School Resources

Here is a collection of recommended resources and tools for teachers, parents, coaches, students and organisers wanting to expand their knowledge of orienteering. For clear and consistent messaging, we recommend sticking to these resources and explanations.

In addition to these recourses, we also have the Schools Knowledge Hub. There we offer ideas and advice for TICs / managers, students, parents and coaches to help them get the most out of their involvement in orienteering.

What is an orienteering map?

Publish by OrienteeringNZ

Check out this short video to learn more about the special maps used in orienteering.

Published by Andypat33 in 2012

Orienteering maps can be very detailed and more complicated than most other maps. It’s helpful to understand what kind of information is added to these maps and what information left out.

10 Elements

Published by the Irish Orienteering Association in 2014

This video provides clear and concise explanations of some of the key orienteering techniques for orange and red level navigation.

ONZ Coaching Framework

Orienteering NZ has its very own guide to the skills required at each level of navigation difficulty in the Coaching Framework. This currently only covers classic orienteering, but will also cover sprint orienteering soon.

Consider what level of navigational difficulty is most appropriate.

GradeDifficulty for classic individual competitions
Year 7 & 8 StandardWhite
Year 7 & 8 ChampionshipYellow
Junior StandardWhite
Junior ChampionshipYellow
Intermediate StandardYellow
Intermediate ChampionshipOrange
Senior NoviceYellow
Senior StandardOrange
Senior ChampionshipRed
GradeDifficulty for classic relay competitions
Year 7 & 8 ChampionshipWhite and yellow
Junior ChampionshipWhite and yellow
Intermediate ChampionshipYellow
Senior ChampionshipOrange
GradeDifficulty for sprint competitions
Year 7 & 8Sprint easy
JuniorSprint moderate
IntermediateSprint difficult
SeniorSprint difficult

Leg by Leg

Leg by Leg is a video series made by Orienteering NZ where a guest takes us through a recent orienteering course in detail. We’ll discover what they found most challenging and how they handled, or didn’t handle, these challenges. We aim to cover all levels of experience in the series, and videos are grouped into 3 playlists, beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Coaching Framework

Published by OrienteeringNZ

The Coaching Framework is an online resource for orienteers who want ideas for training and for coaches who want to improve their understanding and communication.

Cool, Awesome and Educational

Published by Göran Andersson in 2020

“Based on experience from the projects ”Skol-Sprinten”, ”World Orienteering Day” and in close cooperation with the PE teachers at primary and secondary school we have an idea of how to make orienteering more accessible at school. With these guidelines, we want to create better conditions for the education of orienteering at school. We also believe in a map that corresponds to reality, finalised exercises in a pedagogical approach and orienteering equipment that helps teachers to create fun lessons in orienteering. This ”Teacher’s guide” will hopefully inspire all of you!”

Cool, Awesome and Educational Leaflet

Published by Göran Andersson

Download or print this excellent summary of the key concepts of orienteering tailored to beginners.