Orienteering is a group of sports in which participants use a map and compass to navigate from point to point in unfamiliar terrain as quickly as possible.
The sport originated from military land-navigation training in the late 19th century. It has since evolved into several competitive forms where participants race against the clock and other competitors while navigating through checkpoints. Variants include automobile, underwater, mountain bike, ski, and trail orienteering. The most common form is foot orienteering, also known as FootO.
In formal foot-orienteering competitions, participants are given a specially prepared orienteering map, usually topographical, which they use to locate control points.
Orienteering is part of the World Games and the World Police and Fire Games.
History
Orienteering originated in Sweden in the late 19th century. The term orientering (Swedish for "orientation") was first used in 1886 at the Military Academy Karlberg, describing navigation across unfamiliar terrain using a map and compass. The activity developed from military land navigation exercises into a civilian sport.
The first civilian competition open to the public was held in Norway in 1897, when the country was part of the Union between Sweden and Norway. In 1901, the first Swedish public event included control points at historic sites such as Spånga Church and Bromma Church, a round church.
Affordable compasses helped the sport expand during the 1930s. By 1934, about 250,000 Swedes participated, and orienteering had spread to Finland, Switzerland, the Soviet Union, and Hungary. After World War II, it spread across Europe, Asia, North America, and Oceania. In 1959, Sweden hosted an international conference with delegates from 12 countries, leading to the formation of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) in 1961. By 2010, the IOF included 71 member federations worldwide. World Championships were held biennially until 2003 and annually thereafter.
Orienteering remains most popular in Scandinavia, home to long-running events such as the Jukola relay and Tiomila, both established in the 1940s. The O-Ringen, held annually since 1965, attracts around 15,000 competitors.
The sport was originally practiced in forest terrain but later expanded to fell, heathland, and moorland areas. Urban and park orienteering became established in the 1990s and 2000s through events such as the Park World Tour, supported by dedicated urban map standards (ISSOM) and electronic timing systems. These formats are now included in national and international ranking systems.
Variations Orienteering sports combine significant navigation with a specific method of travel. Because the method of travel determines the needed equipment and tactics, each sport requires specific rules for competition and guidelines for orienteering event logistics and course design.
International Orienteering Federation, the governing body of the sport, currently sanctions the following four disciplines as official disciplines in the sport of orienteering: Foot orienteering (FootO) Mountain bike orienteering (MTBO) Ski orienteering (SkiO) Trail orienteering (TrailO)
Moreover, International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) sanctions the following orienteering sport: Amateur radio direction finding (Radio orienteering or ARDF) [including variants Fox Oring and Radio Orienteering in a Compact Area (ROCA)]
Other orienteering disciplines include, but are not limited to: Biathlon orienteering Canoe orienteering Car orienteering Mountain marathoning Mounted orienteering Rogaining Underwater orienteering (disputed; may be classified instead as a form of scuba diving) Sport Labyrinth – micro orienteering
Adventure racing is a combination of two or more disciplines, and usually includes orienteering as part of the race.
Governing bodies International At international level, the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) defines rules and guidelines which govern four orienteering sports: foot orienteering, mountain bike orienteering, ski orienteering, and trail orienteering. It is based in Sweden and it claims on its website to aim to "spread the sport of orienteering, to promote its development and to create and maintain an attractive world event programme." Since 1977 the IOF has been recognised by the IOC.
National
There are governing bodies for most of the individual nations that are represented in the sport of orienteering. These national bodies are the rule-making body for that nation. For example, the British Orienteering Federation is the national governing body for the United Kingdom. The federation was founded in 1967 and it is made up of 13 constituent associations. For the United States, the national governing body is Orienteering USA.
Regional Most nations have some form of regional governing bodies. These are not rule-making bodies but are there to assist in coordinating clubs within that region, e.g., they may allocate dates so that clubs do not clash with their events.
Local
Clubs are usually formed at a local level and affiliated to their national governing body. It is clubs who put on events usually open to all-comers. Clubs may also put on practice, training, and social events. Open clubs are open to anyone and there is usually no restriction on joining them. Closed clubs restrict their membership to specific groups. For example, BAOC (British Army Orienteering Club) has restrictions on who may join, principally British Army personnel.
Related sports The International Rogaining Federation governs rogaining. Separate organizations govern competitive mounted orienteering in the United States and Europe (and the two sports are dissimilar). The International Amateur Radio Union governs amateur radio direction finding.
Competition and results
Basics The competition, or race, is intended to test the navigational skill, concentration, and running ability of the competitors. High levels of fitness and running speed are required to compete successfully at an international or elite level. To ensure fairness between competitors the map is not usually provided until the start, and starts are normally staggered with competitors starting at not less than one-minute intervals.
The objective on each leg is to follow the fastest route between controls. The fastest is not always the shortest route, and can depend heavily on route choice.
Map
Orienteering competitions use specially prepared orienteering maps. They are topographic maps although much more detailed than general-purpose maps. The ISOM map scales are 1:15,000, 1:10,000, or 1:7,500, with grids aligned to magnetic north. Map symbols are standardized by the IOF, and designed to be readable by any competitor regardless of background or native tongue.
Courses
Orienteering events offer a range of courses, of varying physical and technical difficulty, to meet the needs of competitors. The orienteering course is marked in purple or red on a map. A triangle is used to indicate the start and a double circle indicates the finish. Circles are used to show the control points.
Age-related classes At international, national, and the larger events, courses are classified by age, e.g., M35 for men 35 years of age and older. Classes requiring similar distances and difficulties are usually combined into a smaller number of courses, e.g., M60 will normally share a course with W50, and often with M65 and W55. The results are normally arranged by class.
Ability-based courses In the smaller events courses are provided by ability. The United States and the United Kingdom use colour coding to define the difficulty of the courses. Short, easy courses are provided for beginners and younger competitors, with technically and physically demanding courses being provided for experienced orienteers. Ranging from easy and short to long and technical, there are; White, Yellow, Orange, Light Green, Green, Blue and Brown.
Permanent courses and other events Some orienteering clubs have set up permanent courses, which can be used for personal, or club, training. Non-standard permanent markers are used as control kites, and maps of the courses are usually available publicly for a fee. The courses are usually set up in public areas and there may be some restrictions on access, e.g., daylight hours only. Clubs also organise informal events for practice and training.
Controls and control description sheet
Control points are placed on features on the map that can be clearly identified on the ground. Control points are marked in the terrain by white and orange "flags".
Competitors receive a "control description sheet" or "clue sheet" which gives a precise description of the feature and the location of the kite, e.g., boulder, 5m, north side. For experienced orienteers the descriptions use symbols (pictorial), in accordance with the IOF Control descriptions.
Control card and punching
Each competitor is required to carry an electronic or paper control card, and to present it at the Start and hand it in at the Finish. The control card is marked by some means at each control point to show that the competitor has completed the course correctly. Most events now use electronic punching, although cards and needle punches are still widely used.
Results The winner is normally the competitor with the fastest time, but other scoring systems can be used, e.g., score events and Trail-O. Most events produce provisional results 'on the day', with draft results on the Internet that night; the final results being confirmed a few days later. With electronic punching the results can include split times for competitors. These show the times between controls and aggregate times to each control. With suitable computer software these times can be displayed in a graphical form (Progressograph).
Safety Each competitor is responsible for their own safety. There are no rules, but there are guidelines, which should be followed. The basic safety check was the stub check. The competitor hands in his stub at the start and his control card at the finish. Event officials match the two and any unmatched stubs represent a missing competitor. This has been superseded with electronic punching in that event officials can now request a 'still to finish' report listing all those competitors who punched at the start but have not yet downloaded their electronic card. All competitors must report to the finish whether they have completed the course or not.
Personal clothing IOF rule 21.1 is that the specification for clothing is delegated to the national organising body, and no specific clothing is required. Unique among English speaking countries, Ireland and the UK require legs to be covered. Rule 7.1.1 requires full body cover: the torso and legs must be covered, while organizer may allow shorts (e.g., in park or street orienteering). In the United States, rule A.34.1 states that competitors are free to choose clothing that they are most comfortable in (full leg cover is not required), unless specifically stated in the meet announcement. In Australia, under the 2021 rules, 2.1.21, the choice of clothing is also left up to the competitor, and full leg cover is not required. In Canada, no specific clothing is required, but participants are encouraged to wear clothing suitable for the weather, and hiking or running shoes. Similarly in New Zealand, there are no rules in force limiting orienteers to running only in full leg cover.