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Orienteering: a cross-country race in which each participant uses a map and compass to navigate between checkpoints along an unfamiliar course ------------------------------------------------------ In essence, the objective of Orienteering is to locate a series of checkpoints (controls) using only your wits, a map and a compass (compass optional!). The challenge comes from not knowing the area and location of the checkpoints ahead of time. In a competition, thinking fast is often more important than running fast! Planning your route and managing your way around the course are the essentials of successful orienteering.
While the formal definition of orienteering defines it as a cross country race, orienteering can be many other things: preparation for back country navigation, developing overall outdoor skills, problem solving and decision making, team building just plain fun.
Orienteering originated as a military activity in the Scandanavian countries in the late 1800s. Today there are 67 countries that are formal members of the International Orienteering Federation. The United States Orienteering Federation (http://www.us.orienteering.org/) has over 60 member clubs throughout the United States. All of these clubs sponsor local events that are open to the public, and many have permanent orienteering courses that can be used at any time. See the club websites for current schedules. USOF sponsors national competitions (meets) for all competitive classes throughout the nation. Most years, several events také place within a reasonable drive of the Finger Lakes area. A current schedule is maintined on the USOF website.
One of the major requirements for successful Orienteering is having a good map to work with. Fortunately, Orienteering Clubs are a great source of high quality maps. Skill and Fitness LevelsThe choice of an orienteering activity should always be matched to the skill and fitness level of the pariticipants. In the US, orienteering courses are graded by difficulty and length. Choosing a course beyond your ability and fitness level can be frustrating and should not be encouraged. This table shows the current USOF compettive classes (classes for 35+ are not shown, see the USOF web site.). After practice, individuals should be able to complete a course above their competiive age group. Most Scouts should be able to successfully mast an Orange level course after some training and practice.
Orienteering OpportunitiesThere numerous opportunities for an orienteering experience in the Finger Lakes region, in New York state and in other areas of the county. These opportunities fall into several areas: Club (Local) meets are held by local clubs. A course at a club meet will typically be 1-2 hours in duration. Be sure to choose courses matched to skill level. Club events can be done as an individual or in small groups (remember to keep within Safe Scouting Guidelines.) Most club events will also have instructional clinics for beginners. Intermediate instruction and coaching is often available with prior arrangements. Some clubs also have Orienteering merit badge counselors – check with the meet organizers. National meets (A-meets) will offer all competitive classes and courses. These meets use very accurate maps and challenging courses to national standards and are a great means of testing ones abilities against competitors from across the region (and nation!). Typically National events are individual competitions. The cadets at West Point (USMAOC) host an A-meet every year at the West Point military reservation. The meet center is usually Camp Buckner, the summer residence of the cadets. This meet is highly recommended for Scouts – the cadets are incredible and go out of their way to offer a wonderful experience, and the West Point terrain is something to experience! One of the USOF national championships is the Interscholastic Championships. This is the team championship event for high school (and middle school!) teams. Teams must be formed of students from the same school. A complete schedule of A-meets is maintained on the USOF website. Permanent Orienteering Courses. Unlike an Orienteering meet, a Permanent Orienteering Course has the controls available all (or at least most) of the time so you can orienteer at your convenience. Permanenent courses can be used many times by varying the order in which you locate controls. Choosing different legs gives you an opportunity to practice route choice and planning many more times than on a standard meet. The Rochester Orienteering Clubs has permanent courses at: Mendon Ponds Park Letchworth Park Webster Park Durand Eastman Park Maps can be obtained from The Map Shop in Schoen Place, Pittsford or from the club. The Buffalo Orienteering Club has a set of semi-permanent courses (called 'Map Hikes') set up at a number of venues throughout the warm weather. See the BFLOC website for details. Many scout camps also have permanent orienteering courses, including Camp Babcock-Hovey. Check with the local camp office to see if one is available. Unit events. Units can develop their own orienteering experiece. The key is getting a detailed map of the area and planning courses that provide the appropriate level of navigation and physical challenge for the expected participants. An 11 year old Tenderfoot Scout and a 16 year old Eagle Scout need different challenges, and suitable courses can be provided for each. The local Orienteering Club is a great source of quality maps for a reasonable price. Talk to a course setter at a local meet, or attend a course setter's clinic, to learn how to guage the difficulty of course legs. ROGAINE: the ultimate high adventure, physical challenge. ResourcesClubs of interest in the Finger Lakes region include Rochester Orienteering Club (ROC) Rochester Area Central New York Orienteering Club CNYO) Syracuse, Ithaca, Binghamton Buffalo Orienteering Club (BFLO) Buffalo Area Empire Orienteering Club (EMPO) Albany Area Adirondack OK (AOK) Plattsburgh – Eastern Adirondacks US Military Orienteering Club (USMAOC) West Point Each of these clubs has maps of various areas that can be obtained for a reasonable fee. The Canadian Orienteering Federation has clubs nearby (Guelph, Hamilton, and Toronto) that could have events of interest. InstructionInstruction is available at virtually all local meets. Please contact the meet director to insure that instruction will be available, especially if a large group will be attending.
CNYO hosts the Annual Scout-O, usually held at Highland Forest, Fabius NY (south of Syracuse) in early November. This event offers instruction, an opportunity to practice skills, and a patrol competition. See the CNYO web site for details.
USMAOC hosts an Orienteering Merit Badge Clinic in April. This is a weekend event at West Point where the cadets provide training and coaching in orienteering skills required for the Orienteering Merit badge. See the USMAOC website for details.
USOF Junior Orienteering Training Camp is held in the Northeast every spring. This camp provides an opportunity to work on competitive orienteering skills with national and international coaches along with top juniors.
Geocaching: Geocaching is a treasure hunt with a GPS. Given the coordinates of a "cache", one uses the GPS to get as close as possible, then search for the cache! Geochachers often put the coordinates of their cache on the internet to share with others. Geocaching etique calls for adding or substituting for the reward found in a cache! See the following link for more details:
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