The Orienteering Association of Western Australia (OWA) held the Go for 2&5 2024 Primary Schools Orienteering Championships at Garvey Park on Wednesday 7 August 2024. The organising team and participants were happy that the event was almost rain free. Over 120 students from 4 schools participated. Twenty-two volunteers from OAWA helped run the event and City of Belmont permitted us to use Garvey Park.
Feedback from the students and their teachers was very positive. Heavy rain overnight meant the puddles were full to the brim and the students had a great time sloshing through the puddles as they ran their courses. The Garvey Park mosquitos were voraciously hungry which was annoying for anyone with exposed skin. The 10 pairs and 11-12 pairs ran a score event, and all students had a result which was very pleasing. The vibe when the over 68 students mass started was exciting for the students and spectators.
The Boys 10 was a tight competition between students from Christchurch Grammar School. Thomas Beaver was the fastest with 17.03 from Justin Khoo on 22.08. In contrast, Quinn Lommers blitzed the Boys 11-12. Quinn won by almost 10 minutes from Liam Tam from Christchurch Grammer on 24.35 and Gurnoor Josan from St Brigid’s Primary School on 24.52. In the Girls 10, Kaitlyn Trin from St Brigid’s Primary School on 22.54 was a clear winner from her school mates Rejoice Riya on 40.30 and Anopa Materwa on 42.39. In the Girls 11-12, Ashley Trin from St Brigid’s Primary School on 31.32 outpaced her classmates Sarah Maher on 35.29 and Pia Passamani on 41.11.
A pair from Christchurch Grammer School – Jayden Gui and James Phillip - were clear winners of the Pairs 10. Jayden and James collected 530 points in 23.48 minutes. Their classmates, Vishnu Vyhunthan and Li-Jun Wee collected 490 points in 34.46. In the Pairs 11 – 12, Matthew Lewis and James Robinson from Christchurch Grammer School collected 630 points in 26.29 ahead of classmates Ali Cradock and Sebastian Sambrook who collected 600 points in 27.44.
Perth Waldorf School came to the Championships for the first time and it was pleasing to see that their Pair 11 – 12 teams scored consistently in this class.
Overall, St Brigid’s Primary School retained their position as Champion School with 56 points from Christchurch Grammar School on 55 points. Rosalie Primary was third with 6 points and Perth Waldorf School was fourth with 5 points.
As with past schools championships, a large and wonderful team of current and past OWA members worked hard on the event. There are simply too many to list, but you know who you are and thank you for giving up your time to introduce orienteering to primary school students. Nick Dale and Brian Austen visited Garvey Park many times to set and check the courses. Melinda Richards and Rosalie McCauley organised the event, and Christine Howitt was the chief starter for the individual starts.
Sincere thanks to: Healthway and OWA for supporting the event; Schools Sports WA for helping promote the event; teachers for their participation; and City of Belmont for allowing access to Garvey Park.
Results can be found on Eventor.
Photos: (above) Running through the water on the tracks, by Nick Dale; (below) Champion School - St Brigid's Primary School, by Christine Howitt.
Ngalak kaaditj nidja Noongar Boodjar. Koora-Yeyi-Kalyakool.