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Home Natural Venues orienteering: Orienteering is oftentimes called "the thinking sport," said Patrick Nuss, event director for the Cascade Orienteering Club in Seattle. "Not only does it give you the physical challenge of exploring nature, but thereʼs the mental exercise of navigating to a series of checkpoints with a detailed map. Courses run over natural areas, on and off trails, through city parks, and in urban areas. Our events cater to all ages and abilities, from schoolchildren to seniors, from beginners to world-class orien- teers." The club recently hosted the 2012 United States Interscholastic & Intercollegiate Orienteering Championships at Lord Hill Regional Park in Snohomish County, Wash. Planning for an orienteering event requires a lot more work than just laying out a course, Nuss said. "We start by creating ultra detailed maps of the competition areas, spending hundreds of hours in the field, making sure that weʼve got all of the trails, topo- graphic contours and precise fea- tures like individual boulders and knolls in the correct spot." A good map can be used for several years or several decades, depending on how much the topography changes. "Once a map is made, then we design courses or a sequence of checkpoints that the competi- tors need to find. Because this was a national championship, our governing body (Orienteering USA) assigned a course con- sultant to make sure that the overall courses were fair, safe and of the right difficulty level. We also have course vetters who visit the venues ahead of time to visit the checkpoints and run the routes in between. Thatʼs an important step, as itʼs crucial that the checkpoint is on the right place on the map." Finally, a crew places checkpoint flags and electronic timing equipment at each checkpoint. The electronic aspect—runners carry a device that they must connect with to check off each backwards, and a third drives along perimeter and interior roads. Usually, the lost person makes their way to a major trail or road, and we find them rather quickly." "We also ask all participants to provide a vehicle license plate and phone number. If someone is suspected missing, and their car is still in the parking area, then that confirms that they are on the course," said Nuss. Finally, the Cascade Orienteering Club has local law enforce- ment and fire/emergency on call. "Thankfully, in the eight years Iʼve been involved in events, weʼve never had to make that call," Nuss said, "but itʼs always best to be prepared." ■ F.M. To learn more about the sport of orienteering, visit the website of the national governing body at www.us.orienteering.org. 24 August 2012 www.sportseventsmagazine.com Subscribe Contact S.P.O.R.T.S. 2012 unique challenges are all over the map point along the course—also helps track any lost competitors. "This may tell us that a missing person visited checkpoints #1, #2 and #3, but not #4. This suggests that we shouldnʼt be focusing a search near #1 or #10, for example," Nuss said. If there is an overdue participant, organizers send out searchers, equipped with two-way radios, who focus on the areas of the map where they suspect the missing person is. "Usually, one follows the course from the start, another follows it Shara Feld/Cascade Orienteering Club