What is Orienteering?

Orienteering is an individual sport in which an orienteer uses an accurate, detailed map and a compass to find points in unfamiliar terrain. A standard point-to-point orienteering course consists of a start, a series of control sites that are marked by circles, connected by lines and numbered in the order they are to be visited, and a finish. The control site circles are centered on the feature that is to be found. This feature is also defined by control descriptions (sometimes called clues). On the ground, a control flag marks the location that the orienteer must visit. To verify a visit, the orienteer uses a punch hanging next to the flag to mark his or her control card. Each punch makes its own distinct pattern of holes on the control card. An alternate system (to a standard point-to-point course) of scoring and construction of orienteering course is called a Score-O. At a Score-O there are a plethora of points (too numerous for one competitor to visit all points) having differing values in accordance with their degree of difficulty and distance from the start and finish points. Within a set time limit each competitor attempts to amass as large a point score as possible, understanding that points will be deducted for each minute the orienteer returns beyond the time limit. The route between controls is not specified, and is entirely up to the orienteerer; this element of route choice and the ability to navigate through the forest are the essence of orienteering.