On May 24, the "2026 World Orienteering Week · 10th Hunan University Orienteering Competition" kicked off at the athletic field in the South Campus. A total of 1,604 faculty, students, alumni, and their children participated, running across the campus with their running steps and extending wishes to the alma mater. October 2026 will mark the 1050th anniversary of the founding of Yuelu Academy and the 100th anniversary of the naming of Hunan University. This competition is an important part of the anniversary celebration series throughout the year.
Closely aligned with the theme "Tracing a Century, Orienting to the Future," the competition featured six special routes:
A root-seeking route for the alumni group;
A camaraderie route for the faculty group;
A truth-seeking route for the postgraduate group;
A youthful dream route for the undergraduate group;
An initial exploration route for the youth group; and,
A discovery route for the parent-child group.
A separate route was also designed for the team competition. Each of the above-mentioned routes served not only as a guide but also as a reflection of spirit.
The number of participants in each group was: 410 for team competition, 280 for the undergraduate group, 103 for the postgraduate group, 32 for the faculty group, 71 for the alumni group, 574 for the parent-child group, and 134 for the youth group participants.
Orienteering is a traditional sport long promoted by HNU. Surrounded by varied terrains, the university boasts unique natural advantages for this sport. Since the International Orienteering Federation established "World Orienteering Day" in 2016, HNU has actively responded by holding orienteering events annually. Over the past decade, these events have cumulatively attracted more than 20,000 participants, including faculty, students, and amateur runners, strongly advancing the development of orienteering in Hunan. The year marks the 10th session of the competition and is also the first major mass sports event of the year. It not only continued the educational philosophy of sports—"enjoying fun, strengthening physique, perfecting personality, and tempering will"—but also uses a "sports+" approach to foster alumni bonds and enhance campus culture, playing a prelude to the upcoming anniversary celebrations.
This competition was jointly hosted by the International Orienteering Federation, the Chinese Radio and Orienteering Association, and the HNU Sports Committee, and co-organized by the Student Affairs Department and the Postgraduate Affairs Department of the HNU Party Committee, the Communist Youth League HNU Committee, the HNU Office for Alumni Affairs, the HNU Labor Union, and HNU School of Physical Education. The competition was also supported by the Chinese University Student Orienteering Training Center and the HNU Qizhi Orienteering Association.
