Orienteering

Orienteering as a sport is growing like never before. More and more people are finding their way off the roads and lit-up paths to discover the joy in finding new places with nothing but a map and compass to navigate them through unknown terrain.

No matter your age, level of ambition or individual experience, we guarantee that you can find a form of orienteering that suits you.

SILVAs thumb compass needles come in two different versions:

The SILVA Jet Needle is the the world’s fastest compass needle, designed with a lot of transparency which increases the map visibility.

The SILVA NOR Needle is a stable and distinct, high-end quality needle with lots of transparency to increase the map visibility

The SILVA Spectra System™ is developed to simplify your orienteering, enabling you to be faster and more accurate through the forest. No matter if you are an elite or leisure orienteer – the Spectra System™ will help you by letting you stay on the right course at high speed while reducing mistakes.

The Spectra System™ consists of coloured reference points and dots on the capsule that are easy and quick to read and memorise.

Our goal is for you to become faster by helping you navigate more accurately, and to think more clearly. The tougher the work, the harder it is to make the right decision and do the right thing – quickly. To think clearly, you have to keep things simple. With our Spectra compasses you have an easier system and clearer reference points, which help you keep the right directions at competition speed.

TIP: Why are the East and West cardinal points reversed?
Find the answer in the thumb compass manual

• You don’t need to hold the compass orientated on the map, in order to travel
  on the desired bearing.
• You can run on a compass bearing at high speed.
• Taking the step from using the traditional base plate compass to using a
  thumb compass is made easier.
• You have more freedom to choose whether to run with the map and compass in the same hand or with the compass in one hand and the map in the other.
• The use of colours and dots as reference points reduces the risk of making
  mistakes at extreme levels of physical and mental fatigue.
• The use of colours and dots makes the teaching and learning of how to use
  the compass easier. It simplifies the explanation of how to use to map and
  compass youths and beginners.
• The colour segments are easier to find and focus on, especially at high speed
  and you can correct your direction without stopping.

The sport of orienteering was first practised in the military but nowadays it features a variety of different formats

• Foot Orienteering
  An endurance sport which involves a huge mental element. There is no marked route – the orienteer must navigate with map and compass while running.
• Mountain Bike Orienteering (MTBO)
  An endurance sport attracting both orienteering and mountain bike enthusiasts.
• Ski Orienteering (SkiO)
  An endurance winter sport combining navigation and cross-country skiing across a rough terrain using prepared cross-country ski tracks.
• Trail Orienteering (TrailO/PreO)
  An orienteering discipline centered around map reading in natural terrain. The discipline has been developed to offer everyone, including people with limited mobility, a chance to participate in a meaningful orienteering competition.

When competing, you need to have covering clothes, something that is recommended also when you’re training. It means that the skin on your legs and torso should be covered, meaning that a long pair of trousers and a t-shirt is fine. Regular running clothes are more than enough when you orienteer but if you start doing it more regularly, buying special orienteering clothes and shoes that are adapted to running in the forest can be well worth it.

We also recommend that you get your own compass, you will need it to take out your direction and orientate the map.

Competitions are always timed electronically. The most common timing systems are Emit and SportIdent. If you don’t have your own SI-dibber or Emittag, the competition organisers always have spare ones to lend.

RACING SUIT – A lightweight, stretchy suit protects from undergrowth whilst allowing maximum freedom of movement even if it gets soaking wet.

SHOES – Light, strong shoes with non-slip soles allow sure grip on all types of ground – including mud and bare rock.

MAP – The map provided by the organiser shows the course with the control points which must be visited. The map is designed to give detailed information on the terrain – hills, ground surface, and features such as boulders or cliffs.

COMPASS – There is a wide variety of sophisticated compasses to choose from. Basically they can be divided into two main categories: base plate and thumb compasses.

CONTROL CARD – To prove that they have visited all control points in the right order, the orienteers have to punch their control card at each control using an electronic device.

HEADLAMP – When orienteering at night – a good headlamp is crucial

In orienteering, there are many special terms and words. This is a list of the most commonly used phrases and words that will come in handy if you are new to the sport.

ATTACK POINT – Also called “the last safe point”, a position that the orienteer chooses to “attack” the control from.
CHASING START – A starting form used in competitions that are run over several days where you start based on your previous results. First one to hit the finish line wins.
CONTROL CODE – Number on or beside the control screen and on the control description allowing you to make sure you have found the correct control.
CONTROL DESCRIPTION – The detailed information about the controls. Also known as definition or in Swedish is it referred to “deffen”.
DIBBER – SportIdent-tag to use when punching in the SportIdent system.

DIRECT COURSE – Old name for open classes.
DNF – Did not finish, completing the course without taking all the controls.
DOWNLOADING – Registering that you have completed the course after taking the finishing control.
EMPTY AND CHECK – Before start you have to empty your SportIdent’s card memory and make sure it is working.
EQUIDISTANCE – Describes the difference in height between the contours. Also called contour interval.
FOLLOWING – Running behind or “hanging on to” another orienteer on the same course. In competition classes this is illegal.
HAND-RAIL – An eye-catching feature to run parallel to without having to check the map, for example roads, paths or power lines.

OPEN COURSES – Courses when you can enter on the day and run a course based on preferred difficulty level.
PUNCHING – Registering that you have been to a control.
REVERSE BEARING – When you are running in the opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going.
SHADOWING – Parent, friend or trainer running behind you in the forest, for safety or for training purposes.
SOFT – The Swedish Orienteering Federation
SPIKING A CONTROL – Finding the control marker on the first attempt.
TC – Competition centre, older word for the arena.