The first two days of a weekend-long orienteering festival, that attracts both novices and experts in the sport, recently took place in Stellenbosch.
This is according to Oliver James, treasurer of the Peninsula Orienteering Club (PenOC), which annually hosts the Western Cape Orienteering Festival.
On an orienteering course, competitors must find a number of check-points (one of which is pictured above) using a map and various natural guides like boulders, rootstocks and trees. This is according to Oliver James, treasurer of the Peninsula Orienteering Club. Checkpoints such as this have become a recognisable symbol for the sport of orienteering, he stated. PHOTO: Bianke Neethling
“Orienteering is a navigation sport, where the competitor gets a detailed map of the area and needs to navigate […] round to find a set number of controls (check-points) set out in the terrain,” explained Richard Lange, PenOC chairman, via written correspondence with MatieMedia. “The person who completes the course the fastest, is the winner.”
“Our festival is an annual event where we make an effort to put on the best ‘classical orienteering’ event that we can,” stated Lange.
At the start of an orienteering competition, every competitor is given a map with a list of guides which they must use to navigate a certain area, explained Oliver James, treasurer of the Peninsula Orienteering Club. Different maps are made for the different courses of an orienteering competition. Pictured above is the map used for the novice course of the middle distance challenge of the 2022 Western Cape Orienteering Festival at Eden Forest, Stellenbosch. PHOTO: Bianke Neethling
A sport for all
The first day of the event, on 30 April, was a middle-distance challenge of around 5 km and was held at Eden Forest in Stellenbosch, said James. Many ages were represented on the day, with age categories ranging from 12 to 70, he stated.
The different courses one finds at orienteering events “[mean] that the sport appeals to a wide range of people – from families with young kids, to serious trail runners, to octogenarians”, explained Lange.
A lot of planning goes into orienteering events, as every new location has to be mapped out before the courses can be planned, according to James.
Pictured above are Oliver James, treasurer of the Peninsula Orienteering Club, and Pat Foura, a competitor in the middle distance challenge of the 2022 Western Cape Orienteering Festival. Foura has only taken part in a few orienteering challenges but really enjoys the sport, she said. PHOTO: Bianke Neethling
James stated that one of his favourite parts of orienteering is the community surrounding it and the passion this community shows for the sport.
PenOC is an amateur club, meaning, “no-one gets paid” and “everyone is a volunteer”, explained Lange. “We’re not in it to try and make money […] as our goal is to try and promote orienteering.”
“Because [orienteering is] primarily a navigation challenge, everyone’s start time is staggered (like a car rally) so that you cannot just follow the crowd,” explained Richard Lange, Peninsula Orienteering Club (PenOC) chairman, via written correspondence with MatieMedia. Orienteering attracts a lot of participants from trail running and adventure racing, as the sports share many similarities, explained Oliver James, treasurer of PenOC. PHOTO: Bianke Neethling
In South Africa, the sport is “much smaller” than in Scandinavia and other areas in Europe, where the sport originated, stated Lange. “One of the main challenges in South Africa is access to land. The sport is best enjoyed in forests and other nature areas and, unfortunately for us, most of the forests in Cape Town have been removed or are otherwise unavailable to be used.”
On the first day of the event, one of the competitors was Lyn Terry, a member of PenOC, whose octogenarian father, Glen Terry, has been doing orienteering “for around 40 years”, she stated.
When competing in orienteering, there is a chance that one may get lost on the course, said Oliver James, treasurer of the Peninsula Orienteering Club. However, this is part of the fun of the sport, he said. To better their navigation, some competitors use compasses during challenges, with some even equipping “thumb compasses”, said James. This need to orient oneself and find the best route on an orienteering course is why some also refer to the sport as ‘cunning running’, he said. PHOTO: Bianke Neethling
The second day of the event, a long-distance challenge, was held on 1 May at the Coetzenburg Centre in Stellenbosch. The last day of the event, a sprint challenge, is taking place on 2 May on Helderberg Farm in Somerset West.