Looking for a fun afternoon activity for the kids that won’t blow the budget and has the added bonus of being in the great outdoors?
Newcastle Orienteering Club is offering FREE Mini courses for juniors, families and novices in local parks each Wednesday afternoon from 5 March through to 26 March.
Orienteering is a lesser known and often misunderstood sport despite being introduced to Australia in the 1970s.
Entry level courses such as these “Minis” could be compared to a treasure hunt where you seek out and visit various points shown on a map that you carry.
These checkpoints are known as controls and are indicated on the map by circles rather than the “X” utilised by traditional treasure maps.
Mini orienteering courses feature beginner friendly, entry level navigation and remain entirely within park grounds. They are designed to be suitable for children and family groups.
Don’t worry you won’t get lost! Course lengths are around 1km in length with first-timers expected to complete the course in 30 minutes or less. You can choose to walk or run depending on how competitive you wish to be. Starts are available anytime between 4:45 and 6:15 pm.
Orienteering offers many benefits to children including cognitive development, improved confidence and independence and is a great balance for the excessive screen time many are experiencing in an ever increasing technological world. It is a “sport for life” with a wide range of ages and abilities participating at the one venue.
Younger children (less than 7 years old) are generally accompanied or shadowed by an adult with the older kids going solo or taking a friend along with them on their adventure.
Mini course dates and locations are:
- Wednesday 5 March – Croudace Bay – Shepherds Creek – Parklea Ave
- Wednesday 12 March – Lambton – The Skyline – Barellan St
- Wednesday 19 March – Maryland – Tumpboaba Reserve
- Wednesday 26 March – Newcastle – King Edward Park
Maps will be supplied. Wear clothes and shoes that you are comfortable walking or running in. There is no requirement do to join Newcastle Orienteering Club but participants will have to register (no fee) as a casual on the day for insurance purposes. It should be noted that you are not personally insured against injury.
Pre-entry is not required but to assist Newcastle Orienteering Club with print numbers, it would be helpful if you could contact them and advise how many of you might be coming.
Orienteering events are held locally, around NSW, nationally and internationally. At elite level it is a challenging adventure sport contested over various terrain types with the winner being the fastest to visit all the checkpoints in the correct order. The sport simultaneously challenges both the fitness level and navigational abilities of the competitors.
Who knows where orienteering may take you once you start your journey? Newcastle club junior Erika Enderby represented Australia at last years Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) contested in Czech Republic.
The traditional bush orienteering series of events commences late March with events held in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hunter Valley forests. All these events feature courses suitable for beginners.
Further details relating to these Mini events or orienteering in general can be obtained via contacting Geoff by phone 0422 471 353 or email, or checking out the Newcastle Orienteering Club website or Facebook page.