Category: People

If you’d told me the first time I tried orienteering in 1996 (without a compass, because my then-boyfriend Jon Campbell wanted to make sure I actually read the map!) that I would one day serve as President of the national federation, I probably would have said, “Wait, there’s a national federation?” Yet here we are, and I’m honored to step into this role.

First, I want to express my deepest appreciation to Clare Durand for her mentorship and her thoughtful approach to succession planning. Three years ago, Clare challenged the Board to think ahead and prepare for leadership transition, modeling the kind of foresight and integrity we all aspire to. Even as she faced profound health challenges this past year, Clare continued to lead with determination and grace. I know the entire community joins me in thanking Clare for her extraordinary service. I’m also grateful to our wonderful Board, who bring passion and discernment to their work. At our recent reorganization meeting, we voted for all Vice Presidents to continue in their roles, and for Clare to continue as First Vice President in a mentorship capacity.

I’m equally thankful for the welcome my family has received from our many “home clubs” over the years. From COC, NEOC, USMAOC, QOC, CSU, UNO, and beyond, and through military moves, family visits, road trips, and even a gap year on the road, you’ve shown us that wherever there’s an orienteering map, there’s a community ready to welcome us. Those experiences have shaped me, and I carry the lessons I’ve learned from volunteering with each club into this role.

Looking ahead, my priorities as President center on two themes: good process and strong community. Good process means planning ahead, making thoughtful decisions, and ensuring that we’re supporting all four pillars of OUSA’s mission: Participation, Education, Conservation, and Competition. Strong community means recognizing that OUSA is, at its core, an organization of volunteers. By weaving together the energy, passion, and creativity of our members, we can both grow the sport sustainably and deepen the connections that make it so meaningful.

I look forward to working with you to build on our shared successes and to take orienteering in the U.S. to the next level, together.

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

Cristina Luis: Kris, thank you for talking to me and answering my questions. Right off the bat, I know that you have a fun orienteering origin story. 

Kris Beecroft: I do.

Now’s your chance to tell the whole world that story. 

My mom was Norwegian and she wanted one of her children to know what it was like to live in Norway, and they chose me. I don’t know why.

So I went over in June of ‘75 and …

How old were you then?

Was I 12? [mental math] No, I guess I was 13. 

On the left, Eric running the WOC 2012 Long Qualifier (photo courtesy World of O).

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

Cristina Luis: All right, Eric, tell me your orienteering origin story.

Eric Bone: My origin story starts in high school, my sophomore year. I was sitting in Spanish class next to one of my track and cross country teammates. She had a flyer from a teacher at the school who’s involved in Cascade Orienteering Club (COC) and decided he was going to try to recruit cross country team members for the Washington Interscholastic Orienteering League (WIOL). I leaned over and was like, “what’s that?” And she’s like, “yeah, I’m not interested in this.” And she showed me the flyer and I was like, “Okay, cool. This looks like a lot of fun.” And so I’m going to go to this lunchtime meeting in my freshman biology teacher’s classroom. He had brochures and maps and stuff like that and kind of just talked a little bit about what orienteering was about.

I thought, “This sounds cool.”  I brought home a brochure and showed my mom and my brother and said, “let’s do this.”