Wharton

What is orienteering?  Orienteering is the sport of navigating a couse with nothing but a map, a compass, and your brain.

The sport of orienteering has been around since the late 1800’s. However, man has applied the skills of land navigation to get from point A to point B safely for far longer a time frame. In 1897 the very first officially recognized Orienteering competition was held. Over the decades the sport has gained an ever increasing following. The passing of time introduced new technologies, training methods and competitors of all ages, skill levels and genders.

The purpose of AFJROTC orienteering is to teach cadets a lifelong skill which can support many leisure activities including, hiking, fishing, hunting, exploring, geo-cashing, camping, biking, and physical fitness to name a few. It also provides the cadet with a sense of accomplishment, adventure, comradery, and teamwork. Getting out on the course brings many of the concepts taught in other classes to life.

Topics such as geometry, close reading, biology, and physical fitness are all applied in the sport of orienteering.

Finally, orienteering develops a cadet in ways sitting in a classroom cannot. Decision making, judgement, calculations on the fly, strategy, communicating, planning, dealing with failure, and changing course are all valuable skills honed as they compete.