Queensland conducts an annual Orienteer of the Year (OY) competition for Queensland resident members with nine to eleven designated events held during the year where competitors can gain points from their performances, with their best five results counting towards an overall total. These events aim to be conducted to a high technical standard and are generally held on maps that offer competitive challenges. A handicap system operates to establish the best results across all courses, ages and sex. There is a formula which has weighting for all of these factors, which is applied to a competitor's time to give them points out of a possible 200, depending on how far behind the winner they are. Competitors can choose to do any course they wish to depending on their level of fitness and ability at the time of the event.

Perpetual awards currently made for the:

  1. Best Junior (20 years and younger) **Prior to 2022 Juniors for OY Points calculations were 18 years and younger
  2. Best Male
  3. Best Female

There are 8 non-perpetual trophies given to the male and female in each category:

  1. Junior  (20 years and younger) - **Prior to 2022 Juniors for OY Points calculations were 18 years and younger
  2. Senior (21-34)
  3. Veteran (over 35's)
  4. Super veteran (over 60)

Two encouragement awards are made to the most improved scores from those who have not won another category and up to six awards are made for the best OY Performances for the Moderate, Easy and Very Easy classes.

Most Improved calculations are based on best season score (minimum five events) from the past five seasons.

Organisers are enttiled to points for up to two events per year. Calculation is based on average of up to best five scores for the current season excluding any zero scores.

Guidelines for OY results publication:
Cumulative points will be published after OY 6.
Individual results for OY 7 and OY 8 will be published.
Following these events, only the person who earned 200 points will be published; as well as
the first, second and third placings - without points.
This will help build suspense prior to the presentation to winners.

 

Current and past Orienteer of the Year results

So let's get technical on how the formula works...

The formula calculates an effective kilometre rate based on the following:

Below are more details on each factor:

Age and Gender Factor

The age and gender factor is based on the following table:

Age Male Female
<10 1.65 2.21
11-12 1.51 1.99
13-14 1.42 1.81
15-16 1.28 1.64
17-18 1.18 1.51
19-20 1.09 1.39
21-34 1.00 1.28
35-39 1.13 1.44
40-44 1.20 1.53
45-49 1.27 1.62
50-54 1.35 1.72
55-59 1.44 1.83
60-64 1.53 1.95
65-69 1.62 2.07
70-74 1.82 2.20
75-79 1.92 2.33
80+ 2.05 2.46

A higher age/gender factor leads to a better result.

Course Factor

Course factors are weighted so that the longer/harder your course, then the more favourable the weighting.

The calculation begins with allocating a factor of 1.0 to the longest Hard course (H1).

The next Hard course (H2) is weighted according to

Factor(H2) = Factor(H1) + [Length(H1) - Length(H2)] / Length(H1) / 10

Course Hard 3 is calculated in the same way from course Hard 2, etc.

The longest Moderate course (M1) is weighted based on the nearest longer Hard course (H) according to

Factor(M1) = [Factor(H) + 0.03] + 4/3 * [Length(H) - Length(M1)] / Length(H) / 10

Further Moderate courses are weighted as

Factor(M2) = Factor(M1) + 4/3 * [Length(M1) - Length(M2)] / Length(M1) / 10

Easy courses are weighted at 2.0 and Very Easy courses are weighted at 2.5.

A lower course factor leads to a better result.

Putting it all together

Each competitor's effective kilometre rate is calculated as

Rate (effective) = Course time / Course length * Course Factor / Age Factor

The competitor with the minimum effective kilometre rate is given 200 OY points.

All other scores are calculated according to

Score = 200 - 100 * (Competitor effective km rate - Minimum effective km rate) / Minimum effective km rate

Competitors scoring less than 40 points are awarded 40 points while all mp/dnf competitors score zero.

Organisers who are unable to compete are awarded an average score based on all their other events for the season.

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