BUNS Series IV – Events 1,2,3 – Victoria  Park / Inclusive Playspace, Lake Wendouree & Kensington Estate

Victoria Park  22 October – 11.15am start

Ballarat’s weather played havoc with this event – shining when we started at 11.15, but turned foul with all involved getting a bit wet. How did you go? The complete re-map of the Victoria Park thanks to Rod Gray proved very appropriate for the event – and gives us a good base for future expansion to the surrounding streets, south into the pines and over to St Pat’s Sec College. The Grand Day Out at the new Inclusive Play Space across from Loreto College gave promise of big numbers, but the weather was the decider and only 13 people braved the conditions. Using the 15 permanent controls (newly painted) helped competitors find them in the gloom. Inside the play space Rod and James set a 20-control striped tape course that attracted over 25 newcomers. The kids really seemed to have great fun in finding the tapes – more like “hide and seek“ – with families running here and there, while some pairs used the map to find each marker scattered around the various structures in the playground.  Blake has offered the map to future users of the inclusive play space and park thru the Visitor Information Centre at the Town Hall. Thanks to Rod, James, Mark, Heather and Blake for helping out on the day – next time we’ll get the weather right!

 

Name(s)                   Total time             Points             Time penalty

(5 pts/min late)      Final score

Judy P 44.00 120 0 120
Angela and Mike 39.00 120 -20 150
Par Lange Group 43.00 150 -30 170
Liz & Tim (+Sophia) 25.00 30 0 30
Monica &Geordie 43.00 120 0 120
Jeanette 45.00 20 0 20
Roch P 32.00 150 0 150

 

Lake Wendouree – 3 November – 4.30pm start

What a perfect afternoon for a run around the lake precinct and Prince of Wales Park / Lake Gardens!  We tried the Thursday afternoon format again as daylight saving is on again giving an extra hour of light. John Erwin used all parts of the map for his 20 locations – some pretty well hidden in the surroundings.  John set the sites with safe crossings of Gillies Street – but he didn’t anticipate the volume of traffic (all had to wait for breaks in the stream of cars).  No one managed to get all 20 in the 45 minutes, but the challenge made us all reassess our route choices and try to run the ‘perfect race’ while sitting at the finish pergola. Then John tossed in another first by asking us questions about things we had seen around the course (or historical aspects of the district) and had us fill in the three words on the back of the map. Lots of laughs John and a good addition to the afternoon. Who will invent another mental challenge to our fortnightly BUNS events?  We still are struggling to increase numbers but hope the better weather will attract more to join in.

 

Name(s)                   Total time             Points             Time penalty

(5 pts/min late)      Final score

Judy 46.00 70 -10 60
James and Reyx 47.00 130 -10 120
Blake 45.20 180 -5 175
Ian & Madeleine 47.00 90 -10 80
Jenny and Tsegii 49.00 200 -20 180
Jeanette Nevill 47.00 70 -10 60
Geoff and Rod 46.30 200 -10 190

 

Kensington Estate – 12 November – 11.15am start

New map, a new area, but the same old weather – but thankfully it cleared just before the start. Roch set the controls on an area most of us have never visited – Winter Valley – named Kensington Estate. The map was accurate and will certainly change as it is on the western most development in the Lucas area west of Delacombe and Alfredton. The large park area splitting the map in two sections and some cunning placements made for some challenging choices that penalized those that didn’t look closely at the best routes. Possible route choices around the fences proved slow with the wet, tall grass making running difficult. With the wind a factor and the threat of showers the course proved a good challenge for all  – with particular success to Team Gray and Mike / Angela getting maximum points.  As the series has progressed there has been a marked increase in the navigational skill of the teams involved – one of the positive gains for all. Now if teams can get a bit more running / walking fitness another landmark will have been achieved. Everyone seems to be really enjoying the mental and physical exercise – and we certainly are discovering more unique places around Ballarat.

 

Name(s)                   Total time             Points             Time penalty

(5 pts/min late)      Final score

Judy P 44.20 160 0 160
James and Reyx 33.45 200 0 200
Blake G 40.20 190 0 190
Angela and Mike 39.27 200 0 200
Peter J 43.53 170 0 170
Jeanette Nevill 44.20 160 0 160
John and Dot 45.00 180 0 180
Mark V 36.06 190 0 190

 

Hope to see a record attendance at the next event Thursday 24th November at Chisholm Street Reserve (just north of Black Hill) where Rod and James will expand the Black Hill map to the east into Nerrina and Brown Hill wetlands. Bring a friend and we’ll double our numbers! See you there … Blake