PJ - Uringa Orienteers Sydney

May 10, 2025May 10, 2025Video & Articles

WOW 2025: World Orienteering Week

The week of the 17th to the 25th May this year is World Orienteering Week! This is the 10th year World Orienteering Week has been celebrated and it consists of organised races and educational events around the globe to foster and promote the sport of orienteering.

Here in Sydney we have Garringal Orienteers organising their Moonlight Madness orienteering evening to celebrate WOW 2025. Running around the Woolwich foreshore on the lovely Sydney Harbour will be an ideal way to celebrate this great week! As the name suggests, it’s an evening event and as such head torches are necessary. As usual you can read about the event details on Eventor.

If you are thinking of registering and hosting an event, WOW organisers maintain a catalogue of possible events that you can freely get ideas from.

Happy orienteering in World Orienteering Week!

April 28, 2025April 29, 2025Physical Training, Training Tools

Norwegian strength training for orienteering

Good orienteers combine a brilliant combination of abilities – large amounts of cognitive flexibility, fast processing and good memory skills, aerobic fitness, good balance and muscular strength. Those last two qualities shouldn’t be under-rated as orienteers have to deal with very steep ground and many obstacles in every course. Running across even just uneven ground is a fair challenge to most people’s ankle strength, let alone the type of mix of rocks, gravel, scree, mud and assorted low foliage orienteers have to deal with.

So it’s natural that, as in many other running sports, lower limb injuries are by far the most common injuries sustained by orienteers. The Scandinavians, with their long history of orienteering excellence, bring some serious thinking and focus to this issue.

And so from Norway, the land of the fjords, Skadefri and Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center have produced a website tailored to athletes of many sports, and an app, Get Set, which will mirror the functionality of the website but in a tailored, mobile-friendly form.

The FitToPlay website and the app have considerable resources devoted to physical training for orienteering. A feature is its focus on starting young, with challenging games for kids which are really strength and balance exercises in disguise. This leads progressively to more structured, formal activities that older orienteers can use to condition themselves for the demands of later orienteering. The app and website are well worth checking out!

NB: It looks like Skadefri and the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center have chosen to release the app under the banner of the International Olympic Committee but it’s their own app.

April 27, 2025April 27, 2025Orienteering News

King’s Birthday weekend orienteering!: KBIII 2025

The next big orienteering meet for regional orienteers is the KBIII 2025 meet near Bathurst on King’s Birthday Weekend, 7-9 June, 2025. With two days out in the bush at Khalil Rocks (south of Bathurst on the road to Cowra) and one day in Scots All Saints College in Bathurst, there will be lots of fantastic orienteering on offer.

The races are Medium on Day 1, Long on Day 2 and a Sprint to finish on Day 3. Medium and Long events are held in terrain which is quite varied, fairly rocky, but also with large areas of clear, runnable ground. Each event is a NSW State League event.

There is an online pdf of information on this lovely weekend and also the Eventor listing in the usual location.

July 8, 2024July 8, 2024Video & Articles

New opening day for permanent orienteering course in Randwick!

The good folks at Randwick Sustainability Hub and Uringa Orienteers are launching the new permanent and accessible orienteering course in Randwick on August 10! If you want to attend the launch (initially scheduled for earlier in the year but cancelled because of the atrocious weather) you can do so at Humanitix.

The Randwick Permanent Courses consist of an EASY course which is 1.4km and wheelchair accessible, and a MINI course which is suitable for younger children and is only 400m. They are a great introduction to orienteering for both able-bodied and kids with disabilities.

You don’t even need a compass to do these courses! You can download the map and control card straight to your phone here, or alternatively use the free MapRun app on your phone to navigate the courses!

July 8, 2024July 8, 2024Video & Articles

Australian Orienteering Championships in Armidale 28th September-6th October, 2024

Armidale is going to host the next Australian Orienteering Championships at the end of September and beginning of October in 2024! Armidale is situated on The Granite Belt of the Great Dividing Range, and has played host to many regional and state orienteering events. This year it will offer a new area with captivating granite features and fast, runner-friendly terrain and foliage!

The whole festival will last from Saturday, 28th September to Sunday, 6th October and there is plenty of tourist and cultural activities to experience between races.

The races in the AOC include the Australian Sprint, Long, Middle, & Relay Championships and the Australian Schools Sprint, Long, & Relay Championships.

Also included in the program of races is the Thunderbolt Series which is made up of Sprint, Middle and Long Distance events over 3 days which is separate but complementary to the Australian Championship.

The Thunderbolt Series provides some extra racing while being a little less exacting – starting times are not scheduled, categories are not divided by age. The races do however offer differing levels of difficulty to suit wherever orienteers feel they’re at, with divisions from A (Hard course, most competitive) through G (Very Easy course, less hell-bent!). It’s a great event to race with family members in a less competitive environment while still enjoying the challenges of the course and the joys of the scenery.

Moira Whiteside Bequest

This carnival is supported by a grant of $15,000 from the Moira Whiteside Bequest through Orienteering Australia. Orienteering is the beneficiary of a magnificent bequest by Moira Whiteside of Garingal Orienteers in NSW.

July 8, 2024July 8, 2024Orienteering News

A fabulous introduction to orienteering in Sydney: the Centennial Park Permanent Course

Did you know there’s a permanent orienteering course in the heart of Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs at Centennial Park? First mapped in 1972, it’s been revised 4 times over the year’s and is one of Australia’s finest permanent courses.

The course can serve as a fabulous introduction to orienteering, is easily reached from much of Sydney, and can be run at any time with just a map and compass if you wish. The course’s controls take the form of orange and white markers on posts with a number corresponding to the number of the control. Well-placed, they are not hidden but are not so obvious that you don’t have to do some serious navigating to find them.

The course itself is expansive, with lots of distance between controls to run and with nicely varied terrain – from forested slopes on the north side through fields in the centre to more low-lying ponds and swamps to the south. The wealth of distinctive landmarks makes navigation a lot easier for first-time orienteers.

One of the great things about this course is that, while it covers quite a lot of ground, it’s very hard/impossible to get lost on it, due to the easy geography, landmarks and roads. And hey, if you get tired, just drop in on one of the cafés for a cool drink to spritz yourself up again! A great introduction to orienteering in the centre of Sydney!

There are two possible Start+Finish markers located in the middle of the park, so if you’re coming by car, either park close to the northern café for S1 (Start/Finish 1) or on Dickens Drive or Loch Avenue for S2 (Start/Finish 2) and the course will lead you back to your car.

You will need a compass, running shoes and a map to complete the course. The map of the course was created by Uringa’s own Dave Lotty. You can download it out at the bottom of this page from the link just below and print it to take to Centennial Park.

Centennial-Park-permanent-course-2017 Download

July 8, 2024July 8, 2024Orienteering News

New Permanent Orienteering Courses in Randwick!

Uringa has just helped Randwick City Council install two permanent orienteering courses at the Randwick Sustainability Hub.

July 8, 2024July 8, 2024Youth Competitions

European Youth Orienteering Championships 2021: Relay

July 8, 2024July 8, 2024Youth Competitions

Australian Schools Orienteering Championships 2017

July 8, 2024July 8, 2024Youth Competitions

European Youth Orienteering Championships 2021: Sprint

The 2021 European Youth Orienteering Championships Sprint event was held in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.

Check out the typical sprint format as it plays out in such a richly historical European town!

July 8, 2024July 8, 2024Youth Competitions

European Youth Orienteering Championships 2021: Long Distance

July 8, 2024July 8, 2024Elite competitions

Baltic Orienteering Championship 2024

The Baltic Orienteering Championships for 2024 was held in Ignalina, Lithuania. The strongest athletes from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia took part.

March 9, 2024March 25, 2024Orienteering News

PreO Means Orienteering For People With Disabilities!

There is a form of orienteering which has been created specifically to cater to those with disabilities – PreO! (short for Precision Orienteering)

PreO relies on placing controls in accessible situations by paths and roads (though often still deep in forests) to enable those with more limited mobility to enjoy orienteering. Competitors are given single control maps and descriptions at each timed control but the level of map-reading and decision making is significantly harder than comparable able-bodied orienteering, so decision-making is timed, not travelling speed between controls.

Competitors can take an escort with them to help with any accessibility issues (eg. pushing a wheelchair) but the escort must not help with any decision making. Extra helpers are also sometimes stationed on particularly steep slopes so accessibility doesn’t mean lack of adventure!

Primary ranking in each race is determined by how many controls the competitor gets right, with decision timing often a way of breaking a tie.

Click on the video above to see how PreO worked at O-Ringen 2022 in Uppsala, Sweden. You can read about PreO further at the British Orienteering website.

What a great way of making orienteering even more inclusive!

(BTW – We now have short, accessible orienteering courses at the Randwick Sustainability Hub in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.)

October 16, 2023January 15, 2024Great Races

O-Ringen

O-Ringen 2022 Stage 1

O-Ringen is an iconic, 5-stage Swedish orienteering competition, held over a week every year in different regions of Sweden since 1965.

It usually attracts 15-20,000 competitors from around the world, from beginner to elite, toddlers to senior citizens.

It is a vastly well-organised event, but the O-Ringen organisers (like most every other orienteering organiser!) also incorporate a real sustainable ethos and policies in order to minimise the impact of the event.

It has a lovely, family-oriented, community-based vibe, with a full program of activities around the actual races.

In addition to the races and cultural events, there is also the O-Ringen Academy, where orienteers from around the world, local club leaders and everyday enthusiasts can all learn skills for furthering their own orienteering or their country’s orienteering programs.

October 3, 2023December 11, 2023Elite competitions

The European Orienteering Championships (EOC)

EOC 2018, Middle Final

First held in 1962, the European Orienteering Championships (EOC) are now held annually. They consist of urban sprint and forest events in alternate years. They are contested by the finest Elite Class orienteers in Europe.

The urban sprint races include Sprint, Knockout Sprint and Relay formats, while the forest events include Middle, Long and Relay formats.

September 16, 2023January 15, 2024Great Races

Swiss O-Week

Swiss O-Week 2023 Stage 6 Aftermovie

Swiss O-Week is held every second year in a different part of Switzerland.

It is similar to O-Ringen, attracting competitors from all over the world, from beginners through to Elites and Masters. Like O-Ringen it is beautifully organised and run, but on a smaller scale, with about 4,000 runners competing over the week.

September 16, 2023January 15, 2024Great Races

25manna Relay

The 25manna is a relay orienteering race for club teams that has been held in Sweden every autumn since 1974.

25 runners start in a team (hence the name), with the set of rules specifying the line-up of the teams. This creates the special appeal of the race, as amateurs and juniors can run together with elite runners in one team.

23 teams competed in the first race in 1974. Since then the number has steadily increased. 100 teams competed for the first time in 1982, 200 in 1985 and 300 in 1989. Since the early 1990s, the number of teams has been around 350.

Rules

at least seven women must be represented in the team
at least one member must be 16 years of age or younger
on certain legs of the race, runners must be under 14 or over 45 years old

September 8, 2023December 11, 2023Video Tutorials - Beginner's Guide

Starting an Orienteering Course

Starting an orienteering race is simple but does consist of a few vital steps.

Warm-up

First you need to warmup as you would for any run – hip, knee and especially lower legs need to be primed and ready for the effort to maximise your performance and, most importantly, avoid injury.

Clear & Check

Then you walk to the start area where there are Clear and Check control points, which you use to clear the old data on your Sportident timing stick and check the stick is working correctly.

Choose Map

You then need to pick out the map of the race you’re doing.

On bigger races, there can be quite a range of maps to choose from so you have to make sure you’re picking the right one for your chosen race. Typically the maps are in shallow trays, labelled according to race, and helpers are around to make sure you get it right. This part obviously is key as on any race there will be easy, moderate and hard maps.

On many bigger races too, depending on the type, runners will be released in small groups at 30 second intervals to avoid crowding amongst the starters.

Start

Lastly, walk or run to the Start Control and insert your timing stick into the control to start your race proper. And you’re off!