The Great Outdoors
Westmeath Sports Partnership, in collaboration with Orienteering Ireland, has recently mapped out two new locations in Westmeath: Dún Na Sí Amenity Park in Moate and Burgess Park in Athlone. This brings the total locations mapped in the county to four; joining the Athlone Regional Sports Centre and Mullingar Town Park.
Orienteering is a sport that combines physical activity with navigation; challenging both the body and the mind. It is a sport that can be enjoyed by groups of families, friends or as individuals and very accessible for all ages and abilities.
The aim of orienteering is for participants to successfully pass through each point on the map called ‘controls’, while trying to do so as quickly as possible. Sometimes, however, slow and steady will be the best solution as if you go too fast you may miss a control point.
The courses for each location in Westmeath can be accessed via a mobile device.
Permanent virtual versions of the maps can be accessed through the MapRun application.
They can be download from your app store on Android by clicking this link
or
They can be downloaded on iPhone by clicking this link
MapRun is a free orienteering application that provides access on your personal device to the permanent virtual maps throughout the world, including Westmeath.
How to use MapRun is explained below
Our friends and colleagues at Orienteering Ireland and Cork Sports Partnership have put together some excellent short videos easily explaining how MapRun is used below:
A readable step by-step instruction guide to using MapRun can be accessed at this link
You can keep up to date with the latest developments with MapRun at this link here
Westmeath Sports Partnership aims to continue promoting and developing orienteering within our county while also providing increased opportunities for participation.
Please note that Orienteering is an adventure sport that may involve crossing rough and uneven terrain, tracks and paths. Please wear appropriate footwear. Westmeath County Council do not accept responsibility for any injuries.
Maps
If you wish to include a traditional element of orienteering to accompany the modern day digital application, and enhance the overall orienteering experience, maps of all courses are available online that can be downloaded and printed out in a hard copy.
Maps for all courses in Ireland are available via the interactive map at this link
- Zoom to Westmeath to find the Westmeath courses, or they can be accessed and downloaded via the MapRun application.