MetrO League 2021 - Club Captain's blog. . .

Venues and Dates

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Metro League Round 4 - Castle Hill

 

Yet again WHO showed what a great event we can put on, giving the punters great value for money while showcasing one of Sydney’s great pockets of bushland. So thanks to all who helped out on the day, and especially to the organising team - great job! 

It was certainly hard work for a deceptively small scale map, with the steep sandstone valley of Excelsior Creek being used to full effect. We enjoyed some great courses set by Selwyn Sweeney, with times generally on the longer side. 

The home ground advantage might have worked in our favour, with WHO picking up wins across three divisions. 

The WHO Evers, our Div 1 team, were heavily depleted so it was always unlikely we would win this round against Big Foot - in the end we went down 36-16. James McQuillan picked up 9 points with a time of 56.22. 

On the other hand, our consistently performing Div 3 team, the WHO Rays, maintained their great run of form with another win, this time over SHOO. The scoreline of 33-19 was pretty convincing. Lee Coady was again our best picking up 10 points with a time of 52.14, but great performances from Paul Sweeney and Niamh Cassar ensured we rounded up the top three scores in this match up, picking up 9 and 8 points respectively (with only 4 seconds between them!). This puts WHO at the top of the ladder in Div 3, so we’ll be cheering on the WHO Rays to be in contention come finals time. 

Our Div 4 team, the WHO Doos, chalked up their first win for the season, thoroughly defeating SHOO-IKO 37-17. Could this be the beginning of a late season surge? Let’s hope so! Saffron Sweeney picked up the 10 point prize with a time of 52.17, and Anthony Saunders was hot on her heels picking up 9 points for 53.57. Great result team! 

The WHO Hahs of Div 5 were also in the winners circle, overcoming SHOO-IKO 37-18, another substantial margin. Lachlan Coady and Savanna Sweeney demonstrated why they were recently selected for the NSW Junior Squad, picking up 10 points (47.08) and 9 points (53.18) respectively. In fact a great team effort all round. With two wins under their belt, this places the WHO Hahs at 4th place on the ladder, still within reach of the top end if we can get some more wins under our belt. 

Unfortunately the Div 6 WHO Hahs couldn’t quite get there, going down to Garingal 34-20. Justine de Remy de Courcelles was our stand out performer, picking up 8 points for her time of 60.49. 

Round 5 will at St Ives on 1 August hosted by Big Foot (COVID permitting). Get the date in your calendar, and look forward to seeing you then!

 

Metro League Round 3 - Manly Dam

 

We were at the same venue as the Metro League event hosted by Bennelong last season, but this time the weather was a lot kinder! The courses were focused on the bush areas south of the lake, with plenty of rock formations and changes in vegetation to keep it quite challenging. Unfortunately we didn’t have quite the same degree of success as last round, with only our Div 3 team coming out on top of rivals Garingal. There were plenty of notable performances across the divisions. 

Our Div 1 team, the WHO Evers, is yet to taste success, this time outdone by Garingal 25-29. James McQuillan was however the top performer in the head-to-head, picking up 10 points for his time of 47.11, closely followed by Selwyn Sweeney who picked up 8 points with a time of 56.33.

The WHO Rays saw a little more success in Div 3 seeing off Garingal 29-23. That was despite one mis punch, with our rivals helpfully obliging with one of their own to keep it fair. Lee Coady was again our fastest with a time of 38.00, bringing in 10 points. Emmanuelle Convert also put in a great time of 45.02, earning another 8 points. WIth 2 out of 3 wins so far, the WHO Rays are level pegging with Big Foot for second place in the ladder. 

The WHO Doos unfortunately went down to Garingal in Div 4, by a fair margin of 15-39. Jay Seeho was our fastest, putting in a respectable time of 49.46 which earned 6 points for the team. 

The Div 5 WHO Rahs almost got there, unfortunately we were pipped by Garingal 26-28 in a close match up. Savanna Sweeney continue her great run with a time of 40.23 which brought home 8 points for the team. The WHO Rahs will remain a force to be reckoned with this season. 

Finally, the WHO Hahs in Div 6 had no luck this time around, being beaten by Garingal 24-30. But what a great run by one of our youngest competitors Shay Sweeney, with a fast time of 32.36 worth 10 points. 

We are about halfway through the season, so there is still time for us to make an impression in most divisions. And best of all, Round 4 is on home territory - WHO will be hosting the next Metro League on 20 June at Eric Mobbs Reserve in Castle Hill. We’ll need lots of helpers for this event, but we’ll make sure everyone gets a run. Get in touch with Maureen Fitzpatrick to find out how you can help on the day, and be sure to get your entries in! 

 

Metro League Round 2 - Lansdowne

Another big turnout from WHO in Round 2, and this time we tasted victory in several divisions!

Lansdowne has been a frequent Metro League venue the past few seasons, and is a great pocket of urban bush terrain with plenty of navigational challenges for the unwary. Our Div 1 team the WHO Evers were up against Bennelong, and unfortunately despite some good performances didn’t quite get there going down 30-25. James McQuillan was our fastest this round picking up 9 points with a time of 49.34.

The Div 3 WHO Rays had a little more success beating IKO 29-26. Lee Coady was our fastest with a fast time of 36.34, earning him 9 points. A special mention to Will Kay who made his Div 3 debut and picked up 8 points with a time of 41.06.

In Div 4, the WHO Doos went down 23-32 to Bennelong. Seasoned campaigner Dmitry Stukov picked up 7 points with a great time of 43.50. We were in the winners circle in Div 5, with the WHO Rahs beating Uringa - Central Coast convincingly 32-22. The younger generation carried the flag for WHO, with Matilda Saunders picking up 10 points with a time of 51.41, and Savanna Sweeney not far behind picking up 9 points with a time of 52.28. The future looks bright!

Div 6 continued our successful run, with the WHO Hahs downing SHOO IKO 33-21. The Chan family dominated, with Stephanie whizzing around the course in 21.04 picking up 9 points, and Linda not far behind on 25.27 (8 points). Special mention too to Shay Sweeney who made his Metro debut with a great time of 29.28.

We will meet again for Metro at Manly Dam, hosted by Bennelong, on 23 May. Get in your entries now!

Josh

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Metro League Round 1 - Yerambah Lagoon

There was a great turnout to the first Metro League outing for the season at Yerambah Lagoon at Picnic Point in Sydney’s south. WHO was well represented, fielding full teams in Divisions 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This is a map that hasn’t been used for many years, with a maze of well-defined and not-so-well-defined tracks criss-crossing this patch of bushland not far from the Georges River.

Despite all WHO teams being full, unfortunately we didn’t win any of our match ups this round. In Div 1 we were up against perennial champions Big Foot and went down 22-33. Big shout out to Selwyn Sweeney who was the best of the WHO performers picking up 8 points with a time of 56.49.

In Div 3, we had the firepower of Lee Coady who picked up the 10 points with his super fast time of 39.48, but this wasn’t enough to get us over the line against Big Foot who beat us 31-24. Welcome to our first time Div 3 runner Warren Bax who picked up a handy 4 points.

Div 4 was a much closer affair, with our team going down 27-28 to Uringa/Central Coast. Jay Seeho led the way picking up 9 points for WHO with a time of 41.19.

In Div 5 we were up against Big Foot, and unfortunately they beat us 30-25. Some solid performances from Karen Langan (8 points 46.48) and Janice Seeho (7 points 46.55) kept the scoreline respectable.

Finally, in Div 6 we were up against Garingal who won 34-21. Stephanie Chan picked up the 10 points whizzing around in 16.06!

All in all a great day of orienteering. Looking forward to Round 2 at Lansdowne on 2 May! Get your entries in.

Josh Braidwood 
Club Captain

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Hi everyone,

As the summer orienteering season draws closer to an end, its time to gear up for one of the highlights of the Sydney orienteering calendar - Metro League!

Metro League is for everybody - whether you are a beginner or an experienced orienteer.

Metro League is an opportunity to experience bush orienteering in a way that is highly accessible and close to home. And a great way to meet your fellow club members!

Metro League is a competition between clubs across 6 divisions - Division 1 being the longest/hardest and Division 6 being a course of Easy/Moderate standard suitable for new and or young orienteers. WHO enters teams across several divisions, with 5 people per team. Don’t worry if you can’t make every event, just come along to the ones you can!

Note the Metro League dates on your calendar.

To help us work out how many teams we will enter this year, we need to have an idea of how many people will be interested in attending at least some Metro League events.

Please drop me a line to let me know if you are interested in Metro League this year. The more the better!

If you're curious but would like to know more, email me or give me a call on 0400 305 818.

Cheers
Josh Braidwood 
Club Captain