Feedback: CW12 District Orienteering 2009

Hi All!!!

Ok so today was the 2009 District Orienteering and I’ve got to say I feel it was a big success. We tried a few new things (longer times, more points to test time management,etc.) and think all went well! Just a few point I’d like to make clear before I get into the results:

There are 7 active troops in the district, that means around 21 full patrols at least. This year we only saw 8 teams from 4 troops. To those who didn’t attend, this competition is FREE! It’s only a few hours on one day a year and everybody sees the date on the planner almost 6 months in advance. There aren’t many valid excuses for not attending so please don’t let the scouts miss out on these opportunities. In the same breath, it’s difficult to plan these type of events and we’ve already lost out on Roberts Trophy for lack of interest, don’t let the Orienteering go in the same direction!

Another point, for those teams that did attend, remember orienteering is about 2 skills: Mapping & Management. Junior teams tended to score low due to bad plotting, but with practice this gets much better (even the top orienteers were juniors once). The senior teams lost out due mostly to bad time usage, this comes down to planning. We are going to be putting the orienteering plans out on this site so feel free to use them as practice sessions in your troop!

So here are the final the results:

1. 1st Table View Cobras   -   260 points
2. 1st Bothasig Hawks   -   247 points
3. 1st Blaauwberg Seagulls   -   166 points
4. 1st Bothasig Leopards   -   119 points
5. 1st Bothasig Eagles   -   117 points
6. 1st Bothasig Cobras   -   78 points
7. 1st Factreton Swifts   -   0 points
8. 1st Factreton Leopards   -   -3 points

The maximum points achievable was 350. Click here to download the full score breakdown in .pdf format. As alway, you are all winners for attending so WELL DONE!!!

1st Table View Cobras - Winners of District Orienteering 2009

Finally, we will be putting up all the documentation and maps we used on the site at a later stage so watch this space!

Cheers!

Scout Orienteering For Dummies

Hi All!!!

For the last couple of years the 1st Bothasig Rovers, or their future members have been planning, running and attending both the CW12 District Orienteering Competition and the Western Cape Provincial Orienteering. We run both these events using the same format, but it seems that sometimes scouts and scouters have other ideas of what is expected of them. So to help avoid future confusion, I’m writing a short explanation of how the format of our variation of score orienteering works. Please feel free to use this in your troops, for Explorer orienteering events or just to practice for one of the competitions we are running.

The type of control marker we use.

First off lets take a look at traditional Score Orienteering. Basically a large area is chosen and is then blanketed with 20-40 ‘control markers’ in random areas. These control markers need to be found to gain points. Obviously the farther away the markers are, the more points it is worth. In the competitions we run we usually allocate 5, 10, 15 or 20 points to a marker, with 5 being the easy ones and 20 being the toughest to find. The total maximum amount of point achievable is about 150. These markers are a red and white rectangle, about A5 size, which have a 2 digit code on them such as ‘D7′, ‘Q1′ or ‘C6′.

Scouts are given an arial photograph of the area in which the competition will take place. This photograph is totally clear of markings, except for a small cross, which marks the point of reference, and possibly the boundaries of the playing area. They are also given a ‘point sheet’ so they know which markers to go for. This sheet has 4 columns: bearing, distance, score and code (which is blank). Teams must

The 'traditional' orienteering map, which we avoid.

then use the bearings and distances to plot with a ruler and protractor the locations where all the control markers are and then decide which to go for using their point values in the score column. When they find one of the markers they must write the code in the empty column. Once the time limit is up the forms must be handed in and the points are tallied.

However, we do throw some hurdles in to prevent cheating and to promote teamwork and accuracy:

1. We may set up 40 points, but only require teams to find 20-25. The point sheets that are handed out are each randomized, so teams cannot copy each others codes and marker locations (we are careful to ensure that the randomized points do not give any team an advantage.
2. There are also decoy markers set in locations near to real ones. For this reason teams need to pay close attention to the locations on the photo and not just take the obvious looking ones.
3. The standard competition we run has 90min allocated to it. However we usually allow for 150min. If a team reports back after the initial 90min, they will receive -2 penalty points for everyminute they arrive late.

This is just the basic outline of how we run these competitions. Before going on one of these competitions, I would make sure all team members understand the following:

1. They must be able to use a numeric map scale (i.e. 1:50000 or 1:20000) and use this to convert from true distances to lengths on the map.
2. They must be able to draw a base-line on the map and use this to plot bearings (pay close attention to bearings over 180 degrees as these often cause trouble with the juniors).
3. A healthy respect for nature! Most of these events are run within nature reserves and as such we have to adhere to their rules. Bundu-bashing, climbing over fences, climbing trees, tresspassing and damaging plant and animal life are all against the rules and you will never need to do any of these things to find a marker.

Hope that helped! See you all at the next competition!