It was not the beams of sunshine that woke the morning air on this autumn day, but groups of students of Wuhan University (WHU), rubbing their hands and stretching their legs, waiting for the start of the Campus Orienteering Contest (COC) at the 912 Playground.
The COC was held to enrich students’ after-class activities and stimulate their interest in sports. Orienteering is an emerging type of sports, a combination of physical strength and intelligence, also referred to as ‘running chess’. Contestants were required to finish the designated route and complete the punch-in procedure with the help of a map and a compass. Challenging but intriguing, the contest attracted more than 150 individual contestants and 360 teams from all departments of WHU, with a total number of more than 1,600 students.
Contestants waiting at the starting line
“Ding-ling!” Once the eight o’clock bell announced the start of the race, the participants poured into the 912 Playground. In order of the roll call, students started their orienteering journey one after the other. By reading maps, they are required to have a good sense of direction for efficient route-planning. Students ran across Yinghua Road, searching for sculptures near the quaint red castle, and climbed Luojia Hill in search of their destination.
Students running across the playground
The COC was a competition of physical strength and wisdom. Strength, tenacious perseverance, and the spirit of unity were manifested to the fullest. The terrain, the road surface, and other potential difficulties were all to be considered in their exploration. Participants also completed various games at the designated place to get punch-ins, including Chinese string-up puzzles, rope-skipping. They also showed off great talents in literature and physical arts.
Some students concluded the race as a process of ‘finding the roots of WHU’. “We might not have known these landmarks on campus before, but by searching for them and learning their histories, we have been enlightened and grown more interested in our historical campus,” said several participants. In cold weather, their enthusiasm was burning like a flame.
Students heading to the destination
Orienteering is conducive to the cultivation of a good lifestyle and positive attitudes towards life. In the COC, participants experienced the fun of orienteering itself and improved their teamwork abilities. Their performance was a manifestation of optimistic athletic spirit and the vitality of WHU. This event encouraged WHU students to pursue their dreams and highlighted the energy of the young people on campus.
Photo by Yuan Jingwen
Edited by Zhang Jing, Li Jing, Li Zhen, Zhang Yilin, Sylvia, Xi Binqing
