History

Orienteering originated in Scandinavia, as a military exercise, in the 19th century. The competitive sport form began in Norway where the first competition was held near Oslo in 1897. It gained popularity with the development of more reliable compasses in the 1930s. The sport began to spread to countries outside Scandinavia in the 1960s, with the establishment of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) in 1961 and the first world championships in 1966.

Over 60 different national orienteering federations are registered with the IOF today. World championships are held annually (bi-annually before 2002), and orienteering is a sport in the World Games.

The sport has been dominated by the Nordic nations and Switzerland, but increasingly more countries are making their mark on the sport, including France, Great Britain and several Eastern European countries.