Orienteering

Orienteering

Noun · /ˌɔː.ri.ənˈtɪər.ɪŋ/

Definition

A competitive outdoor sport in which participants navigate between control points marked on a detailed topographic map, choosing their own route, using a map and compass; the fastest to visit all controls in sequence wins.

Origin

From Swedish orientering (orientation, finding one's bearings), from orientera (to orientate, to find one's direction), from French orienter (to orient, to position facing east — from Latin oriens, rising, east, the rising sun). The sport developing in Scandinavia in the late nineteenth century as a military training exercise — Norwegian and Swedish officers using map-and-compass navigation through forest terrain as competitive events. The first organised orienteering competition held in Norway in 1897. The word and sport spreading to the rest of Europe through the mid-twentieth century, becoming an international competitive sport with its own World Championships from 1966.