SUMMER 2026 ROUND UP

Summer might have drawn to a close, but we’re still thinking about what an incredible season of racing it was for American athletes. From first-time WOC attendees to historic World Cup Results, take a trip down memory lane with us.. 

(This summer round-up covers World Cups 1-4, JWOC, WOC, and WMOC. American athletes from around the nation also competed at O-Ringen, Swedish League, Swiss O’Week, EYOC, OOCup, and the Canadian Orienteering Festival.)(This summer round-up covers World Cups 1-4, JWOC, WOC, and WMOC. American athletes from around the nation also competed at O-Ringen, Swedish League, Swiss O’Week, EYOC, OOCup, and the Canadian Orienteering Festival.) 

US Team Summer Wrap-up

While we’re already well into autumn, we wanted to celebrate a summer of excellent racing and historic results for the US team abroad. Let’s take a look back at international events throughout the last few months.

World Cup 1 [Apr 24-26] – Locarno, Switzerland 

Four American athletes took on the first World Cup in Locarno, Switzerland. Oriana Riley, Keegan Harkavy, Ricardo Schaniel, and Thomas Curiger competed in this sprint World Cup. They unfortunately only had one opportunity to compete officially, but enjoyed themselves sprinting around in the beautiful mountains regardless. 

Read Oriana’s blog post here.

World Cup 2 [May 28-31] – Skara-Lidköping, Sweden 

Two then-Sweden-based USA orienteering athletes, Keegan Harkavy and Anthony Riley, competed at the second World Cup of the season, another sprint event in Skara and Lidköping. They competed in the KO quali and the individual sprint and pulled off some impressive results.

World Orienteering Cup 2026: Results & Event Info

Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) [June 29 – July 4] – Karlskrona, Sweden

Twelve juniors got the opportunity to compete in the epicenter of orienteering in Karlskrona, Sweden. They took on challenging, swampy terrain and some interesting peninsula sprinting. And they got to take improved knowledge and strengthened friendships home from Scandinavia.

Read their blog post here.

World Orienteering Championships (WOC) [July 6-11] – Genoa, Italy

The World Orienteering Championships were held in Genoa, Italy this year, and the U.S. sent eight athletes, including four first-timers (Annika Mihata, Ava Suhocki, Greta Leonard and Sergei Ryzhkov) and four returners (Evalin Brautigum, Joseph Brautigum, Ricardo Schaniel, and Keegan Harkavy). They enjoyed some extremely interesting and complex sprint racing, and, of course, some delicious gelato.
Read Annika’s blog post here

World Orienteering University Championship (WUOC) [July 28 – Aug 1] – Vila Real, Portugal

Twelve college-aged athletes took on the World Orienteering University Championships (WUOC) in Vila Real, Portugal. Despite fears about the heat of the summer in Portugal, the weather held out for a beautiful week of racing around interesting streets as well as an extremely pleasant forest. 

Keegan Harkavy came fourth in the KO-sprint qualifiers, which wouldn’t be his last legendary result for the summer. The team played a lot of Ninja, ate a lot of chocolate mousse, and enjoyed socializing with the other college teams. 

Read FISU’s round-up here.

World Cup Round 3 [Aug 5-9] – Vyšší Brod, Czechia

Four athletes —  three of whom were on the heels of racing or coaching at WUOC —  took a quick flight over to Vyšší Brod, Czechia, for the third World Cup and first purely forest event of the season. 

In the men’s relay, Thomas Laraia, Anthony Riley, and Keegan Harkavy pulled off the highest result in American World Cup history —  17th!!! Evalin Brautigum didn’t have a relay team, but tackled the challenging woods in the individual middle and middle quali.

World Orienteering Cup 2026: Results & Event Info

World Masters Orienteering Championships [Aug 7-14] – Rzeszow, Poland

Around 20 American orienteers traveled to Rzeszów, Poland  to compete at the 2026 World Masters Orienteering Championships. U.S. legend Sharon Crawford led the way by winning Gold in the Long Distance final, while several other runners turned in strong individual performances on challenging courses and everyone enjoyed a great week of racing in Poland:

Official Website.

European Orienteering Championship (WC4) [Sep 24-27]  –  Drusinikai, Lithuania

Athletes Joseph Barrett and Thomas Laraia took on the thorny, green woods of Drusnikai, Lithuania. They wrapped up the summer with some challenging races, some stellar results, and a whole lot of fun.  

World Orienteering Cup 2026: Results & Event Info

—.

And with that, the summer season of racing came to a close. If you still want a chance to nap some world ranking points or to race alongside the U.S. team members, show up to NAOC in December.

2026 New England Orienteering Championships Recap

October 10-11, 2026

Hosts: New England Orienteering Club (NEOC)

Up North Orienteers (UNO)

Program:

  • Saturday: Classic at Joe English Reservation 
  • Sunday: Classic at Groton Town Forest

The New England Orienteering Championships brought 150+ athletes from near and far to the beautiful Northeast, where races were technically challenging, beautiful, and extremely enjoyable. 

Event website

Results, Maps, and Media

Photos by Bridget Hall here.

Photos and videos by Riley Family available in this album.

Videos:

https://youtube.com/shorts/esJCwJ70Fpk
https://youtube.com/shorts/CRUz7edJy2Q

Edited by Oriana Riley

Meet Your New Orienteering USA Communications Team

We are so excited to join Orienteering USA as your new National Communications Team! We share a love of the sport, a love of adventure, and a passion for telling the Orienteering USA story.

Thank you to Cristina Luis for two years of great work as National Communications Manager. She leaves big shoes to fill, and we’re grateful for everything she’s done.

Angelica:

I’ve been orienteering since I was 14, when a local club coach introduced the sport in my geography class. Geography was my favorite subject, and I loved the challenge right away. I’m lucky that my entire family shares my love of orienteering.

I like orienteering for many reasons. It’s never boring, and it always challenges you, no matter how well or how poorly you do. But what I like most is that it’s a Forest Meditation. When you go for a regular run, your mind wanders off to random thoughts. When you go orienteering, you only think about where you are and where you’re going. Your mind shuts off everything else, and you’re in the flow. It’s the best feeling in the world.

I worked as a reporter in Ukraine and love making documentary films, so I’m looking forward to sharing Orienteering USA stories with you!

Oriana:

I’m lucky to have parents who met through orienteering, so I grew up on maps and in the woods.

I’ve pushed through challenges and several extra kilometers spent lost in the woods to grow to love orienteering, and have had the honor of competing as part of the national team for the last four years — representing the USA at one JWOC, one World Cup, and three WUOCs.

Other than orienteering, my primary passion is storytelling, which has taken many forms: novelist, journalist, poet, and marketer. I’m so grateful to be telling OUSA’s story with the woman who took me orienteering, even before I was born ;). 

The best stories in orienteering come from the people who live them, so we would love your suggestions, recommendations, and contributions. Whether it’s a story idea, a photo or video from your last event, a club milestone, or a feature you’d like to see, we want to hear it. Together, we can tell the story of orienteering in the USA!

Get in touch.

You can reach us anytime at communications@nullorienteeringusa.org.

We look forward to serving you as your communications team. See you out on the course!

Oriana and Angelica Riley

A New Route Choice for Communication at Orienteering USA

After two years as your National Communications Manager, I’m passing the torch. Taking over will be the mother-daughter team of Oriana Riley and Angelica Riley, who will bring energy and expertise in areas I have always felt could use more love than I could give them. Look for a more robust social media and video-filled OUSA presence in the coming months!

While I will be stepping away from the formal Communications Manager role, I am not leaving orienteering. Instead, I plan to focus on the areas where I feel I can make the biggest difference: hosting events, making maps, and growing the sport locally. It has been a privilege to travel the country telling OUSA’s story and meeting orienteers from all corners, and I hope to continue the relationships this work has sprouted.

All three of us will be working over the month of October as we make the transition. During this time and always, you can reach the communications team at

communications@nullorienteeringusa.org.

Please join me in welcoming Oriana and Angelica!

2026 Masters Nationals Event Recap

September 25-27, 2026

Host: Northeast Ohio Orienteering Club (NEOOC)

Program:

  • Friday: Corn Maze Challenge at Derthick’s Farm and Corn Maze
  • Saturday: Masters Nationals Day 1 at The West Woods, Geauga County
  • Sunday: Masters Nationals Day 2 at Big Creek Park, Geauga County

This year’s Masters Nationals (what used to be the Classic Champs) took place east of Cleveland, with challenging courses, glorious weather, and a bonus corn maze orienteering race! At this event US Champions are crowned in each age class based on the combined total time for two days of classic racing.

Event website

Winners in F65+, from left to right: Sue Kuestner (bronze), Pavlina Brautigam (gold), and Peggy (silver) Dickison. Photo by Stephanie Ross

Photos by Nadim Ahmed

Results, Maps, and Media

Photo album by Nadim Ahmed

Photos from NEOOC

Video from the corn maze

Short interview with event director Jonathan Boyer about corn maze orienteering

All results from host

Orienteering’s Olympic Ambitions and How You Can Help

A note from OUSA President Tori Campbell

Following up on my last note about Orientación México, the International Orienteering Federation’s new 2026-2030 Strategic Directions mark an exciting shift: a renewed push to bring orienteering to the Olympic Games.

While that might sound like a long shot, the landscape is changing fast. Better TV coverage, improved drone technology, and a growing international competitive field (especially outside Europe) make our sport more broadcast-friendly and globally viable than ever. Sprint Orienteering is a prime candidate for the Summer Games, while Ski-O continues to gain traction for the Winter Games.

How does this impact Orienteering USA?

(more…)

Orienteering at the 2026 Scout Jamboree

Setting an orienteering course on a reclaimed coal mine presents some unusual challenges. At the
Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia, many of the terrain features that normally give an
orienteering map its character simply aren’t there.

That was one of the challenges faced by Orienteering USA at the 2026 National Scout Jamboree,
held July 22–31 at the Summit. More than 400 starts were recorded on three courses: White for
beginners, Yellow for intermediate orienteers, and Green for more experienced orienteers.

(more…)

September O Forum: Radio Orienteering, the Thinking Harder Sport

The next OUSA Forum will be on Tuesday, September 15th at 8:30 pm ET and will cover and introduction to Radio-O!

Radio-O is an international sport with National, Regional, and World Championships. In Radio-O, the control locations are not marked on the map and competitors must use their map and radio signals to locate them. Each of the five controls has a small radio transmitter that transmits for one minute before handing off to the next. Using a directional radio receiver, you take bearings on the signals to locate the controls. You make your initial decisions with very limited information; only the start and finish. As you move through the forest, you take bearings to the controls while they transmit, accumulating information to make route choice decisions to find the controls.

This OUSA Forum will cover Radio Orienteering race formats and how to use the receivers to find the controls.

Photo by Alan Murray.

Join us on Google Meet on Tuesday, September 15th at 8:30pm ET.

Add to Google Calendar.

Support Orientación México!

A note from OUSA President Tori Campbell

It’s been quite a summer for orienteering, with plenty of opportunities across the USA and abroad to experience old favorites and explore something new. Part of my summer agenda was shaped by attending the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) General Assembly. Besides having the opportunity to spectate Sprint WOC (the knockout-sprint is really fun to watch–and challenging to organize!) and cheer on our National Team members, I joined IOF Council members and representatives from 80 member federations to vote on business that moves orienteering forward internationally. Over the next few newsletters, I’ll share some exciting insights from the IOF’s new strategic directions that might open up opportunities for Orienteering USA.

I want to begin with some good news beyond just strategic planning, however. On June 8th, the IOF General Assembly voted to confirm Orientación México as a new provisional member, adding another nation to the competition list for the North American Orienteering Championships. Some of you may know former OCIN member Isis Espinosa, who represented Mexico at WOC 2026 and is a driving force behind spreading a love of orienteering in Mexico City. She shared ways we could help support our new orienteering neighbors:

  • Get the word out! Follow Orientación México on Facebook. If you know Mexican citizens abroad who might live in places with orienteering already established, please pass this message along to help Orientación México grow.
  • Represent México! Do you know a citizen of México? Orientación México is particularly hoping to connect with Mexican orienteers who might be interested in representing Mexico at international championships – email orientacionmexico@nullgmail.com to learn more.
  • Share resources. Whether you’ve got extra equipment that you might be willing to donate, online resources, expertise or volunteers who happen to be traveling south of the border, we’re putting together a list of people and resources that we can share. Can you be a point of contact for something that might help? Share your contact information and ideas.

We look forward to seeing orienteering continuing to grow in North America. Welcome, Orientación México!