Jargon

Safety bearing - A compass bearing which, if followed, will bring a lost orienteer to a road or other major, recognisable feature.

Score event - An event at which there is no set route and you try and visit as many controls as possible, in any order in a set time. SWOC has a one hour summer score league on a Thursday evening. The points scored for visiting each control vary depending upon such factors as location and distance from start. Take a watch. Handicaps normally apply based on age and sex.

SEF - Standard Entry Form. Most regional (badge) events and above require entry in advance on a SEF. A blank Standard Entry Form may be downloaded from the BOF web site. Some larger events, such as the JK, can now be entered via a web site.

Split Starts - At events where start times are allocated in advance, parents may request ¨split¨ early and late starts, hopefully meaning that one of them is always available to look after the children.

Splits - A format of the result showing the times taken for each individual leg. Only available if electronic punching used. Great fun for numerics, anoraks and 'if onlys'.

SportIdent (SI) - One of two competing forms of electronic punching. Appears to be winning the battle in the UK.

Start - The beginning of your orienteering course, the point at which your time starts. Can sometimes be a considerable distance from registration.

Start Triangle - The point where the course marked on your map starts, marked on the ground by a control kite with no punch. Normally visible form the start or at the end of a tapped route. The helper at the start will often point the start triangle out to you.

String course - An orienteering course for children too young to read a map reliably. Although a map will be provided, a string or thin rope is laid out along the ground as a guide. Small prizes often given to all competitors.