About UCOC

Since 2019, UCOC has been giving students maps and saying, “Look for the little orange and white flags!” We are a welcoming and tight-knit community that loves getting out into the great outdoors for a physical and mental challenge! 

Our large annual events include UCOC Camp, Ultralong, Ultra sprint, and Night Nav, which occur alongside other social events, training, and weekly runs throughout the year. Our training and events cater to all ability levels, from absolute beginners to those representing internationally. You don’t have to be the best at orienteering; in fact, you get better stories from the courses that didn’t go well! It’s all about getting out there, giving it your all, and having an adventure.

As well as encouraging new people into the sport, we also have many club members who represent New Zealand in Orienteering across competitions such as EYOC, JWOC, and WOC. UCOC provides a supportive community to help members continue performing at a high level throughout the university through events and training, alongside our athlete grants.

UCOC is run by a passionate team of student volunteers ranging from those who started orienteering before they could walk, to those who began during uni! We aim to encourage as many people to join the sport as possible, and help you love orienteering as much as we do! We are always looking for extra help planning courses and collecting controls, so if that sounds like you, feel free to flick us an email! 

UCOC also works closely with PAPO, the Canterbury Orienteering Club (https://papo.org.nz/). If you are looking for more orienteering beyond UCOC, PAPO holds a great variety of events throughout the year. When it comes to equipment, we are able to loan out a few compasses and idents, but if you are thinking about doing the sport a bit more frequently, then look no further than https://trailblazenz.com/. Trailblaze is your one-stop shop for all of your orienteering needs and is a proud supporter of UCOC.