More SC-ORE

The Aranda Antelopes improved with each SC-ORE race, finishing with their best result 10th in the final race at Aranda Primary School on home soil! The cousins stacked Majura team took out the series for the second year in a row!

Off on Another Adventure

We returned home late Sunday afternoon all fairly shattered from our busy orienteering organising weekend. Ella on the other hand was buzzing with excitement with the knowledge that in the morning she would be going off to Year 4 camp! With her list in hand, she busily checked off and labeled all required items before packing them neatly into her bag.

Monday morning finally arrived! It's amazing how quickly and calmly the morning routine went and before we knew it we had pulled up at school at the required time of 8.15am.


'Yep Mum you can go now.' Ella exclaimed as she lugged her big bag over her shoulder and staggered down the path towards school. She wasn't going to get away that quickly, so I accompanied her to the hall which was hive of activity. Students lined up in their classes busily chatting. The role call taken and everyone was accounted for.

I gave Ella a quick kiss and final words of good luck, have fun and all that. I retreated to the coffee shop to find Katy (who had gone up with friends) while Ella headed to the bus for 3 days of awesomeness at Kianinny, near Tathra.

Autumn Classic - Part 2

The ACT Middle Distance Champs were held at Issacs Ridge on a beautiful sunny day. Rob did an awesome job designing courses that were both technically and physically challenging, on this steep bushland reserve.

Ella ran well on the W10, placing 2nd. Abby and Zoe joined Katy and together they navigated their way around the course. Andy blitz the 40's course and I managed to scrap into 3rd. A good day to cap off a busy and tiring weekend.

Autumn Classic - Part 1

Last December Andy put up his hand to set the courses for the ACT Sprint Champs in March this year. As a result I was coerced into organising the event too. The event was part of the ACT Autumn Classic which included the ACT Middle Distance Champs with Rob course setting and so I then coerced Al into organising too! Ahh it wasn't too long before we were reminiscing about Easter Twenty10!

Anyway not much was done while we were on our big summer holiday and so we hit the ground running in February and as always there were several hoops to jump through. The Sprint Champs was made slightly more complex as it was a National League race meaning the Elites ran heats and then a final which were on different maps! 

Expecting to attracted around 200 participants, we were super impressed when the closing date ticked by and there was 350+ entries! According to historical records, this was the biggest non carnival event for 30 years in the ACT!

It was an early start for Andy and myself. The morning dawned, cool, overcast but more importantly dry. While Andy was putting out controls on Red Hill, I was setting up the start and took a moment to enjoy the view - a single hot air balloon floating over Lake BG with Black Mountain tower in the distance.

We were sincerely hoping that the rain forecast for the afternoon would somehow miss us. The elite heat races on Red Hill ran smoothly but as the public sprint race was to begin at Canberra Girls Grammar School, the weather gods decided to send down a sprinkle of rain. This was heavy enough for people to seek shelter, pop up umbrellas and cause some chaos with the computers. Thankfully it didn't last too long, but provided too much moisture for the printer to print out the start lists for the Elite final. Our ever reliable computer extraordinaires Bill Jones and Bob Moautt overcame this hiccup easily. The Elite final race was fast and furious with the small complex area of the school surprising many. From all reports, competitors were happy with the challenges of the course. And so the presentations were completed with the help of a few of our juniors - Ella, Aoife and Max handing out the badges.

Between helping out on the remote finish, in the first aid tent, collecting maps and playing in the sand pits, Ella and Katy both completed the easiest course. Ella competed as W10 taking 3rd place. Katy went with Mira in M/W10N and were shadowed by Andy and by all accounts did very well in the tricky buildings.

Pack up was quick was a great team of helpers on hand. We handed over all the gear to Rob and Al before heading back home for a quick shower then opting to go out to dinner to celebrate the event going so well.

Skyfire from Mt Painter

Skyfire is the Canberra fireworks celebration held in March. Launched mostly from barges located in central basin of Lake Burley Griffin, the best seats to view the fireworks are from the lakes edge. However not wanting to compete with the crowds and traffic, we decided to hike up the hill at the back of our suburb and views the fireworks from there.

Our group consisted of the Walter/Jones clan, Rothery/Chalmers clan, the girls from the Dent family and the Hogg/Smith family. After stopping for ice cream at the local shops, we walked up the hill arriving at the top just as the sun was setting. Great timing for some awesome silhouette shots of the kids playing on top of the large granite boulder on the summit of Mt Painter.

We donned our warmer jumpers to fend off the chilly breeze before opening the wine and cheese. Unsure whether the ridge of Black Mountain would actually block our view, it was a nervous few moments when the first booms of fireworks erupted around 8pm and we couldn't see any evidence of the fireworks! Fairly quickly though the fireworks shot above the ridgeline and we enjoyed the exploding fireworks of various colours.

The display lasted about 20 minutes by which time our newly-moved-to-Canberra-not-yet-acclimatised friends, Cath and Eoin, were ready to go and get warm again. It was a fun adventure in the dark with a lovely group of friends.

Sc-ore and the Aranda Antelopes

The Aranda Antelopes entered the Sc-ore competition. Sc-ore is a 4 person (2 girls and 2 boys) orienteering relay on a school ground held before school. Ella joined Emma, Elye and Owen to participate in this four week competition.

The first event was held at Hawker primary school. The Aranda Antelopes were team 9 of 20 with large contingents from Campbell and Majura Primary Schools. It was a great little event with each leg taking around 8 minutes. Being first timers, our little team learnt many things, had fun doing so and are looking forward to next weeks event!

Japan Again

Nope not us...only Andy on an invited work trip back to Tokyo for nearly a week. As well as visiting colleagues and giving seminars, Andy was lucky to experience some fine dining - sea cucumbers, sea snails and fishlings! He enjoyed a run around the Imperial Palace plus a spot of shopping - presents for everyone including a new garmin for himself.



While he was away, I picked up a tiger and border collie from Afters! Not sure where Katy and Ella got to...