Category Archives: Coming Events

Metro League round 1 this Sunday 29 March 2026

Get your entry in before midnight on Friday 27 March. All club members are eligible and encouraged to participate. 

The event will be held at Nurragingy Regional Park, Western Sydney. Start times: 10.00am – 10.30 for team members. You will be notified of your start time by email the night before the event. Individual runners, including those entering on the day, can start from 10.30am – 11.00am.

Enter through Eventor using the link below. Tip: You will need to log in to Eventor first & then check the drop down boxes to nominate Illawarra Kareelah Orienteers & select a Division that best suits your ability before proceeding to payment.  https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/23832

Club members that have previously advised they are available for a team, please let our team captain  know if you can’t attend, if you haven’t already done so. Email jistuart@bigpond.com

For those club members new to Metro League, come along and give it a try. It is a lot of fun. Division 6 is entry level and is graded Easy, Divisions 3-5 are Moderate and Divisions 1 & 2 are Hard navigation.  

…ON THE DAY…
This is a teams event, however you can still pre-enter as an individual runner if you prefer.  You may be approached on the day if teams are short.   Likewise if we have too many entries for teams you may be asked to run up or down a division or you can just compete as an individual runner for that day. You can find out more about the Metroleague at https://onsw.asn.au/events/metro-league

Entries for State League events #1 & #2 close 15 March

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

2026 Metro League season starts on 29 March

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

RoundDateVenueOrganising Club
1Mar 29NurragingyBig Foot
2May 3GalstonGaringal
3*May 24(TBA)Grays PointIllawarra Kareelah
4Jun 28Pennant HillsBennelong
5Jul 26BoggabillaUringa
6Sep 6Glenbrook 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.

 More information is available at https://onsw.asn.au/events/metro-league

Final Illawarra Summer Sprint Event Sunday 22 Feb

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).

Please do not attend if you are feeling unwell.

Illawarra Summer Sprint #3 this SATURDAY 14 Feb

Photos from last week’s mass start event at University of Wollongong.

NOTE: This week’s Summer Sprint is on SATURDAY

Same time – 10am – 11am at Albion Park High School. 120 Church St, Albion Park. For details go to Eventor at https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/23297

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).

Please do not attend if you are feeling unwell.