USOF Becomes Orienteering USA

As the end result of a six-month process, the USOF executive committee has approved changing the public-facing name of the organization to "Orienteering USA." In addition, the board of directors has approved a new logo to serve as a cornerstone for the organization's new brand identity.  Both of these moves have been taken to update the image of the organization to make it more relevant to today.

"The reason for the changes is that potential orienteers thought that 'USOF' was a branch of the federal government or a nautical based organization; things we definitely are not," said Orienteering USA Executive Director Glen Schorr. "The new name and logo help to begin to create that new image, an image that puts orienteering first."

As part of a nationwide contest, almost 50 logos were submitted by graphic artists from across the country. The selection process included two reviews by a committee of experts and a straw poll of orienteers and also potential orienteers. The committee eventually chose three designs to submit to the board of directors who made the final selection.  The winning logo was developed by Patrick Nuss, an Orienteering USA member as well as a member of Orienteer Kansas (OK) and Cascade Orienteering Club (COC).

Schorr continued, "While we had many great designs, Patrick's logo did the best job of capturing the essence of orienteering and creating a graphic system that can be used by all walks of orienteers: foot, trail, ski, mountain bike, etc. One of the design's strengths is in its flexibility."

Orienteering USA Board President Clare Durand acknowledged the inclusionary nature of the logo selection process in producing the final result. "I would like to thank the committee for their hard work, but most importantly those who submitted logos, voted, or provided comments. This was truly an example of what I always say, 'USOF…now Orienteering USA…is you'."

The new logo is now available for immediate use and will be phased in throughout the summer. For versions of the logo to be used in applications, please contact Glen Schorr at gjs 'at' orienteeringusa.org.

Orienteering USA – Terminology and Logo Guidelines

• Always refer to the organization as “Orienteering USA”.  It is tempting to shorten this to O-USA or “Ohooosah”, but please try to refrain.  Remember that we are all ambassadors of the brand and its best marketers.
• If you need a copy of the logo, email Glen at gjs [at] orienteeringusa.org. Glen has OCAD, EPS, and Jpeg versions of the new logo in various forms and formats.
• If you are writing a check, (dues, donations, etc) continue to make it payable to the United States Orienteering Federation. That is still our official name for business purposes. DBA applications have been or will be filed in Virginia and Maryland; until they have been acknowledged by the IRS, monies should continue to be payable to USOF.
• If you have any questions or ideas, do not hesitate to contact Orienteering USA Executive Director Glen Schorr at 410.802.1125 or at the email address listed above.