eNewsletter 206 - Saturday 12th July, 2025
G'day fellow rogainers In this newsletter
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Next: the 3/5-hour Nightgaine at Springwood, Sat 26th July
Entries close Monday week 21st July Join us for the "Spring in the Woods" night rogaine, to be held in a section of Springwood most would never go to, on the north side of the Great Western Highway. đŸ,BanditđŸ, our expert night setter,*** has sniffed out a course with lots of variety, including bush tracks, and creeks & gullies, and featuring nocturnal wildlife such as bandicoots, glow worms, and eels. Rogaining is for all ages, navigational abilities, and fitness levels, from families walking with small children through to bushwalkers and champion runners. Our sport encourages the development of strategy and navigational skills, fitness, and the ability to work in a team.
Key info at a glance: There'll be overlapping 3 and 5-hour events.
Key Times
* Novice Briefing: Lots of extra information and tips to help you plan your first rogaine. All welcome, novice or otherwise. Final Instructions will be available on the Nightgaine event page from Tuesday 22nd July, and a team finder service and info for novices can also be found on the website.
Course overview For novices and young families, there'll be a fun section along safe, easy to follow bush tracks that will still challenge you to pay attention! If youâre new to rogaining or looking for help with planning, suggested routes will be available to guide you. The main course features a super-loop trail along two creeks with the possibility of seeing glow worms, as well as other less travelled tracks and trails in bush areas and gullies behind local parks and reserves. Also, we have the rare privilege of accessing the extensive bushland grounds of St Columbaâs Catholic College, a Seminary from 1909 until 1977, and a High School since 1979. These grounds are usually not open to the public, so we are extremely grateful to be granted access for holding this event.
Whatever route you choose, with the bush tracks never being too far from civilization, this is an ideal location to try a nightgaine for the first time, or test your skills on some of the more challenging sections. Safety: Note that there will be no solo option available for either event due to safety concerns. Also, a condition of gaining approval from Blue Mountains City Council to conduct this event is that when you are on the road after dark you must utilise your head lamp and either wear a top with reflective material back and front or a high vis vest. This is good advice because some of the roads you may travel on for short distances are narrow and poorly lit. Catering After the event, there'll be a sausage sizzle/BBQ at the Hash House thanks to the volunteers from St Columba's Catholic College, along with muffins, cup-a-soups, fruit, and tea, coffee, milo, and hot chocolate supplied by Stephen and Sally. Event related queries can be directed to: admin@nswroganing.org
Why âA Spring in the Woodsâ? The earliest inhabitants of the Springwood district were the Darug people who populated the area for many thousands of years before European settlement. Beginning in 1789, several explorers passed through the area and a road was built under the direction of William Cox. In May, 1815, Governor and Mrs Macquarie set out with a large party on a twenty-one-day trip over the Western Road. One of the places chosen to make a camp is now called Springwood. Macquarie wrote in his diary: âWe then halted at three oâclock in a very pretty wooded plain near a spring of very good fresh water, and pitched our tent near the side of the road. This stage is 12 miles from Emu Ford and our first on the Mountains. This place being very pretty I have named it Spring Woodâ.
***Please note: Bandit knows his boundaries - he is always on a leash, does not venture into National Parks and respects wildlife in public bushland. Whilst his navigation skills are exceptional, heâs unfortunately not permitted to enter events or hang around with his pals at the Hash House ⊠snags everywhere, but not a morsel to snaffle. |
33rd Lake Macquarie rogaine
Entries NOW OPEN This years annual Lake Macquarie Rogaine will take place within sight of Newcastle in the vicinity of the iconic Mount Sugarloaf. Located on the northern end of the Watagans, it's only about 2 hours up the M1 from Sydney. This will be a traditional bush event where you weave your way through a diverse sandstone landscape of beautiful rocky crags, gullies, waterfalls, wind caves, and pagodas, all the while enjoying spectacular coastal and valley views.
Expect open eucalypt woodland, paperbark stands, gullies of grass trees, ferns, and gymea lilies. Wildlife encountered while setting the course included many species of birds such as: crimson rosellas, black cockatoos, bower birds, wonga pigeons, and lyrebirds, plus small robins and finches, as well as wombats, echidnas and wallabies.
Check out Anita's amazing videos here and here (Facebook required). A long held tradition of this rogaine will be the on-course 'tea & damper' pit stop incorporating a range of refreshing drinks, as well as plenty of tasty cakes and energy-boosting sweets!
Key info at a glance: Choose between the ever-popular 6-hour event or the longer challenge of the 12-hour event, taking you from day to night:
Location of the Hash House will be confirmed by the time the Final Instructions are posted.
To get the most up to date info, including the Final Instructions available from Monday 4th August, see the event page on the website. A team finder service and info for novices can also be found on the website. Bert van Netten organised the first rogaine here in 1984. He has set numerous rogaines in the Watagans ever since, including this one. With experience like that, you won't be disappointed! Event related queries can be directed to: admin@nswroganing.org
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2025 World Rogaining Championships: summary & results [On-the-ground insights from our roving event reporter, Julian Ledger.]
Aussies at the World Rogaining Championships 2025. (Click for all event photos) The 19th World Rogaining Championships were held last weekend in a mountainous region in north-central Spain, about 170km NNE of Madrid. The 753 competitors included 39 Australians in 21 teams,# with some well known faces from NSW. Australia certainly pulled above its weight with great performances that led to 10 podium positions in different categories. As shown in the group photo above, everybody looked resplendent in T-shirts specially produced to promote the next World Championships to be held in the Flinders Ranges in September 2027. The Spanish organisers did a great job and the event was huge in every sense. Technically, it was at a very high standard and the hoard of volunteers were always cheerful and helpful. The rogaine itself covered more than 150km2. It had 87 controls set in terrain with an elevation range of more than 1,000m. The course was very steep with some spectacular cliffs. Each team carried a GPS tracker so that progress (and any mistakes) could be watched in real time. The challenging terrain would have tested the athletes' hill-climbing fitness, but hopefully the elevation might have made the summer temperatures more bearable.
Results The depth of field and quality of athletes was amazing. For instance, the median score was more than 2,000 points, and the winners scored 5,530 points and got back after 24 hours with just 37 seconds to spare! Below is a summary of the results for the Australian teams:
#4 of these teams had members from more than 1 country. Top scoring Aussies were David Baldwin & Julie Quinn from the ACT with 4,170, coming 2nd in the Mixed Veterans, and ranking 12th overall. Not far behind were Gill Fowler & Andrew Brown from NSW with 3,880 at 8th in the Mixed Open, ranking 23rd overall. Congratulations also go to well known Victorian champions Shelly Bambrook & Elizabeth Dornom, with 3,660 and coming 3rd in the Womens Open, and Rod Gray & Geoff Lawford for winning the Men's Ultra Veterans with 2,660. Also excelling from Victoria were Lesa Muir & Thorlene Egerton (2nd in WSV) with 2,460, and Helen Robinson & Kerry Gigante (3rd in WSV with 1,920). Queensland team Paul Guard & Amanda Koopman also did well, coming third in the Mixed Veterans with 3,650. ACT rogainers Oliver James and E Wen Wong won the Mixed Juniors with 2,550. Twins Joanna and Abigail George from South Australia won the Womenâs Juniors with 2,840. Joanna and Abigail are now three time winners and went up to the podium as our ambassadors together with Australian Rogaining President, Paul Guard, to invite everyone to Australia in two years time. Other NSW rogainers deserve a mention too: Ronnie Taib & David Williams with 3,440, and Mike Hotchkis & Andrew Duerden with 3,170, comming 3rd in the Menâs Super Veterans. The full results for all competitors with lots of comprehensive analysis can be found on the 2025 WRC website. Congratulations to all who participated in this spectacular event! Some of our expert course planners...
Photos by Karen Duerden 2027 WRC to be held in South Australia Australia looks forward to welcoming the worldâs rogaining community in 2027. An important function for the Australian team at the 19th was to help promote the 20th World Championship to be held in the Flinders Ranges on 16-17th September 2027 (hence the T-shirts above). Check out this amazing promo video and, for the latest info, visit the 2027 WRC website and join the mailing list. Put the date into your rogaining calendar now! |
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Another rogaine on the other side of the world, in Russia Contributed by Ivan Koudashev [During last month's Paddy Pallin, champion rogainer Ivan was in Russia, so he did a local one instead. He reports on the similarities & differences.]
Start punch - note the summer weather! The NSW Southern Highlands offers some of the best rogaining in the world, so I was disappointed to discover the PP would be held while I was away in Russia. However I found a local rogaine and went along to check it out! At first glance, the course looked almost metrogaine-like. The Hash House was in a forested urban park on the outskirts of Fryazino, a town in the Moscow region. Event formatting; similarities & differences For the event, there were a variety of format choices - 3 & 8 hours, teams or single, on foot or on bikes. I entered the 8-hour single entry event. A single entry option for an 8-hour was certainly a big difference between rogaining in NSW and in Russia. The map, shown below, was at a familiar 1:20,000 scale with 5m contours, as our maps often have, and like ours it also showed vegetation density. While a lot less detailed than a typical orienteering map here, this map used orienteering symbols not so common on our rogaining maps. The map was printed on waterproof paper which held up very well. Pen markings held up perfectly too.
Two hours were allowed for planning, with many route options to choose from -- the essence of a good rogaine. As in NSW, there was the mandatory waiver form to sign, but no gear check. They also used electronic scoring tags, but these weren't the Navlights we're used to. Each competitor wore a small RFID tag, much thinner than a Navlight, but similarly attached to the wrist. This tag would then be scanned at each control. I got used to this very quickly and found it faster to use than our system.
Electronic scoring system Another big difference is in the scoring. Their controls only received 1/10 of the points they do here, (i.e. 32 is 3 points, 50 is 5, etc.). Start, course, and navigation similarities & differences The start was different to the way we do it - the 'pre-start punch' still exists but, at the 11am start, competitors would filter past the start punch - and the time would commence from when each competitor punched on. There was no need to hurry. Although much of the course was urban, most of the controls were placed in the forests or around Dachas.** The 5m contours assisted greatly with some controls and in deciphering the labyrinth of trails, not all of them marked -- a familiar experience! Because of the flat terrain, very careful navigation was required. Everything flowed smoothly until my legs proved more tired than my brain and I attempted a loop that was way too big. A more conservative approach would have netted a much higher score. Summing up Our Russian cousins set and compete in rogaines to excellent high standards, and are hard to beat! I came in at 5th overall and 4th in the solo category. In conclusion, while I enjoyed the course and event, I am still yet to find a region more suitable for rogaines than the Southern Highlands of NSW. **Dacha: A second summer home in the countryside, often used for gardening. |
Nightgaine trailer help needed - 2 trailers to tow
We need 2 people willing to tow our 2 small trailers to the Nightgaine in Springwood and back again afterwards. They are small enough to be towed by any conventional vehicle, are pre-loaded, and are very easily managed. This is one way that you could really help to ensure the Nightgaine is a success, and you can still go in the event. Please drop an email to Robin - volunteer@nswrogaining.org or register to help here. (NSWRA celebrates its volunteers! Supporting our events earns you points toward free entry in a future rogaine. Earn 100 points and receive a free entry voucher. There is a volunteer rewards points table where you can monitor your progress toward a voucher. For more info see the Volunteer Rewards Policy.) |
2025 NSW rogaining calendarThe NSW calendar for 2025 is summarised below. Check it out or grab a flyer at the next event. An updated âfridge-friendlyâ printable calendar (pdf) is also available for download. Put these dates in your diary, but remember to check the website as there may be further changes.
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Some useful links |
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About NSWRA: The New South Wales Rogaining Association inc. (NSWRA) is the governing body of the sport of rogaining in the state of New South Wales.
We are incorporated under state law. ABN 15 314 080 648. © 2025 NSW Rogaining Association |