Huge turnout for Armidale schools day
- Last Updated: Monday, 29 October 2018 22:37
More than 700 students had a glorious day out at the annual Armidale schools day on Friday.
Our Northern Tablelands club had all hands on deck from 7.30am to 3.30pm under a beautiful blue sky at Sunnyside Travelling Stock Route just north of town.
Students had the choice of an Easy line course, a Moderate line course or a score course; and went around in teams of 2-4. They were bussed in and out in waves.
Approximately 585 primary students from 7 schools took part. TAS Junior School narrowly beat NEGS Junior School, who had not competed for a few years.
A further 116 secondary students attended. In the competition for individual/team trophies, it was a clean sweep for Armidale City in the Year 5&6 Easy line course, and almost so for Duval High School in the senior divisions, with Claude Toakley and Sebastian Stoessel from O'Connor Catholic College just managing to claim third place in the Year 7&8 Moderate line course.
The map was a well-bounded area with fences and a creek line ensuring students were nicely confined while still being challenged by the undulating forest and farmland.
Thanks NTOC, thanks Maurice Anker for organising.
South SSS gets new lease on life
- Last Updated: Wednesday, 24 October 2018 11:22
A revamp of the Southern Sydney Summer Series is reaping rewards with an encouraging spike in attendance.
The first two events have drawn 79 and 62 entries (for actual numbers of about 100 and 80). The kids have loved it and came back for more, which is always a good sign.
Main host club Uringa decided to offer a Long Line (~6km) and Short Line (~2km) in addition to the usual score course of around 8km for the lot.
And the first 6 weeks are clustered along the Cooks River, using three maps back-to-back so that locals and newcomers don't have far to go to the next event.
We have also had a paid Facebook ad campaign, done letterbox drops and made direct email invites to scouts and guides in the area.
The dates and venues can be found here.
MTBO champs draw curtain on another bush season
- Last Updated: Monday, 22 October 2018 17:42
The NSW MTBO champs unveiled a brilliant new map on Sydney's southwestern fringe and heralded the end of the 2018 bush season.
Wedderburn (south of Campbelltown and just east of Appin) has an aerodrome, and the sight of small planes flying low overhead was a tad surreal as 60-plus riders battled it out for honours in an otherwise secluded bush area.
Both days featured tough courses matched by difficult riding conditions (mud, ruts, roots, puddles etc) where the purists prevailed while still managing 4 minutes per km.
We had 13 New Zealand guests doubling up after last weekend's ACT MTBO champs, a young couple from the UK, and riders from ACT, Queensland and Victoria.
And what a weekend of contrasts it was: 30C, stifling humidity, and a 5km ride to the start (and back from the finish) for Saturday's Middle Distance event, then temps in the teens on Sunday morning for the Long. Thankfully the threat of storms and heavy rain did not eventuate.
This map covers a massive area and the western fringes of Saturday's map included our SHOO club's Appin Foot O map.
Congratulations to our NSW Middle champs: M12 Nat Carroll (SH), W20 Rhiannon Prentice (NC), M40 Ant Nolan (UR), W40 Carolyn Haupt (GO), W50 Carolyn Matthews (NC) and M60 Eoin Rothery (BF).
Congratulations to our NSW Long champs: M12 Nat Carroll (SH), W20 Rhiannon Prentice (NC), M40 Tim Giles (BF), M50 Andrew Power (NC), W50 Carolyn Matthews (NC) and M60 Rob Vincent (NC).
Also coming out on top in non-champs categories on both days were Martyn Carroll (SH, Recreational) and Greg Bacon (NC, eBike).
A big thank you to setters (Ori Gudes and Hamish Mackie), the controllers, results people, and the Uringa and Big Foot clubs for a great weekend in trying weather conditions.
If you're hanging out for more MTBO, check out Newcastle's BOSS series of monthly rides starting on Nov 3. And a reminder that next year's NSW MTBO champs are on April 6-7 in the Newcastle area.
Welcome to our new scholar Grace Molloy
- Last Updated: Thursday, 18 October 2018 12:12
Welcome to our new overseas scholar Grace Molloy, from Scotland.
"I am 18 years old and I am from Scotland. For the past 3 years I have competed for Great Britain and raced at JWOC twice, where this year we came 4th in the relay.
