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A wedding, a huge World War II cannon, sweeping views of Sydney Harbour, and European orienteering royalty.
Everywhere you went at today's opening long sprint at Georges Heights (Sydney's wealthiest suburb) there was something to catch the eye.
Swedish World Cup team member Tove Alexandersson, a six-time World Championship silver medallist, easily won the women's A course by more than 2 minutes as Europeans filled the first four placings.
It was much tighter in men's A, where Canberra's Dave Shepherd (the closest thing we have to Aussie O royalty) was just 12 seconds quicker than ACT young gun Lachlan Dow over the 4.5km.
"It was an awesome course, great fun," said Shepherd, who coincidentally was at the same location in March for a wedding.
"Sprint is not my discipline and I didn't pick all the right routes, but I didn't make any real mistakes."
The long courses headed east through Sydney Harbour Federation Trust land, which used to be for military use (the northernmost control was this old cannon), then down to the wedding area in the SE corner of the map, back through the start and finally west around Rawson Oval where Allan Border cut his teeth as a teenage batsman of note.
Some of the shorter courses made great use of a new section of the map recently opened by council (the bit south of the 3 tanks). From there you could see a US Coast Guard ship anchored in Chowder Bay (see top pic) - dare we suggest laid up with "engine trouble" until after the NYE fireworks?
While the wedding photo control had a stunning backdrop across the harbour to the eastern suburbs, guests waiting for the reception to start at the nearby Gunners Barracks were bemused to see a stream of runners passing by.
A huge thank you to Bennelong Northside for a wonderful start to our first ever urban Xmas 5-Days carnival - particularly setter Gordon Wilson, vetter and mapper Terry Bluett, and organiser Darren Slattery. SI guru Ron Pallas - as always - ensured smooth sailing on a calm day.
Photos are on our Facebook page, while results are here.
Don't forget that public transport tomorrow (Sunday) is $2.50 per person all day. As Cockatoo Island is only accessible by ferry, be early at the wharf.
The final random draws have been conducted for entries to the Xmas 5-Days carnival, and organisers are pleased to announce our last batch of winners:
Jet Boat tickets for 2: Diana Charlton (Newcastle) and Miles Bryant (Enoggeroos from Queensland)
Sydney by Sail refund: Rudi Landsiedel (Newcastle) and Oonagh Grassie (Moravian Orienteers from Scotland).
Speaking of Moravian, check out their great short video.
Our earlier prize winners were:
Sydney Harbour paddle for two: Camilla Bevensee (OK Pan Arhus, Denmark)
The Rocks Ghost Tour: Martin Wehner (Weston Emus, ACT) and Keith Goode (Big Foot)
A big thank you to all our sponsors for their generous prize donations. As well as these prizes, our carnival sponsors are offering discounts to carnival entrants, and these can be viewed here.
Entries have now closed, and we are delighted that there are more than 200 people entered each day and more than 300 for our debut on Cockatoo Island on Day 2.
It's a hectic time of year, and little things - like remembering to enter upcoming events - can sometimes slip our minds as we head into the festive season.
There are three closing dates prior to year's end (and two in the coming week) that orienteers need to be mindful of.
Xmas 5-days
Our big end-of-year carnival in iconic Sydney locations - entries close Sunday December 14. There will be a limited number of enter-on-day maps available each day, although day 3 at Pyrmont will operate as usual for Sydney Summer Series regulars.
Big Foot Sprints
The annual two-race sprint is on Xmas Eve at St Ives Showground - entries close Monday December 15. Again, pre-entry is strongly encouraged.
Easter 2015
Is in South Australia next year in early April, and early bird entries (which attract a nice discount) close on Wednesday December 31.
Sydney Summer Series participants are also reminded that the last two events for the year are on MONDAYS - the 22nd at Mosman, and the 29th at Pyrmont (as part of the 5-days).
Congratulations to the following athletes on their selection in the Australian team to compete against NZ at the Oceania Championships in Tasmania in early January.
The big event, which has attracted more than 700 entries from around the world, is being run conjunction with the opening round of the 2015 IOF World Cup.
The family nature of our sport is once again highlighted in the NSW green and gold selections: the Marshes, Blatchfords and Rothery-Chalmers.
We wish all the best to our Australian orienteers in this carnival:
M20: Aidan Dawson (GO). Res: Daniel Hill (GO)
M45: Paul Marsh (BF)
M50: Michael Burton (BF), Andy Simpson (BF)
M55: Eoin Rothery (BF). Res: Russell Blatchford (NC)
M60: Nick Dent (CC)
W20: Nicola Blatchford (NC)
W40: Tracy Marsh (BF)
W45: Cath Chalmers (BF), Jenny Enderby (NC)
W50: Karen Blatchford (NC)
W65: Val Hodsdon (SH)
