The Hills are Alive with........

They say Double Bay – Double Pay. What goes up (it hurts 1) goes down (it hurts 2)

Well it certainly was for the 144 orienteers who took part in Sydney Summer series #22 on Wednesday evening. The “Cooper Park” map takes in the shores of Sydney Harbour to the lofty heights of Edgecliff, albeit with a lot of contours and flights of stairs in between.

the map- the puzzle- the pain

For the competitors the first battle was trying to find a flow around the map to maximise points. The controls around and in Cooper Park itself were easy pickings (yes there were stairs involved). 240 points by my reckoning could be harvested here  but there was pain.

Anyway looking at the results usual podium placer Andrew Hill picked up 570 points but lost 40 in time penalties.  Ian (I’m getting the lot) McKenzie indeed picked up all 30 controls but was just a little overtime.

Scott and Dianna Bennett who have recently joined Uringa were there for their second attempt at Summer Series Orienteering. They did rather well but then their fitness levels have been honed on the Adventure racing circuit and no doubt their fine point navigation will improve with more racing under their collective belts.

A word here for the course planner Dave Lotty. Working on a brand new map he certainly set a course which had everyone scratching their heads. Mind you if you hang around the finish area long enough you would have gleaned many a clue as to how best to solve the Cooper park puzzle.

O-touch entry system was used for the first time at a summer series event. Each competitor inserts their Estick into a unit and up pops their name- choose your class and click on entry and away you go. This was very much a trial and in the next season the club will invest in two tablets to run this as a true touch screen experience which will make it faster. (no white cards to play with!!!)

Name	Class	Gross Score	Time	Penalties	Nett Score	Place in class
Brian Cleland	IM	330	42:57		330	3
Mary Jane Mahony	LW	280	43:07		280	2
Ian McKenzie	WaM	600	109:04	-650	0	3
Finn Mackay	JM	250	31:45		250	4
Jim Mackay	VM	370	44:27		370	16
Margaret Jones	VW	390	46:48	-20	370	1
Penny Field	SVW	240	39:21		240	6
Scott& Dianna Bennett	Groups	350	45:48	-10	340	1
Lisa Lampe	VW	350	45:48	-10	340	5
Linda Sesta	VW	360	37:52		360	2
Sophie Jones	SJW	130	25:29		130	3
Helen Murphy	SVW	240	37:04		240	5
Adrienne Kirby	SVW	290	44:22		290	4
Catherine Murphy	OW	460	43:59		460	2
Matt Peters	VM	430	44:51		430	5
Ian Jones	VM	440	49:18	-50	390	12
Georgia Jones	JW	360	39:06		360	1
Ondrej Pavlu	OM	520	45:47	-10	510	3

 That brings the Sydney Summer Series events to a close – well as far as Uringa’s commitment goes. There are still a number of events through March run by other Sydney clubs.

Oh I forgot to mention the storm. Yes it was a hot and steamy day and the black clouds had gathered in an ominous formation to the south. The event set up was completed under a hot sun and the rain that had been threatening all day was still doing that, threatening. Early runners had a dry run, well sweat excluded. Whereas those who ran around 6pm copped a drenching. Mangled maps was the order of the day. It is surprising how many people do not bring a map bag. A few smirks were seen on faces as those who arrive at 4.30 and run at 6.15 having spent a long time studying the map returned to the finish looking rather wet! (revenge is sweet.)