G'day Rogainers,
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“The Spring Balance” 6hr Metrogaine, Results, photos, map and other stuff available
A big congratulations to the 300+ entrants of the recent Metrogaine who braved the unseasonably hot 32 degree weather and explored the creeks, lookouts, caves and steep climbs around Springwood and the Lower Blue Mtns. The general consensus was the course was brutal, made more brutal with the weather, but the diversity, route options and scenery made it worthwhile nonetheless. As course setter for the event, it was very satisfying personally for me seeing creative ways the participants planned all different routes, and were very creative in their use of the Blue Mtns Line train services to teleport from one side of the course to another. Special shout out to Jonathan Worswick and Tim Austin who made the last train back from Blaxland because it was 2 minutes late, turning a near disqualification into a 2nd place! I doubt they’ll complain about late trains for a long time!
Toni Bachvarova’s birthday coincided with the event
One team decided to cheat and drove to 38, and failing to get their car out, tried to burn it to destroy the evidence.
Highlight quotes:
- "I have never been so glad to see a road on a rogaine as I was after the climb up to 80.” - Kim Eales
- “My sister said it looks like a toddler doing Strava art.” - Meela Davis, on GPX of the route from 100 to 27
- “At 2pm yesterday I was at cloudy, 23⁰ Moss Vale, a bit over 100km from Springwood. ‘Such a good day for you rogainers,’ I thought.” - President Trev Gollan
- “I can’t believe wandering the streets of New York and San Francisco didn’t help me more.” - Ben Berriman
The web showing the top 5 teams’ routes
Michael Watts, as event coordinator, encountered quite a few challenges in creating the Metrogaine, including land management authorities who struggled with the concepts of rogaining: "Would our 'walking groups' have a group leader, supplied and trained by the NSWRA? What were their qualifications, certifications and employment status? If not, how would the ‘walking groups’ know where they were going? What do you mean, there’s going to be 140 plus groups, each following their own route that may change as they progress?!" Check out Michael's full report here...
“Pagoda Palooza” Autumn Rogaine – Entries Open Now!
The first day & night rogaine of 2019 will be north of Lithgow in Ben Bullen State Forest, high on the Great Dividing Range, your first chance since September’s NSW Champs to fully exercise your compass, head torch and brain. The team who brought the great event at Mt Werong in 2017, Richard Sage, Andrew Smith and Toni Bachvarova, have joined forces once again to bring us a rogaine to remember in some great country.
You will see pagoda rock formations, broad watercourses including the upper Coxs River, the impenetrable cliff barriers of the Western Blue Mountains and plateau woodland with open understory for easy walking. Choose from 6 Hour or 12 Hour events, starting at 11.00am. Have dinner and relax afterwards with friends. Camp for the night. Have breakfast and then leave for home after a challenging and rewarding weekend.
Introducing… our newest event to the calendar
Yep, that’s right, another event on the calendar! Based on several requests of the need for more night events, the NSWRA committee have added this event as a chance for those less experienced with night navigation to ease into it.
The current organising team consists of myself, Toni Bachvarova, Andrew Smith (setters/vetters) and Chris Stevenson (coordination), but we will certainly welcome any other volunteers. Hornsby Hts was chosen for the course due to proximity of the setters’ homes, but it is a logical location in its own right, situated in the beautiful Berowra Valley along the iconic Great North Walk and will complete our aim to have rogaines in all the bushland of Northern Sydney, filling the gap between the 2014 MG and 2018 SG.
The Hornsby Hts Scout Hall has been booked for the night, but other details are still at loose ends as we would like input from you – the potential participants – about what you’d like to see and have created a survey for you to have your say on the proposed duration and other logistics:
Australian Intervarsity Championships, 18-19 May 2019, ACT
The Australian University Championship for 2019 will be held in conjunction with the ACT Rogaining Championships. This is the 50th anniversary of the Intervarsity, which began on 31 May 1969 in Victoria.
University students are eligible for a travel/entry subsidy. Please contact Trevor Gollan (president@nswrogaining.org.au) if you'd like to participate and receive financial assistance to get there. There's one major rule: your team must all be current students at the same university, and preference will be given to undergraduates. We are very keen for uni students to represent NSW at the Intervarsity Champs, so please consider how you can participate.
All NSW rogainers are be invited to this event, and our friends/rivals at ACT Rogaining Association have advise there is likely to be a bus from Canberra city centre to the HH, which will be located in Bournda NP near Tathra, and NSW teams will still be eligible for a trophy for winning their category. Entries will open soon.
Call to Volunteers
We are very thankful for the hard work that have gone into organising events over the years, without which they would not happen. We are also grateful for the many people who have again offered to help over the next year.
However, we still need someone to organise the NSW 24hr championships, an event that is of special significance to rogainers. If you have not put your hand up to anything this year, please consider if it is something you would be able to get involved in, as, you guessed it, it will not happen, something that would be of a huge disappointment to the rogaining community.
We of course will need help with vetting, flag hanging and collecting, marshalling, towing the trailer and setup at all events. Remember, some of these roles, require minimal rogaining experience, so there will be certainly be a way anyone can help out. If you can offer your assistance with any of these things, please get in touch with our volunteer coordinator, Graham Field (volunteer@nswrogaining.org)
Tristan White
Publicity Officer
NSW Rogaining Association
publicity@nswrogaining.org
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