NJROTC Students Qualify for National Orienteering Contest

From Southtown Star

Four Bloom Trail students who are in the school¹s Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps have qualified to compete in a national orienteering contest to be held February 14 in Georgia.

Cadet Master Chief Derek Lambert, Cadet Chief Adam Godar, Cadet Ensign Erick Schwering and Cadet Seaman Melissa Churchill competed against Chicago area NJROTC students in orienteering meets held recently in suburban forest preserves. Derek is a Bloom Trail senior. Adam and Eric are juniors, and Melissa is a freshman.

Two other students, freshmen Cadet Seamen James Hayes and Tyrone Jeter, qualified as alternates. Bloom Trail is allowed to have four students in the national competition.

Lt. Daniel Walsh, naval science instructor for the NJROTC program at Bloom Trail, said orienteering, which teaches students land navigation, is part of the program¹s curriculum. Walsh will accompany the four students to the national contest.

Orienteering competitions require participants to find natural features in a forest preserve course using a map, a clue sheet and a compass, Walsh said.
Courses are approximately 2.5 miles in length.

Successful completion of a course is based on the number of predetermined terrain features found and the time needed to finish the course, Walsh said.
Orienteering maps show boulders, cliffs, ditches and fences, in addition to elevation, water features, vegetation and trails.

Approximately 600 orienteering groups from high schools throughout the United States will be competing in the contest, to be held in a state park near Atlanta, Ga.