ANENDRA SINGH THE word out there is that if you are good in mathematics then orienteering is definitely your sport. But what if you are numerically challenged? Havelock North High School pupil Virginia Irwin says that's hogwash and urges those who are keen not to let such myths put them off an enjoyableand challenging code. ``I'm just above average in maths and I learned to use a map and compass pretty quickly,' the 14-year-old told SportToday after racing over the Rotoma Map, 15km south of Bridge Pa, on Sunday. The teenager took up the sport three years ago at the invitation of her father, Mark, an anaesthetist at Royston Hospital, who used to take part in the Hawke's Bay Orienteering Club's fortnightly competitions. ``It wasn't in the way of anything on Sundays so I thought I'd have a go because it sounded like fun, running around the countryside with a map,' says Virginia, who finished seventh in the orange 3.7km course on Sunday. But while she has some qualms about footing it on the tricky slopes of Bay's picturesque landscape with boys, keeping the bigger picture in the frame that has booked her a trip with a 10-girl HNHS orienteering representing New Zealand at the World Schools' Championship, near Edinburgh, Scotland, next month. While watching boys zip past her can be demoralising, Virginia accepts it is indirectly a good way to improve her time by keeping them in check. Listing the Tongoio Map as her favourite, Virginia has had a couple of nervous moments. ``I always tell myself that if you don't come back they'll come to get you and that it's not the end of the world.' Club spokeswoman Louise Goodwin said 120 people finished the courses in humid conditions that required time-consuming hillclimbs, thanks to setter Duncan Morrison, 15, and vetter Rachel Goodwin, 17.
