in: Juniors;
| # Posted 2007-10-21 21:00:08 | |
| olympicdreamer: | hi! i have not really done a real orienteering race before, but i am taking an orienteering class at school, the teacher tells us that we should use the compass a lot, but i find it easier to just go by landmarks on the map...will it always be like that during races? |
| # Posted 2007-10-21 21:12:01 | |
| the kempster: | it really depends on the type of terrain that ur running in. if there are a lot of features, then, in ur case, u could just check off the major features as you go past, doing rough or precision map-reading. but if ur running through empty, featureless terrain, the compass is ur best friend! you should do whatever works best for you though, whether it's using ur compass a lot, or never using it at all. i've heard of some elite orienteers who don't even carry a compass with them!
an orienteering class sounds really cool, and goodluck in ur first o-race! |
| # Posted 2007-10-22 05:25:07 | |
| Acampbell: | I'm the same way i normally only use it for bearings and orienting my map. However i should use it a lot more but more as a tool to help me judge how far things are from each other using the side of the compass. And like Emily said it really depends on the terrain. This summer in Scotland there was one day were it was just flat and no features you really needed to use your compass there.
i would say learn how to use it that way if you need to you can pull it out of your "tool box" and use it but if you don't and you work better with out than do that. and yes an orienteering class sounds awesome! good luck on your first race! |
| # Posted 2007-10-22 20:37:45 | |
| olympicdreamer: | thanks...the class has been in a open area, but all of the controls are by landmarks like a building or the edge of a baseball field...so i took a rough bearing to get me in the right direction then just looked for the landmark that i needed... |
| # Posted 2007-10-26 22:40:33 | |
| ebone: | i took a rough bearing to get me in the right direction then just looked for the landmark that i needed
That sounds like exactly the right technique for that situation. |
| # Posted 2007-11-05 00:02:11 | |
| mood: | the kempster > Finnish elit orienteer Pasi Ikonen doesn't use compass, and he has won the world champs on short distans 2001. So you doesn't have to use compass at all :P |
| # Posted 2008-04-04 06:11:59 | |
| daedalus: | Yeah, that sounds right. I find that when most people teach orienteering, like in scouts for example, they just tell you to ignore the map and take bearings between controls. In real orienteering the compass (if used!) is to keep you going in generally the right direction. |
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