Its less than two weeks away till IKO’s SummerGong Series which kicks off the club’s calendar each year. This series of events aimed at newcomers and beginners makes the most of the region’s scenic coastline and recreational reserves.
This year we are changing things up a bit with three events a fortnight apart. The events will run every second Saturday from 3-4pm.
Event 1: Lang Park Wollongong, Saturday 2 February
Event 2: Roy Johanson Park, West Wollongong, Saturday 16 February
Event 3: Shellharbour Foreshore, Boolwarra Parade, Shellharbour, Saturday 2 March
Can you believe another year of orienteering has come and gone?
Come along and enjoy the last local event of the year this Saturday 15 December. Starting from the Bombo Beach car park between 3-4pm the course will cover the coastline, parks and streets of Bombo and Kiama Downs. Short, medium and long courses will be on offer.
Bring your swimmers for a cool off in the surf before heading up the hill for the Christmas party.
IKO is hosting the final event of the Southern Sydney Summer Series on Sunday 25 November at Tonbridge Street Reserve, Ramsgate. This year the series has showcased the wonderful parks, reserves and bushland of the Cooks River Valley.
The series has proven popular with IKO almost overun with more than 60 people and groups wanting to register for the second event of the series at Hurlstone Park in late September.
Come along next weekend and enjoy a run on this flat fast course which is teeming with bird life! There will be a 45 min score event plus long and short line events. Start any time between 4 – 5 pm.
Ron Pallas christened this the Dust Tour of Belanglo, but as we are one day into the Tour de France I thought I might give it a slightly more french flavour. Either way it was a weekend of challenging conditions that the weather gods threw at State League 10 and 11. The sun shone but it was bitterly cold and at times windy, which turned our bare denuded firebreak into a scene from Desert Storm. Our resident meteorologist informed us that on both days the wind-chill factor sent the apparent temperature plummeting below zero in the early mornings.
Aside from that the day seems to have been a success with no injuries (apart from John the first aide guy who injured himself!) and no complaints about misplaced controls. 173 contenders turned up to take on the forest, where conditions were apparently less windy than the finish arena.
We are greatly indebted to Ron Pallas and our friends at SHOO for helping us run this event. Thanks to Natalya, Chris and David for the many days spent in the forest leading up to the event, and to Simon, Ken, Helen, James and Dayle for assisting over the weekend. Thanks also to Sandra, Garry, Lyn and Nev from SHOO for their assistance in the finish tent and EOD table.
Simon, Garry and Ron manning the finish tent. The material on the table is protecting the computers from the dust!
Thanks also to Sandra for the photos included here.
Visit SHOO’s Facebook gallery to see a lot more.
Competitors had to battle the wind and dust as they made their way from the final control to the finish.
And lastly, thank you to Simon for the following action shots taken in the forest.
Entries have now closed for this weekend’s State League event at Belanglo Forest (Sunday 8 July). Start times are now available on Eventor. We have 157 entries, and several courses will be available to enter on the day.
The weather is looking a bit wintry so bring your warm clothes and raincoat.
Several days have been spent in the forest updating the mapping and the vegetation runnability. Some hazard burns have been conducted recently in the forest which has improved visibility and runnability in these areas. However you may end up with charcoal on your clothes so light colours are not advisable. As always, eye protection and full body cover is recommended.
NSW Forests have erected signs concerning Threatened plants species – these areas are marked on the map as out-of-bounds. Please respect the forest and keep out of these areas.
