Tag Archives: orienteering

Volunteer of the Year 2022

Steve Holloway receiving his award from Ken

Congratulations to our very own Stephen Holloway who was awarded the honour of Volunteer of the Year for 2022 by Orienteering NSW.

The award was passed on to club President Ken Mills who presented it to Steve at our recent AGM in Wollongong. The Volunteer of the Year Award is presented to a member/s who are recognised for meritorious service to the sport of orienteering in NSW.

Making orienteering visible in the general community in the Illawarra region, Steve has been paramount in initiating and implementing hands-on workshops at Wollongong and Thirroul libraries to attract newcomers.  These successful 2-hr workshops offer the public a chance to experience orienteering instruction via a video then a hands-on demo course, followed by a course in the nearby local area.  More library workshops are being considered for this year. 

Steve also provides coaching in local schools to support their orienteering programs and is an invaluable and pro-active member of our club.  Well done Steve, we appreciate everything you do for our club and our sport!

Illawarra Map Running #2 Fairy Meadow

It was all smiles at our 2nd event of the Illawarra Map Running Series today at Fairy Meadow. Course setter Vicki made the most of Guest Park and Cabbage Tree Creek with a few slightly hilly forays into the surrounding streets for the medium and long courses.

We had 30 starters including 7 newcomers and a couple of visiting Austrian orienteers who came first and second on the medium course! David and Helen provided great instruction at the start for those new to the sport.

The short series concludes next week at Figtree where Ken and Helen have warned us that our feet may get wet!

Below are just a few of the happy faces snapped at today’s event. See Facebook for more photos.

Next local event: North Cronulla

Our next local event will be next Saturday 6 August at North Cronulla. Its always a nice map to run on with something for everyone – sand dunes, beach, coastal reserves and nice new real-estate to admire. Don Lucas Reserve is a fantastic place to start – plenty of space, great amenities and a big playground and bike paths to keep the younger members of the family entertained.

Lets cross all our collective fingers for some sunshine!

Entries are open now on Eventor.

Lets try orienteering @ Wollongong Library

IKO is pleased to be partnering with Wollongong Library for an introductory workshop on orienteering. The workshop on Saturday 30 July at 1pm will include an introductory presentation on orienteering and a fun demonstration event around the streets and parks of Wollongong.

Anyone who wants to learn more about orienteering and how to get started is welcome to join and the event is FREE!

Follow the link below to register with the library:

https://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/library/library-events/adult-wol/lets-try…-orienteering-wollongong-library

REMINDER: This weekend we also have our club training day at Belanglo Forest on Saturday and the SHOO Highland Forest event on Sunday, also at Belanglo. See previous posts for more details.

IKO Secretary sets course of the year

Congratulations to Sue Froude, long time member and secretary for IKO, for winning “course of the year” at Rushcutters Bay in this year’s Sydney Summer Series (SSS). Sue tied with Richard Patterson of Bennelong Northside Orienteers for his St Ives Bungaroo event.

Not only did Sue set an interesting and challenging course amongst the parks, streets and laneways of Woolloomooloo, Kings Cross and Rushcutters Bay but she also mapped the area. Her win was no surprise to those helping out on the day as many of the finishers commented on the quality of the map and the course.  The Rushcutters Bay event on 5 January 2022 was the first foray by IKO in the SSS. The club has already been asked to run an event in the series next summer.