Latest ONSW News
Uringa showed off the trickiest bits of Centennial Park in hosting a cracking round 4 of the MetrO League. Starting and finishing in the rocky, forested sandstone ridge - and taking the longer courses down to the duneland in the south-west corner - runners traversed much of the park's most scenic areas.
A cool overcast morning was soon brightened by the sounds and sight of dozens of yellow-tailed black cockatoos emerging from the forest right above the start. What a sight!
There were only three close matches on the day: Garingal Molochs escaped with a 27-27 draw against Big Foot in Division 3 when ML debutante Kerrie-Jane Akester, newly married to BF's hockey star Chris Jacka (a 10-pointer in Divn 2), punched the wrong control on the edge of the sandstone ridge near the finish. It's been that sort of month for the English lately. It was the Molochs' first point for the year and hard-earned.
In Division 2, likewise the GO Frill Necks grabbed their first victory of the year over SHOO 28-27. SHOO had the two quickest runners in the match could were left to rue Garingal's consistency across the board.
And in Division 5, Bennelong Year 7 student Tshinta Hopper filled in to help UR-CC Kestrels down WHO 29-26. Tshinta bagged 7 points and even finished quicker than mum Sharon Lambert, a Summer Series veteran usually quite au faix with the Park.
Elsewhere, Big Foot remain unbeaten in Division 1 and appear to set to extend their long reign as Metro Maestros. If the Feet beat second-placed WHO in the last round, Garingal or UR-CC can sneak into the final. Andrew Hill (WHO) maintained his lead in the individual standings.
Winning times were all well under the ideal 35 minutes - but the fast, open nature of Centennial Park encourages you to go the "Harold" or "Usain".
It was heartening to see so many new juniors and families participating. Conditions really were ideal for a walk or run. Thanks to the Uringa crowd for an excellent morning and to Ron Pallas for having the results online by mid-afternoon.
Results are on the ML page.
Orienteering innovators Big Foot are staging an inaugural NSW Ski Orienteering Championship as part of Perisher X-Country week on Sunday August 10.
Readers may recall Big Foot's insatiable Swede Patrik Gunnarsson and Penrith-based Goldseeker Jason Rutkowski (the pair also staged our first ever NSW DuO Championship last month) venturing to Perisher last August (see pic, left) for a whirlwind round trip for a trial run.
That outing to the Snowy Mountains sowed the seeds for something more formal.
Big Foot president Andy Simpson advises: "You need to be able to cross-country ski, but even a novice skier who can orienteer should be able to get around the short course. But please note this is not suitable for downhill skis or snowboards - you might get away with telemark skis if you are a masochist."
Full details are on the Big Foot website and in Eventor. More about Ski-O.
We thank "the Feet" for this interesting initiative in orienteering in Australia.
Ewan Shingler, Tom Kennedy, Joanna Hill and Claire Burgess are the new faces in the NSW Schools Team (the Carbines) for the Australian All Schools Championships in WA in the September holidays.
Congratulations to the following students for their selection:
Senior Girls: Melissa Annetts (GO), Rebecca George (BF), Georgia Jones (UR), Amylee Robertson (NC), Sam Wallace (WP).
Senior Boys: Scott Charlton (NC), Aidan Dawson (GO), Daniel Hill (GO), Lawrence Jones (UR), Alex Kennedy (GO), Toby Wilson (GO).
Junior Girls: Claire Burgess (NC), Joanna Hill (GO, right), Rebecca Kennedy (WP).
Junior Boys: Duncan Currie (GO), Callum Davis (BF), Alastair George (BF), Hugh Gingell (GO), Tom Kennedy (GO, left), Ewan Shingler (BF, top left).
All selected will travel with the team to Perth and run in the Individual Schools Championship on October 1 and the Schools Relay on October 2, while also competing in the other major events on both weekends of the carnival around Perth.
Manager Sally Devenish will be in contact with team members to co-ordinate travelling arrangements.
ONSW thanks selectors Jock Davis, Hilary Wood, Andrew Hill for their time and energy spent in this important role.
Western Plains and the NSW Stingers put on a superb long weekend of O near Dubbo for the annual QB III carnival.
Highlights of the weekend were the blue skies, midday temps in the high teens, some of the most magnificent rock terrain... and a rookie kid doing moderate courses without a compass!
The Sappa Bulga maps (click on 'details' for the full glory of this Jackson Pollock salt and pepper masterpiece) were first used for the 2007 Junior World Champs, memorable for the incredible map detail, bitter cold and even frostier attitudes of some IOF people.
Safe to say a much warmer welcome was offered to the almost 300 competitors this time. The only prickly reception was from the native plants (see pic, right) on day one at Brummagen Creek near Narromine.
Of special note is year 7 student Finn Mackay (Uringa) who is giving our sport a real crack. At Easter and here again he was spotted making his way around the M14A course sans compass - and came 2nd in that class!
We were also grateful for coverage in the local paper and on TV. Results, splits and Routegadget have been uploaded on the State League page.
Thanks to all the course setters, vetters, organisers, SI gurus and helpers for making the weekend a huge success.
It was asking a lot so soon after ONSW hosted the huge Easter carnival (7 events in 9 days) but was well worth it.
The next State League events are on July 19/20 in the Southern Highlands. Entries are open via Eventor.
