Category: Okategoriserade

In 2018, a new name became the talk of the Asian orienteering community—the Asian Cup. Its conception follows a line of newly founded Asian-wide events, which also include the Asian Junior and Youth Orienteering Championships (AsJYOC) and the Asian Trail Orienteering Championships.

While Europe is already widely known as the “hinterland” of the orienteering sport with an abundance of “European-wide” events (EOC, EYOC, ETOC…), the trend is just catching up in Asia with only a handful of countries (mainly in East Asia) with sufficient talent to field teams. Many more countries (mainly in Southeast Asia) still in a foundation stage with a very small core of orienteers. So why the Asian Cup, and how is it different from the other Asian-wide events (AsOC etc.)?

The Asian Cup

The Asian Cup is led and administered by the Orienteering Association of Hong Kong, which is also one of the first places in Asia to have formal orienteering (see the article Did you know…?)

OAHK has set up a website to host information relating to the four Asian-wide events (AsOC, Asian Cup, AsJYOC, ATOC), which looks largely identical in design to the OAHK website.

Unlike the World Cup in orienteering, there is no such thing as an independent Asian Cup stage event. Most Asian Cup events are World Ranking Events, but the Asian Cup also includes the Asian Orienteering Championships. Relay events (sprint/forest) may also be included.

Participation in the Asian Cup is restricted to elite competitors registered by their federations, and no more than 30 males and 30 females per federation (Note: this equals the maximum number of people allowed to join the Elite class in Hong Kong ranking events each year, separately for sprint and middle/long distance events). IOF top level event rules also apply (must hold full passport of that country, must have IOF athlete license). Cup results are computed using a 40-rank scoring system ranging from the 1st (100 points) to the 40th rank (9 points) for each stage. Other finishers will be given 5 points for each stage. Scores and overall titles are awarded to both individuals and federations.

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Which events are included in the Asian Cup?

The calendar of the 2019 Asian Cup that year, as announced by OAHK, is as follows:

• Japan, 14 April 2019 (All Japan Orienteering Championship in Nikko)
• Malaysia, 5 October 2019 (Malaysia Polytechnic Orienteering Championship in Kuantan, also see Tropical Orienteering Week)
• Taipei, 12–13 October 2019 (Kinmen Orienteering Championships)
• China, date to be confirmed (editor’s note: very likely to be the final stage of the Historical Road Championships this year on 14–15 October 2019)

Who won the Asian Cup last year?

See this file. We haven’t found the federation scores but you can add the athletes’ scores up and get the result.

Got itchy feet?

Remember that the Asian Cup is limited to Asian elite athletes only, so unless you take up the nationality of one of the participating federations, you can’t really be part of it. However, most events are also World Ranking Events at the same time so it’s a good idea to check the calendar and book your trip (why not consider the Tropical Orienteering Week in Malaysia?)

Christmas is near and it’s hard to miss with the winter cold and all the Christmas carols around! When darkness and snow fall and foot orienteering gets a pause—do you know there’s two weeks of orienteering adventure coming in subtropical South China?

If you want to be in (and avoid the snow and cold) keep in mind that the deadline is fast approaching! See the map below and click on the orienteering markers for more info:

This post explains the rationale behind this website. You can also find the text at About us.

Orienteering has traditionally been centered on Europe, with the highest concentration of orienteers in Scandinavia and strong activity across Europe. Unfortunately, orienteering on the other continents have not yet been able to match that of Europe whether in activeness or in performance. European ways and terrains continue to dominate the definition of orienteering to this day.

Things are changing, however. In Asia, the Americas, Africa and Oceania, orienteering activity has increased and performance improved. Asia, in particular, is the most exciting place for orienteering growth—as adventure sports and travel gain momentum in Asia, so has orienteering become one of the newest trends in many Asian countries. In places where orienteering has been around for a while (like Hong Kong), the dynamics of the sport have been reinvigorated by a new generation of innovative orienteers. New championships are started and international events are springing up quickly.

Orienteering in Asia is very different from in Europe. While European-like forests can still be seen in the temperate areas of Asia (which China, Korea and Japan are privy to), the particular focus of orienteering development in Asia has been sprint orienteering. The cosmopolitan and urban-savvy populace in Asia’s metropolises are eager to take on the sport and discover their cities in a fun and engaging manner. The speed of sprint orienteering also has what it takes to make the sport trendy in fast-moving Asian cities. Trail orienteering is also seeing much growth in Asia, extending beyond its traditional base of masters and disabled persons. Not to ignore forest orienteering—places like Hong Kong are known to offer thrilling orienteering experiences with complicated terrain and breathtaking scenery just steps away from the city!

With more and more Europeans choosing Asia for holidays, among them orienteers, there is much potential for orienteering to grow even further in the cities, towns and resorts where the sport has not yet been a hit. Moreover, by encouraging interflow between orienteers far apart, we can make orienteering a truly worldwide sport with competitive events in all corners of the globe. ORIEN.ASIA aims to achieve this by bringing Asian orienteering to European orienteers online. We hope you will come and enjoy a unique orienteering experience in Asia.

ORIEN.ASIA, the Asian orienteering information site, was originally written in Swedish but over time most of the posts became bilingual. Now we decide to start a new English site to expand our audience. Material on this website will be translated to English over time. Past bilingual posts may be accessed through the Swedish website. Welcome!