TAFE Adventure Sport Weekend Reports

REPORTS
TAFE Adventure Sport Weekend – Collins Weir –
June 5/6 2010

Setters Report 1 – Hike Rogaines

My course setting adventure begun in early March when I was partnered with my class mate Danielle and assigned the task of facilitating and running the ‘Weir in Heaven’ and ‘Blind man’s Bush Bash’ rogaines for our TAFE cert IV in outdoor recreation class’s Adventure Sport Weekend.

Pretty much straight away we planned a reccy of the event location (Collins Weir) chosen by our teachers. The reccy consisted of a lazy overnight hike along the Walsh River. We left the area the next day with the intention of trying to negotiate our teachers into choosing a different and more suitable location for the event. This was not successful and we were convinced that area would cater for the event well. Next we set out to gain a better understanding of how to set and run a rogaine as this was our first attempt at running such an event. The Dinden Bush rogaine was our first stop and we increased our navigation skills and knowledge by participating. We were then fronted with the dilemma of not knowing what was actually involved in setting courses, Chris White pointed us in the right direction here, when we joined and assisted him in setting and running his ‘Real Hanndful’ rogaine.

Finally after much Liaising with Chris, Mike Coleman and our teachers Andre and Phil we were equipped with sufficient knowledge to begin setting the courses. Numerous possible courses were set in different areas along the river before the final versions were approved and vetted by Andre Vogel. All thoughts of the Walsh river being an unsuitable venue disappeared and we soon considered the area to be a beautiful and an ideal spot for the events after several days of exploring and finding its hidden treasures such as the beautiful butterfly gorge around controls 48 and 51 and the gorgeous views of the weir from the surrounding knolls.

On the day (and night) the events ran quite smoothly. There was one major disappointing error made in marking out the maps for the ‘Weir in Heaven’ foot rogaine as control 68 was marked on the wrong creek junction on the map. Although the corresponding 60 points were awarded to teams who stated that they searched for the misplaced control this mistake costed numerous competitors valuable time. Performances were strong and results from all the competitors including the novice teams were impressive. Both of the courses set were cleared and conquered by the winning teams but were still reported as being quite challenging.

To finish up I’d like to say a big thanks to Sarina Streeter and Kevin Darcy of Rocky Bluff Station for the use of the land and area, Mike Coleman, Chris White, Andre Vogel and Phil Harrison for there ongoing support and assistance in setting and running the event, and all the keen rogainers who supported us on the day with out you this fantastic learning experience would not have been possible.
Alex Cinelli

Two Flat Tires MTB Rogaine 05/06/2010 – Course Setter Report 2

The TAFE Outdoor Recreation students were given the task of setting a Navigation Weekend event for the 05 & 06 of June. Kristen Fixter & I were given the role of Mountain Bike course setters. The event itself was to run for two hours on Saturday 5th. We were given the task in March, so we had plenty of time to prepare for this weekend of fun.
During this time, Kristen & I were looking at the topographic maps that Andre Vogel, Phil Harrison & Mike Coleman suggested that we could use (Tolga & Atherton). The area we chose to stage our event was on Serena Streeter’s property & Simon Gargan’s property.
The ride out there from the Hash House campsite was good fun, both in high spirits, riding up those hills to come flying down the other side making sure you dodged the rocks & corrugation. Once out there, at the starting gate, we rode around the area, looking for areas that might be of interest for our event, we realised that is wasn’t going to be as easy as we had hoped. Crossing dry creek beds, jumping fences, riding up knolls, crossing roads & tracks that weren’t on the map made it much harder but way more fun. While we were out riding we noticed that the area was quite difficult to describe & locate certain features, as it was quite flat. We found many cow pads to follow & various 4WD, dirt bike tracks to move quickly enough through the paddocks, trying to find spots that are noticeable & more importantly on the map.
Thanks to Mike Coleman, we had the GPS with us to help plot our course, as we rode around for hours looking, we could then mark them onto the GPS & return at a later date to put the controls out. After many hours looking at maps & writing up clues, crossing them off & starting again, we eventually found our 12 checkpoints that were going to challenge our competitors & the course setters & the course clearers.

Come race day, we only had 6 teams compete, 5 of them mixed the other all male. To have categories was none existent as everyone would have won. So we decided to have an overall champion, mixed champion & the all male champion. The overall champions were Maiden Voyage (Daniel Robinson & Nancy Caceres) on 400 points, the mixed champions were Weir here for the beer (Bruce Monds & Belinda Wallace) on 340 points & the all male champions were the Ecoholics (Brad McCulloch & Terry Montgomery) on 170 points. The other racers Chair Dragon (Craig House & Rhonda Coyne) totalled a score of 330 points, Team Tag (Peter & Trixie Tuck) on 300 points & Lost Again (Jason Hedges & Lisa White) scored 100 points.
The feedback we received from the competitors was awesome. They enjoyed the ride out to the start, even though it tired most of them, the course itself they enjoyed the challenge of riding through new terrain.
Thanks to Serena Streeter & Simon Gargan for letting us use their property & to the competitors for coming out to support us & everyone who helped out with catering, sponsorship & the every day running of the event.
Sean Browne

Setters Report 3 – Collins Weir Multisport 5hr and 2hr

On Sunday June 6th the much anticipated multisport races was set to start. The 5hr Collins Weir Multisport race started at 8am with a tube paddle where the competitors stayed pretty close together. The 19km ride following that contained some single track and some technical mountain biking through some big washouts. From there the gruelling off track run that continued up to a high point through some thick scrub. After all that running there was a cool down for the competitors with a swim, wasn’t going to be easy to overcome fear with a 10m jump to get into the water. A boulder dash down the river took a scenic route past old Rocky Bluff Township and across the old weir. Once back to their bikes competitors carried their bikes though the butterfly swamp and then road back to the hash house and to the finish. The 5hr Collins Weir Multisport was an extremely tough race as all competitors will agree; it included a wide variety of terrain which was enjoyed by all when they had a chance to look around. Congratulations to all competitors for completing the course.
Starting later in the day the 2hr Collins Weir Multisport was set to take off. Set as a great introduction race for first timers or competitors not up to the 5hr race yet. Starting with a run that took on some very steep terrain both up and down also brought with it some amazing views from the high point. Back down and onto the tubes for a paddle which was much appreciated for a cool down as the day was heating up by this time. The 2hr multisport then finished with a ride that took them through some nice single track and a loop that took them back to the finish. Congratulations to Team Superfly for coming from behind to win after missing a turn on the track.
All together feedback from the competitors suggested that both races were enjoyed even though they were tough.
Thank you to all competitors for heading out to Collins Weir to support the TAFE team.
Brenton

Overall weekend Winners report
We found the weekend so much the better for having a variety of events rather than too much of the same thing.
We didn’t win any event on the weekend but the points toted up eventually through perserverence.
The first event, the two flat tyres presented the biggest challenge of the weekend. We started out well and made good time as we ripped through the eastern loop but things started to go pear shaped when we crossed the road and went looking for the Western loop. We went up and down the road a couple of times but that track wouldn’t show itself. So we eventually had a crisis meeting and executed our contingency plan and rode back to the start and attacked the western loop from the north heading along.We located one checkpoint on that loop and then ended up meandering along an intersecting maze of cattle pads that only vaguely headed south.Time was short so we cut our losses and headed east on more meandering cattle pads to the road and a quick dash back to the hash where we lost some of our precious few points for being late.

A quick bite to eat and we were out again on the 2hr rogaine.This time we were cruisen along picking up controls with ease. As we headed for 106 we planned to pick up 68 on our way through. But it was not to be. We eventually moved on up the steep ascent to 106 and decided to have another shot at 68 on the way back.We encountered numerous befuddled souls hovering around where we all thought it should be.
By then we were losing faith in our navigation and wandered hither & thither.Time was racing by and we eventually headed back to the hash house to lose a few more precious points for coming in late.The good bit is that we were awarded the points for the missing 68.

The night rogaine was a snappy one hour event.We made fast time along the road with the bulk of competitors. the numbers thinned out after the second control as we made our way up a steep slope that was by now quite familiar to us. Chris White and his team mate were now well ahead of us but we were in front of the remainder of the field as we headed down to the next control, which was where we wanted it to be.The country was now strewn with large angular rocks concealed by the long grass and the going was slower.The pace picked up once we hit the road and we jogged to the causeway where we encountered Chris and his mate on their way back to the finish.We located the control at the causeway.We abandoned the remaining two controls and headed back with the intent of finishing on time for a change.We were pleased with a second placing which was our best result of the day.
In a moment of weakness that evening we momentarily contemplated switching to the 2hr event next day.For whatever reason we found ourselves lined up on the far side of the weir early next morning for the start of the 5 hr event.
We made a bad choice from the mountain of inflated inner tubes. we picked the biggest ones we could find in a vain hope to stay above the chilly water.Consequently we flailed our way across the weir and emerged wet,cold and last for the start of the bike leg.
This section was mostly on roadway and fast single track and was enjoyable,but we hadn’t gained on anyone.that didn’t occur until we commenced the hike where we overtook the team ahead of us at the summit of a daunting climb.The view westward was stunning and we took it in as we headed down toward the river.
It was all boulder hopping to the next control point which also gave us the option of a 10m leap to the rock pool below.In the time it would have taken to work up the courage to jump, we had slid down the adjacent rocks and were swimming to the exit point.The Swim had the benefit that it shifted the sand in our shoes down to the toe-end to provide temporary relief.
More boulder hopping took us to the Rocky Bluff weir where we got our best look at the remains of the Rocky Bluff township.The brick chimney dominated the view but the sight of the ruins clinging to the steep embankment was impressive.We took in the view for a leisurely few seconds and then continued our way over a few more hills to the return bike leg.The bikes were the passengers for the start of this section as we lugged them through the swamp.From then on though, the mostly single track ride to the homestead was a pleasure.The site of those orange tents at the finish is always a welcome sight though.
The TAFE team put on a great event. The weekend was challenging but offered variety,spectacular scenery and some really enjoyable riding.In our books, they graduated as awesome course setters.
Brad McCulloch

Collins Weir Multisport Weekend – Winners Report 1
I’ve discovered that the best way to enjoy a weekend of rogaining events is to choose a different team mate for each one, just to keep things interesting. That’s what I did at the TAFE Nav weekend at Collins Weir.

Only a small number of teams participated in the weekend due to clashes in the calendar, or perhaps they were forewarned of the access road to the weir. If my poor old Subaru wasn’t stuffed before the journey, it is now. However minimal the participation, there was enough on the menu for everyone to share in the fun and some teams were solid enough to stick at it for the whole weekend. Weir Here For Beer and Ecoholics entered every race and one of the Carls from Carl vs Carl put in a similar effort. Great stuff guys!

The first event was the bikegaine (Two flat tyres). The TAFE crew had aimed to set a challenging course and had apparent success with no-one able to clear and the winning team only managing nine out of twelve controls. Some great single track to be enjoyed following cow pads and some “roads that weren’t there” saw teams paying a high price for navigational errors and pushing the old treadlies through some deep swampland. Plenty of fun and a good work out for competitors with brand new bikes.

The two-hour rogaine (Where’s 68?) had the greatest number of participants for any event on the weekend. With controls set high up, the route offered amazing views of the weir and the tableland and all teams were challenged. The highlight of this event for mine was seeing Mike lead a novice team deep into speargrass on a bearing to a control that was within a drop-kick of the hash house by road. Great stuff Mike, the only way to learn em.”

The night rogaine (Blind Man’s Bluff) also had good participation. Most teams took the more obvious route, starting high and following the ridge down while others decided on a journey up a rocky creek, or a log walk over the river were better plans of attack. I’m sure that for the organisers it was a fulfilling sight to see competitors headlamps dotted along the ridge – a great reward for hard work in setting the course.

Sunday’s 5-hour multi-sport race (Enough to Weir You Out) had only four teams, but what the race lacked in numbers it made up for in difficulty. Competitors didn’t seem too keen to dive into the murky waters of Collins Weir for the opening paddle with a cool air temperature and the threat of old major lurking deep beneath the surface. But the show went on and all teams made it through the transition and began the bike leg pretty much simultaneously. Some techie downhills with extreme washouts separated the men from the boys and Peter Andre was able to rein in Pinky and No Brain by the run. And what a run! Steep, difficult ascents and descents, again with some fantastic views and dropping into the Walsh River for some boulder dashing, the two lead teams were even on arrival at the 12m cliff jump. It didn’t let up from there as we continued along the river and finally up and over the bluff to pick up the bikes. After a gruelling bike carry through the butterfly swamp, the final fast couple of kilometres were a welcome spin out for the legs. The winning team punched in at 4h 15min with second place only three minutes behind. All reports from the two hour event were also positive.

On a final note, the catering was amazing and coupled with some fantastic organisation of challenging events, the future of rogaining in North Queensland is bright if this year’s TAFE team sticks around!!! Well done team!

Daniel Robinson