Zoo Lake a bit of a zoo

Monday’s event at Zoo Lake marked the start of the Orienteering Schools League for 2013. This first event is usually the one where all the gremlins crawl out as we adjust to the numbers of runners and you find your way around this sport of orienteering. 10 schools were represented by one or more runners and there were 186 participants across the Junior and Senior categories.The biggest problems that I picked up out in the field were:

• Keeping the map orientated
• Following other runners
• Randomly searching for controls
• Checking every control spotted… just in case

There was far less incorrect punching (wrong control, wrong order of controls) and missed controls than last year. I’m sure we’ll see this drop even further with each event.

It is really interesting to see how well Helpmekaar are doing in the Junior Boys category where their runners placed first, second and third! And this is their first time at OSL. Last week’s training event must have really helped!

The Junior Girls category has the most number of participants at 59. Regular orienteer Kirsten Chambers holds her own in first place but she’s got a wave of Fourways runners queued up just behind her. Seven of the top 10 places are taken by Fourways runners.

When I saw the Senior Boys results I had to look again to make sure I’d seen correctly… Second and third place taken by Helpmekaar runners! Timothy Chambers had a comfortable lead but we can expect to see Peter Carides (in 4th) gaining ground as the League progresses. But watch out for Helpmekaar Peter!

In the Senior Girls we’ve got some regular orienteers battling it out for positions. It looks like we can expect some good competition from Cian Oldnow and Christie Courtnage during the League. Only 24 seconds separated them on Monday.

The next OSL event is on Monday, 4 February at Heronbridge. This is a great venue with school buildings, open fields, some rough open terrain and a road dividing the property, which makes it a little easier to orientate your map.

A few tips to keep in mind:

1. It really doesn’t matter where North is because you’re in areas where there are sufficient features (buildings, fields, roads) that you can easily see to help you keep your map orientated.
2. Fold your map smaller; it’s more difficult to run around with an A4 page flapping.
3. Keep your thumb on where you are at all times. This way, you can run and look around and then glance back at your map and immediately see where you are on the map. Without your thumb in place you’d have to search and figure out where you are each time.
4. Heronbridge is a safe and enclosed environment. Please go out on your own and not with friends. Groups of people generally make more mistakes and the whole point of coming to orienteering is to learn how to navigate and find your way from one point to the next. This a really excellent skill for hiking trips and sports like adventure racing.
5. Remember that there are four courses set out so not all of the controls out there are yours. Make a decision about where you’re going and what you’re looking for and don’t check every control you spot along the way. If you’re looking for a control placed next to a tree, which is next to a road, then the one that you notice next to a park bench in an open area really is not going to be your control.

The results from Zoo Lake are being checked by their schools so the results below are provisional. The results from the Senior Boys course have been adjusted to accommodate the incorrectly placed control (Arrgggghhh! I’m so totally guilty!). Points ranking has not yet been included.

Summary of Zoo Lake results (provisional)

Junior boys (49 runners)

1. Henlo vd Westhuizen, Helpmekaar, 15:08
2. Divan Koen, Helpmekaar, 16:56
3. Dion de Wet, Helpmekaar, 17:21

Junior girls (59 runners)

1. Kirsten Chambers, Bryandale, 14:03
2. Jureya Dildar, Fourways, 15:31
3. Kirstyn Hutcheson, Fourways, 15:32

Remember to check our Facebook page (/OSchoolsLeague) for some photographs from the event.