MetrO League #2 event at Picnic Point Sunday 4  May

The next MetrO League club challenge event is being organized by IKO and will be held on the Yerambah Lagoon map at Picnic Point on 4 May. We need a good turn out to have enough club members to help on the day as well as field the required teams. Team standings after MetrO League#1 at Centennial Park are: Div 2 and Div 3 – a win each. Div 4 and 5 – a loss each. Congratulations to Joel Mion for coming 1st in Div 3 and Artem Karavaev 4th in Div 4, to Caleb Curby for 2nd place in Very Easy and those new to Metro League who put in some credible performances.

Starts are from 10am  – 10.30am for Metro League competitors. Pre-enter in Eventor and choose a division on the drop-down box. Moderate (Divn 4-6) or Hard (Divn 1-3). Once you have entered it’s up to you if you want to be in a team or not on the day. You can compete individually if you don’t want to run in a team.  Let James Stuart, our Metro League team captain jistuart@bigpond.com, know if you want to run in a team and/or if you need advice on which Division you would feel comfortable running in. You need to pre-enter before midnight on Saturday 3 May.  For details see https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/21602

Limited enter on the day courses will be available between 9.30-10am and 10.30-11.30am.

BYO water –  there is none available at the event.

THERE ARE NO TOILETS at the event. Allow extra time to visit toilet facilities before you arrive. Closest toilets: from M5 turnoff, head south along Henry Lawson Drive to Monash Reserve (open Sun 8am-6pm) or Lambeth Reserve (open daylight hrs). Approaching from the east toilets can be found in the Georges River National Park off Henry Lawson Drive (open daylight hrs). Toilets also available at Fitzpatrick Park, Carinya Rd (off Henry Lawson Dr) follow signage to Fitzpatrick Park.  

Parking will be in surrounding residential streets. Please be mindful when parking outside homes, keeping all residential driveways and accesses clear.

Guide to Orienteering webpage

If you are new to orienteering and want to find out more about the sport or improve your orienteering skills check out the Newcomers Guide to Orienteering on the new Guide to Orienteering  section on our website. You will find some useful tips and videos to help you develop your map reading and navigation skills. There are links to videos of Australian championship races to give you a taste of what it is like to orienteer in the forest as well as  videos of the  world champion Hubmann brothers running against each other in the forest of their Swiss homeland.

Sydney Summer Series course setter of the year award

Congratulations to Illawarra Kareelah Orienteers (IKOs) hard working secretary Sue Froude who shared the Course Setter of the Year award for the 2024/2025 Sydney Summer Series (SSS), along with Savanna Sweeney (Western & Hills Orienteers) and Nick Barlow (Garingal Orienteers). Sue not only set the winning course on the club’s new Surry Hills map but she was also responsible for doing the field work and drawing the map. This is the second time Sue has won the SSS course setter award. She also shared the award back in 2023 when she set the course on the remapped Rushcutter’s Bay map. 

Well done Sue – two out of two is a very impressive record especially as IKO has only been participating in the SSS program since 2022.

There was a record turnout (over 110 people) at last night’s SSS end of season presentation dinner where Sue also received an award for coming 3rd in Women Legends category.

Autumn Orienteering activities

The beginning of Autumn heralds the start of the Metro League and the State League events.

Metro League events are run on a Sunday morning every 4 to 6 weeks during April to August. They are held in urban bushland around the greater Sydney area giving you the opportunity for some cross country navigation. Each team has 5 members and competes against a team from another club. You run individually and earn points for the team. The fastest runner out of the two clubs gains 10 points for their team, second fastest 9 points and so on. The team with the highest points wins the round. There are 6 divisions with 3-4 teams competing in each division. Illawarra Kareelah Orienteers combine forces with Southern Highlands Orienteers to form teams in most of the Divisions.

Division 6 is for juniors or those transitioning to bush orienteering. Division 4 & 5 courses are graded moderate and Divisions 1-3 more technical and longer courses are rated hard. Division 1 is usually run by elite/experienced orienteers. The winning time is set for 30-45 minutes depending on the division, and most people are finished within an hour.

The first Metro League event for 2025 will be held in Centennial Park, on Sunday 13 April starting at 10am – be there by 9.30am. You need to pre-enter via Eventor before midnight on Saturday 12 April.  This event is set in  open parkland rather than bushland and is a good one for newcomers to try out to see how it all works. For details see https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/21604.

We need more people to run for the club and would love to have our newer members onboard. Just pre-enter in Eventor and choose a division on the drop-down box. Once you have entered it’s up to you if you want to be in a team or not on the day. You can compete individually if you don’t want to run in a team.  Let James Stuart, our Metro League team captain jistuart@bigpond.com, know if you want to run in a team and/or if you need advice on which Division you would feel comfortable running in. As a guide Division 6 is for novices and also ok for kids with adult supervision, following tracks.  At the other end of the scale Division 1 is the hardest – for elites and experienced orienteers.

The second Metro League event for the year is being run by our club, Illawarra Kareelah Orienteers, and is at Picnic Point on 4 May.

State League events

The 2025 State League (SL) season has started. These events are run in the forest and generally held some distance outside of Metropolitan Sydney. The courses are more technical than local or Metro League events. To reduce distances that competitors are required to travel, SL events are generally held on both days of a weekend and competitors stay overnight. The next SL events will be held near the Central Coast on the weekend of 10/11 May followed by the Kings Birthday weekend (KBIII) three day event in the Bathurst area. This is a popular event that attracts a lot of competitors including IKO members. See the coming events page for list of events coming up.

To assist club members develop the skills to orienteer in the forest the club will be conducting a bush orienteering training day later in the year. If you are interested in attending email IKOrienteers@gmail.com.

Final event in 2025 IMR Summer Series – #4 Figtree on 9th March

The Illawarra Map Running Summer Series is winding up next Sunday with the final event at Roy Johanson Park, Europa St. Figtree. There will be the usual three line courses – long (6Km), medium (4Km) and short (2Km) and classes for walkers as well as runners. Starts will be from 10am – 11am. All competitors must report back by 12noon. See Eventor for details about the event and to pre-enter. There will be a free sausage sizzle for competitors after their run.

Newcomers and beginners are always welcome. Whilst we encourage everyone to pre-enter via Eventor novices are welcome to turn up and enter on the day, but you must bring your credit/debit card – no cash is accepted. Members will be available on the day to help you on your way.

Newcomers don’t forget: if you have attended at least three of the Illawarra IMR Summer Series events you will be in the running for a free membership of Illawarra Kareelah Orienteers for 2025. 

It was good to see so many IKO members competing in the NSW MiniRogaine at Kamay NP last weekend. There was quite an entourage and a number of place getters. Congratulations to Joel Mion and friends who won the under 23 class and came second in open men teams race. That was quite some feat with so many seasoned rogainers competing. For those interested you can view the results here.