2012 ACT Primary School Orienteering Championships

Wednesday, 28 November 2012

This years ACT Primary Schools Orienteering Championships 2012 saw continued growth in this sport, not only in number but in skill and enthusiasm.  236 children from 17 primary school across the ACT came together to test their map reading and fitness. Competitors were roughly 50/50 boys to girls.

The event drew yet another wonderful conglomerate of volunteer helpers willing to contribute to the professional and safe running of this Championship event. Helpers came from every Orienteering club. A number of parent helpers willingly offered themselves up as assistants to the organisers. Once again the volunteers cant be thanked enough!!

The largest field in the competition was the Teams event with 147 children competing with a “map mate”. Top places were taken out by Telopea Park School in first and second in the Teams 12 years followed by Lyneham Primary School. In the teams 10 years, Radford College team took first closely followed by Lyneham Primary, and Majura Primary. 

In the individual events, Majura Primary School’s small but strong team dominated with the Miller trifecta – Patrick Boys 12 years, Tristan Boys 11 years and Natalie, Girls 9 years all achieving first places. Radford College’s strong team kept it competitive with Noah Poland, second in Boys 11 years, Andrew Kerr, first Boys 10 years and Toby Lang, third in Boys 9 years.

In the girls individual 11 years Radford’s Amy Theakston put in a strong run on this complex map, coming in second place. Not surprisingly, first place was taken out by Kaleen Primary School’s, Annabelle Mill, who has not long returned from Orienteering Nationals in Tasmania where she performed strongly for her state.

Strong competition was provided by the Canberra Grammar School with James Rogers taking second place in Boys 12 years, Edan Reynolds and Matthew Birch each taking third place in Boys 11 and 10 respectively, and Zack Noyes and Nicolas Fitzgerald in first and second respectively in the Boys 9 years.

Girls Grammar’s Zoe Melhuish ran strongly taking first place in the girls 10 competition closely followed by Talhi Mullins of Campbell Primary School and Riley Lane of Macquarie Primary.

Another outstanding competitor of the day was Lyneham Primary’s Caitin Young of girls 11 years, who moved over the map quickly and cleanly with a time well short of all of her rivals.

Champion Primary School for 2012 was Canberra Grammar School (56pts), followed closely behind by Radford College (54pts) and Majura Primary School (46pts).

Check out the full results and view the action photographs by Tate Needham.

All in all, the Championship event was a wonderful success and that was reaffirmed at the presentation for prize getters where Olympic Marathon runner Martin Dent so wonderfully congratulated each and every one of the competitors for taking up the challenge of bush orienteering. Congratulations to everyone and especially to those winners and place getters, who so proudly accepted their medal from this champion.

  Marty Dent with Girls 12 Years winners - Carys Connick, Annabelle Mill and Belle Dare

The ACT Primary Schools Orienteering Championship 2013 will be held on Wednesday 20 November 2013 at a location to be confirmed. We hope to see many of the current runners back and many more new runners as well.