Author: Clint Morse

Puzzle Friday: Texas Junior Orienteering Camp

This weeks Puzzle Friday feature takes us down south to the Sid Richardson Scout Camp in Texas where the North Texas Orienteering Association (NTOA) recently hosted its annual Texas Junior Orienteering Camp (TJOC). This camp is a 6-day residence camp for orienteers aged 13-19 and was held June 6-11, 2021. 19 adult staff worked with the 36 junior orienteers who came together from California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio and Texas to improve their navigation skills.

Special thanks to the organizers and to Mike Minium (OCIN), one of the longtime coaches for the TJOC who took the photos used in this weeks puzzle. Check out the full gallery of TJOC ’21 photos over on Smugmug. Have a great weekend everyone!

2021 JWOC Team Announced

The JWOC Selection Committee (Erin Schirm, Anton Salmenkylä and Jon Torrance) is pleased to announce the 2021 US Team selected to compete at the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) to be held September 5-10 in Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey, about 50km from Istanbul.

From Left to Right:

  • Jessica Colleran, COC, JNT
  • Ben Brady, COC, JDT
  • David Runde, MNOC and KristiansandOK (NOR), JNT
  • Anthony Riley, DVOA, JNT
  • Diana Aleksieva, QOC, JNT

Go Team USA!!

Accompanying the team as JWOC coaches will be Anton Salmenkylä, JNT Coach and National Team member, and Tyra Christopherson, National Team member.

Update: Tahoe 2021

Over the weekend, the Tahoe 2021 event hosted by the Bay Area Orienteering Club (BAOC) was sanctioned and approved by both the Sanctioning Committee and Orienteering USA Executive Committee and the event is now officially the 2021 Orienteering USA Nationals.

Venue permits for the middle and long events are still pending, which has become a routine situation in the age of COVID-19 as many agencies are not issuing permits until very close to the event dates. However, permit approval is anticipated and registration is currently open at EventReg. Please be sure to review the event page prior to registering as there are some event specific notes to be aware of.

Tahoe 2021 Registration Opens

In the schedule void left by the California Orienteering Festival’s postponement to 2023, the Bay Area Orienteering Club (BAOC) has assembled the Tahoe 2021 series of events.

The event program will include the 2021 US Orienteering Championships August 6-9 (pending sanctioning approval) with three NRE events: Sprint, Middle & Long plus a non-NRE Club Championship Relay. Also included in the program will be the 2021 North American Rogaining Championships to be held the following weekend on August 14-15 featuring a 24 Hour Championship event and a 4-Hour recreational event.

More information on the event can be found on the BAOC website.

Registration for all events is now open on EventReg.

2021 US WOC Team Announced

The US Senior Team Review Panel, consisting of Peggy Dickison, Glen Tryson & Jeff Saeger, are pleased to announce this year’s team to compete at the World Orienteering Championships to be held in early July in the Czech Republic.

AJ Riley (pictured here competing in the middle distance race in Czechia on Saturday) earned an automatic spot at last month’s team trials. Since he was the only TeamUSA athlete competing at the Team Selection races this past weekend in Czechia that event became a non-factor in the selection, but the Review Panel elected to wait until after the Selection Races for other results.

The US Team Trials 2-day scoring list was used as the primary selection tool, but the panel also used the Team Trial Sprint results as well as 2019-2020 rankings and other race results. The Team Trials had some very strong results and some close scoring made the selection process interesting.

Men

  • AJ Riley – automatic selection
  • Joe Barrett – automatic selection
  • Eric Bone
  • Sergei Rhyzkov
  • Greg Ahlswede – declined
  • Will Enger
  • 1st alternate – Michael Laraia
  • 2nd alternate – Thomas Laraia

Women

  • Angelica Riley – automatic selection
  • Sydney Fisher – automatic selection
  • Diana Aleksieva
  • Alexis Merka
  • (no alternates)

Four TeamUSA athletes had previously earned personal starts for this year’s WOC. Unfortunately, all four have declined: Ali Crocker and Tori Borish for family reasons, and Morten Jorgensen and Anton Salmenkyla because of injuries. We wish them all the best and hope to see them back next year.

The ESC would also like to announce that Dasa Merka, a Czech native and Alex’s mom, has agreed to act as the Team Administrator. Congratulation to all the athletes that will represent the USA at the World Champs next month!!

Photo Credit: Petr Kadeřávek

OUSA June ’21 Board Meeting

The Orienteering USA Board of Directors will hold its next meeting on Monday, June 21st from 8-10pm EDT via Google Meet. Included among the scheduled items on the agenda are review of upcoming NRE & Championship events, COVID policy review and scheduling of the 2021 AGM.

The full agenda can be accessed here and includes link to join the meeting. Meeting is open to all OUSA members.

Puzzle Friday: Shades of Death Rogaine

Just over a week left to register for the Delaware Valley Orienteering Association Shades of Death 4, 7 & 10 hour Rogaine on Sunday, June 27th. This event is open to teams as well as solo racers and will include over 60 control locations spanning all four of their fully-contiguous Hickory Run orienteering maps. These maps have previously been used for the US Orienteering Team Trials as well as the USARA Adventure Racing National Championships.

Check out the Event Bulletin for more information or go directly to registration at OUSA’s EventReg portal. Be sure to review the mandatory gear information as well as the COVID-19 modifications for this event.

Enjoy the puzzle and have a great holiday weekend!

Puzzle Friday: 2021 US Masters Nationals

The 2021 Orienteering USA Masters National Championships will be held on October 9-10, 2021 hosted by the Minnesota Orienteering Club (MNOC). That may seem like a long way off, but its only 20 weeks away! This event will be a two-day, classic format event and will be held in the intricate glacial kettle moraine terrain of Mille Lacs Kathio State Park in central Minnesota.

Event information has been posted and registration will open soon. Enjoy the puzzle and have a great weekend!!

Puzzle image credits: Julia Bohnen

2021 US Trail Orienteering Championships

May 15-16, 2021

The US Trail Orienteering Championships were held this past weekend at the Navy Shipyard in Philadelphia, PA and were hosted by Capital Region Nordic Alliance (CRNA). Congratulations to David Irving (SDO), 2021 US TrailO Champion in the para category and Mika Latva-Kokko (NEOC), the 2021 US TrailO Champion in the open category.

  • Nice article on the US Champs from Sports & Spokes Magazine which is devoted to wheelchair sports and recreation.

This page will be updated with maps and additional media when it becomes available from the organizer.

Photos: navyyardphila Instagram, ASLA-New Jersey
PreO Results
PlaceNameClassPointsTime
1Mika Latva-Kokkoopen1837
2Piotr Zielczynskiopen1842
3Jay Hannopen1857
4Rob Wilkisonopen1878
5Richard Y. Ebrightopen1729
6Claire Durandopen1731
7Samuel Kolinsopen1628
8Richard H. Ebrightopen1641
9Alec Richardsonopen1652
10Sharon Crawfordopen1664
11Karen Dennisopen1665
12David Irvingpara1690
13Ellen Stefaniakopen16104
14Amy Latva-Kokkoopen16107
15Lena Kushleyevaopen15115
16Jim Eagletonopen14115
17Jonathan Kuxhausopen13115
18Katja Latva-Kokkojunior1155
19Jarmo Latva-Kokkojunior1036
20David Urbanopen10115
21Rhonda Liddellpara10115
22Lee Kuxhauspara9115
23Kathy Urbanpara7115
24Robert Campagnonepara7115
25Julius Schrampara5115
26Wendy Schramjunior1115
TempO Results
PlaceNameClassScore
1Richard Y. Ebrightopen199
2Mika Latva-Kokkoopen243
3Claire Durandopen271
4Piotr Zielczynskiopen284
5Richard H. Ebrightopen306
6Jay Hannopen350
7Jarmo Latva-Kokkojunior399
8Sharon Crawfordopen409
9David Irvingpara506
10Katja Latva-Kokkojunior513
11Jim Eagletonopen559
12Ellen Stefaniakopen655
13Alec Richardsonopen666
14Jonathan Kuxhausopen704
15Robert Campagnonepara835
16Rhonda Liddellpara1037
17Lee Kuxhauspara1191
18Julius Schrampara1644

2021 US Rogaine Championships

In just over two weeks on May 29-30, Northwest Nav Races and Cascade Orienteering Club will be hosting the 2021 US Rogaine Championships . This event marks the first 24-hour rogaining event in Washington State since 2012 and the first ever 24-hour race in the unique channeled scablands terrain of Eastern Washington. The event will consist of a 24-Hour classic rogaine for the championship as well as 6-Hour and 12-in-24 Hour versions for less experienced navigators.

This flood-scoured landscape spans tens of thousands of acres of rolling grasslands punctuated with basalt cliffs, channels, and mesas.  Parts of the area are dotted with pine trees and even stands of usually open forest, and much of the area is used for cattle grazing during parts of the year.  The network of trails and roads varies from sparse-to-moderate across the area, and fences are the other major sign of human development throughout the landscape.

The terrain is generally flat to gently sloping in profile and quite easy to run or walk through, however cliffs, lakes, marshes and streams will provide a hindrance to straight-line travel in many parts of the terrain.

The event headquarters is in the small town of Sprague, WA, conveniently located along Interstate 90, a 35-minute drive from Spokane International Airport (GEG), under four hours from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and under five hours from Portland International Airport (PDX).

Championship medals will be on the line in Women, Men, and Mixed divisions in Junior (18/under), Open, Veteran (40+), Superveteran (55+), and Ultraveteran (65+), and there is already good competition developing in some categories.  Online registration will be open through at least Tuesday, May 25, and event information can be found on the event website: http://navraces.com/events/scablands/

Photos courtesy Eric Bone, Mike Schuh & Rebecca Jensen