California Orienteering Festival Event Recap

July 17-30, 2023

  • Event Website
  • Director: Gavin Wyatt-Mair
    • Coordination: Sarah Williams
    • Registrar: Team
    • Technical quality: Erin Schirm
    • Technology: Jay Hann
    • Volunteers: Marie-Josee Parayre
    • Publicity: Stephanie MacLean
    • Mapping: Bill Cusworth
    • Consulting: Tapio Karras
    • Treasurer: Gary Kraght
    • IOF advisor: Erik Blake
    • IRF advisors: Merv Trease, Vic Sedunary, Phil Wood


July 17 – Sprint NRE @ Presidio


July 18 – Middle NRE @ Golden Gate Park

  • Western States Orienteering Championships – Day 2
  • Stage #2 Info
  • Event Summary from Stage 2 Director Rex Winterbottom:
    • The persistent fog and slight bluster made it a true San Francisco Summer event, more so than Presidio. I think if we had our choice, it was better to have the better weather the first day to ease people into these 2 weeks of adventures.
    • Although wearing the event-director hat the majority of the time, from when I arrived at 5:55 A.M. until departing after 4:00 P.M., I was able to escape into the woods as the starts were closing and tremendously enjoyed the ping-pongy jaunt through a variety of Golden Gate Park habitats. Well done on the course planning, Andrejus!
    • Course setter Andrejus Masalkovas had 92 checkpoints to place, we weren’t allowed to place any the day before according to the permit, and we were severely limited for placings. 80% of the checkpoints had to be cones or stands according to Parks & Rec. So major thanks to Vladimir, Steve Haas, Dan Greene, and another guy who happened to be there earlier than planned at 5:55 A.M. to get it done. It was a tight squeeze before the first scheduled starts, and our pre-runners Clinton Morse and Steve Gregg didn’t have much time to verify the controls — none of which, fortunately, were disturbed, and all were easily recovered after the event.
    • An absolute thank you to all of our volunteers and participants for building a day in the park we could all enjoy. Thank you so much!
  • Official Results
  • Results at Orienteering USA Rankings
  • Results / Splits from AttackPoint
  • RouteGadget – view maps and compare GPS routes
  • Orienteering USA Official Photos [235 photos]

July 19 – Long NRE @ Morgan Territory

  • Western States Orienteering Championships – Day 3
  • Stage #3 Info
  • Event Summary from Stage 3 Director Martin Kunz:
    • It takes a village …  to organize a stage at Cal-O-Fest, so the old saying goes. Of course the good people in and around BAOC stepped up and raised the third stage out of its inception to full completion. I entered the doing only at a fairly advanced stage but as I heard through the grapevine, stage 3 went through various levels of near death experiences including a change of venue and a capricious permit procedure.
    • Gavin Wyatt-Mair, together of course with the Cal-O-Fest steering committee, were, so I have heard, instrumental in keeping the baby alive and unharmed by bureaucratic round-abouts and baby eaters. Many thanks to them from all the happy Orienteers that eventually got to enjoy a most memorable stage in our beloved Morgan Territory. 
    • I think this was the first time we dared to organize an event in this typical Bay Area terrain with its oak chaparral meadows and distinctly structured terrains in the middle of summer. It was a risk but we lucked out and the temperatures were in the very acceptable mid-eighties. It’s better to be lucky than to be good – another old saying I tend to live my life by. A total of 283 runners who came and braved the summer conditions at Morgan Territory.
  • Official Results
  • Results at Orienteering USA Rankings
  • RouteGadget – view maps and compare GPS routes
  • Orienteering USA Official Photos [76 photos]

July 20 – Rest Day


July 21 – Sprint WRE @ Northstar California

  • North American Orienteering Championships – Day 1
  • Stage #4 Info
  • Official Results
  • Results at Orienteering USA Rankings
    • Additional Results at Orienteering USA Rankings
    • (due to WRE some classes processed separately
  • Bjorn Kjellstrom & Future Champions Cup scoring
    • The battle for the Bjorn Kjellstrom Cup as well as the Future Champions Cup is underway in California. In today’s Sprint at Northstar California Resort, the US squad came out on top in the preliminary scoring.
    • BK Cup scores after today puts USA 126 vs Canada 62.
    • Future Champions scoring the tally was USA 109 Canada 46.
    • Scoring orienteers can be found at Orienteering USA Facebook
    • Thanks to Orienteering USA VP Competition Jon Torrance for tallying up these scores for us.
  • RouteGadget – view maps and compare GPS routes
  • Orienteering USA Official Photos [345 photos]

July 22 – Middle WRE @ Little Truckee Summit


July 23 – Long WRE @ Sagehen


July 24 – NAOC Relay @ Northstar California


July 25 – Rest Day


July 26 – Middle NRE @ Independence Creek


July 27 – Long NRE @ Spooner Lake


July 28 – Rest Day / WRC Model


July 29-30 – World Rogaining Championships

JWOC ’23 Event Recap

July 2-9, 2023


July 2nd – Opening Ceremony (& pre-event)


July 3rd – Individual Sprint

https://youtu.be/v1x4Y9lyfBI
Livestream Replay – YouTube

July 4th – Sprint Relay

https://youtu.be/zh_ui50Svdc
Livestream Replay – YouTube

July 5th – Middle Distance

Livestream Replay – YouTube

July 7th – Long Distance


July 8th – Forest Relay

https://youtu.be/nL67Wger9XQ
Livestream Replay – YouTube

Trail-O Team heads for Czech Republic

With all of the pre-event hype for JWOC, it would be easy to overlook that another TeamUSA contingent is on it’s way to Europe to compete at the World Trail Orienteering Championships (WTOC) in the Czech Republic. The WTOC is running concurrently with JWOC, so we will venture to bring you all the news from both events and hopefully not get you too confused!

A portion of the team including Clare Durand (LAOC), Piotr Zielczynski (HVO), Daniel Heimgartner (QOC) and Sharon Crawford (RMOC) will run the PreWTOC TrailO Adventure, a two event WRE warmup this coming weekend with a PreO event on Friday and TempO on Saturday. Daniel will only be competing on Saturday, according to the start lists.

The team will then travel on to Kokořínsko, a beautiful natural region of rocks, small lakes and its unique sandstone towers, gates, windows and other formations. They will meet up with the remainder of TeamUSA for opening ceremonies on Sunday with competition running Monday through Thursday of next week. If the map snippets and photo look familiar, the same area hosted the World Orienteering Championships in 2021. Check our Event Recap page for a look back at WOC ’21.

It is our understanding that the full team composition for the World Champs events has changed somewhat from that initially announced back in May. We’ll bring you an updated list of who is competing in the coming days. The team will probably also update us on the current team via the US Trail-O Blog, which has been reactivated. In the meantime, please join us in wishing our TeamUSA athletes safe travels and speedy and accurate courses at both the WRE’s and the ensuing World Champs!

Photos: Map snippets & terrain photo from organizer website (photographer not mentioned). Selfie: Clare Durand.

2023 Wilson Character through Competition Awards Announced

Philadelphia, PA — The Wilson Awards, in partnership with Orienteering USA, proudly announce two winners of our 2023 Character through Competition Awards. Alex Merka of Mt. Airy, Maryland and Ben Brady of Maple Valley, Washington have been chosen to receive this $1,000 award, which honors the memory of our friend and family member, Iain Wilson. The awards seek to amplify the energy and commitment young orienteers bring to our sport and community.  While we are delighted when our awardees are successful in local and even international competition, in a broader sense we hope to encourage the kind of character that communicates to others the joy of competing as a shared endeavor.   

Alex has been orienteering since, as a toddler, she was old enough to hold a map. Taking advantage of Quantico Orienteering Club’s (QOC) junior training opportunities, she developed skills so that two decades later she was selected to represent the United States at the international level. In addition to being a fierce competitor she is also described as an enthusiastic volunteer who is always ready to help others.

Franklin Fish, President of QOC writes, “what impresses me the most about Alex is her willingness to help out our club whenever and wherever she is needed, usually without being asked.” This was on display when Alex taught orienteering to groups of middle schoolers last summer and when she created a campus map for a local school’s PE and after-school programs. This combination of ambition and selflessness is the kind of character that the committee is thrilled to support.

Like Alex, Ben started orienteering early in life and in the Northwest, where he embraced the exceptional training and competition programs available through Cascade Orienteering Club (COC) and Tahoma Orienteering in Maple Valley. He has used this platform to build his skills while mentoring up-and-coming young athletes.

Chris Cooper, Head Coach of Tahoma Orienteering Club writes, “He is one of a kind. He achieves success at the highest level but is willing to help those around him…. I have never had the opportunity to coach someone who is such a well—rounded and grounded human being.” Ben’s own words capture his enthusiasm for the sport, “The ability to race against my friends, run in unknown terrain and have fun throughout the process is something that only orienteering competition can bring.”

Ben and his teammates recently gave back by spending a week mapping Fisk State Park for future COC programs. Ben represents the second time that a parent-child pair has received Wilson Awards. His mother, Sherri Brady, spearheaded a 2017 Wilson Community Growth Grant in partnership with Tahoma Middle School’s PE program. Many of its participants have gone on to compete at the high school and national level.

The committee seeks individuals who have the willingness and ability to see beyond their own individual ambition and spread the spirit that brightens their lives and the lives of those around them.  We feel their enthusiasm for the outdoors, for running, for navigation, and for their fellow competitors sets an example for all of us.

Looking back on ten years of awards, Iain’s sister, Kate Wilson writes, “I am delighted at the inclusiveness of the award.  When I first went orienteering in the 1980s there were very few women.  To my surprise I saw that we have made awards to eleven women and six men.  This says great things about orienteering as a sport for everyone – looks as if I‘d better get my boys out in the woods so they can catch up.”

Applications for the 2024 Wilson Awards will be accepted later this fall. Additional information can be found at  https://orienteeringusa.org/about/recognition/#wilson.

Official Press Release (PDF Version of this post)

Photo credits: Evalin Brautigam (1 & 3), Clinton Morse for Orienteering USA (2 & 4)

SLO Go! Sprint Festival Event Recap

May 27-29, 2023

  • Host: Terraloco & BAOC
  • Venue(s):
    • Saturday AM Stage 1 – Heilmann Regional Park, Atascadero – Trial
    • Saturday PM Stage 2 – Morro Bay – Urban
    • Sunday AM Stage 3 – Cal Poly San Luis Obispo – Campus NRE
    • Sunday PM Stage 4 – Cal Poly San Luis Obispo –  Chase
    • Sunday PM Stage 5 – Terrace Hill, San Luis Obispo – Ascent
    • Monday AM Stage 6 – Waller Park, Santa Maria – Motala
  • Event Director: Rex Winterbottom
  • Event Website

Results & Media

Boulder Dash Event Recap

May 6-7, 2023

Results & Media

2023 WTOC Team Announced

The Trail-O selection committee is pleased to announce the team that will represent TeamUSA at the World Trail Orienteering Championships taking place from July 1-7, 2023 in Zakupy, Czech Republic.

Ten athletes have been selected to represent TeamUSA in the Open and Paralympic classes. In addition, two athletes will join the team to compete in the public race.

Congratulations & good luck to our TeamUSA Trail-O Team!!

  • Open Class
    • Mika Latva-Kokko NEOC
    • Clare Durand LAOC
    • Piotr Zielczynski HVO
    • Sharon Crawford RMOC
  • Open Class (junior)
    • Jarmo Latva-Kokko NEOC
    • Katja Latva-Kokko NEOC
  • Paralympic Class
  • Public Race
    • Kevin Bittenbender CRNA
    • Rhonda Liddell CRNA

2023 Iain Wilson Community Growth Grant Winners Announced

The Wilson Awards, in partnership with Orienteering USA, are proud to announce the
winners of the 2023 Iain Wilson Community Growth Grant. The $1,000 grant has been awarded to two
deserving programs that will use the funds to initiate and expand their orienteering programs.

The first recipient of the grant is the Los Angeles Orienteering Club’s (LAOC) newly formed Youth Development Team. In its first year, the team will utilize this grant and matching funds to assist team members with preparing for and attending training camp and participating in events beyond the local Los Angeles region.

Team members will be supported by parents and LAOC members providing additional training opportunities and transportation to events. LAOC seeks to develop youth ambassadors for the sport who will spread enthusiasm to a larger group of potential young orienteers. The program will be headed by John Phillips, with a supporting committee of board members to assist with training.

The second recipient is the Southold Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp (NJROTC) in Long Island. This unit includes cadets from Southold, Mattituck and Greenport High Schools in Eastern Long Island and is led by Captain Timothy McAllister, a retired Captain in the United States Navy.

The grant will be used to initiate an orienteering team for the unit and provide 198 cadets access to orienteering skills and classroom instruction. 100 cadets will participate in “hands-on” orienteering competitions and an additional 25 cadets will be able to attend NJROTC regional competitions.

Additionally, funding will be used to initiate a permanent orienteering course at a local park and host the NJROTC Area 4 Championships next fall. McAllister’s goal is for the team to increase interest in orienteering, leadership, teamwork, and STEM-related careers.

Read more in the Official Press Release

Calero 2023 Event Recap

April 2nd, 2023

  • Host: Bay Area Orienteering Club
  • Venue: Calero County Park, San Jose, CA
  • Event Director: Tapio Karras
    • Course Setter: Rich Parker
  • Event Website

Results

Note:The Red course was voided due to a misplaced control. Full details can be found in the Jury Report. Posted results for Red course/classes are unofficial with the offending control removed.

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