Last of the 2016 State League Events!

The final State League Double Header was held on the Southern Highlands on a weekend of contrasts.

Saturday was cold and bleak with occasional rain  and Sunday absolutely glorious with clear skies and not a cloud in the sky. That is where the differences finished. The similarity was simple- thick bush.

Interestingly I went looking for some quotable quote about thick bush but all I could find were the words of a rather famous American family!

State League 11

“Boxvale Tramway” is an interesting area with the south western cliff line providing real navigational challenge. Unfortunately much of the map is vague and a case of “Bingo I found" it as you pushed through  stuff.  (see leg 1-2 - I found the rock se of the control)

Mind you the walk along the tramway is beautiful ( Closed at the moment). The views at the northern end are magic!

 A little history:

The line, of standard gauge, was built in 1888 to carry coal mined in Nattai Gorge the seven klms to the main southern Line at Mittagong. The line passes through several cuttings and a tunnel 84 metres in length. It ends at the "incline", by which coal was brought up from the gorge. The Colliery probably had its heyday in 1888, when 100 tons of coal per week were shipped to Melbourne during a coal strike. The Colliery was closed in 1896 and the tramway (railway) abandoned.

So a number of Uringans came and ran but a quick look at the results will see that the times were way longer than expected.  The courses made use of that super interesting rock line where you had to stay focused whilst many around were impersonating headless chooks.

Only 3 Uringans finished off the podium  and of the winners Ian McKenzie’s win in M35A was worthy of special mention. (Ian backed it up with a close 4^th in M40A the following day.)

Plac	Name	Class	Time
1	Maureen Ogilvie	W80A	2:42:43
1	Sophie Jones	W14A	1:03:29
1	Ian McKenzie	M35A	1:48:18
1	Jim Mackay	M55AS	56:36
1	Ian Jones	M50A	1:03:22
1	Shane Doyle	M45A	57:51
2	Maggie Mackay	W10A	16:03
2	Linda Sesta	W45A	57:57
3	Finn Mackay	M14A	55:45
3	Margaret Jones	W45A	1:09:06
3	Ron Pallas	M55AS	1:12:17
5	Dick Ogilvie	M70A	1:15:18
8	Dave Lotty	M70A	1:22:59
	Gayle Shepherd	W45AS	mispunched

State League 12.

I have been going to Belanglo since around 1984 and it was a case of having read the planners comments I should have considered staying at home. The area has greened up- the white is light green, the light green darker and the dark green……. However it was a real physical challenge in places and a mental challenge in others.

As I mentioned earlier the weather was typical southern highlands. Chilly in the shade but magnificent in the sun. It was interesting to see the number of orienteers who paid a visit the Memorial for those who lost their lives in the Backpacker Murders.

The courses were well set to the long format and we had some great navigational challenges in the rock. But it was often a case of the vegetation “10 orienteer 0” as it was difficult to stay on line and or read the lie of the land. My leg 8 to 9 was  a case in part as the 100 metres from the track junction to the control should be a snack. Alas the thick green  just prior has grown in volume and pushed you away south  from the control with the track at #10 to save you. The better route choice was to go north east on the track and come due south – it was apparently thick but not as thick

Again some great results and it was good to see that Gayle remembered to visit all controls this time!

Plac	Name	Class	Time
1	Georgia Jones	W20A	1:55:02
1	Maureen Ogilvie	W80A	2:11:36
2	Ian Jones	M50A	1:27:40
2	Sophie Jones	W14A	55:27
2	Finn Mackay	M14A	36:17
2	Jim Mackay	M55AS	55:30
3	Maggie Mackay	W10A	18:44
4	Gayle Shepherd	W45AS	1:07:30
4	Shane Doyle	M45A	1:50:03
4	Ian McKenzie	M40A	2:37:28
4	Ron Pallas	M55AS	59:17
7	Dave Lotty	M70A	1:41:50
	Dick Ogilvie	M70A	did not finish

WHAT'S ON FOR SUMMER

With the final events in the winter bush season almost upon us it is time to look ahead for the upcoming 2016-2017 summer season.
There are a number of series run during the summer
NSSS- North Sydney Summer Series (begins 5th October)
SSSS- South Sydney Summer Series (begins 9th October)
WSSS- West Sydney Summer Series (begins 9th October)
Sprint Series (begins in 8th January 2017)

Uringa has a foot in three of the above series  - NSSS, SSSS, Sprint Series
These are our commitments  for the summer Events

Date	Location	Map	Organiser	Series
16 Oct	Ramsgate	Scarborough Park	Shane Doyle	SSSS
6 Nov	Woollahra	Cooper Park	Ian McKenzie	SSSS
20 Nov	Vaucluse	Watsons Bay	Adrienne Kirby	SSSS
23 Nov	Hurlstone Park	Cup & Saucer Creek	Rick Steele	NSSS
11 Dec	Centennial Park	Centennial Park	Dave Lotty	SSSS
15 Jan	Birchgrove	Mort Bay Dock	Helen Murphy	Sprint Series
25 Jan	Lilyfield	Lilyfield Lanes	Matt Peters	NSSS
19 Feb	Alexandria	Sydney Park	Dave McKenna	Sprint

The events on 23/11 and 25/01 are big events with 200 plus runners. The other events usually have up to 100 or so.

 

Another important Date for your Diary

URINGA XMAS PARTY   Date: Saturday 26 November Venue: Matt and Helen’s at Hunters Hill Time: Approx 3.30pm onwards Details: Official Invite to come!