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Waggaroos kicked off our annual round of regional schools championships on Thursday.
The music bowl next to the Botanic Gardens drew 68 students from eight schools for the Riverina titles. Newcomers were from Yanco Agricultural HS and Cootamundra PS.
After a map walk with coaches, the students did a line course and finished with a three-person relay that is always fun (see pic for the mass start).
Thanks to John Oliver and Waggaroos for staging another successful day.
All the crucial information for our 2019 NSW championships is now available online.
Start lists have been published for Saturday and Sunday, along with the final bulletin.
Saturday's Middle Champs offer spectacular views of Wyangala Dam (pictured), while Sunday we are back in Roseberg State Forest where the Australian Schools Champs were held in 2017.
Both days will count towards Orienteering ACT's A-League series, and are part of the IOF's World Orienteering Day celebrations.
Enter on Day will be available in Very Easy, Easy, Moderate and two Hard courses.
It's also the weekend of the federal election. Pre-polling is now open for anyone who will be out of their electorate on the day. Find your nearest pre-polling station here.
Our 2019 regional school championships start next week with the Riverina titles in Wagga, where we are expecting a record turnout of around 100 students at Willans Hill.
Unlike most sports, students do not need to qualify for these days, nor do they require any previous orienteering experience.
The format of each event - a map talk and walk with a coach, an individual age race, then a 3-person relay (see picture, left) - ensures all students get the maximum educational and exercise benefit from the day.
The culmination of the regional champs are the NSW Schools Champs, which this year will be held in the Southern Highlands on September 7-8 in conjunction with State League events. All students are invited to compete; again, no qualification is necessary.
For details and information flyers for all schools champs and gala days, please go to the schools champs web page.
As you can imagine, each day requires many helpers to run smoothly. Club members and parents - if you can assist in any way (registration, coaching, on the start or at the finish, putting out or collecting controls, directing parking etc), please contact
Garingal's Duncan Currie has received a late call-up for the junior world championships in Denmark in July.
He replaces ACT's Patrick Miller who has university commitments that will unfortunately prevent him going.
As such, Duncan joins NSW team-mate Alastair George in the Australian team.
"It was shock at first when I read the email inviting me to go," he said.
"But now I'm really looking forward to it. I'm having a gap year and was going to go to Europe anyway, so it fits in nicely."
Duncan caught the red-eye back from Perth where he competed for NSW in the NOL events over the past two weekends - but was wide awake on Sunday night still buzzing with the good news.
He's fifth in the NOL Junior Men standings while Alastair is equal second after an outstanding win in the Australian Middle Distance championships at Narrogin on Saturday.
Iida Lehtonen, still only 15, is fifth in the Junior Women overall after a brilliant run to come second on Saturday, conceding up to five years in age and experience against some rivals.
Iida is pictured here storming into the finish on Saturday.
The next NOL round is in three weeks when WHO host the NSW championships near Cowra on May 18-19.
