Event report: July Junior Camp

Saturday 2nd - Monday 4th July

Camp Kerem, Bullsbrook

Held over three days, the winter camp was held in stunning fine weather with very cold mornings. Seventeen juniors attended and there were twelve coaches/adults to supervise and instruct.

Saturday morning, Mark and Riley gave a warmup session which was followed by a Tyre Sprint set by Sarah and assisted by Tom. In the afternoon the bus took the juniors to Julimar Forest, where Rachel and Craig had put out many controls for several activities. There was a long walk to the start and the unexpected thick bush made for longer than expected times. So, the second exercise was cancelled. It was getting dark when the bus finally left for camp. After dinner, Mark and Riley did indoor orienteering related activities, while the juniors in the state team did a map study of the Victorian orienteering maps to be used at the Nationals later in the year.

Sunday morning was the OWA event at JFNP where the juniors did courses according to their abilities and there were coaches available to debrief them as they returned. The thick bush in this terrain also meant times were longer than normal. On return to camp after a picnic lunch, the juniors immediately started the paid activity, the Climbing Wall. All the juniors plus some coaches had a go and several very keen juniors had numerous climbs, until they finally ran out of energy. Craig and Rachel used the camp projector and screen to show all the juniors how to analyse their routes using Winsplits Pro and Livelox. A feature was seeing the four Braids, Graham, Ceri, Lachlan and Kate, all competing against each other. We could see their simulated routes as they raced from a mass start on the H3 Course. Each leg was examined, and different route options could be analysed. This was followed by the always popular Camp Quiz, this time set by Jan. The four evenly matched teams had a real tussle to eventually find a winner. After dinner and in the dark, around the campfire, Tom assisted by Liisa did a Night O, where the juniors went out in pairs with headlamps to follow a line course spread out over most of the extensive property. After the course, all the juniors enjoyed marshmallows cooked on their sticks around the campfire.

Monday was camp clean-up, followed by games, until the parents arrived for morning tea, which was followed by the State Team announcement by Tom. Lois distributed O clothing which had been donated and Seth became the latest new numbat.

Many thanks to the Camp Director Rob West, and the coaches who attended: Jan, Lois, Rachel, Craig, Riley, Sten, Tom, Mark, Sarah, Liisa and Ian the bus driver.

Photo: Tyre Sprint start line, by Rob West.