Mass confusion set to reign at 2016 Goanna
- Last Updated: Saturday, 30 April 2016 22:38
Entries are open for Garingal's innovative Goanna 'goat race', which this year wil be held on the fiendish Clay Pan map at Beacon Hill on the northen beaches.
The event is on Sunday May 8, with a mass start at 10am for the 3 moderate courses.
Goat races are a wacky form of line orienteering in which:
* there is a mass start (10am)
* following is allowed (this is usually a no-no)
* you may skip a control (yippee!)
* there are forked controls (you go to 'a' or 'b')
* in the boxed section you visit the controls in any order
This novelty event is the brainchild of GO member and ONSW marketing and communications officer Ian Jessup, who wanted to offer something unusual but still an O challenge in its own right.
There are 3 course lengths (GeckO 3.8km, DraGOn 5.3km and GOanna 7.2km), with the standard varying from moderate to hard depending on where you are on the course.
Have a look at a previous Goanna to see what you are confronted with.
Tactics have to be made up on the run - which control will you skip?, which fork will you take?, and in which order will you do 'the box'? The first two Goannas generated a lot of discussion about strategy, and great enthusiasm for the format. A 'fun' run in its own right.
Entries close midday on Fri May 6. Please note the Very Easy and Easy courses are Enter-on-Day and will have a start window of 10.15-11am.
World Orienteering Day is on May 11
- Last Updated: Friday, 29 April 2016 19:18
Garingal will be putting on their next Moonlight Madness event to coincide with World Orienteering Day on Wednesday May 11.
With an assembly area right under the Sydney Harbour Bridge's northern approach, the 45-minute score event will offer million-dollar views and a relaxed, informal atmosphere.
Starts are from 5.30-7pm, with a strict course closure time of 7.45pm. You'll need a headlamp or torch; the controls will have reflective tape on them for easier spotting in the dark.
A project of the world governing body, World Orienteering Day has almost 1,300 school and club events registered across the globe on May 11. Orienteers are encouraged to support this initiative on one of our favourite urban Sydney street maps.
Toby third in ultra long NOL
- Last Updated: Monday, 25 April 2016 13:15
Our new coaching director, Toby Wilson, has finished third in the junior men's elite section at the ultra long NOL event in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia.
Toby, the current Garingal club champion, completed the 20.2km course (yes, it was that long) in 2 hours, 2 minutes and 28 seconds. The results bodes well with junior world championship selections imminent. Clubmate Aidan Dawson was 12th.
In the women's open elite, Michele Dawson and Nicola Blatchford (Newcastle) were 7th and 8th over the 18.3km course. And in the men's open elite, Bennelong's Eric Morris was 10th in the 28.1km course. Victorian Leon Keely averaged 5.24 minutes per km in winning the event!
In the photo, those are not Tibetan prayer flags - they are maps hanging waiting for runners to come in for the two map changes.
In Saturday's middle distance event over more familiar course lengths, Michele and Nicola were 8th and 9th; Aidan and Toby were 6th and 7th; and Big Foot's Jock Davis was 5th in the open men's.
Among the public events in conjunction,
on Saturday: Goldseekers' Anna Fitzgerald won W35A, Karen Blatchford won W45A and Debbie Byers (BF) was third in W55A
and on Sunday: Anna and Karen came second, Nicola Nygh (BF) and Barbara Dawson made it a quinella in W45AS, Julia Prudhoe (Central Coast) was third in W55A, Callum Davis (BF) won M20A, Kevin Williams (WHO) won M55AS, and Peter Meyer (SHOO) was second in M75A.
Mackie siblings selected for MTBO world champs
- Last Updated: Thursday, 21 April 2016 11:04
Sydney teenagers Lucy and Fergus Mackie will make their Australian debuts at the world mountain bike orienteering championships in Portugal in July.
Lucy, 18, and Fergus, 15, are the first sister and brother to represent Australia in MTBO and will ride in the junior elite class in Coimbra.
The Mackies have been competing in MTBO for four years, including some international events in NZ. For tougher competition, they competed in the elite divisions at the selection trials at Beechworth earlier this month.
There, Lucy was third in the Sprint & Middle distance races, while Fergus stunned everyone with an outstanding second placing in the Long Distance trial over 29km. He will combine with the two senior men (Victorian Angus Robinson and WA's Ricky Thackray) in the elite relay at the world championships as well as doing the three individual events in the junior championships.
We congratulate the Mackies on this wonderful news.
Meanwhile, entries are open for the annual NSW mountain bike orienteering championships near Lithgow next month. All three formats - Long, Middle and Sprint - will be conducted over the weekend of May 14-15 at Sunny Corner State Forest and Rydal.
All the information can be found here. We thank the Newcastle and Big Foot clubs for hosting this great weekend. Entries close on Monday May 2. MTBO is a terrific alternative to foot orienteering and we encourage all members and non-members to saddle up and give it a try.
