
MAZE Orienteering (MAZE O) is a great tool for education, promotion, activities for children and youth, for training and competition. MAZE O can be used in many areas. MAZE O is both easy to arrange and easy for participants and audience to understand. MAZE O is a multi-tool for the development of the sport of Orienteering. There is no other orienteering activity that has these characteristics that MAZE O has. MAZE O can be a great part of World Orienteering Week (WOW).
MAZE O is amazing.
MAZE O has lots of benefits. It’s a great opportunity to understand and to learn orienteering in a simple and secure way. The maze itself takes up little space and you can take advantage of small areas. MAZE O can be arranged anywhere in the world, very simple map, easy to build, flexible and accessible to everyone and above all an intense and a very fun activity for young people. Only the imagination is the limiting factor.
The Concept of MAZE O
MAZE O is like a video game with different levels of courses. When you pass level 1, you move on to the next level until you pass the last difficult level. In our concept we are using green (level 1), blue, red and black courses for training, a MAZE O Race for competition and two different courses of duel. For sure Super Mario, the most famous orienteer, should love it as all kids do. MAZE O is maybe the most simple and the best way to promote the great sport of Orienteering.
WOW at Dalaporten OL in Sweden
In the first edition of WOW during 2024, Dalaporten OL will implement both the Maze O and the sprint on the schoolyard as a fun activity. The combination of MAZE and SPRINT has been successfully tested previously in the club’s activities. Already 2019 during WOD 2019 Dalaporten OL implemented Sprint MAZE O. This combination challenges the practitioner in both technical map reading and strategic route selection assessments. Many controls, intense map reading and full speed during short distances inspire practitioners to fierce duels.
For several years Dalaporten OL have been working intensively with MAZE O and they have become more and more convinced that artificial Orienteering is an important and attractive piece of the puzzle both to reach more practitioners outside the orienteering family and to make our sport more accessible to the media.
Maze Orienteering is developing all other the world
Just some examples of MAZE O:
- This year the first National Championships in MAZE O with almost 300 participants was held in Lithuania.
- In Argentina a new sport federation has been started “Codasport” (Confederation of Trending Sports of Argentina) and MAZE O will be part of it. Yes, orienteering is a trendy sport!
- During JWOC this year a part of the course in the Sprint Relay was a MAZE.
- And one more activity: I must pinch my arm hard before I understand that it’s true. Full speed from start to finish. 310 people are running around with big smiles on their faces and enjoying this magical experience. MAZE Orienteering in the fantastic red “Blue Hall” in Stockholm’s City Hall. Orienteering is the first sport ever in this arena. I can express myself in only one way:
Maze Orienteering -beyond the limits!
If you want some help with your MAZE O please contact Göran Andersson and he will be happy to support you. Please send an email (byorienteering@gmail.com) and let’s start the journey to be a truly global sport!
