Foot orienteering

The international orienteering symbol
Highestgoverning body	International Orienteering Federation
First played	28 May 1893,Stockholm,Sweden
Characteristics
Contact	Non-contact
Team members	Individual
Mixed-sex	Separate categories
Type	Outdoor
Equipment	Map,compass
Presence
Olympic	No
World Games	2001 – present

Foot orienteering (usually referred to as simplyOrienteering orFootO for short) is the oldest formalorienteering sport, and the one with the most "starts" per year.^{[citation needed]} Usually, a FootO is atimed race in which participants start at staggered intervals, are individuallytimed, and are expected to perform allnavigation on their own. Thecontrol points are shown on theorienteering map and must be visited in the specified order. Standings are determined first by successful completion of thecourse, then by shortest time on course.

FootO is one of four orienteering disciplinesgoverned by theInternational Orienteering Federation.

The history of orienteering began in the late 19th century inSweden. The actual term "orienteering" was first used in 1886 and meant the crossing of unknown land with the aid of a map and a compass.^[1] The first orienteering competition open to the public was held in Norway in 1897.^[1] Notable dates for member nations of the IOF are shown below.

The official formats in theWorld Orienteering Championships,^[8] which is followed by most regional and national championships, include the following:

The long distance competition, previously called the classic distance competition, is the longest and toughest individual competition. Long competitions are held in forest, with expected winning time of 90–100 minutes, in physically demanding terrain with large-scale route choices and varying scale of technical difficulties.

The middle distance competition is a relatively shorter race held in forest, with expected winning time of 30–35 minutes in technically complex terrain. (In 2003, the middle distance replaced a previous format calledshort distance competition where the expected winning time was 20-25 minutes.)

Sprint competitions are high-speed competitions held in urban areas, which are technically easy but with difficult route choices. The expected winning time is 12–15 minutes.

The relay, composed of teams of 3, is amass start event where different runners are separated by means ofgaffling. The results are directly determined at the finish line.

The sprint relay is run by teams of 4, where the first and the last must be women, in urban areas withmass start and gaffling. It is an exciting and television-friendly event where the runners compete head-to-head at a high-speed.

Knock-Out sprint (KO-Sprint) is the newest form urban orienteering to be added to international competition. It consists of a short qualifier race of around 10–12 minutes to determine the seeding for a subsequent series of very shortmass start elimination races of around 6–8 minutes. These elimination races normally consist of six runner with the top two or three progressing, and can contain gaffling, loops, or runner's choice selection. Similar to the sprint relay, it is high paced and television friendly, with the elimination rounds happening quickly one after another.

TheWorld Orienteering Championships are held annually. As of 2022^[update],Europe has been dominant.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Sweden (SWE)	68	59	57	184
2	Norway (NOR)	52	51	46	149
3	Switzerland (SUI)	47	38	43	128
4	Finland (FIN)	24	43	32	99
5	France (FRA)	14	7	11	32
6	Denmark (DEN)	12	10	7	29
7	Russia (RUS)	11	12	15	38
8	Great Britain (GBR)	4	6	5	15
9	Czech Republic (CZE)	3	4	5	12
10	Hungary (HUN)	3	1	2	6
11	Czechoslovakia (TCH)	2	5	8	15
12	Ukraine (UKR)	1	3	5	9
13	Austria (AUT)	1	1	0	2
14	Latvia (LAT)	1	0	2	3
15	Australia (AUS)	1	0	0	1
–	Independent Athletes[9]	0	2	0	2
16	New Zealand (NZL)	0	1	1	2
17	Soviet Union (URS)	0	0	2	2
18	Belarus (BLR)	0	0	1	1
	Belgium (BEL)	0	0	1	1
	Germany (GER)	0	0	1	1
	Italy (ITA)	0	0	1	1
	Netherlands (NED)	0	0	1	1
Totals (22 entries)		244	243	246	733

• World Orienteering Championships
• Junior World Orienteering Championships
• World Masters Orienteering Championships
• European Orienteering Championships

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