Space Racers arrive from distant galaxies

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Last Updated: Thursday, 18 April 2013 21:45

Sydney turned on a beautiful morning for our April Space Racing at Sydney Olympic Park and we were delighted to host families from the far galaxies of Orange and Newcastle.  All up 40 entries (plus many more siblings, parents and grandparents) – many of them first-timers – enjoyed their adventure race around Bicentennial Park and even managed to show up some of our regular junior club members.

Newcomer Ben Davison was fastest to get all 20 controls, in 32.09. Did he borrow Buzz Lightyear’s jet pack? A great run by Ben, and closely followed by the Chan children from the WHO club. Madelynne and Stephanie finished in 33.07, just ahead of brother Cameron in 33.49.

The Clarke-Randazzo kids from our Goldseekers club (Orange) were the last starters, having already battled traffic hassles in the Blue Mountains, and scored 180 points – but were back 12 minutes early ! Lunch at a friend’s at nearby Newington beckoned, then the trip home to Orange.

Likewise, Jack and Tom Thelander – who live at Curl Curl and saw our Space Race event there in January and wondered what all the fuss was about – made the trek from the northern beaches to score 180 and were back 10 minutes early. They could have got the lot ! Never mind, they had fun and showed great promise, as did all the kids.

And it appears we may have entertained our youngest Space Racer. Brian Tsang, 5 this year, went around with his dad Samuel (from our Bennelong Northside club) and reeled in 90 points. High five !

While some kids treat it as a race, others are happy to make it a leisurely stroll taking in the scenery. That’s another great way to enjoy it, and the Papageorgiou clan were so enamoured by Space Racing they were on course for nearly an hour. That’s dedication for you.

Our first starters right on 10am were 7 coaches from the Active After-School Communities Program (AASC) attending an upskill course so that they can deliver 7-week programs in orienteering to after-school care groups. They had only 30 minutes to do as much as they could and Ben Train showed his fitness and acumen by scoring 190 in just over 24 minutes. Well done Ben and all the coaches.

A huge thank you again to all our volunteer helpers on the day. We cannot function without you.

Our next Space Racing expedition is on July 2 at Fred Caterson Reserve at Castle Hill. This is a fantastic area with lots of bush tracks and the chance to take shortcuts through the bush if you like to be a bit more adventurous. And we may set an attendance record as we already have two vacation care groups booked in and a third one possibly coming too. We may hit the 150 mark !

Let the countdown to liftoff begin !