Discussion: Map scale for beginner courses

Since the subject of map scale for kids has come up, and since this is a separate question from Becks's, I'll put it in a new thread. Also I don't know if this has already been discussed to death or not, so feel free to point me to an old thread if it has.

I've recently been thinking about map scale for beginner courses and thinking that 1:10000 is really too small for a typical US white or yellow course. Something like 1:5000 seems far better.

In the old days when we printed up a few thousand maps in a single run and then overprinted courses on them each time we held a meet, having all courses on the same scale map was understandable.

Nowadays when many meets use OCAD maps and print on demand, it seems like little extra work would be required to enlarge the maps for the beginner courses and make it easier for inexperienced navigators to focus in on what they need to be looking at. Call it "user friendly" even.

Have anyone tried this? If so how was it received?

Remember that you need to add north lines, and either redo the layout, or print separate legends, so some extra work. (The latter works well...FWOC and AOA usually keep a supply of legends on hand.) Since already many meets print 1:15,000 for elites and 1:10,000 for the rest, it has precedent. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Orienteering Australia approved 1:5000 for Very Easy courses (ie M/W10) last year.

I run orienteering sessions in schools, using a map of the school where the scale is often 1:1000 or 1:2000. I also use 1:5000 park maps for many school sessions, and occasionally I have a session in forest at 1:10000.

For our State School Championships we usually have 1:5000 for primary kids and 1:10000 for secondary.

I've used 1:5 for beginner courses and they've been well received. I'll second the comment about the legend/scale. It's particilarly important to have these things right for beginners since you can't count on any prior knowledge of the symbol set. Giving them a 1:15,000 legend for a 1:5000 map is confusing - everything needs to be consistent.

The other thing I'd add is that, while it may be necessary to add north lines, refrain from adding more feature detail. Beginners are already overwhelmed by the detail on the map and need to be taught to simplify, not look for more stuff.

Im in agreement with the other posts. I have been helping to organise a schools league in the area i stay and have implemented a number of these ideas.
Ledgends are a must.
Northlines are helpful as well as a clear north arrow
A resonable scale less than 7500 i find is fine
A line scale is also usefull fir ppl who struggle with the mental conversions.
As i said most of this was already mentioned but these i feel are the key points.
A simplifies map has also been useful with the younger children

Ok, so experiences so far sound positive.

Next question I guess is how best to entice meet organizers into adding an enlarged scale map for beginner courses. I suppose "approving it" like Australia did would be a good start. That should at least get people thinking about it. What else? Suggest it somewhere in the sanctioning process?

Just want to echo the positive comments on using a large map scale for short courses. I've orienteered a lot with my daughter (age 7) over the past couple years - she would definitely be better off with 1:5,000 maps, rather than 1:10,000. In the North American system, certainly Course 1/White and maybe Course 2/Yellow could be 1:5,000.

Also, I like it when organizers provide symbolic control descriptions in addition to words - Rachel could read symbolic control descriptions before she could read text!