Farewell from the Nationals

ChaosCentral, in full flight at the Ceili (some members of ChaosCentral would be unable to drive a car for 12 hours or fly a plane for 36 hours) would like to bid all our Gentle Readers a fond farewell, and hope that in future the LiveCam will also be available at Nationals as it is in every other country.

Liz, Eleanor, Kerry, Amanda, Marcus and the phantom contributor had great pleasure in bringing you results, commentary and boring you silly with the other minutiae that makes up a National Championship. Chocolate crackles still not sighted, but perhaps if we venture to NZ we may have better luck :)

HI PAM, HI LIZ

Senior Figure

1st Simpson ACT

2nd Watkins Qld

3rd Christine Ayres Vic

4th Currie Henderson NSW

5th Scoil Ard Rince Qld

6th Liz Gregory ACT

7th Adelaide Acad SA

8th O'Connor Vic

9th Bilton Vic

10th Derwent NSW Woo Hoo!

11th Scoil Rince Tir An Oir ACT

Senior Mixed 4 Hand Choreography

1st Christine Ayres Vic

2nd Walton NSW

3rd Rabusin Vic

4th Scoil Ard Rince Qld

5th Watkins Acad Qld

Senior Girls 4 Hand Choreography

1st Scoil Rince Kilmurray Vic

2nd Halloran NSW

3rd Mulcahy Hayes Vic

4th Christine Ayres Vic

5th Howe SA

6th Cosgriff Vic

7th Dwyer Whelan NSW

8th Newry SA

9th Scoil Rince Qld

10th Watkins Qld

11th Walker Qld

12th Carey Acad NSW

13th Bilton Vic

14th Miller SA

Open Age Mixed 8 Hand

1st Rabusin Vic

2nd Scoil Ard Rince Qld

3rd Simpson ACT

4th Dwyer-Whelan NSW

5th Christine Ayres Vic

6th Currie Henderson NSW

7th Watkins Qld

8th McAleer Vic

9th Walton NSW

10th Scoil Rince Ni Muchu SA

Open Age Girls 8 Hand Ceili

1st Christine Ayres B Vic

2nd Halloran NSW

3rd Scoil Rince Kilmurray Vic

4th Mulcahy Hayes Vic

5th Simpson Acad ACT

6th Cosgriff B Vic

7th Rabusin Vic

8th Miller SA

9th Liz Gregory ACT

10th Cosgriff Vic

11th McAleer Vic

12th Christine Ayres C Vic

=13th Howe SA

=13th Scoil Ard Rince Qld

15th Christine Ayres Vic

Open Age Mixed 4 Hand Ceili

1st Walton NSW

2nd Simpson Acad ACT

3rd Christine Ayres Vic

4th Currie Henderson NSW

5th Watkins Acad. Qld

6th Scoil Ard Rince B Qld

7th Aisling NSW

8th Maher NSW

9th Rabusin Vic

10th Dwyer-Whelan NSW

11th Adelaide Acad SA

Open 4 Hand Girls Ceili

1st Halloran B NSW

2nd Scoil Rince Kilmurray B Vic

3rd McAleer B Vic

4th Halloran A NSW

5th Christine Ayres F Vic

6th Cosgriff C Vic

7th Cosgriff A Vic

8th Christine Ayres B Vic

9th Cosgriff B Vic

10th Mulchay Hayes B Vic

11th Mulchay Hayes A Vic

12th Scoil Ard Rince Qld

13th Walton A NSW

14th Scoil Ard Rince B Qld

15th Christine Ayres A Vic

16th Walton B NSW

17th Simpson B ACT

18th Christine Ayres B Vic

19th Watkins Acad B Qld

20th Liz Gregory B ACT

21th Scoil Rince Ni Ceide/Upton

22nd MCAleer Vic

23rd Scoil Rince Cashel SA

24th Adelaide Acad SA

25th Christine Ayres C Vic

26th Maher NSW

27th Rabusin Vic

28th Kavanagh WA

29th Newry SA

30th Scoil Rince Ni Murchu SA

31st Crocker Qld

32nd Currie Henderson NSW

33rd Miller B SA

34th Christine Ayres D Vic

35th Bilton Vic

36th Walker B Qld

37th Liz Gregory ACT

38th Trinity WA

39th Miller SA

40th Roberts SA

A little word of thanks. Then Prizes!

Presents all round for the judges and musos. Speeches by Judges and AIDA. And we've all been invited to Ireland!!!!!

But either that is Santa's sleigh or there are three thousand dangling medals backstage ready to be given out.

The Over 2 3s are over

The last of the Figure dancers have left the stage and the results are about to start.

That was funny and you weren't here!

Senior Figures aren't always as serious as you might think. The hall just rocked with laughter as the dancers formed scrums and played baseball and had a thoroughly good time. I didn't know Clive James could dance!

Can the person eating hot chips near me please share or go away.

Four More Senior Figures to go.

Very exciting work from very talented dancers. These figures look like a lot of hard work, much easier to sit back and just enjoy.

Senior Figures Underway

With a bass beat that could kill a brown dog the fabulous figures are underway.

The adjudicators are back, the Senior Figure will start any moment

Almost there.....

Are we there yet?

Gourmet food update

Whilst we wait for the Senior Figures to get their act together, it is worthwhile recapping on the Gourmet Food highlights of the week......there was the home-made rocky road from Jennifer and Anne (thank you, very nice and it disappeared very quickly), then there was.............well, that was about it, not a chocolate crackle sighted, despite search parties and co-opting resources from the NASA Lunar Mapping project satellites.

So, another Nationals passes without any vendors realising the commercial value of the chocolate crackle (although they are better in bunches).

Choreographies have all finished!

The Senior Figure is getting organised back stage and we expect the performances/competition to get underway very soon.....

Excitement!!

The Buzz is building in the main arena as more people come in to watch the Senior Figure. Chaos Central has been joined by one of Australia's leading dressmakers and designers, and she is pointing out the finer points of the choreography, as well as discussing evolving dress trends, sub-editing this post, and generally making a nuisance of herself.

ChaosCentral is contributing to her knowledge by pointing out that they don't understand a word she is talking about.

Mixed 4 Hand Choreography about to hit the stage

The Senior Figure, followed by results and presentations

Senior choreography about to start

A search party has been sent out to find the musicians, who are AWOL. Try the bar, then the food shop across the road, then check behind screens in case they are having a nap......if all else fails, someone could hum the tune while they dance.

But wait, there's more.....

Feis faces

Having a break between sections, still running 30 minutes early....

8 Hand Ceili almost finished

The 4 Hand Choreography dancers are assembling in the marshalling area, and the football ground adjacent to the stadium is putting up a big screen, so that the thousands of St George supporters outside can watch the Dance of the Champions. We may be mistaken and they may watch the football, but we don't think that is likely.......

Feis update

We are running ahead of time!!!! The Open Age Mixed 8 Hand is underway and the competition may finish early in the last day - more time to prepare for the Dance of Champions and the following Ceili.

Hard at work on the dance floor

So, there is life outside Irish Dancing......

8 Hand Mixed Ceili about to hit the stage.

Renovations

More feis faces

Sunday, teams, five long hard days of dancing......the thousand mile stare is starting to show on many people....it will all be over soon :)

8 Hand Ceili now dancing

Open Age Girls 8 Hand Ceili called to marshalling

Feis scenes

Open Age 4 Hand Mixed now on stage, 8 Hand Ceili to follow. It seems we are running eary, what a wonderful experience at a competition :)

Feis faces

Girls 4 Hand has finished

The musicians, all four of them today, are taking a break from playing the same piece of music over and over and over and over and over again for 79 teams, and are now dreaming of playing chopsticks, or perhaps Chopin Etudes, or perhaps just thinking about the Ceile later tonight.

Tickets for the Ceili are on sale now, they will NOT be on sale at the door tonight, so buy them now rather than risk becoming the subject of derision from your peers at the door later tonight.

Feis update

The teams are dancing there way towards completion, we are not up to #164, so only another 15 teams to go - then more teams, followed by..........more teams.

Queenslanders have expressed great pleasure at being able to enjoy daylight saving for one day, returning to the past, tomorrow, when the clocks go back for them again! Next year at Nationals there will be no daylight saving - it's just a Queensland thing.

NEWS FLASH!! Discounts discovered at an Irish Dancing competition!!!!!

As shocking as this may sound to the gentle readers, there are items for sale at a discount at the venue, specifically - Nationals Programs now $15, reduced by 40%

Get in now, they may become collector's items after St George wins today!

Life Support Systems

Just a word. The cafe is not dispensing in real time and there is a 15 min lag on delivery. If you are truly desperate try McCafe on your way here.

Relax Folks

The keyboard has been wrestled away from someone who last dealt with figure B on a Physics exam.

In one of the wonders of modern life 200 teenagers and above are dressed and ready on a Sunday morning at 8am. However there have been some withdrawals.- that snooze button can be dangerous.

Ceili draw

The teams have drawn figure B - ChaosCentral had no idea that a raffle was on or that the prize was a portrait. On the other hand, if there is some other meaning related to dancing that the readers can divine, please do so :)

sunday!! Sunday!! SUNDAY!!!

And so here we are, the last day of competition at Nationals. It is, once again, perfect dancing weather in Sydney. ChaosCentral donned flippers and a wetsuit to travel the final 200m from the car park to the venue. Just as well we travel by 4WD and have a boat license - we may need the latter to get to the former once the day is over :)

"And what about the dancing?" I hear you cry in your ceaseless search for knowledge....well, the solo dresses have either been packed away until March next year, or are already for sale on www.dance-again.com, so today it is teams dresses only - the schedule is as follows:

	Arena				Recall Hall
Sunday		0800	Open Age Ceili			Dance Extravaganza Remember daylight savings starts Today. Make sure you set your clocks one hour forward. That applies to Queenslanders too!!
		1345	Senior Girls 4 Hand Choreography
			Senior Mixed 4 Hand Choreography
		1545	Senior Figure Dance
		1715	Results	1900

Open Age Girls 4 Hand Ceili are competing for the Sue Beaton Memorial Trophy donated by Elizabeth Gregory ADCRG & Fiona Dunn TCRG ACT, there are 79 teams in this section which is sponsored by Liz Gregory & Canberra Rex Hotel.

Open Age Mixed 4 Hand Ceili are competing for the Bartolo Perpetual Trophy donated by Mr J Bartolo VIC and there are 22 teams in this section.

Open Age Girls 8 Hand Ceili are competing for the Culchulainn Perpetual Trophy donated by Tomas O Faircheallaigh (dec) Ireland and the Paddy Daly Trophy, donated by Paddy Daly NSW, there are 29 teams in this section which is sponsored by Ann Truman TMRF.

Open Age Mixed 8 Hand Ceili are competing for the Erin O'Daly Shield donated by Erin O'Daly ADCRG (dec) and there are 19 teams in this section.

Senior Girls 4 Hand Choreography are competing for the Joanne Langshaw Memorial Trophy, donated by Mr & Mrs Langshaw NSW and there are 27 teams in this section.

Senior Mixed 4 Hand Choreography are competing for the Jackie Miller Perpetual Trophy donated by Jackie Miller TCRG SA and there are 10 teams in this section.

Senior Figure are competing for the Harry McCaffrey Memorial Trophy donated by IDTA NSW and the Patricia Anne Kiernan Memorial Trophy donated by Denneny Family & Newry Studio SA, there are 11 teams in this section which is sponsored by AIDA Victoria Branch.

ChaosCentral is done for the day!!

The Fabulous Flying Finnerans put in the quality work to provide you with the results, and gifts of to them would be greatly appreciated - without them, ChaosCentral would be a greater shambles than it is.

We look forward to providing some semblance of information tomorrow from 0800 and remember, if you are in the civilised parts of Australia, set your clocks FORWARD on hour tonight for daylight savings!!

Photos of the 18 Years will be on www.swoose.net after midnight - or later :)

18 Year Old Girls

1st Olivia Ciciulla - Rabusin Vic

2nd Siobhan Fitzpatrick - Aisling NSW

3rd Crystal Becerra - Scoil Rince Kilmurray Vic

4th Kaia Lang - Scoil Rince Kilmurray Vic

5th Kate Foley - Walker Qld

6th Caitlin Ironside - Simpson ACT

7th Celia Shawcross - Scoil Ard Rince Qld

8th Rosa Lindon - Howe SA

9th Laura Corkhill - Simpson ACT

10th Taryn Priadko - Halloran NSW

11th Catherine Musgrove - Liz Gregory ACT

12th Katie Maloney - Scoil Ard Rince Qld

13th Adele Hay - Newry Studio SA

14th Danielle Bigwood - Trinity WA

15th Aisling McGing - Cosgriff Vic

16th Judith Keys - Watkins Qld

17th Natalie Gin - Aisling NSW

Results - 18 Year old Junior Men

1st James McEvoy - Scoil Rince Ni Murchu SA

2nd Brent Pace-Rabusin - Rabusin Vic

3rd Asher Larnach - Maher NSW

4th Geordie Costello - Dwyer-Whelan NSW

The last dancer is now on stage

The last solo dancer of the Nationals for 2010 has just left the stage - so solo dancing is over for the year!!!!

We now await the calculation of the results and will bring those to you as soon as possible.....the PM photos will not be available until after midnight - ChaosCentral is ging out for dinner - again!

I understand that the dear Readers will be shocked by this extravagance, but sometimes one must just throw caution to the wind.

18 Years set dances just started

Recall numbers - 18 Year Ladies

101, 103, 105, 106, 110, 112, 113, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 125, 128, 129, 132, 133

Feis update

Apparently there is a local sports event in Melbourne today and some very few ID families has shown a slight passing interest in it - unlike the major football event in Sydney tomorrow, where St George will decimate the other team, whose name escapes me at the moment.

Having partaken of a medicinal drink, ChaosCentral feels revived and refreshed and ready for the 18 years recalls, the last event of the solo dancing calendar for the Nationals this year. Much celebration will be had after dancing finishes - there may be some sore heads and feet tomorrow at senior teams - but they are strong and will make the effort to perform at their peak, possibly aided by Red Bull and Berocca (not to be taken at the same time, or possibly even at all).

18 Years second round has finished

Recall numbers as soon as they are announced...

Hi !!!

18 Years second round noew dancing - ChaosCentral now having a drink, so it is on autopilot for 30 minutes or so...

18 Years first round has finished

The floor is being swept and the second round will start soon...

18 Years called to marshalling for their second round

18 Years Junior Ladies' first round has commenced.

Starting with 101, dancing the Jig.

18 Years Section in marshalling

The adjudicators and musicians are being announced, results are being entered into ChaosCentral by the Fabulous Flying Finnerans, and photos are on their way to www.swoose.net......

Now, all we need are chocolate crackles and some champagne to celebrate!!

Results - 16 Years Girls

1st Erin McArthur - Scoil Rince Kilmurray - Vic

2nd Zoe Thomson - Simpson ACT

3rd Fiona McGing - Cosgriff Vic

4th Amy Longstone - Carey NSW

5th Sally-Anne Ryan - Rabusin Vic

6th Chelsey Priadko - Halloran NSW

7th Teagan McGregor - Cosgriff Vic

8th Theresa Shaw - Crocker Qld
9th Stephanie Harders - Rabusin Vic

10th Samantha Murphy - Rabusin Vic

11th Hannah O'Connor - Mulcahy-Hayes Vic

12th Fiona Thomas - Kavanagh WA

= 13th Sinead McGuire - Scoil Ni Ceide/Upton WA

= 13th Molly Rafferty - Scoil Ard Rince Qld

= 15th Madeleine Walsh - Crocker Qld

= 15th Anne-Louise Bennett - Aisling NSW

17th Caitlin O'Connor - Dwyer-Whelan NSW

18th Dianna Resiak - Simpson ACT

19th Shea Bilton-Gough - Bilton Vic

20th Ashlene O'Gorman - Walton NSW

21st Olivia Romeo - Scoil Ni Ceide/Upton WA

22nd Megan Purdy - Watkins Qld

23rd Natasha Rangachari - Liz Gregory ACT

24th Rachael Lanarch - Maher NSW

25th Shona Peddell - Lahl Tas

26th Erin Lenders - McAleer Vic

27th Olivia McKenzie - Carey NSW

28th Dylan-Lee Chidgey - Breen-Kerr Vic

29th Amy Minnikin - Kick Studio Qld

30th Lauren Dowsett - O'Connor Vic

31st Caitlin Roberts - Cosgriff Vic

Results - 16 Years Boys

1st Jeremy Heggie - Walton NSW

2nd Andrew Van Nieukerk - Rabusin Vic

3rd Kain Howden - Adelaide Acad. SA

Results 17 Years Boys

1st Stewart McWhinnie - Dwyer-Whelan NSW

2nd Kieran Harvey - McAleer Vic

3rd Kieran Peirce - Scoil Ard Rince Qld

4th Xander Cross - Ku-Ring-Gai NSW

5th Adrian Sutton - Aisling NSW

ARM Gannon Cuneo - Aisling NSW

ARM Ian Petelczyc - Liz Gregory ACT

Results - 17 Years Girls

1st Jessica Manuel - Simpson ACT

2nd Natasia Petracic - Halloran NSW

= 3rd Madelyne Glover - Scoil Ni Ceide/Upton WA

= 3rd Julia Baar - Aisling NSW

5th Gabrielle Harrington - Halloran NSW

6th Natasha Forrester - Rabusin Vic

7th Sophie Parfitt - Simpson ACT

8th Hayley Delaney - McAleer Vic

9th Johanna Daly - McAleer Vic

10th Hannah Jackel - Christine Ayres Vic

11th Jacqueline Blake - Christine Ayres Vic

12th Christine Fuller - McAleer Vic

13th Laura Bittner - Watkins Qld

14th Alicia Dunne - Walton NSW

15th Molly Clarris - Walker Qld

16th Jacinta McKenzie - Howe SA

17th Georgia Alfonso - Christine Ayres Vic

18th Rebecca McGrath - Walton NSW

19th Rhiannon Black - Walton NSW

20th Carina Baker - Scoil Rince Cashel SA

21st Laura McBride - McAleer Vic

22nd Georgina Watson - Adelaide Acad. SA

23rd Elena Barrett-Hough - Creer-Harvey NSW

24th Emilie Helbig - Newry SA

16 Years sets have finished

The stage is now being prepared for presentations.

ChaosCentral will call in all its resources to ensure that the results are entered ASAP, whilst other parts are attempting to photograph dancers whilst being nervous and shaking.... :)

Four sets to go.....

Only 8 more sets in the 16 Years, then presentations

The hall is about half full (which is a lot of people) and quite warm....the stage is checked for debris after every couple of dancers and the bird from yesterday hasn't put in an appearance today :)

Feis faces

Feis scenes

The things you see...

Photo face

Real face

Irish Dancing health food dispenser

Recall numbers - 16 Year Girls

101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 107, 108, 113, 115, 116, 118, 122, 124, 126, 127, 134, 135, 139, 140, 143, 147, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 155, 156, 158, 161, 162

16 Years Boys Have Started

And nearly finished as there are only three of them. Recalls are in the main hall and only one set of musicians to dance to.

Last 16 years dancers have just finished

We are awaiting the recall numbers, then the sets will be danced, followed by results and presentations. Sets are being danced in the main arena - so, no musical chairs which is a pity, because there are plenty of people and chairs, and the music just stopped.....perhaps Irish Dancing musical chairs is just different? When the music is playing, people sit down, when it stops, they get up and move around :)

Miss you lots Gabrielle! Wish you were here! Lots of love, Maddie and Laura xxxx