ORIENTEERING
The sport and its applications

Orienteering is exciting as an end in itself, an outdoor venture taking you to unknown places with mental and physical challenges that provide a sense of accomplishment as well as an enjoyable day in the woods. Beyond the pure sport, O forms an excellent basis for team building, recreation, a means of learning to use a map and compass and navigate accurately, healthy exercise, and a general appreciation of the out-of-doors.

Orienteering is the Scandinavian sport of land navigation, primarily map reading, around a preset course through unfamiliar terrain using a specially drawn, highly detailed and accurate map. There are no gimmicks such as riddles, clues or puzzles. Orienteering is not a "treasure hunt." The beauty of the sport is that problems and solutions relate to straightforward navigation and map reading skills. Information in the form of the map and course is complete, transparent and fair. Luck is minimized..

The object is to use navigational skills and techniques to complete the course, a series of controls shown on the map and flagged on the ground, in the shortest possible time. Controls are simply mapped features such as trail junctions, small hills or clearings in the woods. Individuals or teams start at four minute intervals to deter following. Needle punches or electronic stations are at the controls to provide means of verifying each visit. Problem solving includes interpreting information from the map and matching them with the characteristics of the terrain, using the compass, estimating distance and choosing and following routes. While moving quickly is an advantage, courses are designed to emphasize accurate navigation as most decisive. Orienteers that do best are most often the ones with the fewest mistakes.

The flavor of orienteering at Joaquin Miller Park in the East Bay hills was captured by Channel 4's Bay Area Backroads in a program that is repeated occasionally on that channel.

Too demanding? It is not unusual for there to be apprehension on the part of some participants as to how well they will be able to deal with orienteering. I have found that with very few exceptions, apprehension quickly fades after expert hands-on instruction and familiarization preceding the orienteering. Courses for beginners are designed to assure success. The equivalent of a two mile hike or so, it aims to introduce the newcomer to all the basic techniques and procedures while offering the challenge of the real thing.

The sport appeals to a wide variety of participants. Also, by blending various ability levels on the same team, everyone can participate without undue pressure.

While orienteering is a structured activity, the techniques are directly applicable to more casual outdoor pursuits such as hiking and backpacking. A side-benefit of orienteering is learning and improving map and compass skills for general recreation. On the other hand, more intense sessions can emphasize specific elements of O for educational or team building objectives.

-Joe Scarborough