Ten Elements of Orienteering - Route Choice

Post date: Jun 01, 2014 12:34:35 AM

We hope last weeks training video helped you orientate the map correctly in Doneraile Park on Tuesday evening. This week's Ten elements of orienteering video focuses on - Route Choice. 

This is the third in a series of short training videos produced by the Irish Orienteering Association to help you learn the skills needed to orienteer. This video explains route choice. We hope you enjoy the video and if you have any orienteering questions be sure to seek assistance from any of our experienced club members at our events. You will find them at registration and at the start.

Handrails

Even if it were pitch dark, you would be able to easily negotiate a winding staircase if you just put your hand on the handrail and followed where it led. Handrails in orienteering are features that you can follow just as easily. 

Decision Point

At a decision point you need to stop and decide whether to go straight on, left or right.

Navigation in orienteering can be reduced to two factors:

• • Choosing one of the many possible routes to the control

  • Finding your way along that route

In choosing a route to a control identify the line features which will act as a handrail to guide you to the control and note the various decision points you will encounter on your selected route.

In the Regional Park Ballincollig when selecting your route to a control try to identify any line features, trails and roads are the most obvious, but you can follow fences, streams, ditches, the edges of fields and other long, narrow features just as easily. Observe the handrails on the course and follow them to the control site.

Much of the variation among individuals' times may come from their choice of routes. Below is an example of two competitors routes from a previous event in the Regional Park Ballincollig. Notice the different route choices the individuals made on the following legs: 3 - 4, 6 - 7, 7 - 8 and 12 - 13.