ACT Rogaining Association life member Kathy Saw passed away on Sunday 1 March. Kathy was a strong and enthusiastic rogainer and volunteer. She helped organise many events and would always be one of the first to put her hand up to help at events.

Kathy's prowess in the sport was demonstrated in womens classes for over 30 years, most of this time with Anne Sawkins, by winning or placing in her class (usually winning) at events including the Australian Champs in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2010 and in 2017 at the Ridgy Didge Champs, where this photo is from. Anne described Kathy's team approach to navigating, taking turns and feeling equally responsible for errors. In latter years Kathy was happy to adjust the teams pace and expectations to what they were capable of. As all rogainers will know, there are always treasured funny moments that you share out on the course. Anne remembers Kathy stretching on a tree and it falling over! Fortunately Kathy was not hurt.

One of the ACT Champs Kathy set that we now look enviously at the map is at the northen end of Long Plain in Kosciuszko National Park, incorporting an area that is now wilderness and out of bounds for events.

Kathy was also a excellent orienteer. The Orienteering ACT website has photos and stories of her orienteering.

The Annual General Meeting of the ACT Rogaining Association will be held on Sunday 1 March 2020 at approximately 4:20 pm, after the end of the Paddy Pallin 6 hr rogaine, at the site of the Hash House Mura Lanyon Youth and Community Centre, Condor ACT. The AGM Agenda, 2019 AGM minutes, audited annual accounts and Vice-President's report are attached. One copy will be available on the day for viewing, otherwise please read these beforehand. Nominations for President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary and General Committee positions are welcome beforehand (please contact Julie) or on the day.

The event explored the most southern suburbs of Canberra including Mt Tuggeranong and the Murrumbidgee River corridor. 100 point controls tempted teams to the north of the course on the hills around Waniassa.

Overall winners were Julie Quinn and David Baldwin, only 50 points ahead of Elena Koudasheva and Ivan Koudashev. Results are now available. Also Strava Fly-by

Many thanks to the organisers and setters Fergus Macleod, Greg Hosking, Charlie Henshaw, Jean Douglass, Ron Simpson, Miranda and Rhianna Sherley, Brad Vallette and Benita Sommerville. Of special note, the course as a metrogaine was about the fourth option of a site for this event after challenges with site access and areas being burnt - many thanks to the organisers!

Many of the bush areas that we rogaine in have been burnt with the bushfires over this summer. This is particularly tragic for the animals and plants that are part of what makes these areas so special. But for you as a rogainer this means there are far fewer areas that we can rogaine in, at least in the short term.

ACTRA has reshuffled our rogaining calendar for 2020 to make use of areas we can access at, hopefully, a safer time of the year. The year will now kick of with the Paddy Pallin 6 hr event, which will be in a metrogaine style on 1 March 2020.

We hope to be able to bring you a 6 hour event "Back to the Bay" at the coast using the area north of Bateman's Bay including Murramurang National Park in mid-May. More details once we have been able to contact the rangers.

The Twilight event scheduled for February is now a twilight/night event in June - bring your beanie instead of a sweat band but you will still need your torch.

The ACT Champs had been set in a beautiful area of northern Kosciuzsko National Park and we may be able to visit that area in a couple of years as we suspect it has not been very badly impacted. Instead we will make our spring event an 8 and 24 hour event in Yanununbeyan National Park.