For the first 30 or so years of orienteering in New Zealand, there was one type of orienteering. It took place in the country (preferably a forest) and lasted an hour or so for experienced and fit people, maybe down to half an hour for kids. There were a few "mountain marathons" in which hardy types orienteered over a couple of days using topo maps, but these were exceptions.

Then there was an explosion. City parks, hitherto regarded as suitable only for beginners, were recognised as interesting for short, fast-paced, visible orienteering. That led to maze-like urban areas. Skiers and MTBers discovered places where there was lots of route choice - on tracks the high speeds made navigation really challenging. And the MMers, by now using the rogaine score-event model, expanded downwards to a few hours, running them on foot, in kayaks, on buses, on horseback, during the day, and in the dark.

Meanwhile, the "classic" orienteering map at 1:15,000 was under increasing pressure as clubs found areas with complex detail such as sand dunes, rocks, dolines and 19-century gold diggings. And people are flocking to them! Even masters and veterans with fading eyesight - so we're using larger scales so that everyone can enjoy.

OHV has had a significant role in this, pioneering rogaining and MTBO in New Zealand, and playing a huge part in sprint orienteering with its O-Max formula. Exp-O is a label for more experimental events. We will find other challenging terrain types and invent further competition variations - nothing surer.

Read more about particular Exp-O formulas. They won't all succeed, but we'll have fun trying!
Send your suggestions to Ph 04 566 2645