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Maps

You do not need a professional orienteering map to start teaching orienteering. The early activities in the curriculum (Boundary Run, Gathering, Animal-O, Geometric-O) use no map at all, or use simple pattern maps you can draw yourself. But as students progress to Symbol-O, Score-O, and Point-to-Point, a real orienteering map of your site makes a big difference.

Getting a Map Made​

OUSA Youth Mapping Project​

Orienteering USA runs the Youth Mapping Project (YMP), which connects schools and youth organizations with professional orienteering cartographers. OUSA grants can cover up to half the mapping cost.

How to apply:

  1. Visit the YMP page and review the program
  2. Complete the application form
  3. Include a clear description of your area with defined boundaries (streets or property lines)
  4. You can include multiple locations in one application

When completing the form, list Navigation Games as your local orienteering club and Maija Pratt (admin@navigationgames.org) as the local club contact. Navigation Games will provide guidance on program implementation.

Hiring a Cartographer​

Professional orienteering cartographers can create maps of your school campus, park, or camp property. They use LIDAR data, aerial imagery, OpenStreetMap data, and field survey to produce accurate maps. A school or park map typically costs several hundred dollars.

Making Your Own Map​

Mapping Software​

The sport follows international mapping standards:

  • ISSprOM (International Specification for Sprint Orienteering Maps) for school, park, and urban maps
  • ISOM (International Specification for Orienteering Maps) for forest maps

Two software options for creating maps:

Any Map Works Initially​

Schools do not need professional orienteering maps to begin. Alternatives include:

  • Existing school property maps
  • Google Maps aerial imagery, printed and annotated
  • Hand-drawn maps showing buildings, fields, paths, and other features
  • Isometric (picture) maps that show a 3D view of the space

The key is that the map shows features students can see and match to reality. Even a rough sketch will work for early activities.

Drawing Courses on Maps​

Once you have a base map, you need to add course markings (start triangle, checkpoint circles, finish double circle, and connecting lines).

Purple Pen (Free Course Design Software)​

Purple Pen is a free Windows program for drawing orienteering courses on PDF maps. It produces print-ready course maps and supports both point-to-point and Score-O formats.

Getting started:

  1. Import your map as a PDF
  2. Place start, checkpoints, and finish
  3. Print individual course maps or an all-checkpoints map with all checkpoints

Tutorial videos:

Other Options​

  • Hand-marking printed maps with permanent markers
  • Google Slides or PowerPoint for creating course symbols on top of map images