Course Difficulty/Color Information
Courses are designed to challenge your navigation abilities. Below are the typically available course colors (White to Blue) and the navigation challenges salient to each course. ORIENTEERING MAP READING BASICS
NEW ORIENTEERS = WHITE - 2.0km, Controls are located on trails/streams/fence lines or any other distinct linear feature on the ground. YELLOW - 3.0km, Controls are located within 100 meters of linear features and on distinct point features (boulders, rootstocks etc). The CHALLENGE is to RELOCATE your position on the map by orienting the map to the ground (north) and identifying features on the map as you pass by. The Basic Skills of Orienteering These courses are less than 3 km.
INTERMEDIATE ORIENTEERS = ORANGE - 4.0km, Controls are on point features with distinct ATTACK POINTS and CATCHING FEATURES near by. Distinct linear features like trails, streams, rentrants and ridges to make route choices to the ATTACK POINTS easy so that relocating requires less skill. These course may be up to 4km in length.
ADVANCED ORIENTEERS = SILVER - 2.5km, BROWN - 5.0km, GREEN - 6.0km, RED - 7km, BLUE - 10km. ATTACK POINTS and COLLECTING FEATURES are more difficult to discern and using PACING, COMPASS, and MAP READING to "KEEP YOUR LINE" to the control is the challenge for the most advanced ORIENTEER.