Dents, Big Foot clean up at Xmas 5-Days
- Last Updated: Monday, 07 January 2019 12:33
Canberra's Dent family and the locals from Big Foot emerged triumphant after five warm days at the Xmas 5-days carnival, held this year in Sydney on urban maps.
Martin Dent is an Olympic marathoner (he retired in 2014) now making big inroads (pardon the pun) in orienteering. He won four of the five days in Men A, finishing second on day four at Manly to visiting Finn Topi Syrjalainen.
Wife Kathie won Women A with three firsts and two seconds, while eldest child Elye won Men E on Moderate courses - securing victory over Bennelong's Curtis Pepper with victory on the final morning at Sydney Uni.
Competitors faced steamy conditions, with temps often already in the high 20s for the 9am starts - after a stunning scenic opener around Kirribilli as part of the Sydney Summer Series.
For many, the highlight was the new map at ICMS Manly, formerly St Patricks Seminary (see top pic). There were views to Manly Beach (lower pic) and from St Pauls Schools where we assembled across to the city.
Big Foot had four class winners; Garingal, Goldseekers and Illawarra Kareelah one each, while the Combined Easy class was won by Miles Bryant from Queensland.
Congratulations to our overall class winners:
Men A: Martin Dent (ACT), Men B: Greg Barbour (BF), Men C: Hamish Mackie (BF), Men D: Simon George (BF), Men E: Elye Dent (ACT).
Open Women: Grace Molloy (GS), Women A: Kathie Dent (ACT), Women B: Toni Bachvarova (GO), Women C: Nea Shingler (BF), Women D: Margaret Duguid (IKO).
Combined Easy: Miles Bryant (QLD).
A big thank you to all our setters, controllers, organisers, SI gurus, and the Shinglers for arranging the prizes.
All the results, splits etc are on the event web page, along with the final cumulative points table.
Shinglers, Dawsons dominate Big Foot Sprints
- Last Updated: Monday, 24 December 2018 14:17
Michele Dawson and Ewan Shingler took out the annual Big Foot Sprints on Sunday in an excellent preparation for the Xmas 5-Days carnival in Sydney.
Big Foot borrowed Garingal's Macquarie Hospital map, and Scottish coach in residence Grace Molloy set the courses which feature a chasing start for the second run.
Ewan's victory in the men's division put the host club back on the honour board for the first time in five years. He pipped clubmate and fellow junior Alastair George by 13 seconds over the two legs, having led by five seconds after the first race.
Adding lustre to the boys' quinella was the fact they ran in the club's retro gear (see pic, no doubt handed down by parents!).
Last year's winner, Aidan Dawson from Garingal, finished third, 44 seconds back.
But his older sister Michele kept the family name and GO on the event's list of champions with a comfortable 47-second win over Nea Shingler - Ewan's 13-year-old sister showing some serious pedigree.
Making it a family day out, mum Paula Shingler was third woman home, 11 seconds shy of Nea.
Overall result are here. Thanks Grace, thanks BF.
Curl Curl permanent course now open
- Last Updated: Friday, 21 December 2018 14:34
ONSW is proud to announce the opening of a new permanent course at Curl Curl Lagoon on Sydney's Northern Beaches.
You can do it old-school with a hard copy of the map and instructions, or via smartphone with the MapRun app developed by Queensland orienteer Peter Effeney.
These courses are all off-road and have two start locations: from Weldon Oval (south) or the Youth Centre opposite Curl Curl North Public School (north). Please do not use the north courses on Saturdays in winter as there are thousands of netballers and cars all over that area.
Participants have the choice of:
* 3 score courses
* 6 line courses
The courses range from 1.8km to 5.4km and suit beginners all the way up to experienced orienteers looking for a navigational challenge outside regular competition.
When you finish each course you can upload your times, splits and routes to the server - then compare your results with friends.
The Curl Curl course is the culmination of 12 months work. ONSW thanks Northern Beaches Council and the Sport Australia for their co-operation on this project.
See our permanent course web page for information on all our courses. You can print a map from the web page, or go paperless and just use the app.
Big Foot Sprints entries close Thu night
- Last Updated: Wednesday, 19 December 2018 14:09
The annual Big Foot Sprints are on Sunday at Macquarie Hospital in North Ryde - and entries close on Thursday night.
This is a unique two-race event, with the first starts from 9-10am and a chasing start from 11am for the second run. Courses are being set by our coach-in-residence Grace Molloy from Scotland.
As well as being great fun, the event is the ideal warm-up for the Xmas 5-Days which this year is urban.
Entries are open via Eventor, where you will also find the event briefing notes.
