Though orienteering provides a wide array of benefits, there are still some disadvantages cited, yet on a limited number.
Orienteering usually involves a lot of physical activities which requires both strength and endurance. It is a competitive sport where participants find themselves thinking, running, and moving at a fast pace. The goal of winning sometimes interrupts the participant’s mind to think over their safety as a priority and would somehow result to unexpected injuries along the course such as sprains or those others which affect muscles, tendons, joints, or all that is mentioned.
Wearing safety gears during orienteering is of topmost importance and should be considered as a priority, putting into consideration the course which the participants will take where it involves mostly of parks and forests where some environmental factors might become a contributing cause for bruises, wounds, cuts, lacerations, and other accidents.
Another reason why orienteering requires the participant to learn navigating skills is that the probability of getting lost during the course is indeed high, given the kind of trail that the participants have to track.
In every competition, there is always a winner. Though orienteering activity promotes camaraderie, there is still a minimum possibility that the loser might not be able to take the defeat smoothly, which could bring the challenge to a different and unfavorable level.
Losing is also at its greater range when the participant fails to prepare himself for the orienteering. As an orienteer, one must anticipate the events and the materials needed to compete in the said activity. Just say for example, food and water are essentials during the whole orienteering course. Failure to bring this along might just complicate the situation as the participant will no longer be able to think clearly and effectively, which is basically needed most especially for decision making, not to mention the other effects of hunger and thirst to the human body.
The disadvantages of orienteering are lesser in comparison to the benefits it has in store for the participants. However, no matter how small in number these disadvantages are, it is still important to take note about it to prevent it from occurring as much as possible.