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Getting Started at a CROC Meet
Orienteering is a cross country activity where participants use a detailed map
and a compass to navigate through a set course in the surrounding terrain. There are also
events that take place in the city where participants navigate through local parks.
Most events have a variety of courses varying from short and easy (2km) to long
and navigationally demanding (up to 15km). The Columbia River Orienteering Club
typically holds one to two meets a month in the greater Portland/Vancouver area.
Families, Scout groups, runners, walkers, adventure racers - all are welcome!
Here's a link to a site describing the sport of orienteering for newcomers. There's also more information at the US Orienteering federation website, especially in the Education section.
To hear a recorded interview (on KPDQ 93.9 FM, Destination Recreation show, 13 mins) with CROC member Mal Harding on orienteering, click here. To hear a report from our 2006 Play in the Woods Expo event (6 mins), click here.
The course
The object of an orienteering course is to use your map and compass to visit a
series of marked control points. These control points are all distinctive natural or
man-made features, such as a boulder, trail junction, hilltop or building.
At each control point, you'll find a white and orange flag with a special punch.
You use this punch to make a unique pattern in a card you're carrying with you.
At the finish, you'll turn in this card to prove you visited all the control points
on your course.
The map
If you've ever used a topographic map, an orienteering map will appear similar,
but with a lot more detail shown. The map is usually at a 1:10000 or 1:15000 scale,
more "zoomed in" than a topo map, but with similar features, such as contour lines,
streams and roads. Smaller features such as trails, boulders, cliffs, buildings, and
depressions are also shown. Here's an
example map fragment from Milo
MciVer State Park if you'd like a preview.
The start of the course is marked with a triangle on the map. Control points
are shown by a circle and the finish is shown by two concentric circles. The start,
the controls, and the finish are all joined by lines indicating the order by the
which the controls need to be taken. A course normally has between 6 and 15
controls, depending on the length, and the event type (see below).
The event
There is usually a registration area at each event where you register for a course.
At some events, pre-registration might be required. Compared to other sports,
orienteering is a very low-cost activity. Entry fees for events are usually under
$10 for smaller local events and $15-20 for larger regional or national events. See
our schedule of events to see what event fits your schedule. The following is a
description of the types of courses we typically offer at a CROC meet:
Typical Courses Offered:
White course/beginner level - 2-3 km, 8-10 controls, easy, often all on-trail hiking
Yellow course/adv beginner - 3-4 km, 10-12 controls, easy, on and near trail navigation
Orange/intermediate level - 4-7 km, 12+ controls, some off-trail, some on-trail navigation
Green/short advanced course - 4-7 km, 12+ controls, mostly off-trail navigation
Red/long advanced course - 7-9 km, 15+ controls, mostly off-trail navigation
There are also different formats for orienteering events:
Regular: An event where the controls must be visited in a certain order on foot
Score-O: Here you are given a map with a certain number of controls and a time limit. The object
is to get to as many controls as possible - in any order - and return to the finish area
within the time limit.
Rogaine: A long score-O event with time limits of 6, 12, or 24 hours.
Park-O: Fast-paced event in a city park, spectating encouraged!
Night-O: Orienteering in the dark, using a flashlight and/or headlamp.
Bike-O, Canoe-O, Kayak-O: orienteering using various non-foot forms of transportation
Ski-O: Winter-time orienteering on cross-country skis
Trail-O: a untimed form of orienteering emphasizing map reading skills
To get started
Pick an event and see if there is further event information online. If not, contact the
event director to get more information. For events in city parks, trail running shoes
should be adequate. Always wear clothing appropriate to the weather. You can bring your own
compass - a simple $10-15 baseplate style compass from any outdoor store is fine.
If you don't have a compass, we can rent you one at our events, too.
At the event
Our events typically offer start times from 11am to 1pm unless otherwise noted. Start times are
like tee times in golf; different groups leave a minute or two apart from the start, anytime between
11 am and 1 pm. Plan to arrive
at the park between 10:30 and 12:00, to allow enough time to register and attend a beginner's
clinic if you're a newcomer. We'll show you the basics of using a compass, how to read an orienteering map and how to finish your first course. If you're new to orienteering, you might want to try a beginner or
advanced beginner course at first, especially if you're participating with children. Those more
familiar with the outdoors might want to tackle an intermediate course. After registering,
you're off to the start line, where you can begin your course. We ask that all participants be back
in under 3 hours, or by 3 pm, which ever comes first. And if you decide to quit the course you're
on, you must return to our start/finish area and check out before leaving the park.
Typical Event Fees:
$7 - first person in a group (non-member)
$5 - first person in a group (club member)
$2 - each additional member of a group, 10 yrs & older (under 10 is free)
$2 - extra color map copy
$1 - compass rental
These fees do not include any extra daily use fee or parking fee charged by the park.
You must pay these separately. These rates may change depending on the venue, as well.
Membership
There are many benefits to becoming a CROC member! These include reduced rates at all
CROC events, our newsletter (River Currents, 6 issues/year) and our club email list.
For membership information,
please see our membership page.
Questions?
If you have specific questions, see the contacts page.
For general inquiries, contact email@croc.org. CROC also has a members e-mailing list where
information about current events is shared.
All photos copyright CROC/Jerry Rhodes 2002/2003.
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