After a lot of anticipation, WHO hopes were high as we gathered at Eric Hobbs Reserve in Castle Hill to host the Metro League final on 15 September. We had seen consistent success through the season - but would this translate into collecting the silverware on the day it counts? 

Anthony Saunders set some finals-worthy courses in the steep terrain of Bidjigal Reserve, which tested runners both physically and mentally. Times were on the longer side as a result, and definitely sorted out the contenders from the others in the pack across most divisions. The weather was clear and the sun was out. The scene was set for a great day of orienteering. 

WHO featured in the final for Divisions 1, 3, 4 and 5, reflecting one of the most successful seasons we have had in recent memory. In fact, we had already done enough in Division 1 to have the honours in the bag. So how did we go on the day?

Despite already having the trophy in the bag, our Div 1 team did not take their foot of the pedal in the final, soundly beating a depleted Bennelong 31-14. Seth Sweeney capped off a great season picking up the 10 points for a time of 50.29, which was a fast time on a challenging course. Seth Sweeney also took out the individual medal for the entire season with 47 points all up, sharing the honours with Ryan Armstrong of Bennelong who achieved the same score. A well-deserved accolade for Seth who has been the runner to beat all season. Well done to the entire WHO-UR Div 1 team for holding up the Frank Assenza trophy for the first time since 2008 - truly a landmark for our club and a long time between drinks! All our Div 1 runners contributed to this outstanding result - well done Seth Sweeney, James McQuillan, Vivien de Remy de Courcelles, Selwyn Sweeney, Dan Smith and our Uringa colleagues Michael Walters, Ant Nolan, Johnny Nolan, and Shellie Davis. 

The WHO-UR Div 2 team was not in finals contention, but nonetheless put up a brave show against Bennelong, unfortunately going down 29-25. Lachlan Coady was our fastest picking up 9 points for a time of 48.10. In the season individual points score, Savanna Sweeney was our highest scoring with a total of 37 points, reflecting her consistent performances throughout the year. A big thank you to all who joined our Div 2 squad throughout the season, including Lee Coady, Lachlan Coady, Savanna Sweeney, Paul Sweeney, Dan Smith, Matthew Palmer and Nicholas Crass, along with our Uringa colleagues Maggie Mackay, Jim Mackay, Shane Doyle, and Serena Doyle. 

In Div 3 WHO was fighting for finals glory against SHOO-IKO, and despite the absence of two regular team members who were part of the event organising committee, triumphed with a 30-24 victory! Our fastest was the ever-dependable Matthew Palmer who picked up 9 points for a time of 47.47. Matthew Palmer also achieved the highest individual score in our team or the season picking up a total of 37 points, with Emmanuelle Convert not far behind on 34 points. Well done to all who formed part of our Div 3 squad throughout the season, including Matthew Palmer, Emmanuelle Convert, Paul Sweeney, Saffron Sweeney, Charlotte Palmer, Sai Shing, Silvia Teoh, Matilda Saunders and Josh Braidwood. 

Div 4 was another division in which we were in finals contention, this time up against Bennelong. We yet again brought it home comfortably with a 33-22 win. This young team has proven to be outstanding the whole season, and all did us proud. Shay Sweeney picked up the 10 points with his time of 40.47, with Tahlia, Tiffany, Justine and Stan only minutes behind. Shay Sweeney was our highest individual scorer for the season with an amazing 59 points, only one shy of division medal winner Euan Shedden. Shout out to all our Div 4 team members throughout the season who made this possible, including Shay Sweeney, Justine de Remy de Courcelles, Tiffany Palmer, Tahlia Chapman, Stanley Shing, Anthony Saunders and Matilda Saunders. 

Div 5 was the remaining division in which we were finals contenders, again against Bennelong. Some of our usual Div 5 runners weren’t available on the day, and while we still put up a valiant effort, this time we didn’t quite get there, going down 37-18. Well, it would be a bit unfair for us to win everything. This round, Nerise McQuillan was our fastest picking up 7 points for a time of 61.38. Special mention goes to Aiden McQuillan who was our highest scorer for the entire season picking up 45 points in total - great work Aiden! Thanks to the long list of people who helped pave the way for our Div 5 team to reach the finals this season, including Barry Hanlon, Janet Morris, Kelly Simmonds, Ted Mulherin, Maria Stankova, Aidan McQuillan, Jacinta Braidwood, Levi Coady, Alex Chapman, Micaela Ashton, Stan Stanley Shing, Nerise McQuillan, Karen Langan, and Elliott McQuillan. 

While we weren’t competing for finals glory in Division 6, i’m pleased to report that Toby Said picked up 10 points for WHO with his fast time of 50.10 - Toby might be one to watch for next season! We were low on numbers so went down to Garingal 24-10. Janet Morris was our highest individual scorer for the season with 24 points. Thanks to our Div 6 runners this year - Hamilton Kinneally, Elliott McQuillan, Janet Morris, Blake Spencer and Toby Said. 

What a season! Easily the most successful season I can recall for WHO at Metro League, walking away champions in Divisions 1, 3 and 4. Considering it has been a while since WHO has won any division, to win 3 is certainly testament to our persistence and commitment to developing new talent. So if you are new to our club, consider joining us for Metro League next season - its a great introduction to orienteering and there will be courses to suit you. Thanks for a great year, and see you at Metro League 2025! 

Josh

The long awaited Round 1 (postponed from April due to wet weather) finally took place in Appin on Sunday 4 April. The map encompassed a beautiful and diverse bush setting with varied native vegetation, some steeper areas with boulder formations, and a fairly extensive network of tracks. 

It was also yet another successful day out for WHO. We picked up victories in Divisions 1 - 5, further cementing our strong position in the league this season. Let’s have a closer look at how we went. 

In Division 1, WHO-UR beat our main rival Garingal comfortably, 35-19. Seth again picked up 10 points for his time of 45.22, but what is most notable about our Div 1 team is the consistent contributions we have seen from all team members each round - and this is reflected in the personal point tally where our team members have all amassed substantial totals for the season. This is a key reason we remain comfortably in front in the toughest division of all with 4 out of 4 wins giving us 8 points, well ahead of second placed Garingal on 4 points. 

Similarly, WHO-UR beat Big Foot 32-22 in Division 2, with the most outstanding performance again going to Savanna Sweeney who picked up 10 points for a time of 49.23. WHO-UR is in 2nd place in Division 2 overall after 3 out of 4 wins, giving us 6 points, just behind Garingal on 8 points. 

Another comfortable win for WHO in Division 3, where we comfortably came home against Big Foot 31-23. Charlotte Palmer was again our fastest picking up 9 points for a time of 52.49, with Matilda and Emmanuelle not far behind. Consequently, WHO is out in front in Division 3 with 4 out of 4 wins giving us 8 points, ahead of nearest rivals Garingal on 6 points. 

WHO breezed home in Division 4, overcoming Garingal 38-16. Shay Sweeney continued the family tradition being our top scorer with 10 points for a time of 29.44 - wow. In fact it has to be said all team members achieved some pretty solid times - great work Anthony, Tahlia, Tiffany, and Justine. This young team is looking the goods. And again, with 4 out of 4 wins, this team leads the Division 4 pack on 8 points, ahead of Bennelong on 6 points.  

Now to Division 5, where we defeated long time rivals Knox 34-11. Aiden McQuillan has been outstanding this season, again picking up 10 points for a time of 45.09. WHO leads the pack in Division 5, with 3 wins and one draw under our belt giving us 7 points, ahead of nearest rival Bennelong on 6 points. 

It was incredibly close in Division 6 but we just got pipped by Bennelong by the barest of margins 23-22. Elliott McQuillan picked up 9 points for a super fast time of 21.36 with Hamilton Kinneally not far behind him at 23.54. It looks like we are continuing to build a great future for this club as our juniors come through the ranks. Probably the only division we are not in finals contention for, with only 1 win under our belt, but who knows how the rest of the season will pan out. 

So thanks to everyone who came down to Appin on Sunday, and make sure you mark September 1 in your calendar for Round 5 at Nurragingy as we approach the pointy end of the Metro League season.   

Maybe the gale force biting cold winds were meant to be a good omen, but it didn’t feel like it when we arrived at Beacon Hill to take on the Clay Pan in blustery conditions. But once we were out in the scrubby coastal heath WHO members put their best foot forward and had a ripper of a day out. Challenges included puzzled bike riders at the BMX track, tracks that felt ‘green’ with the amount of fallen trees covering them, and being distracted by sweeping coastal views from the expansive bare rock platforms.

But best of all WHO had the most successful Metro League round I can recall. We achieved that rare honour - a clean sweep of all 6 head to head match ups in each division. So how did we do it?

Let’s start with Division 1. In a competitive match up against Garingal, WHO-UR came out on top 29-25, despite our opposition picking up the two fastest times. The Sweeney speedsters Seth and Selwyn were our two fastest, with Seth getting around in 58.04 and Selwyn in 60.39. This means WHO-UR is clear at the top of the Div 1 table with 3 out of 3 wins giving us 6 points. Can we continue to set the pace?

WHO-UR was up against SHOO-IKO in Div 2, and picked up the win 29-23 - in an almost identical scenario to Div 1, we did so despite our opposition having the two fastest times. Uringa’s Maggie Mackay was the fastest for our team, and WHO’s fastest was Lachlan Coady at 54.47. A special call out to Matt Palmer who got promoted to Div 2 and didn’t disappoint picking up 6 points. WHO-UR is now second on the Div 2 ladder out of 6 teams - things are looking up!

The good news continued in Div 3, where WHO defeated SHOO-IKO 29-20. Charlotte Palmer was another successful promotion story, being our fastest runner with a time of 64.47 to pick up 9 points. This continues the run of success for our Division 3 team which is now clear on top of the ladder after 3 out of 3 wins with 6 points. Go Div 3!

As if all that success wasn’t enough, WHO’s Div 4 team trounced their SHOO opposition 34-15. This time Shay Sweeney was our fastest picking up 9 points for a time of 58.42. It was pretty consistently good times from the whole team though, which is primarily made up of juniors and one junior-at-heart. Consequently, WHO also sits proudly atop the Div 4 ladder with 6 points.

More victory in Div 5 for WHO, taking down SHOO-IKO 32-24. Aiden McQuillan picked up an impressive 10 points for a time of 57.00 (pipping mum by a mere 34 seconds). It was also great to see Ted Mulherin back in action in Metro League who contributed a tidy 4 points while we were in his neck of the woods. Also a call out to Kelly Simmonds who picked up 3 points on her Metro League debut - welcome to Metro League Kelly! So now WHO is on top of the Div 5 ladder as well with 5 points.

Finally we come to Div 6 where, to be honest, I wasn’t really holding out much hope of a positive result given our lack of entries in this division. Well I needn’t have worried, because all we needed was Janet Morris to singlehandedly bring home 10 points while our SHOO-IKO opposition effectively forfeited the round. So yet another victory! Pleasingly this lifts us off the bottom of the Div 6 ladder to second last place.

What can I say - well done to every WHO member who competed on Sunday for contributing to such a successful day. Let’s see if we can continue the success through to the finals. See you next Sunday at Appin!

Metro League Round 3 got underway on Sunday 23rd June, again with a good turnout from WHO. We were hosted by Bennelong at a fairly sodden Pennant Hills Park, but a little slipping and sliding on muddy tracks just added to the challenge. The map was a contrast to the previous round at Sydney Park, with the map featuring a lot of green and a reasonable amount of contour work. Let’s look at the WHO highlights.

Despite the (hopefully short term) absence of one our top runners, Seth Sweeney, our joint team with Uringa still managed to hand the host team Bennelong a walloping 38-14. Our president James McQuillan led from the front this round, picking up 10 points for a time of 43.34. This puts WHO-UR-CC at the top of the Div 1 ladder, well ahead of Garingal on points difference. Can we keep up the momentum? This is shaping up to be a great season at the toughest end of the contest.

Our WHO-UR-CC Div 2 team wasn’t quite as lucky, going down to Garingal 34-21. The fastest WHO runner was Savanna Sweeney who picked up 6 points for a time of 50.17. This sees us at 3rd place (out of 6 teams) in the Division 2 ladder, so we still have a good chance if we can pull off some good performances for the rest of this season.

We were back in the winner’s circle in Division 3, just edging out Garingal 29-25 in a close contest. Matthew Palmer was our fastest picking up 9 points for a time of 47.08. As a result, WHO sits in 2nd place on the Division 3 ladder, just behind SHOO-IKO on points difference. A great start to the year.

We were up against Garingal in Div 4 as well, and again we came out on top 32-23. The team was dominated by our juniors (and bolstered by the wisdom and experience of Anthony Saunders). Shay Sweeney was the fastest of the match up picking up 10 points for an incredibly quick time of 28.33. It has to be said all of our juniors in the team were in great form - this will be a team to watch. We now sit in 2nd place on the Division 4 ladder, just behind SHOO on points difference.

Div 5 saw yet more success for WHO over Garingal, with a commanding scoreline of 37-18. In another junior success story, Aiden McQuillan was the fastest picking up 10 points for a time of 36.07. In fact it was pretty consistently good performances across the team. Pleasingly, we sit at the top of the Div 5 ladder, so some more good performances will make us hard to beat this year.

We were well down on numbers in Div 6, so not surprisingly we lost 34-6 to Garingal, with the ever-dependable Janet Morris picking up 6 points for a time of 60.31. We are in 4th place (out of 5) on the Div 6 ladder.

WIth two rounds under our belt, this is one of the strongest starts to the season for WHO I can recall in recent years. Be part of the action, and join us at the next round of Metro League on July 28 at the Clay Pan.

Metro League 2024 finally got off the ground after Round 1 at Appin was cancelled due to wet conditions. It was looking like it would be pretty wet for Round 2 at Sydney Park as well, but fortunately not wet enough to keep us away. 

At face value navigation should have been fairly straightforward in this inner-city parkland environment, but there was some deceptively tricky legs on what is quite a detailed map. Apartment-dwelling dogs out to stretch their legs certainly enjoyed sniffing out these strange people running around their park with sodden maps in their hand. 

With our Div 6 team having the bye this round, we were able to field pretty full teams across the divisions. It was particularly good to welcome some Metro League debutants - welcome Tahlia Chapman, Matthew Palmer, and Sai Shing!

And pleasingly, WHO kicked off the season with a bang, pocketing plenty of wins in our head to head contests! 

Our joint WHO-UR-CC Div 1 team had a ripper, beating perennial Div 1 champions Big Foot 27-22. Not something we see too often - what a great result team. Seth Sweeney picked up the 10 points speeding around the course in 39.44 - he will be hard to beat this season. 

Our Div 2 team (also WHO-UR-CC) picked up an easy win against Garingal, who basically forfeited the round due to lack of numbers. Even so 34-0 looks pretty good on the scoreboard and a win’s a win. Savanna Sweeney continued the family’s winning ways, picking up 10 points with a time of 44.48. 

In Div 3, WHO was up against KNOX. Matthew Palmer made a real impression to kick off the Metro League season with 9 points for a time of 42.28. This helped see us home to a 27-22 victory over KNOX. 

Div 4 was a showcase for our juniors, and they certainly didn’t disappoint, beating IKO 32-23. The Sweeney’s were in the winners circle again with Shay picking up 10 points for a super fast time of 36.55. Special mention goes to debutant Tahlia Chapman who was our second fastest with a time of 42.38 for 7 points. Such a strong outing from our juniors bodes well for the future.

Finally, in Div 5 we were up against UR-CC and incredibly finished with a 27-27 draw. Karen Langan was in town and thought she would pick up 10 points while she was here, with a great time of 38.34. 

This must be one of WHO’s most successful rounds I can recall, and it was thanks to some great participation from everyone across all of our teams. Can’t wait for Round 3 in Pennant Hills on June 23 - this could be WHO’s year!

Well with Summer Series drawing to a close, its that time of year when we turn our attention to some of the best orienteering the Sydney region has to offer - Metro League!

Metro League is for everyone, whether you are a complete beginner or an elite competitor. It is also one of the best ways to meet your fellow club members. For those of you who aren’t familiar with

Metro League, it is a competition between the Sydney based clubs that takes place over 6 rounds across the winter months. There are 6 divisions, and clubs field teams of 5 in each division. WHO has a team in each division, although this season we will be teaming up with Uringa and Central Coast for our Div 1 and Div 2 teams. All club members can enter - and don’t worry if you aren’t selected you still get to run the course and prove to the captain that you are worthy of selection next time!

Every round, each of our teams goes head to head with a team from one of the other clubs. That makes 10 competitors across the two teams - and points are allocated by giving 10 points to the fastest time down to 1 for the slowest time. Whichever team accumulates the most points, wins the round!

If all of that sounds a little complicated, don’t sweat - all you have to do is turn up and run your course and have fun!

The beauty of Metro League is that you get a taste for bush orienteering without having to venture far from home. If you’ve only done Summer Series, then this is just the challenge you will be looking for over the winter months, and for those familiar with Saturday Orienteering Series, this is a natural progression. Some of you may even be wondering about State League - if so, then Metro League is a must to get used to the format and bush orienteering.

Round 1 kicks off next weekend at Appin (Sunday 7 April).

Get your entries in Eventor now. I’ll be looking to allocate teams early Saturday, so make sure you have your entries in by end of Friday if possible. I’ll then send details of teams and start times. All event information can be found on Eventor (including how to get there).

If you are new to Metro League and have some questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

See you next Sunday!

I’m reaching out to get an idea of who is interested in taking part in Metro League this year, so that we can work out how many teams we are likely to field.

Those of you new to the club might be wondering - what is Metro League?

Metro League is a competition held every winter between the Sydney-based clubs, including WHO.

But more importantly, it’s great orienteering in bush locations that are conveniently located on the outskirts of, or near Sydney. So you don’t have to venture too far from home to enjoy some great orienteering. In particular, if you have only done Summer Series events but are curious to progress to bush orienteering, Metro League is a great introduction. There are courses to suit all levels of experience, including beginners. And best of all you get to meet your fellow club members to get some tips, and compare notes. And you don’t need to attend every Metro League event - just the ones that suit you. If you’re interested, but want to find out more, reach out directly to me (joshuabraidwood1@gmail.com) and I can give you the full run down and answer any questions you might have. 

The scheduled dates for Metro League 2024 are setout in the table above - please note some of the proposed venues may be subject to change:

Get those dates in your calendar now.

Please get in touch to let me know if you think you can be part of Metro League this season, or if you are new to the club and would like to find out more.