Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they use to find control points. Originally a training exercise in land navigation for military officers, orienteering has developed many variations. Among these, the oldest and the most popular is foot orienteering. For the purposes of this article, foot orienteering serves as a point of departure for discussion of all other variations, but almost any sport that involves racing against a clock and requires navigation with a map is a type of orienteering.
Christopher William Brasher CBE was a British track and field athlete, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon.
Stephen Cram, is a British retired track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arrow", after his home town, Cram set world records in the 1,500 m, 2,000 m, and the mile during a 19-day period in the summer of 1985. He was the first man to run 1,500 m under 3 minutes and 30 seconds. He won the 1,500 m gold medal at the 1983 World Championships and the 1,500 m silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games.
British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in 2008 by a merger of the British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport (UCS) organisations. BUCS is responsible for organising more than 52 inter-university sports in the UK and representative teams for the World University Championships and the World University Games.
British Fencing (BF), formerly the British Fencing Association is the national governing body (NGB) for the Olympic sport of fencing in the British Isles.
The International Orienteering Federation (IOF) is the international governing body of the sport of orienteering. The IOF head office is located in Karlstad, Sweden. The IOF governs four orienteering disciplines: foot orienteering, mountain bike orienteering, ski orienteering, and trail orienteering.
John Ivor Disley CBE was a Welsh athlete. He competed mainly in the 3000 metres steeplechase before co-founding the London Marathon and becoming active in sports promotion and administration. He was born in Corris, a village in Gwynedd and attended Oswestry Boys High School in Oswestry before studying at Loughborough College.
Orienteering USA (OUSA), formerly United States Orienteering Federation (USOF), is the national governing body for orienteering in the United States. It is recognized by the International Orienteering Federation and the United States Olympic Committee. It was founded on 1 August 1971. Orienteering USA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. There are 68 current member clubs and over 1,500 members.
Orienteering Australia is the National organisation responsible for the governing, organisation and promotion of orienteering in Australia. It is a Full Member of the International Orienteering Federation. Orienteering Australia has its own publication The Australian Orienteer.
The English Orienteering Council has sole responsibility for the English teams.
Graham Gristwood is a British orienteering competitor and world champion.
The history of orienteering begins in the late 19th century in Sweden, where it originated as military training. The actual term "orienteering" was first used in 1886 at the Swedish Military Academy Karlberg and meant the crossing of unknown land with the aid of a map and a compass. The competitive sport began when the first competition was held for Swedish military officers on 28 May 1893 at the yearly games of the Stockholm garrison. The first civilian competition, in Norway on 31 October 1897, was sponsored by the Tjalve Sports Club and held near Oslo. The course was long by modern standards, at 19.5 km, on which only three controls were placed. The competition was won by Peder Fossum in a time of 1 hour, 47 minutes, and 7 seconds.
Björn Kjellström, originally from Sweden, was a ski orienteering champion in Sweden and co-founder of the compass manufacturing company Silva Sweden AB which produced the Silva compass. More than 25 million Silva compasses have been sold since the founding of the company.
The Norwegian Orienteering Federation is the national Orienteering Association in Norway. It is recognized as the orienteering association for Norway by the International Orienteering Federation, of which it is a member. The association was founded 1 October 1945, and is a member of the Norwegian Confederation of Sports (NIF). Its first chairman was Kaare Thuesen. In 1946 NOF had 204 associated clubs, with just above 7,000 members. The number of clubs and associated members increased gradually through the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and peaked in 1984 with 630 clubs and 34,000 members, and 35,000 members and 620 clubs in 1985. The next twenty years saw a decline in the number of clubs and members. As per December 2007 Norges Orienteringsforbund had 400 associated clubs and just above 24,000 members, distributed over eighteen districts.
Foot orienteering is the oldest formal orienteering sport, and the one with the most "starts" per year. Usually, a FootO is a timed race in which participants start at staggered intervals, are individually timed, and are expected to perform all navigation on their own. The control points are shown on the orienteering map and must be visited in the specified order. Standings are determined first by successful completion of the course, then by shortest time on course.
Jan Alvar Kjellström was a Swedish orienteer who played an important role in the development of the sport of orienteering in Great Britain.
The Jan Kjellström International Orienteering Festival or "JK" is the premier domestic orienteering competition in the United Kingdom along with the British Orienteering Championships, usually held over the Easter Weekend.
Scottish Orienteering Association (SOA), also known as Scottish Orienteering, is the association for Orienteering in Scotland and is a constituent association of the British Orienteering Federation. It is the [[Scottish Governing Body for the sport of Orienteering in Scotland.
British Property Federation (BPF) is a not-for-profit membership organisation representing companies involved in property ownership and investment.
