Monday, April 26, 2010

Metro 3 - Harrington Park

The battle of Harrington Park was held on Sunday 25th. The map of this newly developed area involved a delightful mix of streets, lakes, parks and bush.
At the briefing it was mentioned that the creeks were deep (man made) and Chris Wilmott and Dave McKenna were two who enjoyed a refreshing dip. A few others who used the same route choice grumbled - well maybe they did not attend the briefing or maybe not listening.
I am still waiting for the posting of the team results but I do know for sure that the Div. C team lost 19/36.

Individual results:
A Course
11 45.54 Matt Peters
12 46.08 Nick Dent
13 46.28 Paul Prudhoe
15 50.10 Dick Ogilvie
16 63.36 Dave Mckenna

B Course
30 108.54 Maureen Ogilvie

C Course
9 37.11 Adrian Steele
10 37.42 Hilary Wood
15 40.37 Julia Prudhoe
17 41.27 Dave Lotty
20 44.11 Ron Pallas

D Course
6 34.42 Sarah Garnett
9 36.13 Angela Murray
11 37.34 Jane Mckenna
12 39.12 Margaret Wilmott
22 50.17 Gayle Shepherd



It would be a good area for a sprint event

DOING IT IN THE DARK

Just what do some Uringans get up to in the dark?

Well for a few it was the NSW Night Championships held at UWS Penrith campus.
The nights attract only a small but quality field of orienteers who don a variety of lights to head out into the bush in search of controls. With 5 first placings a second and a third Uringans proved that they were great operators in the dark!

Results
M10A Jared McKenna 1st
M35AS Dave McKenna 1st
M65A Dave Lotty 1st
M65A Dick Ogilvie 3rd
W21AS Jane McKenna 1st
W65A Angela Murray 1st
W70A Maureen Ogilvie 2nd

To entice people to night orienteering I believe that there needs to be a change in the classes and that they be based on Lumens ( Wattages) of their lights.

Pencil Torch Power
Dolphin Power
Single beam
Twin Beam
Aircraft landing Light

The maybe competitors would be on the same footing ( or lighting)

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Volcano affects Jannali Household

It would seem that ash filled cloud over Iceland does have a silver lining.
Lorna Hollenstien (Linda's mum) has been in Aust for the past month may well be in Australia a little longer. Due to fly out on the 19th the volcano in Iceland may just rain ash on her departure.

Whilst in Aust - Lorna joined the Uringa camp for the Easter 3 days and was a staunch supporter of the "no rule changes" for the finish chute shoot out.

At some stage lorna will make it onto a flight back to SUI. Bon Voyage!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Finish Chute Shoot Out







Well here are the results you have all been waiting for!



But first some photos!



The battle of the finish chute!
This proved to be the bloodiest of battles. There were some amongst us who stopped just prior to the last control- composed themselves and then punched and ran.
There were some who suggested that there needed to be some form of handicapping that allowed for the distance ran prior to the finish chute. And then there were some who just did not want to be last over the line.

Round 1 Saturday
Well it was a long uphill finish chute and the track was hard and fast.
Joint fastest up the chute were Aldo and Nick taking 26seconds and Michael and Linda were third fastest taking 31seconds
Round 2 – Sunday
It was a fairly flat run and track was firm.
Nick and Aldo did it again with 15 seconds. Linda again took out third in 18 seconds
Round 3 – Monday
The finish chute was not memorable. Finally a newcomer rose to the challenge and Rick stole 1st in 22 seconds with Dave and Clare taking joint second in 31seconds
Round 4 – Friday
The finish chute had an awkward lead up which taxed the mind and body. Whilst the chute was short t also sloped away.
Dick and Dave tied for 1st with a 16 second effort. Angela was close behind in 17seconds.
Round 5 – Saturday
It was the same setup as Friday so we were better prepared for the run in.
Dave and Lisa tied with a 15 second effort (check out Lisa’s photo!). Dick and Gayle tied for third with 18 seconds.
Round 6 – Sunday
This was indeed a favourable yet lengthy finish. The howling winds were right behind you. Some runners held their maps high above their heads “coming home with a wet sail!”
It was a three way tie today with Dick, Dave and Lisa all registering 38seconds.

And that is the story of the finish chute shoot out!

The Snowy Treble

The Snowy Treble
It was a small but select group of Uringans who headed south to Buckanderra for the Snowy Treble.
To say the weather got a little cooler would be correct but the gale force winds that arrived for the Sunday event made life interesting to say the least.
In the days between the two carnivals some members rested, some headed for the coast and some braved the mountains renowned for their breathtaking scenery.
































ACT Sprint - Friday
Held in the grounds and surrounding area of the Buckanderra Village it was good fun and the courses certainly made you work. The move back to a 1:5000 scale made life a little harder as your mind is so attuned to 1:10000.
Mighty Mo continued her good form with a win in W75A and Angela scored a 3rd in W65A
M60A Dave Lotty 18th
M65A Dick Ogilvie 5th
W75A Maureen Ogilvie 1st
W50A Gayle Shepherd “nanna duties” dns
M55A Ron Pallas 16th
W65A Angela Murray 3rd

ACT Middle - Saturday
Again held just on the fringe of the Buckanderra Village the Middle event was a test of stamina as you went up a mighty big hill right from the start. However the terrain was much better once up and it was indeed great fun coming down. The finish beside the billabong was delightful and a few odd creatures ( platypus and a whale) were a source of great speculation
Mo continued her dominance with another win in W75A.

Lisa Lampe W45A 5th
M60A Dave Lotty 8th
M65A Dick Ogilvie 5th
W75A Maureen Ogilvie 1st
W50A Gayle Shepherd 13th
M55A Ron Pallas 20th
W65A Angela Murray 11th

ACT Long Sunday
Well the wind blew and blew and blew. Felt sorry for the organisers as tent after tent experienced problems.
Out on the courses it was a case of hang on to your undies and your map.
Maureen suffered her first defeat of the carnival finishing 2nd in W75A, Dave Lotty was smiling at last with 2nd in M60A and Ron Pallas popped up for a rare placing in M45AS -2nd.

Lisa Lampe W45A 4th
M60A Dave Lotty 2nd
M65A Dick Ogilvie 5th
W75A Maureen Ogilvie 2nd
W45AS Gayle Shepherd mp
M45AS Ron Pallas 2nd
W65A Angela Murray 7th

The wind never abated throughout the event. Fortunately the run home was wind assisted. .However there were a few legs into the wind plus a leg across the wind on an exposed ridge that some our lighter orienteers struggled with.

Stay tuned for the next instalment
“The Finish Chute Shoot Out”

Monday, April 12, 2010

Australian 3 days results

The Australian 3 Days held over Easter in and around Canberra was a carnival of contrasts.
Day 1 on Gudgenby was very technical and in places very thick making it a tough physical challenge. Day 2 in Kowen Forest was fast and furious in typical pine plantation forests. Day 3 at Collector featured a significant amount of fallen timber making it a very difficult map to run straight lines on.
The event was well organised and it featured excellent commentary. The highlight of the day was the chance to score prizes in the “most interesting injury” Oldest piece of o-gear” slowest and fastest” up the finish chute competitions.
The following is my summary of performances:

Lisa Lampe W45A
A miss punch on the prologue event was Lisa’s biggest problem during the championships. Lisa like many before and after her missed the middle control in a straight line of 3 on the very technical ADFA map.
However she performed very consistently in the three days recording 12, 15th & 16th to end up coming 13th overall.

Michael Lloyd M Open B
Michael does not get many chances to orienteer up there in the coal fields of Queensland. His experience in the terrain is more a case of blowing it up for the huge machines to load the coal . However with that said Michael did rather well in the carnival. Placed 4th on day 1 and 6th on day 3 Michael may well have podiumed had it not answered the call of a manual or two he needed to study for work on day 2.

Sarah Garnett W50A
Sarah was the model of consistency and had three excellent runs to record her highest placed overall placing at the Aust 3 days for some time. Finishing 8th overall in what is one of the hottest classes in the women’s division was a fantastic effort. (8th, 10th,9th)

Rick Steele M50A
Rick over the past few years has been running M45As at major carnivals. However he stepped up to the “A” division for this event. A mp on day one cruelled any chance of a solid placing but day 2 21st and day 26th showed what might have been.

Bronwyn Steele W21E
Bronwyn has been missing from the sport for a number of years. A knee rebuild ( hockey injury) followed by extensive O/S travel saw Bronny otherwise engaged. However Bronny came back to the sport this year and it was amazing to see just how well she ran on very limited preparation – mind you she is fit enough with a hal marathon on the agenda shortly. She placed 13th, 17th 18th 19th to finish up 14th overall a great effort Bronny!

Dick Ogilvie M65A
If ever there was someone knocking on the podium door over recent years it has been Dick. In recent weeks he has been showing good form and the three days was just the place to put it all together. Dick placed 6th, 3rd, 8th to wind up in 3rd place on the podium.

Maureen Ogilvie W75A
Well Maureen certainly had a great carnival. She was placed 1st on each day and was odds on to be W75A Champion

Dave Lotty M65A
Injuries are taking a toll on Dave and he certainly struggled to be competitive during the carnival 10th, 13th 10th for an 8th place overall. Had he come into the carnival injury free it may well have been a different story.

Catherine Murphy W21E
Catherine entered the carnival on limited preparation and knew that the two long days would be physically too much. She ran well in the sprint on day 1 to place 25th and was 21st on the first bush race. She then ran a modified course on the remaining two days.

Linda Sesta W40A
Linda was again a model of consistency racking up 3rd, 4th, 3rd to finish on the podium in 3rd place

Aldo Sesta EOD Orange
Unfortunately The results of EOD were not included in the carnival results. However a little birdy told me that Aldo ran each day but there was some suggestion that he saved himself for the sprint up the finish chute each day

Terry Murphy M60A
Unfortunately in the week leading up to the event Terry sustained a nasty ankle injury that prevented him donning an o-suit. He had to spend the days as chief photographer and cheer squad leader.

Helen Murphy W60A
Over the past 12 months Helen has been running shorter courses due to injury. At theses champs she stepped back up to the W60A class and performed well. She achieved 15th, 16th 14th to finish in 15th position overall.

Clare Murphy W21A
Now if you want consistency Clare’s 3rd, 3rd, 3rd to finish 3rd overall was it. The W21a Class is very competitive with a number of former elite runners stepping back into this class. Well done Clare

Ian McKenzie M55A
Over the past few years Ian has battled injury. It was great to see him back out in the forest competing at a very much reduced walking pace. However Ian was in good form and in the large M55A field he finished mid field 20th, 29th, 24th to finish 21st overall.

Ron Pallas M45AS
Well one could write a book on these performances. The errors got bigger 14 minutes day 1 (14th) 37 minutes day 2 (21st) and a mp on Day 3 ( I was there and did punch it as Mark Wilmott was right behind me to verify that. However that was the way it was.

Gayle Shepherd W35AS
Once again there was a huge level of consistency here. Gayle finished 13th each day but faded to 14th overall on the result board when the medals were being handed out. Blisters and some minor errors slowed our seamstress somewhat.

Nick Wilmott M21AS
Never one to be orthodox Nick entered M21AS or “Sledge” as it is known. Choosing not to compete in his normal age class he was giving
away 20+ years on the majority of his fellow competitors. However Nick was not daunted by this and performed extremely well over the 3 days. He finished 10th, 8th, 6th to end up 5th overall. (Pity it wasn’t a five day event as he may have ended up on the podium!)

Margaret Wilmott W50A
Margaret’s carnival started poorly with a mp robbing her of any chance for an overall placing. However Margaret was very pleased with her runs on Day 2 15th and day 3 17th.

Jane McKenna W21AS
Jane ended up a very creditable 3rd place in W21AS. She had an outstanding run on day 1 to lead the field but two slower runs (5th and 6th) saw her drop down the leader board but she managed to take her place on the podium.

Dave McKenna M45AS
Dave also stood on the 3rd place podium position. His runs 3rd, 2nd and 9th were all strong but one must realise he tailed Jared around after each of his runs and by the end of the carnival he was knackered!

Jared McKenna M/W10N
With Dave in high pursuit Jared had a very good carnival. The N class allows parents to shadow and assist if necessary. Jared was way too fast for Dave and assistance was out of the question. Jared recorded 2nd, 2nd, 1st to finish in 1st place overall.

Jitka Kopriva W60A
Apart from a slow run on day 1, 14th, Jitka had a very good carnival with 6th and 5th on days 2 & 3.. She finished in 7th place overall in what is probably the largest and most competitive women’s class.

Zuzu Burford M55AS
Zuzu’s overall placing relied on a good 3rd day result unfortunately after 2nd day 1 and 2nd day 2 14th on Day 3 saw Zuzu relegated from 1st place. None the less it was an outstanding result for a quietly competitive orienteer.

Angela Murray W65A
Day 1 was Angela’s undoing and tough technical terrain cost her the chance of a top 5 placing. She recovered from 14th on day 1 to post very competitive times on Day 2 8th and day 3 9th to finish 10th overall

As is always the way - you compile a list and you leave someting out.
Stay tuned for results from Snowy 3 days and a few photos. Plus the results of the Uringa finish shute challenge

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Day 1 Easter 2010

No detailed results. That will come later I'm sure. Just a helicopter view. Tough courses for day 1 courtesy of Dave Meyer. Sorted out men from the boys and girls from  the women.  Mixed bag of results. Plenty of personal victories. Big focus on finish shute times. Delicious intentional fruit cake. Here are a few club stalwarts at the last control.