Leading orienteering nations since 1966

fig.1.: Ranking of leading countries at successive WOCs 1966-2014 (host countries highlighted).

Fig. 1 is taken from an article by Dave Nevell from the April issue of Britain's National Orienteering Magazine CompassSport by courtesy of both author and magazine. Its content is described the following:

The countries have been ranked on how well their overall teams have performed each time round, based on the average gap beteween their runners and the average medal winning times for each discipline. Adjustments have been made for lower numbers of runners (e.g. non-qualification for the final). This then gives an idea of the current world order...

The graph is impressing as it visualizes the ongoing and total dominance of the top 4 since the beginning of modern orienteering. Sweden, Norway, Finland and Switzerland took 93.5% of all top four. While these nations all have between 27 and 30 top four positions over the years, former Czechoslovakia -> Czech Rep. got 5, Denmark, Russia and France each got 1.

The orienteering family VI

The orienteering family V

Mappers Blog: Fürstenwald setup

fig.1. Fürstenwald setup.

Now have even I changed side and started to map fully digital. The main reason besides I like to challenge myself was that Open Orienteering Mapper opened up a way to step into digital mapping before and without spending a lot of money on hardware. So here I document the setup developed for revisioning the map of Fürstenwald, Chur, Switzerland.

The point with digital mapping is, that you can choose your base map according to the actual task.

Hardware

fig.2. The  overview

• Samsung Galaxy Note 2, 5.5 inch screen
• with S Pen (inductive) and extra S Pen (waterproofed)
• with 1 original battery 3100 mAh and 1 extra battery 3400 mAh (total 13h with GPS on and screen on max)
• inside a waterproof case by redpepper
• protective film (anti-glare)

• compass Silva

Pics:

fig.3. Normal and waterproof S Pen (Latex & shrinking hose)

Comments: Seems to me pretty ideal for mappers. Inductive pen, allweather and easy energy supply handling (no external battery). Total weight: 250gr. Total costs: about 200 CHF /190 Euro (Phone bought second hand)

Software

fig.4. Screenshot OOM 0.5.96 with old map as basemap, scribble plus activated GPS tracking and positioning.

• Open Orienteering Mapper 0.5.96 for Android

Comments: One of the advantages of the OOM is, that you actually can continue working like you did in the analogue days. You just can scribble your features on the map. This is useful for features can not finalize directly (f.ex. wide greens). Of course, the rest you directly draw as map features. Other advantages: it is free and it is under development. You can contribute to its future.
A disadvantage of OOM is that it is not (yet) 100% compatible with recent OCAD formats (bascially some difference in dashing and no virtual gaps in OOM). In the actual case, revising an existing OCAD map, I therefore imported scribble tiles (georeferenced pngs) and digitized objects into OCAD11 for the finishing.

Basemaps

• Snapping Grid
• Old Map in gray and magenta tones
• LiDAR Terrain Model contours 1m
• LiDAR Surface Model (Both slightly outdated (!) therefore an recent additional Aerial)
• Aerial Orthophoto

fig.5. Live extraction of natural borders from the orthorectified aerial photo

fig.6. Old map overlayed with 1m contours. Also visible the snapping grid (thin hairlines)

fig.7. Screenshot defining vegetation borders based on the DSM.

Comments: To fit in changes into the existing map, I use a "snapping grid" consisting in the old map features vector lines. Basically very thin/optionally invisible lines (in protected mode) I can snap to while drawing new features.
In this case the other base maps or "locator maps" where  provided. As  stated in the quote above the strength of digital mapping is, that you can choose base´maps after the actual situation. In open forest you can identify every single tree with the surface map. In more dense forest the contours are a big help. The internal GPS is indeed the very last measure.

Overprepared Competitions: Ski-O EM 2015

The organizers of the 2015 European Champs in Ski Orienteering decided to publish an auto-generated map over the competition area to ensure same conditions for all competitors.

The area had not been mapped before, but the data used for the maps generation is freely available. Additional data as the set-up of the public ski track network from here and here can easily be added. Maybe even direct from your own GPS-device?

Swiss Team Preparations for WCup Final Switzerland

Taken from the Swiss Orienteering Magazine 11-2014:

Julia Gross nimm zur mentalen Vorbereitung  des Wiss Teams Stellung und erzählt: "Wir haben auf der alten Galms-Karte Bahnen gelegt. Ich glaube, es waren zum Schluss acht verschiedene Vorschläge." Die Bahnkonzepte haben die Läuferinnen auf "Dropbox" gestellt, um sie allen Teammitgliedern zugänglich zu machen. Dieses Angebot haben selbstverständlich nicht alle im gleichen Ausmass benutzt. Für dieses vorgängige Kartenstudium hat Judith Wyder nicht viel Zeit aufgewendet, doch sie präzisiert: "Für mich war es wichtig, zu wissen, welche Forststrassen Steigungen aufweisen, denn dies könnte im Wettkampf unbesonnen übersehen werden."
Das tolle Teamresultat verdeutlicht, dass die Schweizerinnen mental gut vorbereitet waren. Auch einige Stimmen dazu bestätigen dies, so Elena Roos: "Ich habe es genauso erwartet. Wenn sich die Möglichkeit bietet (sic), so habe ich wie im Vorraus vorgenommen, die Wegroute gewählt." Und Julia Gross ergänzt: "Im Team haben wir das Bahnkonzept vom siebten Posten bis ins Ziel genau richtig erraten." Es zeigt sich zudem, dass sich die Schweizerinnen auf der langen Teilstrecke richtig entschieden haben. Einzig eine schlechte Ausführung der Route führte zu einem Zeitverlust.

Text by Thomas Hodel.

Swiss Selections 2015

Here you find an update of my chart visualizing the careers of the members of the Swiss National Team since 1999.

A summary from the centrum ok traininglab.

I here resume my time as a member in the training committee of centrum ok, this absolutely outstanding club in many concerns. One of these is that the club consist mainly of people in the middle age, mainly beginners or coming back after longer absences and pretty few holding on since youth. As the club was only founded eight years ago it has a nice lack of tradition which gave me the opportunity to test some orienteering trainings I was theorizing about earlier or to which I was inspired by others.

Generalisation / contour lines

r.du..d m.p

Concept: The map is reduced on the leg (only contours and some important symbols) but complete inside the circle.
Conclusion: Pretty demanding.

Routechoices

The route test (I against I against I)

Concept: The participant runs the same loop three times on different routes to really evaluate his/her route choices.
Conclusion: Interesting

Just a looong leg 

Concept: What the name says: Just a looong leg.
Conclusion: Fun I GPS and 2DRerun are involved.

Being Jerk R. m.m.

Concept: A night-training for beginners. A veteran leads a group of beginners through the course  and loudly shares his concepts and reflections.
Conclusion:  Pretty effective and good for the integration of the new ones into the club.

Compass

 The tree moves (compass-training)

Concept: Here we trained  proper compass handling by focusing on the bodies moves. (1. To hold a direction turn your body until compass, map and the bodies vector get in accordance.  2. While the bodies temporary leaves the accordance, keep map and compass in it by outbalancing with your arm 3. If you change direction you are aiming to, turn your map and then bring everything into accordance)
Conclusion: Positive response

Compass Maze

Concept: This is supposed to be a compass training in three parts: A long leg, a maze and a series of short, turning controls. Especially the maze is demanding as it forces the participant to work with most objects only on-sight.
Conclusion: Very demanding.

 Stay on the line

Concept: Another night compass training. This time the task is to stay on the use the compass to stay on the purple line wherever it is applied.
Conclusion: Demanding and useful.

Pac Man Maze

 Concept: Another maze with the special feature, that "monsters"  may not be are moving inside the maze which may not be intersect.
Conclusion: Demanding fun!

The straight corridor

Concept: Straight corridors to train a combination of compass and detailed navigation
Conclusion:  Useful, especially in terrain which otherwise is known or as dominant track network.

 Broad view

Anti-corridor

Concept: Participants try to stay on the line, masking the map. That way they are forced to navigate the map aside the line to succeed.
Conclusion: Tough and useful.

On sight orienteering

Concept: A control is punched as soon as it is spotted (I got this from okansas). Most of the controls are marked with a colored ribbon. Some have actually flag. There the team switches role from  spotter to controller and vice versa.
Conclusion: Demanding for the participants and the organizer

The  eagle eye

 Concept: Training in pairs (spotter & controller). On the way to the control the pair must mandatory spot the objects marked by green circles. Pointing out shall happen as early as the object gets in sight. To put the pressure on the spotter, the controller will point out that s/he saw the object about ten seconds after it happened. Change of the rolls as soon the spotter spotted the regular control or the respective object. Discussion after the training on the different usability of objects as beacon.
Conclusion: maybe a bit too much? Nice layout by Daniel though.

The Sailor

Concept: Another anti-corridor combined with the some "missing control objects". Both aim to train a broad view.
Conclusion: Demanding and useful (plus nice layout by Daniel)

Mapreading

Golf orienteering

 Concept: Train longer map contacts by trying to minimize them.
Conclusion: Fine and Fun.

Relay

Malus-Massstart

Concept:  the performance in our club is spread. So you need to think of training setting fun for everybody. In this case me and Daniel tried to keep the group together by letting the pack leaders run some extra controls. We therefore grouped the controls. At every control we fixed pile with a elaborated number of post-its (the earlier in a "group" the more). Participants punched by picking one sheet (as long as there where sheets left). As long as one managed to get a sheet s/he was allowed to continue. Instead as soon as all sheets were picked one should proceed directly to the beginning of the next group of controls.
Conclusion: Fun!

Jukola-training (in pairs)

Concept: On our level   independent route choice at big relays is almost ever the wrong choice. It is more often faster to stay in the pack and to control what the pack actually is doing. In this exercise we build teams of two runners equipped with to different maps (see above). The first leads on the long leg towards his/her control, being there, the second takes over the lead to his/her own forking and than on the following longer leg, while the other, following keeps track on where the pair is actually running to. etc.
Conclusion: Useful.

Jukolatraining with focus on start

Concept: One particular thing with the big relays is, that you never know exactly when to start until 45 seconds before you will have to. In this exercise we combined a pretty common midsummer night-training  with the element of the big relay (not mass-) start element.  We let them start hasty, we let them start late, we let them start alone, in groups and in a chasing position. All directed by a prepared timed script which is read at the start. Another element I used here where unanounced forkings.
Conclusion: Fun and useful to simulate.

Tactics and fun

Team Orienteering

Concept: A team has to complete a course (punch the controls in the right order) but must not stay together all the way.  This is a common competitive discipline in Switzerland. The course should open the many possibilities to short-cut opening up for the tactial and coordinative game.
Conclusion: Fun!

Dart-orienteering

Concept: A one hour score orienteering with the specialty, that the participants are only allowed to pick a certain number of controls before returning to the starting point. The number for each turn is defined by how good they perform with darts. Thus something like biathlon.
Conclusion: Fun.

Mappers blog: Gemsfairen - 31 years of orienteering mapping

Last weekend the Swiss Long Champs were held on the balcony of Gemsfairen. The terrain is alpine and pretty remote and therefore seldom used. The last orienteering map over the terrain was produced in 1983 as it was planed to hold the Swiss Champs 1984 on it, but the latter had to be cancelled because of snow. The year after a national competition was held in compensation (no snow then, but ice cold rain :-P). I put on the corresponding excerpts of the 1983 (src: OL KTV Altdorf) and the 2014 (src:Daniel Hubmann) map of the location Tüfels fridhof (Devils cemetery).

There are many interesting points to see in this comparison both in regard to the production of the map (Laser, professional mappers, OCAD) as to the maps content (new mapping norm, lowered level of generalization and legibility, surge of form lines) maybe even in regard of course setting?

Couch-Mapper: From .las to map without one lung full of fresh air

I here describe the way of the couch-mapper or with other words how far you can get with a swedish .las file (and karttapullautin, OL Laser, Open Street Map, Open Orienteering Mapper and OCAD).

This is a beta version to be enhanced by your feedback.

Preparation

• If the map you want stretches over more than one  tile, use lasmerge to put them all together.Too big files should be avoided though.
• Use las2las or OL-Laser to clip the laser data to the maps perimeter
• Additionally create some suitable smaller clips you can use for the optimization of
• vegetation mapping
• cliff generation
• marsh generation 
• Create an OCAD file 1:10000 with the according symbol set. Set the reference system to SWEREF 99 TM.

Vegetation mapping

•  Use karttapullautin to generate a vegetation layer. This will build the background of your map. See also karttapullautins vegetation mapping guide

Contours

• Contours you calculate with karttapullautin. Choose the appropriate equidistance. 
• Use the out2.dxf from the generated temp-folder.
• Import it into OCAD11 applying a CRT-file. Give contours representing depressions their  own symbols.
• Readability: Look over the depressions and manually add 102 slope lines to clarify where necessary.
• Readability: Look over knolls and hilltops. Replace those being to small depending to the situation by 112 small knoll, 113 elongated knoll or 111 minimal knoll according to 112&113 (contour 6x12m).
• Readability: Look over the form lines drawing adding a dash vertex at the right place.

Small knolls

• Small knolls you also get from karttapullautin. 
• Use the dotknolls.dxf
• Import into OCAD11 applying a CRT-file or use the function OCAD11>Map>Convert imported layers to symbols after the import.
• Readability: Look over the knolls in regard of the minimal gap to the contours. Move apart if necessary.

Cliffs

• Cliffs you get from OL Laser by creating two sets cliffs, 203 passable rock face (angle 50, height 1.5m, minimal length 5m, snap distance 1m) and 201 impassable cliff (angle 55, height 2.5m, minimal length 8m, snap distance 5m)
• Open the exported .ocd file in OCAD
• Set the reference system to the SWEREF 99TM; save
• Import the .ocd files (do not add colors or symbols thereby)
• Readability: Look over the passable rock faces
• Select all the cliffs shorter than 0.6mm; manually replace them with the point symbol for minimal cliff (0.6mm)
• Draw the longer cliffs with an elegant bezier-curve
• Delete the auto generated cliffs
• Readability: Look over the impassable cliffs
• There should be no cliff shorter than the minimal length of 0.6mm (ISOM 2000)
• Replace the auto generated cliffs with the ones you draw.

Water bodies

• Water bodies digitize yourself based on the a point classification (Laserpunktklass>>Default) image created with OL-Laser.

Marshes / flat terrain

• In this area the marshes mostly are flat. Therefore you can use a base map from OL-Laser to digitize potential marshy areas.
• Basemap: Terrain grid 3x3m; Lutning , 1px; y=-50x2+0x+255;
• 311 is thereby more a symbol for flat terrain. Here you got some freedom to interpret. Develop experience. Double check with aerial photos from eniro.
• The national terrain map 1:50000 can be used as extra information. The approximate position of the bigger marshes can be found there.

Tracks

•  Some tracks can be identified with a slope-image (Grid 1x1m; Lutning>Default) or by the intensity image (Grid 1x1m; Intensitet>Default) generated with OL-Laser 
• Digitize yourself
• Alternatively the tracks can be imported from Open Street Map alike the buildings; see below
• Readability: Apply dash vertices

Buildings

• If you are lucky, someone already digitized the buildings for Open Street Map and you can just download them.
• Choose the part you want to download from Open Street Map. Save as .osm file.
• Open a new map 1:10000 in Open Orienteering Mapper. 
• Import the .osm-file
• Georeference the map, by adding the SWEREF 99 TM proj4 - key

  +proj=utm +zone=33 +ellps=GRS80 +towgs84=0,0,0,0,0,0,0 +units=m +no_defs

• Choose "lutning" so that the "grivation" is 0. (Swedish maps are orientated after the reference system)
• Symbolize the content you want, remove the rest, save as .ocd
• Import into OCAD, seems that the georeference gets lost thereby and you have to position the imported "layer" manually. Good if you could identify the position of one of the buildings before importing.
• If you are less lucky, no one digitized the buildings you needed for Open Street Map. As you regularly benefit of Open Street Map the time has come now to contribute. Digitize the buildings on Open Street Map based on aerial images and than proceed as described under the point above.
• Readability: Replace to small buildings with the symbol for the minimal building according to 526 building.
• Other vector data can be integrated from Open Street Map the same way.

Magnetic north lines

• Are to be added in OCAD. OCAD11>Map>create map grid ...
• The calculation of the angle of the north lines =  meridian-convergence - magnetic declination
• Readability: clip parts of the north lines affecting the readability of the map

The final result

 

Open questions

• How to import a geo-referenced file from OOM to OCAD without loosing the geo reference
• An easier way to get to the buildings (the buildings are automatically removed from the .las , maybe one could work with the thereby made holes).
• More information to take from the karttapullautin-dxf-files  / a workflow to integrate cliffs from karttapullautin
• How to distinguish open rock from open grassland and maybe a smart setting to define the area 402 half open land with scattered trees in karttapullautin

That is what we all prefer

Meiner Meinung nach reduziert das Anschauen einer neuen Karte den Reiz, beim Startsignal in ein unbekanntes Abenteuer zu starten.

Daniel Hubmann in Swiss Orienteering Forum