Latest ONSW News

This year our NSW schools champs are in Wollongong on August 19-20. The weekend is hosted by Illawarra Kareelah and staged in conjunction with State Leagues 10 and 11.

Entries are now open, with this reminder:

* all students entering the NSW schools champs must do so via Trybooking
* all non-students entering the State League events must do so via Eventor
* you may enter Saturday, or Sunday, or both days

Please note that Sunday consists of two sprints: both at Uni of Wollongong. Times will be added to calculate the winners in each class. Presentations will be held straight after.

Saturday's Middle Distance event is at Cataract Scout Park. Non-orienteers should refer to the information sheet for descriptions of courses; it contains links to map examples.

Parents of competing students again have the opportunity to go on a map walk with a coach, or try a free course and compare their route with their child.

Entries close August 12.

Orienteering NSW is seeking applications for 1-2 visiting orienteering scholars this summer (September 2017 to March 2018).

Applicants should email Jim Mackay (development @ onsw.asn.au) ASAP, as should clubs willing to host. Hosting is for a minimum of 2 weeks duration and families will receive a small stipend to help cover costs.

Scholars can contribute greatly to local clubs through mapping, coaching and event organisation. Our inaugural scholar, Atte Lahtinen from Finland, has just left Australia after an extended stay.

More information about the scholarship program can be found here.

The Australian 3-days carnival finished on a spectacular note at CSU Wagga on Monday, with a Sprint event mixing rock with campus to throughly test brains and brawn for a third straight day.

And in the washup, it was Big Foot junior Alastair George with arguably the best NSW result of the long weekend - third overall in the junior men's elite class. Congratulations Al - we hope that JWOC selection lies in the near future.

Now, how could a seemingly urban sprint possibly have tricky rock? Easy - thanks to a new map extension on a steep hill to the west. After a short, sharp climb to the start (past a few curious kangaroos), runners were confronted with half a dozen controls in a small hilly area littered with boulders.

As usual, the race won't be won here but can certainly be lost. (Your tired scribe blew 4 minutes overshooting two controls on Course 5, but we digress!) From there it was a careful drop to the western edge of the built-up area.

Nothing about the campus section looks particularly difficult - until closer inspection reveals pedestrian overbridges, impassable building corners and a plethora of uncrossable garden beds.

Decision making at speed, and speedy decision making. An error of mere seconds can mean the difference between first place and merely second... or further down the results list.

The course climax provided a wonderful spectacle - runners converged from two or three directions on the last control (a sculpture, pictured top) in the corner of a large pond with two small bridges for access, then a 50m dash to the finish.

Innovative course planning by SHOO's Melbourne-based NSW Stinger Dave Meyer and a great venue for the presentations, for which we had the pleasure of the company of Wagga Deputy Mayor Dallas Tout. 

Our list of thank yous is extensive: organising clubs Waggaroos, Southern Highlands, Illawarra Kareelah, Uringa; carnival organiser Ron Pallas; all our course setters and controllers; and the generous landowners.

The Oceania and World Masters champs in New Zealand in April forced OA to move this carnival from its usual Easter date, so we are grateful to the 550+ participants who made the effort to enjoy three quality maps in glorious winter sunshine.

You can find all the results on Eventor, splits on Winsplits and Attackpoint, and courses on Routegadget.

Burngoogee is one of the many jewels in Waggaroos' treasure chest of maps - and first-timers found out just why at the Australian 3-Days on Sunday.

Top-ranked Australian Julian Dent set a demanding test for the traditional Long day, held in beautiful golden winter sunshine.

Courses generally started out through the steep, rocky section in the northwest corner of the map then swept east through some flatter open forest before some more rock and a final climb. 

Contouring or up-and-down was a constant dilemma for many, and most courses seemed steeper than Saturday's opener at Connorton. That didn't prevent some very fast times being recorded, especially on Course 9 where Ella Cuthbert from the ACT sped around the 4.5km course in 38:22.

The best NSW result among the elites was Alastair George (Big Foot) coming third in the junior men.

Click on the blue links for the photo album on our Facebook page; and for Day 2 results, Winsplits and Routegadget.

Another big thanks to Waggaroos and their helper clubs SHOO, Uringa and IKO. And a massive shout out to the Billetts who have worked tirelessly in the Junior Squad catering van on both days. Funds raised help offset the cost of sending the NSW All Schools Team to the annual Australian championships.