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GPS O?

When describing (explaining?) orienteering to people who know little of our sport a frequent question I get is around whether just using a Global Positioning System (GPS) set would not make finding controls much simpler. Accessibly priced portable GPS sets have been available for a number of years but really have not featured as a useful accessory for competitive orienteering probably for the following reasons:

- The accuracy depends upon how readily the sets can pick up signals from the correct number of geostationary satellites and in particular from any satellites close to the horizon (which improves the accuracy of the readings). Trees and hills, which are present on most orienteering courses can hinder the signals and reduce the accuracy.
- The output from the sets is normally in longitude and latitude and for an orienteer to make effective use of a GPS set they would need to translate the data swiftly into the position on the map. Normally it would be quicker to navigate to the control than to spend time on such translations.
- If such translations were in progress their effective use would depend upon the map not being displaced in relation to the latitude and longitude of the GPS.
- The belief that using such equipment diminishes the challenge and hence the enjoyment of our sport.

I can recall seeing one controller's report that mentioned use of a GPS set in checking control sites: this was in a sand dune area where naturally there are few or no trees and hills to weaken signals. A few issues were reported around the relationship between the map and the GPS information.

But is it possible with some new products now available for sale that the use of GPS sets may start to creep into orienteering?

The latest gadget for runners is a time and distance monitor. A sensor of one or other type is placed on the runner and information is transmitted to a wrist watch which then displays the cumulative distance covered and the speed. Three firms now produce these devices: Timex and Oregon Scientific use GPS units, while the Nike gear detects the number of strides and translates them into distance covered. With the GPS based ones the receiver acts as a continuous measure of position on the globe and the software then translates changes in this measure into distance covered. It is only the distance covered and the speed that are displayed, not the longitude and latitude.

Time taken to translate GPS information into position on the map has been eliminated because the system cannot be used to provide that position, but what might tempt its use is the display of distance covered since the last split position. With say 600 m to the next control in a relatively open area an orienteer could take a direct bearing and focus on keeping to that bearing knowing that their watch will indicate when they have gone the correct distance. Naturally if the route to the control is circuitous then the distance displayed will be of less use unless the person is good at estimating the distance via the less direct route.

I suspect that there may be some benefit from using a device like this in training but when out on a competitive run the information it would provide is not sufficiently beneficial to encourage much use of this system at events. However, if there was some reprogramming such that the display gave both distance and direction from the last intermediate split point then it would probably be time for BOF or the IOF to consider forbidding use of such equipment.

For those who may wish to know more about this equipment a useful source is www.kit4fit.co.uk