Category Archives: Event Reports

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.

Metroleague 2014

The inter-club MetrO League competition kicked off on Sunday 23rd March at Mount Annan Botanic Gardens.   This first event saw the IKO Magnetrons take a decisive win in Division 3 against a combined Uringa-Central Coast team (34-21), while in Division 4 the tables were turned with Uringa-Central Coast defeating the IKO Lyrebirds 32-23 (Full results here)

Blue skies and warm weather made for warm conditions out on course but it was a lovely morning to enjoy this great venue.

The MetrO League series runs annually from March through until August/September with events conducted on one Sunday morning per month. Each team is comprised of five people who run individually but earn points for the team based on their relative time.  Courses are set so that the winning time is around 35 minutes and most people are finished within an hour.

As for last year IKO are fielding two teams and require a minimum of 10 runners for each event.  New club members are welcome to participate.  If you are interested please contact our Team Captain Vicki Wilmott.

Finish arena

Finish arena

Results board

Results board

A sunny afternoon at Dolls Point

Sunday 1 December 2013OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Illawarra Kareelah held their Southern Summer Series event under sunny skies on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Dolls Point, on the shores of Botany Bay. The launch of the new map Bado-Berong Creek attracted 42 entrants, six of whom were new to the sport. It was an honour indeed to have Ross Barr attend our event. He is the man who introduced the Summer Series to Sydney 22 years ago.

The map is a delight to run, and although it seems straightforward, many reported some tricky parts that required full attention and careful map reading, especially around the canals.

For those who missed the event, you will have to wait until November 2014 before you can enjoy its delights.

See the Event Results page for results by score and by class.

Kevin Curby

Metroleague Final at Cataract

Sunday 1st September 2013

P1040603

On a beautiful first day of spring, the orienteering fraternity descended on Cataract Scout Camp for the MetroLeague Finals and a less formal enter-on-the-day event. Unfortunately, a few days before the event, our course setter, Chris Wilmott, was hospitalised, but is thankfully recovering quite well. However, it meant that Kevin had a rather hectic Saturday, checking and setting out last minute controls. But on Sunday the weather was magnificent, a team of helpers arrived bright and early and the event ran pretty smoothly. The terrain at the scout camp is fairly open with lots of paths which allows for fast running but it also has some steep rocky areas which require skilful map-reading.

MetroLeague results

Div 1: Big Foot  (a fifth straight win)
Div 2:  Bennelong Northside (over a previously unbeaten Uringa-Central Coast)
Div 3: SHOO
Div 4:  Big Foot (the largest winning margin)
Div 5:  Garingal Legless (a very young team, obviously headed for better things)

IKON had very creditable 3rd places in both Div 3 and Div 4, and congratulations to Salme Fuller for her individual medal in Div 4. We also congratulate Doug Jay for his individual medal in Div 3 (though running for SHOO, he has obvious connections to IKON).

Enter-on-the-day results

Very Easy:                            Holly Roberts   11.48
Easy:                                     Tom Kennedy   19.32
Moderate (Div 5):              Cohen Wisniewski       54.29
Moderate/Hard (Div 4):     Val Hodsdon       51.34
Hard (Div 2) :                        Tony Hill           41.56

Details of all competitors’ results can be found on eventor  in the ONSW website  eventor.orienteering.asn.au/events/show/339  

Thanks again to all those who gave up their father’s day morning to help out  – Kevin and Dave who were everywhere, particularly on the crucial finish computer; Richard and James the parking perfectionists; Helen, Jim, Jeff and Vicki who were never overwhelmed by rushes to register; Greg who singlehandedly controlled the start; Salme and Peter doing a wonderful job writing results; and a particular thanks to Helen and Julie doing the lone job of gate-keeper. Lastly to the ones who were still around at the end and helped to bring in controls  and leave the site as we found it  – thanks Alexander and Natasha, and maybe Dasha will get a new ring for Christmas to replace the one that now lives at Cataract.

Eunice Wilson