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How did you get into orienteering?

Show Profile  addison Posted: 5 November 2012, 1:51 PM  
One of the many questions we're trying to answer and understand is how did people themselves get into orienteering.

What made you get into orienteering?

Show Profile  nick Posted: 6 November 2012, 9:26 AM  
I'd always wanted to get into Adventure Racing but when I looked into learned its expensive! I'd just returned from the UK with no money, no MTB, kayak, no gear... let alone any idea how to use it if I had it. So I decided I'd have to slowly accumulate gear/skills, starting with the most immediately accessible skill: navigation.

Got hooked on my first go. Boom: Orienteer.


Show Profile  Neil K Posted: 6 November 2012, 10:12 PM  
Parent/family got me started. Travelling and Junior camps got me hooked.

Show Profile  DennisdM Posted: 7 November 2012, 12:58 AM  
Taken to Orongorongo 25(?) years ago by Michael Wood, family friend. Then nothing for 18 years before meeting Rob Jessop in the Port Hills and being introduced to a few PAPO events. More enjoyable way of running and exploring.

Show Profile  Jason Posted: 7 November 2012, 2:55 AM  
Never heard of orienteering until our school harriers coach entered us in the (1986?) SI schools champs at Bottle Lake for something different to do. Won my grade and have been hooked ever since.

Show Profile  Michael Posted: 7 November 2012, 5:27 AM  
Was interested in motorsport nav events. (We smart young university fellas stuffed it up by the way, by making the instructions too tricky so that events were decided in the protest room. How many people do car trials these days?)

That interest was coming to an end when I had a visit from an old friend who described orienteering in the Waikato. Knew immediately it would be a fit. Made some enquiries via city council I think, Frank Smith and Peter Marks were just getting it going in Wgtn/HV. Summary: fit the profile of interest in nav, personal contact was the trigger.

Show Profile  Marquita G Posted: 7 November 2012, 1:07 PM  
I'd heard of orienteering and wanted to try it when Michael Wood ran an event at a Boys Brigade camp just down the road. Talked the neighbour into taking me there, went around a course with a group led by Michael, who informed me I "thought like an orienteer", and was instantly hooked. 10th Dec 1983, still have the map! I had to count the sleeps until the next promo event in February...

Show Profile  stu barr Posted: 8 November 2012, 1:35 AM  
Got into it as a family as something we could all do at our own level. Introduced to it by people at Dad's work (Bruce Collins and Roel Michels I believe) and started at the Hamilton Summer Series. First event at Hamilton lake then all round the city.

Show Profile  rossmaxmo Posted: 8 November 2012, 5:17 AM  
Put your name down for World Cup trials Stu, we get 10 runners, you'll cruise in.

Show Profile  stu barr Posted: 8 November 2012, 5:38 AM  
I can hardly run a bath these days, let alone run a classic.

Still have dreams of orienteering though. Both awake and asleep. Neil somehow always appears...

Show Profile  Bryan Posted: 8 November 2012, 6:34 AM  
That's not a dream - that's a nightmare.

Introduced by my brother Graham while staying at his home
in Taupo. That was a long, looong time ago. (1978)
Graham got into orienteering when he found a sign to an Orienteering event on Taupo gullies while going for a long run and decided to have a go. They had buckets as controls and hang them from trees in those days - life was a whole lot simpler.

As I'm into a seemingly marathon effort getting 14 maps ready for printing each with up to 18 courses and 3 changes of scales, he has a lot to answer for. Don't know why I agreed to be mapping director for Oceania/World Cup when I knew what it would be like from WMOC2000. I must be a masochist.

Show Profile  rossmaxmo Posted: 8 November 2012, 7:35 AM  
Haha, Neil is a bit of a dream-walker. But you don't need to worry about any classic, it's only middles and sprints, childs-play!


Show Profile  hughff Posted: 8 November 2012, 8:29 AM  
No-one's said this one yet but I know a few share my experience:
FF jr came home from school and said, "I'm going to do orienteering." After a year of driving him to events every other Sunday I decided I might as well have a go, even though I was still playing football on Saturdays. I don't play much football now.

Show Profile  nick Posted: 8 November 2012, 11:17 AM  
like

Show Profile  AllanJ Posted: 8 November 2012, 11:27 AM  
Darren A took a group of us out to Waiuku Forest. never heard of orienteering before this!! Decided I liked it, found out where next event was and been hooked since.

Show Profile  Paul I Posted: 9 November 2012, 6:02 AM  
Way back in the 80's... older brother and I were bought up doing atheletics and cross country. He was introduced by teachers at Tokoroa High School, then I tagged along to help push his mini when it broke down. Back at those days the Central North Island was very strong with clubs in Rotorua, Taupo, Hamilton and Tokoroa/Putaruru (Pinelands). Teachers were a huge reason for their being. I think Putaruru High school had a long period at the top of NZ Schools comp. Make up of club members was as now from a wide range of vocations.
What hooked me in the most was travelling and experiencing a wide range of interesting a new terrain types. If the map was boring I didn't want to go.
We got into mapping so we could share our local special areas with the rest of NZ and start the path to Australian and World domination.
Going to Junior Training Camps and trips to Australia kept the entusiasm going, but there were long times when there was no orienteering on the calendar and it could have been easy to slip away from the sport as like most kids we did a range of other sports like hockey etc which were on week in week out.


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