Author Archives: ikoadmin

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 1st 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.

SummerGong 2015 Results

The SummerGong Series for 2015 has been run and won.

CONGRATULATIONS to new-comer Simon Louis for blitzing the field with a near perfect score of 387 points. Simon won both the Windang and Shellharbour events and placed second at the other two events.

Next on the leader board were experienced orienteers John Le Carpentier from SHOO in 2nd place and Dick Ogilvie from Uringa in 3rd place. All three place-getters completed the whole series proving that persistence and participation wins the game.

The highest ranked club member was Jim Wilson in 8th place (onya Jim!) who also competed in all four events. Followed by Kevin Curby and James Stuart.

A big thank you to all club members who organised the events and helped out on the day with equipment and collecting controls.

Results from all events are posted here along with the overall point score for the series. How did you finish up on the leader board?

SummerGong 1 at Windang
Summergong 2 at Stanwell Park
SummerGong 3 at Wollongong
SummerGong 4 at Shellharbour

Summergong 2015 final pointscore

 

Have fun with SummerGong 2015

Orienteers new and old are invited to join the Illawarra Kareelah Orienteering Club for the annual SummerGong Series. This will be the second year for the event, which aims to introduce new-comers in the Illawarra to the sport of orienteering.

Orienteering is suitable for runners and walkers, both young and old. You can participate as an individual or go as a family or group of friends. Orienteering provides the challenge of navigating your way around a course using a map to find marked flags or ‘controls’ . If you can read a street map then you will be able to successfully find your way around the course without any special equipment. All you need is a pair of joggers, comfortable outdoor clothing and a desire to try a fun new activity.

This year’s series has been designed to make use of the Illawarra’s scenic beaches and coastline with the first event kicking off at Lake Entrance on Saturday February 14. Other events will be held on Saturday afternoons at Stanwell Park, Wollongong and Shellharbour.

See links below for further information.

Promotion SummerGong 2015

Summergong Series General information 2015

State League 11 at Belanglo

Illawarra Kareelah Orienteers hosted State League 11 on Sunday 20 July at Belanglo Forest. The event was part of two days of orienteering in the Southern Highlands, with Southern Highlands Occasional Orienteers organising State League 10 on Saturday at Mittagong.

It was very chilly indeed for those hardy club members who turned up to assist with the site set up on Saturday.  The exposed site offered no protection from the icy wind and occasional rain.  Although it was still cool on Sunday the sky was mostly blue and the wind dropped making for a much more pleasant day.

142 competitors registered to compete with a number of other casual entries on the day who were pleased to be able to choose from a full range of courses.

Results from the event are listed on the Eventor website and a few photos from the day are in the gallery below.

 

Orienteering at UOW with Illawarra Blue Stars

Illawarra Kareelah Orienteers joined forces with Illawarra Blue Stars Athletics Club to host a demonstration orienteering event on a new map at the University of Wollongong on Sunday 1st June 2014.

Blue Stars members Melanie and Anthony recently discovered orienteering after attending IKO’s local and Summergong events. Melanie approached IKO about organising a joint event to introduce other Blue Stars members to orienteering.

The weather did not look promising on our run up the freeway, but the weather gods were kind to us and the rain stopped by the time we pulled into the UOW gates.  Melanie fielded last minute texts from Blue Stars club members wanting to know if the event was still on – YES!!! she replied.

A good roll up saw 13 individuals and family teams from Blue Stars and a number of experienced orienteers tackle the short (2km) or longer (4km) courses which wound their way between buildings, around duck ponds and along the roads and pathways of the picturesque campus grounds. The feedback seemed to be mostly positive from the newcomers, and several people have expressed interest in future events. One comment overhead was that “it was something more than a run”.

Thanks to David Green for mapping the Uni and organising the event, and the experienced IKO members who were on hand to provide pre and post run advice and tips (Ken, Helen, Kev, Salme and Vicki).

See the gallery below for a few pics from the morning.  Results are now available on Eventor .

For more information on the Illawarra Blue Stars Athletics Club visit their website.