Orienteering USA

(Position is Closed – Following is for reference only)

Orienteering USA seeks a part-time at-home contractor to serve as the Event
Register Administrator.

Duties to include:

• Serve as the primary interface to OUSA clubs for Event Register
• Assist event registrars with their events, as needed
• Serve as primary manager for Github team developing Event Register code
• Make minor bug fixes as necessary
• Work closely with the OUSA Tech committee on EventReg projects and usage
• Other duties as assigned

Desired Skills:

• Clear and timely communicator
• Customer service skills
• Software and database development including PHP and MySQL
• Software development management: ability to work with and manage others on a development team
• Organizational skills. Ability to track and report on bug reports, feature requests, and development projects.
• Knowledge of the sport of orienteering (experience with orienteering/sports registration a plus)

Note: Event Register is the property of Orienteering USA. Any future code
improvements and/or changes are the property of OUSA.

Salary and Budget:

• Expected Average 10 to 15 hours a month
• Proposed rate – $250/month = $3,000/year
  • Larger development projects to be budgeted separately

Please send resume and cover letter via email to Clare
Durand, president@nullorienteeringusa.org by June 15, 2020.
Deadline extended to June 20th, 2020.

With physical distancing necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19, orienteering clubs are turning to Do-It-Yourself events as one way to continue to provide orienteering for their members and the public. Orienteering USA wants to make sure that such events are handled in a safe manner to protect our members and our organization’s liability.

A Do-It-Yourself event involves participants going to terrain and running a course when they choose. There would not be any on-site event management while the participant is running. This includes both permanent courses and temporary courses without any management on-site.

Liability Waivers

It is important that participants on Do-It-Yourself courses accept personal responsibility for their safety and release the club, the landowner, and OUSA from liability. Some ways to accomplish this include:

• Require signing of a waiver via a registration portal before being granted access to the map.
• Post the waiver on the same page as the map download with clear language that downloading the map serves as agreement to the waiver.
• Print the waiver on the map itself with clear language that possession of the map serves as agreement to the waiver.

Safety of Participants

We want our participants to have a positive orienteering experience and to come back safe and healthy. For Do-It-Yourself courses it is important that we provide participants with the tools to do so responsibly. It is recommended that clubs provide the following guidance for Do-It-Yourself events:

• Very clear information on the technical and physical difficulty of the course(s) with a reminder that management will not be on site and participants should choose a course suitable for their skill level and level of fitness.
• Participants should make sure someone knows where they are going and when they are expected to return. A copy of the map left in their car or with a friend will be useful if search and rescue becomes necessary. Clubs may wish to implement some sort of virtual check-in/check-out procedure or leave it up to the participant to take responsibility for this themselves.
• Instructions on how to summon emergency assistance in the area of the course and how to get to the nearest hospital. Be very clear on whether cell phone service is available on the course.
• A reminder to carry an emergency whistle and water.

Due to continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Orienteering Championships originally scheduled for July (and optimistically bumped to October) have been postponed to Summer of 2022 – late June/early July time frame. Exact dates will be announced in coordination with World Games and other international events.

Read the full release.

IOF Council has decided to extend the period of no WREs, from May 31, to July 31, 2020.

The main reason for this decision is to make sure that the World Ranking System is applied fairly. As World Rankings are in some cases used for determination of qualification and starting positions at our major events, it is important that the fairness of the system is upheld globally. 2 aspects of this decision:

• There are still significant restrictions on movement and travel which means that athletes do not have equal opportunities to participate in events across international borders.
• Although it may be possible to organise WREs in some countries, it is far from possible in the majority of countries. It is unfair if athletes in those countries where it is possible to participate in WREs could gain WR points and improve their World Ranking, while others may not.

IOF Council has determined, by looking at the length of current restrictions in place across member countries, that this decision should be valid until July 31. This will be reviewed again approximately July 1 to see if a further extension is required.

For clarification you can still arrange the event, IOF will, of course, not interfere whether local organizers carry out the arrangements themselves, as long as you meet the requirements imposed on you by your local / national authorities. But the competition will not have WRE status.

The WREs for this period will be cancelled in IOF Eventor.

The postponement of the North America Orienteering Championship 2020 means that the associated IOF FootO Event Advisers Clinic, which was scheduled for the 28 July, will also not happen this year.

The clinic might be organised next year, in conjunction with NAOC 2021, but no confirmation on this can be made before dates for NAOC are decided. More information will come.

JWOC 2020 in Turkey has officially been postponed. No new date has yet been set.

OUSA will be going ahead with our JWOC team selection based on petitions submitted by TODAY, Fri. Apr. 10.  Team USA will be able to train to be ready when the new date of JWOC is announced.

The California Orienteering Festival organizers, after much deliberation, have decided to postpone the festival, including the North American Championships (NAOC) and World Rogaining Championships (WRC), until the summer of 2021.  The global health emergency, with its travel and assembly restrictions, means that we cannot hold regional or international championships while protecting the health and safety of our competitors.

The 2021 festival program and event locations will remain the same.  We are trying to schedule the event at a similar time frame; we expect the new dates to be confirmed within weeks.  Once the dates are approved by the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) and the International Rogaining Federation (IRF) and after we have confirmed with landowners, sponsors, and other stakeholders, we will announce the new dates.

Current registrations are automatically transferred to 2021; you do not have to do anything, your fees will not increase, and you are guaranteed entry!  We encourage you to leave your registration in place;  however, for those interested in a refund, please visit our updated website registration page for details, or contact the registrar. 

We wish you all the best in these difficult times; stay healthy and fit, and we look forward to seeing you in beautiful California for an exciting summer in 2021!  

Sincerely,

The Steering Committee of the California Orienteering Festival

The International World Games Association (IWGA) and Birmingham Organising Committee (BOC) have agreed to postpone the 11th edition of The World Games until 7th to 17th July 2022. The Games had originally been planned to take place from 15–25 July next year.

The move is precipitated by the recent postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games to July 2021 and this date range was the only period in 2022 that could handle organizer venue, accommodation and sponsor needs. It remains to be seen how this will impact the orienteering program as the new dates overlap the 2022 World Orienteering Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Read the Full Release