Over 80 competitor turned out on a brisk, foggy Pelton morning for the 4th installment of the Newcastle Orienteer of the Year (NOY) series. The door was open for a few of the other contenders to take the 100 points on offer today with current series leader Steven todkill being the course setter and Josh Blatchford away in Poland to contest JWOC. The event was originally set down to as the Poppethead area at Kitchener, but had to moved as that area was hastily embargoed for use at next years NOL WOC trials in March. (more about that later). Terrain is typical of the Cessnock area maps, spur gully with some rock detail crossed by tracks and firetrails. It can get steep in some parts and is probably overall a little thicker vegetation wise than the other maps in this area. The main feature of the longer courses was a long leg in the middle part of the course with another reasonably long leg to return. These both offered a slightly shorter bush option versus a longer track run. With the bush option offering few truely open areas it appears that the majority opted for the track run. The denser vegetation and resulting lower visibilty and the need to detour around the thicker patches really lifted the stakes when it came to navigating. Robert Vincent managed the 6.7 km Long Red course best, holding out the much younger Alex Massey by about a minute. Recent QLD import Scott Simson was a furhter 12 minutes adrift in third. Despite a making 180 degree error late in the course, Karen Blatchford was the first woman on the same course. Jenny Enderby's time in the 5.2 km Short Red will see her gain decent points, taking second place sandwiched between Daniel Orr and Colin Bailey. Robert Preston and Carolyn Matthews were relatively untroubled as the top two over the 4.0 km Short Red. Mick Kavur was kilometers ahead in the 4.0 km Orange, Ric Slatter overcame some early difficulties to take out the 2.7 km Short Orange, Tyler Sheehan continues his winning form on the Green and Phoebe vandermaster was the best of the Blue competitors.
Feedback on the day was very positive with many enjoying what should be considered a challenging orienteering area.
Credits
Planning: Steven Todkill
Vetting: Sally Anne Henderson
Setup: Mick Kavur, David Messenger, Cheryle Todkill, Geof Todkill
Admin: Cheryle Todkill, Sally Anne Henderson
Finish: Steven Todkill, Mick Kavur, Denis Lyons
Control collection: Joy Guy, Steven Todkill, Tony Welbourne, Louis Welbourne, Karen Blatchford