Latest ONSW News
Our winter bush season starts rolling out this Sunday when SHOO put on the first of their monthly Highlands Forest Series events, at Soapy Flat near Mittagong.
Courses will be set to cater for all levels of ability and there will be someone on hand to help those new to running around the forest.
SHOO have steadily grown their Summer Saturday series and the Forest series piggy-backs onto that nicely.
It means orienteers in the greater Sydney basin will now have 3 quality events per month over winter: State League, MetrO League and the Highlands Forest series.
The 2017 schedule is:
Mar 12 - Soapy Flat
Apr 30 - Belanglo SF
Jun 18 - Boxvale Tramway
Jul 9 - Belanglo SF
Aug 13 - Penrose SF
Sep 17 - Appin
For further details, see the series flyer and Eventor.
This week we conducted our first teacher training course for the year, with 11 eager participants at Wagga High School.
These courses are BOSTES-accredited (they earn Professional Development points with the Department of Education) and provide teachers with the fundamental skills to conduct orienteering lessons as part of their curriculum.
Orienteering - as regular participants are aware - cuts across maths, literacy, thinking skills, PDHPE and geography - so it is an ideal avenue for learning, as well as great exercise.
Teachers from across the Riverina were engaged as Ian Jessup (ONSW) and Debbie Davey (Waggaroos) put them through their paces with a range of theory and practice activities.
Their feedback was great and we thank Michael Dare from Wagga HS for hosting us. We look forward to seeing some of their students at the annual Riverina schools champs on Monday May 8.
Further teacher orienteering courses in 2017 are as follows:
* March 23 - Brighton le Sands (Sydney East)
* May 5 - Armidale
* August 23 - Wauchope
* November 6 - North Rocks (Sydney West)
If you know of any teachers interested in attending, please pass on the above dates (they are also in the winter booklet) and ask them to contact Jim Mackay (development at onsw.asn.au).
ONSW is hosting the Australian MTBO championships at Wingello in the Southern Highlands from October 4-8.
Bulletin 1 has now been published, containing details on the carnival program, officials, classes, entry fees and entries, expected winning times, event locations, embargoes, accommodation, technical information and a copy of the previous Wingello map from 2012.
This carnival follows on directly from the Australian Foot-O carnival around Bathurst and Hill End in late September.
We are delighted to announce that:
* sub-juniors (children up to the age of 14) will get free entry
* there will be a recreational class for novices (with discounted entry fees)
* there will be a night champs on Wed Oct 4 as a pre-cursor
* there will be a practice event on the Friday
* camping and dorms will be available
For further MTBO updates, follow the MTBO Australia Facebook page, and the event website.
After eight years running the BOSS, we say a massive thank you to series co-ordinator Andrew Haigh who stepped down from this important role after the 2016-17 finale at Blue Gum Hills on Sunday.
The BOSS is the Newcastle club's monthly summer series for mountain bike orienteering, attracting a loyal following and - importantly - giving valuable experience to course setters.
We thank everyone who helped stage these events and offer congratulations to the series winners:
Elite: Steven Todkill (Newcastle)
Men: Michael Ridley-Smith (Garingal)
Women: Nicole Haigh (NC)
Rookie: John Brayan (GO)
Tim Hackney is taking over the co-ordinator's role next summer. Final standings are here.
And a reminder to everyone that ONSW is hosting the Australian MTBO champs in the Southern Highlands on October 7-8.
