Orienteering USA

With the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic showing no signs of abating in the next few months, most of the high level orienteering events scheduled for Fall of 2020 have now been cancelled or postponed. Recently cancelled events include: 42nd Annual Billygoat (WCOC), New England Championships (NEOC), Run the Rotary NRE (EMPO) and Chapel of the Four Chaplains Trail-O Championships (CRNA). Other national events have previously made the decision to move to 2021 and beyond.

While it is certainly disappointing not to have these major events to look forward to on the fall calendar, the increase in DIY/BYOM events over the past few months has shown that there is considerable interest in the sport of orienteering in the US. Many clubs across the country, utilizing recommendations developed by OUSA, have held successful summer events fully compliant with local, state and federal guidelines for group activity. As school districts around the country look to resume with a variety of in-person, remote & hybrid teaching formats, educators are increasingly looking for alternative ways to safely engage their students.

Perhaps the silver lining of the pandemic is an opportunity for the orienteering community to focus on building the base by highlighting local fall and winter events and programs like OUSA’s Zero to Orange & Level 1 Coaching programs (currently in transition to an online/hybrid model) and expanding the inventory of local maps through initiatives like the Youth Mapping Program. Experienced orienteers can hone their skills by using readily available technology to re-imagine familiar local maps in new and creative ways such as corridor/maze courses and contour-only maps, easy to administer flag-less courses using software such as UsynligO, O-Range and more.

2021 is gearing up to be a busy year of national level events and we look forward to being able to safely travel to more distant terrains around the country. In the meantime, let us know what your club is doing on a local level and how Orienteering USA can assist in those efforts.

Photo courtesy of Katie Dunn (ROC)

Capital Region Nordic Alliance (CRNA), in cooperation with the Chapel of the 4 Chaplains has decided to postpone its Trail-O originally scheduled for Sept 11-13 in Philadelphia, PA to the Spring of 2021 due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns. Details regarding the new date will be forthcoming.

With the continuing SARS-CoV-2 issues facing the US, the Orienteering USA Board has agreed to hold this year’s AGM as a virtual meeting.

The Annual General Meeting will take place Thursday, October 22nd, from 8pm-10pm EDT.

Meeting details, agenda and more are currently being developed. Details will be posted here as they become available:
https://orienteeringusa.org/events/virtual-agm-2020/

Are you interested in becoming a certified orienteering coach, or are you looking for some formal technical orienteering training? Members of OUSA’s Youth Coaching Working Group have been transitioning the workshop content from the Level 1 Coaching Certification Course and Zero to Orange into an online, blended education model.

As we prepare our proposal to launch the blended version of the Level 1 Coaching Certification (and the unit that contains the Zero to Orange content), we would like to get a feel for the interest level in both courses so we can make sure we have the teaching staff and resources to meet demand. Even if you are already a certified coach, please respond to this survey and provide your input.

Take the Survey

If you are a club leader, a Scouter, JROTC or ROTC instructor, or an educator, please pass this survey on to others who might be interested.

We greatly appreciate your input. We will close the survey on July 19^th.  Thanks!

Tori Campbell
OUSA VP Youth Initiatives

Orienteering USA welcomes Videlin Aleksiev from the Quantico Orienteering Club as its new EventReg Administrator. In his new role with OUSA, Videlin will serve as the primary club contact for the Event Register system and will work closely with registrars to facilitate using the system for their events.  He began orienteering as a youth in Bulgaria over 35 years ago and competes at both the local and national level in the US with his family including daughter Diana who is a member of the 2020 US JWOC Team.

This fall, Orienteering USA will hold it’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). At that meeting, there will be voting for at least three openings on the OUSA Board of Directors.

The term of office for a Board member is three years. To be considered, you must have been a member of the Federation for at least one year, and must have been active in orienteering either by active involvement in a local club or by prominent Federation work such as committee membership, publications, etc. It is also expected that you will generally attend Board meetings, either in person or by teleconference.

The duties of the Board of Directors are:

1. Select OUSA officers and plan for management succession.
2. Set policy and provide guidance and strategic direction to management
3. Review and approve the Federation strategic plan and annual operating plans, budgets, and other business plans
4. Oversee the financial reporting process, including selection of auditors, audit and control policies, and follow up on audit recommendations.
5. Approve financial strategies, borrowing commitments, and long-range financial planning
6. Monitor the Federation’s compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and the performance of its responsibilities as the National Governing Body of orienteering in the United States
7. Ensure that the Board and management are prepared to act in case of an unforeseen crisis (disaster planning).

OUSA has a Nominating Committee that will present some candidates at the AGM. If you meet the above qualifications, and have an interest, please present your name and orienteering background to the head of the Sanctioning Committee (William Jameson, william.jameson@nullteamrubiconusa.org, (803)804-7364) by 15 AUG. A phone interview will follow.

Orienteering USA’s SARS-COV2 Task Force is currently developing recommendations for holding events at both the local and national level in light of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.  The Task Force recently released a DRAFT document for comments.   Comments from the orienteering community can be made directly on the document for others to see. 

The Board will review these recommendations in late July before setting a policy.  Please consider it from the perspective of both an event organizer and a participant. Think about how safe you would feel.  Let us know if sections are more restrictive, or not restrictive enough. Are important points missing?, or do points need to be moved between Recommendations and Suggestions.  You can make your edits directly on the document as “suggestions”.