What is Orienteering?

Orienteering involves finding one’s way through the countryside, typically bushland, with the aid of a map and compass.  A small portion of a map is illustrated below. Full size maps can be seen on another page.

You can start with an orienteering course that is a pleasant stroll, either alone or in a group, along bush tracks, and then progress when you wish to the more demanding courses as your navigating skills and fitness improve.  Hence at any orienteering event there is the competitive sporting challenge for the more serious competitor, or an opportunity to enjoy orienteering as a relaxing recreational activity.  For the more competitive the aim is to complete the course in the shortest possible time, hence both physical fitness and ability to read maps become important.

To complete an orienteering course may take as little as 20 minutes for a short easy course, or up to 3 hours for a longer difficult course. 

Orienteering can be enjoyed by both young and old, either as a relaxing recreation or as a competitive sport. 

Orienteering is an activity well-suited to people of all ages and abilities.  Hence it is an ideal family sport as parents and children can all participate at any event, choosing the courses which best suit their abilities. 

Participants at any event include both club members and non-members.  There are benefits in joining one of the five Adelaide-based and four country clubs.  Although you do not have to be a member of a Club to participate in Orienteering events (other than S.A. and Australian Championships), some benefits of joining a Club are:

• significantly reduced fees at events;
• you receive the SA Orienteer  and Australian Orienteer containing details of coming events, results and articles of interest on orienteering;
• Club newsletters and social activities, and opportunities to meet and know more people. 

At any orienteering event there will be several orienteering courses from which you can choose.  An orienteering course requires the participants to visit a number of locations on the ground with the aid of an orienteering map.  The course is marked on the map by a series of red circles, with the feature which you must visit in the centre of the circle.  These features range from track junctions, gullies, and creeks to smaller point features such as large boulders.  The features which the orienteer must visit are called controls, each of which is marked by a control stand with an orange and white flag.  Each control is identified by a unique number, so that you know you are at the right feature when you find it.

At an event there may be up to 10 courses which vary both in length (from around 1.5 up to 15 km), and in their navigational difficulty.  Completing an orienteering course may take about 20-40 minutes for the easier courses, and 1-2 hours for experienced orienteers on the more difficult courses.  Newcomers to orienteering should try the shorter “Easy” or “Very Easy” courses first.

The navigational difficulty is described as follows:
Very Easy   - these courses will almost always follow tracks, or other easy to follow features such as fences or large creeks, suitable for a newcomer of any age;
Easy  - similar to the very easy course, but some opportunities for cross-country legs, hence carrying a compass is recommended; also suitable for the newcomer of any age;
Moderate - these courses provide lots of opportunity for cross country legs, hence as you gain confidence, in understanding of orienteering maps and use of the compass, these will provide more of a challenge;
Hard - these are the most difficult courses, which almost exclusively go cross-country and have the most difficult control features, suitable for the experienced only.

The orienteering map is made specially for bush navigation and shows much more detail than most other maps.  Long arrows across the map show the direction of magnetic north, whilst a scale bar will show the scale of the map.  Different types of features have characteristic coloured symbols as follows:

• white  sections are for average forest, green  patches are for thicker bush which will impede your progress, and yellow  are areas of open land.
• black  is for tracks, fences, power lines and rocky features
• blue  is for water features such as creeks (although these are often dry)
• brown  is for earth features, including contour lines to show land shape.

A key feature of orienteering is that you should find your way around your course without help from other orienteers. Competitors on the same course therefore have different start times, mostly at 2 minute intervals. You may choose your own start time on the day, within the time specified by the organising club (usually between 10 am and 12.30pm for Sunday events). 

At an event information boards will describe the courses which are available and any other information which you need to know.  However if you need help ask at the registration desk or someone wearing a red ‘ASK ME’ vest.  These people will help you decide which course to do and tell you what to do next.  You should choose the course which suits your experience; one of the easier courses if you are new to the sport.  You can always tackle a harder course later.

Start times for each event are listed in the event program.  You can arrive and start at any time between the designated times.  Although the more serious competitors generally complete courses individually, courses can also be done in groups - just let the people at registration know if several people are going together. 

If you do not complete all of the course which you have chosen, always report to the finish so the organisers know that there are no competitors still out in the bush at the conclusion of the event. There will be a course closure time for each event, normally 90 minutes after the latest start time, and you must return to the finish by that time to enable the organisers to ensure you are safe. 

Now is a good time to set up the barbecue, make a start on lunch and have a drink, relaxing in the clean forest air away from the stress of the city. For more information about any event contact the organising Club as listed in the event Program, or see the latest copy of the SA Orienteer.

NB. In general, dogs are not permitted at orienteering events as they may disturb native wildlife or stock. 

Signs are placed at the locations described in the orienteering programme to direct participants to the event assembly area. You should expect to encounter one or more of the following signs: 

What Do I Need?

Comfortable walking shoes or joggers.
Preferably long trousers to protect your legs from scratchy bush.
A drink bottle which you can carry, although water stops are provided on the longer courses.
A rain coat in wet weather; hat and sunscreen for sunny days.
A protractor type compass – these are available for hire at events.
A plastic whistle – these can be purchased at events.

TYPES OF EVENTS

Sunday Events – these form the main event programme, are almost exclusively held in bushland areas ranging from national parks near Adelaide such as Para Wirra and Belair, to more distant areas such as the Flinders Ranges.  Several event classifications apply, depending on the nature of the competition.  These include more competitive events such as the 'Orienteer of the Year' (OY) events, Badge events and State Championships.  At the latter the more competitive orienteers will run in age classes.  Non-members may always enter-on-the-day on easier courses at any event.

Saturday Events – these are events held in or near Adelaide on parkland or small bush maps.  They offer a smaller number of easy to medium navigational difficulty courses, designed for those who are new to the sport or who do not wish to travel to some of the more distant events.

Wednesday Events – these are generally in bush areas near Adelaide and offer usually one moderately difficult navigation course suitable for training; all are welcome.  Some of these will coincide with midweek events for schools including easy navigation courses (see the programme). 

Mountain Bike Orienteering – this uses the same principles as foot orienteering, but is done on a bicycle.  However competitors must stay on tracks and roads between controls.  The wearing of helmets is compulsory.  These events are held at the conclusion of the main winter foot-orienteering season.

Summer Series – during the summer months, low key events are held from 6pm on Friday evenings in parkland areas around Adelaide; courses are generally easy and are designed to help you keep fit over the summer.

Training and Coaching Activities – there are various coaching events during the year.  Details of some of these are listed in this programme; others will be advertised in the SA Orienteer  newsletter and in club newsletters.

Click here to obtain an orienteering membership form