Construction of Training Program to Improve Sports Vision, Core Strength, Endurance, and Skills in Orienteering for College Students

Background and Aim: Orienteering is a sport that combines endurance, spatial cognition, and rapid decision-making, requiring athletes to navigate unfamiliar terrain using maps and compasses. Strong sports vision, core strength, and endurance are essential for success. However, current training programs in Chinese universities often isolate these elements, limiting athletes' overall performance. Studies have shown that integrating these aspects can significantly enhance orienteering skills. This study aims to develop a comprehensive training program for the Orienteering Club of Guangdong Eco-Engineering Polytechnic. By incorporating sports vision, core strength, and endurance training, the program seeks to improve athletes’ navigation efficiency, stability, and stamina, aligning with international best practices. Materials and Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group structure. Forty male members of the Orienteering Club of Guangdong Eco-Engineering Polytechnic were non-randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n = 20) or a control group (n=20) based on systematic allocation to ensure baseline comparability. The experimental group received a training program integrating sports vision, core strength, endurance, and orienteering skills. In contrast, the control group engaged only in routine orienteering skill training to maintain ecological validity. The intervention lasted for eight weeks, with training sessions conducted four days per week, each lasting 120 minutes to maintain consistency in training intensity. Data collection occurred at three time points: baseline (pretest), mid-intervention (week 4), and post-intervention (week 8). Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), independent t-tests for between-group comparisons, and repeated-measures one-way ANOVA to assess within-group changes over time. Bonferroni post hoc tests were conducted to determine specific differences between time points. The level of significance was set at α = 0.05. Results: The experimental group showed significant improvements in sports vision (+17.90 times), core strength (sit-ups +14.80 repetitions), and endurance (1000m run -24.05 seconds), while the control group had no significant changes. Orienteering skills also improved notably, with a 12.65-point increase in the Field Patrol Test and a 19.25-point increase in the Field Checkpoint Layout Test. No significant differences existed between the group’s pre-experiment and post-experiment results; the experimental group outperformed the control group in all areas (p<0.001), demonstrating the effectiveness of the integrated training program. Conclusion: The experimental group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in sports vision, core strength, endurance, and orienteering skills compared to the control group, confirming the effectiveness of an integrated training program. The most notable gains were observed in sports vision and endurance, highlighting their critical role in orienteering performance. These findings suggest that incorporating targeted training into college sports programs can enhance students' overall physical fitness and navigation abilities, providing a structured framework for optimizing orienteering training at the collegiate level.