Author Archives: ikoadmin

ONSW Presentations

Richard and David collected the medals on behalf of the winning Division 3 Metroleague team

The annual ONSW Presentation function was held today at Homebush Bay following a fun sprint around Bicentennial Park which was part of the Saturday Orienteering Series (SOS). A handful of club members were on hand including David and Dayle, Richard and James.

Picking up their medals for the winning Division 3 Metroleague team were David Green and Richard Lane, while David also received a medal for highest point score in Division 3. Medals were also awarded to the remainder of the successful Metroleague team -Alex Karavaev, Natalya Filippova, Ian Froude, Keith Jay and Simon Louis,

Other IKO members to be recognised at the awards were Julie Mann and Vicki Wilmott who received badges for their State League performances in W55AS.

A casual picnic in the park for the ONSW Presentation event.

Southern Sydney Summer Series Season 5

The fifth season of the Southern Sydney Summer Series commenced on October 11 at Maroubra, the first in the series of eight events to be held on Sunday afternoons from now until early December 2015.

The Southern Sydney Summer Series showcases the wonderful parks, reserves and bushland of the Eastern Suburbs and Inner West. It mixes exercise – at whatever pace you like (walk, jog or run) – with a simple navigational challenge. If you can read a street directory you can do it! It’s a great way to explore a suburb.

Competitors have 45 minutes to get to as many of the 30 checkpoints (called controls) as possible, using a specially prepared map of the area. The checkpoints are worth different amounts, and you may plan your route before starting.

Go solo, with a buddy or in a small group of family or friends. Beginners are welcome and will receive basic instruction.

Each event will run late on Sunday afternoon with starts available any time between 4-6pm. All events use SportIdent electronic timing and SI sticks can be hired at each event.

Each event will stand alone but there will also be an accumulative point score over the series, with the four best results counted.

Illawarra Kareelah Orienteers are running two events this series, one at Double Bay on October 25 and one at Earlwood on November 15.

See the Coming Events page for further details on all event locations.

IKO Magnetrons bring home the prize in Division 3 of MetrO League finals

Division 3 team members David Green (individual medal winner with 41 points) and Simon Louis (close runner up, 40 points) with Vicki Wilmot, Division 5 team member after the race at Nurragingy

CONGRATULATIONS to IKO Magnetrons team members Alexander Karanov, Natalya Filipova, David Green, Richard Lane and Simon Louis for their outstanding efforts in winning the final of the 3^rd Division of the MetrO league competition on Sunday 23^rd August at Nurragingy in western Sydney. The team had a resounding win against arch rivals Uringa – Central Coast – 34 point to 21 points. Four IKO runners were in the top 5 of the Division 3 runners. Congratulations also go to all those runners who participated as members of the Division 3 team throughout the five race series. The team won all six races.

Further congratulations go to David Green who tied for the Metroleague individual medal in Division 3 with 41 points and to Simon Louis for an outstanding performance by getting the maximum 40 points on only 4 runs. Simon is our newest member who only started orienteering this year.

Unfortunately the IKO Lyrebirds had another loss in the 5^th Division despite Salme Fuller yet again being the fastest runner in the Division on the day and being pipped for the Division 5 individual medal by two points.

The MetrO League is an annual inter-club competition for greater Sydney metropolitan clubs. The series runs from March through until August/September with events conducted on one Sunday morning per month. Entrants run individually but earn points for their team based on their relative time. It’s great fun as clubs compete head-to-head and members of all ages earn points for their club. Further information on the MetrO League, including the final results, is available from http://onsw.asn.au/events/metro-league.

by Margaret Duguid

South Coast Schools Championships

IKO recently hosted its third annual orienteering day for primary school students on Wednesday 20 May. The first two of these events was called a Gala Day, but the name was changed this year to “Schools Championships” to be consistent with similar events in other regions.

The event was attended by 51 primary school students from the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions. The majority of the students came from Mt Keira Demonstration School, while other students came from Sussex Inlet and Scarborough Public Schools. As for previous years the event made use of the facilities and extensive parklands at Croom Reserve in Albion Park.

The day started with a briefing of students on the structure of the day and what was expected from them – it was quite a shock for many when they were told they would be competing alone on the course within the next hour or so. Their faces couldn’t hide their feelings of trepidation. So, with the help of about six volunteers, they were given a map each and guided through the bush at Croom, all the time being instructed on map reading. This was quite challenging for both students and coaches as most of the students had no previous knowledge of orienteering.

After a short break, the individual challenge started with students doing a course from 1.4 km up to 1.8 km through the bush and open parkland. They all returned, happy to take their slat to the result board and quite excitedly compare their performance against others.

Relays followed lunch, with three runners in each team. The parents from Scarborough Public formed a team of their own and joined in, to end up fourth. It was great to see the students cheering their mates in to the tag and finish. Finally, the presentation of awards in the stadium. The students had a really busy and enjoyable day and the teachers are keen to return for our schools event next year.

The final results from the day are listed here.

The Illawarra Mercury covered the story in their Junior Sport section.

Illawarra Mercury June 2015

Welcome to our new club members

A warm welcome to our newest club member Simon Louis after being declared the outright winner of the SummerGong 2015 event series and securing a senior club membership as 1^st prize. Simon together with partner Danielle and young daughters Beatrix and Guinevere join us from Russell Vale, Wollongong. Simon has also made an impressive debut in the Metroleague comp, running for us in Division 5 at Western Sydney Parklands on 26 April 2015 gaining maximum points for IKN and also taking out the fastest time in Division 5 for the 3.7km course. A great start for Simon and we look forward to seeing more of Simon and his family at future orienteering events.

The club would also like to welcome club members Matt Ryan and his family from Gerringong and Kim Scobie from Thirroul.