So What is Orienteering? 

Heather Thomson

Physiotherapist at Framework clinics

Generally, orienteering takes place in fabulous countryside locations which has taken me around Scotland, Great Britain & now also abroad visiting areas that I would not have seen otherwise, alongside the array of wildlife these areas contain. However, orienteering events now frequently take place within towns & cities in local parks as well as around the streets which makes it very accessible for anyone wanting to come & have a go!

At it's simplest level, a planner creates a course and the participants use a map to make their way round choosing their own route from the start to each "control" site in the correct order to the finish. Some may remember having to punch their map with a pin punch if they had the opportunity to have a go at school.

Nowadays, technology has brought in electronic "punching" where a small "dibber" is carried on a finger & used to "punch" an electronic box at each control. The essential rule of orienteering is to always report to the finish - with the dibber, this allows a download of the controls you visited & printed record of your course that day, as well as a double check for the organisers that everyone who started has safely returned.


Ah, so it is for walkers with a map then?

Yes & no!

At an introductory level, Clubs hold local "Come and Try It" events & frequently families attend if we are in their local park & enjoy a walk round, even with push chairs if the area is not too hilly. Children can also try the easiest course first & then try a slightly longer or more challenging course if they have the energy to try again.

At the other end of the spectrum, elite athletes compete on a world stage with the recent Junior World Orienteering Championships being held in Switzerland and last year the World Orienteering Championships were held here in Scotland. These are athletes at the top of their game with regular training sessions every week to reach peak fitness both physically & technically for the complex terrain they run at speed through.


Who can take part?

One of the fantastic aspects of this sport is that anyone can take part at any level of ability - in a recent year my Club had active participants from 8 weeks old (okay, they did have help from dad!) through to 80 years old. The youngest begin with a fun string course to follow to help them become familiar with map colours and
symbols. Beyond this level courses are colour-coded from White through to Black with the lighter colours being the easiest where courses mainly follow paths within the event area.

Although age classes are used for some competitions, anyone can choose to participate at whichever distance or difficulty of course that they prefer to do from the colour coded maps available at an event. One note of caution though - the distance given for the course is the straight line distance around the course. In reality, participants will cover a longer distance than this as they may choose to use a path round a hill rather than a straight line over the top which can be more tiring. Regular runners have been caught out by this when they try orienteering for the first time - better to start with a course shorter than the distance you would normally run as the navigation aspect takes practice!

As people progress through the levels, the courses become longer & require them to make more complex decisions which involve travelling across terrain rather than following a path network. As a result we have the great pleasure of visiting some fantastic areas all over Scotland and beyond - how many other people will have had the opportunity to be off the paths within the forests of Balmoral Castle?