Blue - color given to very long expert course

Brown - color given to a short expert course

Classic - The standard point-to-point course format at many LAOC events. Classic courses generally take about 60-120 minutes. They involve a combination of technical navigation and route choice problems.

Control - (1) A location that a participant is expected to visit. (2) A physical orange and white flag placed at the location a competitor is expected to visit.

Control Code - A unique alphanumeric identifier which is placed on a control and in the control descriptions so that a participant can be sure they have found the proper control location.

Control Descriptions - A list of information that describes control details. Includes the control code, feature, and location on the feature where the control is placed.

Control Number - Indicates the order in which controls are to be visited on a course.

COOL - California Outdoor Orienteering League. Our scoring league for school age youth. Runs from October to March.

Discovery - An LAOC term. Used to describe an event where controls are not placed and instead participants answer a question about the surroundings to indicate they visited the control location. Commonly used for urban events.

E-punching - Electronic equipment that is used to show you visited a control location

E-stick - A small stick that is worn on your finger and is necessary for e-punching.

Green - color given to a medium length expert course

LAOC - The Los Angeles Orienteering Club

Long - A standard point-to-point course format with a slightly long time frame (75-120 minutes).

Middle - A shorter point-to-point course format (30-60 minutes) emphasizing technical navigation through complex terrain.

NOW - National Orienteering Week. A week set aside in September by OUSA to promote the sport of orienteering.

O - Shorthand for Orienteering

Orange - color given to an advanced course

Orienteering - A navigation race. Participants use a map and compass to find their way through unfamiliar terrain to control points.

OUSA - Orienteering USA. The National Governing Body for the sport of Orienteering.

Pin punching - A manual method for showing you visited a control location. Uses a marking device that makes a pin pattern on a card.

Point-to-point - A course requiring the participant to visit the controls in a specified order.

Punch card - Used with pin punching. A card that is carried by the participant on which they punch patterns to show they visited control locations.

Red - color given to a long expert course

Rogaine - An ultra-long time limit score-O. Rogaines have time limits of up to 24 hours and often use standard topo maps instead of orienteering maps. Rogaines often require team entry, especially for the longest time limits. Named for the Australian founders of the sport - Rod, Gail, and Neill.

Score-O - An event with a time limit as opposed to a set course. Controls are worth score values and participants strive to obtain the highest score within the time allotted.

Splits - The amount of time that is taken between controls

Sprint - A very short course (10-30 minutes) featuring fast decision making. Often held in an urban, built-up environment as opposed to a forest.

Urban - Used to describe a course run primarily on streets as opposed to in a park or forest.

Waiver - A legal form stating that the participant is responsible for their own safety and will not hold LAOC or landowners liable.

White - color given to the easiest course

Winsplits - An online service that analyzes and compares the splits for all participants on a course.

Yellow - color given to an intermediate course