Come sprint with us!

On 29th June IKO is hosting the NSW Sprint Championships on the campus of the University of Wollongong. Planner David Green has been working hard to make sure the maps are up to date and the courses are both fun and challenging. Previously we have hosted the Schools Championships at the Uni in 2017 which was a raging success.

Wollongong Uni is a lovely campus with the usual tricky navigation between buildings and some lovely gardens and bushland for greenery.

Start times for the sprint championship will be allocated between 12:30-1:15pm. After the main event competitors have the option of sticking around for a 3-person relay. Form your own teams of 3 on the day for a quick 1.5km sprint just for fun (no pre-entry needed). Presentations for the NSW Sprints will be held at 3pm after the relay.

Entries are open now on Eventor.

IKO Club members are encouraged to lend a hand on the day to make sure all goes smoothly.

Metroleague #1 Postponed

Due to the current high water levels in the Georges River at Appin IKO have made the decision to postpone our event tomorrow. As the course involves multiple crossings of the river safety is our number one concern. An alternative date will be arranged soon. Stay safe and dry!

Next event – Metro League#1 Appin 7 April

It is now time to turn to the Autumn events calendar and the first of the Metro League events – the annual inter-club competition for greater Sydney metropolitan clubs. IKO is responsible for organising the first Metro League event this year which will be at Appin on Sunday 7^th April. All members are encouraged to attend. Anyone volunteering to help out on the day will be able to enter the event and have a run, but you need to pre-enter and let our Club Captain James Stuart know at ikorienteers@gmail.com. Entries close at Midnight 6^th April.

The Metro League runs from April through until August/September with events conducted on one Sunday morning per month. Teams of five compete against each other. Courses are of a Moderate (Division 4-6) or Hard (Division 1-3) standard and a variety of distances. New members are especially welcome to come along and find out what it’s all about. If you would like to run in a team contact our Club Captain James Stuart at ikorienteers@gmail.com. If you haven’t done bush orienteering before we suggest you enter Division 6.

Otherwise turn up and compete in one of enter on the day courses that will be available. There will club members on hand to help you with your bush navigation. For event details and to enter go to https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/20286.

For more information on the Metro League see https://onsw.asn.au/events/metro-league

Bush Navigation Skills Training Day – Saturday 6 April

Bold Horizons are running a bush navigation skills day at Campbelltown on the day before the Metro League event. The workshops will run from 9am to 3pm. Introductory, intermediate and advanced orienteering skill sessions will be offered. The day will be split into three sessions with a variety of exercises aimed at improving specific orienteering and navigation skills. You need to register for the training day – Entries close Thursday 4th April. For further information go to https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/20426

Why not make a weekend of it – brush up your bush navigation skills at Campbelltown on Saturday and test them out at the Metro League at Appin on Sunday.

Illawarra Map Run Series ends

The fourth and final event of the Illawarra Map Running Series was held on the 3^rd March in brilliant sunshine at Shell Cove. There was a good turn out bringing the total number of competitors for the series to 165. As well as enjoying the challenge of the courses set by David Green the finishers eagerly tucked into the free sausage sizzle cooked by master chef Ian Froude. Our thanks to Ken Mills, Stephen Holloway, Vicki Wilmott and David Green for organizing four successful events in the series.

A warm welcome to all the new members who recently joined the club, including those who competed in 3 or more of the Illawarra Map Running events and took up the offer of free membership. Looking forward to seeing you at our coming events.

Update on the Illawarra Map Running Series

We are three down and just one to go in this year’s map running series. How many have you completed? We’ve been pleased with the attendance so far, and its great to see eager new faces showing up to multiple events to have a go at orienteering. Don’t forget beginners can claim a free club membership by competing in at least 3 of the 4 events. That’s a saving of $60 for a senior!

At South Wollongong Ken made sure competitors got their money’s worth in the bushland of Greenhouse Park, with most people doing at least 2 laps of the various tracks. The hike up the hill was rewarding though with rarely seen views over Port Kemba.

Keith was interviewed by local radio at the Kiama Downs event where we had 54 competitors take on the hills of the Downs. Steve made use of every inch of the map, including some tricky turpentine forest which turned out to be much more challenging than it seemed!

Another great roll up at Thirroul today, with 46 competitors, with around 10 of those being non-club members. We are always grateful for the show of support from our neighboring club in the Southern Highlands, even if it is to come down and try and steal first place!

Our final event is on 3 March 2024 when we will be showcasing our newest map at Shell Cove. If you missed the premiere of this map last year make sure you put it in your diary. Afterwards all club members are invited to stay on for our AGM.

View the gallery above for a look at our first 2 events in photos.