Latest ONSW News
The 2017 NSW Sprint Champs are being held in conjunction with a charity event to raise funds for Westmead Children's Hospital.
Entries close this Sunday (November 12) and must be made via the event web page rather than through Eventor.
The Bandaged Bear Boost is at PLC Pymble on Sunday November 19 on a brand new map and promises to be a huge day with:
* the NSW Sprint Champs
* our annual ONSW award presentations
* a wheelchair-friendly course
* a Just for Fun course for newcomers and beginners to learn the basics of our sport.
Garingal member Barbara Hill, through her company and ONSW partner organisation Bold Horizons, has put together the day and welcomes orienteers who would like to stay on after their run to assist in any way they can.
We thank Barbara for this initiative and the huge amount of work that has gone into it.
Port Macquarie locals have had a taste of summer series orienteering - and declared they want more!
ONSW ventured to the mid north coast at the weekend in the latest outing to spread the word as part of an ASC grant.
The two days had it all - koalas, swamp wallabies, water dragons, thunderstorms, pumping surf and a range of eager beavers keen to establish the sport in the area.
We observed a good mix of young families, athletic 20-30-somethings and other curious folk (some of whom couldn't spare the time but gave us their details for future events) all relish the challenge. There were around 40 people participate each day.
The League of Kilted Gentlemen (pictured) in particular were stoked to clear Sunday's course with 17 seconds to spare after enduring a few soggy hiccups the previous day in their first outings.
Each day was a Sydney Summer Series-style score course, with the optimum route being about 7.2km for all 30 controls. Our inaugural scholar Atte Lahtinen did the mapping.
We are indebted to locals Peter Langran (ex-BOF, RRA) and Matt and Jenny Bell (ex-Garingal) for their help in advance and on the weekend, council for their assistance and Barbara Sherrin from the Girl Guides for use of their hall on Saturday.
Ron Pallas, Gayle Shepherd and Ian Jessup weathered a massive thunderstorm there but enjoyed better luck on Sunday, being packed up and on the road five minutes before the rain came down once more.
Results and maps are on the grant project web page. This weekend we are back in northern Sydney (Berowra) for more free promotional events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Acknowledging and documenting your history is an important part of any sport, and we are happy to announce two updates.
First, a list of NSW students to be selected for the annual Australian All-Schools Team (formerly known as the schools Honour Team) has been added to our Honours and Awards page.
Please advise Ian Jessup if you spot any errors or omissions.
Secondly, Orienteering Australia has released an archive of every participant to ever compete in the Australian Long Distance Championships - right back to 1971.
OA hopes to add the Middle and Sprint Championships results to this archive at a later date.
ONSW's series of free 'taster' events moves to Port Macquarie this weekend as part of a federal government grant to take orienteering to new areas.
Inaugural scholar Atte Lahtinen has produced two lovely maps showcasing the best of Kooloonbung Creek and Town Beach.
Ron Pallas, Gayle Shepherd, Ian Jessup and local Peter Langran will be on deck to spread the word on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.
On the weekend just past, Newcastle workhorses Russell and Carolyn Rigby put on three events in Singleton in the Upper Hunter Valley.
They reported encouraging attendances, with many people doing more than one event. See their photo album for a snapshot of the weekend. One family (pictured) went 'doggienteering'.
After Port Macquarie we're back to northern Sydney (Berowra) for the last of the current crop on Nov 10-11-12. If you have friends in these areas, please let them know about the events.
We still need a few paid helpers for Friday and Saturday at Berowra. Email
These events will have the standard Sydney Summer Series format, with course lengths around 7.5km for all 30 controls.
Click here for full details of the program and to see the course maps for each day.