National Orienteering Sprint Champs 2010 - Roxburgh

So, as has become tradition for Easter, I had the National Orienteering Champs and this year it was being held in central Otago. The first event is always the Sprint champs on the Friday afternoon. I've never been a fan of sprints and this has to be one of my worst sprint races ever!!


I took the first control nice and slow and spiked it perfectly but somehow stuffed up #2 by doing a 90 degree error which allowed the girl starting after me to catch me. I got to number #3 before her but confused myself royally by thinking that it couldn't be mine because I hadn't gone far enough. More silliness! Then stupidly followed her route to #4 instead of the perfect route round to the left along the track which would have saved heaps of time.

The rest was okay but I was just so slow and really struggled to get my head around it...like I couldn't get my brain in to orienteering mode. At least I nailed all the controls in the spectator area though! Rob V was watching on the hill and said I was one of the few in my grade who did manage to nail all of them. At least that's something! It's always so embarrassing when you can't find the control while everyone is watching you.


Looking down over the last few controls from the spectator area