IKO’s last local event of the year is approaching on Saturday 11 December at Berry. The event starts at the pavillion in Berry Showground between 3-4pm and will feature a new map around the streets and parks of Berry.
Newcomers to the sport are welcome to come and try orienteering with club members on hand to provide guidance. Three courses will be offered, all suitable for beginners – just choose your length – 1.3 km suitable for kids, 3.4 km, or 5.6 km.
Pre-entry is preferred, or register using contactless payment at the event (new participants only). Full details and registration via this link.
The River and Bay Orienteering Series has kicked off for 2021. IKO hosted the first event of the series at Botany on 7 November and is hosting the third event at Chifley this coming Sunday 28 November. The event starts from Chifley Sports Reserve and is a new map for IKO.
Due to the extended lockdown in Greater Sydney we sadly have to cancel our two events planned for September (Belanglo and Berry).
Thanks to Keith for all his hard work in preparing a superb new map of Berry East and West for us to add to our growing map collection. We look forward to running around Berry when we are all able to orienteer again.
We are still planning courses for the River Bay O-Series which is due to kickoff Sunday 31/10. Stay tuned for updates on that. In the mean time check out MapRun for any O-courses near you, including our very own one here in Kiama.
Another event bites the dust! Rushcutters Bay is always such a lovely map to run on but sadly it will have to wait till next year. Due to continued Covid restrictions this Saturday’s event on 7 August is CANCELLED.
We still have two events in regional locations pencilled in for September – Belanglo on 11 September and Berry on 25 September. We’ll let you know how things are looking for these events at the end of the month.
For those in the Kiama area we have a new MapRun course you can amuse yourself with thanks to map master David. The course is 3.5-4 km long and takes in the scenic coastline and harbour. You can do it whenever you like, and as many times as you like over the next 12 months.
If you want to give it a go you will need to download MapRun6 from your App store onto your mobile phone (its free). Select ‘Events Near Me’, and the program should find “Kiama–2021-07-18 Course 1 PXAC”. Or select the event from the events listed under NSW then Illawarra.
Once you’ve finished the course your result will be loaded onto the Event results page and you can see if you have bragging rights. You can also look at your splits.
For any questions about the Kiama MapRun course contact David Green on 0409608990. Rumour has it there may be a second course available very soon (shhhh…. you didn’t hear it from me!)
These are certainly most challenging times and we thank you for your patience and understanding. With lockdown in the Greater Sydney region stretching over several weeks now, and likely to continue for more weeks and perhaps months ahead, the 2021 orienteering schedule has been severely disrupted again impacting on most of us. IKO members reside across a broad geographical area encompassing both areas of lockdown and areas where people are still free to move around. At this time, the primary goal must be to keep us all as safe as possible and to abide by the government public health orders. Frustrating as these are, we must err on the side of caution wherever there are inconsistencies, as there will inevitably be, with such large and rapidly implemented changes.
Rest assured your club is working with the broader orienteering community to reschedule events and determine optimal strategies to manage refunds for events already entered. The uncertain timeframes for ongoing restrictions add significantly to the challenges involved. Note there will be no events organised by IKO in July. August is unfortunately also looking doubtful for all events at this stage but check here on the Eventor calendar for 2021 scheduled events and any cancellations or postponements made at short notice https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events You can also check our Facebook page and our website for any updates and we will of course keep you informed by emails.
We look forward to the time when we can all gather again for events and the social activities afterwards. Until then, stay safe, keep exercising and keep in touch. This is a great time to give people a call just for a chat and I would encourage you all to reach out.
Take care, Ken Mills – President Illawarra Kareelah Orienteers
