Goal Oriented - Joe Robinson

Rating: ****


This is a well written article concerning orienteering in the USA as well as what type of minds and thinking prevail when orienteering.


The article begins by comparing different orienteering cultures and how it is different throughout the world. For example. in the USA you might get between 50-100 people at an orienteering event, while in Europe you might get 5000. It also discusses the logistics of the sport, and how it is a strange mix of activities. The author says 'Mix maps, hiking and scavenger hunting: Voila, what you've got is orienteering'. He then brings in personal orienteering experiences. Discussing how when he was a beginner orienteering with a more experienced orienteer. He was taught that logical people who think and straight lines don't succeed in orienteering. You have to learn to think as a spatial sense, and be able to connect different routes from point to point.


I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article. It taught me a lot about what orienteering is like around the world, and how it is like every other sport based on the fact it is more popular in some places than others. It also got me thinking about the different aspects that make up orienteering and how different is it as a sport. Based off of his anecdote, I know that when orienteering it's in my favour to think spatially rather than in straight lines. Sometimes the shortest route, isn't the best route to take. You should combine a series of short, easy to navigate routes to get to your control.


Overall I enjoyed this article and I learned more about orienteering as a sport, and about some ways for myself to improve as an orienteer.


Robinson, Joe. Goal Oriented. November 29, 2005. Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2005/nov/29/news/os-orienteering29/2