Category: Junior Team

US Team Merger Announced

Orienteering USA is excited to announce the merger of the US National Team, aka TeamUSA, with the US Junior National Team to create a single, unified US National Team beginning in 2022. This merger will provide a more streamlined pathway for competitive junior athletes interested in advancing to the elite level.

Starting in 2022, the National Team will consist of three tiers: the Elite Squad, the Performance Squad, and the Junior Squad. The Elite Squad will consist of those athletes who consistently perform at a high level and are deemed most likely to be selected for WOC, WC or TWG teams. Performance Squad athletes also perform at a high level but may not yet be consistent picks for international team selection. The Junior Squad will encompass all Team members age 20 and under but are fully eligible to take part in all team activities and to compete for spots on the international event teams. Team selection for races such as JWOC and WUOC will of course be subject to the age restrictions of the individual competitions.

Applications for the 2022 US National Team were announced in December and athletes interested in applying for this year’s team should have submitted their applications. The entry period for 2022 is now closed. Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement about the revised Junior Development Program which will include exciting new options for youth orienteers beyond the competitive track.

JWOC ’22 Team Applications now open

The 2022 Junior World Orienteering Championships will be held July 10 – 16, 2022 in Aguiar da Beira, in the center of Portugal.

Selection of the 2022 JWOC Team will be by petition and applications are now being accepted. Please review the 2022 JWOC Team Selection Criteria document in the OUSA Library.

Important: Athletes interested in applying for the team should note that participation in at least two races from the following list* of events is required: 

The team selection petitions will be reviewed & decided by the JWOC Selection Committee. Anyone who wishes to apply to be part of the 2022 JWOC Team needs to fill out and submit the JWOC 2022 Petition no later than March 17, 2022.

Any questions should be directed to Andrea: andrea.schneider@nullorienteeringusa.org.

2021 Junior World Orienteering Championships

September 5-10, 2021

From Left to Right:

  • Jessica Colleran, COC, JNT
  • Ben Brady, COC, JDT
  • David Runde, MNOC and KristiansandOK (NOR), JNT
  • Anthony Riley, DVOA, JNT
  • Diana Aleksieva, QOC, JNT

Go Team USA!!

Follow TeamUSA through their personal training logs over on AttackPoint!

August 28-Sept 1 (Sat-Wed): Training

Friday, September 3: Arrival & Accreditation

Saturday, September 4: Opening Ceremony

Sunday, September 5: Sprint

Sprint Results

Men – Map71st – Anthony Riley18:21 (+2:42)
Men – Map119th – Benjamin Brady22:09 (+6:30)
Men – Map123rd – David Runde22:31 (+6:52)
Women – Map111th – Jessica Colleran24:16 (+9:19)
Women – Map112th – Diana Aleksieva24:28 (+9:31)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMcLU-7F2cI

Monday, September 6: Middle Qualification

Middle Qualifier Results

Men A – Map31st – Anthony Riley27:27 (+6:59)
Men B – Map36th – David Runde26:57 (+6:22)
Men C – Map40th – Benjamin Brady32:32 (+12:00)
Women B – Map36th – Jessica Colleran31:11 (+11:39)
Women C – Map36th – Diana Aleksieva36:25 (+17:01)
https://youtu.be/ebXTeexnUWs

Tuesday, September 7: Middle Final

Middle Final Results:

Men’s B Final – Map37th – David Runde30:40 (+6:44)
Men’s B Final55th – Benjamin Brady42:11 (+18:15)
Men’s B FinalAnthony RileyMSP
Women’s B Final – Map38th – Jessica Colleran47:51 (+19:56)
Women’s B Final40th – Diana Aleksieva49:03 (+21:08)
https://youtu.be/n7AjEFKLd7k

Wednesday, September 8: Rest Day

Thursday, September 9: Long Distance

Long Distance Results:

Men Long – Map68th – Anthony Riley1:25:26 (+16:29)
Men Long111th – David Runde1:43:36 (+34:39)
Men Long122nd – Benjamin Brady1:58:22 (+49:25)
Women Long – Map101st – Diana Aleksieva1:30:21 (+37:22)
Women Long104th – Jessica Colleran1:36:23 (+43:24)
https://youtu.be/JR3kGP5tUD4

Friday, September 10: Relay & Closing Ceremony

Relay Results:

Note: Diana & Jessica ran on a mixed team with Kristina Pashchenko from Ukraine. Because this was an ‘unofficial’ team, their results were not published in the official JWOC results.

PlaceNameLeg
Time		Leg
Place		Total
Time		Team
Place		Time
Diff
34United States Mens 1 – Map2:34:19+50:05
1. Anthony Riley42:203342:2033
2. Benjamin Brady1:00:24411:42:4438
3. David Runde51:35332:34:1934+50:05
https://youtu.be/9mDbvFCh6iM

2021 JWOC Team Announced

The JWOC Selection Committee (Erin Schirm, Anton Salmenkylä and Jon Torrance) is pleased to announce the 2021 US Team selected to compete at the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) to be held September 5-10 in Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey, about 50km from Istanbul.

From Left to Right:

  • Jessica Colleran, COC, JNT
  • Ben Brady, COC, JDT
  • David Runde, MNOC and KristiansandOK (NOR), JNT
  • Anthony Riley, DVOA, JNT
  • Diana Aleksieva, QOC, JNT

Go Team USA!!

Accompanying the team as JWOC coaches will be Anton Salmenkylä, JNT Coach and National Team member, and Tyra Christopherson, National Team member.

Update on JWOC 2021 Dates, Team Selection, and Policies

JWOC 2021 has been postponed to September 5-10, 2021 due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on preparations for the event.  The deadline for the submission of petitions for selection to the US JWOC team has been extended to June 5, 2021 with the announcement of the team to be made no later than June 15, 2021.  Team selection criteria can be found here.

The IOF has announced general COVID-19 policies to minimize risk at world orienteering events.  These policies mean that the JWOC experience will be very different this year.  All participants at JWOC 2021 will enter and remain in an Event Bubble dependent upon negative PCR tests and there will be strict rules to avoid contacts outside the Bubble and minimize contacts within the Bubble.  OUSA will be upholding all of the IOF and local organizer’s COVID-19 restrictions.  Please take these policies into consideration when deciding to submit a petition for JWOC team membership.

JWOC 2021 – Moving to September

Following a meeting on April 23, 2021, the IOF made the following announcement regarding the 2021 JWOC:

“The organisers and regional authorities in Turkey have requested that the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) 2021 be postponed from July to new dates in September 2021. The July dates are no longer possible due to planning difficulties caused by the pandemic. The new dates will be confirmed next week.”

Following confirmation of the new dates for JWOC, JTESC will publish a new deadline for the petitions and team announcement, as well as added information regarding any IOF or JWOC Covid-19 pertinent information. The current IOF Bulletin Covid-19 may be found here: https://orienteering.sport/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/iof-covid-19-bulletin-10-feb-2021.pdf.

2021 Georgia O-Fest Video Updates

A couple of videos from the Georgia Orienteering Festival (GAOC) held last weekend have been uploaded to the OUSA Facebook and YouTube channels. The first video is a minimally edited assemblage of clips featuring OUSA Junior Team members in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPGjH67b4Vo

The second video highlights the Southeastern Interscholastic Orienteering Championships held in conjunction with the O-Fest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1pa11XbOgc

In addition, Orienteering USA has uploaded much of the raw, unedited video footage to a Google Drive for downloading by schools, clubs and individuals to utilize in creating derivative media for publicity. The majority of clips are sorted/titled by date, school, bib# and name to facilitate identifying useful content. Any media used should credit/tag Orienteering USA. The content in these folders will be deleted at the end of April, so grab any clips you want now.

2021 Junior Team Announced

Orienteering USA’s Junior Team Executive Steering Committee (JTESC) is pleased to announce the athletes in the National Junior Program for 2021. Due to the lack of competition in 2020, no changes to team placement into the Junior National Team (JNT) were made at this time. Applications to the Junior Development Team (JDT) are accepted year round. JDT athletes who applied to be considered for the JNT may be moved up as they reach JNT performance targets.

2021 Junior National Team
Diana Aleksieva, QOC
Jessica Colleran, COC
Christiane Fletcher, GAOC
Bridget Hall, NEOC
Keegan Harkavy, NEOC
Kirsten Mayland, DVOA
Alex (Alexis) Merka, QOC
AJ (Anthony) Riley, DVOA
David Runde, MNOC, KristiansandOK
Emilia  Schmidt, QOC, Tampereen Pyrintö
Adrian Vartia, OK Löftan Sweden


Junior Development Team
Max Ahmed, QOC
Jack Barkley, COC
Ben Brady, COC
Ian Dunlap, OLOU
Mori  Finlayson-Johnecheck, NEOC/CSU
Luke Menzie, COC
Jasper Ralinovsky, OCIN
Oriana Riley, DVOA
Zoe Sibthorp, COC
Ava Suhocki, DVOA
Aubree Winters, COC

2021 JWOC Team Selection Criteria

The JWOC Selection Committee will choose up to six young male and six young female athletes to represent the USA at the 2021 Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) in Turkey. In order to be considered a candidate for 2021 JWOC Team Selection, a junior (born in 2001 or later) must meet the IOF eligibility requirements and also declare his/her intent to seek selection by petition.

Because of the uncertainty pertaining to the international organization of and ability to travel to JWOC created by the Covid-19 pandemic, the inability to safely schedule fair JWOC Team Trials as well as the lack of orienteering competitions in 2020, the 2021 JWOC Team Selection will proceed by petition for all athletes who wish to be considered for the team.

The petition shall be evaluated by the Selection Committee using the Team Selection Reviewing Rubrics. The completed petition should include as much of the requested information as possible, and be sent to ousajuniorprogram@nullorienteeringusa.org by May 5, 2021. The Selection Committee will announce the team on or before May 10, 2021.

The 2021 JWOC Selection Criteria document and rubrics may be accessed on the Orienteering USA website.