This 2.5 hour online course is part 1 of Navigation Sports' Introduction to Orienteering Mapping course. In it, you will learn what you need to know to set up your first mapping project to modern mapping standards.
This module is mix of learning about foundational topics and tutorial-style practice. You will learn about a variety of topics that will make your first project (and all future projects) better, easier, and more rewarding while assembling your first project! Topics include:
* Instances of this course will focus either on OCAD or OOM.
The Using Open Orienteering Mapper or Using OCAD, Introduction to Fieldwork, and Laying out Your Map modules will allow you to take the project you start in this course to completion. See our course catalogue for more.
Upcoming dates:
Tuesday, January 20, 2026 | Zoom
Thursday, January 22, 2026 | Zoom
Just want to thank you for the workshop last night. I feel much more confident about maybe being able to make some local park maps.
This 2.5 hour online course is part 2 of Navigation Sports' introdction to Orienteering Mapping course. In it, you will learn how to use the Open Orienteering Mapper drawing tools. Participants will spend the majority of the class practicing using the software.
In this module you will practice the following:
Upcoming dates:
Tuesday, January 27, 2026 | Zoom
This 2.5 hour online course is part 2 of Navigation Sports' Introduction to Orienteering Mapping course. In it, you will learn how to use OCAD's drawing tools. Participants will spend the majority of the class practicing using the software.
In this module you will practice the following:
Upcoming dates:
Thursday, December 4, 2025 | Zoom
Thursday, January 29, 2026 | Zoom
This 6 hour module will teach participants the basics of fieldwork. This module has both classroom and field components.
In this module you will practice the following:
Upcoming classes: There are no scheduled classes. If you would like to request a class, email jeff@navigationsports.ca
Every mapper has struggled with a map that for some reason doesn't align properly. Your different layers of base data aren't anywhere close to each other or you've shown up to do your fieldwork but your gps is several km from where it should be. This 2.5 hr course has been specifically designed to give you the knowledge to avoid these issues or troubleshoot them when they do arise. In the course you will learn all about coordinate reference systems, the earths magnetic field, declination, grid convergence, and grivation, and more.
Upcoming classes: There are no scheduled classes. If you would like to request a class, email jeff@navigationsports.ca
This 2.5 hour online course is part 4 of Navigation Sports' Introduction to Orienteering Mapping course. In it, you will practice adding new colours and symbols in the mapping software while adding key map elements to prepare your map for printing.
This module is set-up as a tutorial-style practice. Participants will also be provided with a take-away reference to use in future projects.
* Instances of this course will use either OCAD or OOM.
Upcoming dates:
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 | Zoom
Thursday, February 12, 2026 | Zoom
This course teaches participants how to interpret lidar data and draw contours and other features from various layers of lidar information. Over the course of four 3hr sessions you will learn about the following topics:
Upcoming dates:
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 | Zoom
Thursday, March 12, 2026 | Zoom
Tuesday, March 17, 2026 | Zoom
This 6 hour course teaches participants advanced fieldwork topics and techniques. The specific content of this course changes depending on the terrain it' being taught in.
Typically the class starts with a morning of exploring an existing map and how it was mapped and why it was mapped that way. After lunch in the field, participants will have a few hours to practice making complex mapping decisions in the field with guidance from the instructor.
Upcoming classes: There are no scheduled classes. If you would like to request a class, email jeff@navigationsports.ca
This 2.5 hour online course teaches participants how to use Karttapullautin to generate exploratory orienteering maps (also often called auto-generated maps) from lidar. Karttapullautin generates contours and other landform features as well as an orienteering style base map. In this class you will learn the basics of using the software as well as how to adjust the settings to optimize the output.
Upcoming dates:
Thursday, December 11, 2025 | Zoom
Tuesday, March 3, 2026 | Zoom
This 3 hour class teaches participants how to use OCAD's DEM Import Wizard to turn lidar data into useable base map layers and contours. Participants will learn how to set up the various outputs along with the various information you can get from them:
Upcoming dates:
Thursday, March 5, 2026 | Zoom
This 2.5 hour online course is part 3 of Navigation Sports' Introduction to Orienteering Mapping course. In it, you will learn how to find and import various types of data into your map and as base layers. You will learn how to import official orthophotos as base layers and spend time practicing drawing your map from those images and data.
* Instances of this course will use either OCAD or OOM.
Upcoming dates:
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 | Zoom
Thursday, February 5, 2026 | Zoom