| Umbrellas were out in force for the spectator crowd at the 45th SA Schools Orienteering Championships held on Monday 29 May at Bonython Park, North Adelaide.
Even drenching rain did not dampen spirits, with more than 240 students from 22 schools taking part, achieving the organisers’ goal of a 25 percent increase over the 2022 champs.
Heathfield High School took home the Brian Wales Trophy, knocking out Adelaide Botanic in a convincing win, while Hawthorndene Primary nabbed the Williams Trophy from favourites Linden Park, with several outstanding individual efforts.
See below for the individual winners list and schools winners poster (for download). For all the results visit the Results Page
Kym Barnett, supported by Lyn Barnett and Controller Jenny Casanova, set the 10 courses, with the right level of challenge for brand new orienteers fresh from after-school orienteering programs all the way up to our more experienced regular orienteers. The ‘pink hat’ brigade stationed themselves around the course to provide help where needed and monitor creek crossings. Mitchell Stephens on roving mic helped everyone follow the action.
Early starters didn’t let wet weather get them down, braving the squally conditions, whereas the sun broke through as the morning wore on, making later starts a bonus.
Some orienteers coming up the straight got carried away by the moment, storming past the finish to jump the tape out of the arena… “PUNCH THE FINISH!!” could be heard from mums, dads and classmates showing their vocal support throughout the day.
“Today’s turnout was fantastic, especially with the challenging weather,” organiser Aylwin Lim said. “We are seeing some keen promising orienteers who can now go on to attend regular events and enjoy all the benefits of our international sport. It was also a great preparation in the lead-up to the SA Schools Relay Champs on September 1, where we expect many of these schools will send teams."
Furthest travelled was Josh Steadman from Goolwa, who came in 2nd in M12A. Great achievement, Josh!
Many thanks go out to all who made the event such a success. Led by Aylwin Lim, the Orienteering SA team included: Ben Cazzolato, Pavel Grecian, Colin Burnett, Fi Pahor, Bob Smith, Jan Hillyard, Paul Hoopmann, Chris Franklin, Joel Stanley, John Anderson, Noelene Anderson, Diane Mather, Barry Wheeler, Steve Cooper, Carol Such, John Such, John Hicks, Tara Miller, David Tilbrook, Clive Arthur, Marian Arthur. Diane Bergen, Anne Oke, Guy Schubert, Mark Overton, Meredith Rasch, Al Sankauskas, Peter Cutten, Peter Kreminski, John and Jeffa Lyon, Jess Jarvis, Zita Sankauskas, Robin Uppill, Mitchell Stephens and Leila Henderson.
SEE BELOW FOR WINNERS LIST AND PHOTO GALLERIES
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