Category: WOC Team

2024 WOC Selection Criteria Announced

The 2024 Sprint World Orienteering Championships (WOC) will be hosted in Edinburgh, Scotland, from July 12-16, 2024.

Orienteering USA’s WOC Review Panel (RP – Peggy Dickison, Tyra Christopherson, Jeff Saeger, Glen Tryson) will choose up to 3 (three) male and 3 (three) female athletes to represent the USA at WOC, in addition to the one male and one female already selected by winning the NAOC sprint in 2023. Using the same selection criteria, the WOC RP may also choose alternates who will step in, should the need arise.

There will be two official Team Trials.

  • Sprint Scotland will be held in Glenrothes, Scotland (north of Edinburgh), on May 4-5, 2024. This event consists of three sprint races, two on Saturday and one on Sunday. All three are individual start races.
  • Sprint Storrs will be held in Storrs, Connecticut (University of Connecticut) on Saturday, 11 May 2024. This event consists of two sprint races, an individual start race in the morning and a mass-start race in the afternoon.
  • Note to Petitioners: Petitioners who cannot attend either Team Trials events will be required to register for the Sprint Storrs Team Trials as Non-Compete and fill in the declaration page.

To be considered a candidate for 2024 WOC Team Selection, a WOC candidate must meet the WOC eligibility requirements and also declare their intent to seek selection to the team.

Candidates should refer to the Full WOC 2024 Selection Criteria document which can be found in the Orienteering USA Library.

2023 TeamUSA WOC Team Announced

The TeamUSA WOC Selection Committee (Jeff Saeger, Glen Tryson, Peggy Dickison) is pleased to announce the 2023 US WOC Team for the 2023 World Orienteering Championships to be held in Flims Laax, Switzerland in mid July. Here’s the lineup:

April 29 Update: Bridget Hall, originally selected for the WOC ’23 team, secured a summer internship and has withdrawn from the team. Evalin Brautigam, originally selected as 1st Alternate, has been moved into Bridget’s spot on the team roster.

MENWOMEN
Thomas CurigerAli Crocker
Danny RileyEvalin Brautigam*
Joe BarrettSyd Fisher
Anton SalmenkylaIzzy Bryant
1st Alternate: Greg Ahlswede1st Alternate: Alison Campbell
2nd Alternate: AJ RileyDeclined: Bridget Hall*

The competition was tough, the results were often very tight, and we saw some impressive results. This year saw the most competitive Team Trials in many years, which meant that it was harder than ever to make it on to the Team.

Congratulations to all of you who were selected to represent TeamUSA on the world stage!

Peggy Dickison, on behalf of the WOC Selection Committee

Thomas
Danny
Joe
Anton
Greg
1st alternate
Anthony (AJ)
2nd alternate
Ali
Evalin
Syd
Izzy
Alison
1st alternate*
Bridget
declined*

43rd Annual West Point NRE Event Recap

including 2023 WOC Team Trials

April 15-16, 2023

  • Host: United States Military Academy Orienteering Club
  • Venue(s):
    • Middle: Lake Popolopen, West Point, NY
    • Sprint: Camp Buckner, West Point, NY
    • Long: Jackie Jones, Harriman SP, NY
  • Event Director: CDT Tyler Wilson
    • Registrar: CDT Gregory Kies
    • Course Setters:
      • Middle: CDT Shawn Mather
      • Sprint: CDT Holden Sopoti
      • Long: CDT Neal Anderson
      • Course Vetting: CDT Paul Bruce
    • Course Consultant: Jordan Laughlin
  • Event Website

Results

Photos & Media

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. 

2023 WOC Team Trials

The 43rd West Point NRE will host the US Team Trials for the 2023 World Orienteering Championships for the second consecutive year. This year’s WOC will be held in Switzerland, 11-16 July. Following last year’s inaugural Sprint WOC, this year is back to a forest-race WOC, with a Middle, Long, and Relay. Therefore, only the Middle and Long races at the USMAOC event will be used as Trials qualifiers.

The M21 and F21 winners for each race will earn a spot on the WOC Team, as well as the athletes with the best combined results. The Review Panel (Peggy Dickison, Jeff Saeger, and Glen Tryson) will name the remaining athletes, based on a scoring list and petitions. Athletes who wish to be considered for the WOC Team but are unable to compete at West Point must register for the event, selecting “Yes, Competing for selection to the US WOC Team” and “Not participating” under the Race Selection section.

See the Selection Criteria below for more information.

Peggy Dickison
ESC Chairman/Review Panel Chair

US WOC 2023 Team Selection Criteria

  • The winner of each Middle race (M/F-21+) will receive automatic selection.
  • The winner of each Long race (M/F-21+) will receive automatic selection.
  • The athlete with the best combined results in each race (M/F-21+) will receive automatic selection.

Additional information and caveats:

  • At least two athletes of each gender will receive automatic spots; if one athlete wins both races (and therefore also has the top combined result), the second automatic spot goes to the athlete finishing 2nd in the Middle race (because we have more starts in the Middle and Relay).
  • If either the winner of the Middle or Long is also first on the scoring list (a combination of the results of the two races, normalized to be of equal weight), only two automatic spots will be awarded, with the remaining members selected by the Review Panel.
  • Athletes who wish to be considered for the 2023 WOC Team but are unable to compete at West Point must still register for the event, selecting “Yes, Competing for selection to the US WOC 2023 Team” and “Not participating” under the Race Selection section.
  • Remaining members of the team will be named by the Review Panel, using petitions, the scoring list, and Trials results.
  • Any athlete may submit a petition, within an hour of the final race finish, and must explain why they could not attend the Trials, had a subpar result, or were affected by an organizational issue not of their making.
  • There must be at least three declared and eligible athletes competing in a race for there to be an automatic selection.
  • The NT will send at least three athletes of each gender, but no more than 6. Most likely is 3-4 athletes of each gender. This year, the US has 8 or 9 race starts for the women (3 middle, 2 long, 3 relay, and potentially a 4th middle [personal, ie cannot be transferred] start based on the top North American on the IOF ranking list as of 11 May), and 7 starts for the men (3 middle, 1 long, 3 relay, and potentially a 4th middle).
    – As of 4 March, the top North Americans are an American woman and a Canadian man.
  • If anyone with a personal start wants to compete in additional races at WOC, they must either attend the Trials or submit a petition.

WOC ’22 Denmark Event Recap

June 26-30, 2022

  • Under Construction: Additional content to be added as it becomes available

Sun June 26, 2022 – Sprint Relay @ Kolding

Leg 1Tori Borish (24th)17:44 (+3:10)
Leg 2Ricardo Schaniel (25th)17:38 (+2:45)
Leg 3Joseph Barrett (27th)18:01 (+4:00)
Leg 4Evalin Brautigam (25th)18:38 (+4:40)
Place & time diff are per leg, not cumulative

Tue June 28, 2022 – Knock Out Sprint @ Fredericia

Women Qual AAlison Campbell (27th)12:21 (+2:40)
Women Qual BTori Borish (25th)12:02 (+1:59)
Women Qual CEvalin Brautigam (23rd)12:17 (+2:08)
Men Qual ASergei Rhzhkov (25th)10:55 (+1:13)
Men Qual BJoe Barrett (29th)11:40 (+1:44)
Men Qual CRicardo Schaniel (26th)11:25 (+1:20)
No TeamUSA Runners advanced to Quarter-Finals

Thu June 30, 2022 – Sprint @ Vejle

  • Maps – coming soon
  • Livestream Full Broadcast at IOF Youtube
  • Photos – coming soon
Women Qual AAlison Campbell (27th)16:00 (+4:04)
Women Qual BTori Borish (24th)15:09 (+3:03)
Women Qual CEvalin Brautigam (18th)14:26 (+1:50)
Men Qual ARicardo Schaniel (27th)13:57 (+2:19)
Men Qual BSergei Rhyhkov (28th)14:37 (+2:09)
Men Qual CJoe Barrett (24th)13:51 (+1:49)
No Team USA Runners qualified for Finals

TeamUSA Welcomes Newest Members

The Executive Steering Committee is pleased to announce the promotion of four athletes to the US National Team bringing the TeamUSA roster to 36 athletes for 2022.

Sergei will be competing in Denmark next month as part of our 6-person team at the 2022 Sprint World Orienteering Championships (WOC). In July, Anna & Holden will be part of our 10-person roster competing at the 2022 Junior World Championships (JWOC) in Portugal and Tyler joins our 12-person squad heading to Switzerland for the biennial 2022 World University Orienteering Championships (WUOC) in mid August.

We’re looking forward to a great summer of international racing with full teams traveling to all the major competitions, including the The World Games right here in the US. Congratulations to all the athletes on the 2022 TeamUSA Roster!!

Sergei Ryzhkov (DVOA)
Elite Squad
Anna Campbell (NEOC)
Junior Squad
Holden Sopoti (USMAOC)
Junior Squad
Tyler Wilson (USMAOC)
Junior Squad

Be sure to visit the National Team page on the website for details on all 2022 team members and the international events they have been selected for this year. Historical info on previous years teams can be found in the OUSA Library. Thanks to all the volunteers on the Executive Steering Committee and the various team selection committees for their efforts in putting together such a great roster of athletes to represent us!

2022 WOC Team Announced

The WOC Selection Committee (Jeff Saeger, Glen Tryson & Peggy Dickison) is pleased to announce the US Team for this year’s World Orienteering Championships in Denmark. This years championships, to be held June 26-30, will be the first WOC to focus exclusively on the sprint discipline (aka Sprint WOC). Future WOC’s will alternate between Forest WOC & Sprint WOC formats.

The first event will be a Sprint Relay in the town of Kolding which includes an old town area with asymmetrical street patterns including the castle Koldinghus dating from around 1200 that rises about 20m above the town.

Image: Hubertus, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The second event will consist of qualifying and final rounds of a Knock-Out Sprint in and around the military fortifications of Fredericia, characterized by hilly ramparts now covered by grass and forest. Within the fortifications lies the town proper with a symmetrical road network divided into quadrants.

Image: CC BY-SA 1.0 via WikiTravel

The final events of the championship will be the Individual Sprint qualification and final races in the Danish town of Vejle including a complex old town area with shopping streets, backyards and narrow alleyways. Modern residential areas with public buildings and schools are also present. To the north lies a steep 90m slope with deep ravines and partly vegetated with deciduous forest areas. To the south lies a flat area cut by multiple railways and two water courses passable by bridges and, in some cases, tunnels.

Privat fotograf, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Because the sprint relay team consists of 2 men + 2 women, TeamUSA will be sending three men and three women to this year’s competition. Congratulations to the following athletes selected to represent the US at this years Sprint WOC:

  • Men
    • Joe Barrett – QOC
    • Sergei Ryzhkov – DVOA
    • Ricardo Schaniel – Bussola OK
    • Eric Bone – COC (alternate)
  • Women
    • Tori Borish – RMOC
    • Evalin Brautigam – WCOC
    • Alison Campbell – DVOA
    • Oriana Riley – DVOA (alternate)

Because the relay is the first event, it has been pre-determined that Joe Barrett, Ricardo Schaniel, Tori Borish, and Evalin Brautigam will run the relay, running order to be determined.

Joe Barrett
QOC
Sergei Ryzhkov
DVOA
Ricardo Schaniel
Bussola OK
Tori Borish
RMOC
Evalin Brautigam
WCOC
Alison Campbell
DVOA
Eric Bone (alt)
COC
Oriana Riley (alt)
DVOA

There will also be a WOC Tour held concurrently with 3 Sprint races held on the same terrains the WOC competitors will face plus 3 Forest Middle distance races for spectators to enjoy. Come to Denmark and cheer on TeamUSA and get a solid week of races in for yourself as well!