Author: Clint Morse

2021 Georgia O-Fest is ON

Earlier this morning the Orienteering USA Sanctioning committee unanimously voted to sanction 3 days of NRE competition – the first multi-day national event since the start of the pandemic over a year ago.

The event will take place April 9-11 – that’s only 3 weeks away folks! The usual advance notice, permits, sanctioning etc were held up due to COVID-19 restrictions but the event organizers have been given the green light.


COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed and registration information should be forthcoming shortly.

Friday: Middle Distance at McIntosh Reserve
Sat/Sun: Two-Day Classic at Don Carter State Park.

Photos courtesy Laurie Searle

Puzzle Friday: US Kartapullautin Championships

As we approach the one year anniversary of pandemic induced event cancellations and travel restrictions, many puzzling questions exist. Will WOC 2021 in the Czech Republic happen as scheduled this July? Will foreign competitors be allowed to travel to the US in August for the California O-Fest? Will there even be a US Championships in 2021?

In light of all the uncertainties in the competition calendar, Team USA Elite member Greg Ahlswede is spearheading a series of ultra low-key, bare-bones, quasi-competitive events in northeastern Pennsylvania, tentatively later this summer, to give folks something a little more solid to look forward to. Courses will be designed on Kartapullautin generated maps, UsynligO & O-Range will be utilized for control verification and self-reporting results. Things are completely fluid, and if real, honest-to-goodness competitions do indeed happen this summer, then the KP Champs will take a back seat or reschedule to alternate dates.

Greg is currently soliciting ideas and expressions of interest from the orienteering community over on his AttackPoint log where you can share your thoughts. In the meantime, we’ve assembled a Puzzle Friday feature for you today from some of last summers KP kapers in lovely northeastern PA. Enjoy….

Next OUSA Board Meeting: March 15

The Orienteering USA Board of Directors will hold its next meeting on Monday, March 15th 2021, from 8pm-10pm EST. The meeting will be held virtually via Google Meet and the link can be found on the Agenda. All Orienteering USA members are invited to attend.

Puzzle Friday: California Orienteering Festival

Happy Friday everyone! There are only 157 training days left until the California Orienteering Festival which includes the North American Orienteering Championships (NAOC) and the World Rogaining Championships (WRC). This multi-week 10-stage event, which was postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic, is scheduled for August 2-15, 2021.

Because the event includes NAOC & WRC a lot depends upon the status of international travel as we slowly emerge from the past 12 months of pandemic related travel restrictions. The organizers will make a major decision on the event status sometime in April. If you registered for the event in 2020 and did not request a refund, then your registration is all set. Around 600 people are currently registered.

If you have not yet registered this is a reminder that regular pricing ends on Monday, March 1st and late fees kick in starting Tuesday. Due to the uncertainty imposed by the pandemic, the organizers have instituted very robust refund policies which can be seen at the bottom of the pricing page.

So kick start your day-dreaming about racing in the Bay Area and Lake Tahoe this August and enjoy this weeks puzzle! See you in Tahoe!

2021 Junior Team Announced

Orienteering USA’s Junior Team Executive Steering Committee (JTESC) is pleased to announce the athletes in the National Junior Program for 2021. Due to the lack of competition in 2020, no changes to team placement into the Junior National Team (JNT) were made at this time. Applications to the Junior Development Team (JDT) are accepted year round. JDT athletes who applied to be considered for the JNT may be moved up as they reach JNT performance targets.

2021 Junior National Team
Diana Aleksieva, QOC
Jessica Colleran, COC
Christiane Fletcher, GAOC
Bridget Hall, NEOC
Keegan Harkavy, NEOC
Kirsten Mayland, DVOA
Alex (Alexis) Merka, QOC
AJ (Anthony) Riley, DVOA
David Runde, MNOC, KristiansandOK
Emilia  Schmidt, QOC, Tampereen Pyrintö
Adrian Vartia, OK Löftan Sweden


Junior Development Team
Max Ahmed, QOC
Jack Barkley, COC
Ben Brady, COC
Ian Dunlap, OLOU
Mori  Finlayson-Johnecheck, NEOC/CSU
Luke Menzie, COC
Jasper Ralinovsky, OCIN
Oriana Riley, DVOA
Zoe Sibthorp, COC
Ava Suhocki, DVOA
Aubree Winters, COC

2021 JWOC Team Selection Criteria

The JWOC Selection Committee will choose up to six young male and six young female athletes to represent the USA at the 2021 Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) in Turkey. In order to be considered a candidate for 2021 JWOC Team Selection, a junior (born in 2001 or later) must meet the IOF eligibility requirements and also declare his/her intent to seek selection by petition.

Because of the uncertainty pertaining to the international organization of and ability to travel to JWOC created by the Covid-19 pandemic, the inability to safely schedule fair JWOC Team Trials as well as the lack of orienteering competitions in 2020, the 2021 JWOC Team Selection will proceed by petition for all athletes who wish to be considered for the team.

The petition shall be evaluated by the Selection Committee using the Team Selection Reviewing Rubrics. The completed petition should include as much of the requested information as possible, and be sent to ousajuniorprogram@nullorienteeringusa.org by May 5, 2021. The Selection Committee will announce the team on or before May 10, 2021.

The 2021 JWOC Selection Criteria document and rubrics may be accessed on the Orienteering USA website.

2021 Senior Team Announced

The Orienteering USA Executive Steering Committee (ESC) is pleased to announce the Senior Team for 2021. Due to the lack of competition in 2020, no changes to team placement were made in the Elite & Performance squads. The Development squad welcomes three new members: Bridget Hall (NEOC), A.J. Riley (DVOA) and Danny Riley (CAOC).

2021 US Senior Team

Elite
Greg Ahlswede
Ali Crocker
Morten Jorgenson
Anton Salmenkyla

Performance
Giacomo Barbone
Tori Borish
Alison Campbell
Will Enger
Syd Fisher


Development
Joe Barrett
Evalin Brautigam
Tyra Christopherson
Julia Doubson
Bridget Hall*
Michael Laraia
Thomas Laraia
A.J. Riley*
Danny Riley*
* denotes new members

Previous years teams can be found in the OUSA Library.

Puzzle Friday: Southwest Spring Weekend ’21

Happy Friday everyone! This week’s puzzling excursion takes us to Arizona where, in a normal year, the annual Southwest Spring Week Orienteering Festival (SWSW) would have taken place. But, like most things over the past 12 months, this year’s festival was reduced to a mere Spring Weekend ’21 but that still beats no orienteering at all. Three great maps, 3 great events. Thanks to the hard working folks at Tucson Orienteering Club (TSN) for keeping the tradition alive and sharing their event with us.

Mark your calendars for next year! SWSW 2022 will take place February 19-27, 2022.

YMP Map of the Month – February 2021

The Youth Mapping Program February Map of the Month feature is the William A. Hough High School in Cornelius, NC.  Due to Covid-19, the Hough HS JROTC unit has not met in person, says Walter Siegenthaler who provided the ‘eyes-on-the-ground’ field checking of the new map.  A multi-session series of virtual classes has been conducted via Zoom to about 45 cadets and it is anticipated that in-person use of the map will commence toward the end of the month.

Mapper Chris Gkikas (WNCOC) notes “This was my first time working with the YMP and it was a great experience from start to finish. Jon (Campbell) is a fantastic map consultant and effectively raised my mapping and drafting skills to a whole new level.  The map was drafted entirely in Open Orienteering Mapper, a free and open source alternative to the industry standard OCAD.”

Are you interested in flexing your cartography skills and joining the growing team of YMP mappers?  Sign up here.  Note: Mappers for the YMP are remote cartographers with field checking performed by persons from the recipient organization collaborating with you remotely as well as support from the core YMP consultant.

Puzzle Friday: Georgia Navigator ’21

This week we’re taking a look back at last month’s Georgia Navigator Cup down at Sweetwater Creek Park organized by the Georgia Orienteering Club (GAOC). In a normal year, the Georgia Navigator Cup is a national event drawing competitors from all over the country but with the coronavirus situation still firmly entrenched, the organizers elected to hold the event as a regional, non-sanctioned event for 2021. Hopefully the GNC will return as a national event in 2022.