Orienteering as Team Building activity?

Orienteering, originally named Orientation Run was born in Scandinavian countries, where has become a national sport. Orienteering has gained in popularity in recent years, is a meaningful tool that boosts team spirit.

What Orienteering is about?

Orienteering Team Building is a time trial in which competing teams, equipped with maps and sometimes compasses must reach the finish line in the shortest time possible, passing through the series of control points that have to be followed in a specified order. The clue of the game is to find the best way to follow and win the race.

Team members learn to make decisions and find the right references in an environment that is unknown to most of them. Orienteering gives an overview of particular skills as i.e. technical leadership which allows the observation of the process of decision making. This Team Building activity is an instrument to lead a team in a natural and agreeable environment, where relationships, decision-making, and capabilities to find out references in a changing context, can be tested.

What skills does Orienteering Team Building develop?

  • Leadership,
  • Decision Making,
  • Competition,
  • Collaboration,
  • Communication.

The aim of Orienteering?

Orienteering is a source enjoyable experience that encourages participants to build relationships, make decisions and find references. Teams equipped with a set of tools (like compasses and maps) have to discover points of reference. The success of the group is based on the ability to collaborate.

The proposal is meant for groups that want to spend a day or at least a couple of hours close to nature and develop harmony within a group.

Orienteering: General Information

Length: 2 hours –  entire day

Orienteering objectives:

  • Exploration
  • Knowledge
  • Relationships
  • Aggregation
  • Entertainment

Orienteering Steps

  • Briefing
  • Compasses, markers, maps, and other necessary equipment delivery
  • Development of orienteering trials
  • Orienteering results

Equipment: compass, markers, maps

‘Orienteering doesn’t require special equipment from your side. It’s enough to prepare trekking shoes and k-way to protect yourself in the case of rain or high dampness. The team will be provided with all the tools needed to develop, create and consolidate individual and team skills.

Plan of Orienteering Team Building:

1. Subgroups creation: Participants are divided into teams.

2. Briefing and equipment distribution: Each participant gets all materials explaining rules of the game, location map and tools that can be used during Orienteering Game.

3. Competition: Each group has to find points that are marked on the map. Once they accomplish the first task they can move on to the next checkpoint. The objective is to finish all tasks in the shortest time possible. Of course in order to guarantee security and good results teams are supervised by our trainers.

4. Prize giving for the winning team.