Orienteering is a family of
sports that requires
navigational skills using a
map and
compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared
orienteering map, which they use to find
control points. Originally a training exercise in
land navigation for military officers, orienteering has developed many variations. Among these, the oldest and the most popular is
foot orienteering. For the purposes of this article, foot orienteering serves as a point of departure for discussion of all other variations, but basically any sport that involves racing against a clock and requires navigation using a map is a type of orienteering.