Colour Coded Courses
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Colour-coded Course Standards
At forest and parkland based events, the courses on offer are given different colours which correspond to how easy or difficult they are. These colour standards are the same all over the the UK, and precise guidelines can be found in British Orienteerings Rules of Orienteering. The table below gives an idea of the relative length and technical challenge of different coloured courses.
Although the age of children has been used as a guide for some of the easier courses, even adult beginners would benefit from going round an easier course first just to get the idea of map scale, symbols etc.
| Colour | Technical difficulty | Physical difficulty | Remarks |
| White | 1 | 1 | Suitable for young children of 7 to 8 when accompanied, or older children on their own. All on paths, with a control at every decision point. |
| Yellow | 2 | 2 | A doddle for experienced 12 year olds. All routes on paths, and all controls on or visible from the path. |
| Orange | 3 | 3 | Controls on features a little way off paths or on line features, and some route choice involved in route planning. Adult beginners shouldn't attempt anything harder. |
| Light Green | 4 | 3 | Transitional course for improving skills. Off-path navigation essential. |
| Green | 5 | 3 | For those with good navigational skills. "Short Green" and "Very Short Green" are variants intended for experienced veteran orienteers who still relish the technical challenge, but over a shorter distance. |
| Blue | 5 | 4 | Longer than Green and shorter than Brown! |
| Brown/ Black | 5 | 5 | For very fit and competent navigators who are usually 16-plus. |
A good orienteer in good physical condition will travel at somewhere between 6 and 10 minutes per kilometre depending on the terrain.
You can earn a colour badge by successfully completing three courses of the same standard within a 12-month period.