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IKO Spring Series starts Sunday 11 October

The IKO Spring Series kicks off on Sunday 11 October with a bush event at Bomaderry Creek. The usual line courses will be available – short (2Km) , medium (4Km) and long (6Km). Starts are from 10am to 11am. Meet at the  Bomaderry Creek Picnic Ground off Narang Road, Bomaderry. For details about the event and to enter go to  https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/23851  

Pre-entry is recommended although enter on the day will be available to newcomers. No cash accepted, tap-and-go payments only.

Those new to orienteering are most welcome to attend. Experienced orienteers will be at hand to provide guidance and set you on your way. The event is open to people all ages. You can run or walk, go individually or as a group. It’s a great sport for the whole family. Note: newcomers who complete three of the four events will be offered a 12-month membership with the club.

After the event we have a booking from 1-3pm in the Coach House at The Berry Hotel if you’d like to join us for lunch.  Park in the carpark at the back.  Enter via Princess St. RSVP to IKOrienteers@gmail.com by 8 October.

Other events in the series

Events will be held at a range of different locations in the southern suburbs of Wollongong, including a new map at Port Kembla. See below for dates, locations and links to Eventor for details. Pre-entries are encouraged and should be made through Eventor.

DateLocationDetails
18 OctoberShell Cove https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/23852
1 NovemberPort Kembla https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/23853
8 NovemberOak Flats https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/23854

Note: No event has been scheduled for the last Sunday in October to allow those interested to enter the Sydney City Race. This year’s race will be held in the North Sydney area. This is only the second time a City Race has been run in Sydney. It is a fun event. Those who ran in the inaugural race in 2024 can attest to that. For details and to enter go to https://www.sydneycityrace.com.au/

Recent winning performances

NSW Championships  

Congratulations to those IKO members who came home with medals from the recent NSW Championships in the Tuckland State Forest out Gulgong/Dunedoo way. From all accounts competitors enjoyed the running in the spur-gully terrain with the fast open forest, scattered Cypress Pine (Gulgaba) with occasional rocky outcrops and complex, intricate erosion gullies

NameClassMiddle distanceLong distance
Vicki WilmottW65AS1st2nd
Michael FlackM35AS1st2nd
Pippa WhittenW16A2nd2nd
Phil WhittenM35A2nd1st

Ferrygaine

Despite the strike that cancelled the F3 Ferry to Parramatta on the day, several IKO members were up to the challenge of planning courses with limited ferry services and came home as winners in last weekend’s rogaine held around the western side of Sydney Harbour. Congratulations to the following first place getters in their respective classes. Phil Whitten & Gill Fowler, David Green & Sharon Hopper, Sue Froude & Margaret Duguid, Ian Froude. Check out the IKO Facebook page for more details.

IKO Junior headed for Canberra

A big CONGRATULATIONS to IKO Junior Pippa who has been selected to compete at the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships to be held in Canberra in September 2026. Pippa has been demonstrating her rising talent at all levels of orienteering this year, from local events, to Metroleague and State League events (pictured here at Baal Bone on the Kings Birthday weekend).

Congratulations to Pippa and the other selected members of the team. We wish them good luck for the competition later this year!

Senior Girls:
Jessica Dunn
Matilda Saunders

Senior Boys:
Alton Freeman
Ho Lam Marcus Cheung
Matthew Slater
Rory Shedden

Junior Girls:
Alexandra Slater
Charlotte Seeto
Isobel Newton
Justine de Remy de Courcelles
Pippa Whitten
Tiffany Palmer

Junior Boys:
Baxter Peel
Euan Shedden
Harrison Grubits
Michael (Guoxuan) Zhao
Presley Scouller-Evan’s
William Headley
Shay Sweeney

Entries for State League events #1 & #2 close 15 March

The first of the 2026 NSW State league forest events will be conducted near Molong in western NSW on the weekend of 21st and 22nd March. The courses will be run on the spectacular granite area – Gumble Pinnacles – rated as one of the best orienteering areas in Australia and used for previous national and state level events. Gumble Pinnacles provide the prefect opportunity to try out your orienteering skills in typical Australian granite terrain.  Why not join the IKO contingent and head for the hills for the weekend and combine orienteering with some wine tasting at the renowned Orange wineries or a visit to the “Dish” at nearby Parkes. Details are available on Eventor at https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/22668

2026 Metro League season starts on 29 March

The first event will be held at Nurragingy, Doonside in Western Sydney on Sunday morning 29 March. Go to Eventor for details and to enter the event. See table below for the list of venues and dates for the 2026 Metro League series.

Those members interested in competing in this year’s Metro League series should emailing IKO Metro League Team Captain James Stuart at jistuart@bigpond.com.  Please indicate which rounds, if any, you could attend and  advise which division you wish to compete in. At this stage we are just looking for an indication of numbers in each of the teams.

All IKO members are encouraged to compete no matter your level of proficiency.  Contact James if you are unsure which Division you would be comfortable running in.

We will again be partnering with our sister club SHOO. At this stage we are intending to field combined teams in Divisions 1, 3, 4 and 5. The number of teams in each division may change depending on interest.

2026 Venues and Dates

RoundDateVenueOrganising Club
1Mar 29NurragingyBig Foot
2May 3GalstonGaringal
3*May 24(TBA)Grays PointIllawarra Kareelah
4Jun 28Pennant HillsBennelong
5Jul 26BoggabillaUringa
6Sep 6Glenbrook WHO

*  IKO looking to swap to another date. 

New to the Metro League? This is a team competition with line courses requiring bush navigation around the Sydney metropolitan area. Teams of 5 from the various clubs battle it out over 5 rounds to determine the teams that will be in the finals in Round 6. There are 6 Divisions of competition, all with different courses:

  • Divisions 1-3 are graded Hard
  • Division 4-6 are graded Moderate
  • Division 6 courses are intended for competitors transitioning from urban to bush orienteering and juniors.

 More information is available at https://onsw.asn.au/events/metro-league

Sprint the Illawarra a success!

Well what a fun little series that was! Four sprint events staged across 4 consecutive weekends in February attracted over 150 competitors across the series. The first 2 events at Kiama and Wollongong University proved the most popular with 49 and 47 participants respectively. Albion Park and Croom both hosted 28-29 competitors. The novel addition of a ‘fast and furious’ mass start where competitors lined up to take on a short 1km course also proved a fun and exciting way to finish the day for those still with energy to burn.

Thank you to all our course setters – Joel, David, Stephen and Keith. The weather gods were against us for 3 of the 4 courses, but finally we cracked some sunshine for our last event at Croom where the heat became the challenge instead of the rain.

Below is a gallery of highlights from the series. Click on an image for full size.