ONSW President's Award goes to Carol Jacobson
Garingal "Jill-of-all-trades" Carol Jacobson is a thoroughly deserved winner of the NSW President's Award for 2020.
Carol's professional academic career in cartography makes her a natural to be Garingal's main mapping officer. Add in writing event organiser manuals, compiling the club's roster of helpers, making new maps, looking after SI from time to time, and setting summer series courses - and you've got a much loved member who gives everything to the sport.
Carol is also a Level 2 Controller and often takes on club members who are novice planners to nurture them so that they learn and enjoy the experience.
She first joined the Garingal committee in January 2000 and has served in various important roles ever since - a period of 20 years – including president, vice-president and events organiser.
A simply monumental contribution to orienteering.
Congratulations Carol.
ONSW Rookie's Award goes to Cooper Horley
Garingal tyro Cooper Horley has added the 2020 NSW Rookie of the Year award to his rapidly expanding orienteering resume.
In 2019 he was a member of the triumphant NSW schools team that won the national title for the first time in 17 years.
And Cooper last year won the individual medal in Division 2 of the Sydney Metro League, running Hard courses despite being only in Year 8 and his second year in the sport.
This summer he has been regularly finishing in the top 10 scorers each week in the Sydney Summer Series, showing some serious speed and skill.
Congratulations Cooper!
Our club treasurer Istvan Kertesz swept all three Open 3 class races at the ACT MTBO-champs at the weekend.
Not yet old enough for M40 and not wanting to compete against the elites in M21, Istvan took out the Sprint, Middle and Long in warm conditions at Kowen Forest.
Partner Nikolett Halmai also rode in Open 3 on the Saturday, finishing second in the Sprint and third in the Middle. On Sunday she won Open 4 in the Long.
"It was our first solely MTBO event," said Istvan. "It was Niki's idea to go as she cannot run at the moment due to injury."
"I was always fond of the DuO format having attended them from the beginning and always competing in the longest courses. Sometimes this meant that by the end I ran/cycled more than 40km like at Belanglo. Because of this and that we had fun at the DuOs this year we thought to give MTBO a try."
Clare Jessup won the W20 Sprint in her only race of the carnival, while father Ian won Open 5 in the Long after two tough races in M50 on Saturday.
A big thanks to OACT for a lovely weekend. The last MTBO action for 2020 is Newcastle's BOSS event at Neath on Sun Dec 13.
The Horley family had a day to remember at the Sydney MetrO League finals on Sunday, with son Cooper and father Adam taking out the individual medals in Divisions 2 and 4 respectively.
Adam led the Monitors to an unbeaten season in Division 4 as well, while NSW Stinger Toby Wilson claimed the hotly contested individual medal in Division 1 despite the Goannas losing the final to Big Foot.
Cooper is still only in Year 8, already a member of the NSW schools team, and continued his rapid improvement to end the 5 rounds with 45 points from a maximum of 50.
Adam and team-mate John Bulman were level on 38 points heading into the last round at Lansdowne, and Adam prevailed by just 15 seconds to claim the silverware.
The other members of the winning Monitors team were Jim Merchant, Tania Kennedy and Ian Jessup.
In the new Division 6, the previously unbeaten GO Blue Tongues went down to SHOO-IKO 32-23. Sub-junior Arthur Lusher finished runner-up in the individual medal, having run a 6-hour rogaine the day before. A great effort by a youngster in his first crack at Metro.
A big thank you to club captain Jamie Kennedy for managing the 8 teams again in 2020.
