- Events are conducted on Saturday mornings with flexible start times.
- No experience is necessary. Both beginner friendly and advanced courses are always available.
- SOS is ideal for anyone wishing to get some exercise and immerse themselves in a mini adventure.
- Introductory coaching is included for beginners.
- Orienteering is a great way to develop critical thinking and decision-making. It’s a body and brain workout.
- Students, young adults, mums, dads, uncles, aunts, friends, and grandparents: all ages can run or walk and enjoy the SOS.
Check out our Facebook page to get additional insight into what to expect. People of all ages, runners, walkers, individuals, family groups, friendship groups, beginners, Australian reps and everything in between enjoy SOS events. What they have in common is an enjoyment of the outdoors, desire to get moving, enjoyment of a little (or sometimes big) mental challenge and appreciation of sharing the good times together.
When and where are events?
There are four series of six SOS events annually. One in each school term with breaks for school holidays as well as Orienteering NSW’s State League weekends. Choose to participate as a summer sport, winter sport, all year round or just occasionally. The choice is yours.
Event series are conducted in Sydney regions and occasionally further afield.
For event details, please check our
Bold Horizons Event Calendar page.
Whilst late changes are rare, we recommend checking our Bold Horizons event listing or our Bold Horizons Facebook page the evening before the event or on event morning in case of late changes.
On event day, start a course any time between 9:30am and 11am. So if you have other Saturday morning commitments, there’s often have time to squeeze SOS in before or after. Depending upon whether you are running or walking, experienced or a beginner and the course you select, you can typically expect a course to take between 15 minutes and one hour to complete. Courses close at 12pm.
Beginners
We recommend that newcomers aim to arrive around 9:30am.
All events are suitable for beginners with complimentary instruction to help newcomers get started.
We recommend that newcomers enter the Warm Up course on their first event. It will be a gentle introduction to map reading and navigating. When confident, you are welcome to head out on additional courses. The one entry fee covers as many courses as you can fit in the morning.
Course Options
Generally, 4 different courses are available to choose between. These are:
Warm Up: A gentle introduction to warm up the mind and body. This course is also suitable for beginners. We recommend that newcomers start out with this course to get a feel for how things work. After doing this course, newcomers are welcome to then tackle another course on event morning on a complimentary basis.
Score Course: For this course, participants need to plan, navigate, run (or walk) and manage their time. There are 20 controls to find within a set time limit (usually 45 minutes). The controls are worth a variety of points, so there is strategy involved in deciding on the best return for time and energy before setting off. Anyone taking longer than the time limit starts losing points. On this course, the focus is on personal challenge and learning skills. Everyone ‘wins’ by finding at least a few controls, learning and practicing new skills plus having a go. Entrants are welcome to head out on their own or team up for the course.
Short Line Course: On Line courses, orienteers find all the controls marked on the map in a set order. Short Line courses are generally around 3 to 3.5km long. The navigation will require some thought and familiarity with basic map reading. The finer challenges of optimising route choice and the need for speed and accuracy will also keep the experienced orienteers on their toes. Orienteers are encouraged to tackle the challenge on their own but if they want to head out in a group then that is okay too.
Long Line Course: This course offers the greatest physical and mental challenge that is possible on the map. It is generally 4 to 5km of running.
Electronic (SPORTident) timing is used for all courses and participants. Timing cards can be purchased or hired at each event.
What to bring?
Come along ready for a run or walk.
Enclosed shoes are a must. Good grip will also be helpful.
Compasses may assist with harder courses but are not essential. Novices won’t need one for the easier courses.
All timing is electronic and a timing card will be required. These can be hired when entering online.
We also have timing (SPORTident) cards and compasses for sale, in case you are ready to purchase your own personal card which can be used across most Australian and international events..
Entry
Choose the course that’s right for you. Not sure? No problem, you can always swap on the day.
For families or friends heading out as a group, only one member needs to purchase a course ticket. Other members of the group are able to register as group members for no charge. Note however that group members do not receive a timing chip or map. If you would like a personal timing chip and map, then you need to enter a course and hire or bring your own SPORTident timing card.
Event entry fees are included below. Discounted term passes are also available at the beginning of each Series.
| School student * | $15 |
| Adult * | $18 |
| SPORTident card hire (per event) | $4 |
| Group members (no map or timing chip) | free |
We recommend orienteering club membership for regular runners. NSW club membership information is available on the Orienteering NSW website and individual clubs also maintain websites and social media accounts.
Results
Recent results can be found on our event results page.
Results for the 127 SOS events as well as charity Boost events prior to 2020 can be found on Orienteering NSW’s Eventor listing.
Safety
- Maps with distinct boundaries and a suitable difficulty are used.
- Courses are set with various experience levels in mind.
- All runners check in and out. The safe return of all participants are checked at course closure (or earlier if concerns are raised).
- Live GPS trackers are available if pre-booked.
- Parents are very welcome to accompany or “shadow” their children on courses.
- Courses avoid roads as much as possible. If road crossings are essential then they will generally be quiet and management techniques employed to prioritise safety.
- Qualified first aiders, a first aid kit and defibrillator are at all events.
- Events may be modified or postponed in case of extreme weather or environmental conditions.
Questions?
Drop us an email or give us a call!
Barbara Hill
Bold Horizons
Mobile: 0418 270 476
Email: barbara@boldhorizons.com.au
