A big CONGRATULATIONS to IKO Junior Pippa who has been selected to compete at the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships to be held in Canberra in September 2026. Pippa has been demonstrating her rising talent at all levels of orienteering this year, from local events, to Metroleague and State League events (pictured here at Baal Bone on the Kings Birthday weekend).
Congratulations to Pippa and the other selected members of the team. We wish them good luck for the competition later this year!
Senior Girls: Jessica Dunn Matilda Saunders
Senior Boys: Alton Freeman Ho Lam Marcus Cheung Matthew Slater Rory Shedden
Junior Girls: Alexandra Slater Charlotte Seeto Isobel Newton Justine de Remy de Courcelles Pippa Whitten Tiffany Palmer
Junior Boys: Baxter Peel Euan Shedden Harrison Grubits Michael (Guoxuan) Zhao Presley Scouller-Evan’s William Headley Shay Sweeney
There are plenty of forest events on offer this July. Why not start the month with a run in the Southern HighlandsForest Series on Sunday morning 12 July, starts are from 10 – 11am. The event will be at Welby and will be good training for the up coming forest events in the following weeks. Organised by SHOO, details of the event can be found at https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/24134.
The following weekend, 18/19 July, there are two State League events, both forest events.
For something different the event on Saturday afternoon will be the NSW State Relays at Waianamatta. A two person relay event with each person running 2 legs. If both team members belong to the same club their points will contribute towards the determination of the NSW Relays Champion Club. Mixed club teams are also welcome. If you can’t find an IKO running partner of similar ability just enter as an individual and a relay manager will assign you a partner. For more information about the event and how to enter check the information bulletin at https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/24200
NOTE: Entries close on 10 July. No enter on the day courses will be available.
State League # 10 Maraylya on Sunday 19 July
The venue is Mitchell Park, Cattai National Park. Map scale 1:7,500. This is a middle distance event with the usual State League courses available. Expected winning times are around 35minutes. Queueing starts will available from 9.30 -11am. Pre-entry is encouraged. Enter on the day will be restricted to a very limited number of participants and a limited number of courses. For further information, including important instructions on parking, go to https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/23237
Metroleague #5 Grays Point Sunday 26 July
IKO is organising the next Metroleague event at Grays Point on Sunday 26th July. Volunteers and runners are needed to help out on the day. All club members are encouraged to enter including those new to the Metroleague format. Enter via Eventor at https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/EventAdmin/ShowEventEntryFees/23837
Please advise Sue Froude at IKOrienteers@gmail.com if you are able to assist on the day. Volunteers will also be able to run on the day. Pre-entries close at midnight 25 July.
Start window: Non Metroleague competitors: 9.30am-10.00am and 10.30-11.00am. Metroleague competitors 10.00am-10.30am.
Make sure you read the information bulletin before venturing out on your course, especially the Course Setter’s Notes. . There have been 2 separate controlled burns in the last 3 months, affecting about 90% of the course. Vegetation, visibility and runnability changes weekly with leaves falling off bushes and dead saplings being blown over. All divisions will have sections of thicker bush than most metroleague events – long sleeves, long pants and gaiters are strongly recommended.
TIP FOR FIRST TIMERS: You will need to log in to Eventor first & then check the drop down boxes to nominate Illawarra Kareelah Orienteers & select a Division that best suits your ability before proceeding to payment. Division 6 is entry level and is graded easy, Divisions 3-5 are moderate and Divisions 1 & 2 are hard navigation. If you are unsure of what division to run in contact our team captain James at jistuart@bigpond.com. …ON THE DAY…This is a teams event, however you can still pre-enter as an individual runner if you prefer. You may be approached on the day if teams are short. Likewise if we have too many entries for teams you may be asked to run up or down a division or you can just compete as an individual runner for that day. You can find out more about the Metroleague at https://onsw.asn.au/events/metro-league
The next Metroleague event will be held at Pennant Hills on Sunday 28 June. Starts are from 10.00 – 10.30 for teams and 10.30-11.00 for individual orienteers and those entering on the day. Our IKO-SHOO teams in divisions 2 – 5 will be pitted against Western Hills (WHO) whilst Division 1 will run against Bennelong (BN).
We need a good turn out of runners to repeat the performance of the last Metroleague event where IKO-SHOO teams clocked up a win in all 5 Divisions. All club members are encouraged to enter including those new to the Metroleague format. Enter via Eventor at https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/23836
Tip: You will need to log in to Eventor first & then check the drop down boxes to nominate Illawarra Kareelah Orienteers & select a Division that best suits your ability before proceeding to payment. Division 6 is entry level and is graded easy, Divisions 3-5 are moderate and Divisions 1 & 2 are hard navigation. If you are unsure of what division to run in contact our team captain James at jistuart@bigpond.com. Those club members who have previously advised they are available for a team, please let James know if you can’t attend, if you haven’t already done so.
…ON THE DAY…This is a teams event, however you can still pre-enter as an individual runner if you prefer. You may be approached on the day if teams are short. Likewise if we have too many entries for teams you may be asked to run up or down a division or you can just compete as an individual runner for that day. You can find out more about the Metroleague at https://onsw.asn.au/events/metro-league
Thirteen IKO members made their way over the Blue Mountains for the three events held over the long weekend. Each day conditions were ideal for orienteering with the early morning fog lifting and the sun shining by the time the first runners started.
DAY 1– Middle distance event on Baal Bone Junction map.Organised by Garingal Orienteers.
Courses were set in classic Western Blue Mountains eucalypt forest surrounding an old farm. The longer courses had some hefty climbs – 235m climb for hard 3b (M60A, M65A), whilst the shorter courses had several barbed wire fences to contend with. A challenge for the 80+ year olds. Two 1sts, a 2nd and two 3rds were achieved – congrats to Phil, Vicki, Michael, Peter and Margaret.
DAY 2– Long distance event in Lidsdale State Forest. Organised by Big Foot Orienteers.
Well who doesn’t love a pine forest to navigate through! Today’s courses offered runnable sections of young and established pine forest and a network of tracks popular also with 4WD and dune buggies. Kangaroos, choughs and wrens were out in force. Winners were Phil in 1st place again, Vicki and Margaret in 2nd and Michael and Pippa in 3rd.
DAY 3– Short distance/sprint event on Rydal Showground map. Organised by Illawarra Kareelah Orienteers
A neat little area of open forest, tracks, parkland and of course the showground itself with a smattering of outbuildings, including one called “The Old Bar”. This was used for the download area, alas there was no beer for the finishers. Thanks to Hamish of Big Foot Orienteers for the new 1:4000 map.
Our volunteers embraced the cold misty morning turning up early to help with parking and general setup and with David and Vicki setting out the controls ahead of schedule people were able to start earlier.
In true sprint fashion times were quick and the overall results for the 3 days were calculated in good time for the presentation of badges by the Bigfoot team. Congrats to all age class winners. IKO’s in the hall of fame were: Phil 1st, Michael 1st, Margaret 3rd.
A big thank you to organiser Sue, and especially to David and Vicki for controlling and course setting and for all the preparation work undertaken beforehand.
It was a great finish to an excellent long weekend of orienteering. Thanks to the 3 clubs involved Garingal, Bigfoot and IKO and to Mark Shingler for being the overall organiser.
Entries close on 31st May for the Kings Birthday weekend 3 day (KBIII) event. You can compete on any one of the days or all three days. Each event is an NSW State League event, with the Long Distance also being a badge event. Overall results for KBIII will be determined on cumulative time across the three events.
Day 1 (Sat), the middle distance event, will be held near Cullen Bullen. Day 2 (Sun), the long distance event is in the Lidsdale State Forest, 15 minutes NW of Lithgow, and Day 3 (Mon) the short event at the Rydal Showground. Detailed information about the events is available at https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Documents/Event/23121/1/Bulletin-1
The default entry is for ALL 3 races. If you don’t want to enter all 3 events or want to enter different classes over the 3 days, follow the instructions given in the “How to enter only some days or different classes” document in the same link.
IKO is responsible for organising Day 3 – the short event at the Rydal Showground. Vicki Wilmott is course planner and has been working on setting interesting courses. All club members are encouraged to attend and have a run as well as help with the smooth running of the event on the day. If you can volunteer to help on the day please let Sue Froude, event organiser, know via email at IKOrienteers@gmail.com
