Category: Orienteering News

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.

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

 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!

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.)