An Investigation of the Raft-Orienting Organization as a New Discipline of Sport

Purpose of this study is to evaluate raft-orienting organization, a combination of rafting and orienting, which is done for the first time in Turkey and all around the world, in terms of preparation, practice and results. Subjects of the study are 16 teams (4 athletes in each group) which attend the 4th International Fırtına Rafting Fest which is held by East Black Sea Extreme Sport Club (DOKADAK) in July, 16-18, 2010, in Rize, Ardeşen. In order to establish raft-orienting discipline, firstly, zone which is planned to be the place in which fest is going to take place around the Fırtına River has been mapped. All preparations for locating the targets and security, hardness and visual characteristics of the track have been done. As it a new discipline, in addition to existing orienting symbols, a map which includes new symbols which describes the anatomy of the river has been drawn. After track preparation started, an orientation education has been given to athletes who don’t have necessary knowledge about orienting. In this organization which includes teams having degrees in international rafting competitions, elite athletes have expressed their positive criticisms about the raft-orienting discipline and stated that official competitions must be done. For audience, it has been an exciting and entertaining organization. Raft-orienting discipline which has named as a result of this organization has focused the attention of International Orienting Federation (IOF). As a result of the positive statements of the administrator, trainer, sportsmen, audience and other leading figures of the rafting and orienting in Turkey, it is concluded that this new discipline should be improved and become widespread.