The first of the 2026 NSW State league forest events will be conducted near Molong in western NSW on the weekend of 21st and 22nd March. The courses will be run on the spectacular granite area – Gumble Pinnacles – rated as one of the best orienteering areas in Australia and used for previous national and state level events. Gumble Pinnacles provide the prefect opportunity to try out your orienteering skills in typical Australian granite terrain. Why not join the IKO contingent and head for the hills for the weekend and combine orienteering with some wine tasting at the renowned Orange wineries or a visit to the “Dish” at nearby Parkes. Details are available on Eventor at https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/22668
The first event will be held at Nurragingy, Doonside in Western Sydney on Sunday morning 29 March. Go to Eventor for details and to enter the event. See table below for the list of venues and dates for the 2026 Metro League series.
Those members interested in competing in this year’s Metro League series should emailing IKO Metro League Team Captain James Stuart at jistuart@bigpond.com. Please indicate which rounds, if any, you could attend and advise which division you wish to compete in. At this stage we are just looking for an indication of numbers in each of the teams.
All IKO members are encouraged to compete no matter your level of proficiency. Contact James if you are unsure which Division you would be comfortable running in.
We will again be partnering with our sister club SHOO. At this stage we are intending to field combined teams in Divisions 1, 3, 4 and 5. The number of teams in each division may change depending on interest.
2026 Venues and Dates
Round
Date
Venue
Organising Club
1
Mar 29
Nurragingy
Big Foot
2
May 3
Galston
Garingal
3*
May 24(TBA)
Grays Point
Illawarra Kareelah
4
Jun 28
Pennant Hills
Bennelong
5
Jul 26
Boggabilla
Uringa
6
Sep 6
Glenbrook
WHO
* IKO looking to swap to another date.
New to the Metro League? This is a team competition with line courses requiring bush navigation around the Sydney metropolitan area. Teams of 5 from the various clubs battle it out over 5 rounds to determine the teams that will be in the finals in Round 6. There are 6 Divisions of competition, all with different courses:
Divisions 1-3 are graded Hard
Division 4-6 are graded Moderate
Division 6 courses are intended for competitors transitioning from urban to bush orienteering and juniors.
Well what a fun little series that was! Four sprint events staged across 4 consecutive weekends in February attracted over 150 competitors across the series. The first 2 events at Kiama and Wollongong University proved the most popular with 49 and 47 participants respectively. Albion Park and Croom both hosted 28-29 competitors. The novel addition of a ‘fast and furious’ mass start where competitors lined up to take on a short 1km course also proved a fun and exciting way to finish the day for those still with energy to burn.
Thank you to all our course setters – Joel, David, Stephen and Keith. The weather gods were against us for 3 of the 4 courses, but finally we cracked some sunshine for our last event at Croom where the heat became the challenge instead of the rain.
Below is a gallery of highlights from the series. Click on an image for full size.
Back to SUNDAY this week for the final event in the Illawarra Summer Sprint Series. Usual start time – 10am – 11am. Meet at Shellharbour City Stadium, 110 Croome Road, Croome. For details go to Eventor at https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/23298
Photos from last weeks event at Albion Park High School.
There be the usual sprint line courses, Short (1.4Km), Medium (2Km) and Long (2.9Km) as well as the opportunity for all competitors to run the short course in the mass start event held after all competitors have returned from their run. Who will be the winner? Will it be local hero Joel Mion or will one of the Sheddon brothers have the honour? If you aren’t interested in participating stay on to watch it – it is very exciting. You can enjoy the free sausage sizzle while you are waiting.
NEWCOMERS: As with all our events newcomers are welcome to enter. There will be members on hand to help you on your way. You can pre-enter using Eventor – in which case you need to register first (follow instructions on How to enter on Eventor as a casual) and then go into the event calendar and select the event. Otherwise you can enter on the day at the event. Payment is by card. No cash.
REMINDER: this is the last chance for newcomers to be in the running for the FREE 12-MONTH 2026 MEMBERSHIP on offer for attending three of our Illawarra Summer Sprint Series. Those eligible will be notified by email of their success with an option to accept or decline this offer. Note the offer is only available to newcomers only (it is not applicable to previous membership holders).
It will be on for young and old. Not only will there be the usual sprint courses, Short (1Km), Medium (1.7Km) and Long (3Km) there will be a specific 1.5Km course for any competitors game enough to enter the mass start event that starts after competitors have completed their run. Who will be the winner? Will the younger Euan Sheddon repeat last week’s result and beat big brother Rory? Will local hero Joel Mion have a clean run? If you aren’t interested in participating it is worth while staying on to watch it – it is very exciting. You can also enjoy your free sausage sizzle while you are waiting.
NEWCOMERS: As with all our events newcomers are welcome to enter. There will be members on hand to help you on your way. You can pre-enter using Eventor – in which case you need to register first (follow instructions on How to enter on Eventor as a casual) and then go into the event calendar and select the event. Otherwise you can enter on the day at the event. Payment is by card. No cash.
REMINDER: CHANCE FOR NEWCOMERS TO WIN A FREE 12-MONTH 2026 MEMBERSHIP by attending three of our Illawarra Summer Sprint Series: Sun Feb 1, Sun 8 Feb, Sat 14 Feb & Sun 22 Feb. After completion of the series, those eligible will be notified by email of their success with an option to accept or decline this offer. Conditions apply: offer available to newcomers only (not applicable to previous membership holders).
