Ever been to Singapore for orienteering? Not quite a popular competition destination for orienteers (yet), but it’s rising quick among the Asian orienteers!
A ranking league is not only important for the fair comparison of athletes. It can also be a boost to publicity and attract more people to the sport. As a higher level event, ranking events are often opportunities for orienteers across regions to mix and chill, like Hong Kong recently did by designating one of the ranking events as a “Guangdong-HK-Macau Championships”.
This year, Singapore will be joining the ranks of major orienteering nations by starting a ranking league. The first event will be held in April and spread out to 3 days, each day with a different location and format:
If you’re going to be in Singapore that weekend, this is sure to be something you don’t want to miss.
There are few opportunities in the life of a university student to meet on one spot hundreds of people from places all across China and even Europe, while at the same time to enjoy the natural scenery and typical food of the hosts.
All these characters and chapters in our Kunming story have one thing in common: the challenging discipline of orienteering which combines the ability to run and the ability to navigate through an unknown territory with a map and a compass.
The annual 10-day orienteering gathering we are attending was founded in 2016 by mappers from Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangdong province.
With the aim to provide a platform for competing, training, and exchange of ideas, and with the mission to create a wave of interest for orienteering across China, its Chinese name was translated into “Big Dipper 10-Day Wave”.
Thanks to our extremely dedicated and loving organisers, we have had the privilege to run in a small village, on university campuses, in a shopping mall, in an pear orchard, a hill forest above a Taoist temple, and a lakeside golf course.
Each of the tracks came with its own challenges; the windy alleys and many corners of the village, or the impassable fences and rough terrain of the pear orchard demanded a lot of attention and precision.
Among the orienteering enthusiasts in our training there are parents and their children, as well as teachers and their students.
By sharing the passion for orienteering, we all are a colourful mosaic of individuals contributing to the diversity of our training.
For some orienteering may be just a competition, however in our 10-day training orienteering is a means to learn and be inspired by others, to reflect on our performance, and to strive for improvement.
The more we discuss together the map and the various routes each of us attempted after a competition, the clearer the contours and colours of our individual personalities and orienteering abilities become, and the more we learn from each other.
In contrast to the outdoor orienteering race, the indoor view is very limited. If you think you’ll find more directional reference indoor, you’re dead wrong. After the start of the game you’ll find that the view is blocked by heavy walls and display boards. The structures of the buildings are very similar. The whole process is like running in a maze, searching for targets in the Chamber. The judgement of distance, direction, location and space is more difficult and challenging than that in the outdoor village orienteering race. In addition, breakthrough mission was added into the open group competition, which made the contestants very enjoyable.
Mo Jingxiong, a former world champion in orienteering and senior adviser to the Association, said, the 2019 Orienteering World Cup final will be held in October in Xiqiao, Nanhai, Foshan, the first time the World Cup makes its way into Asia. By then, there will be nearly 300 top players from 30 countries and regions present. He believes that, by hosting city races and introducing high-level races, more people will feel the charm of orienteering and become the city’s wonderful explorer.
