2003 NSW Championships

Trevor Gollan Reports ...

It was a fast and friendly course, with easy navigation, plentiful points, lots of tracks, little climb (highest point was only 130m above sea level), an All-Night Cafe, even a pizza shop. It was hard to get very far from a track, and we avoided the creeks because they tend to be impenetrable. It was also a gorgeous area for walking, with 25-30 beaches and headlands, placid lakes and lagoons, and some fantastic forest. The idea was to showcase the scenery above all else.

The Start

Overall winners - Emma Murray and Adrian Sheppard - Emma is the first female NSW champion since Dianne van Netten’s glory days 15 years ago.

Photo: Julian Ledger

I fully expected a few teams to get all the checkpoints at the recent NSW Championships given the nature of the area. That Emma and Adrian finished by 6:45am, in time for breakfast, was a big surprise. They travelled about 95km in under 19 hours and still looked fresh and unflustered at the finish. (See their route on page 7). Emma even helped in the Hash House preparing lunch! The second team, Mike, William & Shane, also bagged the lot by 10:01 and several other teams came close to getting them all.

Plentiful roads and soft sandy beaches took a toll on some of the teams who wouldn't normally travel so fast and so far. Quite a few blisters and weary legs emerged and several teams were keen to collect a ride back with our regular safety patrol vehicles.

The event ran smoothly, except for the loss of the flag at #23. Once we heard of its disappearance it was quickly replaced but a few teams wasted time searching for another bridge. The bridge itself was quite prominent, so if you visited it and can tell us the colour of the troll's eyes we'll happily credit you with the 20 points. It emerged that the landowner removed the flag because he thought the rogaine was the previous weekend. He was tidying up so threw it in the bin. (Dear Committee, one checkpoint down.)

I especially want to thank the great team that pulled the event together. David Griffith, Chris Waring and Rob Watson spent lots of effort course setting and hanging flags. Ros Atkins, Joel & Gail Roland were friendly and extremely efficient administrators. John & Val Hodsdon vetted the course. David, Emma and Tom Griffith, with Rob and Claire Watson kept the All-Night Café bubbling. All the above, plus Julie and Grace Waring, Geoff Bailey, Nick, Ann and Claire Mitchell were great helpers in and around the Hash-House. David Jones, Colin Taylor and Vanessa Haverd retrieved the flags that we couldn't get on the weekend. It's interesting how the team of helpers evolved during the event, from a set of hesitant novices to a dynamic bunch of go-ers. And wow … can that John Hodsdon add garlic!

Some of the hard working organising and hash house team.

Photo: Julian Ledger

Winners are grinners - first women’s team.

Photo: Julian Ledger

Finally a special thank you to Roger Dunn and the National Parks & Wildlife Service. Roger was extremely enthusiastic and welcoming of the rogaine. It is a lovely area … perhaps he enjoys sharing it with appreciative people.