Waggaroos Noos
Another good turnout despite the rain at CSU
 Starting at the top of the stairs near the Yindyarmarra Reconciliation site on the SW edge of the map all courses traversed the very grassy hillside for approximately 50% of their length before snaking their way back between the campus buildings. The 1500m Easy course was able to follow a recently mown path but had a tough 100m climb in the first 400m of the course. Well worth the view from the top if you could see between the misty showers but at least it was all downhill from there. The 2300m Moderate course similarly had substantial climb in the first section but did have some options to contour around the hillside rather than go right over the top. The 3400m Hard course circumvented the main hill and although visibility was good, it did require considerable physical effort getting through the long, wet grasses that obscured the small rocks and logs that litter the area. It was a good day for the Halloran family. Greg & Camilla won the Easy course finishing almost 6 minutes ahead of Jarrah Mestan and Julie Gooding while Ellena and Rachelle won the Moderate course finishing 4 minutes ahead of Pauline Moore. Briohny Seaman had a comfortable win on the 3.4km Hard course well ahead of Jack Janetzki. Briohny was clearly getting across the hillside quickly - her time would have placed her first on the Moderate course and second on the Easy course. And having completed her course she trotted off for a casual 10km lap of the University!Results
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Spring-like weather at Burngoogee
 The rocks and orchids must have been too distracting for most. Briohny Seaman ran the longest course and recorded the fastest time overall and hence the best min/km rate. Pauline Moore, on the other hand, recorded the best min/$ entry fee rate; although husband Bob challenged strongly. Alex and Debbie Davey chased Briohny around the 5.6km Hard course and eventually made it a family trifecta. There was another excellent turnout of family groups. Most did the Easy course which was won by the Bowen family - an excellent effort on their first orienteering event. Wes Campbell had a good win on the Moderate course as did the Sunleys on the Short Hard course. Results:
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Numbers on the rise!
 And she did an equally excellent job with the courses. On the Hard courses route choice decisions were paramount - climb the steep hill or contour around, go through the scrub or circumvent it. The Moderate and Easy courses were ideal for our newer orienteers. Much of the forest was open with many wildflowers and orchids just opening up which provided a very enjoyable and pleasant Sunday morning experience, although those wildflowers did prove to be a serious distraction for a few. Competition was pretty close on all courses. Alex Davey recorded the biggest winning margin by far - just over two minutes on the 6.7 km Hard course; Stuart Young finished just 40 seconds ahead of Jack Janetzki on the 4.6 km Hard course; Shane and Robyn McMullen were just 23 seconds behind Bob Moore on the 3.9 km Moderate course; and Matilda Seal just scraped home by a mere 2 seconds from Felix McNellie. Well done all.Results:
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Good turnout at Pommy
7 individuals and 8 groups (32 warm bodies) including 2 new
families participated in lovely sunny conditions in Waggaroos last event at Pomingalarna.
The forest was resplendent and many kangaroos (appropriately socially distanced) lined the hillsides to watch the event. The courses generally enabled participants to work their way around the hillsides following the contour banks or cycle paths but all involved a steep climb at some point. The 2 km Easy course was very popular with the family groups. The Roberts family (Andrew, Julia, Ruby and Michael) trying orienteering for the first time recorded the fastest time finishing just over 2 minutes ahead of Tom Janetzki. The Miller-McNellie family group, also trying orienteering for the first time had a good day. Firstly they just edged out Greg & Camilla Halloran to finish third on the Easy course and then attempted the 3.2 km Moderate navigation course finishing second. Rachelle Ward and Ellena Halloran won he Moderate course and Wes Campbell finished third. Jack Janetzki recorded the best km rate of the day completing the 3.5 km Hard course at a very good 9½ min/km considering the number of steep pinches that needed to be negotiated. John Oliver won the 6.5 km Hard course ahead of Phil Roy. Results:
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Local orienteering returns
 Starting from the eastern end of Mount St the 1.5 km Easy navigation course proved popular with family groups. It followed some of the paths and tracks around the north-western end of the area requiring a steep descent and an equally steep ascent challenging participants to find particular thickets and boulders along the way. Times were quite close. Melanie Bradley and her two young sons Alexander and Nicolas had the fastest time just ahead of Julie Gooding and son Jarrah. The Farquhar family group of Emily, Alexander and Ella finished a competitive third. Visiting from Leeton, first time orienteers Rachelle Ward and her daughter Camilla Halloran were a little off the pace and finished fourth but thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The Hard courses wound around the steep hillside having participants locate specific rock features and the occasional small gully. Although visibility was excellent, the steep ascents, difficult descents and profusion of grassy regrowth following the recent rains made the courses physically demanding and relocation difficult if navigation was not perfect. Missing a control site meant some more hard scrambling across the hillside and significant time loss. Stuart Young scrambled particularly well winning the 3.2 km Hard navigation course comfortably, finishing more than 10 minutes ahead of the rest of the field. His was an excellent run in the deceptively difficult terrain. John Oliver finished second with Phil Roy and Loren Edmandson in third place. Sharni Rajasekera similarly had a comfortable win on the 2.3 km Hard course finishing more than 10 minutes ahead of Pauline Moore who had a few navigational problems on the first half of the course. The other half of Leeton visitors and newcomers,Greg and Ellena Halloran certainly enjoyed their introduction to the sport, winning the 2.0 km Moderate navigation course. Despite making a few mistakes, none were serious enough to allow veteran Bob Moore to sneak past. Results:
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Waggaroos to resume local orienteering competitions!
Yes ….we are resuming competitive orienteering….. although it needs to be a little different to comply with existing Government Orders and ONSW Policy. The principles of the revised operating protocols are: • to minimise touching of objects by multiple people, and • to maximise social distancing particularly at assembly area. EVENT FORMAT • SI units will not be used at control sites. Instead coloured tape will be attached to the control flag in a way that is obvious and visible and such that participants do not need to touch the control flag to find it. Participants are to record colour of tape at each control location. There will be multiple choice options on the back of the map for participants to check off the correct colour. • As such, participants will need to carry a pencil. We would prefer participants bring their own pencil, pen or marker. If you use a club pencil it is not to be shared and when returned is to be put into separate box for post-event disinfection. • There will be START and FINISH SI units for timing, similar to the summer series process. An SI stick will be required to record your start time and finish time only. Upon downloading the elapsed time will be recorded but a copy from the printer will not be provided to the participant. • Borrowed/hired compass, SI unit or other equipment is to be used by the borrower/hirer only and when returned is to be put into a separate box on return for disinfection at later date. • Participants are to retain the map(s) they used at the conclusion of their course. Maps are not to be left at registration table or elsewhere at the event site. • When participating please maintain social distancing when you meet others i.e. stay at least 1.5 m away and do not run in another participants slip-stream. REGISTRATION • To avoid multiple people touching a common registration form the Organiser will have a list of those who have attended recent orienteering events and will check participants off as attending from this list. • Being checked off as attending will imply verbal acceptance of the disclaimers - which will be displayed such they can be read without touching. • During checking off the organiser will check/ record your name and mobile phone number. If required these details will be provided to NSW Health for contact tracing purposes. ENTRY FEES • No payment, cash or electronic, will be accepted at the event. Participants will be contacted at a later date (e.g. end of August and end of October) and asked to transfer entry fees for events attended directly into the Waggaroos bank account. WATER • There will be no water provided on courses or at assembly area. Participants are to bring own water for their own personal use only to carry on course and for post-event. CAR KEYS/ WATER BOTTLES/ CLOTHING • There will be no provision to hold car-keys/ water bottles/ clothing at registration table. Participants are to look after their own car-keys/ water bottles/ clothing. Please maintain consciousness of social distancing requirements: • Keep at least 1.5 m from people not from your household. • Do not run in someone else’s slipstream. • Be socially respectful and step to the side of the path when passing others. • Government Orders currently constrain the gathering number at outdoor premises to 20. As such, we request that socialising at the assembly area is kept to a minimum and that participants literally Come and Run then Go. Please do not approach the Organiser to register until you are literally ready to start; and please depart reasonably soon after completing your course. |
Rocky Hill training courses - now removed from website
As with the Pomingalarna, the training courses have been removed from the website and tapes taken in from the forest. The start/finish isn't marked on the ground but is just inside the gate off Simpkin Crescent, between numbers 99 and 101. Course lengths are: Long 3.4 km (hard navigation) Short 2.9 km (hard navigation) Moderate 2.8 km (moderate navigation) Easy 1.4 km (easy navigation) Download the course of your choice below: |
Pomingalarna training courses - now removed from website
With local events due to start next week, the training courses have been removed from the website and tapes taken in from the forest. There are four (4) Pomingalarna courses available for download: Long 6.5 km (moderate-hard navigation) Medium 3.9 km (moderate-hard navigation) Short 3.0 km (moderate-hard navigation) Easy 1.8 km (easy navigation) |
More isolation O activities
Hope everyone is keeping well and getting some physical exercise in this time of isolation and social distancing. To give your brain a workout, here are a few more virtual Orienteering activities, courtesy of World of O and OWA. |
More armchair orienteering
Courtesy of a couple of overseas websites, here are some more opportunities to practice your orienteering skills without leaving home: Hope everyone is staying well and keeping up the exercise, as far as that is possible in the current environment. |
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