Over the weekend, the 18^th Chinese National Student Orienteering Championships ended at the Zunyi Olympic Sports Center in Guizhou Province. Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) has continued its success in this competition, with three championships, five 2^nd places, and four 3^rd places to finish third in the undergraduate C group.

The SUSTech team (Hao Wei, Lv Chenghao, Zhang Caijie and Sun Xiyu) won the first gold medal in the teams competition, before Hao Wei came first in both the long and short distance orienteering competitions in the undergraduate C group.

SUSTech Sports Center Director Dong Lunhong is the leader of the SUSTech Orienteering Team, with Hou Siyu and Liang Xiyuan coaching the students. The team of eight students fought hard over the seven days of competition, with the men’s team finishing first and the women’s group finishing 7^th in their undergraduate C groups. This resulted in SUSTech winning the undergraduate C group, finishing 3^rd overall and winning the Sportsmanship Award

The SUSTech Orienteering Team worked hard training and preparing for the championships with both on-campus and off-campus training, while facing a range of difficulties. Through their efforts and determination, they have been able to continue their success from last year.

Orienteering is a sport that requires competitors to use a map and compass to reach specific points on a map in turn and do so in the shortest period of time. The sport has been around for over one hundred years and began as a sporting competition in Sweden in 1895. Participants tend to be very fit, with an excellent understanding of geography, independent thinking and solid teamwork spirit.

The National Student Orienteering Championship is an annual event directed and sponsored by the China University Sports Association. Since the first National Student Orienteering Championships in 2002, it has been run every year since then, with this year representing the 18^thoccurrence of the Championships.

More than 2,300 athletes, coaches and team leaders from 194 teams from all over the country participated in the tournament. The tournament was hosted by China University Sports Association, China Middle School Sports Association, China Surveying and Mapping Association, and organized by the China University Sports Association Orientation Branch. It was organized by the Guizhou Provincial Sports Bureau, the Education Department and the Zunyi Municipal People’s Government.