OSL: Finding direction at Heronbridge

It was roasting hot on Monday and the runners did really well out there considering the sweltering conditions. Mondays seem to be the day for big thunderstorms and we fortunately wrapped up the event and packed away before it hit.

Heronbridge seems to have been straight forward for some and tricky for others – especially in between the buildings where there are many small paths. And that fence around the buildings seems to have caught many out. The one great thing about this property is that it is easy to orientate the map based on the location of the river, which is downhill of the buildings. There’s also the road between the school and the fields – that’s a useful guide too.

Looking at the Heronbridge results…

There has been a lot of position juggling in the Junior Boys category this week. Helpmekaar was bumped from their podium domination and they’re now sitting just outside the Top 5. Jaya Curtis (St Davids) had a good run into first place with a one-minute lead over Andrew Savage (St Davids).

The Junior Girls are showing more consistency with Kirsten Chambers (Bryandale) still on top and Kirstyn Hutchenson (Fourways) bumping Jureya Dildar (Fourways) down to third.

We’re also seeing some position changes from the Senior Boys although Timothy Chambers’ orienteering experience keeps him up front and with a considerable gap over the next places. KG Maesela (Fourways) finished second on Monday with Devon Els (Randpark) in third.

This week Christie Courtnage (Trinity) bumps Cian Oldnow (Fourways) from the top place in the Senior Girls category this week. Christie’s two-minute lead saw her comfortably across the finish line. Jessie Oldnow (Fourways) completes the podium, only 27 seconds behind her sister.

Overall the number of participants is up in each of the categories, especially in the Junior Boys were we had 49 runners last week and 66 runners this week. Numbers of Junior Girls increased from 59 to 67, Senior Boys from 36 to 45 and Senior Girls from 42 to 49. That’s 229 young orienteers.

There were a number of disqualifications again this week, especially in the Junior categories. There are usually two reasons to be disqualified: missing a control completely or punching the wrong control (from another course).

To prevent missing a control… keep your thumb on the map and move it along as you go. After punching at one control be sure about where you’re going next.

As for punching the wrong control… remember to check the control descriptions for the control number and don’t punch if the number on the EMIT block is wrong. Also, when the course planner sets out control locations if two controls for different courses are near each other they’ll be on different features. If the correct control is at the corner of a building the other one will be on a different feature, like a tree or a man-made feature or a path junction. Check your control descriptions and look carefully on your map to see what symbol the circle is drawn around. Don’t just punch because you see the flag; the control may not be the correct one for your course.

Summary of Heronbridge results (provisional)

Junior boys (66 runners)

1. Jaya Curtis, St Davids, 12:20
2. Andrew Savage, St Davids, 13:23
3. Luke Coventry, Randpark, 14:07

Junior girls (67 runners)

1. Kirsten Chambers, Bryandale, 11:26
2. Kirstyn Hutcheson, Fourways, 12:26
3. Jureya Dildar, Fourways, 14:19