News Archive

News

Share  Tweet Thursday 18th July 2019

Looking to try a new sport during the summer holidays?

TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT THIS SUMMER.  GO ORIENTEERING.

WHAT IS ORIENTEERING?

Orienteering is a sport that combines map reading and running. You have to find your 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.

At each control point is an orange and white control flag as well as an electronic punch which records that you have visited the control. When you finish you get an immediate computer printout which tells you your overall time, and your time between each control.

Orienteering is a sport for all ages and abilities.

Photo credit: BOC 2018
Photo credit: Steve Rush (BOK)

GETTING STARTED

A great way to get started in orienteering is to attend your local Community Orienteering Club that provides weekly training and activities that will enable you to develop your orienteering skills in a non-competitive and social environment. If you have never orienteered before this is the ideal place to learn the basic skills and meet people from the local club. To find your local Orienteering Club visit the find a club page on the British Orienteering website.

To get started all you need is a pair of trainers and comfortable sports clothes. At the event, you will be given a map and a mechanism for recording your visits to the control points marked on the map. The majority of events now use electronic punching cards (dibbers) to prove you have visited the controls in the correct order.

Permanent Orienteering Courses are also great fun. To find your nearest course visit the Permanent Orienteering Course page on the British Orienteering website.

EVENTS

To experience the full excitement of orienteering you can attend an orienteering event. An event will have courses that are run according to age class and gender or courses that are classified by length and difficulty. Winning requires running speed and stamina, as well as the ability to find the quickest route between controls. To find an orienteering event visit the Event Fixtures Page on the British Orienteering website.

Are you interested in orienteering, but don’t know enough about the sport?
This set of Frequently Asked Questions will help you find out more.

Top