Category: Announcements

Announcements for OUSA

EYOC 2025 Team Selection Criteria Published

The 2025 European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) will be hosted in Brno, Czechia
from July 17 – July 20, 2025. Orienteering USA’s EYOC Selection Committee will choose up to 4
(four) young athletes from each of the following categories for a maximum total of up to 16
(sixteen) to represent the USA at EYOC. All interested athletes are invited to apply.
● M16 – Men born in 2009 or later
● W16 – Women born in 2009 or later
● M18 – Men born in 2007 or later
● W18 – Women born in 2007 or later

Participation at EYOC 2025 is sponsored and organized by Orienteering USA’s Youth Development Program, as a young athlete development opportunity. In order to be considered a candidate for 2025 EYOC Team, a junior born in 2007 or later must be a member of the Orienteering USA’s (OUSA’s) Youth Development Program (YDP), and by extension, a member in good standing of OUSA. Applicants who are members of OUSA, but not yet a part of the YDP will be added to YDP upon their applications to EYOC 2025 being received.

Please submit an application for selection to YouthSelection@nullorienteeringusa.org by 11:59 pm Pacific Time on March 23, 2025. There will be no team trials races for selection.

2025 US EYOC Team Selection Criteria

2025 US EYOC Team Selection Application

YMP February Map of the Month

The Youth Mapping Program February Map of the Month is Santiago High School in Corona, CA. The school’s AFJROTC (Air Force Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) program uses this map to train Orienteering Team members, for school competitions, and as part of an orienteering lesson aligned with California Common Core State Standards. According to Senior Aerospace Science Instructor Michael H. Manney, the best part of having the map is that it “allows students to be introduced and practically practice orienteering on an approved OUSA course map.”

The map above includes controls added by Santiago High School for their orienteering lesson.

Have you received a map from OUSA’s Youth Mapping Program? We want to hear how you’re using it! Let us know here.

Announcing the 2025 US National Orienteering Team

The Selection Committee (Peggy Dickison, Matt Smith, and Will Enger) is pleased to announce the 2025 US National Orienteering Team.

The committee received 55 applications and 45 athletes were selected to the National Team, earning a place on one of three squads: Elite, Performance, and Junior. Those athletes on the Elite Squad are those who we would expect to make up the WOC Team if the trials were held now. Performance athletes are those who in any given race can perform at the Elite level and may develop into an athlete capable of competing for the WOC Team. Junior athletes, those under 21, are only eligible for the Junior Squad. They are eligible to compete for the WOC and the JWOC teams.

We welcome six new members to the Team, one returning member, and one promotion from Performance to Elite. 

Look for these Team members in the US Team Blog, helping at NREs and local events, and coaching. All are fine representatives of orienteering, and we look forward to seeing what they are capable of this year.

Congratulations to all the members of the 2025 National US Orienteering Team!

2025 US National Orienteering Team

  • Elite Squad
    • Lily Addicott – Promotion – GAOC
    • Greg Ahlswede – DVOA, Escondite (Spain)
    • Joseph Barrett – NMO
    • Evalin Brautigam – WCOC
    • Alison Campbell – DVOA, STAG (Scotland)
    • Alison Crocker – CROC
    • Thomas Curiger – OLC Kapreolo (Switzerland), OK Orion (Sweden)
    • Sydney Fisher – EMPO
    • Bridget Hall – NEOC, MNOC
    • Keegan Harkavy – NEOC
    • Thomas Laraia – MNOC
    • Anthony Riley – DVOA
    • Danny Riley – ECO
    • Ricardo Schaniel – Bussola OK (Switzerland)
  • Performance Squad
    • Diana Aleksieva – QOC
    • Eric Bone – COC
    • Jessica Colleran – COC
    • Shawn Mather – USMAOC
    • Kirsten Mayland – DVOA
    • Alex Merka – QOC, OB Říčany
    • Dylan Poe – ICO, OCIN
    • Oriana Riley – DVOA
    • Mathew Rogers – New to team! – COC
    • Collin Thompson – New to team! – USMAOC
    • Grace Zoppi – SMOC, COC
  • Junior Squad
    • Ben Brady – GrizO
    • Danny Buchholz – COC
    • Anna Campbell – TSN, NEOC
    • Ben Conley – GrizO, COC
    • Ben Cooper – COC
    • Kate deBlonk – New to team! – GrizO, NEOC
    • Ian Dunlap – OLOU
    • Mori Finlayson-Johnecheck – NEOC
    • Anna Green – New to team! – SMOC
    • Ludvig Hagwall – Järla Orientering (Sweden)
    • Sophie Howes – COC
    • Min-Jae Kuo – New to team! – NEOC
    • Greta Leonard – COC
    • Kendal O’Callaghan – New to team! – RMOC
    • David Rogers – New to team! – COC
    • Jackson Rupe – COC
    • Adalia Schafrath-Craig – New to team! – BOK
    • Paige Suhocki – DVOA
    • Samantha Walker – QOC
    • Zariah Zosel – COC, GrizO

2025 OUSA Rules published

The 2025 OUSA Rules document is now available in the OUSA Library. Note that sections A.35 and A.36 were combined, so any rule references in other documents that were A.35 through A.44 will need to be changed. 

Please send any comments, corrections, or broken links to rules@nullorienteeringusa.org.

Notable changes from 2024:

  • In accordance with the vote at the AGM, punching rules were changed in the Foot-O section
    • Manual punching has been removed and replaced with “Only IOF electronic punching systems may be used”
    • Contactless punching is now required to be enabled, but competitors must not be required to utilize it. (i.e. you need to let someone use a non-Air stick.)
    • Changed some punching rules language to better match IOF rules.
  • Intercollegiate and Interscholastic sections were merged and language changed for consistency.
    • Added the possibility of mixed teams that cross IC/IS classes. 
    • Teams are now consistently defined as having 2 to 5 competitors. Scoring section updated to state that a team of 2 will be scored as though they had a third person who scores DNF.
  • Club Team classes at Jr. Nationals changed
    • The only championship Club Team class at Jr. Nationals will now be a mixed team class. Removed Club Varsity, Club JV, and Club Intermediate from the Championship list. It is not necessary to offer these classes. If offered, they are not eligible for championship awards.
    • Removed requirement that Club Teams must not be eligible as a School or JROTC Team. Competitors may run for both their club and school and/or JROTC unit. With the mixed Club teams, it is anticipated that Club teams will likely have differing rosters than School and JROTC teams. 

2025 Desert Orienteering Festival Event Recap

Jan 18-20, 2025

Events:

  • The Adventure Trek (2 hour score-O)
  • The Maze Middle
  • The Night Goat
  • The Classic

Host: San Diego Orienteering
Venue: Anza-Borrego State Park, Borrego Springs CA
Event Director: Mark Prior
Event Website

Results, Maps and Photos

Crowdsourced photos by Sasha Savine, John Crowther, and Amy Winston in the Orienteering USA Facebook page album.

If you have photos from this event and are willing to share them with the wider OUSA community please reach out!

January OUSA Member Spotlight: Stephanie Ross (OCIN)

This is a transcript of an interview with Stephanie in January, 2025. It has been edited for clarity and length.

Cristina Luis: Right, let’s start with an introduction. 

Stephanie Ross: I am Stephanie Ross and I live in Northern Kentucky, just a little south of Cincinnati. And my home club is Orienteering Cincinnati [OCIN].

Ok, now I would like to hear your orienteering origin story.

I came to orienteering because I needed to learn how to navigate in order to be a better adventure racer. And I think I first started orienteering probably in 2004, I would guess. I did my first adventure race in 2002 and directed my first adventure race in 2003. I thought that because I’ve done one, I must be able to create one. 

(more…)

Georgia Navigator Cup/Masters Nationals Event Recap

Jan 17-20, 2025

  • Friday: Middle Distance NRE
  • Saturday/Sunday: 2-Day Classic (including 2025 Masters Nationals)
  • Monday: Mal Harding Extreme-O
  • Host: Georgia Orienteering Club
  • Venues:
    • Fri: Red Top Mountain State Park
    • Sat-Mon: Sweetwater Creek State Park
  • Event Directors: Fred Zendt (Fri-Sun), Daryl Remick (Mon Extreme-O)
  • Course Designers:
    • Fri: Ron Hojnowski
    • Sat/Sun: Austin Fowler, Fred Zendt (Sat), Siargey Pisarchyk (Sun)
  • Event Website

All photos by Evalin Brautigam for OUSA.

Results, Photos, and Maps

OUSA hosted a course review video online a week after the event.

YMP January Map of the Month

The Youth Mapping Program January Map of the Month feature is Wakamatsu Farm in Placerville, CA. After successfully teaching his fifth-grade students orienteering skills using a YMP-made map at his school, local teacher Danny Lulla wanted to expand his course options by utilizing the historic area surrounding the school, Wakamatsu Farm. Danny worked with the landowner, the American River Conservancy, who include orienteering classes as part of their environmental education program.

Between Danny’s students and the American River Conservancy’s classes, hundreds of young people have been introduced to orienteering and learned valuable navigation skills using this course. According to Danny, the best outcome of having this map is “getting students outdoors and working with maps in a cooperative and fun environment.”

Interested in having a map made of your school? Learn more about the program and apply here.

January Forum: OUSA Coaching Program

OUSA’s next O-Forum will be held January 14th at 8:30pm ET and will discuss the evolution of the Hybrid Level 1+ Coaching Certification Course and how OUSA’s older youth and those supporting them are using this process to grow our coaching capacity nationwide. Hear from some of the coaches about their experiences and how they’re using what they’ve learned. Along the way, we hope you’ll find some inspiration for how this resource might benefit orienteers of all ages in your community.

Learn from the Coaching Committee on January 14th at 8:30pm ET on Google Meet.

Add to your Google Calendar.