What is orienteering

What is competitive orienteering? Orienteering, outdoor competitive sport that is similar to cross-country running, but with emphasis on map-reading and direction-finding skills. Through woods and over hills or rough plains, contestants plot courses between isolated control points that must usually be visited in sequence.

I guess I should know, having lived here twelve years, but I don t. There is no set route so the skill and fun come from trying to find the best way to go.

Orienteering is an exciting outdoor adventure sport that exercises mind and body. In competitive orienteering, the challenge is to complete the course in the quickest time. Competitive orienteering involves using a detailed map and a compass to navigate around a course with designated control points which are drawn on a map.

The difference is that it involves walking or running while navigating around a course using a detailed map and sometimes a compass rather than following a set course. There is an element of problem-solving to orienteering as the aim is to navigate in the correct order between a set of control points, deciding on the best route to complete the course in the quickest time.

In its simplest and most common form, orienteering consists of navigating on foot between points on a pre-defined course drawn on a map. The aim is to navigate round all of the points in the correct order and in the fastest possible time.

Most events take place in the Scottish countryside, so you can connect with nature and enjoy the breathtaking scenery of our forests and glens. It involves competitive navigation using a map and compass - competitors choose their own way between control points. Often, orienteering takes place in a small enclosed area, so it allows you to orientate your map, find the next control point and head towards it, sometimes just by looking at your position and the landmarks around you.

Most orienteering takes place in woodland or on open hillsides, but can also take place in school playgrounds and urban parks. There is no marked route – the orienteer must navigate with map and compass while running. The map gives detailed information on the terrain such as hills, ground surface, obstacles etc. The route from one checkpoint to the next isn’t marked: Each participant decides the best route on the run (or walk).

Even top-level events have courses suitable for all ages and abilities in addition to those for elite athletes. Foot orienteering is an endurance sport which involves a huge mental element. To be successful in foot orienteering, the athlete needs excellent map reading skills, absolute concentration and the ability to make quick decisions on the best route while running at high speed.

There are many competitions where runners race between the control points. There are lots of other forms of orienteering too, such as car orienteering, ski orienteering, horse orienteering…and just about any mode of transport where you can navigate between different points. Competitors navigate their way between control points that are marked on a map drawn specially for Orienteering. They navigate using a compass and a description card.

There are two methods used to record whether you have visited the correct control points.

And the sport of orienteering takes. Competitors have to find their way between a series of checkpoints, called controls, as quickly as possible.

There’s no set route between the controls, so you have to decide which way to go and then find your way there without getting lost. You take part individually, and you don’t get to see the map with the course on it until the race starts, so you can’t plan your route or check out where the controls are in advance. Checkpoints are circled on a specially prepared map, and you decide your own route between them.

Should you go straight, through the forest and up the hill? Relay orienteering - Definition of Relay orienteering from SportsDefinitions. Usually carried out with three or four people in each team. Each member runs their own part of the route.

An orienteering map is a map specially prepared for use in orienteering competitions. It can be enjoyed either as a competitive. It is a topographic map with extra details to help the competitor navigate through the competition area.

These maps are much more detailed than general-purpose topographic maps, and incorporate a standard symbology that is designed to be useful to anyone, regardless of native language.