Route selection task

Making the correct route choice is an important part of orienteering.  Do you rely on the compass and go straight, go to the right around that big hill or follow that long curved road to the left.  The descision of route selection in front of you is more than just a routine route selection. The orienteerer must consider, identify and compare many of the factors that affect the orienteering task ahead. The Swedish call it route selection planning (sträckplan).

On the Jukola site we will be publishing a series of route selection tasks, which presents the route choices made by top orienteerers and they will give hints and tips on how to best reach the the next check- point. The model solutions detail the route selection on the map and this is supported by arguments and important tips on the things that the orienteerer has to calculate and decide upon after leaving the previous check-point.

Here is the first route choice task. It has been written by Ari Anjala using the Kukkolanharju exercise terrain. Ari is a multiple Finnish champion and has also won world championship silver and bronze medals as part of the Finnish relay team. In addition to this Anjala’s achievements also include victory in the 1977 Jukola relay. The official map of Kukkolanharju will be released in the spring as one of Jukola’s training terrain maps and it can be thought of as a miniature Jukola, more descriptively mini-Hälvälä.

Then, within a week or so, we will posting, on the Jukola website, example route selections presented by world class orienteerers.  We have asked for a route selection example, with tips from the 9 time former world champion Minna Kauppi.  Also Ari Anjala will present  several of his own route selection options.

In January we will release the second orienteering problem; a new route choice with comments, tips and secrets from more world class orienteerers.