Orienteering
An orienteer punching a control point | |
| Highest governing body | International Orienteering Federation (IOF) |
|---|---|
| First public contest | 1897, United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway |
| Clubs | 78 national federations |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | No |
| Team members | Individuals or teams of varying size |
| Mixed-sex | Mixed participation, with most competitions held in separate divisions |
| Type | Outdoor |
| Equipment | Compass, orienteering map |
| Presence | |
| Country or region | Worldwide |
| Olympic | No |
| World Championships | 1966 |
| World Games | 1995 |
Orienteering is a group of sports in which participants use a map and compass to navigate from point to point in unfamiliar terrain as quickly as possible.
The sport originated from military land-navigation training in the late 19th century. It has since evolved into several competitive forms where participants race against the clock and other competitors while navigating through checkpoints. Variants include automobile, underwater, mountain bike, ski, and trail orienteering. The most common form is foot orienteering, also known as FootO.
In formal foot-orienteering competitions, participants are given a specially prepared orienteering map, usually topographical, which they use to locate control points.
Orienteering is part of the World Games and the World Police and Fire Games.