Orienteering is an outdoor sport that exercises both your body and your mind. The aim is to navigate yourself from point to point round a course using a specially prepared orienteering map. You can take part in a group or as an individual. Anyone can take part, and age isn't a barrier either: there are babies in pushchairs or sling going around their first courses and the oldest members of British Orienteering are in their nineties! In fact, a fairly high proportion of orienteers only start as adults. You set your own pace and competitors range from speedy elite runners, to regular fitness-orientated runners, to weekend warriors, and those just out for a walk. There is a course for everyone: short to long, and easy to difficult.
Have a look at this video by multiple British Champion Graham Gristwood Start Orienteering - a Newcomer's Guide to see what to expect.
For your first event, dress as you would for a walk or jog in your local park. There will always be someone available to help you choose a suitable course and explain the basics to you to get you started.
There are different ways you can try orienteering:
- At an orienteering event: organised meetings which will have many different courses on offer and where you will be able to speak to someone to get help. Feel the buzz of being at an event with other orienteers! See our events page for more information and read here about what to expect at an event
- MapRun: use a smartphone to go orienteering when it suits you. There are loads of courses all round the UK. See our MapRun page for more information.
- Permanent orienteering courses: these are typically in country parks and have permanent markers (usually wooden posts). Again, these are activities that you can do whenever suits you. To see where there are other courses nationally, have a look at www.goorienteering.org.uk
Orienteering is fun exercise where you need to think about what you are doing and where you are going. Read about some of the health benefits of orienteering.
The fundamentals
In any type of orienteering, the aim is to navigate yourself from point to point round a course on a specially prepared orienteering map. You can take part in a group or as an individual. You decide which route to take and set your own pace. You don't need to be fantastically fit as you can take part at walking pace.
The start of the course is marked on the map by a triangle. The start and all control sites are marked on the ground by an orange and white flag. The finish is marked by two concentric circles on the map and an orange and white flag on the ground. There are generally also banners at the start and finish.
Participants are generally set off on their course in a staggered way, at a minimum of one minute intervals. There may be more than one person or group starting at the same time, but they will be on different courses. Because of the staggered starts, start times will stretch over at least two hours at an event, which gives flexibility to those who would like to start earlier in the day, or later. It also allows parents with small children to alternate between taking part individually and looking after the little ones.
Warning! When out on your course, it is a bad idea to follow anyone as they are likely to be on a different course. Or even if you know they are on your course, they could go wrong and lead you the wrong way!
When out on your course you will carry a small electronic timing chip (a "dibber") which registers when you have reached each control (including the start and finish controls). Regular orienteers will tend to buy their own personal dibber but they are available to rent at events (or may be included in the entry fee) if you don't have one.
At the end of your course, 'dib' the finish control. At an event, you'll then be directed to Download to get a printout of your results. For safety, you must always go to download to let the organisers know you're back, even if you didn't find all the controls.