The coal dust has finally settled and we can now all reflect on our adventures at the Coalfields Classic! It was a great suite of orienteering events over the weekend in the Newcastle-Hunter region and being both a State League and National Orienteering League weekend the crowds were both numerous and talented!
The weekend kicked off with a Saturday morning sprint event around the Newcastle University campus. The campus provided a maze of different buildings with tricky stairs to navigate and many gardens to avoid. With a gully running through the middle of the campus the course was split in to three main areas with footbridges providing the best way to join them up without climbing the contours. Bennelong Northside fronted with a contingent of 8 ready to battle the students and their backpacks around the campus.
There were good results all around, with the following members on the podium:
| SL3 – Newcastle Uni – Sprint | ||
| Fedor Iskhakov | 3rd | M21A |
| Darren Slattery | 2nd | M21AS |
After the morning event we travelled half an hour into Hunter territory for the middle distance event at Pelaw Main. By the afternoon the crew was up to 12. With our own Terry Bluett as controller we knew the event would run smoothly and the controls would be accurately placed. The course was set above on old coal mine, with some subsidence creating an interesting landscape, mostly flat but with a few big holes and water features. The NSW Junior Squad again spoiled us with some hot foods including chili con carne, soup and corn on the cob! Thanks guys!
| SL4 – Pelaw Main – Middle | ||
| Fedor Iskhakov | 3rd | M21A |
| Darren Slattery | 2nd | M21AS |
| Graham Galbraith | 3rd | M55AS |
| Marina Iskhakova | 1st | W21AS |
| Peter Thompson | 2nd | EOD Moderate |
| SL5 – Kitchener – Long | ||
| Darren Slattery | 2nd | M21AS |
| Graham Galbraith | 3rd | M55AS |
| Terry Bluett | 3rd | M65A |
| Marina Iskhakova | 3rd | W21AS |
