2018 Easter Orienteering - the Prologue

Each year the Australian Three Days is held in a different state. This year it's Tasmania (next year it is Western Australia).

There is a lot of orienteering for both elite (chasing World Ranking points at the Prologue and Day 1 as well as competing in the National Orienteering League) and the rest of us. There are also a lot of Orienteering Australia meetings.

The first formal day is The Prologue. This was a sprint at the University of Tasmania. Many route choices around the campus buildings. The campus is located on the side of a hill so a bit of climb as well.

This event did not offer age classes. Competitors chose their courses by length and standard of difficulty.

Hard 1 Men
9th 22.08 Shane Doyle
32nd 26.70 Michael Warlters
66th 41.26 Ian McKenzie

Hard 2 Men
58th 38.09 Brian Cleland
62nd 43.43 Dave Lotty

Hard 2 Women
10th 24.00 Serena Doyle
52nd 41.17 Mary Jane Mahony

Moderate Men
8th 15.80 Nick Wilmott

Moderate Women
22nd 26.02 Margaret Wilmott

2017 - 2018 Summer Series Wrap Up

After 26 weeks of Wednesday afternoon competitions the 2017-18 Summer Series has come to a close with a glittering presentation evening at Chatswood Golf Club.
Terry and Helen made it to 23 events and Adrienne was just 1 behind on 22. (Helen tells me that they would have made it to 24 but for a trip to Japan to support Sydney FC.)
12 runners made it to all 26 events with a further 6 attending 25. Amazing effort.
The table below shows each persons overall ranking  as well as how they went in their age class ( based purely on the total points they scored) plus the total points they scored.

Overall	Name	Class	Position	Points
137	Brian Cleland	IM	4	1032
90	Terry Murphy	LM	11	1391
129	Ian McKenzie	LM	16	1112
246	Dave Lotty	LM	27	319
544	Ron Pallas	LM	41	41
22	Adrienne Kirby	LW	2	2014
23	Helen Murphy	LW	3	2013
151	Mary Jane Mahony	LW	4	927
55	Michael Weiner	MM	8	1692
63	Laurent Billott	MM	9	1570
108	Owen Shepherd	MM	16	1259
113	Serje Robidoux	MM	17	1214
341	Ian Bilmon	MM	44	122
89	Ondrej Pavlu	OM	3	1394
17	Catherine Murphy	OW	2	2139
153	Clare Murphy	OW	6	915
461	Monica Brockmyre	MW	19	66
112	Jim Mackay	SVM	14	1215
123	Matt Peters	SVM	16	1162
447	John Fuller	SVM	46	68
544	Gayle Shepherd	SVW	26	41
72	Zoe Melling	VW	6	1516
87	Linda Sesta	VW	7	1417
238	Melanie Christie	VW	15	361
251	Chris Brown	Walk Men	2	300

Linda. Helen and Terry 

Winning Start to MetrO League for Uringa

An excited crowd of orienteers gathered at Thornleigh Oval on Sunday morning for the first event of the 2018 MetrO league, hosted by Bennelong Northside Orienteers. Established in 2004 by the late Frank Assenza of BNN, the league is an annual inter-club competition for clubs in the greater Sydney area, and comprises a series of six bush orienteering events in five divisions. A total of 30 teams are registered for the 2018 league, including three combined Uringa/Central Coast Orienteers teams. The UR-CC teams got off to a great start on Sunday, with the UR-CC Harriers winning against the Garingal Orienteers Frill Necks in Division 2, and the UR-CC Kestrels beating the GO Blue Tongues to emerge top of the leaderboard in Division 5. In Division 3 the UR-CC Kites conceded to the GO Skinks, with only two members finishing.

Despite the hot dry weather on the day the ground was wet and slippery underfoot, thanks to the heavy rainfall during the week, and there was much talk of the “greenness” of the map and the wisdom of utilising the trails as much as possible to minimise the amount of bush-bashing. Those competing on the longer, harder courses had more of an off-road adventure, and bush orienteering experience was a strong advantage in all divisions, as discovered by a number of navigationally-challenged novices who found themselves out of their depth in the thicket. There were reports of close encounters with a variety of local flora and fauna including snakes, lizards, spiders and enormous eucalypts, one of which came crashing down metres from where two orienteers were standing.

On the 2.8k Division 2 course, Shane Doyle continued his excellent form to finish first in in a time of 50.06, followed Finn Mackay (15th in 104.48), Michael Warlters (17th in 106.09) and Serje Robidoux (31st in 1.31.12). Zoe Melling, having filled a vacancy on the team at the last minute, recorded her first DNF after finally conceding defeat and emerging long after the rest of the field had left, with only half the controls in the bag. In Division 3, Colin Price and Robyn Pallas of UR-CC Kites finished 14th and 22nd respectively in 1.21.54 and 1.28.04, while David Bowerman was waylaid by a nasty fall and Jim Mackay also clocked a DNF. First home from the UR-CC Kestrels in Division 5 was Melanie Christie in 5th position in 50.01 for the 2.3k course, followed by Ron Pallas (8th in 58.24), Dave Lotty (15th in 1.09.42), Gayle Sheppard (18th in 1.12.39) and Adrienne Kirby (22nd in 1.15.00).  Outside of the team competition, Ian Mackenzie was 22nd on the Division 1 course in a time of 1.43.55 and Maggie Mackay was 5th on the easy course in 27.28.

Team results are on the NSW Orienteering site and full individual results are on Eventor.

Map of the Division 2 course on which Shane Doyle finished first

Map for Division 5 which the UR-CC Kestrels is leading

Jim and Maggie Mackay out on the easy course. Photo: Salme Fuller, IKO

NSW State League Kicks Off

It was a warm and windy weekend for the opening of the NSW State League, with sweltering summer temperatures making a comeback and strong gusts sweeping clouds of dust across the terrain. This didn’t deter the large gang of orienteers including six Uringans who headed to Southeast NSW for the first two events of the season, which included a range of navigationally challenging courses of varying length and elevation, over hilly bush terrain with no paths or park benches in sight. Termite mounds served as one of the key navigation features, and various species of wildlife including kangaroos, deer, snakes and owls also made an appearance over the weekend. The 2018 State League comprises 16 events in total and incorporates the NSW Orienteer of the Year competition, which is awarded in each age class with the scoring based on a competitor’s best seven results in the hard A category courses.

Event #1 was held on Saturday afternoon at Collector Hill. Many of the participants struggled in the heat and conditions underfoot were challenging, with a proliferation of fallen trees reducing the pace to a stumble in many places. Maggie Mackay competed in the W12A class on a 2.2k course, and persevered to secure the win in a time of 1.01.08. Her brother Finn was 8th in the M16A class over 5.8k, and Shane Doyle was 2nd in the M50A class on the same course in 1.20.56. Linda Sesta finished a close second in the W50A class on the 4.1k course, having stopped to help a clubmate in difficulty. Jim Mackay and Dave Lotty were forced to retire from their races in the M55AS and M65AS classes.

Maggie Mackay at Collector Hill on Saturday. Photo: Clare Jessup

Conditions were slightly better for event #2 at Snows Hill on Sunday morning, although many participants were exhausted from the previous day’s competition. Maggie again won her class in an impressive time of 33.37 for 2.7k, and Linda turned the tables on Saturday’s result to come first in her W50A class by a margin of over six minutes, in a time of 104.49 for the 5.5k course. Shane was again second in the M50A class, and narrowed the gap by over four minutes to finish in 1.17.14 over the 6.2k course. Jim competed in the M55AS class, finishing 6th in 1.47.28 for 3.9k, while Finn bailed out of contention in the M16A class with a mispunch.

Linda Sesta, winner of the W50A class at Snow Hills on Sunday.
Photo: John Harding, Orienteering Australia

Shane Doyle finishing second in the M50A class at Snow Hills.
Photo: John Harding, Orienteering Australia

Jim Mackay in action at Snow Hills.
Photo: John Harding, orienteering Australia

Map of the 5.5 course at Snow Hills showing Linda's splits

Full results for both events are available on the Orienteering NSW site.

Uringans in action over the weekend

It was an active weekend of competition for Uringa, with club members participating in a range of events in various locations. Five Uringans travelled to Victoria for the three-day Melbourne Sprint Weekend, which incorporated the National Orienteering League (NOL), the premier interstate competition for elite orienteers. The six-race series kicked off on Saturday morning at Monash University’s Clayton Campus, with Maree and Serena Doyle representing the NSW Stingers in the National Orienteering League, and Shane Doyle, Melanie Christie and Dave Lotty participating in the open events. Marie and her younger sister Serena, competing in the W21 and W20 elite classes on a 3150m course, both finished in 22nd place, in times of 20.36 and 22.23 respectively. Not to be outdone by his daughters, Shane Doyle scored 3rd place in the 2850 metre M50 race in a time of 14.47, only seven seconds shy of the second placed competitor. Melanie Christie ran 24.47 to finish 9th in the W40 class, also over a distance of 2850m, and Dave Lotty was 10th in the 1675m M70 event in 21.33.

Maree Doyle in action at the Melbourne Sprint Weekend

 Race 2, held at Caulfield Grammar School later that afternoon, was a World Ranking Event (WRE) and all five Uringans picked up the pace. Serena moved up to 15th position in her class in a time of 22.48 for 3100m, and Maree finished 19th W21E in 24.35.  Shane was 3rd M50 again for his 2800m event in a time of 17.35, Melanie was 5th W40 in 25.00, and Dave finished 8th in 25.29 for the 1975m M70 event.

 

Shane Doyle was well placed in the M50 class at the Melbourne Sprint Weekend

Yarra Valley Grammar school was the venue for the third race on Sunday morning, and included a relay for entrants in the National Orienteering League in which Maree’s team came 9th. Unfortunately Serena's team missed out on a placing due to a mispunch. In the individual rankings, Serena was 12th in her class over 3100m in a time of 19.05, and Maree was 21st in 20.50. Shane had a definitive win in the M50 race in 13.36 on a 2625m course, Melanie was 8th W40 in 21.41, and Dave was 14th M70 in 18.52 over 1675m.

Serena Doyle and NSW Stinger team mate Rebecca George at the start of the relay on Sunday morning.

In Race 4 at Kurunjang Schools on Sunday afternoon, Serena placed 19th in her 3050m race in 17.01 and Maree was also 19th in her class in 18.03. Shane was 2nd in his 2575m M50 race in 12.39 and Melanie was 4th W40 in 19.44. Dave finished 10th in the 1925m M70 race in 20.44.

 

Melanie and Dave stayed on for the final day of racing, with Melanie placing 7th over 2400m in the W40 category in Race 5 at Royal Park this morning, and Dave again finishing 10th in the 1975m M70 event in 22.39. In the final race at Keilor Downs Schools this afternoon, Melanie was 5th in the 2425m W40 event in 19.48, and Dave was 12th M70 in 18.58 over 1700m.

Dave Lotty competing in the Melbourne Sprint Weekend

Closer to home, Brian Cleland, Mary Jane Mahony, Finn Mackay and Daniel Povah participated in the final event in Term 1 of Bold Horizon’s Saturday Orienteering Series, held at the Christmas Tree Farm in Duffy’s Forest. All four opted for the long line course, which involved navigating through scenic gardens and a maze of Christmas trees. Brian was 33rd in the open category in 39.47, with Mary Jane hot on his heels in 36th place in a time of 47.44. Finn finished an excellent 4th in the High School category in 23.08 and Daniel was 12th in 43.44.

Brian Cleland in action at the Saturday Orienteering Series event at Duffy’s Forest.

Across town, Linda Sesta and Brady Kopriva flew the flag for the club at the Illawarra Kareelah local event in Sans Souci, with Linda finishing 5th in the long line event in 52.20 and Brady completing the short course in 41.12.

Meanwhile, Ant Nolan and Dani Kopriva opted for a break from orienteering to line up for the gruelling 45km Six Foot Track “marathon” in the Blue Mountains on Saturday morning. Ant completed the course in 4.52.57, blowing his target time of 5 hours out of the water, and Dani finished in 5.43.08, a 45 minute improvement on her time last year.

Full results for the orienteering events are on the Eventor site. Results of the Six Foot Track Marathon are available here.