Hi Bennelong,
The final standings for the NSW State League have been released. State League is a competition for individuals throughout the winter season, mostly bush events with the best 8 scores from the 15 events (7 Middle distance, 5 long and 3 sprint) counting towards each person’s season score. Bennelong hosted the Kahli’s Rocks event near Bathurst in May, with Gordon the course setter. 37 Bennelong members participated in at least one State League event this season.
7 Bennelong members are season champions in 2023:
- Abigail McGhee (W18A)
- Maxwell Povah (M10A)
- Melissa Thomas (W21A) – won 11 of 15 events
- Michael Halmy (M55AS)
- Peter Hopper (M35A)
- Richard Pattison (M21A)
- Samuel Tsang (M21AS) – won all 7 events attended
5 Bennelong members finished 3rd (no runners-up)
- Brian Tsang (M Junior B)
- Gordon Wilson (M70A)
- Rachael Povah (W45AS)
- Richard Morris (M50A)
- Terry Bluett (M75A)
The Aus Champs in WA over the school holidays will be the finale of the winter season. Good luck to everyone competing, especially Abigail representing NSW Schools.
I’ll finish on a personal note, perhaps a tale of inspiration for the world to DREAM BIG, a tale so farfetched that Hollywood would laugh at such an outlandish plot, but this is a story of fact, now written into O-history. At the start of the season, I set myself the goal of winning the NSW State League coveted M21 championship, competing against the best athletes in the state. This is a ridiculous dream, given my running is worse than mediocre, half the speed of the best athletes, albeit my navigation is OK having spent most of my adult w/e’s in the bush climbing and canyoning. As Steven Bradbury discovered, sometimes your competition all fall over just before the finish line to hand you victory, but in my case, often the competition didn’t turn-up, and that was my strategy. The championship came down to a nail-biting finale at the NSW Champs where my tactic was hoping that Alistair and Julian would perform so well that my competition would not recycle their worst scores, which came to be. It’s not a heroic tale by any means, but it’s a tale of hope, a tale of dreams, a tale of genuine inspiration for everyone in life to dream big, because that dream may just become reality… if no-one else turns-up or gets in your way! A true, light-hearted story.
Congratulations to those who win a badge for finishing in the top 3.
Best wishes, Rich.