Introduction to the Children''s and Youth Courses at Kainuu Orienteering Week 2025
Published: 09.01.2025
The courses for Kainuu Orienteering Week are progressing at a fast pace, thanks to a youthful course setter team: Annastiina Vanhala, Joni Korhonen, and Niklas and Joona Hirvilahti working with the maps. (Photo: Kainuu Orienteering Week 2025)
In recent years, children’s orienteering courses have sparked plenty of discussion. Early this year, we’ll shed light on the course design team's thoughts behind the planning process and highlight the differences between skill levels. We’ll also introduce the people working on the course designs for Kainuu Orienteering Week.
The course planners will clarify the differences in skill levels between categories through examples and explain what they mean in practice at various stages of the course. This way, children and young participants can comfortably choose the category that best suits their skills and preferences. It also helps newcomers who may not yet be familiar with orienteering as a sport.
"Our central idea in course design is to ensure that every child and young person has an experience that suits their skills and abilities," explains team member Annastiina Vanhala.
The posts will delve into the skill differences between the A and B categories for children and youth, as well as introduce the support and guidance courses suitable for the youngest participants. Children and youth can also take part in open categories such as C, RR, or the "Rastiralli" (Checkpoint Rally) courses if competitive categories feel too challenging or unsuitable. The open categories also allow for orienteering with a partner or a small group of friends.
The lengths and difficulty levels of the courses are based on guidelines produced by the Finnish Orienteering Federation for children’s courses, as well as the annual observations of the course planning team regarding how children navigate the terrain. Feedback and insights from orienteering week are passed on to future course planners during annual knowledge transfer sessions.
In recent years, the children’s course design at Kainuu Orienteering Week has been handled by Joni Korhonen and Annastiina Vanhala. Joni, who has a background in orienteering, has extensive experience in course design and mapping and works actively with youth orienteering camps and training.
Annastiina, who works in the field of education, is an active competitive orienteer and has instructed orienteering schools for children. She brings valuable perspectives on children’s growth, development, and learning to course planning. Annastiina has been part of the course planning team for several years.
The upcoming orienteering weeks will also feature Niklas and Joona Hirvilahti in the course planning team. As active competitors, they bring fresh insights from the perspective of young orienteers.