Orienteering Champs at Koojarewon

Orienteering Champs at Koojarewon

124 students from 44 Queensland schools raced around the Koojarewon Youth Camp in July, as part of the Sprint Event in the 2026 Queensland Schools Orienteering Championships. The students, aged 8 to 18, were joined by two young orienteers visiting from Hungary, making the State Champs an international event.

There was no time to take in the breathtaking view from the camp entrance, as the students checked the map to run the shortest possible route between checkpoints.

Toowoomba Mayor Geoff McDonald joined in the fun, as the Darling Downs team captains guided him for a taste of orienteering, before he presented the Sprint medals to place-getters in each age class.

Orienteering is an outdoor navigation sport that builds not only physical fitness but independence, resilience and problem-solving skills, by requiring participants to make decisions on the go, learn from navigation mistakes in real-time, and adapt to unfamiliar environments.

In addition to the Sprint, the students competed in a Mass Start (at Perseverance Dam) and a Long Distance race (at cattle property ‘Jericho’, near Crows Nest). Points were calculated, and this year Taroom State School claimed the trophy for Champion School, the first time it has gone to a school in the Western Downs region, while Darling Downs claimed the regional trophy.

In the coming days, a 20 member Queensland Schools Orienteering Team will be selected to compete at the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships in Canberra in September.

Orienteering Queensland is immensely grateful to the Lutheran Church of Australia for hosting the event at Koojarewon Youth Camp.

Images: Part of the Senior Boys course at KYC; photos of students from different age classes competing at Koojarewon.