The Youth Mapping Program March Map of the Month is Auburndale Park in Newton, MA.
This map has been used extensively for introductory orienteering training and for youth and scout group events.
“These maps have gotten a lot of use, and I am so grateful to have them to help teach beginners and grow the sport of orienteering.”
Are you interested in having a map made of your school, camp, or youth-serving organization? Learn more about the program and apply here.
Photos credits: Markku Vauhkonen, Takako Hirokawa, and the WSOC organizers.
Racing in Japan at the World Ski Orienteering Championships has concluded! 6” of fresh snow on the rest day contributed to a major change in skiing conditions. What had previously been fast and easily shortcutted was now extremely slow and soft. Comparing it to the mountainous Pursuit, veteran team member Chris Burnham described Thursday’s Middle distance as a more traditional Ski-O race, complete with a complex maze and plenty of challenging narrow track navigation.
In Friday’s mixed Sprint Relay, the US fielded two relay teams, with team member Lauren Wardwell making her international racing debut. This was the flattest course of all four days of racing, but with the mass-start format and six legs per team, complexity was high and the racing fast. A maze section where shortcutting was not allowed also made for excellent spectating.
We’d like to extend a big thank you to the organizers for putting on an excellent set of races! For the majority of the team, this was their first exposure to international Ski-O competition, and they all left hungry for more and looking forward to next year’s championships in Lillehammer. Arigatou gozaimashita, Japan!
Races at the World Ski Orienteering Championships in Rusutsu, Japan are underway! The US team has competed in both the Sprint and the Pursuit. Conditions have been fast and hard in the mornings, making shortcutting easy in both races. The US athletes especially enjoyed the Pursuit, which was on challenging mountainous terrain (~1000m climb). Athlete Tamra Kornfield described the off-trail descending as ‘exhilarating and edge of your seat’; we saw plenty of broken skis, boots, and poles to confirm this.
Following today’s rest day, the team will compete in the middle distance followed by the team sprints on the final day of racing. There is new snow on the ground, so conditions and strategies are expected to change dramatically!
The US team of four athletes arrived at Rusutsu Resort in Hokkaido, Japan last week for the World Ski Orienteering Championships. Racing kicks off on 3/2 with the Sprint, but the team has been busy preparing with training and some public races.
Some highlights from the preparation period:
Photos, numbered clockwise from top left, by Josh Yeaton (3) Takako Hirokawa (1, 2, 4), and Lauren Wardwell (5)
