45th Katoa Po Night Relay - 8/9 March 2025

---

Event Info

Entry Deadline - Sunday, 2nd March 11:59pm
Individuals enter the event online via entero (choosing their preferred leg). The club captains will make up teams, according to the eligibility criteria below.

Hand in of team lists Deadline Saturday, 8th March 6:00pm

• enquiries to entries@taupoorienteering.nz

Courses - see below.

Entry fees per team

• 5 person team       $175
• 5 all juniors team   $135  (born 2005 or later)

What - The premier night orienteering competition in New Zealand. This night relay for 5 person teams runs deep into the night. The relay starts about dusk with a mass start for the white course. It progresses to harder and longer courses.

The Terrain - The event is partly on the Hoanga map (last used for Katoa Po in 2021) which has been expanded substantially to include a large part of the neighbouring Ngahiwi farm. It has areas of farm with rolling hills, small stands of trees, rocky outcrops and a beautiful piece of native forest with some very large old native trees.

Eligibility - The criteria have been loosened to allow more flexibility of leg choice and more exiting racing

Course	Grade restrictions	Difficulty	Estimated Winning Times
Leg 1		14 and under or 70 and over		White	15 minutes, median time 25 minutes
Leg 2	18 and under or 50 and over	Yellow	22 minutes, median time 35 minutes
Leg 3	20 and under or 35 and over	Orange	35 minutes
Leg 4	Open	Red	50 minutes
Leg 5	Open	Red	60 minutes

• Exemptions to the above rules will be considered on their merits by the controller. The essential essence of the competition is fairness. The controller will use this as the guiding principle for determining if nominally ineligible runners can drop down a leg.

Special Rules -

• Every team finishes, so there are no DSQs.
• A missed punch incurs a time penalty of the slowest time for that leg plus 15 minutes.
• DNF's are the slowest time for that leg (when all the other penalties are added in) plus a 15 minute penalty. Placing's are determined solely by time, including penalties.
• Deliberate manipulation of the rules can incur additional penalties at the discretion of the controller.
• The relay is designed for teams of five from individual orienteering clubs. Composite and family teams, and teams with less than five members may only enter at the discretion of organisers, and will not be eligible for team trophies.

SPORTident - To allow for smooth organization and cater for the inevitable last minute changes all teams will be issued with a set of SI cards allocated to each leg.
It is imperative that these cards are given to the appropriate leg.

Camping Facilities

Access via a farm road that should be suitable for most vehicles in most conditions.
There will be a flattish grassy area for parking/camping, with great views and Portaloos.
Bring your own water (some water will be available for competitor hydration).
No fires or pets allowed.

Event Location

- Jay Road is West off SH5 half way between Taupo and Rotorua (approx 40km)
- After 2.8km - turn on to farm road to Event Centre
- Event centre is approximately 1.6km up the farm road