Big Foot Orienteers

Just over the water from the Shire, Oatley Park provided a great day for the visiting hobbits.

Today's picture shows three Big Foot hobbits revelling in the discovery of shoes. They'll never catch on.

Ewan (M10A), Miles (M35A) and Jock (M45A) were the standout performers for Big Foot at the Easter carnival taking top positions on the podium at Monday's presentation ceremony.  On the slighter lower, silver step were Nea (M/W10N) and Rebecca (W14A).  Tracy showed there's nothing like experience placing an excellent 4th in W21E, ahead of many of the young pretenders who struggled with the tough conditions.  

Bennelong's Darren Slattery was one of the few to make all three Big Foot February races and collects the free meal for two at the Great Northern following a draw from the names of the 29 who made the first 2. Thanks to the almost 400 people who started or helped at one of our events and congratulations to Darren.

See you in March at State League 1 & 2.

This is what the weekend's training event did to our President. He faired out better than event organiser Andy Hill - who fell and needed hand surgery on the day. Just as he was getting back into full training and sprint victories after his ankle injury in the 2010 Big Foot Sprints. Four Big Feet started the "Super Long World Champs" with the first challenge being to fit the 1:10 000 map into a map bag. Mounty was the only participant to finish all 200 controls and all 56 kilometres.
 

Cath Chalmers hopes for a flying start to 2012 were dashed shortly after she dashed from the start. A speed bump placed strategically across the route to control #1 sent her flying and bought her race to a quick end.

With many other Big Feet running the leg without incident, either Cath was unlucky, or more likely in these paranoid times, she was the victim of a prank speed hump installer, using a new fangled temporary hump.

Big Foot's attempts to clean up orienteering takes two more steps forward as Anthony Darr makes an honest woman of Kylie Hoffman and Stuart Wilson will shortly do the same with SSS gun Sue Davis. Congratulations all round.

Anthony and Kylie's wedding was struck by a dramatic cake mishap. Our chief cake reporter Cathy McComb provides more details.

Long the scourge of those who can't navigate (and I speak on behalf of the majority of the club), yesterday's landmark decsion by the OANSW to scrap Red courses from 2012 onwards is sure to be welcome by all but but the navigationally competent.

Greg Barbour followed up his Oceania M45 title by winning the Australian Championships M35 title at Big Badja today. Run on the same area as yesterday's Oceania sprint titles, the fast granite terrain proved to be to Greg's liking despite the switch to 1:15000 from 1:5000.

In M40A, Jock Davis grabbed 3rd place behind Warren Key and New Zealand's Rob Jessup. Not quite King of the rocks, but a great recovery from yesterday's off-the-map performance.

In M50A, Michael Burton (pictured) had a cracking run, eventually winding up with 3rd place behind fellow new M50 Bernard Walker and the tough-to-beat Novacastrian Rob Vincent. 

In the women's divisions, the run of the day came from Tracy Marsh who was 5th overall in  W21E, 4th Australian, in a very strong field.

The rest of us all did good too.