School O Champs

The forecast wasn't that great for the ACT Primary School Orienteering Champs despite the recent sunny weather. Around 190 students from 17 Primary Schools participated at the event which were held at Yarralumla Bays a nice central location. For Ella this was the first year she was eligible and was looking forward to having a go.

I volunteered to help and together with Scotty, we were responsible for providing assistance to the students as they came through the start boxes. With 1 minute start intervals it was pretty chaotic getting their map orientated, finding the start triangle and pointing them in the right direction. As per normal, regulars were all over it, while others it seemed had never orienteered before!

Ella came through my lane looking rather serious before quickly disappearing into the long grass and forest! I did manage to catch a glimpse of her running down the finish chute.

I eventually caught up with her after all the students had started. She was happy with her run although she got confused in the middle section and completely missed a control however appeared in the results as 6th. Turns out the organisers were adding time penalties to anyone who mispunched or dnf. The heavens opened just as the presentations got underway which was a little disappointing.

Post event we had enough time (before needing to pick up Katy), to enjoy a treat at a local cafe.