This year the US sent six young athletes to the 2026 European Youth Ski Orienteering Championships and Junior World Ski Orienteering Championships, which took place February 4 – 8, 2026, in Luleå, Sweden.
US Team for the 2026 Junior World Ski-Orienteering Championships
Liam Browne, Grizzly Orienteering Club
Erik Fey, Rochester Orienteering Club and NSK
US Team for the 2026 European Youth Ski-Orienteering Championships
Boys Team
Euell Browne, Grizzly Orienteering Club
Espen Chitty, Grizzly Orienteering Club
Mark Fey, Rochester Orienteering Club and Nydalens SK
Girls Team
Caroline Chitty, Grizzly Orienteering Club
Read the team announcement here.
The team was accompanied by Kara Browne, who not only took all the photos featured in this post but also shared an inside look at the athlete experience throughout the competition.
Arrival and Sprint!
6 February 2026
Luleå, Sweden has rolled out the welcome mat for ski orienteerers from around the world this week. Thursday’s model event had temperatures hovering around -17 degrees F (-27 degrees C). A frosty Friday greeted the racers ready for the Sprint Course. After an hour delay, due to frigid temperatures, the racers were off and the skis were squeaking.
The M17 class was swept by Finland. Mark Fey led the way for the USA placing 19th. He credits agility for keeping him on his feet and focused even “across a sketchy snow bridge” to the first control.
He felt strong and focused through the first part of the course. Mark was followed by Euell Browne in 23rd. Espen Chitty made his international ski orienteering debut in 32nd place. Espen had quite the surprise midrace “as I blew past my intersection, I was startled when I looked over my shoulder and saw five reindeer bedding in the field next to me”. He reports one was a “nice bull”.
Erik Fey and Liam Browne placed 31 and 32 respectively in the M20 class. Erik, fresh off winning the Norwegian Cup Middle Distance, suffered a broken pole early in today’s race but powered through with two thirds of a pole in his left hand. Asked if he considered stopping after breaking his pole early in the race he stated simply “I do not stop races.” He is looking forward to tomorrow’s mass start Middle Distance Course: “Mass starts are fun. Broken poles are not fun.”
Sadly, Caroline Chitty is under the weather and did not start today’s race. We wish her a speedy recovery.
Coach Carl Fey summed up this first day of racing nicely: “I am excited to see some new US athletes getting international experience. They have been training hard and I expect we will see some solid results this week. Today was a good start, but I think some athletes will ski even better in future days when their nerves calm down.” Warmer weather on the horizon is also very welcome.
Today’s Highlights:
Mark Fey 19th M17 with fine agility
Espen Chitty found reindeer on his M17 course
Coach Carl Fey is excited to see new US athletes getting international experience
US Boys Achieve 5th Place in European Youth SkiO Championships!
7-8 February 2026
Chilly temperatures continue in Luleå, but you would not know it listening to the athletes. The only mention of the cold among racesuit clad athletes is in reference to snow conditions. The cold has created very firm snow. This is ideal for those looking to cut off trail on the way to their next control. Frost covered buffs and hair at the finish along with bundled spectators in constant motion tell another version of the cold.
Day two of JWSOC and EYSOC was a bit rough for our Americans. There was another broken pole, a missed punch, some poor route choices, and our sole woman was still fighting an illness. However the Browne brothers pulled out some nice starts in these Mass Start Middle Distance Races. Liam was able to show he can ski with the fastest M20s for the first several controls. “The group was skiing so fast, the trails were icy, I knew there was going to be a crash. When the crash happened I slipped by the pileup but then made a poor route choice. They got ahead of me again and I settled down and slowed down to focus better on the map.” In the upcoming Long Event he hopes to find a good balance between speed and staying focused. Coach Carl Fey said “Liam Browne had a very strong start to his race today but then had some challenges, but the great start shows what he can do.”
Coach Carl Fey continued “We were all excited to see Erik Fey finish in 10th, but then sad to see him disqualified for having punched a control too quickly so it did not register.” Given the technical skiing and orienteering he feels “the team made a good effort”.
Day three brought the excitement of the relays. The Americans avoided breaking equipment, no miss punches, and experienced some fine skiing and orienteering. And everyone was delighted to have the entire team racing, as Caroline Chitty recovered from her illness and was ready to race. The highlight of the Americans’ day was the M17 relay. Euell Browne started strong and focused, tapping off to Mark Fey in 5th place. Mark maintained that position throughout his leg and sent Espen Chitty to anchor the team. At the finish line Espen was greeted by jubilant teammates knowing they had put together the best international SkiO Relay finish in US history. Proud Coach Carl Fey said “All three athletes skied very good races and it was exciting to see them beat Estonia and others in the end. This was a real team effort.”
Highlights:
Liam Browne strong start in middle distance
Caroline Chitty racing on day 3
M17 Relay of Euell, Mark, and Espen place 5th!
Day four, the long event
February 9, 2026
Honestly, I have been sitting here looking at this screen and trying to make myself write objectively of today’s heartache and bright glimmers. Mark and Espen put in some excellent work today, finishing 20th and 22nd respectively. These two, once bundled up, were out cheering for their team after completing their races. They are delightful young men and teammates.
But then I have four photos that keep coming to mind:
One is of Erik getting fresh poles from the spare equipment control… yes, poles. Poles with an ‘S”. At the half way point he had two broken poles. Gritting his teeth, he pulled replacements from the US gear bag and tore out of the arena.
And then I cannot help myself from coming back to the post race photos of Caroline, Euell, and Liam. (Full disclosure, I am Euell and Liam’s mom.) I hesitated to share these photos for fear these might be misinterpreted as ‘beaten’ athletes. They most certainly are not. They are photos that show three young people who have given it all they have. They raced in a series of events that taxed them physically and mentally. Mentally in a way that is hard to comprehend. On top of the endurance athlete’s need to be mentally focused and willing to push when your body does not want to, these athletes also need to be situationally aware looking at a map (blink away any fog), keeping track of their current location, and making decisions about route choice to get to their next control. That sounds overwhelming enough, but think for a moment what “route choice” means. It means reading topo lines, map symbols, spotting the shortest route and then deciding if that is actually the fastest route. Do they dive into the noodle bowl of trails or skirt the outside? Do you seek out groomed skate trails or take a snowmobile trail? And while thinking about that, did you just pass a mapped trail on your right or was that where people have been cutting off trail? Because while making all those decisions, they are also trying to ski as fast as possible while still being able to think. Now do that 10 to 20 times over 5 to 30k for four days straight. And today it was -2degrees F during the race. But guess what? If you told them they could do it again tomorrow, they would.
I am proud of this US Junior Ski Orienteering team. You should be too.