Orienteering for Beginners

ORIENTEERING FOR BEGINNERS
[Compiled by Bishopstown Orienteering Club (BOC) 2002]

Definition: Orienteering is navigation on foot (wayfaring, walking, jogging or running) usually using special coloured maps.
 
 

Other forms of orienteering include Ski-O and  Mountain Bike-O. Orienteering is all about map-reading, map-reading, map-reading,........ Days & Times: Most events are held on Sundays from September to May with registration times from 10am to 1pm and on Thursday evenings 5pm to 7pm from April to July. See the fixtures list on the main BOC page.

Beginners: Beginners start off on the Wayfarer type courses (White Courses) to learn the basic techniques of orienteering without being timed. The navigation here is along or parallel to linear features. Once they have mastered the basic techniques then they are ready to try some simple orienteering courses (such as Yellow and Orange courses......timed or not timed). Beginners may go in pairs or on their own. Youngsters starting off should be accompanied by one or more of their parents.
 
 

Equipment: No special equipment is needed. Old clothes and a pair of runners with good grip (or orienteering shoes) are all that is required. A compass is an optional extra. Red biro  & transparent plastic bag.

Map Colours: The international colours used for orienteering maps are:

BLACK: Is used for Rock Features (cliffs, crags, boulders, ….) and for Man-Made Features (tracks, paths, stone walls, fences, buildings, cairns, .....).
BROWN: Is used for Landform (contours, hills, depressions, gullies, pits, knolls, spurs, re-entrants, ....) and all-weather surfaces (tar roads, parking areas, tennis courts,….).
BLUE: Is used for Water (lakes, ponds, marshes, rivers, wells, .....).
GREEN: The normal areas of forest/woodland are left WHITE on orienteering maps. Successive darker shades of GREEN are used to show how the density of the woodland would impede your progress. DARK GREEN is for impenetrable areas (often called “fight”). LIGHTER GREEN is for areas where you can expect to “walk” or at the most go at a “slow run”. Green is for vegetation.
YELLOW: Is for open areas. Grassed areas are shown as solid bright yellow whereas rough open or semi-open areas are depicted by a paler colour.
PURPLE or RED: Is for course overprinting. A red triangle indicates your start position. Red circles indicate the position of the controls (kites or flags with punches attached). The finish area is represented by a pair of concentric circles. In smaller events the Start and Finish areas are often in the same place.
 

Map Symbols: Most symbols on orienteering maps can be classified as either Linear Features or Point Features. Beginners only need to worry about the linear features (roads, tracks, paths, rivers, fences, walls,....) and they can use these to navigate their way through the forest. Symbols for the linear features are shown in the map legend.....study them.
Beginners do not need to learn all of the symbols shown below. As you get more experienced, you will begin to learn what the symbols mean.
 

The Feature

Details at the Feature Which Feature Location of the control

 

Map Scales: Most O-maps are either of scale 1: 10,000 or 1: 15,000. One cm on the 10,000 scale represents 10,000 cm or 100 metres on the ground (approx. 40 double paces if jogging, or 60 double paces if walking). One cm on the 15,000 scale represents 15,000 cm or 150 metres on the ground (approx. 60 double paces if jogging, or 90 double paces if walking).

Magnetic North: Orienteering maps are aligned with magnetic north (for compass work).

Competition Classes: The usual classes are: 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under, 18 and under, 20 and under, 21 to 34, 35 and above, 40 and above, 45 and above, 50 and above, 55 and above, 60 and above, 65 and above.
Basic courses (often called Wayfarer courses) are always provided for beginners of all ages at Local Events, C4 events, C3 events and C2 events. The navigation here is along or parallel to linear features.

Colour Coded Courses: Most events use colour-coded courses. The easiest is the WHITE COURSE (1 to 2 km in length with controls on linear features). Next is the YELLOW COURSE, then the ORANGE COURSE, then the RED COURSE, then the GREEN COURSE, then the BLUE COURSE and finally the BROWN COURSE (over 7km in length but is technically difficult as the controls are on point features in the wood such as boulders, knolls, re-entrants, etc.).  Some events have courses for Mountain Bike Orienteering (MTBO)
 
 
 

Types of Events: Most competition events are of the “Cross-Country” type in which all the controls on that course  must be visited and in numerical order. The fastest time is the winner, similar to a time trial. Other types of events sometimes used are: “Score” event where you visit as many control sites as you can and in any order within a specified time limit;  “Norwegian” event where you only know the next control site (or the next few sites)  and when you get there another mini-master map is at the site;  “Relay” event;  “Line” event;  etc.

Competitions: Cork County Leagues September to December; Winter Leagues January & February; Spring Leagues March & April; Cork County Championships; Ballyhoura Three-Day (Easter); Business Houses Spring Leagues April & May (Thursday evenings); Business Houses Summer Leagues June & July (Thursday evenings); Night-O events; Cork Schools League September to December; Cork Schools Championships February; Munster Schools Championships and All-Ireland Schools Championships March; Community Games competitions; Scouts and Guides competitions; Provincial Championships; All-Ireland Champs, Inter-Provincial Champs, etc.

Entry Fees: The usual entry fees for C4 grade events are: adults €6 (€5 to BOC members on production of current BOC membership cards); juniors €4 (€3 to BOC members); families (parents + children under 18) €15 (€10 to BOC members). Second run on the day €2. Higher entry  fees for C1, C2  and C3 grade events.

DEVELOPING A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO NAVIGATION: The following six questions provide a systematic approach to navigation and the orienteer should ask himself these questions and answer them before moving towards his destination.

First of all fold the map to a working size.

Q1. Is my map oriented?   Check and adjust as necessary (your thumb should be able to reach the centre of the map from all 4 sides of the map).

Q2. Where am I on the map?  Place your thumb on the map at the point where you are standing.

Q3. Where is my destination?  Select an attack point.

Q4. How will I get there? Identify a route to your destination, which you can follow  confidently and safely, using handrails wherever possible. Thumb your way round the course by placing your thumb at your present or last known position on the map and read  the map in front of your thumb.

Q5. What will I see along the way? Identify major check-off features.

Q6. What will I see if I go too far? Identify a catching feature beyond the destination.
 
 

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