Orienteering - The Art Of Not Getting Lost

ORIENTEERING

by Louis Smith

Publication Date: December 1996

Topographical maps - most backpackers and serious hikers are familiar with them. Topo maps are very detailed maps that have thin, brown lines that show the actual shape of the land - the topography. The hiker who knows how to read a topo map, and knows how to use a compass, can determine his location with great accuracy. He can plan his route and find the places that he wishes to visit. The probability of getting lost is also greatly reduced.

Late in the last century, in northern Europe, the sport of Orienteering was developed as an exercise to improve the map reading ability of military personnel. This eventually caught on with the general populace and now they have events with thousands of participants. Orienteering came to the United States in the late 40's.

In a typical orienteering meet, the participants use a highly detailed topographical map specifically designed for orienteering. There are usually several courses set up, ranging in difficulty from easy to difficult. Each course involves navigating to a series of points, called "controls," set out in the woods and marked by a circle on the maps.

The controls themselves are orange and white markers that must be visited in a specified order. A pin punch is hung at each control. The competitor uses it to mark a control card he is carrying. The control card verifies that the competitor has visited the correct location. The elapsed times of the competitors determine the final results.

Course difficulty is rated using a color code. White is the easiest with all the controls along trails and hung at easy to find features with the route between controls being obvious. The next level is Yellow and then Orange. The "elite" courses are the Green, Brown, Red and Blue. These differ in length but all feature controls that are hung in hard to locate places, with usually, more than one logical route between controls.

There is another type of meet that is often held called a "score O." In this type of event, many controls are hung in the woods. Each control is given a point value based on the difficulty of finding it and its distance from the starting point. The competitors, who usually compete in teams, are given a set time to get as many points as possible. The time periods allowed range from one hour to as much as 24 hours. In the longer events, the participant usually use USGS (United States Geographical Service) maps rather than the smaller scale orienteering maps.

In a score O the meet director tries to set out more controls than the participants can find in the allotted time. The teams usually receive their maps an hour before the start and must determine which controls they can find based on their orienteering skills and their physical abilities. This type of event is a challenge to the competitors, both mentally and physically.

The local orienteering club is called Orienteering Louisville (OLOU). They hold several events each year, usually from mid September till early May. At most meets, there is a basic instruction for beginners. The next meet is Sept. 21 at Deam Lake in Indiana. Along with the basic instruction class, there will also be a workshop for more advanced orienteers. Starting time for the workshops is 9 A.M. The first competitors will start out on the courses at 10:30 or 11:00.

If you are looking for a real challenge, on Wednesday, October 23, OLOU will be holding an 'A' meet at Otter Creek Park. This meet falls between the North American Championships in St. Louis, MO. (Oct. 19 & 20) and the US Champs in Cincinnati (Oct. 26 & 27). This series of meets is called the Great Rivers Orienteering Festival.

Louis Smith is the President of Orienteering Louisville and the 1996 Midwest Orienteering Champion (45-49).