Most orienteering courses are of the point-to-point variety, with a start, a series of controls to be visited in a designated order, and a finish. In the Summer League, we have two courses on offer each week:
Short: 2 - 3 km, suitable for families, juniors and beginners
Long: 5 - 5.5 km
This is an example of a beginner's course. It has five controls which must be visited in the order in which they are connected and numbered - though the orienteer is not constrained to following the lines (it's easier to go out of your way a bit and use a track etc.). With the course comes a description sheet, describing the exact location of the control flag within the circle drawn on the map. The description sheet for this course is given below:
The description sheet defines:
The number of the controls (as shown on the map)
The control code (usually 200-240) that will be attached to the flag that is at the correct location
A description of the control feature, including (where appropriate) the part of the feature where the flag is hung