World Masters Champs 2025 Event Recap

Aug 8-15, 2025

Sharon Crawford and Peter Gagarin with their bronze medals from the Sprint Final.

With over 2,000 entries this year, the World Masters Orienteering Championships (WMOC) in Girona, Spain, was clearly the place to be. The WMOC is the IOF championship event for those aged 35 and older, and every year Masters athletes from around the world travel to compete, some of them against friends they’ve known for many decades.

All photos from Evalin Brautigam. Map snippets from Livelox.

There were 34 US athletes in attendance this year, from clubs all over the country. The highlights for the US contingent include three podium trips for Sharon Crawford (W80), who earned a bronze in the sprint, and silver in both the middle and long. Over in M80, Peter Gagarin earned bronze medals in the sprint and long.

Maps, Results, and Photos

There does not appear to be an official repository for routes and maps, but this search on Livelox should get you some wildcat entries with plenty to look at.

Lots more results, splits, and photos on the official WMOC site.

August Forum

The August forum will take place on Wednesday, August 27th at 8:30pm ET on Google Meet.

Join Elias “Eli” Jimenez, founder of VentR-out, for a live demo of a virtual reality orienteering simulation grounded in the fundamentals of the sport. Drawing on past experiences competing in and organizing adventure races, he sees VR’s potential for simulating outdoor experiences in a new way. This early-stage project highlights VR as a promising medium for orienteering training. Get a first-hand look at what’s possible, where it could go next, and how you could help shape its evolution.

Join on Google Meet on Wednesday, August 27th at 8:30pm ET.

US Ski-O Team seeking applications for 2026!

The USA Ski-O National team is seeking applicants for the senior team for the Ski-O World Championship (WSOC) in Japan,  March 1-6, 2026. 

The site and date for Junior Ski-O World Champs has not yet been announced for 2026. Following our team’s good results in 2025, we are excited to build a larger junior team, especially adding girls and women.

Junior competitors interested in joining the national team may apply to the standing team to be ready for more information as it becomes available.

Questions about the junior team can be directed to Junior team coach Carl Fey.

Applications for juniors and seniors must include: Race results (ski-O, foot-O, X-C skiing), Current training plan, a brief statement of interest about joining the team, and biographical info. (birth date, citizenship status, gender).

Applications should be sent to ESC chair Adrian Owens by email before Sept 30, 2025.

Map from the 2009 World Ski Orienteering Championships

YMP August Map of the Month

The Youth Mapping Program August Map of the Month is of Black Hills State University in Spearfish, SD. This map is used in classes for Outdoor Education students and in classes for general Physical Education students. In the future, the university plans to share this map with local ROTC and scout groups.

According to Outdoor Education professor Chris McCart, this map is “user-friendly. It gives credibility to our program.”

Interested in having a map made of your school? Learn more about the program and apply here.

2025 European Youth Orienteering Championships Recap

The 2025 European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) took place 17-20 July, 2025 in Brno, Czechia. EYOC is a competition for men and women in the -16 and -18 age groups, and a chance for young orienteers from many countries to get together and face serious competition in a friendly environment. This is the first year that the US sent an official team, with four women and five men (announcement) making up the ranks.

As this is the European Youth Orienteering Championships, the official results only include those representing European countries. Official or not, there were certainly some US results worth writing home about! Especially in the Long, with Alex Eriksson 30th (of 109) in M16 and Erik Fey 38th (of 114) in M18.

Results and maps

YMP July Map of the Month

The Youth Mapping Program July Map of the Month is Abington Friends School in Jenkintown, PA. Since this map was made in 2020, it has been used consistently by many teachers across age groups and in varied subjects.

“Several of our class have used it for math classes, and for discovery/history of our campus classes. It can be used by any class, and it’s an asset to every division, K-12. It’s fabulous!”

Interested in having a map made of your school? Learn more about the program and apply here.

Nominations sought for 2025 Silva & Golden Service Awards

2024 Silva Award winner Clinton Morse

The 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Orienteering USA will be held virtually on Thursday, September 11th, 2025. One of the highlights of the AGM is the announcement of the annual Silva & Golden Service awards. These awards recognize individuals who have contributed to our sport both at the national and club level. Nominations are now being accepted for both of these prestigious awards and are due by Tuesday, September 2nd.

July Forum

The July OUSA forum will be all about beginner events!

On Tuesday evening Ron Birks of GPHXO, Blaik Matthew’s of FLO, and Kathi and Jim Mullin of MNOC will be presenting on how their clubs put on events to introduce orienteering to beginners. This forum will be useful for anyone looking to expand their club offerings and get more newcomers involved in the sport!

Join us on Google Meet on Tuesday, July 22nd at 8:30pm ET.

Add this event to your Google Calendar.

2025 WOC Recap

The 2025 World Orienteering Championships (WOC) took place in Kuopio, Finland, July 8-12 2025. The US sent a team of four men and four women to compete in a program consisting of a Middle Qualification, Middle Final, Long Final, and Relay. Meet the team on the blog!

Anthony Riley and Ali Crocker both qualified for the Middle Final, and finished 43rd and 47th, respectively. Ali then had the best US finish in the Long Final, at 41st, while Joe Barrett had the best finish for the men in 46th. The men’s and women’s relay teams wrapped up the week with 28th and 23rd place finishes.

Results, Maps and Photos

Team USA photos by Evalin Brautigam.

WTOC Team Selected

The team to represent the US at the 2025 World Trail Orienteering Championships has been selected. The WTOC take place this year in Slovakia and Hungary, August 26-31.

This year’s team:

  • Bob Cooley (BAOC)
  • Sharon Crawford (RMOC)
  • Richard H. Ebright (DVOA)
  • Jay Hann (BAOC)
  • Mike Poulsen (CROC)

Gavin Wyatt-Mair (BAOC) will also be attending as a team official.