eNewsletter 224 - Friday 17th July, 2026G'day fellow rogainers, ***Due to a delivery glitch, you may not have received Newsletter 223***
In this newsletter
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35th Lake Mac Rogaine & NSW Champs
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For your calendar: add the event date & add entries closing reminder
Entries closing midnight this Monday
Come and join us for a major milestone in NSW rogaining!
This year's 35th Lake Macquarie rogaine will be our 250th official rogaine in NSW. The event also incorporates the 2026 NSW Rogaining Championships and is being appropriately set by the legendary duo of Bert van Netten and Anita Bickle. Fittingly, this rogaine will feature a traditional 24-hour bush course, but it will also be supplemented by our ever-popular 6-hour and 15-in-24-hour options. Please note that you don't need to be a 'champion' to enter this rogaine. Most of the map will incorporate the Olney and Watagan State Forests, only a 1hr 45min drive up the freeway from Sydney.
The course will feature a relatively level novice and family friendly section that will dance through mature pines with an understory of wildflowers. There'll be multitudes of tracks around the start location. You'll see wallabies, wombats, bandicoots, and goannas. The longer event options will incorporate several awesome plummeting waterfalls, water junctions, gullies of towering blue gums and eucalypt forest, and deeply seated pockets of untouched remnant rainforest. You'll be zigzaging areas of the Great North Walk.
There will be plenty of camping nearby on the Friday and Saturday nights (camping fees included in entry), and the easily accessible Hash House will have toilets and drinking water.
Bring the family and make a weekend of the adventure, particularly those regulars who enjoy our traditional Watagans/Lake Macquarie rogaines. Anita is planning some special event treats for our young at heart rogainers as follows: "Planning to have 2 guessing competitions for the 6hr and 15 and 24 hr - how many lollies in a jar? They have to write their guess on their flightplan for a chance to win. Also planning 3 controls that if all collected will give a bonus 250 points."
The entry fee covers dinner Saturday, breakfast and lunch on Sunday and, of course, the iconic all-night Lake Mac "Tea and Damper"!
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Key info at a glance:
Entries close: |
Midnight Monday 20th July |
Full entry: |
$120 |
Concession: |
$80, & child under 14 free |
Duration: |
24 hours with 6-hour & 15-in-24-hour options |
Teams: |
2 to 5, no solo entries |
Catering: |
Saturday: afternoon tea & then dinner, over the 24hr: "tea & damper", Sunday: brekky & brunch |
Course times:
Saturday 25th
10:00 Saturday |
Mass start |
16:00 |
The 6 hour event finishes |
Sunday 26th
10:00 Sunday |
The 24 & 15-in-24 hour events finish |
NOTE: If in the 15-in-24hr, track your time. If returning for food or sleep be sure to pause your watch at the Hash House Admin and restart before going back out. Also note that if you enter the 15/24, you can't swap to the 24hr event midway. The Champs is a pure 24-hour competition and the prestigious trophies are only for those signed up for the specific 24hr event, even if your 15/24 score beats someone in the 24hr.
Timings of map availability, novice briefing, final briefing and prize givings will be confirmed closer to the event date. Final Instructions will be available on the website from Monday 20th July.
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Team finder service
If you are looking for a team to join, or would like to start a new team for this event, go to our new Team Finder page.
Key info for novices
Info for novices with advice on what gear to bring for a bush event and other information can be found on the website.
Event related queries can be directed to: admin@nswrogaining.org
Flag collectors needed after the Lake MacDon't think you'll clear the course? Visit all the controls you missed at leisure by helping to pick them up! Drop an email to Robin, our Volunteer Coordinator - volunteer@nswrogaining.org, or register to help here. THANKS! |
2026 Australasian Rogaining Champs, SE QLD
For your calendar: add the event date, Enter now The 2026 Australasian Championships will be held on 29-30th August 2026 in prime rogaining country about 3.5 hours’ drive SW of Brisbane or 30 minutes from Stanthorpe. Entries are flowing in and the organising team has been working hard finalising the control locations and making sure this will be an event to remember. Please encourage everyone in your networks to check it out and make plans to join in! Course details The course will be set by the highly experienced team of Tim McIntyre and Paul Frylink. The event area spans open sheepgrazing country and parts of Sundown National Park near Nundubbermere. Teams can expect a mix of terrain, with hills offering impressive views alongside flatter, gently undulating sheep country for those who prefer it. Route choices may include crossings of the Severn River. The course will provide excellent navigational challenges while remaining enjoyable and accessible for teams of all levels of fitness and experience. You don't need to be a 'champion' to enter this rogaine. Key info at a glance:
For more info, visit the Event Website. 2026 Intervarsity Rogaining Championships The 2026 Intervarsity Rogaining Championships will be held in conjunction with the Australasian Rogaining Championships. Teams consist of 2-5 students from the same university. Both part-time and full-time students are eligible. There is no age restriction, i.e., under-graduate, mature age and post-graduate students qualify. Free travel to the event is available thanks to the Nigel Aylott Memorial Sports Foundation for one representative university team from each state/territory. State/Territory Rogaining Associations are responsible for determining their own selection criteria for the travel subsidies, which are paid in cash to each team. For the purposes of the subsidy, preference must be given to under-graduate full time students. Please drop a line to NSWRA if your NSW team is seeking selection. Once your state/territory association has selected your team, please contact Paul Guard for next steps. Advertise this opportunity widely amongst your rogaining friends and start your selection process. |
31/2 & 61/2hr Ferrygaine, Sunday 20th September
For your calendar: add the event date & add entries closing reminder Enter early & avoid the cap It’s time to start preparing for this year’s Socialgaine on Sunday 20th September and getting in early for booking your camping spot or glamping tent on Cockatoo Island for the Saturday night. Or make a weekend of it and camp on Friday night as well. The first 220 entrants will get a free ticket on the Royale, a ferry hired exclusively for rogainers, and departing the Island immediately after the start. The next 100 entrants get a Boarding Pass for the F3 ferry, and the remaining 130 will get a Boarding Pass for the F8. Please be aware that there'll be a separate cap of 450 entrants in each of the 61/2 and 31/2-hour events, and this should be another reason to get your entries in early. The course will extend north, with controls located from Hunters Hill to Woolwich, and south from Chiswick, to Drummoyne, Five Dock, Lilyfield, Balmain and Birchgrove. The island itself is part of the rogaine, providing intriguing navigational challenges with its multiple levels and complex building and tunnel systems. This event will be truly unique. It will be the first ever 'ferrygaine', combining ferry travel with urban navigation, and being based at one of Australia’s most iconic locations. There will be two rogaines to choose from:
Also, on the Saturday afternoon Big Foot Orienteers is running events around Cockatoo Island. Rogainers are encouraged to enter as a warmup for the rogaine and a sneak preview of the island’s layout, and then stay overnight. Enter on the eventor orienteering website. Other reasons to arrive on Saturday (or Friday) and camp overnight include:
Glamping tents and eating facilities on Cockatoo Island These should be pretty compelling reasons for you to make a weekend of it and camp on Cockatoo Island! Key info at a glance:
**Book an early croquet practice session August to improve your chances of a 150-point control during the event at Hunters Hill Croquet Club. Rogainers should book accommodation as soon as possible before it is booked out by the public. Book at Cockatoo Island camping (Sydney Harbour Trust). Over two dozen glamping tents have already been taken up by rogainers. Mention in the ‘Special Requests Box’ that you are a rogainer so you will be located with fellow participants. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to participate in a rare rogaine combining land and water elements. Volunteer instead? If you would like to have a fun weekend on Cockatoo Island without the stress of catching ferries while you rogaine, please come along and volunteer to help on Saturday or Sunday, or both! Go to https://nswrogaining.org/enrol-for-a-job/. |
NSW & ACT 2026 Rogaining CalendarsBelow is the current state of play for events on the NSW and ACT calendars. The dates for two more very important interstate rogaines coming up in 2026 have also been set and the 2026 NSW ‘fridge-friendly’ printable calendar (pdf) is ready to download. For the very latest always visit the calendar page on the website.
In all cases, remember to check the respective websites should there be any changes since some of the events are many months away.
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