Moravian Orienteers

Are you new to Orienteering?
Orienteering is an outdoor adventure sport that combines map reading and running. The aim is to navigate between checkpoints marked on a map and decide the best route to complete the course in the quickest time. It's a great sport for all ages and levels of fitness and for anyone who loves being in the great outdoors. Moravian Orienteers organise local events throughout the year.  These are fun and informal - come along and try one out.  The Scottish Orienteering Association website has lots on information to introduce Beginners to the sport.  Please contact us by email if you want to find out more.  We post on Facebook and Instagram where you can see images, event reports and updates.  Club members are sent a weekly newsletter to keep them up to date on recent activities and future events. More details on membership benefits can be found here.

Where do we orienteer?
We run in forests, moorlands to urban parks and town centres. For example we have orienteering maps of Culbin and Roseisle forests as well as Elgin and Forres town centres. Orienteering maps are more detailed and larger in scale than Ordnance Survey maps, and show lots of detail, such as fences, bushes and small depressions in the land. Different colours are used to show different types of vegetation or undergrowth. You just have to decide whether to take the short cut through the heavy bracken or go the long way round on the path! You can walk, jog or run a course and progress at your own pace. Every event offers courses of different lengths and technical difficulty so there should be something to suit all ages and levels of experience. The easier courses keep to paths, while the harder ones require more careful navigation across the terrain. 

Join us at a local orienteering event
Local Moravian events are relaxed and informal. Newcomers including families and children are very welcome. A range of courses are available to suit all levels of fitness and ability and volunteers will be happy to help get you started. Check out our website (www.mor.scot) for details of local events coming up. Event details will include where it is being held (Registration) and the sort of terrain - such as forest, park or urban. Local events always include courses for beginners. Courses are graded by colour according to difficulty. Simpler, Yellow courses are usually 1.5 - 2.5 km long, and are suitable for children and adults new to orienteering. This course might take a beginner 30 - 45 mins. Orange courses are slightly longer (usually 2.0 - 3.0 km) and require more map reading skills. Red courses are similar to Orange, but are slightly longer (usually 3.5 - 4.5 km) and are suitable for adult runners who enjoy running off-road. The event details tell you how to register. Head to registration, and ask for help if needed. The cost of the run will be given in the event details.  If you are running a Yellow course, pick up your map and electronic chip (a dibber) that you use to record that you have visited all the controls in the correct order. Maybe you want to go round as a group - that’s fine.

At an event
Experienced orienteers are given their maps at the start but beginners – especially children – on a yellow course collect their map at registration to give extra time to understand it before they set off. Follow the signs to the start; then ‘punch’ your chip at the start, at each control and at the finish, to show you’ve been there. Each control is marked by a small orange and white kite and has a unique number that you can check to make sure you’ve found the right one. When you’ve finished, go to the table or tent marked ‘Download’ – here you will receive your printout confirming which controls you visited and how long you took. Download will probably be where registration was before your run. Chat to one of the helpers after the run to tell us how you got on!  Results are usually posted on the club website by the evening after the event.

What sort of kit do you need?
You just need suitable clothes for walking or running in forests or towns. Long leg cover may be required if the event is in the woods. A compass is very useful, particularly on the more difficult courses and some races may require that you carry a whistle for safety. You can cheaply hire a dibber at each race and your entry fee will include your map and a print out of your race time. Experienced orienteers run on their own, but it's absolutely fine to run in a pair or with a group of friends. Youngsters and beginners can also be followed or 'shadowed' for coaching.

Can I receive coaching?
We hold coaching sessions for juniors starting to navigate the yellow course and learning to navigate on their own.  We also offer one to one mentoring and shadowing for older children and adults on an ad hoc basis. Please contact Coach if you would like to find out more about coaching. If you are new to orienteering then this can really help.

Try a Permanent Orienteering Course
We are currently developing several Permanent Orienteering Courses in Moray.  We hope to open our revamped course in Quarry Wood near Elgin in late Spring 2024.  Follow this link for further details.