Wisdom in Navigation: Technical and Spiritual Practices of Orienteering - Interview with Taiwan Orienteering Athlete Lin Guanyu

Weaving through a labyrinthine forest, relying only on a map and compass to find the right path and get to the finish line, this is the charm of orienteering. As one of the top orienteering athletes in Taiwan, Lin Guanyu stands out from the crowd in this complex and challenging sport with her excellent skills and perseverance. Today, we had the honor to have an in-depth conversation with her to learn more about her experiences and tips in orienteering.

Orienteering Journey of Enlightenment

Lin was introduced to orienteering when she was in middle school. At that time, she lived in Hualien, and orienteering was a fairly unknown sport in Taiwan. Since her family lived next to Donghua University, which had an orienteering team and related activities, her father took her there. Through such an opportunity, Lin Guanyu began her orienteering journey.

After attending a few events, she became interested in the sport and expressed her desire to compete to her father. As she participated in more and more competitions, she gradually learned about the different training styles of various athletes and went to Taipei for more formal training after entering college. Starting as a triathlete and later switching to orienteering, she learned how to read maps and maintain her fitness training, and joined the Asian Youth Championships team, where she did quite well in various events.

The sport has not only helped her to meet many like-minded people, but also helped her to find a way of self-realization through competition. It's a sport that combines mental and physical strength, and it allows me to find myself in nature and overcome obstacles," says Lin.

Impact of Orienteering on Personal Growth

 

"Orienteering is like life, you don't know whether you will win or lose until the end."

According to Lin, the sport of orienteering has given her a great sense of achievement and has had a profound positive impact on her personal growth. First of all, the sport has cultivated her independent thinking ability. In orienteering, competitors need to rely on their judgment to choose their routes instead of blindly following others. This has taught her how to make independent and informed decisions in difficult and stressful situations.

Secondly, the sport emphasizes the integration of both mental and physical strength. She pointed out that orienteering is a "wise man's sport" in which competitors need to constantly analyze maps and terrain, and that training and competition after competition have greatly enhanced her thinking skills and concentration. She recalled a race in which she had to make a lot of decisions within a short period of time due to the complexity of the terrain, and she could not afford to make a single mistake. This pressure made her focus more on her dialogue with herself and on accomplishing her goal.

 

"This sport has taught me to choose my route, not to follow others blindly, and to have my ideas."

Lin shared with us.

Finally, the 13 years of orienteering experience, which have taken up almost half of her life, have helped her to improve both physically and psychologically. Lin emphasizes that the sport has taught her how to stay calm in the face of difficulties and to persevere to the end, and that these experiences have had a profound impact on her daily life and professional career.

When Orienteering Meets Love

Lin and her boyfriend are both orienteering athletes, and their relationship has been positively influenced by the exchanges and training in orienteering. They met during a race in Malaysia, and later learned that her boyfriend was also studying in Taiwan, and their common interests led to more conversations. Although they are always busy and don't date as often as other couples, they participate in competitions together and take the opportunity to travel together after the competitions, which not only strengthens their relationship but also makes the road of growth more fearless.

"Orienteering is a very lonely sport, but with him by my side, I feel more confident to face every challenge!"

They have shared many training and competition experiences, which have not only allowed them to progress athletically but have also helped them to become more emotionally committed to each other.

Challenge of Indonesia International Orienteering Championships 2023

In the 2023 Indonesia International Orienteering Championships, Kuan-Yu Lin won the silver medal despite not feeling well. She had diarrhea throughout the race, a condition she had never experienced before. Despite this, she was able to identify the features of the race course on Google Maps in advance, and the special training she had started a few months before for the race terrain came in handy as she was able to overcome her discomfort and achieve a good result.

Lin shared her pre-event preparations, including meditation, listening to music to relax, and simulating the flow of the race. She believes that these preparations and mindset adjustments were the key to her ability to excel in the competition. She recalled that the night before all the competitions, she would meditate to calm herself down and simulate the competition process in her mind, which helped her to stay focused even if she was not feeling well on the day of the competition.

Lin mentioned that one of the important strategies in orienteering competitions is to adapt to the local climate and terrain. In Indonesia, due to the hot and humid climate, she strengthened her heat tolerance training before the race and arrived at the race site a few days before the race for acclimatization training. These preparations enabled her to face the challenge in a more complete way and to perform at her best even when she was not feeling well.

Preparation and Strategy for International Events

For international competitions, Lin usually adjusts her preparation strategy according to the importance of the competition. For smaller competitions, she participates in them with the same mentality as she does in her daily training, while for major competitions, she will conduct more rigorous training and preparation. Currently, as an active Taiwan representative team competitor, national coach, and orienteering-related business operator, Lin has been in different roles, but the only thing that remains unchanged is her dedication and service to orienteering.

Although orienteering is not currently an Asian or Olympic sport, Lin Guanyu still promotes the development of this sport in Taiwan and hopes that, through various activities and competitions, more people will understand and participate in this sport.

She believes that orienteering is not only a physical sport, but also a mental sport, in which the athletes need to make decisions and adjustments during the competition, which can help train strong mental qualities and resilience.

Tips and Tricks for Beginners

For novice orienteers who wish to take up orienteering, Lin suggests starting with orienteering activities organized in schools or parks, which are less difficult and allow novice orienteers to experience the sense of achievement more quickly. She believes that "Points Race" is more attractive to newcomers as "Points Race" may easily frustrate them.

She also emphasized the importance of "physical training" and "map-reading ability" and suggested novices to have more simulation training before participating in competitions. Orienteering is a sport that requires continuous learning and adaptation. If you are new to the sport, you should try to keep an open mind, gradually improve your skills and abilities, be brave enough to accept various races and learn from them, and continue to be patient rather than rushing into things.

Future Goals and Plans

Looking ahead, Lin plans to continue to work hard in the field of competition and has set a number of goals. In the second half of the year, apart from the National Games in Taiwan, she will participate in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and the Asian Championships. Next year, she plans to go to the United Kingdom for further study and join a local club to further improve her skills and competitiveness!

Lin says she is looking forward to the future and hopes to bring back more advanced technology and training methods to promote the development of orienteering in Taiwan through her learning experience in Europe. She is shy to say how much she has contributed to the development of orienteering in Taiwan, but she has done her best in terms of competition results, grassroots promotion and academic research.

Lin's story tells us that no matter how many challenges she faces, if she perseveres, she will find the light in her passionate field and influence others through a positive cycle. Her efforts and achievements have not only won her glory, but also set a new example for orienteering in Taiwan. In the future, we look forward to seeing Lin continue to shine in international competitions, bringing glory to Taiwan and hope and inspiration to more people who love this sport!

For more information about orienteering, please contact https://hermisport23.wixsite.com/2023