The using of modern technologies in orienteering Michal Frainšic1, Petr Špicar2, Ludmila Fialová2 1 Department of Outdoor activities, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic 2 Department of Pedagogy, Psychology and Didactics of sport, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Char- les University, Prague, Czech Republic Abstract The article deals with introduction and contribution of modern technologies used in a sport branch of ori- enteering sports in comparison with the past when these technologies were not used. Modern technologies contributed to expansion of orienteering sports. They made this branch of sport more attractive for both - com- petitors and spectators. Facilities like SPORTident, Trac-Trac, Emit and Racom transfered on-line results from race to competitors and spectators, who are in the race center. Thanks to those facilities spectators can also watch the race on-line on TV or on the Internet. Program OCAD made the preparation of orienteering maps and tracks faster and more effective. Modern technologies also speeded up the process of race preparation. Key words Emit, OCAD, Oorg, Open Orienteering Mapper, Purple Pen, Orienteering organiser, orienteering, orientee- ring sports, Racom, SPORTident, Trac-Trac. Souhrn Článek se věnuje představení a přínosu moderních technologií využívaných ve sportovních odvětvích orien- tačních sportů v porovnání s dobou minulou, kdy tyto technologie ještě využívány nebyly. Moderní technolo- gie se zasloužily o rozvoj orientačních sportů, toto sportovní odvětví zatraktivnily a to jak závodníkům, tak i široké veřejnosti. Zařízení SPORTident, Trac-Trac, Emit a Racom přináší okamžité výsledky a umožňují on-line přenosy výsledků trenérům, závodníkům na shromaždišti či divákům u televizní obrazovky. Program OCAD urychlil a zefektivnil přípravu mapy a stavby tratí na závody v orientačních sportech. Moderní tech- nologie taktéž zefektivnily a zrychlily proces pořádání závodů. Klíčová slova: Emit, OCAD, Oorg, Orienteering organiser, Open Orienteering Mapper, Purple Pen, orientační běh, orientač- ní sporty, Racom, SPORTident, Trac-Trac. List of Abbreviations MTBO – mountain bike orienteering ČSOS – Czech Orienteering Association OB – orienteering GPS – Global Position Systém OOM – Open Orienteering Mapper GSM – Global System of Mobile Communications Oorg – orienteering organiser IOF – International Orienteering Federation SI - SPORTident LOB – ski orienteering Trail-O – Trail orienteering Introduction be characterized as a modern sport branch with the Orienteering sports contain several types of disci- endurance character in which you have to orient plines. The most spread, considering the number correctly and quickly in the unknown terrain. Du- of athletes and the number of races, is orienteering ring the race itself you search for the control points itself, ski-orienteering, mountain bike orienteering which you have to find in a right order and as fast as and trail-orienteering. Those disciplines are gained possible. The path between the control points you under the Czech orienteering federation. have to choose with a help of the map, compass and All those types of orienteering, except Trail-O, can a brief description of a control points. The success in 34 journal of outdoor activities the race is about the right orientation, fast running, direct export to the vector (AI, DFX, EPS, PDF, SHP, skiing or biking (ČSOS, 2011). The Trail-O is a spe- SVG) and the grid formats (BMP, GIF, JPEG, TIFF). cific discipline. It is about focus on the map reading The program has a lot of sophisticated but user fri- and on the right interpretation of the map. This type endly functions and that´s why it is very popular of orienteering allows disabled people to do orien- not even among the orienteering runners but even teering because the speed is not the part of the race. among the cartography companies. In the Czech The Trail-O participants have to identify the control environment Czech Tourist Club, companies as a points from the map in the real terrain and, becau- Mapy.cz or SHOCart use OCAD for making tourist se it is taking place in the certain distance from the map bases. control point, the chance to succeed is the same for Hans Steinegger from Switzerland started to deve- the disabled people as for the healthy ones (Trail ori- lop OCAD in 1992 (OCAD, 2013b). First of all the enteering v ČR, 2011). program was made for the cartographic map prepa- Everyone can participate in orienteering. At the race ration for the orienteering runners. Today it is suc- there are many categories with a lot of tracks of the cessfully used in more than 60 countries all around various lengths and difficulty, graduated from the the world and it is used in all different branches, for age, gender and severity. Thanks to this the competi- example cartographic publishing houses, cartogra- tors of the same age and efficiency compete together. phy offices, schools, graphic companies (OCAD, The categories are signed form the ten years old chil- 2013a). The professional version allows working dren up to eighty years old veterans which means with the GIS (graphic information system) files. that everybody can find their own competitor and The user friendly environment of this software can the track (ČSOS, 2011). be handled even by the less mastered individuals. The increase of the modern technologies has been OCAD is nowadays the mostly used software for the watched since the 90´s of the 20th century, mainly orienteering map making (Zentai, 2009). during of the second half of this decade. The soft- OCAD brought the significant change in the map ware for the orienteering map drawing is expanding making. Each map is drawn on a specific base, howe- and there is a usage of electronic stamping system ver it was very difficult to gain them at that time, of the control points at the regional and national especially those ones with large scale. Nowadays, competition. Later on there is a beginning of the the base maps are easily accessible on the Internet or online data transfer of the results. Those technolo- low charged. An “astrafoil” was attached on the base gies changed the view of the organizing races, made maps to put down more detailed shapes that were them more attractive for the mass public and brou- not interpreted on base map. But it was not so simp- ght the sponsors. They significantly participated in le. There were more astrafoils and it was necessary to the making the training process more effective, too. keep drawing in a certain sequence. Firstly, an astra- foil for contour lines was drawn, thus brown colour. The software programs for orienteering Another astrafoil for black colour was attached on it map making so that tracks would be in a proper undercut. Later on, the black one was taken out and the brown one OCAD - the smart system for cartography was ready for drawing in blue colour. Both of theme OCAD is a software program which can prepare all were taken out afterwards, so that the basic colour types of maps. Thanks to its easy manipulation and was black for last astrafoil for yellow colour (Borský, to prepared set of symbols we can make high quality 2007). A supplemental writing was handwritten. maps in a short period of time. OCAD was origina- A nowadays’ cartographer is mapping all informati- lly invented for the orienteering map drawing, but it on on one base only. This base is scanned as a bitmap has more other functions considering the orientee- format and inserted to the OCAD programme. Ano- ring competitions. Foe example, there is function for ther option is to lay up digital pictures, data from the track making for both individual and relay race, laser-scan or any other vector basis. the printing of the maps with tracks, optimization of We can switch among the individual bases. A carto- the track making considering the number of partici- grapher can start drawing according to a mapping pants, the processing of the pictograms of the cont- key of orienteering – ISOM. The work itself is not rols, the export of the tracks (categories) to the text complicated. He creates a very precise and well-re- form for the other SW or for the preparation of some adable map. Before printing, the final map can be special orienteering training maps. All the data are turned according to magnetic declension, magnetic in the vector shape and there is the possibility for the inclination or cartographic portray. An indisputab- Volume 7 No. 2/2013 ISSN 1802-3908 35 le advantage is then that a cartographer can draw a control so the runner has to perceive other objects. map progressively, in principle immediately, after This type of training teaches runner how to keep coming back from forest, whereas earlier a whole concentration and to have ability to choose what is map had to be charted firstly and only after the dra- the most important and which symbols should bear wing itself could start. in mind not to get lost. An every single second is The other function of this program is a track buil- counted, especially for top runner a few lost seconds ding for the orienteering sports. The track building can indicate significant lost. is a really difficult because there are tracks with The usual problem, not even considering the begi- different length and difficulty. For the national nners, is to keep up with the direction. In this case competition the track builder must prepare appro- we can use the program for making the track called ximately forty tracks and there is even a limitation “corridors” or “swiss game”. about the number of the control points – there is The runner then sees a map of his progression only, about ninety to one hundred of them. The software in the second case just surround of control. By me- made this work a lot easier because right after we ans of this type of training we teach to keep direction have the lengths, we can see the difficulty and we for progression and no diversion.