The weekly e-newsletter of
Bendigo Orienteers Inc.
Issue 20/14: 4 June, 2014
Contact (for this publication): Peter J. Creely: luddcreely@impulse.net.au (Ph. 5443 1975)
Web site: www.bendigo-orienteers.com.au
If you wish to unsubscribe from this bulletin, please click the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of this email. If you would like this Bulletin to be emailed directly to you, please email bendigo.orienteers@gmail.com.
Newcomers. The ‘Newcomers’ Table’ which is set up each week does need orienteers who feel that they would like to give to others some of their excitement in our sport and to pass on some basic introductory messages. This will probably most important next Saturday (7 June) at Maldon. The event has been advertised in the local Maldon newssheet and the Primary School as one that would be good for local people to taste orienteering. So could people please think of this and be available to help if needed. Please consider giving a bit of your time (you can still go on your run – before or after) so that you can spread the load.
Congratulations to those from our JSquad who were chosen to represent Victoria in the Australian Secondary Schools Champs later this year. You are all a credit to our club (of course, all our other JSquad people are too!)
Junior Girls: Caitlyn Steer.
Senior Girls: Leisha Maggs.
Junior Boys: Glenn James, Jimmy Cameron, Michael Loughnan.
Senior Boys: Louis Cameron, Lachlan Cherry.
While we are on the subject, I belatedly noticed that some of our juniors are featured in the Non elite National Rankings;
Class W10: Serryn Eenjes 1st.; W16: Leisah Maggs 7th.; M12: Jack Wigney 9th.; M14: Michael Loughnan 8th. and Jimmy Cameron 9th. Some of our adult people featured too. See page 44 Australian Orienteer, March 2014 if you haven’t already looked!
Juniors? (Repeat) If you know of any kids who enjoy orienteering and would like to be on our mailing list, could you let me know — please. I will resume my monthly newsletter shortly and this may be of interest to some of you.
Sedgwick. Full details can be found on our webpage.
Space Racing, 31 May: This race was at Kennington Reservoir. The kids are starting to look at planning. This time the teams had to take into account the reservoir and not get caught out on the other side and lose time getting back (they weren’t allowed to swim across!). They all seemed to manage this quite well as all were back with no loss of time.
I note also that Isobel Byrne was placed fourth out of about seven or eight competitors on Course 5 in the Bush Classic at Sedgwick (this was actually second as the first two placings were taken up by two Bendigo Junior Elites who were warming down from their State team selection race), after the Saturday morning Space Race. This is her second year in Space Racing and has now tasted Bush Orienteering – really well done Isobel!
By the way, I would like to compliment Jack Wigney for his offer to shadow Isobel around her course on Saturday to give her and her parents some reassurance as to her well being. Jack’s no stranger to making offers to assist other kids when needed – thank’s Jack.
Bendigo Primary Schools Champs. Friday 6th June at 10am. We are looking for more people to help in this important event. We have a few but are after as many as we can get to make it a bit easier all round. If you have a few hours to spare on that day (or can alter your schedule to suit) could you please advise David Jones on jones.d@impulse.net.au It would be great if you could help – it is an important event and it is a fun day.
RouteGadget Orienteering Australia has installed the latest version of RouteGadget on its website which is a utility for drawing and comparing orienteering routes on a map. It can be accessed at http://rg.orienteering.asn.au/. Some background information on RouteGadget can be found at http://support.orienteering.asn.au/. The number of articles on it will expand as required.
The site is ready to use now for events going forwards, and has one of the latest non-Java versions of RouteGadget installed. Ian Chennell (Victoria) has kindly offered to administer and maintain the RG installation. This support is greatly appreciated!
As part of this role Ian has kindly offered to update the server as new versions are released. He has also offered his time to migrate existing RG repositories to the new installation. If you are interested in doing this please send an email to rg@orienteering.asn.au.
Coming Events:
Saturday 7 June – King and Queen of the Mountain (Tarrengower) – Bendigo Rocks Series 1
· Courses 1, 2 and 3 will find their way into the granite before returning to the town.
· An excellent intro for newcomers to bush orienteering.
· Enter on day for all courses.
· Start any time between 12.30 pm and 2.00 pm.
· Courses by Mark Hennessy.
Comment: Tarrengower isn’t the flattest area in the world, so expect some hills. It is however very interesting with some very old gold mining. Courses 1, 2 and 3 will find their way into the granite before returning to the town.
To get there: From Bendigo. The start is at the Council Reserve in Fountain Street, next to the football ground. Travel to Maldon via Castlemaine. On the way into the town centre look for the fire station on the left and turn left into Fountain Street just past it.
Sunday 8 June – State Series Event #7 – South German, Maldon State Forest, near Newstead – Nillumbik Emus Orienteers
· The terrain is mostly spur-gully; some strongly expressed, some subtle, mixed with rock features and gold mining.
· Pre-entry is recommended, on-line via Eventor, late on-line entry until Thursday 5 June.
· Enter-on-day available, while map stocks last.
· Start times from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm. Registration closes 12.30 pm. Courses close from 2.30 pm.
The Saturday event is a good opportunity for Maldon families to see and experience the sport of orienteering at close hand. Bendigo Orienteering Club is running an event which starts from the Council Reserve in Fountain Street, next to the football ground. Newcomers are welcome and free instruction is available. You can start on a course any time from 12.30 to 2 pm, and courses close at 3 pm. Participants will be given a map with checkpoints marked, and the aim is to find all the checkpoints in order, then return to the finish.
For beginners, there will be two short courses (2-3 km) with easy to moderate navigation on the lower slopes of the mountain just above the town. Many locals will already be familiar with the bush tracks that the shorter courses will follow. The longer courses will venture off the tracks into the rocky areas above Butts Reserve, where the navigation will be quite tricky due to the detailed rock features on the map and the absence of tracks to follow.
You can walk or run, solo or as a group. Wear clothes suited to the weather. Maldon has been the home of high quality orienteering events since Easter 1998, but this is the first time since then that the courses have started and finished right in the town.
Further information: Bendigo Orienteers website; Orienteering Victoria website. Enquiries: Mark Hennessy, organiser, 0419 559 129, markhennessy@bigpond.com.
Melways 621 C11; VicRoads 59 C3
Travel Directions: From Castlemaine take B180 towards Maryborough and Newstead. 2km after passing through Green Gully and approx 1km before Newstead turn right (north) onto Mia Mia Rd and follow O-signs north for 3 km to assembly area.
Bendigo people might use Welshmans Reef Tip Rd from east of Welshman’s Reef hamlet.
Next Bulletin 11 June
