IKO are organizing the event on the Monday of this year’s Kings Birthday 3 Day event. The event will be held at the Rydal Showground near Lithgow and will be a bush sprint. Starts will be from 9.30am. We are looking for volunteers to assist in setting up and helping on the day. Any members able to assist should email their availability to IKOrienteers@gmail.com. It will be possible for volunteers to also run in the event.
If you are considering helping out at the IKO event on the Monday why not enter for the 3 days and stay the whole weekend.
Having whet your appetite for sprint orienteering at the IKO Summer Sprint Series why not try your luck at the NSW Sprint Champs.
For those looking for a run in the bush Southern Highlands Orienteers are organizing State League #4 in the Southern Highlands the following morning on the Soapy Flat map. Details at https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/22671
Get your entry in before midnight on Friday 27 March. All club members are eligible and encouraged to participate.
The event will be held at Nurragingy Regional Park, Western Sydney. Start times: 10.00am – 10.30 for team members. You will be notified of your start time by email the night before the event. Individual runners, including those entering on the day, can start from 10.30am – 11.00am.
Enter through Eventor using the link below. Tip: You will need to log in to Eventor first & then check the drop down boxes to nominate Illawarra Kareelah Orienteers & select a Division that best suits your ability before proceeding to payment. https://eventor.orienteering.asn.au/Events/Show/23832
Club members that have previously advised they are available for a team, please let our team captain know if you can’t attend, if you haven’t already done so. Email jistuart@bigpond.com
For those club members new to Metro League, come along and give it a try. It is a lot of fun. Division 6 is entry level and is graded Easy, Divisions 3-5 are Moderate and Divisions 1 & 2 are Hard navigation.
…ON THE DAY… This is a teams event, however you can still pre-enter as an individual runner if you prefer. You may be approached on the day if teams are short. Likewise if we have too many entries for teams you may be asked to run up or down a division or you can just compete as an individual runner for that day. You can find out more about the Metroleague at https://onsw.asn.au/events/metro-league
Congratulations to Phil Whitten who is the overall 2025 IKO Club Champion. Throughout the year Phil took part in a cross-section of local, Metroleague and State League events, competing in 15 of the 22 events held during the year (as well as being very fast!). He was in the winning Division 2 Metroleague league team and a placegetter in the NSW Championships coming 3rd in both the Middle distance and Long distance races in M35A.
Not to be outdone by her father, daughter Pippa Whitten was awarded the individual medal for Division 5 in the Metroleague competition and came home from the NSW Champs with a 2nd place in both the Middle and Long distance events in W14A. An excellent performance in her first year of competition.
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
