Category: Announcements

Announcements for OUSA

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: 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

Puzzle Friday: Deschutes Daze 2021

Twelve weeks folks! Only 12 weeks until the classic 4-day, barebones event in central Oregon hosted by the folks from Columbia River Orienteering Club (CROC). And conveniently the weekend before the Tahoe 2021 events in California – does anyone smell a roadtrip?

Registration is open for Deschutes Daze 2021 to take place July 30 – August 2 in and around Bend, Oregon.  This year’s program includes four races with Sport-Ident electronic timing, plus one bonus short course using the Usynligo mobile web application. 

These events feature the beautiful eastern slope of the Oregon Cascades.  You will experience  big sky grasslands, high alpine meadows, pyroclastic geology, and mythic ponderosa forests.  Stay in the vibrant city of Bend, ranked third in the US for brewpubs per capita.

We have modified operations for this barebones festival with health and safety as our top priority. Participation will be capped, so please register as soon as your plans are firm. This festival is for experienced orienteers and does not include beginner courses or instruction clinics.

Registration is open now – get all the event details here.

In the meantime, enjoy this weeks puzzle.

{Note: Map & course are from the 2019 edition of Deschutes Daze}

YMP Map of the Month: May 2021

The Youth Mapping Program‘s Map of the Month for May 2021 features Bensalem High School in Bensalem, PA. Remote mapping was performed by Chris Gikkas with a field checking team comprised of Marine Corps JROTC cadets and their instructor Retired USMC Master Sergeant Shawn Worthen. Chris comments that the teams of cadets produced “a perfectly marked-up map that made my revision work quick and easy.“

MCJROTC Cadets learning about the mapping process with remote YMP mapper Chris Gikkas.

Chris goes on to say “The best part of the whole experience for me was the Zoom video call with Mr. Worthen and the cadets. We reviewed a sample fieldwork map I had sent from a previous YMP project, went over the history and basics of orienteering, the mapping process, what a great map looks like (and why,) and how they’ll use it once it’s made . They were engaged, with thoughtful questions, and I believe this communication really boosted their confidence. Given their high level of participation, the Bensalem cadets can be extra proud of their new orienteering map.“

Link to Map

Update on JWOC 2021 Dates, Team Selection, and Policies

JWOC 2021 has been postponed to September 5-10, 2021 due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on preparations for the event.  The deadline for the submission of petitions for selection to the US JWOC team has been extended to June 5, 2021 with the announcement of the team to be made no later than June 15, 2021.  Team selection criteria can be found here.

The IOF has announced general COVID-19 policies to minimize risk at world orienteering events.  These policies mean that the JWOC experience will be very different this year.  All participants at JWOC 2021 will enter and remain in an Event Bubble dependent upon negative PCR tests and there will be strict rules to avoid contacts outside the Bubble and minimize contacts within the Bubble.  OUSA will be upholding all of the IOF and local organizer’s COVID-19 restrictions.  Please take these policies into consideration when deciding to submit a petition for JWOC team membership.

NAOC Postponement

Orienteering USA and Orienteering Canada, with approval from the IOF, have made the decision to postpone the next two North American Orienteering Championships (NAOC).  Organizers of both events are in full agreement. 

The NAOCs in California will now be held in 2023 instead of this summer.  The NAOCs scheduled for 2022 in Ottawa, Canada will move to 2024 or 2025.

California OFest, including NAOCs, in 2023 will be hosted with little change from what was planned – first for 2020 then for 2021, now for 2023.   This summer Bay Area Orienteering Club (BAOC) will host an alternative event in the Lake Tahoe area for those who can travel and attend.

In Canada, due to COVID-19 restrictions,  it has not been possible to get mapping done in time for a major 2022 event, so organizers have requested a move to after the CalOFest NAOCs.  The final date of 2024 or 2025 is yet to be determined, but will be decided jointly by Orienteering Canada and Orienteering USA, in conjunction with the IOF.

A special thank you to organizers of all orienteering events who have had to make changes and adaptations because of COVID-19.  It is you who keep our sport going!

We all look forward to when we can gather and orienteer again without any restrictions! 

Anne Teutsch
President
Orienteering Canada  | Course d’orientation Canada

Clare Durand
President
Orienteering USA

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