Here is a roundup of rogaining news within Australia and overseas:

2026 Australasian Rogaining Championships - Entries are Open and New Website is Launched

The organising team for this year's Australasian Rogaining Championships is excited to announce that entries are open and the new website has been launched:

qldrogaine.asn.au/arc2026/

The course for the 24-Severn Australasian Rogaining Championships will be set by the highly experienced team of Tim McIntyre and Paul Frylink. The event area spans open sheepgrazing country and parts of Sundown National Park near Nundubbermere, approximately 30 minutes from Stanthorpe. Teams can expect a mix of terrain, with hills offering impressive views alongside flatter, gently undulating sheep country for those who prefer it. Route choices may include crossings of the Severn River. The course will provide excellent navigational challenges while remaining enjoyable and accessible for teams of all levels of fitness and experience.

Visit the website for more information and entry: qldrogaine.asn.au/arc2026/ Remember - the Australasian Championships are open to all levels of rogainer so please distribute this news widely and encourage all of your club members to start planning now to visit sunny South East Queensland in August. By then you will all need a break from your cold southern winters!

2026 Intervarsity Rogaining Championships

The 2026 Intervarsity Rogaining Championships will be held in conjunction with the Australasian Rogaining Championships.To participate in an Australian Intervarsity Rogaining Championship, students must be enrolled at a tertiary education institution recognised by UniSport Australia.Teams consist of 2-5 students from the same university. Both part-time and full-time students are eligible. There is no age restriction, ie. under-graduate, mature age and post-graduate students qualify.

Free travel to the event is available for one representative university team from each state/territory. State/Territory Rogaining Associations are responsible for determining their own selection criteria for the travel subsidies, which are paid in cash to each team. Please advertise this opportunity widely within your membership and start your selection process.

2027 World Rogaining Championships - Flinders Ranges September 2027

Bulletin 1 is now available!

The website for the 2027 World Rogaining Championships, which will be held in the Flinders Ranges in September 2027, has now been updated with a wealth of information on the event in the first of the official information bulletins - Bulletin 1. Check it out!

Our Facebook page will also be regularly updated with information on what to expect at the event and the entry process, and if you haven't yet seen the stunning promotional video, check it out now and share it with your rogaining friends and club members!

If you have any questions about the event or you would like to volunteer to help at/before the event you can get in touch with the team via the website: https://wrc2027.rogaining.au/#contact

International Rogaining News

IRF President Julie Quinn has produced an excellent newsletter highlighting all the interesting developments in rogaining across the globe:

https://rogaining.org/irf-newsletters/372-newsletter-march-2026

There is also a roundup of recent news on the IRF website: https://rogaining.com/latest-news

Australian Rogaining

The national rogaining calendar is at rogaine.asn.au/events

Check out the recent bulletins from each of the states/territories for all the exciting happenings:
VRA: planning for the 50th Anniversary of Rogaining is underway!
NSWRA: new committee and lots of events happening
ACTRA: lots of events happening and intervarsity planning
QRA: working hard on organising the Australasian Champs this year!
WARA: volunteer lunch and AGM, and equipment for sale
SARA: upcoming events and the annual cactus cull
RTas: planning for events including the 2027 ARC in April 2027
NTRA: recent metrogaine and upcoming minigaine and AGM

Please spread the word about all the great things happening in the rogaining world. I'll look forward to seeing you at an event soon!

Cheers, Paul

Paul Guard
ARA President

About the Intervarsity Championships

To participate in an Australian Intervarsity Rogaining Championships, students must be enrolled at a tertiary education institution recognised by UniSport Australia.

Teams consist of 2-5 students from the same university. Both part-time and full-time students are eligible. There is no age restriction, ie. under-graduate, mature age and post-graduate students qualify.

The Intervarsity rogaining competition began in 1969 and from 1981 was coordinated by the Australian Rogaining Association.

Travel bursaries are available to cover the travel costs of one team from each state/territory to compete at the Intervarsity Rogaining Championships.

The Nigel Aylott Memorial Sports Foundation (NAMSF) sponsored the re-establishment of the Intervarsity competition in 2007. The NAMSF provided a perpetual trophy for the winning Intervarsity team named ‘The Nigel Aylott trophy’. For many years the Foundation paid the travel costs for one university team from each state so that there can be a well-represented national competition. The Foundation left a generous legacy to the Australian Rogaining Association to enable continuation of this support.

State Rogaining Associations are responsible for determining their own selection criteria for the travel bursaries (ie. a single qualifying event, or a cumulative point score from multiple events, whether 24 hour or shorter qualifying events). However, for the purposes of the subsidy, preference must be given to under-graduate full time students.

Entrants should contact their state rogaining association as soon as possible for details about their selection process for the state representative team.

Nigel Aylott Memorial Sports Foundation

The Nigel Aylott Memorial Sports Foundation was set up in memory of Nigel Aylott to encourage engagement in the outdoor sports of rogaining and adventure racing. The Foundation left the Australian Rogaining Association a generous donation to enable us to continue the valuable work of the NAMSF in the promotion and development of youth participation in rogaining.

Who was Nigel Aylott

Nigel Aylott showed some talent as a long-distance runner at school but at university got into the full range of outdoor activities available through the Monash BushWalking Club, which included skiing, kayaking, and rogaining. As his endurance and navigation skill developed, so did his success at rogaining, eventually winning the World Rogaining Championships in 1998 and the Australian Rogaining Championships in 2000 and 2001.

As adventure racing developed, Nigel saw it as the natural progression from long-distance running and rogaining. He loved experiencing the different locations in which the adventure races were set. Nigel competed in several Southern Traverse and EcoChallenge events before teaming up with Tom Landon-Smith, Alina McMaster, and Matt Dalziel to form the successful team AROC. Nigel was tragically killed in the 2004 Primal Quest race after being hit by a large boulder dislodged at the top of a gully.

Nigel was highly regarded in the community and friends encouraged Nigel’s family to set up the foundation to leave a legacy by supporting the sports Nigel loved and gave so much to.

The Next Championships

The 2026 Australian Intervarsity Rogaining Championships will be held in conjunction with the Australasian Rogaining Championships on 29-30 August. Travel bursaries are available for university students - contact your State/Territory rogaining association to apply.