Useful links:
A Club may request the Orienteering USA Trail O Committee to consider hosting the U.S. National Trail O Championships, or the Committee may request a Club to host the Championships. In either case, the Orienteering USA Board or Executive Committee must approve the Club that will host the Championships for a given year.
It is the goal of the Orienteering Trail O Committee to have a U.S. National Trail O Championship every year. The preferred time is during the January through April period in order to use the Championships as Team Qualifications for the World Trail O Championships (WTOC) which are generally held in the June to August time period. When this is not possible, other months will be considered.
Since Trail O is in the growing stage and will be so for many years to come, the Orienteering USA Trail O Committee wants to make the Championships appealing and available to everyone regardless of orienteering experience, age and physical ability (with or without any health restrictions).
To achieve this, the Orienteering USA Trail O Committee's aim is to offer the Championships with modest fees and minimal restrictions for participation.
The Championship Course will be offered on Saturday afternoon of two- or three-day "A" Events. The Trail O Course Director will work with the Club in order to have the optimum start time and course-open window. The course should be open for 2 and a half to 3 hours.
While the course is open to everyone, Orienteering USA Membership with U.S. citizenship is required only for those desiring to qualify for the U.S. WTOC Team.
Participants will declare on their Control Card whether they are Paralympic or Any Ability Class Entrants.
| Fees for at-large participants | Fees for Orienteering USA / IOF members | |
| Adult (18 and older) | $15.00 | $11.00 |
| Junior (under 18) | $12.00 | $10.00 |
NOTES:
NOTE: Monies for the Orienteering USA Trail O Team are to be sent by the Club, payable to Orienteering USA, and designated as donations to the Orienteering USA Trail O Team.
Once a Club has been approved to host the Championships, based on the available time line, the Club will advertise the Championships in Orienteering North America (ONA) magazine in conjunction with their regular Foot O “A” Event using the format that is consistent with that event.
The Web site for the regular Foot O “A” Event should be updated to include all salient information about the Championships.
The Chairperson, Orienteering USA Trail O Committee, will prepare an article for Orienteering North America containing information, the timeline permitting, about the Championships, WTOCs, and any other Trail O material deemed appropriate.
With or without the ONA article, the Chairperson will prepare materials for the Orienteering USA Boardnet and Clubnet to help market the Championships.
The Trail O Event Director will secure Orienteering USA Championship Medals from the Orienteering USA VP Competition for presentation at an appropriate Award Ceremony. The Trail O Event Director will work with the Host Club for ascertaining when, where, and who will make the Trail O Championship Medal presentations.
At some of the earlier Trail O Championships where Championship Medals had not been authorized, the Trail O Event Director provided T-shirts for the various winning positions. The funding was handled by the Director over and above the Event Fees (sponsors, donations, etc.). The Trail O Committee feels that this was a “nice touch” in the past, but is not really necessary with the advent of the Championship Medal Program instituted by the Orienteering USA Board for the four orienteering discipline championships.
In conjunction with the Trail O Event Director, the Orienteering USA Trail O Committee will make every effort to line up the required event manpower through Trail O Committee Members and Friends of Trail O. In terms of manning, equipment supply support, etc., any assistance the Host Club may be able to provide will be greatly appreciated.
Guidelines revised 10/28/06 (rates updated 3/2/2011)
Image source: trailo.org
