Scout Orienteering Course

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A relatively new and well-conceived outdoor game is the so-called scout orienteering course (bieg harcerski). What does it involve? A scout patrol (or groups of 2–3 scouts) moves along a designated route in the field and, at pre-marked points, must complete certain tasks. These tasks can cover various areas of scouting skills or activities—such as terrain recognition, nature or local history, scouting techniques like pioneering, camp work, signaling, first aid, etc.—or they may reflect scouting ethics or social attitudes, such as a collective good deed, and so on. In other words, the scout orienteering course is, to some extent, a test of knowledge and technical scouting proficiency. But it is not only that. It is also a test and check of the patrol’s cohesion, ability to organize work, initiative, resourcefulness, and ingenuity. Therefore, a well-designed and well-executed scout orienteering course can serve as an excellent trial for the ranks of młodzik (young scout), wywiadowca (pathfinder), or ćwik (advanced scout).

Let us take a closer look at this “course,” which, in reality, is not a race but a brisk march from one point to another along a marked route.

The route is ½–5 km long and divided into segments. In some segments, the path may be marked in various ways; in others, the scouts must find their own way forward. At the end of each segment, there is a judge, and here lies the so-called “obstacle”—a task to be completed. The scouts learn what the task is either directly from the judge or by deciphering clues themselves. After completing the task within the allotted time, they proceed to the next obstacle, where another surprise awaits them, then to the third, fourth, and so on, until they reach the last one. At each obstacle, the judge awards points not only for the work itself but also for the speed and precision of its execution, the patrol’s teamwork, the efficient division of labor, etc. In the end, it becomes clear how many points the patrol has earned out of the total possible. And if this is a competition between groups or patrols—as is most often the case—it will be clear who emerged victorious in this course.

From this description, it is evident how important it is, on the one hand, to skillfully design the obstacles so that they match the scouts’ age and abilities and spark their interest; on the other hand, to establish a precise and fair scoring system so that the judge has no doubts about what and how to assess.

If the scout orienteering course is not a trial for a rank, it becomes a simple and enjoyable outdoor game. If it includes only those elements typically found in such games, it becomes a pure outdoor game or activity. It should be added that in such cases, the obstacles can be limited to specific areas, such as scouting skills, thereby narrowing their scope.

A scout orienteering course can be a relatively short activity, or it can last an entire day. For example, at one obstacle, the scouts might be given 1 hour to conduct reconnaissance of a neighboring village; at another, 1 hour for a suitable outdoor game; at a third, 2 hours to set up a bivouac, build a camp kitchen, and cook a meal, etc. Neither age nor time is an obstacle for this game; everything depends on whether the tasks are appropriate and whether the entire course is well-structured.

Since we are on the subject of time, it is worth emphasizing that this factor must be taken seriously when designing the course. For each obstacle, the exact time in which it must be completed must be specified, and this time is communicated to the patrol by the respective judge. Of course, there must also be guidelines for the judge on what explanations they are allowed to give the scouts and what must be left entirely to their initiative.

Once the allotted time for overcoming an obstacle has elapsed, the judge interrupts the work, regardless of whether or how the task was completed. In any case, if the task was done incorrectly or poorly, the judge should explain what was done well and what was done poorly, then send the scouts on their way.

A scout orienteering course can form a cohesive whole, i.e., have a general theme, with all obstacles (and there can be up to 10) corresponding to that theme and serving as its components. Alternatively, each obstacle can stand as a separate entity, unrelated to the next. This is the more common approach and makes designing the course significantly easier.

The leader must announce which equipment will be needed for the course (map, compass, axe, shovel, flag, knife, matches, ropes, ball of string, pencils, etc.), with some of the equipment possibly distributed along the route at the respective obstacles.

Now, here is an example of such a course, composed purely of outdoor elements:

I. March along the edge of the forest until encountering the judge. The judge remains silent. The patrol finds a sign on a tree (a square with two arrows) indicating that there are hidden notes nearby—two in total: one with a cipher message, the other with a key to the cipher, depicted in a simple drawing. The scouts must first figure out how the cipher works. Once the task is read, it turns out to be measuring the height of a solitary poplar standing nearby.

II. The judge provides the next direction—north. March approximately 1000 paces. Halfway through, a whistle signal is heard from the side, repeating every so often: 3 short blasts, 3 long blasts, 3 short blasts (S-O-S). Will they continue forward, or will they veer toward the signal? And will they do so immediately, or only after marching 1000 paces and not finding the judge? The judge, who had been giving the signal, now issues an order: apply a splint to a scout’s broken shin. Only a few strips of cloth are at hand; the rest of the materials must be gathered.

III. March at a bearing of 135° to the fourth obstacle. A stream. The order: build a footbridge using the materials lying nearby.

IV. March along the stream until reaching a flag. On a hill to the side, a signalman repeatedly calls out a “challenge” signal. Will they notice him? Will they continue forward, only to find no one at the flag? Or will they give the “response” and receive a message stating: “The judge is hidden 1000 paces from the flag.” They find the judge—perhaps by chance—who then asks them what message they received.

V. March following a thread trail. Upon reaching the destination, create a cartographic sketch using the polar method from point X, at a scale of 1:7500. Two scouts draw, while the rest measure distances in paces.

VI. March along the road—the judge is at a roadside chapel. The order: on the clearing, build an earthen kitchen with a small chimney and boil water.

And so on.

One patrol follows another from one obstacle to the next until all reach the last one. There, a gathering is held at the designated time. The judges submit their scorecards, which include separate sections detailing what and how was to be assessed, as well as a scoring scale (1–2–3–4). The results are tallied, and the winning patrol is determined.

Scout orienteering courses are very popular due to the great variety of exercises, the element of surprise, the competition between individual groups, and the confidence that even difficult tasks can be accomplished—because all these obstacles are designed precisely to match the patrol’s capabilities.

Source scan: Polona / National Library of Poland, marked “Public Domain”. View scan — PDF pages 244–248.

Metadata

Type: game
Traits: Not stated in the source
Source: Zygmunt Wyrobek, Harcerz w polu: zabawy i gry terenowe (1946)
Printed pages: 238–242 / PDF 244–248
Digital edition: Digital edition · Source record
Open the edition at the relevant page: p. 238
Read the source text: hwp-117