Course lengths and difficultyHow do I choose?
Courses at orienteering events combine physical activity with navigational challenge. To cater for all ages and abilities can be quite difficult or confusing. Guidance is therefore provided to try and give consistency enabling competitors to identify the correct course when entering.
The most common way is to use the nationally defined ‘colour-coded’ courses which provide a range of different lengths (for different fitness levels) and different ‘technical difficulty’ (for skill levels). The general criteria are shown below but you will find some variations including such courses as ‘Red’, ‘Short Blue’ or ‘Short Brown’ at events with a large number of courses or where the area is restricted.
Examples of how ‘technical difficulty’ is determined is shown below. It is not always easy to meet all the criteria.
The table below gives an idea of the relative difficulty of the colours. Precise guidelines can be found in British Orienteering Rules. Although the age of children has been used as a guide for some of the easier courses even the adult beginners would benefit from going round an easier course first just to get the idea of map scale, symbols etc.
| Colour | Technical difficulty | Physical difficulty | Remarks |
| White | 1 | 1 | All on paths, direction of next control always indicated by flag. Suitable for young children of 7 to 8 who should be accompanied. |
| Yellow | 2 | 2 | Routes along obvious line features e.g. earth banks, fences as well as paths. Decision points introduced |
| Orange | 3 | 3 | Controls on features a little way off paths or on line features. Route choice introduced. Adult beginners shouldn't attempt anything harder. |
| Red | 3 | 3 to 4 | Not often provided. Basically a long Orange. |
| Light Green | 4 | 3 | Transitional course for improving skills. Navigation skills required, interpretation of contours |
| Green | 5 | 3 | For those with good navigational skills but with limited energy or running speed |
| Blue | 5 | 4 | Longer than Green and shorter than Brown! |
| Brown/ Black | 5 | 5 | For very fit and competent navigators who are usually 16 plus. |
Course lengths and difficulties are self-explanatory at a higher level, but it's worth highlighting what the combinations are at FVO events, particularly as some of our races don't follow the colour-coding system.
| Local Weekend Events (Year Round) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colour Class | TD | Length |
| Blue | 5 | 7km max, counting climb at 100m equal to 1km on the ground. |
| Green | 5 | 5km max. |
| Light Green | 4 | 4km max. |
| Orange | 3 | 3km max. |
| Yellow | 2 | 2.5km max. |
| WEE Events (Midweek, April to June) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colour Class | TD | Length. |
| Green | 5 | 6km max. |
| Short Green | 4 to 5 | 4km max. |
| Orange | 3 | 3km max. |
| Yellow | 2 | 2.5km max. |
| Urban Events (Midweek, August to October) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Course Name | TD | Length |
| Long | 3 | 4km straight line |
| Short | 3 | 3km straight line |
| Novice/Junior | 3 | 2km straight line |
All Urban events, up to World Championship level, are TD3, but we put buildings, fences and walls in the way so it's not just a run.
| Night Events (October to March) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Course Name | TD | Length |
| Long (Navy) | 5 | 6km, Estimated Winning Time 30 minutes |
| Short (Olive) | 5 | 4km. Estimated Winning Time 30 minutes |
| Novice (Tangerine) | 3 to 4 | 2.5km max. |