Sporting Schools

Bringing together schools and sports to help get children active in their local communities

About Sporting Schools

Sporting Schools is an Australian Government initiative designed to help schools increase children’s participation in sport and connect them with community sport opportunities. Sporting Schools is open to all Australian primary schools and Years 7 and 8 in high schools with recent expansion into Years 9 & 10. With quality programmes developed by more than 35 national sporting organisations, it offers a fun and supportive environment for children and coaches. Orienteering is one of the sports that is included in this program – vist the Orienteering page on the Sporting Schools website for further information.

Orienteering - A Snapshot

Orienteering is both a sport and a recreational activity enjoyed by people of all ages and fitness levels. Participants use a specially prepared map to navigate their way to a number of checkpoints called controls.

Orienteering Australia and its member state/territories and clubs organise more than 1,100 orienteering events each year. Many of these are on school and university campuses and in local suburban parks and streets and are ideally suited to safe, accessible participation by school students and their parents.

Orienteering is part adventure, part amazing race. You go at your own pace, usually on your own but sometimes in pairs or small groups. You can run, walk or even take part on a mountain bike. It is as much a mental activity as a physical one and unlike traditional team sports, where players can be left ‘on the bench’ or take little part in game play, everyone can actively participate.

Orienteering can be conducted outdoors and indoors. It caters for all ages from 4 years through to 90 years plus and for all levels of fitness, walk or run, you decide. Check out our Go Orienteering pages for more information about the different types of orienteering.

How will Orienteering Australia help your school offer Orienteering?

Orienteering Australia is currently:

  • Building coaching capacity Australia wide as well as professional development (PD) training through the Orienteering Learning Centre.
  • Offering coaching curricula and lesson plan resources with Primary and Secondary School Delivery Guides.
  • Providing mappers to develop a school orienteering map or update an existing map.

Sporting Schools Orienteering Program

The Orienteering in Primary Schools Program provides primary students in Years 3-6 with the opportunity to sample a fun, safe and inclusive, modified Orienteering program in their school environment.

The program incorporates a series of activities and support resources which seamlessly align to the Australian Curriculum in the learning areas of Health and Physical Educationand Mathematics, using engaging, group-based, modified Orienteering activities as the vehicle for learning.

The Program incorporates 2 participant categories – the Explore Program for students in Year 3 and 4 (BAND 3) and the Learn Program for students in Years 5 and 6 (BAND 4). The Primary School Delivery Guide is inclusive of activity cards, coaching tips and links to other resources which are provided to allow teachers / coaches to effectively deliver the program in a way that suits the students they are teaching, as well as the school environment in which they are working.

Explore Program - Primary school

ActivityLearning Focus
ClockworkMap orientation
Counting ConesMap orientation
Matching SymbolsMap interpretation
School Oval Line Course RelayMap orientation and course navigation
Walk the LineMap orientation, interpretation and course navigation
Line Course Event (Pairs)Map orientation, interpretation and course navigation

Learn Program - Primary School

ActivtyLearning Focus
OppositesMap orientation and course navigation
Line Course RelayMap orientation and course navigation
Star Course Relay (Pairs)Map orientation, interpretation and course navigation
Scatter Course (Pairs)Map orientation, interpretation and course navigation
Scatter Course (Individual)Map orientation, interpretation and course navigation
Line Course Event (Individual)Map orientation, interpretation and course navigation

The Orienteering in Secondary Schools Programgives students in Years 7-8 provides the opportunity to sample a fun, safe and inclusive, modified Orienteering program in their school environment.

This is a targeted Program for secondary schools that provides access to tailored resources and support for students in Years 7 and 8, particularly girls, to address the barriers that prevent teenagers from participating in sport. As a Sporting Schools (Secondary) offering, there are three key goals for the Orienteering in Secondary Schools Program:

  1. To help tackle the decline in sports participation that occurs during adolescence. We plan to do this by targeting secondary students aged 12-14, particularly girls, to encourage long-lasting relationships with Orienteering as either a recreational or competitive sporting activity.
  2. Increase physical activity in areas with large cohorts of inactive students. National data tells us that only one in ten Australian secondary school students get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity every day of the week. The targeted secondary schools program (Years 7 and 8) provides fun Orienteering activities designed to spark the motivations and interests of these students.
  3. Provide access to tailored resources for schools where there is evidence of disadvantage. Studies show that areas of social disadvantage can often link to large groups of inactive youth. Sporting Schools (and this Orienteering offering) hopes that by providing assistance and additional resources, we can help to hurdle the barriers these schools face.

• Secondary School Program

ActivtyLearning Focus
Walk the LineMap orientation, interpretation and course navigation
School Oval Line Course RelayMap orientation and course navigation
Netball Court Line CourseMap orientation and course navigation
Star Course Relay (Pairs)Map orientation, interpretation and course navigation
Line Course (Pairs)Map orientation, interpretation and course navigation
Scatter Course (Pairs)Map orientation, interpretation and course navigation
Scatter Course (Individual)Map orientation, interpretation and course navigation
Setting Your Own Line CourseMap orientation, interpretation and course navigation
Line Course Event (Individual)Map orientation, interpretation and course navigation

What is required for Orienteering at your school?

The essential requirements for teaching orienteering is a school map and a qualified orienteering coach. If your school doesn’t already have a map that can be used for orienteering, this can be organised. The cost of mapping a school is around $600, with the cost depending on many factors, including the complexity of the buildings and covered walkways, the size of the school ground, the amount of orienteering features, and detail of the terrain. The school retains the map for unlimited future use. Please contact the Sporting Schools manager in your member state/territory to inquire about getting your school mapped.

Refer to the Contact Information section at the bottom of this page of contact details in your state or territory.

Control points are placed at various places on the map, such as building corners, man-made features and distinct trees and a corresponding circle drawn on the map so that point can be found. It’s therefore very important that the map is accurate and up to date.

An orienteering map of the school is a great resource beyond this program – it will be of use to social science, maths, PE, and gifted and talented classes. It’s also a handy planning tool if the school wants to add new buildings!

Sample school orienteering map
This is a typical orienteering map of a school. Notice the detail of all the features. Maps are usually between 1:1000 to 1:4000 in scale and special attention is given to buildings (dark grey), undercover areas (light grey), man-made features like bins and chairs (black x) and distinct trees (green circles). Orienteering maps always show magnetic north, however using a compass is a more advanced topic that isn’t covered in the Sporting Schools program – instead, it’s preferred that the map is oriented according to the features you can see.

Sporting Schools FAQ and Info Flyer

Contact Information

Please enquire with regard to all aspects of Orienteering as part of Sporting Schools, including mapping the school, courseware, coaches, professional development and making a booking.

Orienteering Australia
Manager, Sporting Schools : Jim Mackay
Email: sportingschools@orienteering.asn.au

ACT
Sporting Schools Manager: Stephen Goggs
Email: schools@act.orienteering.asn.au
Website: Sporting Schools ACT
NSW
Sporting Schools Manager: Jim Mackay
Email: development@onsw.asn.au
Phone: (02) 8736 1277
Website: Sporting Schols NSW
NT
Sporting Schools Manager: Orienteering NT
Email: topendorienteersnt@gmail.com
Website: Sporting Schools NT
QLD
Sporting Schools Manager: Felicity Crosato
Email: sportingschools.oq@gmail.com
Website: Sporting Schools QLD
SA
Sporting Schools Manager: Zita Sankauskas
Email: schools@sa.orienteering.asn.au
Website: Sporting Schools SA
TAS
Sporting Schools Manager: Jane Calder
Email: janemcalder@bigpond.com
Website: Sporting Schools TAS
VIC
Sporting Schools Manager: Orienteering Victoria
Email: schools@vicorienteering.asn.au
Website: Sporting Schools VIC
WA
Sporting Schools Manager: Janet Fletcher
Email: fletcherjanet201@gmail.com
Website: Sporting Schools WA

National
Email: SportingSchools@orienteering.asn.au
Website: Sporting Schools Orienteering Australia

Further Information

Further information beyond the scope of Sporting Schools can be found on the Improve Your Skills page of the Go Orienteering section of this website that complements the skills learned in coaching courses and pulls together ideas and links to resources that are useful for orienteering coaches generally.