Category: Announcements

Announcements for OUSA

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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The World Games 2022 – First Call for Volunteers

The World Games 2022 are coming to the USA! July 7 – 17, 2022 will see athletes from around the world unite in Birmingham, Alabama to compete in over 30 sports. There will be three Orienteering events:

  • Middle Distance at Oak Mountain
  • Sprint at Birmingham Southern College
  • Sprint Relay in downtown at Rail Road Park

Vulcan Orienteering Club (VOC), is in charge of managing the volunteers, of which many will be needed. We will need people to man the Quarantine, Start, Finish areas, Control Testers and Watchers, Traffic Control and help with the Spectator Events. This is a chance to show the world’s best orienteers that OUSA can put on a first class event. It will be exciting and fun.

Do you want to be on the world stage as the “Start Official”?

We will have more details as the Volunteer Program rolls out, but if you are interested in participating you can contact Anne Mathews at bamaanne@nullbellsouth.net. 

’21 World School Championship Orienteering postponed to September 2021

The World School Championship Orienteering for 2021, originally scheduled for June in Belgrade, Serbia has been moved to September 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The WSCO is organized by the International School Sport Federation (ISF) and is independent of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF).

A Memorandum of Understanding promoting cooperation between the IFS and IOF was signed in 2016, without a requirement for participating school teams to be members of IOF. In addition, the teams need to be teams representing schools from a nation rather than national teams composed of students of various ages. Any school can participate, without any requirement of an affiliation with the IOF and thus with the national federation (OUSA).

ISF World Schools Championships (WSC) are events characterized by a balanced program between sport and educational content: the balance between sport and education is to create awareness about the role of sport in putting forward topics such as fair play, healthy lifestyle, respect, inclusion. The event is a little more comparable to a Jamboree, with mandatory participation of all athletes in all the planned activities, including non-sport ones.

Photos: ISF WSC Orienteering Facebook page

The dates for WSOC 2021 have been moved from July to September, with the updated bulletin published here. The registration fee for a school is dependent on whether it is affiliated with the country’s IFS member organization, which for the USA is the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), however, orienteering is not a sport currently listed with the AAU. Schools interested in participating with a team at the WSCO may want to contact the AAU directly to see what options would be available to take advantage of AAU’s membership in the IFS.

Schools are not required to be affiliated with Orienteering USA or OUSA member clubs in order to participate in the WSCO events, but many OUSA clubs have liaisons with local schools to facilitate promotion of the sport at the school level.

JWOC 2021 – Moving to September

Following a meeting on April 23, 2021, the IOF made the following announcement regarding the 2021 JWOC:

“The organisers and regional authorities in Turkey have requested that the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) 2021 be postponed from July to new dates in September 2021. The July dates are no longer possible due to planning difficulties caused by the pandemic. The new dates will be confirmed next week.”

Following confirmation of the new dates for JWOC, JTESC will publish a new deadline for the petitions and team announcement, as well as added information regarding any IOF or JWOC Covid-19 pertinent information. The current IOF Bulletin Covid-19 may be found here: https://orienteering.sport/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/iof-covid-19-bulletin-10-feb-2021.pdf.