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Post date: May 25, 2016 10:16:27 PM
Doneraile Park was the destination for the third event in the CorkO Summer League and on Tuesday evening we finally got a touch of summer in our 2016 league. The glorious sunshine really accentuated the beauty and splendour of this wonderful park and its charming features.The bunting was up and our North Cork crew extended a great and warm welcome to all in attendance. The sunshine really draws people to the outdoors and we had almost 100 competitors in action on the night. Several local residents took advantage of the opportunity to try out the sport of orienteering and I’m sure their local knowledge may have assisted them as they navigated their way around this beautiful parkland terrain. We were delighted to see the Fermoy cub scouts back for some more orienteering adventures. Indeed all who journeyed to Doneraile from near and far were duly rewarded with some testing orienteering courses, a delightful picnic setting and for our young adventures a fabulous playground.
The planner set out two challenging courses with lots of controls which required competitors to maintain complete concentration throughout the course. With 14 controls on the 2.8km Short course and 25 on the 4.8km Long course there was lots of short fast legs with plenty of changes in direction. The early part of the Long courses had competitors zig zagging across the open area in the Northern section of the map. Many competitors struggled to count the number of distinctive trees while running at pace across this fast terrain. No doubt some competitors visited control 6 while in search of control 4. Lots more short and fast legs followed which forced participants to think fast and keep moving.
Despite the quick fire pace I hope competitors took some time to savour the scenic surrounds. A diverse range of flora is really flourishing in the park at the moment and no matter how focused you were on Tuesday night it was difficult not to notice the abundance of wild garlic around controls 12 through 15. The aroma was quite distinctive and will surely linger on o-shoes for some time to come! With all the changes in direction that were required on the Long course it was easy for competitors to get disorientated. Sadly, control 18 on the Long course was tampered with on the night so sincere apologies to any of the early starters who wasted time looking for this control. The course finished with several short legs in the area near the car park and early finisher got to observe fellow competitors in action. Unfortunately, some folks got distracted by the early sighting of the finish control and almost skipped over control 25.
The refreshments at the finish were a welcome treat following the intense action on a warm summers evening. Participants were seen basking in the evening sun as they conducted their post route analysis or enjoyed a picnic. The rolling slopes and freshly cut grass lured some young and other not so young competitors to roll down those enticing slopes.60 competitors battled it out on the Long course and once again there was an intense battle for the event winner honour with just over a minute separating our podium finishers. This week the distinction of Doneraile event winner went to Dan McDonnell. He completed the course in a time of 28:26. Dan held off a strong challenge from Agris Kramins who was runner up on the night finishing in a time of 28:55. Not far adrift of Agris was third place finisher Gerald Duffy who covered the 4.8km course in a time of 29:11.This week Sharon Lucey made her 2016 summer league debut in style and claimed the title of the fastest Lady around Doneraile Park. She finished the course in a time of 35:23 and had a meagre 17 seconds to spare over her nearest rival Eibhlin Cleary. Eibhlin has been one of the most consistent performers in the 2016 Summer League claiming podium finishes at all three events to date. She punched all 25 controls in Donraile in a time of 35:40. The final podium spot went to Claire O'Brien who finished in a finished in a time of 37:14.On the Short course two competitors pooled their navigational skills to take the title of Short course event winner, Denis and Michelle covered the 2.8km course in a time of 19:47. Aaron Coughlan was right on this pairs heels and he finished a mere 16 seconds behind them in a time of 20:03. The final podium place on the Short course went to Zane Kramina when she punched all 14 controls in a time of 21:52.Well done to all who took part on the night. Full individual results with split times are available here.
Huge thanks this week to our North Cork crew! Thanks to Jim Callanan for planning the courses and Denis Power for organising the event. Thanks again to Darren Burke for his work as controller and to the Callanan family members and friends who took care of registration and download on the night. Thanks also to Gerald Duffy for assisting with control collection.
Special thanks must also go to the Cork Schools Orienteering Association (CSOA) for use of their map and to the Office of Public Works (OPW) for granting us access to this magnificent amenity.
Next week our Summer League tour will head west and visit the Regional Park Ballincollig. This park was once home to a major gunpowder mills and remnants of these works exist throughout the park. In the last number of years this park has undergone numerous changes and there will be a few more surprises in store for our regular league follows when they visit the park next week. Check out the link below for a map and some area trivia.www.corko.net/calendar/ballincollig-regional-parkHope you can join us for more orienteering action!
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