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Help!

If you haven’t entered a major orienteering event before, we’ll try and explain what’s involved and make some suggestions for what to enter. If this all seems a bit much, don’t worry – we’ve got some simple suggestions at the end. And if you’re in an orienteering club, don’t forget to ask your clubmates for advice – they’ll definitely be able to help you out.

What to expect

Major events like Nationals can seem daunting – there are far more people and more going on than at local events – but the basics are the same: start at the start triangle, navigate your way to each control in turn, and enjoy your run into the finish chute! There are also some great advantages:

  • More people make for a party atmosphere. Lots of chances to meet other orienteers, compare notes, and make new friends
  • Courses are planned with more attention to detail, ensuring that everyone can have a great time regardless of their skill level
  • Elite athletes are exciting to watch, and commentary lets you know what’s going on and who to cheer for
  • Often there are coffee and food vendors, so  you can get your caffeine fix or sugar high right after your race.

To learn more about what to expect from Nationals, read the Bulletins. Bulletin 1 has been published and has high-level overview. Bulletin 2 will be published closer to the event and will have all the final details of the event.
Shortly before the event we will publish Start Lists, which give the start time for every entrant, for every race. You should make a note of your start time (which will be different for each race) and make sure to get to the correct start location 15 minutes prior to that time.
Bulletin 2 will have more information about the start process and will be published right before the event.

What to enter

Classes

You might be used to entering courses with difficulty colours (Red, Orange, Yellow, White) or names like Easy/Hard or Short/Long at local events. At major events you enter a class based on difficulty, age and gender, and there are suddenly a lot of classes to chose from. The class names use a simple code, so it’s harder to know what to choose if you’re not sure what that code means.

The class codes look like this:

  • W21E – Women 21 and older Elite.
  • M14A – Men 14 and younger A.

Most classes are prefixed by W for women and M for men. Women’s classes are the same difficulty but slightly shorter. Mixed classes are prefixed MW, and you will often see W/M or M/W as a shorthand for two classes with the same age and type.

The number shows either the minimum eligible age for the class (21 or higher, senior classes, 5-year age groups) or the maximum eligible age (20 or lower, junior classes, 2-year age groups). For the purposes of orienteering events, your age is however old you are at the end of the event year, so if you’re a man turning 50 in June 2025, your age class at Nationals will be M50.

When you make your entry, the entry system will only let you pick classes appropriate for your age and gender, so you don’t need to worry about choosing something you aren’t allowed to.

The class suffix can be used to choose courses that are shorter or with easier navigation than the “standard” course for your age group.

  • E – Stands for “Elite”. Very long, physical and difficult orienteering for elite athletes.
  • A – Is the “standard” class for the age group. Podium places and medals are awarded to the top 3 in the A class.
    A class courses are Red level for M16A/W16A and all older classes.
    Younger age groups are Orange for M14A/W14A, Yellow for M12A/W12A and White for M10A/W10A.
  • AS – Stands for “A Short”. Same technical difficulty as an A course but shorter in distance (AS courses are all Red level).
  • Recreational classes. If you want to do a course that’s easier than your “standard” age group course, there are recreational classes open to anyone.
    Open Recreational  is Orange, Open Easy is Yellow, Open Very Easy is White

Our suggestions

How much orienteering have you done before?

  • If you’re in an orienteering club, ask your club mates or club officials for advice first of all. They’ll be able to help you out.
  • If you aren’t, but can get to a local event before Nationals (see the ONZ calendar) that would be a good idea. Orienteering clubs have plenty of experienced people who would love to show you the ropes – just ask at registration.
  • If you’re a beginner, consider entering Open Easy or Open Every Easy to get a feel for things. This is a great way for e.g. parents of junior orienteers to join in the experience.
  • If you have some experience but aren’t confident in the forest, considering entering Open Recreational. You should have run Orange level courses at local events.

What else can you do to tune your experience?

  • The middle distance is a good opportunity to try something a little harder – many people enter A (red level)  for the middle and AS (red level short course)  for the long distance to enjoy the challenging technical navigation over a shorter distance.
  • The sprint (in urban and parkland terrain) is shorter and much easier to navigate than the forest events. Even if you enter easier classes in the forest, it’s worth entering the appropriate A class in the sprint so you can test yourself against your peers.

Relay info

The relay event at the Nationals is a thrilling team competition that takes place on the final day of the championships. It often has the best atmosphere of all the events with all your clubmates watching and cheering.

The National Relay is run in mixed gender teams of 3 runners. For most club members, the club captain will select the relay teams for all members of their club. However, teams do not have to be from a single club, composite teams will be created between clubs or by the NZOC relay event team to ensure everyone entered gets to run at the relay.

There are 5 relays races that are run simultaneously:

  • Mixed Open. Red level navigation with  no age restriction.
    For elites and all other athletes between 18-40.
  • Mixed Masters. Red level navigation for 40 years or older.
  • Mixed Veterans. Red level navigation for 60 years or older.
  • Open Short. One leg each of Orange, Yellow & White.
    Normally run by a mixed-age team of juniors up to age 17.
  • Mixed Short. Shorter distance, Red level navigation (similar to AS grade), any ages.

Which relay class do I enter?

Normally, people enter the appropriate class for their age/navigation level, or enter Mixed Short if you want a less competitive option, or you don’t want to be out for as long. Relay teams are usually selected during the Nationals weekend and submitted to the organisers by the club captain after the Long Distance. Club selectors can move runners to a different relay race to the one originally entered as long as they are eligible.  The NZOC relay event team will create relay teams for anyone entered in the relay and not selected in a club team.

Events

Event 1 - URBAN SPRINT DISTANCE

Friday 26 March 2027
Central Hamilton

Event 2- MIDDLE DISTANCE EVENT

Saturday 27 March 2027
Port Waikato

Event 3 - LONG DISTANCE EVENT

Sunday 28 March 2027
Port Waikato

Event 4 - RELAYS

Monday 29 March 2027
Waiuku

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orienteering nz