Youth Mapping Program

OrienteeringUSA’s Youth Mapping Program (YMP) was developed to make it convenient for schools and non-profit youth organizations in the United States to get a high quality orienteering map made of their school or a nearby park to help in teaching orienteering. YMP map projects are intended to be small teaching maps, typically less than 0.5 km² (~120 acres) in size. Schools participate in the creation of the map by working with the remote mapper to be their “eyes on the ground” or “field-checker”.

Purpose

The purpose of this program is threefold:

1. To spread orienteering to as many youth as possible.
2. To develop a self-sustaining process to match youth-serving non-profit organizations desiring maps with orienteering mappers and to provide a limited number of grants for map development.
3. To provide a forum to share mapping practices and develop professional collaboration among our growing population of mappers.

Cost

Youth organizations pay Orienteering USA for the creation of a map. Mappers and map consultants are paid by OUSA. The youth organization must provide someone willing to work with the mapper to check the map, because the mapper will be working remotely. Field checkers are not paid by OUSA; rather, the youth organization is expected to provide this resource as part of getting a map made.

For more information regarding map cost refer to the Costs document. Grants may be available to assist youth organizations making their first map; see the Grant Rubric section of the Cost document for details.

Process

The typical process for Youth Organizations (YO) is as follows:

• YO: Review the information about the YMP Program. In addition to the information on this page, you are encouraged to review:
  • Creative ideas for utilizing your school map as a starting point to develop your own map based curriculum.
  • Information for YMP Mappers to get a better sense of what goes into creating the map and your role in the map making process.
  • Communication Guide for Remote Field Checkers
  • Sample Contract for Youth Organizations. There is a slightly different version if an OUSA Grant is involved.
• YO: After reviewing the information about the program, and identifying a person from your organization to serve as the “eyes on the ground” for the mapper, apply to request a mapper for your project. Optionally, also apply for a grant. 
  • YMP Committee will communicate with YO to obtain additional information needed to identify a mapper and map consultant. Confirm that both mapper and consultant are available for the project. Send invoice to YO.
  • YMP Committee: If a grant was requested, decide whether to approve the grant based on the rubric guidelines in the cost guide.
• YO: Pay the invoice.
• YMP Mapper: Create first draft of map. Create list of questions for YO.
• YO: Ensure that your “eyes on the ground” person responds in a timely fashion to Mapper’s questions.
  • YO: Iteratively work with YMP Mapper to bring the map to a finished state.
  • YMP Consultant: Obtain completed map from Mapper; confirm that the map is complete and conforms to all required standards.
• YO: Pay any remaining amount from original invoice.
• YMP Consultant: Send finished map to YO

Become a Mapper

Mappers for the Youth Mapping Program are cartographers as well as remote field checkers, guiding an onsite field checker with precise instructions about what to find or verify. Mappers ensure that maps are drafted to international standards and Orienteering USA Branding standards.

Additional information for YMP mappers can be found here.
Mappers interested in working with the YMP program should apply here. 

Announcements about previous maps, YMP news and Map of the Month features can be found in the YMP News Archive.

YMP Committee

• Barbara Bryant (chair)
• Andrea Schneider (applications)
• Heidi Cusworth (contracts)
• Bill Cusworth (head map consultant)
• Contact: YMPCommittee@nullorienteeringusa.org