Discussion: Beginner's guide to orienteering

In some discussions recently, I've heard people lamenting the lack of good explanations of orienteering for beginners. I ran into this one by Oli Johnson (OJ) on attackpoint, and thought it was excellent. I hope he doesn't mind me linking it here: http://www.planetfear.com/article_detail.asp?a_id=...

very good. amusingly, the photo to illustrate the full leg cover message shows a guy without full leg cover (boris, perhaps you could send them the photo of mats' alternative take on "full leg cover"!!).

That is good, although it's interesting that, for a sport that is so seamlessly international, even a page from another English-speaking country turns out to be quite Brit-specific. I don't think I'd refer an American beginner to this page, though a "translated" version would probably be quite helpful.

JJ: Do you mean that you're not keen to wear your kit to observe the latest fixture ?

The rest of the world has learnt long ago to cope with 'Americanese'.
I remember at a campsite in Yosemite being told by a local climber that Australians and Brits were hilarious when they talked about car 'bonnets' and 'boots'. "You wear bonnets and boots!". Brit climber response. "You wear hoods and store them in trunks".
Give it a go in reverse. I'm sure your beginners will cope. There isn't an Australian accent in sight.

If you want to get to an event without a car, post a message on the club’s forum and some friendly person will offer to give you a lift.

A U.S. orienteer would find it quite usual if "some friendly person [offered] to give [him/her] a ride", but I wonder if there have been awkward occasions involving such offers for visiting Brits.

Anyway, I like Oli's article. Ideally, each club or region would have such a web page catering to newcomers in their area.

it is a good representation of the orienteering sport! thank you.

The U.S. Orienteering Federation's Sport of A Lifetime brochure designed by Eva Ruutopold gives a decent introduction. You can view it on the site or get one by mail (in USA) by sending $1 OR a legal size self-addressed envelope with 63 cents postage to Mike Minium, VP Program Development, 6797 Stillwell Beckett Rd, Oxford OH 45056. It is probably geared more toward recreational orienteers than us super-serious competitors, & a little dated since it does not mention e-punching, but otherwise very solid.

I just wish people would use Orienteering and not the ubiquitous 'O'.

The word I can't stand is "orientated". I recall a prior thread about "orientated".

I like using the "O", but I avoid it when I'm talking to non-orienteers. It slips out though. I tend to use it with another word, like O'Pants or O'Flag. I never say, "I'm going to go O."

I thought the language in the guide was fine, although I still don't know what a fixture is.

fixture = scheduled event

I especially like that he emphasizes that it is a competitive and adventurous sport. Too often I think orienteering is described with the intent not to exclude any people who might potentially come to an event that we instead misrepresent the sport to those who might be most interested in it. Also, just because someone might not be elite doesn't mean that they aren't also looking for a competitive challenge of some sort. I want to be clear that I think that orienteering is a great sport for many people for many different reasons that are all quite valuable. But I agree with Ole that orienteering is probably not appropriately described as easy and painless, and that the fact that it is challenging is part of what makes it so appealing. It's more than just a walk in the woods.

"Whatever level you are at, orienteering is rarely easy or painless – it is tough, demanding and you often end up battered, scratched and bruised. But this is also the appeal of a sport where you have to take on the elements and the terrain. Where else can you get the opportunity to race in some of the wildest parts of the country and venture far off the beaten track, with only your own physical and navigational capabilities to rely on?"