| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
The English name derives from Swedish orientering, "orientation". The Swedish word was likely chosen because it was more specific than orientation, yet recognizable.
Participants are given a map, usually of an area with which they are unfamiliar, and a compass. They attempt to visit, in sequence, control points that are indicated on the map. Competitive orienteering is a race to visit all controls in order shown on the map as fast as possible.
Orienteering originated in Scandinavia, as a military exercise, in the 19th century. The competitive sport form began in Sweden in 1919. It gained popularity with the development of more reliable compasses in the 1930s, and became an international phenomenon in the 1960s with its themes of open-air competition and environmental awareness.
Today, 63 different national orienteering federations are registered with the International Orienteering Federation, from every habitable continent. World championships are held annually (bi-annually before 2002), and orienteering is a sport in the World Games. The sport is dominated by the Nordic nations and Switzerland.
The start and finish areas and procedures generally resemble those for a cross-country race with a staggered start; the course in between, however, is unmarked beyond the symbols on the map that must be read correctly and followed to the controls.
High levels of fitness and running speed are required to compete successfully in elite-level orienteering, but success is also heavily dependent on choosing the fastest route between controls (while controls are always the same for the competitors in a particular category, the route they choose to reach the points may be very different). Competitors are often required to cross rough undeveloped terrain; accurate map- and compass-reading can make the difference for good race results.
Indeed, most competitors would say the single key to orienteering success is balancing the fatigue of racing with the mental alertness required to read the map clearly and make proper course selections to keep ahead.
Maps used for orienteering are usually more detailed, and more accurate, than general-purpose topographic maps. The detail is focussed towards what needs to be perceived at eye level, at a run; it must also convey any obstacles clearly. They are typically produced at scales of 1:10 000 or 1:15 000.
Controls are usually based around a visible feature, and explained on the map or on a special control description sheet. They are marked on the course by white and orange (or red) flags. A competitor marks their visit in some way; traditionally this was by using a punch placed at the flag, but events in the last few years have moved to an electronic chip carried by the competitor, which uses a device at the flag to record the visit time.
The lack of a marked course increases the flexibility of the competition area; many controls can be placed (each with a unique identifying number), with different sets of controls for different courses, allowing races of varying length and difficulty.
While a staggered start on a linear course is the standard method of orienteering, other ways of laying out and running the course are possible. A few are listed below.
Much like a standard relay, this involves teams of competitors each running the same short course, and scoring the team's total time. A variation is to set up multiple short courses in a small area, and have either team members, or even the same competitor repeatedly, run the different courses.
Taking the multiple-short-courses format a step further, this method uses a course with one general track, but with options of different controls at points along that course. Each competitior is given a list of the order that these controls must be visited in, and will run the course two or three times, each time visiting a different set of options. As different competitors will have different overall runs, they can run the course at the same time without being able to 'follow' each other reliably. A diagrammed example of this format can be found at the link at the bottom of the page. More recently, as maps become easier to reproduce, competitors are given a premade map for each run; thus they only need worry about the controls they are seeking at the time.