Route choice (orienteering)
Encyclopedia
Route choice is a tactic in orienteering
and related sports such as rogaining
and adventure racing
. These sports involve navigation
from one control point
to the next and, in most cases, the choice of route is left to the competitor. This is provided the rules permit route choice and the course is designed so that a choice exists. In trail orienteering
and European style mounted orienteering
route choice is not permitted. In United States style foot orienteering
, route choice is absent from White courses, limited in Yellow courses, and a crucial element in the design of more advanced courses. Given a choice of route, the competitor evaluates trade-offs among such factors as distance, amount of "climb", degree and extent of "fight", mode of travel, technical difficulty, and the competitor's own preferences.
Among orienteering sports, route choice has varied importance. It is arguably the single most important tactical factor in rogaining, it is very important in mountain bike orienteering
and ski orienteering, and it is less important in some other forms of orienteering. Route choice is completely absent from the Parcours d'Orientation et de Regularite (orienteering and pace racing
phase) of Techniques de Randonnée Équestre de Compétition (TREC) competitions. In that phase, orienteering involves following exactly a course marked on a map but not in the terrain. For example, if a course follows the east bank of a ditch then traveling in the ditch or on its west bank would be an error.
Orienteering sports in which route choice is an important factor provide few locations where spectators can watch the race. During World Orienteering Championships
2009, the racers wore GPS tracking
devices and many spectators watched them racing via the Internet. These spectators who watched the men's relay race "saw" Martin Johansson
(Sweden) have a freak accident, and Thierry Gueorgiou
(France), Anders Nordberg
(Norway), and Michal Smola
(Czech Republic) come to his aid.
Orienteering
Orienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they...
and related sports such as rogaining
Rogaining
Rogaining is a sport of long distance cross-country navigation, involving both route planning and navigation between checkpoints using a variety of map types. In a rogaine, teams of 2-5 people choose which checkpoints to visit within a time limit with the intent of maximizing their score...
and adventure racing
Adventure racing
Adventure racing is a combination of two or more endurance disciplines, including orienteering and/or navigation , cross-country running, mountain biking, paddling and climbing and related rope skills...
. These sports involve navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
from one control point
Control point (orienteering)
A control point is a marked waypoint used in orienteering and related sports such as rogaining and adventure racing. It is located in the competition area; marked both on an orienteering map and in the terrain; and described on a control description sheet...
to the next and, in most cases, the choice of route is left to the competitor. This is provided the rules permit route choice and the course is designed so that a choice exists. In trail orienteering
Trail Orienteering
Trail orienteering is an orienteering sport that involves precise reading of an orienteering map and the corresponding terrain. Trail orienteers must identify, in the terrain and in the presence of decoys, control points shown on the map...
and European style mounted orienteering
Mounted orienteering
Mounted orienteering is the practice of orienteering while riding a horse or other riding animal.-History:Mounted orienteering was an important function of cavalry units and today remains an important skill for mounted search and rescue.-Competitive sport:...
route choice is not permitted. In United States style foot orienteering
Foot orienteering
Foot orienteering is the oldest formal orienteering sport, and the one with the most "starts" per year. Usually, a foot-O is a timed race in which participants start at staggered intervals, are individually timed, and are expected to perform all navigation on their own. The control points are...
, route choice is absent from White courses, limited in Yellow courses, and a crucial element in the design of more advanced courses. Given a choice of route, the competitor evaluates trade-offs among such factors as distance, amount of "climb", degree and extent of "fight", mode of travel, technical difficulty, and the competitor's own preferences.
Among orienteering sports, route choice has varied importance. It is arguably the single most important tactical factor in rogaining, it is very important in mountain bike orienteering
Mountain bike orienteering
Mountain bike orienteering is an orienteering endurance racing sport on a mountain bike where navigation is done along trails and tracks. Compared to foot orienteering, competitors usually are not permitted to leave the trail and track network. Navigation tactics are similar to ski-orienteering,...
and ski orienteering, and it is less important in some other forms of orienteering. Route choice is completely absent from the Parcours d'Orientation et de Regularite (orienteering and pace racing
Pace race
A competitive pace race is a timed race in which the objective is not to finish in the least time, but to finish within the prescribed time and in the best physical condition. In some races, the prescribed time is very narrowly defined and the winner is the competitor who finishes closest to the...
phase) of Techniques de Randonnée Équestre de Compétition (TREC) competitions. In that phase, orienteering involves following exactly a course marked on a map but not in the terrain. For example, if a course follows the east bank of a ditch then traveling in the ditch or on its west bank would be an error.
Orienteering sports in which route choice is an important factor provide few locations where spectators can watch the race. During World Orienteering Championships
World Orienteering Championships
The World Orienteering Championships were first held in 1966. They were held biennially up to 2003 . Since 2003, competitions have been held annually....
2009, the racers wore GPS tracking
GPS tracking
A GPS tracking unit is a device that uses the Global Positioning System to determine the precise location of a vehicle, person, or other asset to which it is attached and to record the position of the asset at regular intervals...
devices and many spectators watched them racing via the Internet. These spectators who watched the men's relay race "saw" Martin Johansson
Martin Johansson (orienteering b. 1984)
Martin Johansson is a Swedish orienteering and ski-orienteering competitor, medallist from the orienteering world championships, and a 2004 Junior World Champion in relay...
(Sweden) have a freak accident, and Thierry Gueorgiou
Thierry Gueorgiou
Thierry Gueorgiou is a French orienteer who has won more than 20 gold medals in international competitions, including the World Orienteering Championships middle distance event seven times: 2003–2005, 2007–2009 and 2011.-Clubs:Gueorgiou runs for two orienteering clubs, the French NO St-Etienne...
(France), Anders Nordberg
Anders Nordberg
Anders Nordberg is a Norwegian orienteering competitor. He received a bronze medal at the 2004 World Orienteering Championship, and again a bronze medal in 2007. He finished second in the overall World Cup 2007.-Biography:...
(Norway), and Michal Smola
Michal Smola
Michal Smola is a Czech orienteering competitor, silver medalist from the world championships, and junior world champion. He became Junior World Champion in the short distance in Nove Mesto na Morave in 2000, and with the Czech team in relay in 2000 and in 2001...
(Czech Republic) come to his aid.
See also
- Military tacticsMilitary tacticsMilitary tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
- Route assignmentRoute assignmentRoute assignment, route choice, or traffic assignment concerns the selection of routes between origins and destinations in transportation networks. It is the fourth step in the conventional transportation forecasting model, following trip generation, trip distribution, and mode choice...
- Passage planningPassage planningPassage planning or voyage planning is a procedure to develop a complete description of a vessel's voyage from start to finish. The plan includes leaving the dock and harbor area, the en-route portion of a voyage, approaching the destination, and mooring, the industry term for this is 'berth to...
- Path selection in routing
- Travel behaviorTravel behaviorTravel behavior is the study of what people do over space, and how people use transport. The questions studied in travel behavior are broad, and are very much related to activity analysis and time use research studies.* How many trips do people make?...
- WayfindingWayfindingWayfinding encompasses all of the ways in which people and animals orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place.-Historical:...