Your 1st Event
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One way of introducing yourself to orienteering is to try a local permanent orienteering course. This is a pleasant way of adding interest and enjoyment to a walk in a wood or a park.  But to experience the full flavour and excitement of orienteering - and get assistance and advice from those who already know their way around - you need to attend an orienteering event. For most parts of the country, and for most of the year, there should be an event every few weeks, usually on a Sunday morning, within an hour's drive of your home.

Choosing an Event

The most common type of event put on by local clubs is called a  district event that offers a range of  courses whose length and difficulty is indicated by different colours. These usually range from White, which is for children, including parents with pushchairs, through to Brown, which is for people who can run at speed over long distances, through bracken, brambles and brashings (fallen branches), up hills as well as down them, and still know where they are going.

There are many other types of orienteering event, including Regional,  National and Championship events, which are for experienced orienteers, and Night Events, Relays and Score Events (where instead of following a course and recording an individual time, you see how many control points you can visit, in any order, within a fixed time). But if you are new to the sport, a district event is the place to start (though more advanced events often include a few colour-coded courses as well, for children and novices). Many district events also feature a String course for young children, with or without their parents. They have their own map and follow a line of string which takes them round a set of controls marked by the likes of Postman Pat or Rupert Bear.

Many clubs have 'Try-O' or 'Come and Try it' (CATI) events in August or September especially for novices, but you can attend your first event at any time of the year. There will always be someone willing to help you.

What you will need

  • Comfortable clothes for walking or running in. Competition rules normally require full leg cover; you will soon discover why if your course takes you off the paths.
  • Trainers or walking shoes, preferably waterproof and with a good grip. (Experienced orienteers wear studded running shoes).
  • A cagoule or waterproof, just in case.
  • A red biro to mark your course on your map.
  • A transparent A4 plastic envelope to put your map in. (Experienced orienteers use a smaller bag for their control card, and pin it to their clothes.
  • Money for your entry fee.
  • A compass is always useful but not strictly necessary if you are doing a White, Yellow or Orange course. You can often borrow or buy a compass at the event, if you want one.
  • A safety whistle is sometimes compulsory, especially in difficult terrain, but you can usually borrow or buy that too, if you need to.

Finding the Event

Click here for a list of local events where you will be always welcome to turn up and have a try.  We always have plenty of people on hand to give you as much or as little help and advice as you need.  If you are at all concerned then ring the organiser of the event - if you give them a call, at a sociable time, they will be only too pleased to tell you how to find your way to the event, and to give you any other information you may need. Normally they will explain how to get to a certain point on a major road, and then tell you to follow the O-signs.

These are  red/white arrows, usually hung from posts or fences, which point the way to the carpark. They may say 'Orienteering', or 'O', or just be marked with the orienteering symbol, a square divided into red and white triangles.

The carpark will often turn out to be a farmer's field, and may be well off the main road, down narrow lanes. Just keep following the arrows till you get there. There will usually be warning signs as you approach the carpark, and someone to show you exactly where to park. You will probably be surprised at how many people are there already.

At the event you will be able to pick up a number of leaflets advertising forthcoming events in your area, and in other parts of the country. These will tell you the times, courses and travel directions, so next time you won't need to ring the event organiser. But the organisers' names and phone numbers will be there too, just in case.

When You Arrive

Sunday morning colour-coded events normally have start times between 10.30 and 12.30, with courses closing at 3.30, and event entry from 10 until 12. Most people enter between 10 and 11. If you have any questions, just ask. Orienteers are friendly folk and, unless they are late for their own start time, always willing to stop and talk about their sport.

The first thing to do is register, i.e. enter the event. If the organisers are lucky this might be somewhere indoors, but is usually a line of parked cars, easily identifiable as the centre of activity in the carpark. Normally one car will be selling maps (usually £3-£3.50 for a senior, £1.50 or less for a junior: this is the entry fee), and the others will be taking entries for the different courses. These other cars will have signs telling you the course name (White, Yellow, Orange, etc.) and length, and usually the height to be climbed and the technical (navigational) difficulty as well. Be warned, though: the distance is measured in a straight line between controls, which is a route experienced orienteers seldom follow. So if the official length is, say, 3 kilometres, the distance you will actually cover is more likely to be 3 miles. The climb is likely to be more, too.

Choosing a Course

Children who have not orienteered before should enter a White or Yellow course, and be accompanied by an adult who can help them with the map. Adult novices might want to start with Orange, which is the longest course before things start getting difficult. If you are a fit and experienced runner you might want to try a Light Green, but expect to take a long time and make lots of errors if this is your first event. (A Red course, if available, is intended more for running than for orienteering, so is also a good place to start). If you complete your first course quickly and successfully it is often possible to try another at no extra cost.

Entering a Course

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When you have chosen your course, go to the appropriate car window. Each competitor on each course has their own start time, so you will first be asked what time you want. Ask how far it is to the start and allow yourself plenty of time to get there, including time to look at the map. You will be asked your name, your club (if none, say 'None'!) and your age class (if you tell them how old you are, they will work it out for you). In return you will be given a control card and a set of control descriptions (you should already have bought your map from Map Sales). The control descriptions tell you what you are looking for, where, and in what order (more on this in a moment). The control card is for recording that you have visited the controls on your course, but also for recording your personal details, including your start time. One part is detachable (more on that, too, in a moment).

Before the Start

Take some time to look at the map, which will have been produced specifically for orienteering. Note the paths, streams, buildings, and so on. Any unfamiliar symbols will be explained in the legend. The colours may be confusing at first. White indicates forest you can run through; the various shades of green indicate thicker and more difficult forest; open land (fields) is coloured orange. You might also want to note the map scale and the contours, to get some idea of how far things are, and what is up or down hill, and how steep it is. These details can be useful but you don't strictly need them if you are doing one of the simpler courses.

You should also check whether there are any 'Map Corrections'. These will show any changes since the map was drawn: there may be some new paths and you might want to use them. They will also show any areas which are out of bounds, e.g. roads or cultivated fields. Copy the corrections on to your own map.

At the Start

The way to the start should be indicated by arrows, tapes hung from trees, or a steady procession of orienteers in colourful, sometimes outlandish, garb. If you see none of these, just ask. Arrive at the start before your start time, because you will be called a few minutes in advance. The detachable stub from your control card may be taken as a record that you have started. This means that even if you abandon your course you must hand the other part of your control card into the Finish. A stub without a matching card means that a competitor has gone missing, and someone could spend hours looking for you.

At the start whistle, or a beep from an electronic clock, you copy your course down from a master map (make sure it is the right one for your course!). The triangle marks the start (where you are now) and the numbered circles indicate the controls you need to find, in the order you need to find them. The straight lines joining the circles are to indicate which is the next control. Don't think you can always follow a straight line on the ground! The double circle indicates the finish, where you should hand in your control card even if you retire.

Increasingly, it is possible to copy down a White or Yellow course before the start. This makes it less confusing for children, and gives adults more time to explain to them what they need to do. It also gives novices on longer courses a chance to see what a master map looks like.

Following Your Course

The first circle on your map tells you where the first control is. The map shows you how you can get there, e.g. follow this path and turn right at the second junction. The control description sheet tells you what you are looking for, e.g. a path junction, a large boulder, or a ditch end. When you get there you should find a marker, a banner or ' kite' with the orienteering symbol, a square divided into red and white triangles. There will also be some letters or numbers which should correspond to those on your description sheet. If they do, you have found the right place. If they don't, it isn't your control!

So, if your description sheet says

		1.  210  Fence corner
		2.  220  Bridge
your first control is a banner marked 210 located by a corner in a fence. That fence corner should be right in the middle of the circle marked 1 on your map. Your second control is a banner marked 220 by a bridge. And so on.

When you find the correct banner use the spiked punch to mark the first box on your control card, and set out for your second control, and so on, until you have completed your course.

And don't worry. Provided you have chosen one of the simpler courses, all this is much easier to do than it is to describe. You will get the hang of it by the time you find your first control. The real challenge comes later, when you progress to Light Green, Green, Blue or Brown.

At the Finish

Hand in your card, as proof that you have found all the controls. Your time will be calculated and entered on the stub you handed in at the start. Later on you should find it hanging from the results 'washing line', and can have the satisfaction (or not) of comparing your time with people much younger or much older than yourself. You can also fill in a results envelope, and have the results posted to you.

There should also be, at the finish or on the way back to the carpark, some free orange squash, compliments of the organisers.

Next Time

Before you go, have another look around. You should find several sets of leaflets for forthcoming events, with times, courses, and travel instructions. Now that you know how to do it, you will surely want to come again!