eNewsletter 212 - Friday 24th October, 2025
G'day fellow rogainers In this newsletter |
Time to enter the Woronora Explorer 6-hour Socialgaine
Entries close midnight this Monday For your calendar: add event date & add closing reminder "Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to Bangor?"* *Daytrip To Bangor (Didn't We Have A Lovely Time) - Fiddler's Dram (Top of the Pops 1979) Prepare for a big day out on Sydney’s southern fringe for an urban-to-wilderness experience where people and the bush meet. The course will have superb views from numerous scenic lookouts, and swimming spots. Public transport will be a viable travel option, with the Hash House only a 25 minute walk from Engadine Railway Station. Imagine stepping back in time to a pre-European existence in the midst of giant prehistoric flowers, long gentle valleys, steep hillsides, rarely travelled gullies, and gravity-confirming creeks looking for the mysteriously named Woronora River.
You'll encounter sculptured sandstone formations amongst eucalypts, cockatoos, Gymea Lilies, kookaburras, grass-trees, water dragons, tree ferns, wallabies, and even koalas; and there'll be a multitude of course planning options for your puzzle-hungry brain. And, when you finish exploring, return to the well-appointed Hash House at Engadine’s spacious Anzac Oval Youth & Recreation Centre for delicious and refreshing food & drink, and swap stories about the day’s adventures. Engadine Pool (adjacent to the HH) will be open on Sunday 7am-7pm if you want to take a swim or shower during the day. Identify yourself as a “Rogainer” for adults to enter at the negotiated concession price of $7.
There'll also be a “Didn't We Have A Lovely Time" photo competition with tasty prizes for both fun & performance categories and, something too often overlooked, there'll also be 'virtual trophies' for the best team name(s). So, it's not too late. Come along to the 2025 6-hour Socialgaine to explore the "Woronora River, Valleys, & Heights" just over a week from now on Sunday 2nd November. There'll be plenty of parking at Anzac Oval and in surrounding streets if you don’t come by train.
Key info at a glance:
Course times Sunday 2nd November 2025
Note: Teams can be on the course for as long or as little as they wish between 10am & 4pm. Points are deducted for each minute (or part thereof) a team returns late (after 4pm). And all team points will be lost if a team/member has not returned by 4:30pm!
In case there are any late changes, stay up to date by regularly visiting the event page on the website. A team finder service and info for novices with advice on what gear to bring and other information can be found on the website. Final Instructions Final Instructions containing more event-specific info will be posted on the event page on Monday 27th October. Event related queries can be directed to: admin@nswroganing.org
Helpers needed We still need a few helpers to ensure things run smoothly on the day and it might be a great opportunity to catch up with friends. If you're able to help, please drop an email to Robin - volunteer@nswrogaining.org or register to help on the website. |
Last event of the year: join us for the ACT Spring Rogaine
For your calendar: add event date & early bird entries close After the cancellation of the NSWRA spring rogaine, ACTRA is planning a replacement event. It will be on Saturday 15th November in the Bondo State Forest west of Canberra. The easiest access from Sydney is via Yass and Wee Jasper. This will be the last 2025 rogaine in both the NSW and ACT calendars. We are still waiting on formal approval but are confident about obtaining it. Refunds will be provided if it cannot go ahead but please enter now to make planning easier. The area features a mix of native and pine forest with some fire-trails and tracks. The area is unburnt and looks fantastic after all the rain. The flowers will be blooming too, including lots of orchids. Altitude is around 1100 metres and there are patches of snow grass, so despite being late in the year it is unlikely to be too hot. The course has been designed to provide easier routes that use the well-defined features, and more challenging loops for those looking for a physical and navigational challenge.
It will be a good event to step up to a 12-hour as there will only be a few hours of darkness. The Hash House site is a basic clearing in the forest. There'll be plenty of camping sites and you are welcome to camp on both the Friday and Saturday nights. Make a weekend of it and collect controls on the Sunday! Catering will only be available at the end of each event so please be self-sufficient for any other time you will be camping.
Key info at a glance:
Course times Saturday 15th November 2025
In case there are any late changes, stay up to date by regularly visiting the event page on the ACTRA website. Info for novices with advice on what gear to bring for a bush event and other information can be found on the website. Please bring along a PLB or similar (e.g. Garmin Inreach) if you own one to carry on the course as there is no mobile reception. Looking for a team? If you need to find a team, contact the event organiser Julie Quinn with your category and level of competitiveness for the event. Julie will match people up where possible but we make no guarantees and recommend you keep asking around people you know.
For many more course photos visit the Image Gallery. Help still needed We need a person with a 4WD ute or similar to tow the catering trailer to and from the event. Please see the event page and contact Julie if you can help out. It might be worth noting that NSW Rogainers who volunteer for this event will earn NSW reward points for their efforts. They just need to let Robin (the NSW Volunteer Coordinator) know as well. |
The Victorian 50th anniversary rogaine -- 1976 all over again!
Content thanks to Neil Phillips 
The VRA is in the planning stages of the 2026 Victorian Rogaining Championships with an early preference for holding the rogaine on the Tallarook plateau in northern Victoria —recognising the birthplace of the sport 50 years ago. This is a truly magnificent area for a rogaine. Save the provisional date: 25-26th September 2026 (Friday – Saturday) To commemorate the occasion, perhaps we could turn this into a NSW-ACT vs Vic interstate challenge! A little bit of history Tallarook was the site for the first rogaine in 1976. The format was the now traditional 24-hour cross-country team navigation event. Its organisation was an alliance between the Surrey Thomas Rovers of Brighton and the newly formed Victorian Rogaining Association. After 1976, rogaining events became a regular feature on the Victorian Rogaining Association calendar with 200-400 participants at rogaines in most months. Over the next decade the sport spread to every Australian state. Soon after the 1976 rogaine there was debate whether a special class for veterans over 40 should be introduced with some doubts about the potential interest (note the demographic in the photo above!). Today, rogaining caters for teenagers to octogenarians with classes for families, veterans, super vets, ultra vets, and even 'legends'. From the late 1990s, rogaining went international with events and participants from over 30 countries. The pinnacle of competition is the World Rogaining Championships with the 20th WRC to take place in South Australia, set for 2027. Map reproduction from the first rogaine: 1976
For further details contact Neil Phillips gneilphillips@gmail.com or Nick Somes nick@rogainevic.org.au. |
Calendar for the remainder of 2025, and 2026Below is the 2025-2026 provisional calendar. Thanks to our friends at the ACTRA we now have 2 events left this year instead of one. The dates for two more very important interstate rogaines coming up in 2026 have also been set. In all cases, remember to check the respective websites should there be any changes since some of the events are up to a year away.
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Some useful links |
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About NSWRA: The New South Wales Rogaining Association inc. (NSWRA) is the governing body of the sport of rogaining in the state of New South Wales.
We are incorporated under state law. ABN 15 314 080 648. © 2025 NSW Rogaining Association |