what makes a good orienteering course?

Orienteering courses require a large venue. While a short course can be held on a campus or a city park, a standard forest orienteering course needs at least 400 acres. It is also important to make sure the map has interesting features like fences and buildings.

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What are the basic skills in orienteering?

• Fold your map so that you can comfortably hold it in one hand.
• Align the long edge of the compass with the direction that you need to go.
• Rotate your whole body until the compass needle and the north lines on the map are lined up.
• The long edge of the compass and the direction of travel arrow now point in the direction you need to go.

How to start orienteering?

Part 2 Part 2 of 3: Participating in a Basic Orienteering Course Download Article

1. Study your map. When you start your race, take a moment to look at the topographical map which will consist of a start, a series of control sites connected ...
2. Orient your compass with your map. Your map will have an arrow indicating north. ...
3. Look for your first control site. ...
4. Punch your card or electronic dibber. ...

What are some good orienteering skills to learn?

• Point features in a row, like rocks or termite mounds
• Sometimes different vegetation forms a line in the terrain
• A ridge or spur

How to select your orienteering course?

Choose the course which challenges your current skill level but is still easy enough to be fun for you. White – for the beginner. Yellow – for the experienced beginner. Orange – for the intermediate level orienteer. Brown – shorter course for the advanced orienteer. Green – short course for the advanced orienteer.

How do you make an orienteering course?

Set up a 100-foot course near your meeting place. As Scouts arrive, have them walk the course and calculate their pace (how far they travel every two steps). Draw a large chalk circle on the parking lot. Place an index card marked “North” at the northernmost point.

What are the six types of orienteering course?

There are: relays, night orienteering, cross-country ski orienteering, mountain bike orienteering, horseback orienteering, handicap orienteering (Trail O), long-course, short-course, and sprint orienteering.

What are the four basic orienteering skills?

SkillsNOTE: The content here is for those who are ready to build their skills and are seeking guidance. You do not need to know any of this in order to show up at and enjoy an orienteering event! ... Basic Skills. Orienting the Map. ... Basic Skills. ... Thumbing the Map. ... Line Features. ... Catching Features. ... Reading the Map. ... Contours.More items...

What do you look for in orienteering?

Orienteering involves competitive navigation along a course, using a map and compass. Competitors find their way from checkpoint to checkpoint (called controls) in the shortest time possible. So they must decide on the best route and then make it there without getting lost.

Why is orienteering not an Olympic sport?

In the 1980's we were told that the IOC was saying Orienteering lacked the required number of member countries on the required number of continents to be considered. Orienteering has long since passed those modest threshholds but it seems no closer to being on any Olympic program.

What are the 2 types of orienteering what are their differences?

Most cycle orienteering courses are much longer than traditional foot courses. Cycle orienteering for adults is divided into two main categories: Mountain Bike Orienteering Score (MBO Score) and Multi-Terrain Bike Orienteering (MTBO). In MBO Score, riders use an OS map marked with controls.

What is the most important piece of equipment in orienteering?

A compass is the main gadget (after map), that you need for orienteering. It's important for a correct navigation. Some people participate in orienteering events without a compass, but likelihood of going in the wrong direction is high, especially for the beginner, who does not have a good map reading skills.

What type of map is most commonly used in orienteering?

Nowadays, most orienteering events are held on five-color maps that have 5 meter contour intervals (16.5 feet) and have a scale of 1:15,000 (preferred) or 1:10,000 (1 cm = 100 meters). Most of the characteristics of orienteering maps are related to those found on hiking and general use maps produced by the government.

Who was known as the father of orienteering?

It was not until 1919 that the modern version of orienteering was born in Sweden as a competitive sport. Ernst Killander, its creator, can be rightfully called the father of orienteering. In the early thirties, the sport received a technical boost with the invention of a new compass, more precise and faster to use.

How can I improve my orienteering skills?

How to Improve Your OrienteeringBefore you start study the map and legend. ... Don't think of the competition as a race. ... Never run at absolute top speed. ... Try not to stop. ... Don't stand still if you're lost and can't work it out. ... Don't run on 'feel'.More items...

Why compass is important in orienteering?

Compasses are useful for taking bearings and for orienting the map so that it is aligned with the terrain - but it is possible, in most areas, to complete a course quite easily and efficiently without a compass (an exception: it would be difficult to navigate flat areas poor in prominent features without a compass).

When was orienteering invented?

First developed in the 19th century to test the navigational competence of the Swedish military, these days orienteering is a worldwide affair. It not only has its own international governing body, but also hundreds of thousands of meet participants who compete at local, regional, and national levels.

What is Empire Orienteering Club?

Empire Orienteering Club: A club organizing meets in the New York area. Bay Area Orienteering Club: A San Francisco-based club that organizes meets in up and down the state of California. Quantico Orienteering Club: A Virginia-based club that organizes meets and more serious races in the Mid-Atlantic region.

What are the best things to come out of Konungariket Sverige?

Over the years, the Swedes have blessed the world with many fine offerings—ABBA, IKEA, meatballs, the Pacemaker, and the Nobel Prize are just a few. But for our money, one of the best things to ever come out of Konungariket Sverige is a sport that’s only beginning to find its footing in North America: orienteering.

What does Kieran do?

He climbs when he should be writing, writes when he should be sleeping, has fun always. Kieran has taught mountaineering, ice climbing, and single-pitch and multi-pitch rock climbing in a variety of contexts over the years and has led trekking and mountaineering expeditions in the Alps, Rockies, and UK.

How do orienteers record their visit?

Back in the day, orienteers would record their visit to each “control”—control points on the map to which you must navigate—using a simple paper punch. Nowadays, most events use an electronic “e-punch” that records your visit when you insert an electronic timing stick.

What to wear to a first meet?

When heading to your first meet, we recommend you bring and wear the following: Outdoor footwear: hiking boots, trail shoes, or trail runners, depending on the terrain and how fast you plan on going. Outdoor clothing: the usual layering system adapted to suit weather conditions.

Is orienteering good for you?

If fun isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other reasons why taking up orienteering is a good idea for the outdoor adventurer. Whether you consider yourself primarily a hiker, backpacker, trail-runner, or navigation geek, orienteering adds another element to your regular schtick.

What are the steps to successful orienteering?

Plan, Picture, Direction – 3 steps to successful orienteering. To help you put these ideas into practice, Better Orienteering uses a simple model of 3 steps to think about when navigating – Plan, Picture, Direction. To get round an orienteering course successfully, for each leg of the course you should:

What are the different types of orienteering?

Orienteering competitions are divided into the following types: Foot orienteering There are races at different distances – Sprint, Middle, Long and Ultra-long – and on different types of terrain – urban, forest, moorland.

What scale is a race in Orienteering?

Orienteering races take place in many types of terrain including woodland, moorland and urban areas. Urban maps are usually at 1:4000 scale (every centimetre on the map is 40 metres on the ground), or sometimes 1:5000, showing lots of detail around buildings. Woodland and moorland maps are usually at 1:10,000 (1 cm on map = 100 metres on the ground) or 1:15,000 scale (1 cm om map = 150 m on ground), giving a slightly less detailed view of a bigger area of terrain.

What is the most popular compasse for orienteering?

Thumb compasses are the most popular compasses for orienteering. Most of the time you won’t need to do more than use the red compass needle to keep the map lined up to north, however, this explanation from Silva shows how you can get more from it if you need to, by taking a bearing between points on the map.

How to get around a course?

To get round an orienteering course successfully, for each leg of the course you should: 1 Plan – Make a Plan before you set off. Try to follow hand rails such as paths. 2 Picture – identify what you will see on the way.

What does it mean when you register for a course?

When you register for a course they will help you pick a course that is suitable for your fitness, experience and age group. The major competitions are split into age classes instead where you will be competing against people of similar age to ensure a fair race.

How to plan a course?

The obvious way to plan a course is to sit down with a map and a pencil, drawing it on as you go along. Unfortunately, every rubbing-out takes some of the ink with it: this becomes very wasteful in maps.

What are the rules for winter golf?

For an event in winter, aim for course lengths which are on the short side - it is better for competitors to be out for too short a time in the event of good weather than for them to be out for too long in bad weather.

What to do if you have a mixture of open and wooded?

If you have a mixture of, say, open and wooded, try for repeated changes from one to the other rather than just starting in one and finishing in the other.

What Do All Good Orienteering Compasses Have?

All good orienteering compasses should have a clear base plate, straight sides, a needle housing filled with liquid, and two separate arrows: one direction arrow and one orienting arrow.

What Two Arrows Should A Good Orienteering Compass Have?

a direction arrow on the base plate, used for pointing the compass from your start point to end point

How To Use An Orienteering Compass

An orienteering compass is used for navigating through unfamiliar or difficult terrain. It will help you find your way, even when the path isn’t clearly marked.

The Best Orienteering Compass

Our top pick for the best orienteering compass is the Suunto MC-2 D/L Mirror Sighting Compass.