Category: Development

Introductory mapping training opportunity

There are a handful of spaces available for a series of three FREE online mapping workshops from Jeff Teutsch of Navigation Sports. The workshops are designed for members of Grizzly Orienteering, but are applicable to anyone interested in learning the basics of orienteering mapping. The training will take place on Thursdays, November 20, December 4, and December 11 from 5:30pm-8:00pm Mountain Time.

Subjects covered in the three sessions will be:

  • Intro to mapping/Starting a map project
  • Using OCAD
  • Generating basic contours

If you are interested and able to commit to attending all three online sessions in real time, please contact the Mapping Committee at Mapping@nullorienteeringusa.org to get yourself on the list of candidates for the available spaces. Please tell us:

  • who you are,
  • your OUSA club affiliation,
  • about your mapping experience, if any, and
  • what mapping project(s) you would hope to work on within a year of taking the training.

To reiterate, thanks to grant funding from OUSA these workshops are being provided FREE OF CHARGE to participants. We hope to see this opportunity fully subscribed. Email applications for spaces should be submitted no later than midnight on Friday, November 7.

September Forum: Silva O Camp

The September forum will take place on Thursday, September 25th at 8:30pm ET on Google Meet.

This July, three Youth Development Program athletes attended Silva O’ Camp, an IOF-endorsed orienteering camp with over 200 athletes held in the Czech Republic. The athletes trained seriously and got up to some serious fun! Join us for this forum to learn more about the camp and hear directly from athletes and coaches.

You can read a bit about the US experience here.

Join on Google Meet on Thursday, September 25th at 8:30pm ET.

Add to your Google Calendar.

Silva O’ Camp 2025 Recap

This July, three YDP athletes attended Silva O’ Camp, an IOF-endorsed orienteering camp with over 200 athletes held in the Czech Republic. The athletes got up to some serious training and serious fun. Read about it below: 

It’s summer camp in full swing — campfires, card games, dips in the river, friendships made in one week that last a lifetime. On the menu for daily activities? Orienteering, orienteering, and more orienteering. 

The USA was represented by three athletes (Finlay Rebbeck, Zoe Liu Coates, and Ally Liu Coates) from Cascade and three coaches at Silva O’Camp 2025, an international summer camp for young orienteers held in Vidnava, Czech Republic. While Silva camp has been around for decades, it has been an IOF endorsed camp since 2023. This year’s small American team was an exploratory group supported by the YDP to gauge the suitability of the camp for our youth.

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Level 1 Coaching clinic announced

Orienteering USA and Vanguard NJROTC will host a Level 1 Coaching Certification Clinic this summer.

Level 1 Coaching Certification Clinic

  • When: June 17-19, Ocala, FL
  • Who: Hosted by Suncoast Orienteering (SOAR)
  • Priority: JROTC & military coaches, open to all

Calling JROTC and military coaches!

Join us in Ocala, FL for a Level 1 Coaching Certification Clinic from June 17-19. Priority for JROTC and military, but open to all.

Course Highlights:

  • Team Training Plans: Workshop to plan for goal races for your next season
  • Training Sessions: Create and share specific exercises that you can use with your team
  • Development Opportunities: Explore Orienteering USA options beyond JROTC

Experienced instructors with JROTC, ROTC, or USMA backgrounds will lead. They are involved with OrienteeringUSA at the national level. 

Sign up by April 13, 2025. Capacity is 24 students. Priority to local JROTC, then military-affiliated, then others. Reimbursement: Up to $200 for out-of-state travel funded by OUSA passion projects. Don’t forget to ask your schools to help out with financial support for this important certification!

The syllabus includes 30 hours of instruction.

Continuing Education Credits: Contact Tori (victoria.campbell@nullorienteeringusa.org) to see if this course might meet your state’s requirements.

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.

OUSA Club Recharters

It’s almost time for Clubs and Supporting Members to recharter with Orienteering USA!

OUSA Clubs (regular and associate) and Supporting Members can start the recharter process in January 2025. More information to come in January.

December OUSA Forum: Getting started with mapping!

Are you interested in mapping? Already have some mapping experience and want to learn more?

Join us December 19th at 8:30 ET for the December O Forum on Mapping, presented by Jeff Teutsch of Navigation Sports! Jeff has over 10 years of experience in making orienteering maps, from basemap creation to the final product. His work includes everything from schoolyards to the giant wilderness area used in the North American Championships this summer. Through his orienteering venture Navigation Sports, Jeff has taught mapping skills to a multitude of other aspiring mappers.

This session is aimed towards those who want to get started with mapping or have just started their journey, but even the most experienced mappers will learn something new!

Learn from Jeff on December 19th at 8:30 ET on Google Meet.

Add to your Google Calendar.

Orienteering USA seeks project proposals

As a volunteer run organization, Orienteering USA recognizes that many of our most important initiatives come from our membership. At meetings held during the Fall of 2023, the OUSA Board of Directors discussed ways to promote individuals and clubs to pursue ‘passion projects’ that further the sport at the local, regional and national level. The board has subsequently adopted a strategic focus to sponsor innovation and improve services in orienteering!

We are looking for projects you want to make happen, but don’t have the funding to support. Projects may be of any scope: local, regional, or even national. At the end of your project, we’ll ask you to report back on how it went, at least to the Board, and possibly to a broader audience (especially if your idea is really successful). 

Some examples of ideas we’d like to see take off:

  •   – Innovative ways to increase participation in your area
  •   – Attend or present about orienteering at a conference or to a group
  •   – Purchase equipment that would expand your organization’s capabilities
  •   – Bring in an expert (or be the expert that OUSA sends out to help people with orienteering)
  •   – Host a training camp
  •   – Publicize a major event
  •   – Put on your first major event
  •   – Make a map you otherwise couldn’t support
  •   …and probably many more we haven’t thought to list yet!

Interested? Fill out the Google Form by following this link:

Orienteering Development Model

Did you know that Orienteering USA has a long-term development model to describe the development of orienteers over their lifetimes? From that first spark of interest to becoming a senior mentor, the Orienteering Development Model (ODM) describes the evolution of orienteers as athletes and specialists in the sport.

First introduced in January 2020, the ODM is a living document that continues to evolve, and is an essential component of OUSA’s coaching curriculum. We are currently working to reflect the alignment of OUSA programs with the framework on our website. You can learn more about the ODM on the OUSA Education Portal.  Do you have something to add to the resources for one of the ODM stages?  Email vpyouth@nullorienteeringusa.org.

Graphic of the Five Stages of the OUSA Orienteering Development Model (ODM)