eNewsletter 154 - 22nd January 2021

G'day Rogainers,

NSW Rogaining eNewsletter, 22nd January 2021

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Compiled by Tristan White

Happy New Year…?

Just as 2020 in Australia started with a literal black cloud of bushfire smoke looming over it, 2021 begins with a figurative black cloud of Covid uncertainty. Therefore as much as we would like to confidently state that all 2021 rogaines will go ahead as planned, the constantly changing health climate and government-induced restrictions will be what dictates this.

We can announce that planning is in place for the following ten NSW rogaining events (including a navigation workshop):-

Sun. 28-Feb, 3-hour Minigaine at East Killara
Sun. 28-Mar, 6-hour Metrogaine at Wollongong
TBD in April, Nav Workshop, probably at Rydal
Sat. 8-May, 12/6-hour Autumngaine at Belanglo SF
Sun. 20 Jun, 6-hour Paddy Pallin Rogaine
Sat. 3-Jul, 5/3-hour Night Rogaine
Sat. 7-Aug, 12/6-hour Lake Macquarie
4-5 Sep, 24/8-hour NSW Championships at Gundabooka NP (Bourke)
Sun. 17-Oct, Surprise Event at Newcastle
Sat. 20-Nov, 8/4-hour Socialgaine

The complete 2021 list is on our website here, including the Australasian Champs in South Australia, and seven events run by the ACT Rogaining Association. Mark these in your diary, smartphone, or Google calendar! And virtual rogaines can be still accessed on MapRunF here.

We wish all rogainers a fulfilling, successful and enjoyable 2021 that makes the best of whatever the world’s circumstances throw at them.

“Contouring Killara” 3-hour Minigaine, Sunday 28th February – Entries Open Here!

Steve Ryan is setting the 3-hour minigaine at the end of February around the leafy suburban plateaus of East Killara & Lindfield. This course will incorporate some classic Northern Sydney suburbia – great views of the upper Middle Harbour, leafy roads and many grand houses dropping into bushland that appears to be far away from anywhere but is just a couple of hundred metres away from backyards.

The minigaine is different in being the only event to allow team or individual entry. It is therefore both a perfect introductory event for families and also a challenge for elite athletes who will no doubt try to see how far they can run in 3 hours.

Rogaining makes it to the Newspaper!

The uniqueness, cleverness and accessibility of rogaining has attracted the interest of the Sydney Morning Herald, who have just published a full-page article about the sport for millions to read about. Make sure you check out the article here if you didn’t receive the January 16th newspaper. And we ask rogainers who did receive it in hardcopy to save it for posterity (if they have not handed it to their friends!). Needless to say, great publicity for the sport and we hope it attracts some new participants.

Bonus Challenge: to make the shots as authentic as possible, I set up the flag at a control site that has been used in two previous rogaines in the past decade. There will be a prize awarded to the rogainer who correctly guesses (a) these two events and (b) which control, either email me or post on the Rogaining NSW Facebook site.

2020 Pointscore

The pandemic constraints limited us to just four rogaines last year and reduced the scope for an extended multi-event competition. The Pointscore competition highlights the efforts of all rogainers during the year – everybody gets a mention – so have a look at the final standings here, checkout how you did, and we congratulate the top rogainers for 2020, especially the Overall winners:-

Richard Mountstephens (651 points)
Aurelian Penneman (634)
Ewan Shingler (628)

(Richard Mountstephens looking very weary at end of the Paddy Pallin rogaine in Willoughby.)

And for the women:

Nicole Mealing (554)
Fiona Castle (547)
Genevieve Nawrot (487)

(Nicole Mealing (at left) with Rochelle Tregear at last year’s Paddy Pallin rogaine in Willoughby.)

Annual General Meeting – 28 February 2021

The AGM will be held at the conclusion of the Minigaine and is very important as it is the chance to formally review our last year and to elect the coming year’s committee.

We thank those who have served on the committee throughout 2020 (and some of them many years prior). The committee details are shown on our website here.

If you are interested in joining the committee, to help guide our sport forward, and to ease the burden on current committee members, please contact President Trevor Gollan at president@nswrogaining.org.

Get into Gear 8 – “Food for Thought”

The final instalment of 2020’s “Get into Gear” series has been posted on the forum here.

The dietary choices for many rogainers during events are as obscure as the sport itself. With very few other sporting events involving up to 24 hours of activity, the traditional energy gels and chews, and protein shakes are not enough to get by, and rogaining tragics are forced to find other items to supplement these.

Obviously, we all have different dietary requirements, taste preferences and budgets, and our food selection will be to some extent dictated by the level of competitiveness, so there is no magic formula for what one should eat in a 24hr rogaine. However, I have nonetheless taken the chance to share my own habits and find out what a few other rogainers – Ronnie Taib, Joel Mackay & Andrew Smith - have done, to provide a bit of a sampling plate for those looking for ideas.

If you have missed them, you can view previous GiG articles and interviews on the forum here:

Find us on Facebook and Strava here.

Regards,
Tristan White
on behalf of the NSW Rogaining Committee
publicity@nswrogaining.org