The annual Hunter Hall Orienteering Cup was held last week, split over two days, with Years 3, 4 and 5 testing themselves on Wednesday, followed by Year 6 on Thursday. With a new area mapped, incorporating the fields to the rear of the school, a tricky course was set on fresh terrain, which offered different challenges to those on offer in the past, such as ring contours and re-entrant features.
As in previous years, the Hunter Hall Orienteering Cup was exciting, with the first Year 5 competitors coming home in times ranging from 14 to 20 minutes. But like a cricket match, it is hard to know what a good score is until the rest of the competition has performed. So it was hugely exciting to see Matthew from Year 4 come in with a brilliant time of 12.06, chopping well over two minutes off anything that had come before him. Sitting in the hot seat that time would take some beating, but then a flying Fergal blitzed the course to knock another considerable chunk off, as he finished in a stunning time of 10.40. Surely that time would prove a winning one? We had to wait another day to find out the answer, as the majority of Year 6 took up the challenge. Following in the footsteps of her illustrious orienteering brothers, Sophia was the early front runner, posting a marvellous second-best time of 11.05. Fergal looked to have it in the bag as the final two Year 6 runners set out. However, a focussed and determined Edward had his eyes firmly on the prize, and I was astonished to see him heading to the final control well under the ten-minute mark. With a gutsy sprint to the finish, he stopped the clock at 10.05 – a truly spectacular and well-deserved performance! He takes home the coveted trophy in 2019.
Well done to all competitors, who took part in the Hunter Hall Orienteering Cup, who took on the course and pushed themselves immensely hard. We have some superb orienteers and the future is very bright, given the performances of many of our younger athletes. 1st place – Edward, 2nd place – Fergal, 3rd place – Sophia
Mr M Spooner