Tag: team trials

2024 WOC Selection Criteria Announced

The 2024 Sprint World Orienteering Championships (WOC) will be hosted in Edinburgh, Scotland, from July 12-16, 2024.

Orienteering USA’s WOC Review Panel (RP – Peggy Dickison, Tyra Christopherson, Jeff Saeger, Glen Tryson) will choose up to 3 (three) male and 3 (three) female athletes to represent the USA at WOC, in addition to the one male and one female already selected by winning the NAOC sprint in 2023. Using the same selection criteria, the WOC RP may also choose alternates who will step in, should the need arise.

There will be two official Team Trials.

  • Sprint Scotland will be held in Glenrothes, Scotland (north of Edinburgh), on May 4-5, 2024. This event consists of three sprint races, two on Saturday and one on Sunday. All three are individual start races.
  • Sprint Storrs will be held in Storrs, Connecticut (University of Connecticut) on Saturday, 11 May 2024. This event consists of two sprint races, an individual start race in the morning and a mass-start race in the afternoon.
  • Note to Petitioners: Petitioners who cannot attend either Team Trials events will be required to register for the Sprint Storrs Team Trials as Non-Compete and fill in the declaration page.

To be considered a candidate for 2024 WOC Team Selection, a WOC candidate must meet the WOC eligibility requirements and also declare their intent to seek selection to the team.

Candidates should refer to the Full WOC 2024 Selection Criteria document which can be found in the Orienteering USA Library.

2023 WOC Team Trials

The 43rd West Point NRE will host the US Team Trials for the 2023 World Orienteering Championships for the second consecutive year. This year’s WOC will be held in Switzerland, 11-16 July. Following last year’s inaugural Sprint WOC, this year is back to a forest-race WOC, with a Middle, Long, and Relay. Therefore, only the Middle and Long races at the USMAOC event will be used as Trials qualifiers.

The M21 and F21 winners for each race will earn a spot on the WOC Team, as well as the athletes with the best combined results. The Review Panel (Peggy Dickison, Jeff Saeger, and Glen Tryson) will name the remaining athletes, based on a scoring list and petitions. Athletes who wish to be considered for the WOC Team but are unable to compete at West Point must register for the event, selecting “Yes, Competing for selection to the US WOC Team” and “Not participating” under the Race Selection section.

See the Selection Criteria below for more information.

Peggy Dickison
ESC Chairman/Review Panel Chair

US WOC 2023 Team Selection Criteria

  • The winner of each Middle race (M/F-21+) will receive automatic selection.
  • The winner of each Long race (M/F-21+) will receive automatic selection.
  • The athlete with the best combined results in each race (M/F-21+) will receive automatic selection.

Additional information and caveats:

  • At least two athletes of each gender will receive automatic spots; if one athlete wins both races (and therefore also has the top combined result), the second automatic spot goes to the athlete finishing 2nd in the Middle race (because we have more starts in the Middle and Relay).
  • If either the winner of the Middle or Long is also first on the scoring list (a combination of the results of the two races, normalized to be of equal weight), only two automatic spots will be awarded, with the remaining members selected by the Review Panel.
  • Athletes who wish to be considered for the 2023 WOC Team but are unable to compete at West Point must still register for the event, selecting “Yes, Competing for selection to the US WOC 2023 Team” and “Not participating” under the Race Selection section.
  • Remaining members of the team will be named by the Review Panel, using petitions, the scoring list, and Trials results.
  • Any athlete may submit a petition, within an hour of the final race finish, and must explain why they could not attend the Trials, had a subpar result, or were affected by an organizational issue not of their making.
  • There must be at least three declared and eligible athletes competing in a race for there to be an automatic selection.
  • The NT will send at least three athletes of each gender, but no more than 6. Most likely is 3-4 athletes of each gender. This year, the US has 8 or 9 race starts for the women (3 middle, 2 long, 3 relay, and potentially a 4th middle [personal, ie cannot be transferred] start based on the top North American on the IOF ranking list as of 11 May), and 7 starts for the men (3 middle, 1 long, 3 relay, and potentially a 4th middle).
    – As of 4 March, the top North Americans are an American woman and a Canadian man.
  • If anyone with a personal start wants to compete in additional races at WOC, they must either attend the Trials or submit a petition.