Author: Clint Morse

The situation concerning the COVID-19 Pandemic develops extremely fast. This affects the planning of WOC2020 greatly, and we know it also creates great uncertainty for all of you who are looking forward to visiting WOC2020 either as runners or as guests.

We in the WOC organizing team are monitoring the situation closely and keep contact with the Danish authorities. We are still planning towards a WOC in July, but at same time we recognize the seriousness of the situation, and we are looking into different alternatives. Hopefully, we shall be wiser within next few weeks, and we shall be able to announce a final decision.

Regarding the WOC Tour we have made the following changes:

• The Early Bird deadline is postponed to 1-May
• We encourage you to still make your entries in Orienteering Online, but NOT transfer any payments until you receive notice from the WOC Tour organization.
• In the event of cancellation or postponement, all fees will naturally be refunded.

We thank you for your understanding and your patience in this challenging situation.

The WOC organizing committee

Check the latest WOC 2020 News

The International University Sports Federation FISU, have announced the cancellation of the 2020 World University Orienteering Championship that should have taken place in Russia in July.

Read More

With all the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 and in line with other sporting events, the 2020 Canadian Rockies Orienteering Festival (CROF) including the 2020 Canadian Orienteering Championships (COCs), Western Canadian Orienteering Championships (WCOCs), Crowsnest Barebones events and the Sass Peepre National Training Junior Camp scheduled to take place in July 3-12, 2020 have been postponed until 2021.

The Canadian Rockies Orienteering Festival will be rescheduled for the summer of 2021.

Please see the full statement with more details at: crof2020.com

Based on current CDC guidelines surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, the 2020 North American Rogaine Championships scheduled for May 2-3 near Ashford, WA are cancelled.

There is a possibility of a fall 2020 rescheduled event.

Read more discussion over on Attackpoint

The US Trail Orienteering Team is now accepting applications for the 2020 standing team. Selections will be made in accordance with OUSA rules:
G.4.4 The U.S. Trail Orienteering National Team shall be composed of a maximum of 10 applicants from each class who meet the following conditions:

a. Have full passport qualifying citizenship for the United States.
b. Regular member of Orienteering USA in good standing.
c. Agree to be an active part of the team.
d. Participate in Team discussions, elections, and fundraisers.
e. Agree to represent the USA in International Orienteering Events (if selected and available).
f. Subscribe to the Official Team communication channel.

G.4.5 The top five highest ranked applicants of each class from each of the PreO and TempO ranking lists shall be automatically selected to the team. Any remaining spots will be filled by the ESC using a combination of the PreO and TempO ranking lists.  In the event that fewer than 10 applicants for the team in a class have a valid ranking, the ESC may, at their discretion, name non-ranked applicants to the team.

Deadline for applications for the 2020 Team will be Friday, March 21, 2020. 
Please apply using this online form.

The IOF Council has considered the developments around the outbreak of the Corona virus (Covid-19) at a national and international level. The IOF respects and supports the activities undertaken by national and international health authorities in containing the spread of the virus and on lessening the effects on important functions in society and on high risk groups. The IOF would here also like to recognize our national member federations who are fully supporting local decisions in their countries and have taken appropriate actions.

Based upon the current situation where strict participation restrictions are in place in most countries, and where cross border travel is highly restricted, the Council has decided the following:

• All IOF major events which had been planned up to May 31 are cancelled or postponed. This affects the European MTB Orienteering Championships (EMTBOC) in Portugal, the European Trail Orienteering Championships (ETOC) in Finland and the first round of the Orienteering World Cup in Switzerland. The IOF has been working with the respective organisers to see if alternative dates can be found.
• The IOF has approved the organisers request to move the EMTBOC in Portugal to the new dates October 2-7, same location. For ETOC and the World Cup more information will be given once this is known.
• All World Ranking Events planned to be held up to May 31 are also cancelled. Organisers are being contacted by the IOF Office to assess if the events can be re-scheduled for a later date.
• For IOF events to be held in June and July, the Council will continue to monitor the situation and will discuss and decide upon any further effects on these events at its scheduled Council meeting April 3-4. (The meeting will be held digitally) The IOF is already in contact with these organisers regarding contingency planning.
• World Orienteering Day 2020 which was planned to be held in the timeframe May 13-19 is cancelled. The IOF would still encourage planned activities to be held as long as they can be done so in accordance with the recommendations of local and national health authorities, but the IOF will not be registering activities or encouraging mass promotion. World Orienteering Day will come back even stronger in 2021.

In the current situation the IOF recognizes that our events are not the most important issue to be considered but we encourage the global orienteering community to continue to exercise and take part in appropriate local orienteering activities in accordance with local and national health recommendations. Be safe.

Link to IOF

At their emergency meeting tonight, the board passed the following policy:

“OUSA official policy regarding COVID-19 mitigation:

1. Clubs should promote the health, safety and wellness of orienteers and volunteers above all else. Clubs are expected to follow national and local governmental regulations and guidelines. Clubs are strongly discouraged from holding gatherings or traditional events for the immediate future to mitigate the spread of the virus. 

2. Sanctioning of OUSA events and championships scheduled through the end of April 2020 is suspended. Clubs are encouraged to postpone events to a later date and will be given priority and preference for open dates in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. The suspension of sanctioning for additional events will be considered as they approach, based on current conditions.

3. Alternatives to traditional events that implement social isolation and avoid gatherings are encouraged. For example, course maps can be distributed or made available online. Individuals can print maps and run courses on their own without increasing their potential transmission interactions.”

Please note that start fee policies are still in place for alternative events. 

Starts should be totaled for every club-sponsored event which generates a start, finish, results or entries list. For each event use one of the following methods:

• Anyone running a course individually counts as one Start. A group of people running together with one result counts as one Start. Clubs should report the number of Starts by counting them off of the results or start lists.
• Each entry fee received for races held on the same day at the same venue counts as one start.  If separate entry fees are available for separate races, then each race must be counted separately.

The second bulleted method may be used by clubs choosing to offer alternative events for free. Such events would then not incur start fees. If a fee of any sort (including season passes, membership, or a map fee) is required to participate in an event, then it is considered to have an entry fee.
If any clubs are suffering undue financial burden as a result of event cancellations, they are encouraged to reach out to the OUSA Board to mitigate the problem.

Clare Durand President, Orienteering USA

Attention:

With the recent cancellation of the 2020 Junior Nationals the JWOC 2020 team selection will take place by submitting a Type I petition which shall be evaluated using the reviewing rubrics listed in the JWOC Selection Criteria.

The completed Type I petition should include as much of the requested information as possible, and be sent to  ousajuniorprogram@nullorienteeringusa.org by Friday, April 10, 2020.

Type I Petitions include:

• Evidence that the petitioning athlete has run a 3k time trial. Links to results from significant races over the past 12 months, including championships, other national competitions, and/or international competitions. Head-to-head competition against athletes who are also declared JWOC Team candidates should be highlighted.
• Evidence of the petitioning athlete’s training activity during the 3–12 months leading up to JWOC Team Trials. This should include links to training logs, descriptions of training camps attended, and coaches and/or other athletes who could verify that the training submitted is accurate.
• If applicable, a detailed explanation of the petitioning athlete’s situation and how it precluded him/her from participating in one or more JWOC Team Trials races, or four or more rankable races. The explanation should highlight any inconsistencies in training and/or racing that might be relevant to the situation.

Full Announcement

Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Team Trials/Sage Stomp, originally scheduled for May 15-17th in Kelowna, BC, Canada has been canceled.
We appreciate your support of our event, and look forward to seeing you at Orienteering events around North America in the future.
All registrants are having their registration fees refunded.

Due to the continuing situation with COVID-19, the closing of all schools in Washington State from 17 March until 24 April, and related issues , Cascade Orienteering Club is cancelling the Junior National Orienteering Championships 17-19 April 2020.
Cascade Orienteering will refund all registration fees. If you have any questions please contact the Event Director or Registrar.