Pagodas stun at 2021 NSW Champs
- 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.
Calling all Bennelong members past and present
- Last Updated: Friday, 19 November 2021 09:55
Australia's first orienteering club, Bennelong Northside Orienteers, is having a 50th birthday celebration dinner on Fri Dec 3.ONSW Board member Briohny Seaman
- Last Updated: Thursday, 18 November 2021 11:34
Meet your Board member.
This is the eighth in a weekly series where we introduce you to the people entrusted to run our sport in NSW.
Board member Briohny Seaman (WaggaRoos Orienteers). Year joined Board: 2020
Briohny Seaman is our Board member with elite orienteering experience.
The youngest member on our Board was in four winning NSW Schools teams and has represented the NSW Stingers on and off for around 20 years.
Unfortunately, injury has plagued most of Briohny’s elite years. In 2009 she had lower leg issues and in 2013 was diagnosed with a rare vascular condition. She decided to wait until she’d had children (Ryder in 2012 and Logan in 2014) and they were older before having major surgery in 2018.
The enjoyment of orienteering and running has definitely returned since then. And she rates going to the World Masters in 2018 as one of her career highlights.
Briohny had never given any thought to being on the Board until approached last year. The opportunity to have input into the way the sport is run at a state level interested her.
And with Waggaroos struggling with membership, Briohny knows it’s important for her and the club to find ways to encourage and keep new members.
She has been on the Waggaroos committee and is now keen to get more involved in getting orienteering into local schools.
Briohny loves course setting and has set at a number of State Leagues, QB3 2017 and Oceania 2019.
Professionally, Briohny has worked for the NSW government for 16 years. Firstly, with Roads and Maritime Services and now with the Environment Protection Authority.
Both roles have given her exposure to various types of stakeholder engagement: with communities, local councils and other state organisations.
Her family started orienteering in 1988 (when Briohny was 6), after her parents Alex and Debbie Davey took the family to a Waggaroos “Come and Try It” event at Pomingalarna.
Briohny then grew up orienteering with a big group of local families: the Joneses, Dickinsons, McGarvas, Johansens and Mackens.
It’s this strong sense of family and community you’ll find throughout orienteering.
