This document is designed to meet the needs of the course
planner of a local orienteering event.
It is comprised of suggestions, not rules. Course planning for regional and national
events are covered in USOF's Rules of Competition and USOF's Course Design
Guidelines.
Course Name
Distance Difficulty # Points
White 2-3 km easy
4-12
Yellow 3-5 km easy
to medium 5-12
Orange 4-7 km medium
8-12
Brown 3-5 km hard
8-12
Green 4-7 km hard
8-12
Red 6-10km hard
8-15
Blue 8-14km hard
10-18
Easy Courses:
1.
Points should be
on two features with linear route between, for example, points might be a
stream and road junction or a trail at vegetation boundary.
2.
Controls should
be highly visible, usually hung 3-4 feet high.
Medium Courses:
1.
Points should be
on a major terrain features with a close attack point, for example, on a
boulder 100 meters from a trail junction.
2.
Controls should
be visible when at the feature, usually hung 3-4 feet high.
Hard Courses:
1.
Points on minor
terrain features with no convenient attack point, for example, at the foot of a
one meter cliff in a complicated re-entrant system.
2. Controls should be visible when at the
feature, usually hung 1-3 feet high.
Water stops are a necessity
on all courses whatever the weather; on longer courses, water stops should be
approximately every 3km.
Course Setter Timetable:
1.
Plan the courses
1-2 weeks before the event.
2.
Hang vetting tape
one week before event.
3.
Have vetter check
courses and resolve problems together.
4.
Make copies of
map corrections for Registration area.
5.
Make Master maps
and control codes and descriptions.
6.
Hang control
markers the day before, double checking bag and punch codes; remove vetting
tapes and put out water stops.
7.
Send out
volunteer early competitors on event day to check for stolen markers; replace
if necessary before event begins.
8.
When event is
over, collect all markers, punches, water stop items, etc.
9.
Count all
markers, find missing ones, repack neatly and return all items to the Meet
Director.
Course Design -- WHITE
1.
Stay on obvious
handrails 100% of the time, preferably trails.
2.
Controls should
be hanging on the near side of the feature.
3.
Controls should
be very easy to find, especially the first few.
4.
The first control
should be visible from the Start
5.
Later legs can
have two route choices, both on handrails.
6.
Use positional
controls to keep runners on the handrails.
7.
Don't hang the
controls too high for kids to reach.
8.
Avoid putting
controls from other courses where White course people can see them.
Course Design -- YELLOW
1.
The Yellow should
follow handrails but points are off handrails.
2.
Handrails may
have short gaps or be subtle (fences, streams).
3.
Attack points
should be on the handrail. The feature
can be visible from the handrail but should be off the handrail to encourage
map reading.
4.
Have various
types of features for variety.
5.
There should be a some route choice alternatives.
6.
Have good catch
features behind points so to stop overshooters.
7.
Use positional
controls to keep runners near handrails.
8.
There should be
very little contour reading necessary.
Course Design -- ORANGE
1.
Orange should
bridge the gap between attack points on handrails and difficult-to-find attack
points.
2.
Err on the side
of too easy.
3.
Use features of
medium difficulty:
1.
easy-to-find
features less than 200m from attack point
2.
very large
re-entrants and ponds
3.
more difficult
points near easy to find attack points
4.
easy to find
points with many route choices
4.
Some legs should
be almost Yellow, others almost Red.
5.
Have some
handrails but emphasize cross country.
6.
Always have
catching features beyond the feature.
Course Design -- BROWN,
GREEN, RED, and BLUE
1.
Test navigation
and route choice skill, not compass ability.
2.
Use intricate
areas of the map as much as possible.
3.
Make the
competitor concentrate on navigation all the time.
4.
Offer difficult-to-decide-between
route choices on every leg.
5.
There must be
some variety in the features.
6.
The most
difficult navigational route should be the fastest, easy routes should take
longer.
7.
Avoid poorly
mapped areas or make the legs easier in these areas.
1.
Controls should
be easily found once at the feature.
8.
The map must be
good in the area of the control or you must give good map corrections before
the runners start.
9.
The best route
choices should not be the most miserable physically -- avoid swamps and fight
except as route choice problems.
10.
Trail running
should be only about 10% of the total distance.
1.
Select the
parking area, headquarters area, and facilities.
2.
Select a Finish
area near the parking area, then a Start area not too far away.
3.
Select your
general routes for the White and Yellow courses. If there are no good routes for these
courses, move the meet to another part of the map and start all over with
#1. The White course must be 100% on
handrails or flagged when there are no handrails, the Yellow should be very
close to actual handrails.
4.
Select general
routes for the rest of the courses, starting with the lowest level and working
up. Select tentative points for all
courses after doing this.
5.
Field check your courses and move your points as needed.
6.
All points must
be on correctly mapped features. No
points may be hung on mapped corrections.
7.
Make a map of
corrections for copying before starting the course.
8.
Pick water stop
locations for all courses that are easily accessible.
7.
Basic Principles
to Follow:
1.
Place the
controls where they are shown on the map.
2.
The codes must be
as shown on the descriptions.
3.
Use appropriate
difficulty but better too easy than too hard.
4.
Make the
navigation more important than the physical difficulty.
5.
Test the skill of
the competitor, not his luck.
6.
It's impossible
to make a White course too easy--if a person finds it too difficult, there is
no place to drop down.
7.
Courses should be
fun. White and Yellow should not get
feet wet.
8.
Beginners are
equally important people.
9.
The time it takes
to complete courses is more important than the length.
10.
White, Yellow,
and Orange courses should not share legs.
11.
Every leg on
Orange, Brown, Green, Red, and Blue should have route choices.
12.
Direct line by
compass should only rarely be the best way to go.
13.
Streamers should
be used on White and Yellow whenever there can be
confusion.
14.
Legs should get
longer as the difficulty increases.
15.
In hot weather
and dense vegetation, make everything a bit shorter and easier to find.
Guidelines on Course Time
course winner's
time majority time
White 30 minutes 30-45
minutes
Yellow 40 minutes 60-75
minutes
Orange 55 minutes 60-90
minutes
Brown 50 minutes 60-90
minutes
Green 55 minutes 60-90
minutes
Red 65 minutes 80-120
minutes
Blue 80 minutes 80-120 minutes
revised
7/99