI and get your bulletin (if ordered). We also will be holding a free model event at this time starting from STB HQ. Registration will be poolside so bring your togs if you fancy a dip. Event Bulletins can now be ordered here for $5 thanks to our awesome sponsors Copyplus. The bulletin will be in a facing page magazine/booklet format with all the important information that you will need. We highly recommend that each family or group has at least one of these bulletins. Also there will be a PDF version of this available on the website shortly. You will be able to collect and pay for these on STB registration day. Start lists for the first stage will also be available shortly, these will be published on the website. Keep checking our Facebook, Twitter or News Feed for further announcements.

Entries Close This Wednesday

Entries for Sprint the Bay 2013 close this Wednesday (19th December). We already have as many entrants as last year so with entries still open for a few more days we expect the largest STB ever! We have some big names, great terrain and exciting courses ready for the 2013 edition so get that entry in for a guaranteed great time. This years Sprint the Bay follows immediately after the final World Cup race in Hawkes Bay. We have grades and courses suitable for just about everyone, Schools, Elite, Hill Climb or Sprint - you choose! For information about STB 2013 click here. For the entry form click here.

The World Class Athletes Keep On Coming

World Champ Minna Kauppi(ranked second in the world) leads a group of classy Finnish nationals that have confirmed they will be racing at the 2013 Sprint the Bay. Kauppi, along with Tuomo Mäkelä, Venla Niemi and Anni-Maija Fincke begin their quest for yellow at Hawkes Bay's Woodford House on January the 15th. The World Ranking Event kicks off the 4th edition of the tour which this year will boast the best elite field in its history. Kauppi, the world middle distance champion will be the highest ranked women in the field. The sole male of the foursome Mäkelä will also be one to watch. His 6th place finish at WOC in Switzerland this year makes him one of the favourites to take out the male category. Niemi and Maija Fincke have also made the podium at WOC in the past two years, both of which in the sprint discipline.

Hubmann Enters Sprint the Bay

Sprint the Bay's elite grade has been strengthened further by the entry of Swiss star Martin Hubmann. Current European relay champ Hubmann will compete in his second Sprint the Bay after attending the inaugural tour back in 2010. The classy sprinter will be hoping for better fortunes this time round after mis-punching on stage 5 whilst leading the tour. The Swiss national is in New Zealand for the World Cup Races at the beginning of January but says he is looking forward to another shot at the yellow singlet. "I am very excited to see the progress you made in organizing STB. With maps, sponsors, size of event etc". Hubmann is coming off a strong European summer season with a victory in the sprint at World University Championships and a 5th placed finish at the Post Finance World Cup Sprint in Switzerland. His sprint pedigree speaks for itself, he will definitely be one to watch this tour!

Raiseys are on-board for 2013!

The awesome team at Raisey's Original Sports Nutrition have come on-board again for Sprint the Bay 2013! These guys have great products for just about anything you need - Hydrate, Anti-Cramp, Energy Gel and heaps more! Check out their website and like their Facebook page for updates and info.

Stage 5 Sneak Peek!

Check out this short clip from the spectator viewpoint for Stage 5 at our new map 'The Slip'. Also, we'd just like to remind everyone that entries now close on the 19th of December, so enter now!

Entry Info: http://www.sprintthebay.org/entry/entryinfo.html

Entry Form: http://www.sprintthebay.org/entry/entryform.html

Nifty New News Feed

As you will have probably noticed just by reading this, STB now has a nice nifty new news feed. The latest and most important news updates will now appear on the STB homepage. If you like, you can subscribe to STB news updates via Atom or RSS - your choice!

Stage 5 - Mass Start!

BREAKING NEWS - Dirty D Sprint the Bay 2013 Stage 5 at a new map "The Slip" is now confirmed as the mass start stage for this summers tour. The elite grades will be started in waves of limited size so make sure you are in a good overall position before the mountain stage - that is if you want to catch a filthy tow from the top guys ;) Look out for more info soon on the STB event info page. Get excited people! :)

Junior World Champ - Race Analysis with Matt Ogden

This is basically a step by step guide on how to win JWOC. Matt has made a complete breakdown of his middle distance race so that he can share his great experience with everyone. It makes for an exciting and emotional read. See the article here. Enjoy! :)