Australian Schools Orienteering Championships

A brief history

Initially, the Victorian Schools Championships were also designated the Australian Schools Championships. (I do not know if this was with OFA endorsement or not). Interstate participation was extremely limited in the early years, although South Australia started sending teams in the early 1980's, and the ACT also sent a team in 1984.

The competition was held outside Victoria for the first time in 1985, when it took place in South Australia, and the 1986 event in the ACT was the first which could be said to have a reasonably representative national field.

Until 1988 the event was open to all who wished to compete, and was a single-day individual event. In general single-year age classes were used, with B (and sometimes C) classes offered, as well as classes for teachers and tertiary students (although the latter was not recognised as an intervarsity championship).

There was a major change to the structure in 1989. The event became one for members of representative state teams and was brought under the auspices of the Australian School Sports Council. There was an individual and relay event. States were able to select teams of four in each of four classes: junior (up to 15) and senior (over 16) boys and girls. Under ASSC rules, only states which recognised orienteering as an official school sport were able to compete officially. As a result, New South Wales did not compete until 1994, and Victoria until 1990. Tasmania was also ineligible to compete between 1991 and 1993, because of Tasmania's withdrawal from ASSC as a whole (Tasmania and Western Australia missed other years because of travel difficulties). The event's relationship with ASSC changed slightly in 1994 and as a result all states have been able to participate from 1994 onwards. A New Zealand team also competed in 1996, although they were not included in the final pointscore.

Results from all years since the event began in its present form in 1989 are given below, as well as results from 1986 and 1987. If anyone has results from 1988 or 1983 and earlier please let me know (I have the 1984 and 1985 results but haven't posted them yet).

Winning state teams since 1989

1989		ACT
1990		South Australia
1991		ACT and Queensland (equal)
1992		ACT
1993		ACT 
1994		New South Wales
1995		New South Wales
1996		New South Wales
1997		New South Wales
1998		New South Wales
(As an indication of the strength of the ACT team of the early 1990's, 12 of the 14 members of the 1991 team have subsequently represented Australia at junior or senior level).

Teams for 1997 Championships (with profiles for some teams).

Results