the.com/orienteering
a footrace where reading a map wrong costs more than running slow.
means A competitive sport in which participants use a map and compass to navigate between checkpoints across unfamiliar terrain, racing to find them in the right order as fast as possible.
from From the Swedish 'orientering,' which entered English in the early 20th century when the sport took shape in Scandinavia. The root is 'orient' — literally 'the east,' from Latin 'oriens,' the rising sun — because to 'orient' yourself once meant turning to face the dawn so you'd know which way was which. Orienteering simply made that ancient act of finding your bearings into a race.
- origin
- Born in 1890s Sweden as military training
- the gear
- Thumb compass and waterproof map, no GPS
- navigation tax
- Fittest racer loses to the smartest one
- control points
- Orange-white flags hidden across rough terrain
- global reach
- World championships span over 70 countries
jukola relay finland — largest orienteering event in the world, held annually since 1975 with 4,000+ participants in teams of 7