Latest ONSW News
Baulkham Hills High School made an emphatic debut at the annual Sydney West schools orienteering championships at Castle Hill on Thursday by taking the title of champion school.
An unbeatable sunny 20-degree day at Fred Caterson Reserve showcased these regional champs in the best possible light and had many of the 389 kids 'badgering' teachers and parents for more info about the NSW Schools champs at Lansdowne in two weeks.
We were also delighted to have been able to put on a course for a 12-year-old girl in a wheelchair. The girl, her aide and teacher were thrilled at the opportunity to participate.
Thanks to our organiser Lyn Malmgron, course setter Graeme Hill, SI guru Ron Pallas and all the volunteers who helped put on an outstanding day.
Results are on our schools champs web page. With the Sydney West day now at capacity, we hope to be able to conduct separate primary and secondary champs next year to continue to grow this event.
Beaumont Road PS and Riverside Girls HS were declared champions at the annual Sydney North schools championships at St Ives Showground on Monday.
It was fantastic to see so many new schools participating and the event growing each year.
The format of map walk with a coach, individual age race and relay gave the 160+ students the full range of experiences.
The 3-person relays after lunch were once again a hoot, with the mass start sending the first wave of runners everywhere. North Sydney Boys HS made it a trifecta in the high school section, while Beaumont Road PS did likewise in the primary division.
Apologies for the computer glitch that prevented results being processed on the day. They are now on our schools champs web page.
A huge thanks to Barbara Hill and Peter Annetts for organising, to Liz and John Bulman for setting some highly engaging courses, and the small army of volunteers who ensure a smooth day for all.
A reminder that entries for our annual NSW Schools Championships close on August 19. Students must enter via Trybooking. You may do Saturday, or Sunday, or both days.
Big Foot enjoyed superb alpine conditions for their annual NSW ski orienteering championships at Perisher on Sunday.
A record 33 starters took to the powder for a sparkling day's skiing - and the three line course winners were all regular cross country skiers who loved their taste of the O format.
Wendy Hopkins took out the 3.8km short course, Peter Heeley the 5.1km medium course and Michael Brennan the 7.5km long course.
ACT's David Poland took out the two-hour snogaine. In the Very Short course, primary schooler Aoife Rothery (BF) beat dad Eoin, with another munchkin Ariadna Ishkakova (Bennelong) third. Great to see some of our youngest club members out enjoying it.
All the event results and a link to photos are on the Big Foot webpage.
A massive thank you to the Feet and their co-organisers Bushflyers from the ACT, along with Perisher XC Week.
NSW orienteers Nicola Blatchford (Newcastle) and Michele Dawson (Garingal) have had their first two races at the World Uni Champs in Hungary.
Nicola placed 48th in the 9.8km Long distance event on Monday night our time, 27 minutes behind the Finnish winner.
Unfortunately, Michele was disqualified in Sunday's Sprint. Mum Barb explains: "There was a closed path marked on the map, but this was not taped on the course as per briefing instructions. Michele misread her map and ran through, and 12 girls were disqualified at this point. The controller went out and taped the area out of bounds before the men's event. At the team managers/coaches meeting that night the organisers apologised for the error."
The athletes get no break, with the Sprint Relays on Tuesday night, the Middle distance on Wednesday and the Relays on Thursday. Follow the action on the event website.
