Manitoba Orienteering Association

About Orienteering

The basics of orienteering are easy to learn, but the sport offers a lifetime of physical and mental challenges. The sport provides events in which all levels participate together; elite and recreational orienteers, men and women, young children and over 90-year-olds all enjoy the sport together. Orienteering is truly a sport for all ages and abilities.


Using a specially marked detailed map of woods or parkland and a compass, orienteers navigate between marked checkpoints. Each competitor picks his or her own route according to individual map-reading skill and physical fitness. An orange and white control flag at each point allows competitors to confirm they found the right feature, and in larger events, electronic timing records their passage similar to a marathon. The challenge is to cover the ground as quickly as possible and find the checkpoints without hesitation or making navigational errors.


An orienteering planner designs courses offering different levels of difficulty by carefully selecting groups of control features which need a similar level of technical skill to find. For beginners and the very young, the flags are found on or close to trails, paths, fences and streams. Elite adult competitors navigate longer complex routes to knolls, depressions, boulders or clearings deep in the woods. For experienced, older orienteers, the courses are shorter and avoid very steep or rough terrain while maintaining navigation difficulty.


Orienteering promotes self-confidence and an enjoyment of the outdoors together with physical fitness, navigation, planning and decision-making skills. Novices learn how to use a map and compass to efficiently reach places they have never been before. Elite endurance athletes strive to minimize navigation errors while covering complex terrain at top speed. The greatest pleasure is in intelligently meeting the course planner's challenges and completing your course in the quickest time of the day.

 

For more details about the sport of orienteering, click here to see its Wikipedia article.


Videos and other media

 

Title Content Type Description Size
Follow me Cervara Video (.wmv) This is a video of Thierry Gueorgiou of France, a World Champion Orienteer.  This video shows him running through a technically and physically demanding urban Sprint course in Cervara, Italy.  Notice the numerous decisions he needs to make while running at a very fast speed. 5.45 MB
Follow me Tero Video (.wmv) This is a video of Thierry Gueorgiou of France, a World Champion Orienteer.  This video shows the orienteer running 2 legs of a typical Middle/Long distance event.  Notice how the runner's route between controls allows him to get there in the shortest possible time. 7.76 MB
Tib'O Video (.wmv) This video shows an 11 year-old boy competing in a typical course 1 at an orienteering event.  In order for this young boy to succeed he must be able to read a map properly, make hundreds of decisions very quickly, and physically move himself through demanding terrain. 9.04 MB
Jukula (video 1) Video (.wmv) These videos show some highlights from the annual Jukula Relay which takes place in Finland every June.  The men's relay teams consist of 7 members, and the female 4.  The relay begins at 11am, and the first teams cross the finish line between 6 and 7am.  In 2005, over 13,000 competitors competed!  The mass start is typical in relay events but not in the majority of events which usually use the interval starting system. 19.7 MB
Jukula (video 2) Video (.wmv) 7.25 MB
Beyond Course One Brochure - Page 1 Image (.gif) This brochure explains some common orienteering techniques that are helpful for completing advanced courses. 162 KB
Beyond Course One Brochure - Page 2 Image (.gif) 191 KB
CBC Radio interview with Don Roe Audio (.mp3) The is an audio recording of a radio interview with Don Roe regarding a canoe orienteering event held in 2002. 458 KB
Meet Safety, Rules & Ethics Document (.doc) This Word document lists general rules/guidelines for orienteering competitions. 30 KB