· Thanks to Mark V our club looks ready to stage the 2023 Victorian Teachers Games in Gippsland – a bit remote from Ballarat – but maintains our hold on our “signature event” status for the big September Vic School holidays event.
· With the Vic Relays and 2 MTBO events in one day at Maryborough behind us, the Ballarat Winter Series will start on 25th June with “Nerrina” – starting at the Little Bendigo School. Richard G has made this event part of a 3-day training camp for Victorian juniors staying at Creswick’s Log Cabin Camp and training on “Mt Beckworth”, Lake Wendouree Gardens, and other maps.
· Richard G and Ian C set up and ran a very successful Vic Sec Schools event at Westerfold’s Park in Melbourne on Friday 19th May for over 300 keen students.
· The Eureka storeroom is getting more organised by the week with still a few items to recycle thanks to Pax Hill staff (3 folding metal boards) and Richard G (3 folding result boards).
· FoCC (Friends of Canadian Corridor) have stage several events in May – 2 days in Heritage Weekend (Water Race walks from Sparrow Ground), Public speaker (Dr Susan Lawrence on “Significance of water, water races and sluicing on the Ballarat goldfields in the 1850’s”.
· Unofficial FoCC opening of the 400m long connecting path from Woowookarung to Recreation Road. A bbq and short walk for over 50 people was well received. This trail will be very useful route choice for o-ing courses/events from Mt Clear Sec College. The land has been acquired thanks to FoCC’s efforts and now is Parks Vic land (runs parallel to the old Ballarat to Buninyong rail line}.
· Eureka confirmed at May’s Zoom meeting a formal “expression of interest” for the Lake Daylesford map – where we staged the Orienteering Grand Prix on the first day of the 2022 Australian Champs Carnival.
· Sarah C and Bill B are busy setting courses from the southern carpark (south of the lake) in preparation for the last event in the Ballarat Winter Series on the 24th July. Additional field work on the southern portion of the map should make this a good addition to our cache of maps in the Daylesford area.
· Good turnout of EU members at Kookaburra Rises event – 18 gave it a go in the drizzly and cold conditions- with Lian Prendergast and her family from Kyneton participating in their first event for a while.
· New shirt order has been received – and Bill B picked up his at Kookaburra event!
Cheers Blake (31 May 2023)