MORPETH FAIR 2018
URBAN ORIENTEERING
NEWCASTLE AND TYNESIDE ORIENTEERS, WILL BE SHARING THE FUN OF MORPETH FAIR WEEKEND AND ENCOURAGE YOU TO COME AND TRY IT OUT FOR YOURSELF...
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ewcastle and Tyneside Orienteering is hosting the British Mixed Sprint Relays at Pegswood on the Saturday 9th June, and an orienteering competition in and around Morpeth town centre on Sunday 10th. They’re keen for local people to try orienteering in Morpeth on Sunday. They will set up a very short demonstration course where people can turn up and try it out. You are also welcome to register to take part in a variety of standard courses: registration is either online in advance, or on the day. What is orienteering anyway? It’s an exciting and challenging outdoor sport that exercises mind and body. The aim is to navigate between control points marked on an orienteering map. On the ground, the points each have a distinctive marker flag. Competitors use a compass to help them navigate, and are timed. In competitive orienteering the challenge is to choose your own best route and complete the course in the quickest time you can. The timing works because at each control point there is an electronic box to record that you’ve reached the right place. You use an orienteering ‘dibber’ (like a memory stick) to check in using the box at the control point. When you’ve finished, you use the club’s 18
equipment to download the data from your ‘dibber’. You will get a printout of your own results, and they will be recorded and displayed – so you can see how you did compared to others on the same course. Who goes orienteering? This is a recreational activity, so it doesn’t matter how young, old or fit you are. You can run or walk, making progress on the courses at your own pace. Orienteering is a fulfilling sport for runners and walkers of all ages who want to test themselves mentally as well as physically or who want to vary their leisure activities. You can orienteer anywhere. You may have heard of the army, guides and scouts orienteering in remote forest and countryside, but you can also orienteer in urban areas like Morpeth. June’s event is part of an urban orienteering series, which draws top-class competitors from around the country. You may spot some competitors sprinting through town, especially near the marketplace, on the hunt for the right controls. On the morning of 10th June you will find them in Morpeth Riverside Leisure Centre. If you’d like to find out more about the sport, the club or Morpeth Fair Urban Races please visit www. newcastleorienteering.org.uk.