Rogaining 101

Rogaining 101

What is Rogaining?

“Rogaining is the sport of long distance cross-country navigation for teams traveling on foot. The object is to score points by finding checkpoints located on the course within a specified time. Checkpoints may be visited in any order."

The sport was invented in Australia, which still has more rogainers than anywhere else. There are various stories about how the name came about. One is that it stands for ROger, GAIl and NEil, the pioneers of rogaining. Another is that it means Rugged Outdoor Group Activity Involving Navigation and Endurance!

To find out more – visit the RogaineNZ website: "http://www.mapsport.co.nz/rog/rogaine.html" http://www.mapsport.co.nz/rog/rogaine.html

Map reading 101

Housekeeping – look after your map, keep it in a plastic bag.
Using the map – Keep it in your hand, fold it into a manageable size, and use your thumb to point to where you are.
Reading the map – Read the map rather than look at it, find the detail
Features – Man-made features are useful but not always accurate. Natural features more reliable, but can also change – check the date of the map. Look for features that corroborate one another.
Contours are the most important feature – Learn how to read them.
Spend time reading the map and memorising features eg. After 20 minutes walking we should see a band of trees on our right, these will be opposite a creek coming in on the left.

How to use a compass

Use features on the map to align the map to north
The red needle always points to magnetic north – which will be different from “true” north
Every topographical map will show you the difference between true and magnetic north. For most of NZ it is about 22 degrees.
Practise taking bearings at home to work out where you are. Then pretend you are in the mist, use the compass as a protractor on the map to find out the direction of travel to get to the local shop! Adjust for the 22 degrees – You should be able to follow the compass to get that energy drink.
There are many little tricks to deal with the difference between true and magnetic north. Go to an event and ask an expert.

How to rogaine

Before entering the event:

Work out your own goals and strengths and weaknesses,
Do the same for your team mates – compatibility is useful
Work out what your game plan will be: Pace, when to eat, drink and rest
Think about your preparation for disasters – first aid, extra clothing, sun lotion, chaffing cream, blisters etc
Practise beforehand in a comfortable environment

Before the event starts:

Get an overall feel for the area by looking around you and looking at the map
Clearly identify on your map the high scoring controls
Work out how far you think you can walk/run for the whole event
Look for a big picture route connecting up the big points and covers the approximate distance you can travel.
Avoid doubling back, leave close to home controls until last
Have some options for extra loops or smaller loops – depending on how you go.
Take into account rests, water and food and darkness (As appropriate)

During the event:

Choose the route between controls that best suits your skills. Consider, left, right, direct line
Constantly monitor your progress against your plan
Look for convenient points along the way to monitor your progress
Consider how you will know if you have gone too far.
Use events to practise specific skills.
Have lots of fun

Contacts

The New Zealand Orienteering Federation has Rogaining as part of its overall “Mapsport” activities. The Rogaining sub committee maintains an excellent website of upcoming events, results, local contacts and stories on everything rogaining:

http://www.mapsport.co.nz/rog/rogaine.html" http://www.mapsport.co.nz/rog/rogaine.html

If you don’t have access to the web or want to find out more about what is happening at the local scene – you can contact committee member Mike Sheridan on 04 562 8839, who will point you in the right direction.