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After two days of running in soft dune terrain you might have been expecting NSW runners legs to be a bit sore for the first of the Australia/NZ Challenge races but Lynn Dabbs (Western Hills) and Maureen Ogilvie (Uringa) showed their stamina by winning their classes yesterday in New Zealand.
The New Zealanders dominated on their home turf and swept the majority of classes. The terrain was challenging for the Australians who rarely come across soft complex dune terrain in their national races, but the mapping of this new area for NZ was excellent and highly readable. Course setter Yvette Baker set a thoroughly enjoyable competition for the runners with courses which provided an interesting mix of short and longer legs, combined with quick changes of direction over the highly technical area.
There were good performances from the NSW contingent, with the Central Coast club having a particularly rewarding outing; Nick Dent 3rd, Colin Price 10th (M60A), Julia Prudhoe 3rd, Hilary Wood 12th (W55A), Robyn Pallas 5th (W60A) and Marianne Birch 4th (W21C). Newcastle's Russell Blatchford was 6rd (M50A) with Michael Burton 8th, Daniel Hill GO (M16A) Lawrence Jones UR 10th, Aidan Dawson GO 12th (M18A), Matthew Hill GO 9th (M20A), Kasimir Gregory NTOC 6th (M21E), Fedor Ishakova BNN 3rd M21A, Dale Wallace WP 3rd (M21AS), James Lithgow GO 7th (M55A), Peter Shepherd IKN 8th (M60A), Ross Barr GO 9th (M65A), Basil Baldwin GS 10th (M70A). Joanna Hill GO took 2nd with Sophie Jones UR 6th in W12A, Katie Wallace WP 3rd (W14B), Georgia Jones UR 7th (W16A), Nicola Blatchford NC 10th (W18A), Michele Dawson GO 8th(W20A), Barbara Hill GO 10th (W40A), Barbara Dawson GO 7th (W40AS), Debbie Davey WR 5th(W55A) and Jean Baldwin GS 2nd (W70A).
After a rest day the Oceania carnival moves on to the Sprint races in Wellington on Tuesday.
And you don't get much stronger than Julian Dent winning the Men's A. Julian had a cracking set of races in amongst some great competition which included World Orienteering Championship veterans, up and coming youngsters and European internationals stopping off on their way to the World Cup in NZ later in January. NSW had two other top 10 placings with Rob Preston at 5th and Kasimir Gregory at 9th. Grace Crane dominated the Women's A class; our best result was Lisa Grant from Garingal who has made the transition from summer street orienteer to forest force to be reckoned with.
The 5 day carnival was particularly challenging as each day provided a very different type of terrain, preventing runners from relaxing into the maps. Day 1 was traditional spur/gully running in the Chiltern Box-Ironbark National Park, followed on Day 2 at Barambogie, a model map produced for the Australian Champs in 2003, which provided steep slopes, granite and even a sprinkling of pine forest. Day 4 Rowdy Flat, that gold mining favorite, was a tester for all age classes with clever course setting by Blair Trewin making sure everyone worked hard on that tricky map. Temperatures stayed the comfortable side of warm, avoiding the high fire risk which the organisers had worried might interfere with the smooth running of the carnival.
With plenty of top ten results in the competition classes NSW had a great competition. Notables in the combined overall results were:
Men's B Matt Hill 6th
Women's B Phoebe Dent 4th,
Men's C Daniel Hill 6th
Women's C Paula Savolainen 1st, Carolyn Matthews 4th, Cath Chalmers 5th, Hillary Wood 6th,
Men's D Eoin Rothery 1st, Steve Flick 2nd, Robert Preston 5th, Gordon Wilson 6th,
Women's D Toy Martin 5th, Men's E Dave Lotty 4th,
Women's E Caroline Taurany 3rd, Caroline Rogers 5th, Becky Rogers 6th
Men's F Duncan Currie 3rd, Sam Rogers 4th
Women's F Joanna Hill 1st
Men's G Ewan Shingler 1st, Jared McKenna 2nd, Tom Kennedy 4th
Novice Ellen Currie 1st, Nea Shingler 3rd, Oscar Power 5th
Full results can be found on the Christmas 5 Day website here
You've had your day off - it's time to get out and fill your lungs with fresh sea air at the Sydney Summer Series at Jacka Park today, Boxing Day. Organiser Ian Jessup has shifted the times to slightly earlier in the day than usual so you can get out for a run and still do all your relly visiting in the evening. Visited all the relatives? Plenty of time then for a swim at North Curl Curl or Freshwater.
Start Location: Jacka Park, corner of Oliver Street and Wyndora Avenue, Freshwater. NOTE: Boxing Day, starts from 3.30pm. 45-minute score course.
Entry Fees: ONSW club members $10, non-members $13. Juniors (aged < 21) get a $2 discount. SportIdent electronic timing will be used at all events. SI sticks may be hired for $4 each time.
Need to know more - contact organiser: Ian Jessup on 0416 040 135
Lena Eliasson (currently 3rd in World Rankings) and David Andersson (Bronze WOC relay 2011) were at the recent NSW Junior Squad camp in Tocal, training with the youngsters and offering advice, encouragement and a physical demonstration of what it takes to be at the front of the international orienteering pack. The two Swedes are an advance party of internationals who are taking advantage of the great orienteering festivals available over the holiday break, starting with the Christmas 5 Days in Victoria and moving on to the Oceania Carnival in New Zealand in the New Year.
The heat over the weekend didn't stop the visitors or the Junior Squad training hard ahead of these major competitions. The squad started with a super speedy sprint at Ourimbah University on Saturday bringing out the competitive instincts with a mass start, followed by an evening of some close questioning of the internationals for hints and tips. A Saturday workout at Pelaw in the morning, followed by a swim and sand dune training kept up the pace, with Sunday serving up the main event 'The Camp Champs'. This year's winners were Nicola Blatchford, Daniel Hill, Georgia Jones and squad newbie Alastair George.