Equipment

Recommended Equipment

We've been asked to provide estimates of cost to equip a school for teaching orienteering. The following numbers are approximate:

• $300 for 20 orienteering flags with punches (estimated at $15/each)

• $200 for Navigation Games' kit

• $500 for a map (this depends on the area to be mapped; the rate is typically $300 + $1500/square km; OUSA often provides a grant for half the cost)

• $100 for printing maps (color printing) - $50 for student maps, $50 for a teaching map (large-scale)

Optional

• $300 for 20 compasses (optional - we usually don't teach with these unless we're going to unfamiliar wooded areas)

• $3210 for an electronic timing kit from SPORTident (USA)- optional

• $150 for cone toppers (if electronic timing kit bought)

• $1500 for a visit from Navigation Games (PD, demonstration classes), or $75/hour for online consulting - optional - feel free to use our lesson plans that are available on this site!

Introductory progression of activities

• Orienteering control flags with pin punches - can be bought from OUSA-recommended vendors. Typically $13 and up.

• The following are included in the Navigation Games kit ($200); you can also acquire them separately. The clue sheets and maps can be obtained from Navigation Games as PDFs if you want to print and laminate them yourself.

• • Flagging tape

  • Black permanent marker

  • Index cards

  • Golf pencils, sharpener

  • Animal-O clue sheets (5- and 10-animal)

  • Geometric-O all-controls map, 5-control maps, 10-control maps

  • 10 cones with pictures of animals and numeric codes taped on them; 4 cones for landmark controls in Geometric-O (red, yellow, blue, green)

  • Basketball-O all-controls map & answer key, 4 different course maps

  • Reference cards for 6 activities

Intermediate orienteering

• Baseplate compasses - can be bought from OUSA-recommended vendors, online, or at outdoor stores; inexpensive ones will usually work for beginners; we use A-10 Suunto for beginners. Typicall $12 and up.

Electronic timing

See this page for recommendations for electronic timing equipment

Maps

We strongly recommend Orienteering USA's YMP for getting an orienteering map made. YMP will partner you with an orienteering cartographer; you'll do the "field checking" on the draft map and work with the cartographer to get everything right. For other suggestions, see this page.

More Information

Use the navigation menu to reach sub-pages:

• Maps: OUSA Youth Mapping Project, Purple Pen (course design) tutorial

• Controls and Punches

• Electronic Timing: sequence and timing; equipment; cone toppers

• Geometric-O Set-Up Maps

• Navigation Games Kit

Key points

• A basic kit can be purchased from Navigation Games, including: laminated materials for Animal-O, Geometric-O, Basketball-O and clothespin games. Also includes animal streamers, animal pictures, cones, pencils, blank cards, streamer tape, pencil sharpener. For DIY printing and lamination, contact Navigation Games for printable PDFs. The artist who designed the animals is Marina Carlson.

• Next level: maps, compasses. 

• Next level: electronic timing kit

• Maps: see the Maps page for more information. You can make your own or work with Orienteering USA or an orienteering cartographer.