From the time the British settled in Botany Bay, sport has been a very important part of life in New Holland and then Australia. Australians, both indigenous and non-indigenous, pursued many different sporting activites both within the country and, as travelling became easier, overseas. It is impossible to agree on Australia's greatest sporting moments. There are so many great moments - how could anyone compare the 400m run of Cathy Freeman at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, with "the ball of the century" when Shane Warne bowled Mike Gatting in an Ashes Test in England, with the achievements of Winx? So this puzzle is not based on comparing performances across a wide range of sports.
Instead, ten sports have been identified and for each sport there is a significant event. Your first task is to rank these ten sports from 0 to 9 and then use that information to determine the coordinates for the cache. The cache is not at the published coordinates.
The sports and associated events are:
- Athletics: In what year did the "Lithgow Flash" win two gold medals in sprint events at the Olympic Games?
- Diving: In what year did an Australian first win a gold medal in diving at the Olymopic Games?
- Cricket: In what year did the first Australian cricket team leave Australia to tour the United Kingdom?
- Football: Australian Rules football was codified in 1859 and remained as regional and state based competitions for many years. In what year was the first Australian Football League game played?
- Horse Racing: In what year did Phar Lap win the Melbourne Cup?
- Olympic Games: In what year did Australia first send women competitors to the Olympic Games?
- Soccer: In what year did Australia first qualify for the final 16 teams in the FIFA World Cup?
- Squash: Heather McKay won 16 consecutive British Opens (the de facto World Championships) and was not beaten at any time during that period. In what year did Heather win the inaugural World Open Title?
- Tennis: Rod Laver is the only male tennis player to win two Grand Slams in the Open Era (Australian, American, French and Wimbledon Opens in the same calendar year). In what year did he win his second Grand Slam?
- Yaching: In what year did Australia II win the America's Cup?
Rank these ten sports from 0 to 9 and use the rankings to determine the coordinates for the cache.
The cache can be found at:
S41 09. (Squash) (Yachting) (Football - Olympic Games)
E146 14. (Horse Racing + Tennis) (Cricket+Olymic Games) (Athletics x Diving)
Good luck with solving the puzzle and locating the cache.
NOTE: On 01 April 2023, the cache had to be relocated slightly - see details in the Owner Maintenance log. The formula has changed and the coordinate checker has been updated.
Please Note: If the logbook is not signed, your find log will be deleted.