Why do some of the top orienteers in the world like orienteering?
Orienteering Training
Samantha Saeger
For many years Samantha Saeger has been one of America’s top orienteers. She has many USA championship titles to her credit both as a junior and national team member. Now living in Sweden, Samantha is helping with the production of instructional videos for top-level orienteers. Most of the series of videos are in Swedish but we are lucky to have Samantha’s verbal comments in English.
Samantha Saeger – Video #1: Checking off features along the route to the control. If they are there when expected, you are good to keep going. If things in the terrain don’t agree with the map that is the time to stop and make corrections!
Samantha Saeger – Video #2: What goes through a top orienteer’s mind while racing? Samantha is constantly reading the map and relating it to what she is seeing in the terrain. But if things go a bit off course, she can look at the terrain and find her place on the map. The map is never tucked away. Samantha does not pick a point, like a trail junction or other feature, and just blindly runs to it. Read the map on the run. Check off features as you go.
Think Fast – Run Hard – Go Orienteering (Series)
The following series features members of the Great Britain National Orienteering Team describing and demonstrating various orienteering skills designed to help us think faster and run harder. Whether it is in Great Britain or Hungary or the USA, the maps will look the same and the skills described are just as important everywhere.
Start Orienteering
Setting The Map
Simplification
Large Contour Features
Attack Points
Aiming Off
Using The Compass
Intricate Contours
Orienteering Just About Anywhere – Even In A Big Store (IKEA)