Month: February 2026

The 2026 European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) will be hosted in Nova Gorica,
Slovenia, from June 25 – June 27, 2026. Orienteering USA’s EYOC Selection Committee will
choose up to 4 (four) young athletes from each of the following categories for a maximum total
of up to 16 (sixteen) to represent the USA at EYOC. All interested athletes are invited to apply.

● M16 – Men born in 2010 or later
● W16 – Women born in 2010 or later
● M18 – Men born in 2008 or later
● W18 – Women born in 2008 or later

NOTE: EYOC 2026 conflicts with JWOC 2026. Per National Team ESD guidance, those
selected for and attending JWOC 2026 will not be able to attend EYOC. We encourage all who
are interested in attending EYOC 2026 to apply, even if the athlete intends to participate in
JWOC 2026. Applying for EYOC 2026 will not affect the athlete’s selection to JWOC 2026.

2026 EYOC US Team Selection Criteria

2026 EYOC US Team Application

Participation at EYOC 2026 is sponsored and organized by Orienteering USA’s Youth
Development Program, as a young athlete development opportunity. In order to be considered a
candidate for 2026 EYOC Team, a junior born in 2008 or later must be a member of the
Orienteering USA’s (OUSA’s) Youth Development Program (YDP), and by extension, a member
in good standing of OUSA. Applicants who are members of OUSA, but not yet a part of the YDP
can find information on the YDP and the application form on OUSA’s YDP page.

Please submit an application for selection to YouthSelection@nullorienteeringusa.org by 11:59 pm
Pacific Time on March 20, 2026. There will be no team trials races for selection. Given the age
of potential athletes, need for chaperons and possibly supervised travel, financial and logistics
constraints, the Selection Committee will use their best judgment to determine who among the
athletes is prepared physically and mentally, as well as emotionally if required to travel
unaccompanied for portions of the travel, to compete at the 2026 EYOC.

The entire US EYOC Team will participate in a pre-EYOC training on EYOC training maps
provided by the organizers, with a tentative arrival date of June 22nd, first training day June
23rd, 2026. Most current event information can be found in the event Bulletins published on the
International Orienteering Federation’s (IOF) event calendar page for EYOC.

Selected athletes will need to complete some form of SafeSport training, as required by the VP
of Youth Initiatives and OUSA’s Youth Development Leadership.