Pagodas stun at 2021 NSW Champs

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Last Updated: Monday, 22 November 2021 17:02

Stunning rock pagodas were the feature of the NSW Championships near Lithgow at the weekend as our State League season restarted (and finished).

Around 300 competitors from four states enjoyed cool conditions with less rain than forecast.

Former JWOC rep Melissa Thomas (Bennelong) wound back the clock to win W21A on both days, ahead of SA-Big Foot junior star Emily Sorensen who was running up an age class.

In M21A it was a Victorian trifecta on both days, with Patrick Jaffe and 2019 junior world sprint champ Aston Key sharing the spoils, and Brodie Nankervis in third place each time. The trio are ranked Australia's top three male orienteers.

For the Long at Long Swamp on Sunday, the very recent high rainfall and the significant regrowth since the fires (and limited access to the area during lockdown) meant some hasty replanning over the 10 days leading into the weekend.

This resulted in some compromises to ensure a safe swamp crossing and to avoid too much of the dark green stuff, while using as much of the rock as possible.

A big thank you to our hosts Central Coast and Uringa whose preparations were hampered by the long lockdown but still put on a superb weekend.

Twelve of the 14 NSW clubs had wins over the weekend. All the results and links are on our State League page.

All participants are asked to please fill out the very brief Course Setter of the Year surveys here.

The 2022 State League starts on March 19-20 with the NSW Sprint Champs on the Central Coast and a Long distance event in Newcastle. Stay tuned for full details.