The campus was chosen as the ideal location to challenge orienteers of all skill levels, according to Kevin Ansdell, head of Geological Science, one of the event organizers and probably the most experienced orienteer in Saskatchewan. He is also the best person to define orienteering, the sport of navigation – “it’s cross-country running with a map and compass to find control locations in the correct order in the quickest possible time.”

That is why orienteering is sometimes called the thought sport, or cunning running.

Ansdell said that last summer, after the newly formed Saskatchewan Orienteering Association (SOA) was awarded the championships, professional mappers from the Czech Republic visited the University and prepared detailed maps that include everything, from an individual tree to a change in elevation to a footpath across the Bowl. They did the same for Eb’s Trails near Duck Lake, which will also host some championship events. Course planners then lay out a course that requires competitors to make their way through a series of control points in the correct order, “and if you’re going to win, you have to run.”

Unlike other championships, Ansdell said the orienteering events are open to anyone, even first-timers. People compete based on age, not experience and there are no qualifying requirements. This creates a lot of appeal for orienteering as a family sport, he said.

On July 27, the sprint event will take place in and around the Bowl with winning times expected to be 12-15 minutes. Employees and students will see numbered triangular plastic markers appearing in the early afternoon as the course is laid out and, by 3 p.m., “there’ll be people running all over the place.” The public is welcome to watch.

Ansdell said he enjoyed maps as a youngster and “was kind of sporty” but didn’t like running. Orienteering in his native Sheffield, England was the answer. “This was great because I could run without concentrating on the running. It’s very different from following a marked course for 10 kilometres – you’ve got to be self-sufficient.”

He participated through university in England, while working in South Africa and after he came to Canada in 1982. While in Saskatoon to do his PhD in 1987, Ansdell had to leave the province for competitions because there was no local club. A knee injury sidelined him until a couple of years ago when he became involved in establishing the provincial association.

Other events associated with the championships include night orienteering at Dundurn, middle and long-distance events, a media/sponsor event, a federation conference and junior training camp.

Although he won’t be competing, Ansdell is confident this year’s championships will meet the key criteria of participants – “that the maps are good quality and the courses are challenging.”

- By Colleen MacPherson, On Campus News