Latest ONSW News

Meet your Board member

This is the first in a weekly series introducing you to the new ONSW Board members in 2022.

Vice President Sheralee Bailey (Bennelong Northside). Joined the Board: 2022

Sheralee is a case of the prodigal daughter returning home.

The former president and newsletter editor of Bennelong is back in Australia after 15 years living in the UK.

Her professional background and skillset is in risk management and governance, as well as team management. Sheralee says she joined the Board to be involved in shaping the future of orienteering in NSW.

She started orienteering in 1983 via the Frank Anderson-initiated Central Coast schools program and has been an organiser, planner and controller for 25 years.

Sheralee rates her highlight as winning the 2014 London City Race, just three years after being hit by a car on her way home from the 2011 edition where she finished second.

Four different surgeons said her left knee was so badly injured she’d never be a competitive orienteer again. Not to be told she can't do something, she spent the next few years training really hard in the gym… and it paid off! 

Sheralee’s flair with the pen/typewriter/keyboard was obvious and she was soon profiling elite orienteers in the Australian Orienteer magazine as well as being creator/editor of Bennelong’s BluePrint newsletter. 

Whilst living in the UK (2006-2021), she was creator/editor of Dartbord, the Dartford club newsletter which won multiple British newsletter awards. 

One quirk that will sure to be popular with the O crowd: Sheralee says she can’t be trusted with chocolate!

ONSW is delighted to announce the appointment of Katherine Crawford as general manager.

Katherine has worked as an abseiling guide and is a regular rogainer and trail runner.

Although her career has mainly revolved around the pharmaceutical and medical industries, she has developed a suite of many transferable practices and ideas and is excited to be able to bring that to ONSW.

You can read more about Katherine here. She started with ONSW on April 27.

At the ONSW AGM on Monday, we welcomed onto the Board Rob Bennett (Goldseekers), Angus Shedden (SHOO) and Sheralee Bailey (Bennelong Northside).

Sheralee, a former president of Bennelong, steps into the new role of vice-president.

We thank retiring Board members Robert Spry, Andrew Power and Mary Jane Mahony for their service.

NSW has six athletes named in Australian teams for world championships this year and a further two picked as reserves.

For the Junior World Championships in Portugal in July, Erika Enderby (Newcastle, left) has made the team at just 15 years old after finishing second in the junior women's division of the National League, behind 17-year-old Nea Shingler (Big Foot).

Another debutant is Sam Woolford (right) from Bush n Beach who was equal third in the NOL, behind Ewan Shingler (Big Foot), in the junior men's section.

The Shinglers were picked in the JWOC Honour Team last year but did not compete due to the pandemic.

Newcastle's Oskar Mella has been named as first reserve, further showing the depth of talent in our state. 

For the World champs in Denmark in June, Alastair George (BF) and Emily Sorensen (BF) join the Shinglers in a team stacked with youth. This is the first time the champs will be conducted purely in the Sprint format. 

Alastair has really stepped up since entering the senior ranks last year, marking the first time since 2015 an ONSW member has been chosen for WOC. Emily has moved to Sydney from South Australia and has been picked in her first senior year. 

For the World Uni champs in Switzerland in August, Alastair, Emily and Ewan are in the Australian team.

And for the World Games in the US in July, Duncan Currie (Garingal) has been as a reserve. This event is an "Olympics" for non-Olympic sports.

Congratulations to all the athletes selected. We look forward to following our representatives as they compete overseas for the first time in three years.