Orienteering is a challenging outdoor adventure sport that exercises both the mind and body, but its real attraction is that it is loads of fun!.
The aim is to navigate between control points marked on a unique, highly detailed orienteering map while deciding the best route to complete the course in the quickest time. Orienteering can either be a highly competitive individual sport or, when family or friends do a course together, a totally recreational activity.
It doesn’t matter how young or old or how fit you are, orienteering caters for all ages with a range of courses to choose from which you can do at your own pace. Course lengths vary from about 1km for beginners and children to over 10km for experienced adult orienteers.
No special equipment is needed to start with, just comfortable outdoor clothing and footwear. Compasses are not necessary for beginners and most people soon master the map reading skills.
Orienteering takes place in a variety of outdoor areas, from local streets and parks to forests and bushland. Each event may have a number of courses of different lengths and levels of difficulty occurring at the same time.
The skills required for orienteering is in choosing the best route between control points. Beginner’s course may not offer a choice, but as you progress you will learn to decide between options. Over a hill maybe shorter in distance but take longer than going the longer distance around the hill.
Our club always welcomes newcomers and we are more than happy to explain the basics of orienteering and answer any questions you may have so you can get started straight away.