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Sandra Kelley and Kynie Evison deserve to be congratulated for their work in creating and organising the Socialgaine. The event was held on July 19th, but their effort began many months before, and it showed. It is a pity that only 31 other people were able to benefit from the excellence of Sandra and Kynie's work.
Nine teams of three to five people were handed identical maps of the Nowra area at 9am sharp. Scattered across the map was an array of checkpoints, each with different points values. Each team had one hour to study the map and plan a route which would enable them to pick up as many points as possible in the four hours allowed (from 10am until 2pm).
Each team could travel at whatever pace they chose, and visit whatever checkpoints they wished. Some teams were in the event to win, others simply to have fun, but as it turned out, all the teams had fun whatever their aspirations.
To prove that the team had visited a particular checkpoint, a question about each checkpoint was asked. For example, "What colour is the concrete construction at Number 33?" or "What graffiti is written on the wall of the overhang?" or "How many drain holes are there in the fish cleaning table in the park?"
In many ways the Socialgaine is similar to the Cannonball Run held prior to the Wednesday Xmas Party, except that one is done by foot and the other by car. Jock Finlayson and Peter Farrell, this year's Cannonball Run organisers, have hard acts to follow, as Peter Dalton has done a superb job on the Cannonball Run in the past few years, and Sandra and Kynie have kept up the standard with the Socialgaine.
The surprise packet of the Socialgaine was the only over 70's team of Paul Brereton, Gordon Grenenger and Nick Lloyd, who came 2nd in the event, beating all of the younger teams, bar one. Don and Bernie Body, Alison Smith, Pat Keane and David Wastie finished first in the 60-70 age group, and beat two younger teams as well.
The overall winners were Karen Davis and Paul Ellis, flogged mercilessly by their driven, A-type personality team leader, Brett Davis. They covered over 18kms in the four hours.
Full results are available here.
(August 2006)
