Rules of the races

This is a standard orienteering race especially designed for people with physical disabilities to compete on an equal basis with able bodied athletes: the aim of the sport is to recognize the elements of the terrain shown on the map and compare them with reality, identifying the exact correspondence between the two. The movement in the terrain not being necessary, it allows the full inclusion of athletes, overcoming thus their physical disabilities. The orienteering tasks set before competitors are of a cognitive nature and success is based on the competitor’s ability to interpret the map and its relationship to the terrain. The competitor’s task is to use a map and compass to determine which of the several control points set up in nature is the one marked in the centre of the circle drawn on the map and precisely defined by the description of the controls. At time controls (TCs), the competitor positions himself at a marked location (decision point) indicated to him by the TC judge. The judge is obliged to show him from that location all the control flags from that control point, one of which is necessarily marked on the map. The orientation map (the part of the map covered by the control point and its surroundings where the control description is located) is handed to the competitor and at that moment the time begins to be measured. The moment the competitor clearly pronounces the solution to the task (“letter” – A, B, C, D, E, N) the stopwatch (chronometer) is stopped, and the elapsed time (decision time) and the competitor’s answer (solution) are recorded on both sheets of the control card. For each task, a maximum of 3 minutes is allowed. It is recommended that a maximum of 10 orienteering tasks should be included in this race.