Orienteering

Orienteering is a sport in which participants navigate with the aid of a map and compass around a prescribed course, checking in at specified and clearly marked control points. It is done on foot, either by walking, jogging or running, and can be done individually or in groups. In organized competitions the competitor completing the course in the fastest time is the winner. Orienteering combines athletic ability and mental exercise: participants continually have to choose among possible routes between control points. It is this unique combination that has caused orienteering to be described as "the thinking man's sport. "

Newspaper records show that some orienteering activities took place in Norway and Sweden in the 1890s; however, it is generally accepted that orienteering as an organized sport began in Sweden in 1919 with Major Ernst Killander the acknowledged founder. Orienteering remained essentially a Scandinavian sport until after WWII when it spread throughout Europe. First introduced in Canada in 1948, it was the mid-1960s before any significant development was seen. The Canadian Orienteering Federation (COF) was founded in 1967 and the first Canadian championship was held in 1968. In 1969 the COF was accepted as a member of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF).

The first World Orienteering Championships were held in Finland in 1966 and a Canadian team competed for the first time in 1972. World championships are held every 2 years with teams of 5 men and 5 women representing each country. Norway and Sweden, and then Finland, Denmark, Switzerland and Hungary have dominated the world championships. The best Canadian performances in the world championships have been, for men, Ted de St. Croix, Ottawa, 10th, and for women, Denise DeMonte, Hamilton, 18th, at the 1985 event in Australia. Ted de St. Croix won the Canadian Elite Men's Championship 11 consecutive years 1976-86. In Sweden each July a mammoth 5-day competition called the "O'Ringen" is held. This event, with over 25,000 competitors for each of the 5 days, is recognized as the largest single participant sport event in the world.

Author: COLIN KIRK

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