Harlequins Orienteering Club is based in the West Midlands of England. Our 'catchment' covers Birmingham, the Black Country, Worcestershire and parts of Shropshire and Herefordshire. We have a membership of over 200 and put on around 40-50 events a year.

What's Orienteering?
Orienteering is an activity/sport (depending how competitive you want to be) which involves navigating from point to point using a map. Most orienteering takes place in areas such as forests and country parks, but more urban-based events are becoming increasingly popular.

For free-range kids
Orienteering is very family-friendly and suitable for almost all ages. For children in particular it promotes self-reliance and independent decision-making, besides getting them out into the fresh air to burn off some energy. For teachers interested in introducing orienteering to your pupils, we can provide advice and support. We are Sport England Clubmark accredited for supporting junior members.

Fancy a go?
You don't need to be a member of any club to go orienteering. Most small-scale local events are open to all, don't require pre-booking, don't cost much to enter and will have suitable courses for beginners. You don't need to be super-fit and you don't need much in the way of equipment. Go to our events page for dates and locations of events.

Come and join us
Harlequins is an open club - we welcome new members. Membership gives you a copy of the award-winning club journal every month, access to our club forum, the opportunity to run relay events, and more. Go to our contacts page for details of our Membership Secretary.

Find out more
Here are some links to further information (opens in new window/tab):

• British Orienteering (BOF) - the National governing body
• West Midlands Orienteering Association (WMOA) - the Regional body
• Orienteering England - responsible for English national teams
• British Schools Orienteering Association (BSOA) - supports orienteering in schools
• Ollie O'Brien's Fixtures Map - excellent Google Maps mash-up - put your postcode in and it'll show you where forthcoming events are
• NOPESport open forum
• Adrian Bailey's Blog - HOC member Adrian documents his orienteering activities
• ARDF - orienteering with added electronics
• MADO - Harlequins' southern spin-off - events in the Malvern area

The HOC Webmaster is Peter Langmaid. The site is currently being reconstructed and updated, starting with the Home page.

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