Category: US Team

2026 World Ski Orienteering Championships Event Recap

The US team after the Sprint Relay (credit: Takako Hirokawa)

The World Ski Orienteering Championships (WSOC) took place in Rusutsu, Japan from March 2-6. The US sent a team of four athletes to the competition, with veteran international ski-o competitor Chris Burnham (Green Mountain Orienteering Club) providing guidance to newcomers Tamra Kornfield (Arctic Orienteering Club), Lauren Wardwell (Green Mountain Orienteering Club), and Josh Yeaton (Empire Orienteering Club).  The competition was based out of the Rusutsu ski resort, which meant lots of narrow tracks going up and down extremely steep climbs and descents with a ridiculous amount of snow. It wasn’t uncommon to see snow banks 6-10 feet high on the sides of the roads!

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2026 World Ski-O Championships Concludes!

Photos credits: Markku Vauhkonen, Takako Hirokawa, and the WSOC organizers.

Racing in Japan at the World Ski Orienteering Championships has concluded! 6” of fresh snow on the rest day contributed to a major change in skiing conditions. What had previously been fast and easily shortcutted was now extremely slow and soft. Comparing it to the mountainous Pursuit, veteran team member Chris Burnham described Thursday’s Middle distance as a more traditional Ski-O race, complete with a complex maze and plenty of challenging narrow track navigation.

In Friday’s mixed Sprint Relay, the US fielded two relay teams, with team member Lauren Wardwell making her international racing debut. This was the flattest course of all four days of racing, but with the mass-start format and six legs per team, complexity was high and the racing fast.  A maze section where shortcutting was not allowed also made for excellent spectating.

We’d like to extend a big thank you to the organizers for putting on an excellent set of races! For the majority of the team, this was their first exposure to international Ski-O competition, and they all left hungry for more and looking forward to next year’s championships in Lillehammer. Arigatou gozaimashita, Japan!

2026 Ski Orienteering World Championships Underway!

Races at the World Ski Orienteering Championships in Rusutsu, Japan are underway! The US team has competed in both the Sprint and the Pursuit. Conditions have been fast and hard in the mornings, making shortcutting easy in both races. The US athletes especially enjoyed the Pursuit, which was on challenging mountainous terrain (~1000m climb). Athlete Tamra Kornfield described the off-trail descending as ‘exhilarating and edge of your seat’; we saw plenty of broken skis, boots, and poles to confirm this.

Following today’s rest day, the team will compete in the middle distance followed by the team sprints on the final day of racing. There is new snow on the ground, so conditions and strategies are expected to change dramatically!

US SkiO Team Arrives in Japan for the 2026 World Ski Orienteering Championships!

The US team of four athletes arrived at Rusutsu Resort in Hokkaido, Japan last week for the World Ski Orienteering Championships. Racing kicks off on 3/2 with the Sprint, but the team has been busy preparing with training and some public races. 

Some highlights from the preparation period:

  • A warm, sunny training day with the impressive Mount Yotei in the background
  • Two public races in a snowed-in amusement park on the slopes of the ski resort: roller-coaster descents underneath roller coasters!
  • A model event with very easy shortcutting. Cold nights and warm days mean a solid crust layer which could make for some interesting racing.

Photos, numbered clockwise from top left, by Josh Yeaton (3) Takako Hirokawa (1, 2, 4), and Lauren Wardwell (5)

2026 European Youth and World Junior Orienteering Championships Recap

February 4-8, 2026

This year the US sent six young athletes to the 2026 European Youth Ski Orienteering Championships and Junior World Ski Orienteering Championships, which took place February 4 – 8, 2026, in Luleå, Sweden.

US Team for the 2026 Junior World Ski-Orienteering Championships
Liam Browne, Grizzly Orienteering Club
Erik Fey, Rochester Orienteering Club and NSK

US Team for the 2026 European Youth Ski-Orienteering Championships
Boys Team
Euell Browne, Grizzly Orienteering Club
Espen Chitty, Grizzly Orienteering Club
Mark Fey, Rochester Orienteering Club and Nydalens SK

Girls Team
Caroline Chitty, Grizzly Orienteering Club

Read the team announcement here.

The team was accompanied by Kara Browne, who not only took all the photos featured in this post but also shared an inside look at the athlete experience throughout the competition.

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EYOC Team Selection 2026

The 2026 European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) will be hosted in Nova Gorica,
Slovenia, from June 25 – June 27, 2026. 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 2010 or later
● W16 – Women born in 2010 or later
● M18 – Men born in 2008 or later
● W18 – Women born in 2008 or later

NOTE: EYOC 2026 conflicts with JWOC 2026. Per National Team ESD guidance, those
selected for and attending JWOC 2026 will not be able to attend EYOC. We encourage all who
are interested in attending EYOC 2026 to apply, even if the athlete intends to participate in
JWOC 2026. Applying for EYOC 2026 will not affect the athlete’s selection to JWOC 2026.

2026 EYOC US Team Selection Criteria

2026 EYOC US Team Application

Participation at EYOC 2026 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 2026 EYOC Team, a junior born in 2008 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
can find information on the YDP and the application form on OUSA’s YDP page.

Please submit an application for selection to YouthSelection@nullorienteeringusa.org by 11:59 pm
Pacific Time on March 20, 2026. There will be no team trials races for selection. Given the age
of potential athletes, need for chaperons and possibly supervised travel, financial and logistics
constraints, the Selection Committee will use their best judgment to determine who among the
athletes is prepared physically and mentally, as well as emotionally if required to travel
unaccompanied for portions of the travel, to compete at the 2026 EYOC.

The entire US EYOC Team will participate in a pre-EYOC training on EYOC training maps
provided by the organizers, with a tentative arrival date of June 22nd, first training day June
23rd, 2026. Most current event information can be found in the event Bulletins published on the
International Orienteering Federation’s (IOF) event calendar page for EYOC.

Selected athletes will need to complete some form of SafeSport training, as required by the VP
of Youth Initiatives and OUSA’s Youth Development Leadership.

2026 US National Team Announced

The Selection Committee (Peggy Dickison, Matt Smith, and Will Enger) reviewed all applications to determine which athletes earned a place on one of the three squads: Elite, Performance, and Junior.

This year marks a significant transition, as four long-time competitors—Greg Ahlswede, Eric Bone, Alison Campbell, and Ali Crocker—have retired from international racing after distinguished careers that included multiple WOCs, World Cups, and the World Games. They will certainly remain active in the sport, and we look forward to following their future results. We thank them for their many contributions and wish them the very best.

We received 48 applications this year and selected 36 athletes to the National Team.

  • Elite Squad athletes are those we would expect to form the core of the WOC Team if trials were held today.
  • Performance Squad athletes are capable of racing at the Elite level on any given day and may develop into future WOC contenders.
  • Junior Squad athletes (under age 21) are eligible only for the Junior Squad, though they may compete for both the WOC and JWOC teams.

We are pleased to welcome three new members to the National Team, all Junior men: Andy Driscoll, Jayden Suarez , and Misha Biryukov.

You will see National Team athletes throughout the year on the U.S. Team Blog, volunteering at NREs and local events, and contributing as coaches and mentors. They are outstanding representatives of our sport, and we look forward to seeing what they accomplish in 2026.

Peggy Dickison
On behalf of the National Team Selection Committee

2026 US National Orienteering Team

NameSquadClub(s)
Anthony RileyEliteDVOA, IFK Göteborg (Sweden)
Bridget HallEliteNEOC, MNOC
Danny RileyEliteNEOC
Evalin BrautigamEliteWCOC, Southern Arrows (Australia)
Joseph BarrettEliteNMO
Keegan HarkavyEliteNEOC, Göteborg-Majorna OK (Sweden)
Lily Addicott EliteGAOC
Ricardo SchanielEliteBussola OK (Switzerland)
Sydney FisherEliteEMPO
Thomas LaraiaEliteMNOC
Thomas CurigerEliteOLC Kapreolo (Switzerland)
Alex MerkaPerformanceQOC
Ben ConleyPerformanceGrizO, COC
Collin ThompsonPerformanceUSMAOC
Jessica ColleranPerformanceCOC
Mathew RogersPerformanceCOC
Oriana RileyPerformanceDVOA
Shawn MatherPerformanceGAOC
Adalia Schafrath-CraigJuniorBOK, SMOC
Alex ErikssonJuniorICO
Andy DriscollJuniorNEOC, Navigation Games
Anna GreenJuniorSMOC
Ben CooperJuniorCOC
Danny BuchholzJuniorCOC
Greta LeonardJuniorCOC
Ian DunlapJuniorOLOU
Jackson RupeJuniorCOC
Jayden SuarezJuniorUSMAOC
Kate deBlonkJuniorGrizO, NEOC
Kendal O’CallaghanJuniorRMOC, Cleveland OC (England), OLV Steinberg (Germany)
Ludvig HagwallJuniorJärfälla OK (Sweden)
Min-Jae KuoJuniorNEOC
Misha BiryukovJuniorLAOC
Mori Finlayson-JohnecheckJuniorNEOC
Paige SuhockiJuniorDVOA
Sophie HowesJuniorCOC

US Junior Ski-O Team Ski-a-Thon Update!

The US Ski-O Junior Team has completed the first two weeks of their four week ski-a-thon! Team members have received pledges for a certain amount for each kilometer they ski (or a flat donation), and they’re doing great! This is despite the fact that some are dealing with limited snow and/or sickness. The distances skied so far are as follows:

Erik Fey 300 KM
Mark Fey 125 KM
Liam Browne 121 KM
Euell Browne 138 km
Espen Chitty 93 km
Caroline Chitty 90 KM

You can still donate to help the team raise money for their trip to Sweden to take part in Junior World Ski-Orienteering Championships and European Youth Ski-Orienteering Championships and Program Accelerate 2033: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/SkiO

If you have any questions please contact Carl Fey (US Ski-O Team Coach), carlffey@nullgmail.com, or Kara Browne, binear@nullyahoo.com.