How did you start Orienteering?

[SeanC]

Thought I'd start this one based on Steve Vernon's questionaire.

Don't let it stop you doing his though.

Please tell us all about your first event if you feel like it

[geomorph]

not my first event but my first real exposure at a 'training camp' run by the university club.

Only done simple compass stuff with the scouts until I got to U. Was about to talk to the Running Club, when the guy in charge of O club collared me and pursuaded me to join, and come on the camp that very weekend in Borders Forest Park. Well the offer of some free beer went a long way in convincing me.

We were led deep into the forest, on an enlarged 1:25000. Our leader showed us a 5 control course (td 5!) he had set, then gave a map to his mate who then disappeared into the forest. The leader then explained what was going on (how to orienteer) and by the time that was done the mate was back, punches perfect. 'Your turns now'.....

Needless to say the success level amongst the novices was very low. Next day, after some really good tracking and teaching the previous afternoon by the experienced guys, I found all the controls, and I was hooked.

Funnily enough everybody who participated that weekend stayed with the club over the next 3 years, even though some of us never really got any better.

[andy]

through school when I was about 14, did the white, then the yellow, then the orange. never looked back!

[LostAgain]

Just started work after University and was looking for something to keep me fit. Came across advertising for local event when walking the dog in the local wood. Took part, got very interested and was then captured by local summer evening event program advertised at the event and never looked back.

[Gross]

School.... was attracted by the big orange Dala Horse that was the Scottish Schools Team Prize:)

[redkite]

Went to a few events with Scouts in the early 1970's, including the 72 British Juniors, had a 30 year break until Rhodri's mum started a school club at my daughter's school and dragged me along to a local event.

[Steve]

Took part in a KIMM from a running background and started orienteering to improve my navigation. O soon became my primary sport.

[Gnitworp]

Went on a YHA activity week in The Lakes run by David Griffiths MDOC culminating in the 1970 Mammoth (ran Junior Men aged 23).

First event after returning home was a 90 minute score event on an OS photocopy using the whole of Epping Forest, i.e., both sides of the A11 (as was) with freedom to cross anywhere!

[Neil M40]

My father started orienteering in or possibly before 1970. I am not sure how he got started but he was always into walking and climbing so possibly through that. My mother started taking me and my brothers round the wayfinders some time after. I cannot remember a time when I wasn't an orienteer. There is a photograph somewhere of me orienteering in 1972, before my fourth birthday.

[Kitch]

You really need a - Family - option in that list !

My Dad took my sister a few times towards the end of 1978 - I was busy in the local football team. Sometime in the Christmas holidays my dad took me to Barlaston Downs permanent course (near Stoke on Trent).
Absolutely loved it and decided I was going to be British Champion
perhaps I should have thought bigger !


first race was the 1979 WCH club champs at new year - I had no idea what a ride was.
first open race was in the Wyre Forest, it rained and my map got wet at the master maps and my pen went through. I successfully navigated around a course that consisted of a series of red edged holes joined together by tears.
Them were the days !

[Red Adder]

I come from a geographical background and I when I got talking to someone in the bar at Nottingham Uni c 1978 (he still turns out for BOK occasionally) O sounded interesting. Went to my first event at Eccleshall Woods in Sheffield the next weekend and spent at least 30 minutes searching the wrong end of a wall for the 2nd master-maps. After a few low-key years when I was moving around the country playing pub-standard football, training and starting my career etc I re-started O when I moved back to East Anglia. The local club ran Wednesday evening training in the park and I just turned up and introduced myself. 25 years later I have just re-mapped the park for our Summer series.

[awk]

Starting was only one link in a sequence of critical links. One missing would have led to a very different story:

Teacher put up a notice asking if anybody wanted to try this "new" sport (this was 1970). Took us to the POC on Ranmore Common in small groups of 3-4 for tasters, then organised a school competition for the dozen of us (in pairs), then ran as a pair in the "Boys" class at badge event (spent 20 minutes looking for a re-entrant in thick mist, but loved it!), then first soloed at another badge event. Ran in school club for 3-4 years before joining open club (SN). Relied heavily on taxi service by parents and lifts from other families once in SN. Lucky to join a very active uni club which was real take off point (did as many events in first year as had managed in the previous 5!).

I'm the only one from that once very active school club who made it to adult orienteering, mainly because I was the only lucky one who had that sequence work for me: for all others one link in the chain was missing.

Agree about the need for a "family option". Better half was taken by her parents, and offspring wasn't allowed to do anything different until old enough, and by then in too deeply, so that makes 2 intro'd by family and 1 via school in our household.

[DJM]

Was very keen on climbing/walking/mountaineering in the 60s and 70s and I subscribed to all sorts of relevant magazines including Climber & Rambler. At one stage in the mid (?) 70s, Geoff Peck wrote a series of monthly articles on orienteering which grabbed the attention of one interested in navigating, the outdoors and running (I was in the school X-C team).

But, as with AWK's series of links, this did no more than tell me that I might like orienteering and I needed a further nudge to get me over the initial hurdle. I was playing much cricket, rugby and squash, as well as going to the hills - why did I need to do something else? But I then decided I was getting too old for rugby ...

The next link was provided by an old friend who'd taken up orienteering independently and who suggested a trip down to Emery Down where I walked the C course in boots.

I then discovered an event at Esher, found out that one of the 14 year olds who thrashed me on my course was in my Physics class and that his mother was the SLOW membership secretary. The rest is history ...

Suggestion: we should be targetting outdoors magazines as well as runners' magazines, not just with one-off articles about orienteering but with a regular column, preferably written by a top performer. I wonder how many others were enthused by Geoff Peck's column all those years ago?

[SeanC]

Yep, should have done a "my parents made me do it" option.I just cut and paste from Steve's questionaire so hopefully the feedback will reach him.

Back in 1978 (I think) my mum read about a CATI event in Whippendell Woods somewhere (not sure where, probably the local paper) and sent me and my brother along. We took a couple of hours but it was great fun. I might have stopped there as the rest of my family weren't interested and I was too young to drive. but fortunately LOK were doing CATI's every week for several weeks in Hyde Park which was easy to get to on the bus. After that various members of Happy Herts were great at giving me lifts for the next few years until the rest of my family joined in.

[drobin]

In 1968 a new teacher to my school who had just graduated from Edinburgh University was full of this new sport called orienteering. So in 1969 I succumbed to his enthusiam and have been doing an average of 50+ events every year since. Thank you Graham Wheeler!