Eagles Everywhere!

To my surprise I see that Uringa operates a business in Hong Kong cleverly disguised as an authentic Thai cuisine restaurant. 

Learn three things to improve your orienteering!

That was the promise made by training officer Maggie Jones for this weekend's club training at Maroubra. Scheduled to start at 4pm the session was lucky with good dry weather and not too much of a breeze, which can be a problem any time at the coast.  The Cutbush family came along for some fun, despite an exhausting day at the zoo, and showed no sign of fatigue - well, at least Bianca, Jake and Toby didn't seem to slow down all evening!  Mary Jane and Brian, the Shinglers from Big Foot, and Eric the Adventure Racer came to learn from Ian' the guru' Jones.   And they were not disappointed.

Each magic tip was concealed in an envelope which the children were invited to open and post onto the uprights of the bbq shelters.  Following the excitement of the amazing tip reveal, and detailed explanation, it was off to a physical exercise to  practice the new skill - three tips, three exercises which involved steep hill descents, tracing paper, and practicing honesty and self awareness.  The session had it all.  Connah Cutbush took on the bbq as everyone disappeared off into the darkness on the final night orienteering course, ensuring that there were sausages and rolls for the hungry trainees on their return.

And the three tips?  Well, you had to be there...

Next Uringa training is 10 August at Gough Whitlam Park.

The Highland Fling - QB111

And so it was 250 plus orienteers gathered in the Sothern Highlands for the 2013 QB111. The carnival was staged by Southern Highland, Illawarra/Kareela and Uringa with each club running a day.

Day 1 – State League 6

A sprint around Chevalier College, Bowral eased competitors into the QB111. Whilst the area was not super complex it did have enough to keep you thinking all the way around. Maureen Ogilvie in W70A had a solid run to score a 3rd place. Also in 3rd were Sophie Jones, W12A, Maggie Jones, W45A and Julie Cutbush Calder in W35A. One step higher on the podium was Lawrence jones in M18A and Jared McKenna M12A. Standing atop the podium in 1st place on this day was Georgia Jones W16A.

As the event wound down vespers of chilly winds sent competitors scurrying to cars and off to their accommodation for a warming shower and a hot cuppa.

Day 2 State League 7

An absolutely beautiful day greeted competitors in Belanglo State Forest for the Long stage. Held in the Northern end of the forest, the mix of pine and eucalypt and some great rock greeted competitors. Reports from the forest suggested that there was more than a touch of green and scrappy deadfall to slow you down.

Ian Jones in M45A came home in 3rd along with Jane McKenna in W45A. Keeping it in the Jones family, Lawrence and Georgia were placed second along with Jared in their respective classes. Julie Cutbush Calder showed great consistency to again place 1st.

With such a beautiful day Uringans were off out exploring wineries, coffee shops , the odd look out or two and of courses the shopping delights of Bowral, Berrima and Mittagong. Meanwhile out in the forest, Rick, Sarah and Dave were finishing control placement and Ron and Gayle were taking care of plumbing in the toilets (hole digging) for Day 3. A number of Mittagong based Uringans gathered at the Mittagong RSL for dinner.

Day 3 State League 8

Early to bed and earlier to rise! This was Uringa’s day. Rick and Sarah had spent a lot of time in the forest to ensure that all was well. They were helped by Keith and Bronny and Dave. The set up at Rocklea commenced just before 7.30am and by 8.15 the string course was in place and we were ready for the rush.

The day went brilliantly well due to the combined efforts of all.

Sophie and Georgia returned to top spot on the podium along with Julie. President Linda, fresh from her niece’s wedding, claimed second in W45A. Lawrence was again 2nd . Newcomer Ondrej in M21A had a strong run to finish in 3rd place. Also 3rd was Ant Nolan M40A and son William Nolan in M10A.

Perhaps the high point of the day belonged to Angela as she inadvertently beached her car on a tree stump.Initial attempts to refloat the Honda proved unsuccessful however later on a larger work force were on hand to successfully relaunch Angela’s car. Also in the carpark was avery happy Koala who spent the day munching away not too far up a tree. Ondrej remarked that you do not find them in Czech.

The dust settled and the presentation was held under threatening skies. Maureen Ogilvie added a 3rd place badge to her impressive trophy cabinet. Sophie Jones was also in 3rd a mere 9 seconds behind her good friend Joanna Hill. Joining the girls was Jane McKenna with a fine 3rd placing in W45A.

As expected, Lawrence Jones, after 3 second placings was also 2nd overall. Father Ian not to be outdone also came in 2nd. Julie Cutbush Calder had an ultra-consistent three days to take out the W35A class. She was joined on the podium by Georgia Jones in W16A.

Unfortunately light rain started falling as the last of the badges were being handed out and it was indeed all hands on deck as Uringa packed the gear away. Control collectors disappeared into the forest, results were packed away , toilets de-plumbed and the finish tent emptied and packed up. Mind you the challenge will now be finding some dry weather to air and dry all the gear. The garage will be a mess for a day or two or three.

Uringa’s next organisational effort is on 4th August a Junior league event at Centennial Park with Ant Nolan at the helm.

Once again Uringa were outstanding in the presentation of a great event.

From my vantage point in the finish I can tell you that the biggest issue appears to be not checking control numbers. Over the carnival with just over 800 finishers, by far the greatest reason for the dreaded MP was punching the wrong control. This was done by newcomers as well as seasoned runners. There is a lesson for us all

GREAT NOSH - Flippers, snorkels and wet suits

Well to quote a song title “wet, wet,wet!” In all the many years of Uringa manning the water stop under the Roseville bridge this was amongst the poorest conditions that we have ever endured.I guess that the positive to come from this was that the poor weather put off a lot of people and so our time exposed to the elements was a lot less than usual.

Normally we set up on a flat section of road where more often than not it is coolish but very pleasant. A very quick meeting was held and we moved 100 metres up the road to be directly under the Roseville Bridge. This 4 lane structure would provide us with shelter from the rain. How wrong we were! When the wind kicked in, it blew the rain horizontally straight up the road drenching all before it.

Now whilst we were getting wet spare a thought for the sodden runners. The 6 Km mark was just down the road from our station and they had almost 10km more to go. Catherine Murphy came through early in the piece - 4th placed in the women. Catherine commented later that the run was the hardest thing she has ever done and at one stage was rescued from waist deep water at one of the creek crossings. Catherine finished 7th in the overall and 4th in her age class. Also competing was the father son combination of Ian and Lawrence Jones. Lawrence finished 2nd in the 18 years division and Ian came in in 25th place in his age class and 99th overall. He managed a 55 second winning margin over Lawrence. Anthony Nolan had a very good run in the conditions to finish 9th in his age class and 43rd overall. Hard to believe that the winner averaged 4min 18secs per km.

Well as was mentioned once the sweep came through we were packed and gone in record time scattered to all parts of Sydney some did not leave the house again that day whilst they thawed out. Thank you to : Margaret, Ingrid and her mates, Jane, Penny, Maggie, Helen and Gayle for your stoic support on the day.

Uringa 40th Anniversary Celebration 2014 !!

I know it's early days...but you might have seen in the May Uringa Newsletter that we have set a date for the Anniversary Celebration. So you may like to enter this date into your paper/eletronic calendar NOW!!

Saturday, 10 May 2014