Congratulations to David, Natalya and Keith who with Stephan and Ruth from SHOO took out the Metroleague Division 3 final against KNOX today at Boggabilla (Landsdowne).
The Division 4 and 5 teams also had wins on the day but were not in the finals.
Photos on the club’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/iko.orienteering/
Salme shows us how its done at UOW
I can hear the collective sighs of relief all around now that SL 10 and 11 are over. Sleepless nights and early mornings were all part of the experience for the organisers and course setters. Great organisation by Keith, David and Kev, and great course setting by Natalya, Vicki and Simon. There were some lessons learned with some people saying the State League courses were too easy at Cataract, while the easy courses could perhaps have been a little easier. On Sunday Simon thought his sprint courses were maybe a little long, but it was such a great venue and everyone enjoyed the day that I don’t think anyone noticed!
On Saturday at Cataract we hosted 126 competitors in the State League event (including 8 EODs) and 121 children in the Schools Champs.
On Sunday we had 138 competitors in State League (including 15 EODs) and 113 children in the School Champs.
There were more than 70 different schools represented in the Schools Championships. Greenwich Public School took the honour of Champion primary school, while a continuing strong presence saw Knox Grammar once again take out Champion secondary school.
Channel 9 News turned up to the University around midday on Sunday to interview Ian Jessup and three of the children. All the kids spoke very well about the weekend and what they like about orienteering – what a great experience for them all! Ian, our media guru, did a much better job than any of us could at selling the sport. If you live in the Illawarra be sure to keep an eye out tonight at 6pm on Channel 9.
Ian Jessup explains the sport of orienteering to Channel 9 cameraman
There were lots of positive comments about the new Wollongong Uni map, and the vibe in the grassy glade where we all assembled was very happy and relaxed. Easy access to coffee and good food was a definite bonus!
For photos from the weekend see our new Photo Gallery page where you will find an edited down version of those already posted to Facebook.
Ken did a great job of keeping the starters under control
Its not long to go now until our biggest event of the year which features the lovely bushland setting at Cataract Scout Camp, and what promises to be some fun and challenging sprints through the University of Wollongong campus.
Get your entries in NOW because entries for both events close on Monday 14th August.
School age children need to enter via TryBooking
https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=279242 Everyone else can enter via Eventor.
IKO club members are welcome to participate and are being offered free entry in return for assistance on the day.
For those coming from Sydney or other regional areas please COME and STAY ! Not at our place, sorry, but Destination Wollongong are sponsoring this event so please take the opportunity to see what Wollongong has to offer. For information see Visit Wollongong or call 1800 240 737. Special accommodation deals for the weekend can be booked HERE.
Enjoy the weekend!
Lots of colour in Murraguldrie State Forest on Day 2 of the carnival
A great time was had by all at the Australian 3 Days orienteering carnival at Wagga Wagga. A strong contingent of IKO club members were in attendance, both competing and helping the Waggaroos to run the event. Wagga turned on its best winter weather with sunny 18 degree days making running in the forest quite enjoyable (even for those of us who don’t run!).
Day 1 was on the picturesque property of Connorton where an uphill finish chute provided great spectator views for the arena on the adjacent hillside. At Murraguldrie State Forest on Day 2 there were plenty of boulders and some very long legs to be navigated. A very convivial dinner at the Riverina Hotel brought us all together on Sunday night before one last sprint around the University campus in the morning.
15 club members competed at the event in which scores are accumulated over the three days. Congratulations to Salme for being overall winner in the W45AS. Special mention also to Chris Wilmott for collecting the Silva award for Services to Australian Orienteering for his significant contribution to mapping.
Thanks to everyone that helped out over the weekend with packing, unpacking, and helping out in the administration and finish tents.
There are plenty of photo albums on ONSW Facebook. See the gallery below for some photos of our club members in action (thanks to Ian and Clare Jessop) and some other photos taken by Dayle.
Our fifth annual South Coast primary schools gala day was another successful promotion. The day was held on Wednesday 17 May at the Croom Sports Complex at Albion Park.
Four primary schools from the South Coast attended the day with 75 students from years 5 and 6 and their teachers. It was good to see Nowra Public make a return appearance this year while Flinders Public, St Georges Basin Public and Aurora Steiner School attended for the first time.
For most of the students reading a map was a new experience. The students practiced their navigation with individual courses through the bushland and open fields surrounding the stadium. The day finished with the students competing in a relay with 25 teams of three. Excitement levels were high, from the mass start until the last runner finished.
The Croom Sports Complex offers excellent conditions for beginners with a natural, lightly wooded bush area with a track network and plenty of open area that is used for training and competition for a variety of sports.
Placegetters received a personal invitation to the NSW Schools Championships to be held on August 19-20 in the Illawarra.
Special thanks to Kevin Curby for once again organising the day and being our contact point with the schools. Lyn Malgrom offered her expert guidance and coaching to the students throughout the day and Keith Jay set the courses. Ron Pallas provided his usual invaluable assistance in the IT department and Salme Fuller, Rob Spry and Garry Stewart are thanked for their invaluable assistance on the day.
Mike Driscoll from the Illawarra Mercury has once again shown his support for the sport by publishing a story online which you can find HERE.