On the morning of October 19, the first Orienteering Day sports event of 2025 in Maoming was officially launched.
From then on, the third Sunday of every month will be designated as Maoming's "Orienteering Activity Day," with monthly competitions and themed events.
Nestled between picturesque mountains and the sea, Maoming possesses favorable geographical and cultural conditions, giving it the confidence and advantage to establish itself as a "City of Orienteering."
In early May this year, Maoming hosted the final of the orienteering event for the mass competition category of the 15th National Games, where the first gold medal was awarded at Baiqiao Square in Genzi Town, Gaozhou, . Seizing this opportunity, Maoming signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Aviation Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China to jointly establish a "Radio Direction Finding and Orienteering Training Base." This initiative injects new momentum into national fitness and positions sports as a powerful driver for the "Hundreds, Thousands, and Tens of Thousands Project."
"The goal of the establishment of the 'Maoming Orienteering Activity Day' is to make orienteering, once confined to professional competitions, embraced by the general public," said Wang Xiaohui, Vice Mayor of Maoming City.
On the day of the event, a fun and dynamic orienteering competition unfolded around the Baiqiao Service Area. Nearly 300 orienteering enthusiasts from various regions immersed themselves in the charm of Maoming's orienteering activities, with parent-child experience groups making up 40% of the participants.
"Today, our whole family is mobilized! Our child led the way with the map, while we parents followed behind to 'provide support'—all we had to do was charge ahead!" said Huang Haiming, a physical education teacher at Maoming No. 2 Vocational and Technical School, who not only participated with his family but also signed up for the social sports instructor training session that afternoon with his colleagues.
The event also featured a thoughtfully designed public experience zone for orienteering, where Professor Zhang Xinan, a national expert in the sport, was invited to give on-site lessons. Wei Suyi, a Maoming-native athlete and orienteering champion of the 15th National Games, was also present to cheer on the participants.
"We hope that through diverse and enriching activities, the general public will get to know, understand, and ultimately fall in love with orienteering. We want everyone to gain joy and health through sports, and together paint a vibrant picture of 'city-wide participation and city-wide activation!'" said Wang Xiaohui.
Reporter: Qiu Qian, Zhou Liang, Yan Zhixiong
Photo: Zhou Liang, Yan Zhixiong
Editor: Huang Qini, James Campion, Shen He
