Orienteering At Eaton

Get out in the bush


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Why do people orienteer?

Lots of reasons!

The Australian bush offers easy running in superb terrain. Bush events are centred around Winter - so you can enjoy the crisp/cool conditions punctuated by the occasional meeting with wildlife (kangaroos, wallabies) that share the forests with us.

 Social atmosphere - although it's a competitive sport, the vast majority of orienteers don't take it too seriously. A key part of the sport is the social environment before and after events - where you can swap stories with peers or ask advice from more experienced orienteers. A network of orienteering clubs, covering most areas in Australia, offers nearby contacts who will help you out until you find your own way in orienteering.

 It’s as competitive as you like – orienteering can be a gentle noncompetitive stroll or it can be taken to the highest level. Elite competitors compete in World Championships yearly and with training regimes similar to the best distance runners in the world.

 Learn to navigate - while navigating through the bush can be very challenging, this is only for the advanced courses. Every orienteering event caters for a range of skills and fitness - a typical event offers a range of courses with distances of 2-18 km and navigational difficulty from Very Easy through to Hard.

 It's a family sport - the range of courses provided offers one suitable for every person in the family from 8 to 80; there's even a string course for young children to entertain them and introduce them to some of the concepts in orienteering at an early age.

 It's a kid's sport - orienteering builds confidence in young people. By allowing participants to take part in a range of courses - at their own pace - orienteering offers a non-threatening way of learning how to navigate and to increase fitness. Typically, orienteering gives 10-12 year olds the ability and self-assurance required to venture out alone and complete a 3-5 Km course through the bush. Orienteering gives young people a level of self-confidence that few other sports or pastimes can offer.

 It's an adult's sport - orienteering is often known as "cunning running" - and as we get older, this cunning becomes more and more important. Orienteering is a sport in which the fastest runner does not always win; navigational mistakes can be costly - and a slow/accurate navigator will often beat faster less accurate people.

For more details about orienteering in Eaton contact on Don Mason 08 9795 7706

5 February 2020




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