Western & Hills Orienteers

Full event information can be found on Eventor and the Orienteering NSW Metroleague pages.

Round 2 - Galston Reserve

Garingal hosted Round 2 at Galston Reserve, and we were fortunate to have good weather and some challenging courses. Many were faced with the conundrum ‘do I go clockwise or anticlockwise around the electrical substation’ and often it didn’t make a whole lot of difference in the end. Let’s size up how WHO performed on the day.

The WHO-UR-CC Div 1 team, despite featuring a strong line up, wasn’t able to match the firepower of SHOO-IKO this round, who took us out 36-19. Seth Sweeney was our fastest picking up 8 points with a time of 48.59. This means we, along with every other team in Division 1, has won 1 out of 2 rounds this year, indicating that this could be one of the closest Div 1 seasons for a long time. Unfortunately, on points difference, we are at the bottom of the 4 - but some wins should turn that around for us quickly

It was a happier outcome in Div 2, where we beat GO-UR-CC 32-23. Div 2 legend Lee Coady picked up the 10 points with a time of 51.54. Son Lachlan was the next best with 7 points for 63.27. And a shout out to Justine de Remy de Courcelles who stepped up a gear to take on Div 2 for the first time this round - and didn’t disappoint picking up a very handy 6 points for 69.42. That’s 2 out of 2 wins for WHO so far this season, putting us equal top of the ladder with GO Dragons.

Division 3 was quite literally down to the wire, resulting in a 27-27 draw between WHO and Garingal. Emmanuelle Convert stood head and shoulders above the rest with a fast time of 44.41 for 10 points. Great effort from Paul Sweeney as well, who picked up 8 points for a time of 58.31. This was enough to keep us off the bottom of the ladder, but we have a lot of work to do to be improve our prospects this season - fortunately there is still plenty of time to do just that.

We couldn’t quite get there against IKO in Div 4, going down 29-25. But there were some great performances, in particular Tiffany Palmer who picked up 10 points for a very fast time of 48.45. Nice work from Levi Coady as well, picking up 8 points for a time of 71.05. Unfortunately we remain winless in Div 4, but there is plenty of time to turn this around.

Div 5 on the other hand is a completely different story. We picked up our second win in a row, this time against Knox, beating them 30-24. Yet again our team, dominated by juniors, showed some outstanding performances. Toby Said took out the 10 points after whizzing around the course in 48.03, with brother Levi only minutes behind with 9 points for 52.07. This means we are sitting squarely on top of the ladder, and look to be the team to beat this season. But I’d better not get ahead of myself!

Finally, in Div 6, we were outdone by a full strength Bennelong side, going down 36-18. Sylvie Valais was our fastest picking up 8 points for a time of 46.54. Nice work Sylvie! This means we are winless in Div 6 so far, but again plenty of time yet to run this season.

Thanks all for a great turnout at Galston - next round we are hosted by Uringa on May 24th at Boggabilla (Lansdowne). See you all there!

 

From the Club Captain

Well we finally got Metro League 2026 underway with Round 1 at Nurragingy, hosted by Big Foot. Unfortunately, your Club Captain fell victim to the flu so had to steer clear, but that certainly didn’t prevent a strong showing from WHO on the day! A map with quite a bit of variety, and not too many contours, made for a good start to the season. Let’s break down how WHO went on the day. 

The WHO-UR-CC division 1 team signalled their intentions with a solid win over last year’s champions Garingal, convincingly beating them 31-24. It was very much a team effort, with our fastest being - you guessed it - Seth Sweeney, who picked up 9 points for a time of 34.40. James McQuillan and Matthew Palmer were only a couple of minutes behind, showing our Division 1 squad has a solid core. 

Our WHO Division 2 team also didn’t disappoint with a 29-25 victory over Big Foot. The newly promoted Ho Lam Marcus Cheung proved he is on the way up, picking up 10 points with a time of 37.43, and in fact the fastest Division 2 time overall - what a way to kick off the season Marcus! But with Nicholas Crass and Lee Coady only a couple of minutes behind, picking up the 9 and 8 points, again we can see a strong Division 2 team that will be hard to beat this season. 

Unfortunately, the tables were turned in Division 3, where Big Foot beat WHO 30-24, not helped by the fact we were one person down. Even so, it is worth highlighting the excellent performance of Justine de Remy de Courcelles who picked up 9 points with a time of 42.01. 

WHO also struggled in Division 4, where we were beaten by Garingal 33-22. However, Tiffany Palmer was our stand out, picking up 8 points with a very fast time of 34.36. 

We were well and truly back in the winners circle in Division 5, with WHO absolutely thrashing a diminished UR-CC 39-6. This year’s Division 5 squad has a strong representation of up and coming juniors and I think will be one of the teams to watch this season. Blake Read took the honours (and the fastest time for the whole division) with an incredible time of 22.39 for 10 points. But frankly, everyone in the team put in a fast time - Toby, Nathan, Levi, and Elliot - when 30.38 is the slowest time in the team, you know we are going to be hard to beat. I can see quite a bit of internal rivalry developing between these boys during the season - bring it on!

We couldn’t quite get there against Garingal in Division 6, going down 35-20. An up and coming junior known as Barry Hanlon picked up our best best time of 41.11 for a very useful 6 points. He might have a future in this league. 

Not a bad start to the season for WHO, but there is plenty more Metro League action to come. Mark your calendars for May 3 when Round 2 will be hosted by Garingal at Galston Recreation Reserve, an area some may remember from previous Metro Leagues a few years ago. See you all then!