Category: Events

2023 Youth European Summer Trip

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.

West Point to Host ’23 WOC Team Trials

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?

Guess the WOC Team Members!

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. 

TeamUSA Announces 2023 JWOC Roster

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!

  • Men
    • Ben Brady (COC)
    • Holden Sopoti (USMAOC)
    • Ian Dunlap (OLOU)
    • Keegan Harkavy (NEOC)
    • Mori Finlayson-Johnecheck (NEOC)
    • Shawn Mather (USMAOC)
  • 1st Alternate: Max Ahmed (QOC)
  • Women
    • Alex Merka (QOC)
    • Anna Campbell (NEOC)
    • Hana Myers (USMAOC)
    • Lily Addicott (GAOC)
    • Paige Suhocki (DVOA)
    • Zariah Zosel (COC)
  • 1st Alternate: Greta Leonard (COC)
  • 2nd Alternate: Annika Mihata (COC)
  • 3rd Alternate: Samantha Walker (QOC)
Ben Brady
(COC)
Holden Sopoti
(USMAOC)
Ian Dunlap
(OLOU)
Keegan Harkavy
(NEOC)
Mori Finlayson-Johnecheck
(NEOC)
Shawn Mather
(USMAOC)
Alex Merka
(QOC)
Anna Campbell
(NEOC)
Hana Myers
(USMAOC)
Lily Addicott
(GAOC)
Paige Suhocki
(DVOA)
Zariah Zosel
(COC)
Max Ahmed 1st Alternate
(QOC)
Greta Leonard 1st Alternate
(COC)
Annika Mihata 2nd Alternate
(COC)
Samantha Walker 3rd Alternate
(QOC)

2023 OUSA Nationals Event Recap

March 24-26, 2023

  • Host: Orienteering Cincinnati
  • Venues:
    • Morehead State University, Morehead, KY
    • Carter Caves State Park, Olive Hill, KY
  • Event Director: Mike Minium
    • Ben Hart – Friday Course Setter
    • Shin Shimizu – Saturday Course Setter
    • Dave Waller – Sunday Course Setter
    • Jonas Kjall, OUSA Course Consultant
    • Guy Olsen – Registrar, Registration Director
  • Event Website

Results

Media

Royal Romp Event Recap

March 11-12, 2023

Results

Media

Fire Mountain Middle NRE Event Recap

including the COC 2022-23 Winter League Championships

February 18, 2023

  • Host: Cascade Orienteering Club
  • Venue: Fire Mountain Scout Camp, Mount Vernon, WA
  • Event Director: Michelle Kastner
    • Course Designer: Mike Schuh
    • COC Course Consultant: Dave Tallent
    • OUSA Course Consultant: Glen Tryson
  • Event Website

Cascade Orienteering’s Winter League Series serves two audiences.  It is the home of the Washington Interscholastic Orienteering League (WIOL), the oldest school league in the USA, as well as a robust public series.

This year marked WIOL’s 41st season and it saw huge participation with 349 students from 57 different schools registered. Students from 1st grade through seniors in college competed in seven regular season meets for season individual and team trophies followed by one championship race for more team and individual honors and awards.

On the public side, folks on both short and long advanced competed for season and championship trophies, while the other three levels offered enjoyed being non-competitive. Just under 400 different individuals ran in at least one public Winter League meet this season and the series averaged 156 public runners at each meet. 

Twelve different course designers created 8 courses per regular season meet and nine courses for the Championships/NRE, under the guidance of series course consultant, Dave Tallent. This year, thanks to training coordinator John Brady, we offered online training pre-meets, and in-person trainings pre and post races at each meet. Thanks to Patrick Nuss and OUSA team member Will Enger we also offered About the Route, a Sunday night Zoom session where runners could compare routes and learn tips and tricks from the experts. 

Series Direrctor, Michelle Kastner oversaw all eight orienteering meets along with two pre-season in person trainings that saw over 100 participants each, the three hour season ending celebration and awards ceremony, and the season ending bonus relay race. Kastner, along with her core team of eight other individuals, who are all volunteers, made sure each event ran smoothly and professionally. The series was pre-registration only and offered National Meet syle starts and assigned start times for students courtesy of WIOL Registrar Kathy Forgrave. The public picked their own start time via a public app. Under the direction of Volunteer Coordinator, Ing Uhlin, eighty-five different individuals volunteered for at least one day-of-meet volunteer role, keeping each event running at optimum quality and fostering a large sense of community among Cascade’s membership. 

Dan Waugh, who started WIOL 41 years ago, remarked, it is “really inspiring to see all the enthusiastic young faces, the achievements, and the dedication of the many volunteers who make it all happen.”  Dan’s vision over four decades ago has paid back in so many ways.  Eleven of this year’s USA team members got their start in WIOL.  Two of COC’s school teams (Tahoma Varsity and University of Washington Intercollegiate) and two of their club teams (Middle School and JV) won Gold at this years OUSA Jr Nationals in Georgia. Beyond the individual and team achievements, Winter League/WIOL is a local event series that offers folks a way to get outdoors even when its cold and raining, a chance to be part of a diverse and fun community, and the opportunity for learning life long skills – wins for everyone involved.

Media & Links

2023 OUSA Ski Orienteering Nationals

February 3-5, 2023

  • Host: Empire Orienteering Club
  • Venues:
    • Sprint*: Cascade Welcome Center, Lake Placid, NY
    • Middle: Dewey Mountain Recreational Center, Saranac Lake, NY
    • Long: Visitor Information Center of Paul Smiths College, Paul Smiths, NY
  • Event Directors: Janet Findlay and David Hunter
    • Event/Course Advisor: Jim Arsenault
    • Mapper/Course Setter: David Hunter
    • Registrar: Janet Findlay
  • Event Website

*Note: Due to extremely cold temperatures, Friday’s Sprint event did not meet the minimum temperature requirements required for an Orienteering USA sanctioned event. The event was held, with competitors remaining eligible for ESWG awards, but the event was NOT the US Championship event as originally planned.

Results

Maps

Media

Desert Orienteering Festival Event Recap

January 14-15, 2023

Page is a work in progress – looking for media to include – email clinton.morse@nullorienteeringusa.org

  • Host: San Diego Orienteering
  • Venues:
    • The Goat (& The Lamb):
    • The Sprint:
    • The Classic (NRE):
    • The Maze:
  • Event Director: Mark Prior
    • Course Setter (Goat): Chris Day
    • Course Setter (Sprint): Mark Prior
    • Course Setter (Classic & Maze): Matej Sebo
  • Event Website

Results

Maps

  • Coming soon….

Links

Photos

  • Anza Borrego Gallery [50 photos, 3 videos] by John Phillips on FlickR
  • OK Folks – whatcha got? Please send me photos or links to social media

2023 OUSA Junior Nationals & Georgia Navigator Cup Event Recap

January 13-16, 2023

  • Host: Georgia Orienteering Club
  • Venues:
    • Friday Middle: Lake Delanor, F.D. Roosevelt SP, Pine Mountain GA
    • Sat/Sun Classic: Lake Franklin, F.D. Roosevelt State Park, Pine Mountain, GA
  • Event Director: Fred Zendt
    • Registrar: Rick Shane
    • Extreme O Director: Anne Mathews
  • Event Website

Media

Photo Galleries

Video

Results

Maps & RouteGadget

2023 World School Sport Games to be held in Brazil

Bulletin 1 for the ISF World School Sport Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from August 19-27, 2023 has been published. Up to 12 boys and 12 girls born in 2008-2010 who attend school in the US may participate in the orienteering events. The program includes both individual & team competition in the sprint and middle distance disciplines and educational content on topics such as fair play, healthy lifestyle, respect and inclusion.

There is no requirement for affiliation with Orienteering USA to participate; however, the YDP Steering Committee (ydp-steering-commitee@nullorienteeringusa.org) requests notification if athletes or adults from the US register to participate and can advise group organizers on lessons learned from planning for JWOC / WUOC travel in the past.