For the uninitiated, orienteering is a little wacko. Essentially, it’s a running sport in which participants locate and visit a series of stations, or controls, as quickly as possible. But underlying the “running” part of the sport is complex decision-making process; in orienteering the route between the controls is not defined. Instead, each orienteerer makes his/her own decisions about the fastest or most efficient routes, and as the old saying goes, the shortest path between two points isn’t always a straight line. In fact, in orienteering, a convoluted route can be surprisingly fast!
During October and November, students in Grades 8 and 10 have been learning how to read maps to identify those fast and convoluted paths between points in courses around Riverstone, as well as in Ann Morrison Park, Stewart Gulch, and Idaho City. On the Riverstone campus, students used familiar paths, buildings and roads as “handrails,” “attack points,” and “catching features.” In Ann Morrison Park, Gr 8 students got a little trickier, “aiming off” to simplify the longer routes through unfamiliar terrain. With a bit more experience under their belts, the next stop for Gd 10 were the hills of Stewart Gulch near the base of Bogus Basin Road where “spurs” and “reentrants” complicated every decision; students had to stop, think, and decide, “Up and over, or contour around?”
Finally, this Tuesday, Gr 10 students travelled to Idaho City for orienteering with a twist. In a “Score” course, instead of being told to complete the course in a prescribed order, students were given 45 minutes to visit 12 controls in any order they wanted; collect points for every control, but get penalties for going over 45 minutes. In addition to making small decisions about getting from control to control, students had to identify the most efficient way to connect all the dots. Impressively, some students completed the nearly 3km course, with almost 150m of elevation gain, in terrain riddled with knolls, reentrants, spurs, old mining ditches and paths, in forest that obstructed their view, making critical route choices and reassessing their position every step of the way, in just over 30 minutes. Needless to say they were breathless as they sprinted back from the final control, sweating despite the near-freezing temps!
Spatial awareness, critical decision-making? Check. Initiative? Yep. Personal responsibility in environments with elevated risk? You bet. Fresh air and exercise? Absolutely. Oh, and they can read a map!
How would you fare on this course….?
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