Category: Information

Support Orientación México!

A note from OUSA President Tori Campbell

It’s been quite a summer for orienteering, with plenty of opportunities across the USA and abroad to experience old favorites and explore something new. Part of my summer agenda was shaped by attending the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) General Assembly. Besides having the opportunity to spectate Sprint WOC (the knockout-sprint is really fun to watch–and challenging to organize!) and cheer on our National Team members, I joined IOF Council members and representatives from 80 member federations to vote on business that moves orienteering forward internationally. Over the next few newsletters, I’ll share some exciting insights from the IOF’s new strategic directions that might open up opportunities for Orienteering USA.

I want to begin with some good news beyond just strategic planning, however. On June 8th, the IOF General Assembly voted to confirm Orientación México as a new provisional member, adding another nation to the competition list for the North American Orienteering Championships. Some of you may know former OCIN member Isis Espinosa, who represented Mexico at WOC 2026 and is a driving force behind spreading a love of orienteering in Mexico City. She shared ways we could help support our new orienteering neighbors:

  • Get the word out! Follow Orientación México on Facebook. If you know Mexican citizens abroad who might live in places with orienteering already established, please pass this message along to help Orientación México grow.
  • Represent México! Do you know a citizen of México? Orientación México is particularly hoping to connect with Mexican orienteers who might be interested in representing Mexico at international championships – email orientacionmexico@nullgmail.com to learn more.
  • Share resources. Whether you’ve got extra equipment that you might be willing to donate, online resources, expertise or volunteers who happen to be traveling south of the border, we’re putting together a list of people and resources that we can share. Can you be a point of contact for something that might help? Share your contact information and ideas.

We look forward to seeing orienteering continuing to grow in North America. Welcome, Orientación México!

2026 Annual General Meeting

The 2026 Orienteering USA Annual General Meeting will take place in person at Triangle T Ranch, Dragoon, AZ, on Dec 31, 2026. Time TBD.

Agenda

TBD

Club Membership Lists

As outlined in the OUSA Bylaws, the number of votes your club’s delegates may cast is based on the number of OUSA members in good standing, designating your club as their primary club, as of xxx, 2026.

All clubs are afforded 1 delegate and 1 alternate. For clubs with more than 25 members, they can choose to have 1 additional delegate and 1 additional alternate for every block of 25 members.

You can find a list of your club members in good standing TBD

Please notify the OUSA Office of the names of your delegates and alternates. The delegate appointments should be emailed from a club officer to contact@nullorienteeringusa.org

Delegates and alternates representing your club must be OUSA members, designating your club as their primary club, as of xxx, 2026.

Your club may assign its votes by proxy to another club. The proxy will only be valid if no OUSA-primary member of your club will be present at the AGM. Proxies may not be assigned to a particular member of another club. Email proxy assignments to: contact@nullorienteeringusa.org

Club Proposals

Check your personal memberships

The upcoming AGM presents a good time for all OUSA members to be sure that their information is current in our database. We recommend that you login to our portal and check your profile to be sure that it is accurate. There are known issues in our system that we are still working on. Checking for accuracy is especially recommended if you have family memberships or if you use the auto-renew feature.

Board Candidate Bios

Incumbents

Online Course Review for 2026 Nationals

As is now tradition, there will be an online course review of select legs from this past weekend’s US Sprint, Middle, and Long Championships this Wednesday evening at 9pm ET. The session will be hosted by Peter Gagarin and Caroline Sandbo, who will use Livelox and their own expertise to discuss different route choices, the difficulties runners faced, and how best to approach some of the legs that gave people trouble. This is worth attending whether or not you competed at Nationals!

Join the meeting on Google Meet at 9pm ET on Wednesday, March 25th.

If you have suggestions for particular legs you’d like to see discussed, please email caroline.sandbo@nullorienteeringusa.org.

Nominees Sought for Mapping Class Scholarships!

Orienteering USA is planning to offer partial (80%) scholarships to cover the costs of a series of four upcoming introductory mapping classes offered by Navigation Sports in January and February 2026.

Interested mappers must be nominated by their clubs by December 15th, and each club may nominate a maximum of two people. Interested? Read on.

Interested mappers must be nominated by their clubs by December 15th. Each club may nominate a maximum of two people.

Nominees must:

  • Have at least three years orienteering experience
  • Be able to attend all four classes in a series
  • Be members of OUSA at the time of the classes to receive the benefit.

Priority will be given to nominees who:

  • Come from smaller clubs or those without in-house mapping expertise
  • Can complete an advanced orienteering course
  • Have a specific project in mind.

Those selected for the scholarships are responsible for 20% of the course cost, though clubs are encouraged to reimburse members for this portion. The final 80% will be paid by OUSA. Total cost for the series of four classes is $270CAD.

The series includes four introductory level classes using either Open Orienteering Mapper (runs on Windows and MacOS) or OCAD (only runs on Windows). See entire course calendar.

Open Orienteering Mapper classes will be held on Tuesdays (January 20th, 27th, February 3rd, 10th) at 6:30pm ET.

OCAD classes will be held on Thursdays (January 22nd, 29th, February 5th, 12th) at 6:30pm ET.
Subjects covered in the four sessions will be:

  • Intro to mapping
  • Using Open Orienteering Mapper or Using OCAD
  • Base material
  • Laying Out Your Map

Reach out to your club president or mapping coordinator to be nominated.

For questions please contact mapping@nullorienteeringusa.org.

It’s OUSA Club recharter time!

If you are an officer of an OUSA member club, keep reading!

Orienteering USA club charters run on a calendar-year basis and are now due for renewal. To renew for 2025, complete the renewal form and submit/return it with the required fees and documentation by March 31, 2025. If you fail to meet this deadline, your club will not be covered by the Orienteering USA liability insurance until your charter renewal is received. Please read all of the enclosed instructions.

Full Instructions and a Downloadable Form 

Lists of Current OUSA members by club

Finally, you can access the On-line form.
If you need help or cannot renew on-line, Please contact: shawn.callahan@nullorienteeringusa.org

OUSA Events Calendars

Stay up to date with Orienteering USA events, forums, and deadlines by subscribing to the OUSA Events Calendar!

  • Google Calendar: Add to Google Calendar
    Clicking this link will open the OUSA Events Calendar in Google Calendar. If you’re logged in to your Google account, you can easily add it by selecting “Add” to keep track of events directly in your Google Calendar.
  • iCal Link: Download iCal File
    The iCal link allows you to add the OUSA Events Calendar to other calendar applications, such as Apple Calendar or Outlook. Simply download the iCal file and import it into your preferred calendar app.

Don’t miss out on upcoming O-Forums, national ranking events, online course review sessions, and more!

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.

OUSA Announces Basic Orienteering Online

Orienteering USA is pleased to announce its new Basic Orienteering Online curriculum. This orienteering resource has been developed as a companion platform to OUSA’s Discovering Orienteering (hardcopy & e-book). 

Each lesson includes resources to understand, practice, and reflect upon the skills, techniques and processes involved in getting serious about improving navigation. Take the full course, or focus on the elements of most interest to you. Access to the online content is provided as a free member benefit to Orienteering USA members and is also offered at a premium to non-members ($15 juniors, $50 adults).

More information & registration for the Basic Orienteering Online program can be found on the Orienteering USA Education site. Links can also be found on the recently updated training page on the main OUSA website.