Announcements for OUSA
Permits for use of Fisk State Park in 2023 have been denied due to archaeological & tribal reviews being incomplete at this time. The two NRE events originally scheduled for June 24-25, 2023 have been canceled.
The Marmot O-Cup will proceed with the Fisk SP events being replaced by non-NRE events (likely middle & long) at Fishtrap Lake.
Cascade Orienteering Club is tentatively planning for two NRE events at Fisk State Park in June of 2024. Stay tuned.
The Trail-O selection committee is pleased to announce the team that will represent TeamUSA at the World Trail Orienteering Championships taking place from July 1-7, 2023 in Zakupy, Czech Republic.
Ten athletes have been selected to represent TeamUSA in the Open and Paralympic classes. In addition, two athletes will join the team to compete in the public race.
Congratulations & good luck to our TeamUSA Trail-O Team!!
The Wilson Awards, in partnership with Orienteering USA, are proud to announce the
winners of the 2023 Iain Wilson Community Growth Grant. The $1,000 grant has been awarded to two
deserving programs that will use the funds to initiate and expand their orienteering programs.
The first recipient of the grant is the Los Angeles Orienteering Club’s (LAOC) newly formed Youth Development Team. In its first year, the team will utilize this grant and matching funds to assist team members with preparing for and attending training camp and participating in events beyond the local Los Angeles region.
Team members will be supported by parents and LAOC members providing additional training opportunities and transportation to events. LAOC seeks to develop youth ambassadors for the sport who will spread enthusiasm to a larger group of potential young orienteers. The program will be headed by John Phillips, with a supporting committee of board members to assist with training.
The second recipient is the Southold Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp (NJROTC) in Long Island. This unit includes cadets from Southold, Mattituck and Greenport High Schools in Eastern Long Island and is led by Captain Timothy McAllister, a retired Captain in the United States Navy.
The grant will be used to initiate an orienteering team for the unit and provide 198 cadets access to orienteering skills and classroom instruction. 100 cadets will participate in “hands-on” orienteering competitions and an additional 25 cadets will be able to attend NJROTC regional competitions.
Additionally, funding will be used to initiate a permanent orienteering course at a local park and host the NJROTC Area 4 Championships next fall. McAllister’s goal is for the team to increase interest in orienteering, leadership, teamwork, and STEM-related careers.
Read more in the Official Press Release
The TeamUSA WOC Selection Committee (Jeff Saeger, Glen Tryson, Peggy Dickison) is pleased to announce the 2023 US WOC Team for the 2023 World Orienteering Championships to be held in Flims Laax, Switzerland in mid July. Here’s the lineup:
April 29 Update: Bridget Hall, originally selected for the WOC ’23 team, secured a summer internship and has withdrawn from the team. Evalin Brautigam, originally selected as 1st Alternate, has been moved into Bridget’s spot on the team roster.
| MEN | WOMEN |
| Thomas Curiger | Ali Crocker |
| Danny Riley | Evalin Brautigam* |
| Joe Barrett | Syd Fisher |
| Anton Salmenkyla | Izzy Bryant |
| 1st Alternate: Greg Ahlswede | 1st Alternate: Alison Campbell |
| 2nd Alternate: AJ Riley | Declined: Bridget Hall* |
The competition was tough, the results were often very tight, and we saw some impressive results. This year saw the most competitive Team Trials in many years, which meant that it was harder than ever to make it on to the Team.
Congratulations to all of you who were selected to represent TeamUSA on the world stage!
Peggy Dickison, on behalf of the WOC Selection Committee
This summer young orienteers from both the National Team and the Youth Development Program will be embarking on a three week summer trip to Europe to take part in two major international orienteering events. The trip will run from approximately June 19th through July 10th.
First stop on the trip will be to the European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) in Velingrad, Bulgaria. Since US Youth are not eligible for the EYOC Championships, they will participate in the concurrent EYOC Tour events June 23-25th.
From Bulgaria, the group will travel on to Baia Mare, Romania for the 2023 Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) running from July 2-9th. Twelve US youth were recently selected to compete at JWOC this year. Non-JWOC youth will take part in the JWOC Tour races being held during the same period.
Plenty of opportunities for sightseeing and cultural activities will be built into the itinerary around the competition days as well as time to do what kids like to do – have fun… A series of fund-raising efforts are planned to help raise money to provide stipends to attending youth to offset travel costs for this trip.
First up will be this weekend at West Point! On Sunday, April 16th, juniors will be hosting a bake sale to raise funds for summer youth travel. Stop by to enjoy some delicious cakes and meet our talented juniors. They would also welcome (and appreciate!) any donations of baked goods. If you’re planning to bring any, please email Keegan at keegan@nullharkador.com to let us know.
There will also be a “Control Challenge” where donors can pledge a particular amount based on the number of controls youth participants visit over a fixed time period – April 17th – June 4th. Final details on the control challenge can be found on the National Team Blog.
You can also make a donation directly to support the Junior Summer Trip by using our secure donation form and pay by credit card, bank ACH or PayPal. The future of our sport depends upon youth and we thank you for supporting this amazing opportunity for our National Team and Youth Development Program youth to gain such valuable experiences in Europe this summer.
Below are a few photos from last summers youth excursions in Portugal and Switzerland.
Now that the JWOC Team Trials are done and the JWOC 2023 Team has been announced, its time to set our sights on the WOC 2023 Team Trials which will be held this coming weekend at the 43rd West Point National Ranking Event. Since last year’s WOC was a Sprint WOC, this year’s World Orienteering Championships will focus on the forest disciplines of Middle, Long & Relay.
WOC 2023 will be held in Flims Laax, Switzerland from July 11-16. A strong field on both the men’s and women’s side are vying for coveted spots on this year’s team. In order to properly challenge our athletes, the long TT course for the women will be approximately 9.6km with 405m of climb and the men’s TT course will be 13.7km with over 500m of climb on the optimal route. And this is at West Point folks, so it will be a truly epic battle. The M-21+ and F-21+ winners for each race (Middle & Long) will earn an automatic spot on the WOC Team, as well as the athletes with the best combined results. You can read the full WOC Selection Criteria here.
Let’s take a look at who is currently entered, starting with the women. Names in bold type are current members of the US National Team and they are ordered by their current Eventor World Ranking score. Good to see some Junior Squad members stepping up to take a shot.
Over on the men’s side, an interesting mix including three of our european based TeamUSA athletes. Our top two contenders both reside in Switzerland where WOC will be held, but not far behind them are perennial local favorites Greg Ahlswede and Joe Barrett, both of whom have a pretty good handle on what West Point may throw at them, particularly in the long. They will be a couple of interesting races to watch for sure. Who do you think is going to come out on top?
See how well you can predict who will make the US Team to compete in the World Orienteering Championships in Switzerland this summer!
Pick four Team members and one alternate of each gender. (This may not be the eventual team size.)
Donations are encouraged, but not required. To donate, go to the Donate page on the OUSA website, and select “4 TEAM USA:National Foot-O Team.” Funds will help the team with WOC expenses.
Donation Form (orienteeringusa.org)
The person/people who most closely choose the Team members will get a shout-out in the OUSA Newsletter, (and maybe a map souvenir from WOC).
DEADLINE: please submit this form by 8 AM EDT, 15 April, 2023.
The JWOC Selection Committee – Jon Torrance, Ali Crocker, and Cristina Luis – is pleased to announce the 2023 US Team selected to compete at the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) to be held July 2-9, 2023 in Baia Mare, Romania. Accompanying the team will be coaches Evalin Brautigam, Thomas Laraia, and Caroline Sandbo.
Congratulations to our 2023 JWOC athletes!
Orienteering was featured on the NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt during a segment that aired on Wednesday, March 15th, 2023.
Recent research published by McMaster University’s NeuroFit lab by lead author (and Canadian Senior Team Member) Emma Waddington suggests a strong link between orienteering and prevention of cognitive decline. NBC Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. John Torres came down to Southwest Spring Week last month find out more about our sport.
After a couple schedule changes and delays, the crew arrived at the site of the Cave Creek mini rogaine under clear skies and breezy conditions. Six hours of filming and talking to competitors including 73 year old Kathy Bannister from the Rochester Orienteering Club resulted in some spectacular footage for the segment.
You can watch the full segment on NBC Nightly News YouTube channel below.
Photo credit: Bita Ryan, NBC News
Orienteering USA is pleased to welcome Orienteering Central Arkansas (OCAR) as it’s newest associate member club.
Club founder Rachel Furman states that the club will be primarily focused on the central Arkansas area parks – both city parks and state parks.
(That was probably pretty obvious from the name, huh?).
They are planning to have working o-maps for Allsopp Park in Little Rock, Burns Park in North Little Rock, Pinnacle Mountain State Park in Little Rock, and Lake Catherine State Park in Hot Springs by the end of the year.
For the more immediate future they’re planning on having some informal events and one larger Rogaine event at Lake Sylvia west of Little Rock (3, 6, and 12 hour). The map for that event will be a typical USGS 1:24,000 scale for now.
(Photo at right from Lake Sylvia area, courtesy Rachel Furman)
The club’s online presence is limited to a fledgling Facebook page at present, so check it out, give it a like and share with friends you may have in the Arkansas region.
