The route map is on sale at the Aude en Pyrénées Tourist Office (2 euros + postage costs).
Contact us to order it.
It is like an all-terrain race where competitors have to find their way around a route with the help of a map and a compass. The route is marked out with markers and competitors have to find them in the correct order. The races are normally timed of course, so that you can't win by simply following another team. At the highest level of the sport, the competitors cross wild terrain at speed worthy of the best cross-country runners with only small details of the earth and changes in vegetation to guide them. Young people and beginners start on routes which are easier to navigate, on paths and simple features. They then progress to more technical and physically-demanding routes, depending on their experience and confidence. The maps are very precise and large-scale (1/10000 or 1/15000) with a contour interval of 5 metres.
The winner is the fastest to find all the markers. To prove that they have found all the markers, the competitors' control card must be punched at each control point. Until recently, a motif of small holes was punched into a control card, now there is often an electronic punching system in place. Competitors can decide on the route they take between the control points, so they must not only run fast and navigate, but at the same time their must try to make the right route choice. Between two markers two kilometres apart, the right choice can gain the competitor one or two minutes.
More information...
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/rdpa
Quillan
Nuageux
13°C
Orienteering
