Sport orienteering as an indicator of outdoor culture: A comparative analysis of countries worldwide
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26565/2310-9513-2026-23-16Keywords:
sports tourism, sports orienteering, outdoor culture, recreational culture, international experience, club system, popularization of sports, leisureAbstract
The article examines the development of sports orienteering as a cultural and sports phenomenon in international and national contexts. The subject of the study is a set of social, institutional, natural-climatic and cultural factors that influence the spread and popularity of sports orienteering in different countries. The aim of the work is to identify the patterns of development of sports orienteering in the world and determine the reasons for its relatively limited spread in Ukraine. To achieve the goal, the following tasks were set: to analyze the international experience of leading countries in the field of orienteering; to characterize the role of state support, the club system and the media in shaping the motivation to participate in this type of sports tourism; to assess the impact of natural-climatic and social conditions; to identify promising areas for applying foreign experience to Ukrainian realities. The methodological basis of the study is an interdisciplinary approach and comparative analysis, which allowed comparing models of sports orienteering development in different countries from several points of view. The results of the study indicate that the high level of development of sports orienteering in the countries of Northern and Central Europe is due to a combination of stable state support, developed club infrastructure, active media support and a developed culture of mass sports, while in Ukraine the restraining factors are low awareness of this sport, competition with other forms of leisure and insufficient organizational work. The conclusions confirm the presence of significant potential for the development of sports orienteering in Ukraine, provided that it is systematically popularized, adapted to international experience and worked with different social groups.
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