Come and explore Blackbutt Forest

Blackbutt Forest Reserve in Shellharbour is the venue for our next orienteering event on Saturday 6 May.  The reserve consists of 100 hectares of remnant coastal forest including Illawarra lowland grassy woodland and Blackbutt forest.  The forest was the traditional home of the Wodi Wodi people who lived off the many plants and animals in the forest.  Although there was a small amount of timber cutting from the forest, it was saved from widespread clearing for agriculture as it was isolated from the harbour and Shellharbour village by swampland.  The Reserve was given to the Shellharbour community by the NSW Government in 1979.

You can read more about the history and ecology of the reserve in a great little booklet by Shellharbour Council.  Go to the Parks and Reserves page and download the PDF from the right hand column.

For those coming to the event, be aware that it is also ‘Wings over the Illawarra’ at the Illawarra Regional Airport not far from the forest.  If you’d like to combine your orienteering with a visit to the air show you can find more information HERE.

Venue – Blackbutt Forest Reserve, Shellharbour – enter via Blackbutt Way.
Directions – from Shellharbour Road, turn into Woodlands Drive, then at the T intersection, turn left into Blackbutt Way and follow into reserve, up the hill to the car park.
Starts from 2-3pm.
Courses: Medium and Long line courses ($10) and a free short kids course (under 12 to be accompanied by an adult)
Runners, joggers & walkers are all welcome. Beginners are always welcome at our events, and there are always club members on hand to provide some basic coaching. You can go by yourself or as part of a group.

Summergong 4 concludes

The final round of Summergong 4 featured two international runners, who must have heard of Keith’s course setting abilities.  Welcome to Kirsti from Finland and Eshell from Israel.  The weather was surprisingly fine, despite the gloomy forecast.

Today’s event saw a dead heat for 1st place, with both Simon and Philip finishing on 570 points, after penalties.  Aidan from GO came in third having collected the maximum 600 points, but lost 50 points in late penalties.  Cooper sprinted around the 1km short course in just over 9 minutes, after competing in the 45 minute score course with dad.  Results have been posted onto Eventor and can be found HERE.

Congratulations to the series winner Linda (UR) with 309 points.  Linda competed in all 4 events.  Second and third were Simon (IKO) and Philip (IKO) who both missed an event when they were course setters.  The series point score can be viewed here – Summergong point score – after 4 events

In the short course, well done to Beatrix for having the highest score.  Special mention to the Ryan family who competed in all four events.

Thanks to all the IKO members who helped out during the series.  The next IKO event will be held at Sutherland on Saturday afternoon 11 March 2017 – details on Eventor.

Summergong Results Week 3

Thankfully it was cooler conditions for Week 3 of the Summergong series, although there were still some weather hazards in the form of rain showers.   Around 20 people turned up to explore Guest Park, Cabbage Tree Creek and the surrounding streets of Fairy Meadow and Balgownie.

Taking the lead after three weeks is Linda from Uringa who has attended all three events. In second place is Simon from IKO.  See the following score sheet for all the details.

The series concludes next week at JJ Kelly Park in Wollongong. Who will be the series winner?

Summergong point score – after 3 events

Summergong Week 2 Results

Summergong 2 at Thirroul attracted quite a crowd.

Its been a SIZZLING start to this year’s Summergong with heatwave conditions adding an extra challenge for competitors in both Event 1 last week and Event 2 today.

Event 1 at Wollongong attracted 15 competitors/groups with the day being won by Simon who collected 540 points. Today at Thirroul there was a pleasing increase in numbers with 28 competitors/groups.  The cloud cover meant we avoided the worst of the NSW heatwave, and a cool change brought further relief towards the end of the morning. Philip collected all 600 points for a convincing win and is the current series leader.  The results for both events are on Eventor.  The cumulative point score can be viewed here Summergong point score – after 2 events

Thanks to Salme for once again hosting the club AGM which was held after  today’s event.  All previous incumbents were re-elected to their positions. Congratulations to Simon for being Club Champion for 2016.

Get ready for SummerGong 2017

Salme Fuller punches the start control at SummerGong 1 in Stuart Park

Its almost here – that time of the year when we emerge from our post-Christmas slumber, dust off the O-gear and stretch our legs and our minds with some easy orienteering around the scenic parks and coast of Wollongong.

Now in its fourth year, SummerGong is a 4 week series of events designed to introduce the sport of orienteering to the Illawarra while providing the opportunity for some friendly competition amongst more experienced orienteers.

The series kicks off on Sunday February 5 at Lang Park Wollongong and runs over four consecutive weekends in February. Subsequent events are scheduled for Thirroul, Fairy Meadow and South Wollongong.  All events are held on Sunday morning with starts available between 10:00am and 11:30am.

See the following link for more details.   Hope to see you there!

Summergong17 Flyer