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For more information, click on one of the following
links.
Finding out about events
Finding the event
What to bring
What to wear
Registering
Choosing a course
Getting ready to go
Starting
After your run
Return to the main About Orienteering page
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Getting ready to go
Go back to your car to get changed and get yourself sorted out and ready
to go.
If you have a conventional control card then fill in the information on
the stub at the right hand end of the card. You'll be handing
that stub in at the start, and the event organiser will use the stubs as
a safety check to make sure that everyone who goes off into the forest
comes back out again.
One of the difficulties for beginners is co-ordinating all the things that
you need to carry - map, compass, control card and control descriptions.
It can be useful to pin your control descriptions to your sleeve or
tee-shirt (or whatever). At an event using conventional
punching, experienced orienteers usually copy the control descriptions
into the relevant boxes on the control card, because this gives you one
less piece of paper to carry around.
A dibber is easy to carry, because it goes on your finger.
A conventional control card is more difficult. You can pin it
to your sleeve or to the bottom of your tee-shirt. If you do
this, make sure that you can get at it to use the pin punches to mark the
boxes. &nsp;Alternatively, you can use a loop of string (or a short
length of shoe lace) to attach your control card to your wrist.
If you're copying your control descriptions on to your (conventional)
control card you'll need to experiment to find out which way up to write
them so that you can read them easily when you're out on your course.
If you already have a map, put it into your map case or plastic bag.
Make sure that you have:
- compass
- whistle
- control card or dibber
- map and red pen (if the event is using a master map system).
Walk to the start. The route is usually marked by tape
streamers. If in doubt, ask!
Unless the weather is really foul, aim to arrive at the start at least
4 - 5 minutes before your start time. This gives you a chance
to have a look at the start arrangements, do some last minute stretching,
and get yourself into a composed frame of mind. Orienteering
is often described as "the thought sport", and it won't help your
performance if you dash up to the start in a last-second panic and have
to go straight out on your run.
Go back to the main About
Orienteering page.
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