Sun 1st July - NOY4 - Balikera
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Directions:
From Newcastle/Sydney: Take the A1 north from Hexham, proceeding straight ahead at the large roundabout at Heatherbrae. Approx. 13.8 km from this roundabout, turn left into Italia Road. Proceed a further 3.5 km, turning right onto the quarry access track. Follow this track approx. 600 m to the quarry itself.
From the west, via Seaham: Use either Seaham Road or Clarence Town Road to get to Seaham. From Seaham, take East Seaham Road over the river, proceeding 3.1 km, before turning right into Italia Road. Travel another 4.9 km and turn left onto the quarry access track. Follow this track approx. 600 m to the quarry itself.The access track is largely unsealed and may be slippery in wet conditions. It has suffered some water damage from recent rains, however, most 2WD vehicles do not have difficulty when driven with care and attention.
Map: Balickera Quarry (1:10 000)
Planner: Oskar Mella
Vetter: Bjorn Mella
Courses:
| Course | Length(km) | Controls | ||
| Very easy | 1.98 | 12 | ||
| Easy | 2.67 | 15 | ||
| Moderate short | 2.68 | 7 | ||
| Moderate long | 3.84 | 13 | ||
| Hard short | 3.45 | 9 | ||
| Harm medium | 4.92 | 12 | ||
| Hard long | 6.41 | 15 |
Safety:
The safety bearing is south to Italia Road then northwest to the entrance track and assembly area. Trail bikes and 4WD vehicles are active in the area. Listen for their approach and give way by moving off tracks. It is safest to assume that they have not seen you. There are quite a few piles of rusty barbed wire around the map some of the piles in the southeast corner of the map have been marked with red and white streamers. There are some steep tracks around the quarry, most of these have small stones that are quite slippery. Most of the courses cross the entry track. TAKE CARE WHEN DRIVING ALONG THIS TRACK.
Start times: 9:30 to 11:30am with course closure at 1pm. Please ensure you start your course with enough time to complete it prior to course closure
Notes: The bikers have been busy since we last used this map ad have added four new trails, all these trails are quite long and windy. Since we were not able to get the GPS through these trails have been drawn in without the GPS. Most of the green on the map is wrong, so some areas that appear thick on the map are quite easy to run through. This is my first time setting and any feedback would be welcome.
Call for Volunteers for Hunter Schools Orienteering Championships.
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Call for Volunteers for Hunter Schools Orienteering Championships.
The 42nd Hunter Region Schools Orienteering Championships will be held at Blue Gum Hills Recreation Park, Minmi on Tuesday 3rd July 2018. This event is conducted by Newcastle Orienteering Club for Hunter School Sports Association.
If you could help out on the day it would be very much appreciated.
I am hoping to get assistance to; run the finish, put out and collect controls and give assistance in the field to students who need it.
All volunteers must have completed the Working With Children Check and provide details so that the appropriate people verify that this number is current.
If you can help please contact:
Mr Colin Bailey
Merewether High School
Phone: 4969 3855
Mobile: 0414 406 652
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
No Date Yet - Smart Phone Demonstration Event
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*Update 26/3/18 - No date yet - could not do this wednesday due to various commitments. In the meantime I do urge you to just go out and give it a go (there is a printable map if you read further down). Any feedback you wish to give or questions you might have just drop me an email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Thanks, Shane.
*Updated 21/3/18 - Event Postponed - a new time will be sheduled soon. In the meantime the map will stay available to anyone to give it a go at any time.
*Updated 19/3/18 - Start times and FAQ
*Updated 16/3/18 - PDF of map and contact details added
Note 2: I will be there from 5pm and stay til around 7ish to help out and answer any questions you might have. In the event of bad weather we may look to postpone to a later date. But if you have spare time you may run the event at anytime.
Note: there may be other sporting groups using the fields please be respectful.
On 21st of March there will be a demonstration event for the use of smart phone technology in orienteering. This is no cost to run in this event as this is a demonstration event.
We will be rerunning the carrington map from last year (same start finish location) - only one control has been dropped if you decide to bring your map (3C is now considered in out of bounds) to use in conjunction with the map on your smart phone.
This is a PDF of the map that will be used for this demonstration. Please bring your own map (or use the one on the phone)
You can download the app Maprun for both Andriod and iOS (Andriod v41.2 and iOS 7.0.1 or later). Please download the app before you arrive.
A major difference you will notice is that all the controls are worth the same number of points and penalties apply for being late.
While we are hoping most will have a go on the day the map will be available to be run anytime on the app for the near future.
We will be collecting feedback on how easy/accurate it was on the day and by survey later on.
Here’s a quick overview of what to do
• Tap Name and enter your details
• Tap Select Event (or Reload Event if you’ve already downloaded the Event)
• Choose the event from the NSW event list - Carrington
• Tap GotoStart to see the map
• Then when you are ready, press Start GPS and go to the Start Triangle. Your time starts when you hear the “beep” at the Start.
• Your time finishes when you hear the “beep” at the Finish (avoid the start/fininsh triangle on your run as you may finish early)
Once you have finished upload your results (you can even upload your GPS to strava if you have an account).
Results can be viewed in the app.
Routegadget can be viewed here
Questions? Email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Short FAQ
What do I need?
A smartphone is the minimum rquirement with the maprun app (fully charged phone will help the app can be very power hungry on older phone models)
How do i know i punched a control?
The phone will emit a beep and/or vibrate (this is the iphone - not sure on andriod but should be similar)
Can i run the app in the background?
Yes - as long as you turn notifications on (again this is true on the iphone)
Do i need a physical map?
No, but i found it can be helpful especially if you have somewhere to store your phone that you can see/hear the notifications. My personal setup would be physical map, arm band for my phone and notifications on my linked watch.
How close do i need to get?
Unlike answers and clues from our traditional street you must enter the circle to 'punch' the control - the circle is about 10 metres diameter. We have tested all the controls and they do work. (check out the routegadget). So trying to see the answer from 100 metres away won't work on this event.
How long do i have?
45mins and there is a clock in the app that starts when you 'punch' the start
Changes to Event Entry Fees
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At the Club's recent AGM it was voted to keep event entry fees for Club members for the upcoming 2018 Bush Series, and the BOSS, Street & Urban Series held over the 2018 year-end at the same level as they have been since 2016.
The levy paid per entry to Orienteering NSW will increase from $4 to $5 as of the first Bush event on 25 March. However, entry fees for Club members will not change. Casual competitors will pay marginally more to enter.
Adult members pay $10 to enter a Bush series event. After payment of levies, the remaining $5 funds a variety of Club expenditure including map production and printing; payments for applications to use National Parks, Crown Lands, Hunter Water property, and Hunter Development Corporation property; payments per user to National Parks ($2.47) & State Forests ($3.75); incorporation fees; ONSW's general membership levy ($3500.00 pa); prizes and trophies; web hosting; SportIdent and computer equipment; and expenses associated with the Club van (approx. $5000 pa).
We hope you will continue to support our family-friendly and affordable sport!
