Wet track suits Charlton
Event: NOY2 - Kitchener
Map: Shotgun Avenue
Weather: Wet, medium to light rain, slippery
Setter: Denis Lyons
Setup: Denis Lyons, Mick Kavur, Carolyn Chalmers, Geoff & Margaret Peel
Rego: Cheryle Todkill, Denis Lyons
Finish: Geoff Peel, Carolyn Chalmers, Joy Guy
Collection: Mick Kavur, Shane Jenkins, Rudi Landseidel, Joy Guy, David Kitchener.
Long weekends usually mean at least some wet weather and this time it happened to coincide with our event. Plenty of hardcore orienteers still made the journey to Kitchener to contest NOY2 regardless of the damp conditions.
The Shotgun Alley map is a terrific area for orienteering offering mostly good running with some technically challenging, and I must say spectacular at times, erosion gullies.
Many competitors were doubling up after the Saturday's NSW Night Champs held just about 12 hours prior in Sydney. This didn't seem to hinder them as both the winner of the Long and Medium Red courses had contested that event.
Peter Charlton took the full 100 points for what must be the first time in many years, proving he still has the speed needed when required. He pushed junior Alex Massey into second with Glen Burgess rounding out the top 3.
Jenny Enderby topped the Medium Red a couple of minutes ahead of a surprisingly fast David Kitchener. Alarmingly he seems to get better the less training he does.
Our junior girl state representatives blitzed the Short Red with Sally-Anne Henderson and Elly Ross a step ahead of the pack, relegating Graeme Taplin to a very distant third.
Great to see the return of the Doyle family after a reasonable absence. Gavin showed he hasn't forgotten how to navigate, winning the Orange course, while the kids placed well on the Blue course.
Next weekend we have a "National Orienteering Day promotion giving free entry to new participants (but we'd prefer that they let us know they are coming so we can produce enough maps) so tell your friends or work colleagues about it.
See you there, and btw it's at Mount Sugarloaf and there are BBQ's there so it should prove to be a great social occasion as well.