{{Short description|Timed race in which participants start at staggered intervals}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Infobox sport | image = Orienteering symbol framed.png | imagesize = 212px | caption = The international orienteering symbol | union = International Orienteering Federation | nickname = | first = 28 May 1893, Stockholm, Sweden | registered = | clubs = | contact = Non-contact | team = Individual | mgender = Separate categories | category = Outdoor | equipment = Map, compass | ball = | olympic = No, though recognised by the IOC, no Olympic games have yet included orienteering as a sport. | IWGA = 2001{{snds}}present }} '''Foot orienteering''' (usually referred to as simply '''Orienteering''' or '''FootO''' for short) is the oldest formal orienteering sport, and the one with the most events per year. {{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} Usually, a FootO is a timed race in which participants start at staggered intervals, are individually timed, and are expected to perform all navigation on their own, GPS devices of any kind is not allowed and should be removed prior to the start of the event. The control points are shown on the orienteering map indicated by a small purple circle where the control point may be anywhere in said circle but typically near the center and must be visited in the specified order on the side of the map.<!--reworded to cover score events--> Standings are determined by the fastest successful completion of the course.

FootO is one of four orienteering disciplines governed by the International Orienteering Federation.

==History== The history of orienteering began in the late 19th century in Sweden. The actual term "orienteering" was first used in 1886 and meant the crossing of unknown land with the aid of a map and a compass.<ref name=iof_past_present>{{cite web|url=http://www.orienteering.org/i3/index.php?/iof2006/iof/past_present|title=Past & present|publisher=International Orienteering Federation|access-date=2008-09-28|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802131200/http://www.orienteering.org/i3/index.php?%2Fiof2006%2Fiof%2Fpast_present|archive-date=2 August 2008}}</ref> The first orienteering competition open to the public was held in Norway in 1897.<ref name=iof_past_present /> Notable dates for member nations of the IOF are shown below. {| class=wikitable |- ! ! First public event ! National body founded ! First national championships ! First international event ! Other |- valign=top | Norway | 1897 | 1945 (NOF) | 1937 (Årnes/Kongsvinger) | 1932<ref name=iof_past_present /> (Slora, Sørkedalen) | |- valign=top | Sweden | 1901<ref name=sof-milstolpar>{{cite web|url=http://www.orientering.se/t2.asp?p=3398 |title=Milstolpar i utvecklingen |publisher=Svenska Orienteringsförbundet |language=sv |access-date=2008-11-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926233231/http://www.orientering.se/t2.asp?p=3398 |archive-date=26 September 2007 }}</ref> | (SOFT) see below | 1935<ref name=sof-milstolpar /> (Skinnskatteberg) or 1937<ref name=disley1978>{{cite book | last = Disley | first = John | author-link = John Disley | title = Orienteering | publisher = Faber & Faber | year = 1978 | location = London | isbn = 0-571-04930-3 }}</ref> | | |- | colspan=1 | | colspan=4 | The first Swedish national body was formed in 1935,<ref name=disley1978 /> [or&nbsp;1936<ref name=sof-milstolpar />] to co-ordinate both foot and ski orienteering. In 1938 SOFT took over the sport for all foot races.<ref name=sof-milstolpar /><ref name=disley1978 /> | |- |Finland |1923<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.suunnistusliitto.fi/liitto/historia/|title=Historia {{!}} Suomen Suunnistusliitto|website=www.suunnistusliitto.fi|access-date=2016-05-28}}</ref> (1904<ref name=":0" /> ski orienteering) |1935<ref name=":0" /> |1935 (Vihti) | | |- valign=top | Estonia | 1926 (Pirita) | 1959 | 1959 (Nelijärve) | 1973 (1969 ski orienteering) | |- valign=top | Australia | | 1970 (OA) | | 1985 (Bendigo) | |- valign=top | Canada<ref name=cof-hist>[http://www.orienteering.ca/history_COF.htm Canadian Orienteering Federation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823073015/http://www.orienteering.ca/history_COF.htm |date=23 August 2007 }} (Retrieved on 10 October 2008)</ref> | | 1967 (COF) | 1968 (Gatineau Park) | 1976? | |- valign=top | India | | (OFI) | | | |- valign=top | Ireland | 1969 | (IOA) | 1975 | | |- valign=top | Italy | 1976 (Ronzone)<ref>[http://www.fiso.it/08_sport_per_tutti/12_storia_%20e_numeri/ FISO] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120143840/http://fiso.it/08_sport_per_tutti/12_storia_%20e_numeri/ |date=20 January 2009 }}, Italian Federation website</ref> | 1986 (FISO) | 1986 | 1993 (Kastelruth – JWOC) | |- valign=top | New Zealand | | (NZOF) | | | |- valign=top | South Africa | 1981? | (SAOF) | | | |- valign=top | UK<ref name=disley1978 /><ref name=sports-hist>[http://www.athleticscholarships.net/other-sports-orienteering-3.htm http://www.athleticscholarships.net/other-sports-orienteering-3.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703193552/http://www.athleticscholarships.net/other-sports-orienteering-3.htm |date=3 July 2008 }}(Retrieved on 14 October 2008)</ref> | 1962 | 1967 (BOF) | 1967 (Hamsterley Forest)<!--1962 (Dunkeld) was Scottish Championships--> | 1976 (Darnaway Forest) | |- valign=top | US | 1967 (Valley Forge, PA) | 1971 (USOF) | 1970 (Southern Illinois) | 1986 (Hudson Valley – World Cup) | |- valign=top | Russia/USSR | 1959 (Leningrad) | 1961 | 1963 (Uzgorod) | | |}

==Formats== The official formats in the World Orienteering Championships,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://orienteering.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/IOF-Rules-2018-v1.14final.pdf |title=IOF Competition Rules for Foot Orienteering, Appendix 6 |access-date=15 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221909/http://orienteering.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/IOF-Rules-2018-v1.14final.pdf |archive-date=15 December 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which is followed by most regional and national championships, include the following:

===Long distance=== The long-distance competition, previously called the classic distance competition, is the longest and toughest individual competition. Long competitions are held in forested areas, with an expected winning time of 90–100 minutes, in physically demanding terrain with large-scale route choices and varying scale of technical difficulties.

===Middle distance=== The middle distance competition is a relatively shorter race held in the forest, with an expected winning time of 30–35 minutes in technically complex terrain. (In 2003, the middle distance replaced a previous format called ''short distance competition'' where the expected winning time was 20-25 minutes.)

===Sprint=== Sprint competitions are high-speed competitions held in urban areas, which are technically easier but often contain multiple different route choices. The expected winning time is 12–15 minutes.

===Relay=== The relay, composed of teams of 3, is a mass start event where different runners are separated by means of gaffling. The results are determined directly at the finish line, once all runners have finished their respective runs.

===Sprint relay=== The sprint relay is run by teams of 4, where the first and the last must be women, in urban areas with mass start and gaffling. It is an exciting and television-friendly event where the runners compete head-to-head at a high-speed.

===Knock-Out Sprint=== Knock-Out sprint (KO-Sprint) is the newest form of urban orienteering to be added to international competition. It consists of a short qualifier race of around 10–12 minutes to determine the seeding for a subsequent series of very short mass start elimination races of around 6–8 minutes. These elimination races normally consist of six runners with the top two or three progressing, and can contain gaffling, loops, or runner's choice selection. Similar to the sprint relay, it is high-paced and television-friendly, with the elimination rounds happening quickly, one after another.

==IOF events== ===World championships=== {{main|World Orienteering Championships}} The World Orienteering Championships are held annually. {{As of|2022}}, Europe has been dominant. {{Medals table | caption = | host = | flag_template = | event = | team = | gold_SWE = 68 | silver_SWE = 59 | bronze_SWE = 57 | gold_NOR = 52 | silver_NOR = 51 | bronze_NOR = 46 | gold_SUI = 47 | silver_SUI = 38 | bronze_SUI = 43 | gold_FIN = 24 | silver_FIN = 43 | bronze_FIN = 32 | gold_RUS = 11 | silver_RUS = 12 | bronze_RUS = 15 | gold_FRA = 14 | silver_FRA = 7 | bronze_FRA = 11 | gold_DEN = 12 | silver_DEN = 10 | bronze_DEN = 7 | gold_CZE = 3 | silver_CZE = 4 | bronze_CZE = 5 | gold_GBR = 4 | silver_GBR = 6 | bronze_GBR = 5 | gold_UKR = 1 | silver_UKR = 3 | bronze_UKR = 5 | gold_HUN = 3 | silver_HUN = 1 | bronze_HUN = 2 | gold_AUT = 1 | silver_AUT = 1 | bronze_AUT = 0 | gold_LAT = 1 | silver_LAT = 0 | bronze_LAT = 2 | gold_AUS = 1 | silver_AUS = 0 | bronze_AUS = 0 | gold_TCH = 2 | silver_TCH = 5 | bronze_TCH = 8 | gold_1 = 0 | silver_1 = 2 | bronze_1 = 0 | name_1 = Independent Athletes | skip_1 = yes | note_1 = <ref>Due to the Russian doping scandal, Russian athletes competed under neutral flag in 2021.</ref> | gold_URS = 0 | silver_URS = 0 | bronze_URS = 2 | gold_NZL = 0 | silver_NZL = 1 | bronze_NZL = 1 | gold_GER = 0 | silver_GER = 0 | bronze_GER = 1 | gold_ITA = 0 | silver_ITA = 0 | bronze_ITA = 1 | gold_BLR = 0 | silver_BLR = 0 | bronze_BLR = 1 | gold_BEL = 0 | silver_BEL = 0 | bronze_BEL = 1 | gold_NED = 0 | silver_NED = 0 | bronze_NED = 1 }}

==International championships== * World Orienteering Championships * Junior World Orienteering Championships * World Masters Orienteering Championships * European Orienteering Championships

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Orienteering|type=concepts}} {{Racing unassisted human}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Orienteering Orienteering

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