Boy Scout Troop 325 Scoutmaster Minute
May 19, 2009
Andy Duprey, Scoutmaster
You have had a taste tonight, courtesy of Mr. Strawa, of orienteering-but did you know that Orienteering is a sport in which orienteers use an accurate, detailed map and a compass to find points in the landscape? It can be enjoyed as a walk in the woods or as a competitive running sport. A standard orienteering course consists of a start, a series of control sites that are marked by circles on a map, connected by lines and numbered in the order they are to be visited, and a finish. The control site circles are centered around a feature that is to be found. This feature is also defined by control descriptions (sometimes called clues). On the ground, a control flag marks the location that the orienteer must visit. To verify a visit, the orienteer uses a punch hanging next to the flag to mark his or her control card. Different punches make different patterns of holes in the paper. The route between "controls" (refers to the flag or the site) is not specified, and is entirely up to the orienteer. This element of route choice and the ability to navigate through the forest are the essence of orienteering. Most orienteering events use staggered starts to ensure that each orienteer has a chance to do his or her own navigating, but there are several other popular formats, including relays and events in which the orienteer must find as many controls as possible within a specified time.
Orienteering began in the late 1800's in Sweden as a military exercise. Major Ernst Killander, a Swedish scout leader is credited with making the sport popular. In order to spark interest in track and field, he decided to use the natural Swedish countryside to encourage young runners. He set courses in the forest and issued maps and compasses to competitors. The first races were so successful that he extended orienteering to the general public. The first major orienteering contest was in March 1919 with 155 participants on a 15kilometer course near Stockholm, Sweden. A monument marks the site as the birthplace of orienteering. The early days of orienteering required a high level of fitness because checkpoints were set up on large and obvious land features. This was mainly due to the poor quality of maps available in those days. By the 1930's, the quality of maps improved and map reading skills became more important. This meant that the winners had to know the technical aspects of orienteering as well as be physically fit. Orienteering quickly spread throughout Scandinavia and beyond.