BUSH ‘n’ Beach Orienteering Club started their winter season with a successful event at Bom Bom State Forest earlier in May.

Event organiser Bruce Meder said, “It was great to be back orienteering in the bush.

“The forest was trickier to navigate than usual after being mostly closed and unused for over a year due to the fire, COVID and the floods.”

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Around 30 orienteers enjoyed the challenging mix of courses, exploring the trails and forest using a map and compass.

On the long hard course, Coffs Harbour’s Sam Woolford came home with the win over his brother Oscar (2nd), while Keelan Birch (3rd) from Woolgoolga performed well too.

The short hard course was won by Jamie Woolford ahead of Bob and Jenny Hawkins from Dorrigo.

The moderate course was won by Julie Irvine from Grafton, while Ian Warlters from Yamba managed to out-navigate Rhys Irvine for 2nd place.

Fiona Lane from Sawtell made short work of the easy course, which was also enjoyed by families new to orienteering.

Helen O’Callaghan told News Of The Area, “Orienteering is such a great sport because your mind is being kept busy and challenged at the same time as your body.

“It’s fantastic for our family because all six of us can compete at the same time and place as each other, but still do a course that is suitable for our experience or age group.

“Another thing I love is that we are out in nature, learning and practising real-world skills.

“All events have courses suitable for newcomers.”

Bush ‘n’ Beach Orienteering Club’s next event is on 6 June at Boambee Beach Dunes and all are welcome to attend.

See the club’s Facebook Page and website https://bboc.asn.au/ for more information.

By Andrea FERRARI