Sydney Illawarra Kart Club

19/06/2026

Changes to Practice ON RACE WEEKENDS ONLY!

In order to give more value back to competitors who race with us and increase the amount of practice that competitors get IMMEDIATELY before an event, we're making practice only available to competitors ON THE DAY BEFORE A RACE DAY (and at a discounted rate)!

This plan also allows us to charge a little less for practice on those day - $50 across the board for all entrants.

When you enter a race, you now have the option to register for and pay for practice via the portal (see second image) and just like entry fees, if you cancel before entries close then we will refund, or you have a valid reason (like being sick), up to Saturday 4pm.

For anyone who has already entered the upcoming Round 3 (or people who change their mind about practice) we'll send out an email with a link to register for practice after entries close (and it will remain at the discounted rate!).

There are still hundreds of other days available for all other KNSW and club members to practice, but we were finding that running up to 7 or 8 different sessions to account for all ages, experience levels and engine types too restrictive with the increasing numbers we're getting at our races.

In the future this setup will also allow the club to offer Come and Try type sessions before or after practice days and continue to develop and bring new people into the sport.

We know this may upset some people who don't race or who are starting out their journey and are trying to get up to speed, but we think it's in the best interests of the competitors to add this restriction (which will only be for 5 or 6 Saturdays per year).

11/06/2026

Junior Development Program- Self esteem Part 2
.....
This comes down to skilful parenting.

When I was waiting on the grid recently, and a dad told me he bought 5 motors, and spent countless hours on a dyno developing the most powerful motor he can, I kind of knew we weren't going to be running away from them in the race. Instead, we reset our interpretation of a good result. Top 5 would be a win. Next race we will then aim for one better. We could have set top 10 as a win, but I'm sure you get the point. I want our little bloke to keep his self esteem intact, so I'm not basing his self worth off having to win to get acknowledged and respected by me. Not all kids are going to win, but setting goals which are realistic, like improving times and improving finishing positions will still enable a child to build self esteem.
When your child pulls up on the in-grid, always have a positive comment to make. Keep the conversation on the drive home positive, and point out what things they did well, like a good overtaking move for example. Set the goals for the next event then, keeping them realistic and motivating.
Always remember;
Praise in public, criticise in private, not the other way around.
Lastly, it's your child's sport, not yours. Keep your ego and feelings out of the conversation. It's all about helping your child progress and grow- and develop their Self Esteem.

See you at the track,

Gary.

11/06/2026

Junior Development Program- Self esteem. PART 1

One of the most important developmental stages in a child/teen is that of self esteem.
Self esteem is developed through a child/teen gaining sufficient success in various areas of life, such as school, home-life and often sport.
Karting though has an aspect of it that makes success more difficult than most other sports. The kart itself. When a child/teen participates in a swimming meet, or tennis tournament for example, it's them and their training standards versing another child and their training standards. No external influences. With karting though, as we are all no doubt aware, there can be large differences between the performance characteristics of different karts. To put it straight, some parents are prepared to spend huge amounts of money on their child/teens kart, others have a limit. This can create an uneven event, yet as parents we still want to see our kids enjoy the sport and still develop their self esteem while not achieving the results that they and the family had hoped for.
This comes down to skillful parenting....Part 2 to follow

Gary

10/06/2026

After our committee meeting on Monday night we are full steam ahead for Round 3 of the Club Championship (entries are now open) and we're also working on our Round of Dunlop Kart Stars at the end of July!

07/06/2026

Our final Club Championship class is TAG 125 Light and here's the standings after 2 rounds.

Please remember that the worst round is yet to be eliminated. For each class we'll be posting the top 5 and those with red helmets haven't yet completed their compulsory club duty (which needs to be done by the last round otherwise drivers aren't eligible for trophies).

If your name hasn't appeared in the results and you think it should have, please ensure that you have a current club membership (easy to miss if you are a member of multiple clubs) and if rectified, please email the club at [email protected] to we'll look after you!

06/06/2026

That's a SERIOUS camera rig!

05/06/2026

Here's the current club championship standings after two rounds for TAG Restricted Heavy

Please remember that the worst round is yet to be eliminated. For each class we'll be posting the top 5 and those with red helmets haven't yet completed their compulsory club duty (which needs to be done by the last round otherwise drivers aren't eligible for trophies).
If your name hasn't appeared in the results and you think it should have, please ensure that you have a current club membership (easy to miss if you are a member of multiple clubs) and if rectified, please email the club at [email protected] to we'll look after you!

04/06/2026

Junior Development Program- Drug and Alcohol referral.

As I promised before the last round of racing, here is the second part of post.

As parents, we all want the best outcomes for our children. As they enter their teenage years they become exposed to different types of people, problems, and stresses. Unfortunately they are also exposed to alcohol and drugs.

In my career of working with high performance individuals, nothing can ruin a young person's future more than the misuse of either of these.

When your teen goes out with friends, we can only hope that they are strong enough, and sensible enough to remember that all their dreams and aspirations for the future can be ruined by bad choices.

As parents we can only do our best in educating our children of the dangers, but ultimately it is their choice that counts.

Motorsport requires high levels of reflex and judgment skills. These are both substantially impaired by drug or alcohol abuse. While all of my friends and associates who compete at high levels of motorsport may have a social drink from time to time, heavy use, or drug use, is out of the equation completely.

If you notice negative changes in your teen, such as mood changes, social withdrawal, drops in academic performance, missing money/valuables, secretive behaviour, bloodshot or glassy eyes, then seek help yourself to know how to deal with the difficult times ahead.

A great resource can be found with Lifeline.

They can be contacted on 1800 250 015.

Karting is a fantastic sport in itself, or can be a lead in to other forms of Motorsport. All the hard work by the young driver, and all the hard work by the family, requires behaviour's off the track to be just as disciplined and focused. To all you Junior SIKC members, don't try to 'fit in' with a group if their behaviour's can damage your future in the sport you have worked so hard to achieve in. Be a Lion not a Sheep, say no thanks,

Gary.

03/06/2026

Now to the hotly contested results for the Senior Club Championship classes. Starting with TAG Restricted Light.

Please remember that the worst round is yet to be eliminated. For each class we'll be posting the top 5 and those with red helmets haven't yet completed their compulsory club duty (which needs to be done by the last round otherwise drivers aren't eligible for trophies).

If your name hasn't appeared in the results and you think it should have, please ensure that you have a current club membership (easy to miss if you are a member of multiple clubs) and if rectified, please email the club at [email protected] to we'll look after you!

03/06/2026