Event organised by NSW Rogaining: 2025 Socialgaine
UNSWOC Teams organised by Sudarshan
Report by Miriam Jeffrey
“Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to Bangor”
So says the quaint catchphrase of this year’s socialgaine at Woronora River. Well our team didn’t get to Bangor, but we did have a lovely time. ‘Lovely’ in the sense of 21 kilometres, 16 controls, 6 hours, 4 new friends, 2 cats and 2 leeches-worth of ridiculously fun competition!
What is rogaining? Apparently, it’s an Aussie invention. Wikipedia explains it best:
“Rogaining is an orienteering sport of long distance cross-country navigation, involving both route planning and navigation between checkpoints using a variety of map types. In a rogaine, teams of two to five people choose which checkpoints to visit within a time limit with the intent of maximising their score. Teamwork, endurance, competition and an appreciation for the natural environment are features of the sport.”
Our morning was a leisurely 8:15 AM start (or 9:20 AM for someone who swears they were never late haha not naming names). Ollie, Leo, Nathalie and I were total novices but felt welcome, which is a relief in any competitive sport with a dedicated following.
We said hello to the other UNSWOC teams, including Sudsy – thanks for organising this!! Also a shoutout to the volunteers who run these events – what a mammoth effort!
At Hash House, boxes of ANZAC biscuits were piled on the few tables that weren’t covered with maps, highlighters and the elbows of rogainers hunched over their flight plans. We had until 10 AM to devise the most efficient route for our team’s abilities and goals. For instance, I couldn’t risk slipping due to a previous hand injury, so asked the team not to run or climb. And we all agreed on our goals – not to be competitive, but to learn navigation and have fun.
* Editor's note: cop a hiding | idiom, informal, Australian | To receive a beating (reference)
The start time came with a countdown and we were away! People streamed from Hash House like ants running out of their hill. It was great to see a mix of all ages and experience – from hardcore runners with CamelBaks and gaiters, to leisurely strollers with their kids.
For the first few controls, most people took similar paths but we quickly dispersed over the day.
The red light flashed and the dopamine hit. Onto the next control!
The route crossed suburbia and bushland around Woronora River. Our team quickly cottoned on to navigation, finding the bushland easier than the streets. This course had lots of variety and easily-recognisable features, making it quite achievable for novices like us. At a tortoise-not-hare pace, we factored in plenty of breaks to share lollies and rockmelon.
Our team reached our mid-point well ahead of our pre-estimated time. We had been following a novice route but decided we could take things up a notch. So onto bush bashes, steep climbs, creek crossings and climbing over pipes.
Some controls were easy to spot, hanging from tree branches right on the path. Others were sneakily hidden, like control 80 at a cave 30 metres down a creek. A spike of ambition got us scrambling to the top of an MTB hill for 91 points. We were thrown off by one control which claimed to be near a ‘lookout’ but that turned out to be just a rock with a slight gap in the trees.
We got back to Hash House with 40 minutes spare, enough time to power walk to another bonus control for a sweet 50 points. We were back for good around 3:45 PM to scoff the food and watch the last participants trickle in.
If rogaining is a cult, the conversion has worked. Maybe a 36-hour rogaine awaits us one day. We started as cautious novices and suddenly 36 sleepless hours on the trail sounds beaut.
And with those thoughts, we parted ways. Though for some of our UNSWOC friends, further wonders awaited at Engadine Macca’s. 💩