Jeff explains his winning strategy to Ian and Keith

With the end of the Summergong series, orienteering has moved back into the bush.

Congratulations to Salme for 1^st place in W45AS at the tough State League 1 event held at Wattle Ridge, Hill Top on 19 March.  Peter and Julie both achieved 2^nd places.

A number of club members backed up for Metroleague 1 at Mt Annan Botanic Gardens on Sunday 20 March.  It was fast and hilly.  The combined IKO-SHOO teams had success in Division 2 and 3, but lost the double headers in Division 4 and 5.  The combination with SHOO allowed a spread of club members through the 4 Divisions.

15 members competed in the Easter 3-day carnival at Canberra.  Congratulations to Jeff for 1^st place in M65AS and Simon 2^nd place in M21A. The rest of us lacked consistency and had good and bad days.  The terrain was hilly and the navigating sometimes tricky amongst the boulders (Day 1) and the erosion gullies (Day 2). It was good to watch elite competition, and marvel at how fast they are.  On Day 3 the distant views across the paddock kept spectators entertained watching competitors make their way out of the forest and up to the final control.

Good luck to the members heading to Snow Hills this weekend for State League 2 & 3.  Send us your report.

Following are some photos from the Easter Carnival.  Were you spotted by the IKO photographer?

David

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.

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.