Over the weekend of 24 – 25 July, Grant Eldridge-Hayes competed in the 2021 Queensland Schools Orienteering Championships in North Brisbane. Grant was a member of the Darling Downs Team and competed in the senior boy's 16 – 19 year age group, but was one of the youngest competitors in that group.
Saturday started with a 2.5km Sprint Race where Grant finished in 9th place. “I was so excited to have a top 10 finish" said Grant. In the afternoon he competed HAGABY style bush race, however, unfortunately Grant had some technical issues and his SI stick and not all of his checkpoint were saved.
Sunday was the main day where Grant competed in an 8km Individual Bush event. On his way to his third checkpoint, Grant had to abandon his race in order to help a fellow competitor who had received a serious injury to his foot. While this did impede Grants chances in this event, “I chose to put my course on hold to make sure he was OK" Grant said. “It was just the right thing to do".
Grant is now planning to make the team next year and has already started his training program.
