Orienteering During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Schedule modifications

In light of the current public health crisis surrounding COVID-19, the New England Orienteering Club is canceling its public events as we've known them, for the immediate future. This is to comply with federal, state, and local authorities' public health directives, and to protect both our participants and our volunteers.

But wait. Aren't local trails and public land open? Orienteering is the perfect sport to maintain "social distancing" as you navigate by yourself through unfamiliar terrain. It seems like the perfect way to meet recreational and emotional needs.

We all love orienteering. And our very mission is to promote orienteering and provide individuals, groups, and families with an organized outdoor activity that is mentally and physically challenging on a variety of levels.

A new style of orienteering & a new schedule.

Stay tuned to the  Schedule and the "NEOC Update" email as we work with land managers and club volunteers to organize Bring-Your-Own-Map (BYOM) events. Participants will be able to navigate around a course on their own time to minimize interactions.

As a reminder, club members have access to all our club maps in PDF form for personal use. (Check if you're membership is current.) See the NEOC Map Use Policy. 

Send your request to the Mapping Committee Chair.

This too shall pass, and we'll meet again in the woods for the sport of orienteering that we all enjoy so much.

In the meantime:

• Stay safe & stay sane.
• Invent your own navigation adventure with any map. Have you tried OpenOrienteeringMap to see what your local neighborhood or park looks like on an auto-generated O-map?
• Swing through the online community, Attackpoint, for a glimpse of the avid, the mundane, and the occasionally weird.
• Stuck behind a computer screen? Try Virtual-O (or Catching Features on older computers).
• Upload your routes (from GPS or memory) from past events at NEOC's Routegadget (linked from this website's Results menu).
• Review past maps and try to draw your route from memory.
• Design courses on O-maps and share them with others.
• Try your hand at mapping a local park or school. The club's mapping committee has a standing offer to create basemaps and offer advice & coaching.
• Decide this is the time to get more involved in things that matter and you enjoy—get more involved as a NEOC volunteer! Contact volunteer coordinator, Wendy Johnecheck.