Juniors enjoy double header weekend at Dubbo
- Last Updated: Friday, 06 July 2012 15:44
Junior orienteers were treated to a weekend of competition as Western Plains completed their highly successful Space Racing Series on Saturday followed by the Central West Schools Orienteering Championship on Sunday.
On Saturday at Macquarie Anglican Grammar School (MAGS), twelve space racing crews competed to take the final mission honours. Team Mimosa – Joe Thompson and James Hughes (10mins 14secs) overtook the previously unbeaten Team Pleione – Samantha Wallace and Shannon Finch (10mins 20secs) to become the new Space Racing Champions with Team Betelgeuse – Emma Hughes and Katie Wallace (12mins 12secs) in third. The Star Trek open sprint event, for adults, attracted some twenty two sprinters and was won by Dale Wallace (Men) and Karen Hagan (Women).
The Central West Schools Championship was held on the combined campuses of St Johns Primary School and St Johns College. There were winners from all the schools represented in the Championship but it was the strength of the Macquarie Anglican Grammar School who swept the board in the 10 years and under, took 1st and 3rd in the 12 years and under division, and 1st and 2nd in the 16 years and under, which brought home the points to become the 2012 Central West Schools Champions. They were only seriously challenged in the 14 yrs and under division where Dubbo South Campus took both male and female first places.
A new series of five Space Races will begin on Sunday 20th May 2012. For further information email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thanks to Karen Hagan for her help with this report
WaggaRoos claim first blood in Interclub Challenge with AWOC
- Last Updated: Friday, 06 July 2012 15:44
The Waggaroos vs Albury Wodonga Interclub series of 2012 had the Waggaroos getting off to a good start with a win in the opening event of the Interclub Series against Albury last Sunday with a score of 16:11.
The event was organised by the Albury Club on a newly mapped area near Table Top and proved to be a wonderful challenge in a small area. The 1:5000 scale meant a huge amount of detail was presented to the participant and in the forest features appeared quickly. It was fascinating countryside combining intricate contour features created by diggings and erosion control with fields of boulders spread across the map. Long grass made some hillsides particularly difficult to negotiate.
Results: 5km Course: Alex Davey (Wagga) 43:40; Deb Davey (W) 49:50; Rob Simmons (Albury) 53:16; Rob Matthews (A) 53:47; John Oliver (W) 55:17; Norm McCann (A) 77:18; Eloise Matthews (A) 78:18; Wayne Bajenoff (A) 82:55; Alastair Buchan (A) 89:42. 4km Course: Rick Armstrong (A) 51:53; Wes Campbell (W) 61:03; Janet Buchan 81:49. 3km Course: Kath Oliver (W) 56:25; Paul & Oliver Hembrow (A) 64:58; Cave Family (A) 72:08
The second of the four event series will be conducted in the Wagga area in June. Next local event will be on Sunday 22 April at the Victory Memorial Gardens commencing at 10am.
Thanks to John Oliver for this report
MetroLeague discovers how to supersize me
- Last Updated: Friday, 06 July 2012 15:44
The 2012 Metroleague kicked off on Sunday at Cecil Hills and everything was a little on the big side. With a new division to take account of the large numbers of runners wanting to take part, there was plenty of competition amongst the clubs. Garingal fielded a full eight teams, and yet that was still not enough places for their aspiring team members, with nearly 20 members entering courses on the day. The results from the Enter On the Day courses showed that Garingal have some formidable depth and strength and will definitely be a team to contend with through the Metro League season.
And it was not only the teams which were on the large side. The recent rains made for incredible new growth, with competitors having to force their way through long grasses all around the course. It was definitely a day when a late start was helpful as later runners had the advantage of large elephant tracks to follow, although with so many runners and courses it was important to choose the right one. Increased insect populations had produced enormous fat spiders weaving the most incredible webs and there wasn't an orienteer who didn't have sticky lines of spider silk all over their club shirts when they got back. Two competitors lost their SI sticks, one complaining that a spider ambushed her, though this seemed rather unlikely.
The wins were shared evenly around the clubs with wins being gained by narrow margins, and in one case unusually achieving a draw (IKN and WH in Division C). Bennelong was the only club with a full sweep of winning matches but generally the wins were evenly distributed around the clubs, and some achieved with the narrowest of margin. Rookies from club training courses were out for their first taste of bush orienteering. Eric Charpentier, a recent joiner to Uringa running for the first time in the league, was quickest around the Division D 3.9km course, and the rookie team running for Uringa of Chris Barraza, Matt Nicols, Celine Samba and anchored by Jane McKenna scored an exciting win in Division E. Their win over WHO was despite the WHO team fielding the quickest runner, Daniel Smith, on the E course in 46:10. Metro League results can be found here; EOD and results by course here.
Perfect weather for tiptoeing in the Moonlight
- Last Updated: Friday, 06 July 2012 15:44
Despite being sandwiched between the first Metro League race of the season and the heavyweight Easter Carnival event up in Queensland, the first of Garingal's Moonlight Madness events for 2012 had a solid turnout. Perfect weather for night orienteering of cool temperatures and clear skies allowed the runners to tackle the score course whilst bathing in the light of the full moon. Summer Series group winners were out in force, with Steve Ryan and Glen Horrocks battling it out for first place; Steve took the honours by a mere ten points. Wendy Stevenson, who won the Summer Series championship in such amazing style, was running but was beaten by Mary Fien and Gill Fowler both in great form.
The next Moonlight Madness event will be at Cremorne on May 2nd. Full details of the series can be found on the Garingal website here
