This last weekend the North Island Schools orienteering event was held in Hawkes Bay, with approximately 30 schools and more than 300 competitors attending the gruelling 3 day event.
The sprint event was held at Te Aute College with Alicia McGivern finishing in 5th place out of 55 Year 7/8 contestants from around the North Island.
The long event was held on farms in Hautope over steep hills and ravines, with more hill climbs than your average run in the park…. ranging from 80m vertical climb to 250m vertical climb for senior boys. Alicia came 7th in the Championship grade of 36 competitors.
Alicia scored 40 points at these two events by herself, with the highest Yr 7/8 girls team having 97 points, including all their runners.
The third day was a three-person relay event in the same hilly map, but this day the course was steeped in fog, making distance assessment very difficult. Alicia was put in a composite team with other students and the team actually ended up in third place! Unfortunately, no podium or medal for Alicia or Sancta Maria College as it was a composite team from different schools and so could not score points.