Orienteering is an outdoor activity where you walk or run a course via a series of "control" points, using a detailed map for guidance. There’s no set route between the controls, so you have to decide which way to go and find your way there. As well as map reading, it’s a great way to encourage decision-making, responsibility, knowing and recognising your environment, problem-solving, team-work, and self-confidence. As an outdoor group activity, it can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be – no tech is necessary.
Scottish Orienteering: What is Orienteering
This is the basic training recommended for teachers and outdoor activity leaders. The course introduces the basic skills of orienteering through indoor and outdoor activities, as well as ideas for how to bring learning to life through the medium of orienteering.
IntrO course is delivered in a modular format either completely online, or as a mixture of online and face to face learning. The online version would normally be delivered over a 4 week period with one 1.5 hour workshop each week. Participants are expected to do some home learning and practice various exercises between sessions.
This course is intended for people who have previously attended the IntrO course (or similar) and had some experience of putting the learning into practice. It's objective is to build confidence in planning orienteering exercises, as well as equipping participants with a range of practical skills for setting up courses using computer software. Skills covered will include: computer based course planning using PurplePen software; course setting and use of the MapRun smartphone app; course setting using Open Orienteering Map for Postbox challenges and simple urban exercises. The course will be delivered online in a modular format comprising 3 or 4 workshops (6 hr total). Participants will be expected to complete practical online planning activities as part of the course.
This course is intended for people who have previously attended the IntrO course (or similar), who have experience of delivering orienteering activities, and who are confident in the basic orienteering skills of map setting, symbol recognition and course setting. By the end of the course participants will be deemed qualified to deliver the Introducing Orienteering course to other teachers and outdoor leaders. This will be of benefit to an organisation that wishes to have the capacity to train staff internally to deliver orienteering activities. The course will be delivered as a mix of online and face to face training (6 hr total).