A series of articles about scoring competitions the club and our members are part of.
4: British Orienteering’s national individual challenge schemes
British Orienteering organises a number of schemes to recognise individual performance and progress. These target people at different stages of their orienteering journey so there is something for everyone.
This article will start at the beginning with information about the National incentive schemes which are aimed at newcomers as they develop their skills from White course upwards. The national individual badge and ranking system for established orienteers will be described in Wrekin Rankings number 5.
You will often see courses denoted by a colour. This is meant to help you know what to expect from a course in terms of its technical difficulty, and is graded like this:
| Technical Difficulty (TD) | Colour Coded Courses |
| 1 | White |
| 2 | Yellow |
| 3 | Orange (including Long Orange) |
| 4 | Light Green |
| 5 | Green (including Short and Very Short Green), Blue, Brown, Black |
For starters and learners the BO Navigational Challenge recognises performance at different levels regardless of age or gender. There are certificates to be gained by completing three courses at the same technical difficulty. Completing three courses at Technical Difficulty level 1 (TD1) gains a 1* certificate, TD2 courses get a 2** all the way up to 5***** for completing 3 courses at Green standard or above. There don’t seem to be any time limits on achieving this.
This gives everyone a measure of progress to establish a level of competence.
The next level is the BO Racing Challenge. This has a similar approach to the Navigational Challenge in that it uses three results at the same levels of Technical Difficulty but it sets a speed hurdle to beat to be awarded at one of three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold.
| 3 results faster than 20 minutes per kilometre = Bronze Standard |
| 3 results faster than 15 minutes per kilometre = Silver Standard |
| 3 results faster than 12.5 minutes per kilometre = Gold Standard |
The results have to be on courses at the same level of Technical Difficulty. So you can gain a series of Racing Challenge Certificates as you build your confidence and skill level by qualifying for Bronze , Silver and then Gold, first on a white course and finally on a TD5 Course at Green standard or higher! It is probably best to have a single space on your wall of trophies for the last one you gained.
For the Navigational and Racing Challenges, certificates are automatically generated from results that clubs upload to the website. The Certificates are available for individuals or proud parents and children to download via the members area of the BO website. If BO have your email address they will send an email informing you of your success. The Club Membership Secretary is also notified of your achievement.
If you don’t know what Certificates you have already gained then have a look at your member section on the BO website (British Orienteering).
Adrian Pickles
Club Captain
PS: Since I put this article together we have had some success recognised by BO. Congratulations to the following members for their recent success:
Racing Challenge – Bronze Award
This recognises completing three events at the same technical standard in less than 20 minutes per kilometre:
Eva Spurling 4****
Racing Challenge – Silver Awards
This recognises completing three events at the same technical standard in less than 15 minutes per kilometre:
Jennifer Nowicki 5*****
Mark Tipuric 5*****
Grace Allinson 4****
Harriet Allinson4****
Navigation Challenge
For completing three courses at the same technical difficulty:
Lewis Kieniewicz 1*
Happy orienteering
Adrian Pickles, Wrekin Club Captain
