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Orienteering-Paper Based Maps Would Never Lose Their Charm: Shimonti Paul

Orienteering is a sport where participants navigate through unfamiliar terrain using only a topographical map and compass. Originally developed as a military training exercise, it has grown in popularity as an outdoor recreational activity for university students. Participants compete to locate control points marked on their maps the fastest. While GPS technologies seem to be replacing paper maps, the growing interest in orienteering among young people demonstrates the continuing value of map reading and navigation skills.

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Otilia Badea
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56 views2 pages

Orienteering-Paper Based Maps Would Never Lose Their Charm: Shimonti Paul

Orienteering is a sport where participants navigate through unfamiliar terrain using only a topographical map and compass. Originally developed as a military training exercise, it has grown in popularity as an outdoor recreational activity for university students. Participants compete to locate control points marked on their maps the fastest. While GPS technologies seem to be replacing paper maps, the growing interest in orienteering among young people demonstrates the continuing value of map reading and navigation skills.

Uploaded by

Otilia Badea
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Orienteering- Paper based maps would never

lose their charm


By
Shimonti Paul
-
March 28, 2018
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In the era of GPS, just felt like writing about an interesting sport that keeps the charm of paper-
based maps alive. Yes, I am talking about ‘orienteering’. It is a sport wherein participants use
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, which


they use to find control points. Originally a training exercise in land navigation for military
officers, orienteering has developed many variations. Currently, it is catching up as an exciting
outdoor activity among university students.

The 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.
While we were busy thinking the era of paper maps is about to get extinct and technology like
GPS will only be showing us the way forward, the increasing popularity of a sport involving map
and compass among the Generation Y is surely an interesting leap.

The activity is surely an adventurous one that gives an adrenaline rush. It’s like getting into a lost
world, looking for clues and making it to the destination.  The thrill intensifies as teams with
similar maps compete to reach the spot. While you need to be intelligent enough to decipher the
clues on the map, a good understanding of geography is necessary to excel.

When paper maps are almost losing their importance and shine, orienteering is an excellent way
to make the Generation Y remain grounded with the basics.  After all, the location technologies
we all use readily today owe their origin to these beautiful markings on paper.

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