Sunday August 17 saw us at Darks Common, Lapstone for the rescheduled Round 4 of Metro League. Many WHO members will be quite familiar with this map from past events, but for some this will have been a new introduction to an interesting corner of the foothills of the Blue Mountains. On some courses, runners were treated to some spectacular views down Glenbrook Gorge. But of course, being the penultimate round, all eyes were on the results to see whether WHO would find itself in the final for any divisions. Let’s walk through the results:

A lot was at stake in Division 1, where WHO-UR was up against division leaders Garingal. This was a must win for WHO-UR in order to remain in contention. In what was an incredibly close match up, Garingal proved why they have been so consistent at the top end this season, edging out WHO-UR 29-26. In so doing, Garingal now have the Frank Assenza Trophy in the bag, a heartbreaking outcome for our team. But we can hold our heads up high, because we certainly gave them a run for their money, and realistically were the only other team that was in real contention this season. Seth Sweeney was yet again the flag carrier this round picking up 9 points for a time of 53.18, just a few minutes ahead of our president James McQuillan who bagged 7 points for a time of 58.07. 

We couldn’t quite get there in Division 2 either, with SHOO-IKO proving too good for WHO-UR with a scoreline of 30-24. Notwithstanding, we had some great performances from stalwarts Lee Coady (8 points, 52.20) and Dan Smith (7 points, 59.36), with Dan no doubt enjoying the run in his own backyard. Nonetheless, we have still done enough this season to secure our place in the final for division 2, having picked up 3 wins for the season. It will be the undefeated SHOO-IKO we are fighting it out for, so a chance for redemption. 

Our fortunes turned in Division 3, where we staged an impressive victory over SHOO-IKO, beating them 33-19. Youth dominated, with Justine de Remy de Courcelles bringing home 9 points for 54.53, and Shay Sweeney 8 points for 57.38. WHO has dominated Division 3 all season with 4 wins and 1 draw, and as a consequence is locked in for the final against SHOO-IKO. 

Despite a close result, it was a bridge too far for our Division 4 team, going down 26-29 to SHOO. Some great individual results though, notably Paul Sweeney with a time of 51.20 (8 points) and Stanley Shing with 52.13 (6 points). Unfortunately, with only 1 win under our belt this season, Division 4 is out of contention for the final. 

Even closer still was Division 5, where there was only one point in it - unfortunately we were pipped by SHOO 28-27. Jacinta Braidwood impressed with her best run for the season picking up 9 points for a time of 50.06, with Martin Mansfield not far behind with a time of 50.55 (8 points). Fortunately, we have done enough this season to earn our place in the final, having 3 wins under our belt. We will be up against Garingal for the glory. 

And on a positive note, our Division 6 team came up triumphant in a close match up with Knox, beating them 28-26 (despite our team being down one runner!). Toby Said picked up the 10 points whizzing around the course in 19.24, closely followed by Blake Read’s 22.02 (8 points). Again, youth has dominated our performances in this division. Pleasingly, this means that with 3 wins this season, our team tops the ladder and is locked into the final, which will be against Bennelong. 

Despite some close calls and heartbreak this round, WHO is now set up beautifully for the finals. We are in the finals for 4 out of 6 divisions (2, 3, 5 and 6) - an incredible feat. Unfortunately, the Final Round at Mitchell Park scheduled for 31 August has had to be postponed due to flooding - the organisers will advise when a new date has been set (at this stage, likely to be October). But that just allows us to build the anticipation even more and become match fit for the finals. Just a reminder too of the rules around eligibility to be selected for a team that is in contention for the finals - you must have run in at least 2 Metro League rounds during the season (not necessarily in the same division) in order to be eligible for selection. And as always, everyone gets to run, regardless of whether they have been selected, or whether their team is in the final. 

And finally, also keep an eye on the individual medal scores as we go into the final. At this stage, both Seth Sweeney (division 1) and Shay Sweeney (division 3) are in the lead in their respective divisions for the individual medal. Can they hold onto the lead in the final round? I personally can’t wait to find out. Good luck Seth and Shay. 

Metro League was back on Sunday 27 June with WHO hosting at Western Sydney Regional Park. Thanks to a big turnout from WHO members we were able to field full teams and put on a great event. Thanks to Matt and Charlotte in particular who pulled together some great courses and a smoothly organised event. The courses provided a good variety of challenges, with a decent mix of open grassland, parkland, bush, and climb. And the odd pretty decent view of the Sydney skyline as well. And to add to the success of the event, WHO actually performed pretty well in our head to head match ups as well. Let’s digest the results. 

In Division 1, WHO-UR were up against Big Foot who, fortunately for us, were down a couple of people. We came home convincing winners 31-21, with Seth Sweeney yet again leading the charge picking up the 10 points for a very fast time of 36.05. This puts WHO-UR very solidly in second place on the leaderboard, with 3 out of 4 wins under our belt placing us just behind Garingal. 

Our triumph over Garingal in Division 2 was all too easy with our opposition only fielding one entrant. The lopsided scoreline of 40-5 was backed by some great performances, most notably Lee Coady picking up 10 points for a time of 45.13, and Dan Smith not far behind with 9 points for  46.35. This means we now sit atop the Div 2 leaderboard, equal with SHOO-IKO on number wins (3 out of 3 wins) but ahead of them on points difference. 

We were on the right side of another walkover in Division 3, beating Bennelong 38-14. Shay Sweeney seems to just keep getting better, picking up 10 points with a time of only 27.45 - how does he do it? Hot on his tail was Ho Lam Marcus Cheung picking up 9 points for 32.46. We sit in 2nd place on the leaderboard after 3 wins and 1 draw, a good place to be at this end of the season. 

Unfortunately we couldn’t quite get there against Bennelong in Division 4, who beat WHO 34-22 this round. That was despite some good performances, in particular Paul Sweeney who picked up 8 points for a time of 32.07. We sit at 5th place (out of 6 teams) on the leaderboard with only one win under our belt so far this season - hopefully we can have a late season surge. 

We were back in the winners circle in Division 5, just edging out Bennelong 28-27 in an absolute nail-biter. Big call out to Rachel Merton who picked up 9 points for a time of 33.59 (welcome back to Metro League Rachel!) and Micaela Ashton who picked up 8 points for a time of 35.14. We are at the top of the leaderboard in Division 5 after 3 wins this season - looking good. 

Probably the result I’m most excited about is our overwhelming victory in Division 6 where we had across the board great performances from some of our younger WHO members, including from some not even in the team but definitely banging on the door. Blake Read picked up the honours with 10 points for a lightning fast time of 22.34, but only seconds behind him was Toby Said with 9 points for 22.45, and Levi Said only seconds behind Toby with 23.08 for 8 points! Then when you consider Hamilton Kinneally came in with 30.21 and Tin Yan Nathan Cheung with 39.33, you realise just how good this team is. We now sit at 2nd place on the leaderboard after out 2 wins this season, just behind Bennelong. 

So all in all, a very successful outing for WHO, with wins across 5 of the 6 divisions! Mark in your calendars August 17 for the rescheduled Round 4 at Darks Common hosted by Big Foot. Look forward to seeing you all there! 

We were hosted by SHOO at Kentlyn near Campbelltown on 25th May, and WHO was certainly keen with a big turnout from our club. This meant unfortunately not everyone was in a team, but everyone still got to enjoy a great day of orienteering in an interesting pocket of bushland. Recent rain meant creeks were flowing and it was a little muddy underfoot in some areas. Nothing your average WHO club member can’t handle. And that was reflected in our results. 

Let’s start in Div 1, where a full WHO-UR team managed to edge out a very competitive Bennelong team 29-26. Our Uringa compatriots, Jonny and Ant Nolan took out the honours points-wise this round, with Seth Sweeney being WHO’s fastest picking up 5 points for a time of 52.07. Our Division 1 team now sits in 2nd place on the table with 4 points following 2 wins from 3 rounds - just behind leaders Garingal. 

Moving on to Division 2, WHO won by a reasonably comfortable margin over Garingal 33-22 (and let’s face it, Garingal only managed that because our own Lee Coady ‘on loan’ picked up the 10 points for the round - making the captain’s selection job even harder next round…). So in a way we actually beat them 43-12. And of course that great father-son rivalry continues, with Lachlan Coady picking up 9 points for a time of 41.00 minutes (notable run also from Matthew Palmer who was only 37 seconds behind Lachlan). Our Division 2 team sits on top of the ladder (ahead of SHOO-IKO based on for-and-against) with 4 points following 2 wins out of 2 rounds. 

Given how heavily oversubscribed we were in Division 3, it was no surprise we were able to select a team capable of beating Garingal 31-23. A very impressive run by Shay Sweeney picking up 10 points for a time of 46.14. Justine de Remy de Courcelles was another one of our Div 3 juniors that continues to impress with her time of 49.27 for 8 points. We now sit in 2nd place on the ladders with 2 wins from 3 rounds, just behind SHOO-IKO.     

Unfortunately in Div 4 our winning streak was broken, going down 25-30 to Garingal. That was despite a strong run from Matilda Saunders who picked up 9 points for a time of 43.03. Paul Sweeney was our next fastest with a time of 47.43 earning him 7 points. We have a little more work to do in Div 4, with only 1 win from 3 rounds so far, which sees us sitting at 5th place on the ladder. 

We were back in the winners circle in Division 5, edging our Garingal 28-26. Another rising superstar, Aiden McQuillan picked up 10 points for a fast time of 41.02. Nice work Aiden! Jacinta Braidwood was our second fastest at 69.56 picking up a tidy 7 points. We are well placed sitting at 2nd place on the ladder behind SHOO (2 out of 2 wins, but behind on for-and-against). 

And despite fielding a team of only 3 people in Div 6, we still picked up the win beating a fully stocked Garingal team 23-22. Thanks to Hamilton Kinneally (35.06, 10 points) and Tin Yan Nathan Cheung (49.58, 8 points) in particular for helping us pull off this amazing feat. While we are only at 5th place on the ladder, our performance this round gives hope for the rest of the season. 

So there we have it! Another very successful Metro League round for WHO. The originally scheduled Round 4 at Darks Common hosted by Big Foot has now been postponed from 22 June to 17 August, which means our next Metro League outing will be WHO’s own event at Cecil Hills on 27 June - see you there!

Round 2 continued the Metro League 2025 season with a large turnout and good scores creating a positive outlook for the rest of the season, May the 4th be with us. Returning to this much-loved venue allowed us to explore it from a different angle and make the best out of the freshwater wetland. The extensive track network and runnable bush encouraged route choice. With byes in Divisions 2 and 6, all the pressure was on Divisions 1, 3, 4, and 5.

So, how did they do?

Division 1 - It was a close shave for division 1, WHO-UR beating Big Foot by only 1 point with a score of 28-27 although, we did have the 10 point scorer Seth Sweeney.

Division 2 - Bye

Division 3 - WHO tied with KNOX in Division 3 at 27 points each. However, our Division 3 runners have proven themselves more reliable than the opposition since we had no mispunches.

Division 4 - Without a full team in division 4 WHO unfortunately lost 20-34 to IKO. Congratulations to Aiden McQuillan for your promotion into Division 4 and continued excellent performance with our fastest time of 47.29 and highest point scorer (8pts) in WHO Division 4 this round!

Division 5 - Despite our best efforts the 4th was not with us in Division 5. It was a tough one this round for WHO Division 5 who lost 21-34 against UR-CC.

Division 6 - Bye

Whilst this was not our best round, there was a win in Division 1 and a tie in Division 3. Looking forward to seeing divisions 2 and 6 back in the game next round at Round 3 Kentlyn where we can hopefully have a full team in Division 4, so don’t forget to mark May 25th Metro League 3 Kentlyn in your calendars!

Round 1 kicked off with a bang with a huge turnout of keen orienteers excited to get back into another Metro League season. It was beautiful weather at Centennial Park, and while we have been at the venue several times in seasons past, this time around courses were more focused on the lesser used southern end of the park. This made for some interesting courses, with some slower sections in the sandy grassed areas of Fearnley Grounds as well as the more familiar fast open sections of the park. There were still plenty of obstacles to negotiate, sometimes in the form of a kids birthday party or a wedding, but the bicycles were probably the biggest hazard when crossing the road. 

So how did WHO fare in Round 1, particularly coming off our most successful season in many years in 2024? Actually we did pretty well. 

Division 1 - oh so close, but for a mispunch we might have pipped Garingal but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. Garingal just beat us 28-26 in a very close contest. Seth Sweeney continued last year’s stellar form, picking up 9 points for a time of 38.29. We clearly have the firepower, so I’m still confident WHO-UR will be in the mix come finals time. 

Division 2 - unlike Division 1, this wasn’t close at all. Bennelong effectively forfeited the round with only one entrant. This meant the points all came our way, with WHO-UR winning 40-5. Matthew Palmer was our fastest picking up 10 points for a fast time of 35.10 - things are looking good for our Div 2 team. 

Division 3 - another win for WHO. We had an extraordinary number of entries in Div 3, so picking a team was very tricky, and some that weren’t picked definitely showed they had the goods, so picking teams for next round should be a real headache. Even so, we comfortably beat the much fancied Big Foot 31-21. Many of last year’s junior heavy super-successful Div 4 team have now been promoted to Div 3, and based on some of these results they are showing their promotion is well deserved. Shay Sweeney was our fastest with a time of 41.17 for 9 points. 

Division 4 - another comfortable win for WHO, beating Garingal 35-20. It was great to see a super-fit Tim Perry back at Metro League, and he didn’t disappoint not only picking up the 10 points for his exceptional time of 32.02, but clocking the fastest time in the division overall!

Division 5 - yet another victory for WHO, trouncing IKO 35-17. Aiden McQuillan zipped around the course in 37.35 to pick up 10 points - soon he’ll be leaving Dad in his wake. 

Division 6 - great to see a packed Division 6 team, and while we had some great performances, we couldn’t quite get there against Bennelong who beat us 30-25. Definitely some signs of up-and-coming talent, with Levi Said our fastest with a time of 35.16 for 8 points (and Blake Read not far behind picking up 7 points). Definitely some promising signs for the future. 

So there you have it - wins in Divisions 2, 3, 4 and 5 - not a bad start to the season. So make sure you mark May 4 in the calendar for Round 2 at Yerambah Lagoon for what should be another great day out in the bush.  

Hi everyone

As the Summer Series winds down for another year it’s time to turn our thoughts to the packed winter schedule ahead. One of the highlights of the orienteering calendar in Sydney is the Metro League, an inter-club competition with all events held in the Sydney area. 

Those of you who have competed in Metro League in previous seasons know its a great way to hone your orienteering skills without having to venture too far out of Sydney, and a great way to meet your fellow club members and compare notes. If you are new to orienteering, or have only tried Summer Series before, then Metro League is probably one of the best ways to learn orienteering - you have plenty of support on hand and courses are available for every skill level, from experienced orienteers to complete beginners.

Most of all Metro League is a lot of fun, and provides an opportunity for a bit of friendly rivalry with our friends at other clubs. 

So how does Metro League work? 

There are 6 divisions, with teams of 5 from each club competing in each division. Division 1 is features the hardest and longest courses, while Division 6 courses are set at a Moderate-Easy level. In addition, all events will also feature Very Easy and Easy standard courses. Each round, teams from two clubs go head to head, and the ranking of results from each team member determines which team wins the round. Last season, WHO had its most successful Metro League season in many years, taking out the trophy in Divisions 1, 3, and 4, and runner up in 5. What can we achieve this year?

The Metro League calendar for 2025 has been finalised, with event dates as follows: 

Round 1 - April 13 - Centennial Park
Round 2 - May 4 - Yerambah Lagoon
Round 3 - May 25 - Kentlyn
Round 4 - June 22 - TBC
Round 5 - July 27 - Cecil Hills (hosted by WHO!) Venue change - see Eventor for full details
Round 6 - August 31 - Mitchell Park

So get those dates in your calendar now! 

Please email me if you think you will be able to join us for Metro League this year - you don’t have to be at every round, just those that work for you. If you have any questions about Metro League, please get in touch. 

See you at Metro League!

Josh Braidwood
Club Captain