Spring 2023 Newsletter

Happy Spring! We hope you are as excited as we are for the upcoming orienteering season. Read on for a glimpse... Check the website for full details.

First though a big thank-you to those who made our 2023 Winter Series possible: Andrew, Cathy, James, Bill M. Robbie, Marketa, Eric and his SI team, Kumiko and her registrars, map updates from Bill A.  - and the weather man :)  Results can be found here.

In this Newsletter:
Intro to Orienteering Session
Spring Learn-To Programs
Spring Events
Spring Training Programs
Time to renew your membership!
Seeking Volunteers
Road Trip, Anyone?
Accommodation in the Calabogie Area?
Team Canada News
US Ski-O Nationals in the Adirondacks
In case you missed it...
                                                      

Intro to Orienteering Session


New to orienteering? Join us for our Introduction to Orienteering workshop to get started. Be sure to register in advance to ensure we have sufficient instructors.  More details here.
 
Wednesday, April 12 6:30-7:30pm Richcraft Recreation Centre, Kanata
Thursday, April 13 6:30-7:30pm Cairine Wilson High School, Orléans
                                                      

Spring Learn-To Programs


Orienteering Ottawa’s Learn-to programs are back for spring 2023! Come and learn to navigate with a map and compass alongside our experienced instructors in a new location each week.

Our Learn-to programs are suitable for:

  • Youth aged 8-16 and adults 17-80+
  • Those who are new to the sport of orienteering or with beginner-level experience in navigation 
The 2023 spring Learn-to programs will take place on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 beginning April 18, 2023.  Each weekly session will introduce a new orienteering technique through an orienteering course set at a new location. 
Each evening, participants will have the option to have a brief refresher session and complete the full practice course, or have a full instructional session with a program coach and complete part of the course.

For more information, click here.
We will be holding an information Session on Tuesday March 28 at the Richcraft Rec Center, 4101 Innovation Dr, Kanata. 

This will provide details on the program for participants or adults with youth interested in the program, answer questions or concerns, and offer a chance to talk to some of the coaches.  For those new to the sport, we will explain the basics, and what they should expect to gain from the program.

We will take youth on a map-walk on the orienteering course behind the rec center while the adults attend the info session, or youth can attend the session.
                                                      

Spring Events


These events are open to everyone, young and old, new and experienced.
 

Sunday Morning Series

Registration between 10 and 11am. More info here.
 
Sunday April 23 Constance Bay
Sunday April 30 Chapel Hill, Orleans
Sunday May 7 Monaghan Forest, Nepean
Sunday May 14 March Highlands, Kanata
Sunday May 21 Champboisé de L'Ange-Gardien
Sunday May 28 MacSkimming, Cumberland
Sunday June 4 Foley Mountain, Westport
 

June Summer Solstice Series

Registration 6pm, mass start 6:45pm. More info here.
 
Tuesday June 6 Location TBD
Tuesday June 13 Location TBD
Tuesday June 20 Location TBD
Tuesday June 27 Location TBD
                                                      

Spring Training Programs


Drop-In Running Program

Our running group meets almost every week of the year on Wednesday evenings and on many Sunday mornings in the late fall, led by Sheldon Hancock. New and experienced runners alike are welcome. More info here.

Wednesday March 22 Cassels St.
Wednesday March 29 Frank Ryan Park
Wednesday April 5 Woodroffe H.S.
Wednesday April 12 Woodroffe H.S.
And ongoing...  
 

Thursday Evening Orienteering Practices

Each week we will start with a short group discussion led by the coach and then a hands-on training exercise that focuses on a particular aspect of your orienteering technique. All intermediate and advanced orienteers are welcome. 6:30 - 8pm. More info here.

Thursday, April 20 Poole Creek, Stittsville
Thursday, April 27 Wesley Clover Parks
Thursday, May 4 Parc Moussette-Tetrault, Gatineau
Thursday, May 11 Rockcliffe Park
Thursday, May 18 Cité-des-Jeunes, Gatineau
Thursday, May 25 Chapel Hill, Orléans
Thursday, June 1 Lebreton Flats
Thursday, June 8 Bilberry Creek, Orléans
  

June 2 - 4 Weekend Training Camp


Mark your calendars!
 
Orienteering Ottawa is having a weekend training camp at Foley Mountain. Overnight accommodations will be camping or indoor floorspace at the Foley Mountain Interpretive Centre.

Adults and accompanied kids are welcome. There will be separate training sessions for beginners and intermediate/advanced orienteers and lots of fun to be had! 
                                                      

Time to renew your membership!


Our membership year runs from April 1 to March 30. Your 2022-23 membership will expire soon (unless you are a new member who joined in the last half of 2022). Our volunteers are actively planning the spring events to begin in April. For you to take part as a member you need to renew your membership and sign the 2023-24 waiver. All web accounts (what you need to take part in the popular mapRun events) for those who have not renewed by March 30 will be disabled at that time and reenabled manually once you do join. There could be a delay doing this so best plan - Renew now.

When you renew, you will have the chance to purchase a season's pass.  The Club offers a pass to cover all 2023 events, Spring, Summer Solstice, Summer Sprints, and Fall Series for $110 for adults (21+), $70 for youngsters (8-20).  This pass does not cover major meets such as the O-Fest, nor the Winter Series 2024.

Are you a new member from late 2022?  Your account will be altered to require you to sign the 2023-24 waiver - while being signed in - before you can access the MapRun maps.

Our link between membership and our tablet event registration system also requires some timely manual intervention. So again - avoid any delay at event registration - Renew now.

                                                      

Seeking Volunteers


What a year of activities we have arranged for you.... but all dependent on an amazing number of volunteers. Please consider helping out at one or two events/jobs. Besides becoming an integral part of the orienteering community, it is a chance to meet new friends, learn new skills, and just have fun! Orienteering Ottawa's Volunteer Page will give you an idea of all the opportunities available. No experience is needed and we would love to hear of your interests and availability either when you sign up for a club membership or by sending us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

                                                      

Road Trip, Anyone?


Orienteering gives you an excuse to travel and visit places you might not otherwise go. It's like an away hockey tournament but in the great outdoors instead of a cold arena AND the whole family can participate! All participants are welcome, regardless of age or ability, even in the Canadian Championships. Why not consider attending one of the following events with many other Ottawa orienteers?
Canadian Orienteering Festival 2023
August 5-13, 2023

Nine days of orienteering activities including the Ottawa O-Fest and the Canadian Orienteering Championships in the Montréal/Ottawa area.

Ottawa O-Fest will take place at The Ark, a brand-new map with fantastic terrain an hour north of Ottawa.
Registration is open for the entire Canadian Orienteering Festival 2023!

There is a French option and an English option.  

Register by April 23 to get the best price breaks!
2023 OUSA Masters Nationals
September 23-24, 2023

Ever been to Letchworth State Park in New York State? Now is your chance. The terrain is fantastic and so is the scenery.

There is sure to be a group of Orienteering Ottawa participants at this event. There will be courses for kids and beginners.
Canadian Orienteering Festival 2024
August 2-11, 2024

Save the date! Orienteering Ottawa is hosting the North American Championships in 2024! Combined with the Canadian Orienteering Championships hosted by the Toronto Orienteering Club there will be 8 days of orienteering events - and lots of help required!
                                                      

Accommodation in the Calabogie area?


The 2024 North American Orienteering Championships Middle and Long races will take place in the Calabogie area. The mapping will be done this summer and fall by Jeff Teutsch. We are looking for accommodation for Jeff  while mapping.

Does anyone have a cottage in the area that would be willing to let Jeff stay while mapping? Or do you have any leads on other inexpensive accommodation in the Calabogie area? We are looking for something that can save the club some expenses. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any suggestions.

Thank-you,
The NAOC2024 Organizing Committee

                                                      

Team Canada News


After a few off years, the national team once again has a strong showing from Ottawa with 8 out of 21 athletes who are club members.
 
We’ve got a big season ahead of us! The 2023 junior and senior world champs will both be held in July in Romania and Switzerland respectively. Right after, we have the long awaited North American champs in California where we’ll battle the Americans for individual medals and the Björn Kjellström and Future Champions cups, the competition is sure to be fierce! And of course you’ll see us all at the Canadian champs in Montreal and the accompanying races right here in Ottawa. 
 
National team members in our club:

Pia Blake    Robert Graham    Eric Kemp    Emily Kemp    Alec Le Helloco    Thomas Lindale    Lukas Raz    Hayden Smith

To support us, please sign up for the TCP fundraiser and donate and attend the silent auction during the COCs. Proceeds go to the team to help pay for travel, event fees, and coaching. We’re also working on hosting another fundraiser event in Ottawa at some point, stay tuned!

                                                      

US Ski-O Nationals in the Adirondacks


Our club had 17 members attend the US Ski-O Nationals in the Lake Placid area. There were three events: the sprint on Friday was at the Cascade Club where everyone braved the cold (-40 windchill). The snow was like sandpaper! 

The middle event on Saturday was held at Dewey Mt. in Saranac Lake where the windchill died off and was just a mere -21. Conditions were a bit faster and a lot of fun with map switches for most of the courses.  

The Long event was held on Sunday at Paul Smith's College at the VIC centre.  Great day as the temp was -4 c and the skiing was great with lots of route choices.

The club did very well this weekend with being on the podium for most of the categories with a total of 27 medals (17 gold, 7 silver & 3 bronze)!  
These were in various adult age groups as well as youngsters Clara Nales, Sherlock and Woodrow Connell.  Full results here.

                                                                                  Photos from Orienteering USA
                                                      

In case you missed it...


At the AGM in January, a new Board was elected including new president Rikard Andersson. See the full line-up here.

The 2022 Orienteering Ottawa Club Awards were also presented. Read all about the following winners here.

Colin Kirk Memorial Award for Junior Orienteer of the Year
Hayden Smith

Pat De St. Croix Memorial Award for Volunteer of the Year
Sheldon Hancock

Pierre Brassard Memorial Award for Orienteering Spirit
Paul Lefebvre

Brian Graham Memorial Award for Orienteer of the Year
Eric Kemp
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July 2021 Newsletter   

What's on in July?

Exciting news... Orienteering activities are starting up mid-July!!!  

Tuesday Evening Summer Sprint Series

Starts 6-7pm.  Pre-registration required.  Members only (join the club online for only $20).  Each event will have a Long course ~3.5 km and a Short course ~2 km.  
Updated details will be here:  Summer Orienteering (ottawaoc.ca)
 
Tuesday, July 13 All Saints High School, Kanata
Tuesday, July 20 Rockcliffe Park
Tuesday, July 27 Orleans
Tuesday, Aug 3 LeBreton Flats
August TBD Location TBD
August TBD Location TBD

Thursday Evening Orienteering Practices

These coach-led practices will help you to progress faster towards becoming a better orienteer and are also just another fun opportunity to orienteer.  Suitable for Intermediate and Advanced Orienteers.

Thursday Evenings, mid-July to late-August, Location TBD

Keep an eye on the 'Upcoming Events' sidebar on our homepage for details.

Don't forget to read the COVID-19 Event Modifications for info on registration & participation.  

Sprint Orienteering

Never been to a Sprint Orienteering event before?  Don't let the name scare you!  Sprint events can still be 'just for fun'.  In fact, they are great family and beginner events as they are often held in open urban areas where you can practice matching all the details on the map with what you see in front of you.  The events are shorter and you don't have to worry about getting lost in the forest!

'Sprint' orienteering maps are at a scale of 1:4000 or 1:5000 (1cm = 40 or 50m). The legend for a sprint map is slightly different than that for standard orienteering maps.  

In Sprint maps certain symbols are forbidden to cross or pass into for safety, fairness, and land-owner relations. These forbidden features are: buildings, impassable walls, impassable fences, gardens, hedges, and lakes.

Print this Sprint Orienteering Map Legend to take with you on the course.

Volunteers needed for Fall 2021

Rorry Harding and Tomas Graham have built a very successful collaboration with both the OCSB and OCDSB this past year in our Outreach Program.  Schools have been keen to pursue COVID-friendly outdoor activities.

Volunteers are needed for the Fall to help during school hours.  Please contact Rorry if you can help at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Spring/Summer 2021 Mapping Update

The club’s mappers have kept busy during the pandemic. The new or updated maps you can expect to see are:

  • All Saints High School in Kanata, updated and expanded map by Jeff.
  • Orleans, new map around Cairine Wilson Secondary School and St. Matthew High School, mapped by Stefan and Tomas.
  • Cite des Jeunes map completely redone from LiDAR by Jeff.
  • Rockcliffe Park updated by Andrew.
  • A new sprint map of Collège La Cité by Andrew.
  • Rothwell Woods/Beacon Hill North updates with new LiDAR and field work by Andrew.
  • An extended Rideau River/Falls sprint map southwards to include Strathcona Park, Riverain Park and the Adawa Bridge, by Andrew.
  • University of Ottawa sprint map updated by Philipe.
  • Meredith Centre sprint map in Old Chelsea by Frédéric and Bill M.

Two forest maps are in progress, The Ark in Denholm, Quebec, and Bennies Corner NW of Almonte.

Maps for Schools

Approximately 50 maps that cover schools, from small school yard maps to larger park or forest maps close to schools, have been prepared for the schools as pdf files in a print ready format. The Ottawa Catholic School Board and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board have both agreed on a subscription model where the schools pay for the access to these maps for teaching until 2022.

Bill A. has created a bunch of new schoolyard maps: St. Patrick's HS (update), Hillcrest HS with a big chunk of Greenbelt, Charles Hulse PS, Jack Donohue PS and adjacent W.C. Bowes park, St. Patrick's Intermediate with a big chunk of Greenbelt (almost finished), Pleasant Park PS with a big chunk of Greenbelt (just started). 

World Orienteering Championships 2021, July 3 - 9

The Czech Republic will host the World Championships 2021, July 3-9, with Sprint, Sprint Relay, Long, Middle and Relay competitions. All five competitions will be covered with full TV broadcast on Web-TV.

Unfortunately, Canada is not sending a team to this year’s championship due to the COVID pandemic and travel restrictions, but it will still be exciting races to follow via web-streaming and GPS-tracking.


Web-TV broadcast schedule

Times listed are Ottawa times (EDT)

3 July (Sat)

Sprint

8:50 – 11:25

4 July (Sun)

Sprint Relay

12:10 – 13:40

     – Rest day –

6 July (Tue)

Middle

10:20 – 14:15

     – Rest day –

8 July (Thu)

Relay

10:10 – 14:20

9 July (Fri)

Long

9:20 – 14:05

Sign up for the web-streaming here.

Prices: 20 EURO for all competitions ticket or 6 EURO per competition. (20 EURO = CAN $28.50)


 

The Middle-distance race terrain has large slopes with lots of rocks and vegetation features. How would you run from 10 to 11 on this Middle-distance training map?

 

The Long-distance race is using the famous Czech sandstone terrain with deep valleys and spectacular cliffs and rock pillars. It will force the runners to choose between taking lots of climb or long detours around to avoid the hills. What is your route from 5 to 6 on this training map?

Here is a short video that shows the spectacular Czech sandstone terrain:  https://www.facebook.com/dhubmann/videos/449155653124593/ 

Tick Check

Don't forget to do a daily tick check after being out in the woods or in long grass.  This silly song might help you remember:  https://youtu.be/M4vpi1L3nIY 

Past Newsletters

If this is the first time you received our monthly newsletter (some tweaks were made as there were reports of the newsletter being marked as spam), you can view the missed newsletters on the website under the Stories menu.

Newsletters menu location

 

June 2021 Newsletter   

What's on in June?

Not a whole heck of a lot, but our backyards are sure going to look nice this year!  With the current re-opening plan, it is possible that low-key orienteering activities could begin around mid-July.

O-Talk & Course Discourse, the weekly webinar started in May, is ongoing for June.  It's not too late to join in on Sunday evenings at 7pm to casually talk about either a MapRun course (Course Discourse) or some other orienteering related topic (O-Talk).  Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for info. 

Outreach 2020-21 Update

Written by Rorry Harding

In the fall, we ran activities for 15 days for 900 students. Since Christmas, we have run 22 activities for 1200 students. We were at about 14 different schools across 3 school boards.

Engagement by students and teachers has been almost universally positive with some students in every class really giving it their all, delivering some very fast times and very pumped with their results.  The SI is always a big hit.  Courses are simple and often limited to school grounds but they do have to work at it.  

This was the first year that we ran activities in the winter, which turned out better than anticipated. 

Interest has been at the Grade 7 level and above this school year.  There is a lot of interest from schools in 3 boards, all through word-of-mouth alone until recently.

Tom Graham deserves recognition and thanks for consistently providing a great experience for students and teachers. 

We have also run on-line training for Senior Cadets and Leaders, more to show them how we teach orienteering and to provide them with teaching resources.  That effort required development of some very good on-line training material, which we will be delivering to teachers in the fall. Hopefully, we will also be running clinics in the field for them. 

September through November should be very busy and although we are working to set up teachers to be able to run their own activities, we will need more instructors that can help during school hours.  Please feel free to ask me about it.

Team Canada Fundraiser

Orienteering Ottawa has 5 club athletes on Team Canada Programs:  Luke and Evan Raz, Alec LeHelloco, Philipe Turcanu, and Robert Graham.  

During the month of June, Team Canada Program athletes will record the number of controls they visit while training or competing.  Encourage our Team Canada athletes to get out on a map this month and support their fundraiser by making a pledge

Trail-O

Written by Stefan Bergstrom

Do you know that there are four orienteering disciplines recognized by IOF, the International Orienteering Federation? In Ottawa we do our regular forest or sprint orienteering events. We also organize Ski-Orienteering in the winter, and a handful of times we have tried mountain bike orienteering, MTB-O. The fourth discipline is Trail-Orienteering.

Trail-O is more about map reading and understanding, no running is required. Trail-O started as a way to get people with reduced mobility to experience orienteering. It has developed to its own competition discipline, open to anyone, as the speed of movement is not a deciding factor, only the skill in reading the map.

The route goes along walkways or paths that a wheelchair can travel. Along the route there are stations with several control points marked with control flags. A map shows one of the controls and the challenge is to decide which of the control flags, marked A-F or Z for none of the above, is the one marked on the map.

The sport now has World Championship and national and international events. During the COVID pandemic there has been many virtual competitions on-line. They are fun to practise your map reading skills. Many can be incredibly challenging, as you are stressed by a time limit.

Here are a couple of examples.

 

 

You can find Trail-O training events and competitions at http://temposim.yq.cz/tempo.cgi.

I suggest you start by looking at the Model Station and the free training courses before attempting a competition. Have fun!

Newsletter Logo

Thank-you to Liran Raz for his idea for the newsletter logo!

Dreaming of the Future

It might be too early to start planning trips, but we can dream, can't we?  How about one of these events for a summer vacation to look forward to?

 

July 2022 Canadian Rockies Orienteering Festival

Head to British Columbia for a week of orienteering, including the Canadian Championships, in fine terrain with beautiful surroundings.  Throw in a couple days of the Sass Peepre National Junior Training Camp for the kids and voilà, a two-day romantic getaway in the Rockies.

More details here: https://crof2020.com/

 

Summer 2023 California Orienteering Festival

Why not plan that once a lifetime trip to San Francisco and Lake Tahoe for 10 days of incredible orienteering.  This event includes the North American Championships and World Rogaining Championships (and maybe some surfing?). 

More details here: https://cal-o-fest.com/

Committee Members Still Needed

The club is still in need of members for the Volunteer Committee and Training Committee.  The Volunteer Committee would maintain a member volunteer database and support other club committees with their volunteer requirements and recruitment efforts.  The Training Committee leads and manages the many programs and activities run by Orienteering Ottawa that involve instruction and training for all ages, members and non-members.

If you are interested in joining one of these committees (or have questions on what's involved) please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..   

Have a happy hope-filled June!

 

 

May 2021 Newsletter   

What's on in May?

Well, not much... yet.  Unless you're an outdoor enthusiast like all of us orienteers... then you can head out to the forest in and around our amazing city every day for some exercise! 

When things open up, keep your eye on your email for news of upcoming events.

Are you a New Member?

Are you a member but haven't yet tried out the courses available?  You will need an account on ottawaoc.ca and then need to sign the yearly waiver. 

Click on Login, select 'Create an account' from the dropdown, complete the 'User Registration form', watch your email (or even spam) for the email confirmation, complete that and then watch for an email from us to say your account has been activated.  Then sign in and click on 'For Members' and complete the 'club waiver' . 

Login menus   

Each adult will have to have their own account and sign the waiver.  A parent or guardian must sign for a minor (18 and under).  You will then have access to the MapRun, the permanent course and, once we can hold them, our Sunday morning events and any other events we may hold.

Volunteer & Training Committees Members Needed

Our club is run by many dedicated and extraordinary volunteers. Recruiting and coordinating volunteers is currently a job of each of the club's committees. The club would like to put together a volunteer committee to manage and coordinate the volunteer needs of Orienteering Ottawa. The Volunteer Committee would maintain a member volunteer database and support other club committees with their volunteer requirements and recruitment efforts.

The club is also seeking interest for the Training Committee. This committee leads and manages the many programs and activities run by Orienteering Ottawa that involve instruction and training for all ages, members and non-members.

If you are interested in joining one of our dynamic, hard-working committees (or have questions on what's involved) please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..   

We will miss you Na!

Na Lin Collage

Na Lin was an active member of Orienteering Ottawa for many years. Na passed away early in April from lung cancer.

Na was a person who was full of life and full of energy, a person who always had a smile on her face, always had laughter in her voice and always had an engaging story to tell.

At an online Celebration of Life for Na on Sunday, April 25, the photographs and the talks all had something in common. It seems like every photo of Na showed her with a smile from ear to ear, where her eyes crinkled into a grin to accompany it. And everyone who spoke of Na spoke of her smile and her laughter and her love of living. And her love of adventure.

You know those days when you go out and things just don’t go right in the woods, and you come back to the finish with a harsh word or two for the forest, or for the map, or the course, or the world, or perhaps yourself? Well, Na wasn’t one of those people. No matter how long Na was out in the forest, no matter how “adventurous” her route “choices”, Na returned with a smile, and the bigger the adventure, the better the story.

With Orienteering Ottawa Na was always willing to help out. She organized our annual Vampire O at Hallowe’en in both 2018 and 2019. She cooked chili for the Rogaine. She was often on the registration desk with her smile and her laughter. She organized Summer Solstice events. Always willing, always learning, always smiling.

At the Celebration of Life for Na, we learned, as we too often do, much about Na that we didn’t know, and wish we had. Na discovered outdoor adventure after she moved to Canada from China with her young son. Since this addition to her life, she has hiked the Rideau Trail end to end in both winter and summer. She has hiked the Bruce Trail end to end, she is a member of the 46er club having summited all 46 high peaks of the Adirondacks. She has been on hiking trips in Albania, Montenegro, Bhutan, Morocco, China, South America. And who knows where all else. Na studied medicine in China then retrained in Canada to work in the medical field. Na was an amazing craftsperson – if anyone has ever received a card from Na you will know that – she hand-made the most amazing 3D stand-up greeting cards.

When I think of Na I will always think of her smile and her laughter and her stories. Those of us who knew Na, who orienteered with her, who volunteered with her, will remember her fondly and miss her contagious love of life.

We will miss you Na!

Written by:  Anne Teutsch

Sometimes people are looking for an organization to make a donation to in a deceased person’s name. For Na, the Board of Orienteering Ottawa suggests Lung Cancer Canada as one option for a good home for donations. 

Family Orienteering Ideas for May 

Map Walk in Kanata

Map Walk map  Map Walk control

Do you have one child who wants to run and one who doesn't?  One who is ready to try intermediate-level controls on their own?  One who just wants to sit in a tree and skip the orienteering?  The Map Walk in Kanata is the place to go.  There are lots of controls (with actual flags and punches) in a small area which makes it perfect for kids.  Login to the Ottawa OC member website first, then download the map.

Lucy in tree

 

Suggested activity:

  • Make your way to a control on a trail as your gathering point.  Make sure everyone has their own whistle!
  • Send an older child off to get a few controls in the woods.  The shape of the land is obvious without the leaves on the trees and there are lots of little hills on this map, so this is a perfect place to practice reading contour lines.
  • Send a younger child off to get an easy control or two down the trail and then come back to you.  They'll gain some confidence on their own.  
  • Make it competitive and the kids can race against each other.
  • The tree climber can sit happily up in a tree and wait.

Interested in teaching your child about contour lines before heading out?  Try making a map of a potato or taking this contour matching quiz.

 

Burnt Lands Provincial Park

Sarah at Burnt LandsDo you know what an Alvar is?  Head to Burnt Lands Provincial Park near Almonte to visit one.  It's a very unique place that you can read all about here.

Grab the MapRun course (login as a member first) before you head out and your cell phone will beep when you arrive at the control location. Burnt Lands map

New to orienteering?  Don't be scared by the lack of trails - the Intermediate course is all in open areas so you can't get lost here.  If you haven't taken compass bearings before, this is a great place to start before trying it in the forest.  Try to go in a straight line between controls using your compass as shown in this 1 minute video.

Submit your Newsletter Logo Design

Do we have any artists out there?  Maybe some bored kids?  Our newsletter needs a logo. The design should fit in a rectangle that can go at the top of an email, but what is inside is up to you (e.g. image, fancy text, photo).  Submit your suggested designs to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sample Newsletter Logo

Share your Story

📸 Send a photo or short story of your DIY May orienteering activity to share in next month's newsletter by May 25th to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

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