Well what a fun little series that was! Four sprint events staged across 4 consecutive weekends in February attracted over 150 competitors across the series. The first 2 events at Kiama and Wollongong University proved the most popular with 49 and 47 participants respectively. Albion Park and Croom both hosted 28-29 competitors. The novel addition of a ‘fast and furious’ mass start where competitors lined up to take on a short 1km course also proved a fun and exciting way to finish the day for those still with energy to burn.
Thank you to all our course setters – Joel, David, Stephen and Keith. The weather gods were against us for 3 of the 4 courses, but finally we cracked some sunshine for our last event at Croom where the heat became the challenge instead of the rain.
Below is a gallery of highlights from the series. Click on an image for full size.
We are three down and just one to go in this year’s map running series. How many have you completed? We’ve been pleased with the attendance so far, and its great to see eager new faces showing up to multiple events to have a go at orienteering. Don’t forget beginners can claim a free club membership by competing in at least 3 of the 4 events. That’s a saving of $60 for a senior!
At South Wollongong Ken made sure competitors got their money’s worth in the bushland of Greenhouse Park, with most people doing at least 2 laps of the various tracks. The hike up the hill was rewarding though with rarely seen views over Port Kemba.
Keith was interviewed by local radio at the Kiama Downs event where we had 54 competitors take on the hills of the Downs. Steve made use of every inch of the map, including some tricky turpentine forest which turned out to be much more challenging than it seemed!
Another great roll up at Thirroul today, with 46 competitors, with around 10 of those being non-club members. We are always grateful for the show of support from our neighboring club in the Southern Highlands, even if it is to come down and try and steal first place!
Our final event is on 3 March 2024 when we will be showcasing our newest map at Shell Cove. If you missed the premiere of this map last year make sure you put it in your diary. Afterwards all club members are invited to stay on for our AGM.
View the gallery above for a look at our first 2 events in photos.
It was all smiles at our 2nd event of the Illawarra Map Running Series today at Fairy Meadow. Course setter Vicki made the most of Guest Park and Cabbage Tree Creek with a few slightly hilly forays into the surrounding streets for the medium and long courses.
We had 30 starters including 7 newcomers and a couple of visiting Austrian orienteers who came first and second on the medium course! David and Helen provided great instruction at the start for those new to the sport.
The short series concludes next week at Figtree where Ken and Helen have warned us that our feet may get wet!
Below are just a few of the happy faces snapped at today’s event. See Facebook for more photos.
Thanks to everyone for coming out to support this year’s Illawarra Map Running series. We attracted a great range of competitors from experienced orienteers to keen runners and family groups.
The weather was a mixed bag – we battled the heat at Gwyneville, just about got blown away at Lake Illawarra but finished with some lovely sunny days at Shellharbour and Minnamurra.
Attendance levels rose as the series gained momentum with 25-30 competitors for the first two events and 39-40 for the last two events. Steve takes the prize for the most competitors with his event at Shellharbour, with this event also attracting the most non-club members (13 individuals or groups).
Special mention to our neighbors at Southern Highlands Orienteers who made the effort to come down, seemingly to dominate the long course. Angus from SHOO won the long course in all 3 events he attended, with Doug also taking a win and ranking 2nd or 3rd for the rest of the events. The Shedden boys are doing well to get around the medium and long courses on their own now. Euan won the Medium course at Lake Illawarra and placed 2nd at Minnamurra. Meanwhile brother Rory is taking on the big boys in the long course placing 8th of 19 competitors at Lake Illawarra.
It was great to see lots of new faces at the events, especially family groups. All up we had 18 non-club members compete in the series, with most coming to multiple events. We even had a few lapsed club members signing up again during the course of the series! Shout out to newcomer Austin who won the medium course at Shellharbour in a blistering time of 24 minutes, while enthusiastic newcomer Maggie won the medium course at Minnamurra in 34 minutes.
Newcomers who competed in three events will be offered a complementary membership for 2022. Sue will be in touch with eligible people soon.
Our SummerGong events are off to a flying start with one more event to go. Both events have hosted more than 30 competitors/teams, and its great to see new faces and local families coming along to test themselves and have some fun. Also good to see families coming back to step up to the next level and complete the medium course with a smile on their face! Below is a few photos from the first two events thanks to Vicki.
We’ve had fog at Thirroul and brilliant sunshine at Fairy Meadow, fingers crossed for our final event which starts from Stuart Park in Wollongong. For club members, a reminder that the Annual General Meeting will be held after the SummerGong 3 event at Wollongong (venue to be advised).
If you’ve enjoyed the SummerGong events and are keen for more we are currently finalising our 2020 event calendar. We will continue our usual mix of events between Southern Sydney and the Illawarra.
