Metro League #2 at St.Peter’s Park - no rain!

Uringa offered the first event of the 2024 Metro League season as #1 by Illawarra-Kareelah was postponed due to flooding (now scheduled for August 4 at Appin). Uringans and others turned up to help out at the event.

St.Peter’s Park in the inner west may seem a very urban venue for a Metro event; course setter Matt Peters excelled in using the topography (over the top or around the hills?), the bush (watch out for those tree roots across the path), the wetlands (including stepping stones) and the intricate path network. A map flip was included for the harder courses.

Challenges included route choice, reading map detail and, of course, controls from different courses nea-rish to one another – checking the control number highly recommended.

The MetrO League is an annual inter-club competition for greater Sydney metropolitan clubs. The series is run from April through until September.  

Entrants run individually but earn points for their team based on their relative time. Here is how it works: teams of five compete against each other. The fastest score of the ten runners earns 10 points and the slowest gets one point. The team with the most points wins the match.

 A full team is an advantage – less experienced orienteers should not be deterred from making their contribution! New team members are always welcome and you don't need to attend every Metro League event - just the ones that suit you. This is a great opportunity for newcomers and beginners to experience orienteering in the bush. 

Eventor makes it easy for pre-entry and Division selection. Uringa’s club captain Shane Doyle does the heavy lifting of finalising teams on the day.

Courses in Division 1-3 are of Hard standard [see side one of map for Division 2 below], Division 4 is Hard/Moderate standard, Division 5 is Moderate standard, and Division 6 is a mix of Easy/Moderate standard [see map for Division 6 below]; a variety of distances is offered. The winning time is set for 30-45 minutes depending on division, and most people are finished within an hour.

The variety of distances and difficulty mean that young, adult, fit and less fit can all find a course that's right for them. 

More info on MetrO League at https://onsw.asn.au/events/metro-league

Photos by Mary Jane Mahony and Matt Peters.