Entries are now open for the 2024 Jim Sawkins Classic, to be held on Saturday 29 June on a new extended map of Stringybark Hill. This event is part of the 2024 ACT League, 2024 Junior League, and is covered by the 2024 Metro Series season pass (season pass holders must change their entry if they wish to run a hard course – see entries section below).
New Map
The Stringybark map has been extended to the east, doubling the total area of the map. The new part of the map features a significant watercourse and some very steep slopes, as well as an extensive network of mountain bike tracks, rock features and some very think vegetation (including blackberries). And, what map in Jerrabomberra wouldn’t be complete without car wrecks and random bits of rubbish in the bush? There’s even the Jerra version of the Loch Ness Monster that hangs out in one of the dams.
Entries
Event entries are open here until Wednesday 26 June. Metro Series season pass holders have already been entered into their usual Metro Series course for this event. To change to a different course for this event (eg. to move form a Moderate to a Hard course), login to eventor, visit the event page, and click ‘change class’, select your new course, and confirm changes, no entry fee is payable for season pass holders. Changes must be made by Wednesday 26 June.
Courses
The following courses will be available:
Hard 1 (9.3km), Hard 2 (8.2km), Hard 3 (6.9km), Hard 4 (5.4km), Hard 5 (3.1km), Moderate 1 (4.6km), Moderate 2 (2.9km), Easy (2.9km), Very Easy (1.4km).
Remote Start
All courses (except for Hard 5) have a 1km walk to the start up a fairly steep hill (90m), allow 15-20min. This is to get you on to the new part of the map, get warmed up, and enjoy the views back to Canberra.
Origami
You will master the art of origami while running this course, as the map is 1:5000 and doesn’t fit on A3. Adding to the fun are long legs which span a significant length on the paper – yippee! Hard 1, 2 and 3 will enjoy a map flip and a map exchange, Hard 4 has a map exchange, and Hard 5 has a map flip. Moderate 1 also has a map flip.
Hard 5
For those doing Hard 5, we have prepared a special remote start just for you. We will shuffle you by car to the farthest accessible point on the map so that you can experience the new part of the map with the shortest distance possible – yes, we know your total distance is still 3km, but it’s the best we could do. There will be those nasty brown lines you need to climb too… sorry about that! One of your control sites has a lovely seat overlooking the stream, so enjoy that bit at least. Please contact us (or we’ll contact you) to organise the best time to get you to the start (it’s about a 10 min drive).
Other map notes
The terrain is pretty rocky in places, and varies between very fast open forest and extremely dense vegetation (mainly around the watercourses). Being 1:5000 (and pretty careful mapping) you should pick your way through this veg. (well, better than the generalisation you’d get on a 1:15000 map at least). Darkest green is blackberry; mid green is usually very thick tea-tree (which would be darkest green on other maps… so watch out). There are many, many mountain bike tracks, and some of them have a bit of a tendency to come-and-go as the riders build more and then stop using some. Almost the same thing can be said about the many, many termite mounds – these termites seem to give up their old houses and move to a new residence faster than on other areas (ie. lots of dead ones and lots of new ones springing up constantly).
Part of the map backs on to the Old Cooma Road Quarry. There is a fence with some (sparse) “keep out” signs along most of the border with the quarry, but if you hit big gravel piles then you’ve definitely gone the wrong way.
It’s likely you’ll meet some mountain bike riders – so please give way.
Full body protection is also recommended.
The Jim Sawkins Classic
The Jim Sawkins Classic was created in 2008 to commemorate the life of Jim Sawkins, a stalwart of the Red Roos club. Jim began orienteering around 1980 and was a highly successful competitor winning many major titles including the 2005 and 2006 Australian 3-Days, the ACT Orienteer of the Year in 2005 and the 2000-01 Runners Shop Twilight Series. Jim Sawkins died while orienteering on Sunday 4 June 2006 at Goorooyaroo, after being the organiser and course planner at Farrer Ridge on the previous day.
The Jim Sawkins Classic includes a Handicap competition with two Divisions:
- Division 1, on ACT League course Hard 1, an Open competition for all ages and both genders.
- Division 2, on ACT League other Hard courses, a Restricted competition for competitors of both genders, but only for Men aged under 21 and 35 and over and all Women.
Competitors’ times are ‘corrected’ in accordance with the same Age/Gender factors used for ACT League and Runners Shop Twilight Series competitions to determine the winners. Thus competitors need to be sure that their correct age and gender are recorded in the Eventor.
The complete list of previous winners is available here.