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Mapping is the one of the most rewarding and enjoyable roles. Not only does it improve your navigation skills, but it can also provide you with a different and new type of orienteering challenge.
The British Orienteering E-Learning Mapping Courses, Introduction to updating Forest Mapping and Introduction to Sprint and Urban Mapping , developed with the expertise of David Olivant (Nottinghamshire Orienteering Club) and the educational robustness of Pauline Olivant (Nottinghamshire Orienteering Club) .
Both courses are based around learners having access to either of the two most widely used mapping programs, Open Orienteering Mapper and OCAD.
We strongly advise that you seek an experienced mapper as a mentor to support you through your journey towards being a competent mapper.
Both courses are based on updating an existing map and rather than creating a new map from a previously unmapped area.
Course objectives
- To provide an introduction and basic understanding of the processes involved in how to update and amend an existing Orienteering map.
The course content is designed to only address the course objective rather than attempting to cover the full scope of Mapping. As we recognise that Mapping is a skill that takes much time and practice to hone.
The course should only take around 45- 60 mins to complete and for the whole of May is only £6.00
To access the course and find out more information about our other E-Learning courses, please visit the E-Learning homepage.
Interested in learning about our other E-Learning courses on offer? Visit the E-Learning homepage and access information on all the other resources we provide.
AIRE and CLARO look forward to seeing you all at the British Middle Championships this coming weekend.
You have entered in greater numbers than we anticipated, but we have adapted to cater for you all as best we can. Both Danefield and Kilnsey Moor is a lovely places in the Spring sunshine and we really hope the weather is kind so that you can enjoy it at its best. The technical woodland of Danefield is in sharp contrast to the fast open areas of Kilnsey. You should enjoy some great orienteering on both days. Str8 compasses is sponsoring a lot of prizes for the Northern Championships and the British Middles so run well and good luck.
Start times and final details are published, maps are printed and lots of equipment is ready to move. No controls are out yet, but we have been busy at Kilnsey as you may be able to see from a picture. There are a variety of crossing points on Kilnsey Moor – many of you will only encounter this one. There are no stiles to cross at Danefield you’ll be relieved to know.
We will be able to accommodate you all in the parking areas for both events, but as always, it would help if you car shared as much as possible. The Danefield field has remained in good condition throughout the winter, but as some rain has been forecast over the coming days we will have some tracking available. Kilnsey has the delight of hard standing in the quarry. We can’t promise that you will keep your feet dry, but at least cars should not get stuck in the mud as might have happened at some recent events. We’re hoping that’s true for Danefield. Definitely true for Kilnsey!
Anyone wanting to carry a club tent to Danefield, could reduce the distance to carry the tent by 800m by using the drop off point suggested in the event details. It would need to be a rapid drop-off as there are often no parking bays available. They are all quite uneven, and the road is very narrow. To get back to the parking field it is best to not attempt a 5 point turn but to drive in an anti-clockwise route with LH turns for 2.5k to get back to the parking field. This should take no morfme than 5 minutes.
Have a great weekend.
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Full details on the British Middle Championships are available via this link. Visit the CLARO website for more details regarding the Northern Championships. Good luck to everyone taking part!
As agreed at the AGM 2023, from 1 May 2024 British Orienteering would like to offer an exclusive part-year Membership to new members.
New members are individuals who have not been members of British Orienteering in any of the previous four calendar years.
Part year membership fees 2024
Seniors – £10
Young adults – £7.50
Juniors – £3.00
Families – £25.00 (all members must be new members and not on the database to take up this offer).
No memberships will be merged with existing memberships.
Please note from 1 January 2025, any “new” members will need to renew their membership for 2025.
Find out more about how to join online today.
Before the big summer competitions kick off soon, the British team for both European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) and Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) had the opportunity to head to Denmark for some extra “terrain time”.
Visiting this part of Denmark allowed the JWOC athletes to revisit areas near, and therefore very relevant, to this years’ competition, as well as offering EYOC athletes the chance to get some quality races under their belt before heading to Belarus in a couple of days time.
Pre-EYOC / JWOC Camp Reflections
Alice Wilson
Clydeside Orienteers
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Friday 7 June 2019
Ten hours after a 4:30am wakeup call in Edinburgh and two flights later, we touched down in the small airport at Aarhus. Although a little tired, the glorious weather persuaded us that our legs needed a shakeout in a local forest near the hotel that we were staying at, and so the team headed to an area called Vesterskov, were a group of us jogged round picking up on details about the maps and the terrain.
Saturday 8 June 2019
The sprint was the first race of the weekend; however, as our start times were not until the afternoon, people did their own thing in the morning. Some of the JWOC athletes headed to another training area, while others had a bit more of a relaxed morning having a splash around in the hotel pool and having a catch-up session with the coaches about our final preparations for the big competitions ahead.
The sprint took place in an area made up of big blocks of flats surrounded by grassland near Aarhus. Since runners were taking part from many different nations (some of who were using it as a selection race), it was great to experience a major competition atmosphere. The race itself was well planned and definitely kept runners on their toes, meaning that it provided good preparation for what is to come at EYOC.
After a shower and dinner, it was time for our evening review session, which this evening consisted of reviewing today’s sprint and discussing the similarities and differences with those to come at JWOC and EYOC. After that, we shifted our focus on the next day’s discipline – the long distance race. For the JWOC athletes, this involved them doing a bit of analysis on the area that they will be running on, however, those of us who are heading to EYOC could not do the same as there is currently no map of the long area available. Therefore, the EYOC group of Rachel Brown, Lizzie Stansfield, Rona Lindsay and I analysed other surrounding areas to which think might be relevant.
Sunday 9 June 2019
Big race day. With moderately early start times, the British team were able to get out into the Scandi skog that is Himmelbjerget in all its glory. The area itself was a lot greener than we expected, which definitely provided more physical challenges than anticipated. However, having not done an orienteering race this long before, I was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed it, and how I felt during it – which, at least in part, was probably partly down to the absolutely fabulous hotel breakfast buffet. Our early start times meant that we were out of the forest by lunch time, which left a nice block of time recovery, or, in other words, for spending lots of time at the pool and in the sauna.
As we did every other evening, after dinner we headed off to our review session, which this evening looked at what we can take away from the long as well as looking forward to the middle, for both tomorrow and the JWOC competition.
Monday 10 June 2019
The middle race took place on the same area as the previous day, yet it never got boring. The middle had about half the distance but similar climb to the long, meaning that you knew that you were in for a treat. The beginning was very runnable and fast, but quickly became very much the opposite. Middle races can be fast, but this one certainly was not. It is safe to say that quite a bit of time was spent hacking through green, and that it was definitely an area where mistakes were being made. However, in my opinion, this race was really valuable as it allowed as all, and especially the JWOC athletes, useful insight into what the JWOC areas may be like.
Overall, I loved spending a few days in Denmark and, as someone who has not participated in big international competitions before, it gave me a taste of what EYOC will be like, as well as giving me the opportunity to brainstorm in a group with other athletes about the races.
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Thank you Alice! Wishing you all the very best with the rest of your training preparations.
British Orienteering would like to wish all the GB athletes selected to compete at this year's European Youth Orienteering Championships taking place in a few days time all the very best and we look forward to following the GB team's performance throughout these Championships and at the Junior World Orienteering Championships in a couple of weeks time.
Scholes Mill, Old Coach Road, Tansley, Matlock, DE4 5FY
Tel: 01629 583037, Email: info@britishorienteering.org.uk
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