Author Archives: ikoadmin

Sunny afternoon at Grays Point

Thanks to Peter and Julie for organising such a lovely afternoon for our club event at Grays Point. Scenic bush tracks and perfect temperatures combined for a pleasant outing in the bush. The medium and long courses were a bit challenging length wise but a few club members made it around in less than an hour – Ross and James took 58 and 59 minutes respectively to complete the medium course which was closer to 6km all up, and Alex did a sizzling time of 56 minutes to complete the long course which was 7-8km.

Those of us doing the short course enjoyed the pleasant ramble around the main tracks taking in the scenic rock formations and wilflowers out in bloom.

A belated CONGRATULATIONS to all the IKO members who cleaned up the awards at the QBIII carnival last weekend. The club had six overall winners after three days of competition: Natalya 2nd (W35A), Shiona 2nd (W45A), Helen 3rd (45AS), Vicki 2nd (55AS), Margaret 2nd (W70A), and Ian 3rd (M65A).

Congratulations to all!

NSW Championships 18-19 May 2019

View over Wyangala Dam — View of Wyangala Dam currently at 29% capacity

Congratulations to our club members who were successful in taking home a lovely wooden medallion / coaster from the NSW Championships. Sue came first in W55AS in the Middle Distance Championships at Wyangala on Day 1, while on Day 2 Vicki came second in W55AS and Helen 3rd in W45AS in the Long Distance Championships.

Wyangala Day 1 — All smiles at Wyangala on Day 1

Both days had their challenges. On Day 1 the challenge was not to get too distracted from your map while taking in the stupendous views over Wyangala Dam, as well as mustering the stamina for several ascents and descents of the steep hills on the course. On Day 2 the intricate map detail combined with some long legs caused grief for some (OK, mostly me!) but was clearly not a challenge for others.

The weather was fantastic and the events well organised – thanks to Western and Hills Orienteers for hosting a great weekend. A club dinner at the Royal Hotel at Carcoar rounded out the social activities for 11 club members.

See the club Facebook page for a full gallery of photos.

Wyangala Dam Day 1 — Ken disappears over the edge at Wyangala Dam

SummerGong 2019

The SummerGong Series has concluded for 2019. Three excellent locations were enjoyed by club members and a handful of newcomers and visiting orienteers.

The series commenced with a brilliant sunny (and hot!) afternoon of orienteering around the Wollongong foreshore and streets. Despite Keith plugging the event on ABC radio that morning, we were not over-run with people, managing just 17 (although five of these were newcomers).

Ken and Helen take the award for attracting the most entrants to the Figtree event (24) and also the most participants who were not members of an orienteering club (10). While the short course kept to the flats the medium and long courses gave competitors the chance to climb a few hills (or avoid some of them depending on your route choice).

The series concluded at Shellharbour with 20 people/teams enjoying the mix of coastal views and streetscapes around Shellharbour Village. A couple of orienteers from Western Australia turned up – we think this is probably the furthest distance for any domestic visitors at a SummerGong event. We also had a group of friends turn up, two of whom had done a bit of orienteering in their home countries of Switzerland and the UK.

A few photographs from the series are in the gallery below.

AGM Highlights

IKOs Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday 16 February after an enjoyable run around Figtree. Thanks to Ken and Helen for setting some great courses and for the hospitality at their place afterwards.

All office bearers were re-elected to act in their existing positions with the exception of James who steps up to replace Vicki as Team Captain for the MetroLeague Competition. James is a keen and reliable competitor at the MetroLeague so we welcome James into the position.

President David Green
Vice President Vicki Wilmott
Secretary Sue Froude
Treasurer Margaret Duguid
Public Officer Sue Froude
Team Captain James Stuart
Equipment David Green
Publicity Officer Keith Jay
Web Master Dayle Green
Statistician David Green
ONSW Reps Ian Froude & Kev Curby

Club Champion of 2018 was awarded to our President David Green who showed that attendance and consistency is the key to winning. David attended 23 of 38 eligible orienteering events in 2018. Second place was taken by Salme Fuller, and third place by Keith Jay.

Nine club members were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze merit awards from Orienteering Australia for participation at National events:

Margaret, Salme and Peter (Gold)
David, Keith and Simon (Silver)
Dayle, Julie and Vicki (Bronze)

Congratulations to all office bearers and award winners. We look forward to another enjoyable year of orienteering.

SummerGong 2019 is almost here

SummerGong is perfect for families and beginners

Its less than two weeks away till IKO’s SummerGong Series which kicks off the club’s calendar each year. This series of events aimed at newcomers and beginners makes the most of the region’s scenic coastline and recreational reserves.

This year we are changing things up a bit with three events a fortnight apart. The events will run every second Saturday from 3-4pm.

Event 1: Lang Park Wollongong, Saturday 2 February
Event 2: Roy Johanson Park, West Wollongong, Saturday 16 February
Event 3: Shellharbour Foreshore, Boolwarra Parade, Shellharbour, Saturday 2 March

See the event flyer for further information.