Announcing the 2024 US National Orienteering Team

The Selection Committee (Peggy Dickison, Eric Weyman, and Matt Smith) is pleased to announce the 2024 US National Orienteering Team.

The committee carefully examined each of the many applications (57) to determine Team readiness and squad placement. Several 2023 Team members chose not to apply this year, a few narrowly missed making the Team, and some new faces have emerged.

Placements were based primarily on the Selection Criteria, weighing OUSA and IOF rankings highest, along with head-to-head competition and other known factors. In general, we were most flexible/inclusive with the Juniors, who we understand are still improving and have less-consistent results; less flexible/inclusive with the Performance Squad; and least flexible/inclusive with the Elite Squad.

With several athletes on the cusp of qualifying for the Team, we expect to add members after the spring season. We are excited to see our team continue to attract excellent athletes. Welcome to four new athletes to the Junior Squad! Be sure to check the full roster with athlete photos, bios and links on the Orienteering USA National Team web page

2024 US National Orienteering Team

  • Elite Squad
    • Greg Ahlswede – DVOA
    • Joseph Barrett – QOC
    • Tori Borish – RMOC
    • Evalin Brautigam – WCOC
    • Alison Campbell – DVOA, STAG (Scotland)
    • Alison Crocker – CROC
    • Thomas Curiger – OK Orion (Jämsjö, Sweden)
    • Sydney Fisher – EMPO
    • Bridget Hall – NEOC
    • Keegan Harkavy – NEOC
    • Anthony Riley – DVOA
    • Danny Riley – NEOC
    • Ricardo Schaniel – Bussola OK (Switzerland)
  • Performance Squad
    • Lily Addicott – GAOC
    • Diana Aleksieva – QOC
    • Eric Bone – COC
    • Julia Doubson – BAOC
    • Thomas Laraia – MNOC, Edinburgh University Orienteering Club
    • Shawn Mather – USMAOC
    • Kirsten Mayland – DVOA
    • Annika Mihata – COC
    • Oriana Riley – DVOA
  • Junior Squad
    • Ben Brady – COC / GrizO
    • Anna Campbell – NEOC
    • Ben Conley – New Member! – Cascade Orienteering Club / Grizzly Orienteering
    • Ben Cooper – COC
    • Ian Dunlap – OLOU
    • Mori Finlayson-Johnecheck – NEOC
    • Ludvig Hagwall – New Member! – Järla Orientering (Stockholm, Sweden)
    • Greta Leonard – COC
    • Alex Merka – QOC
    • Jackson Rupe – COC
    • Emilia Schmidt – QOC
    • Zoe Sibthorp – COC
    • Ava Suhocki – DVOA
    • Paige Suhocki – DVOA
    • Samantha Walker – New Member! – Quantico Orienteering Club
    • Astrid White – New Member! – Grizzly Orienteering / OK Linné (Uppsala, Sweden)
    • Zariah Zosel – COC / GrizO

TeamUSA Ski-O Competes in Austria

This press release was originally prepared by US Ski-O Team Coach Carl Fey with edits by Orienteering USA. Photos courtesy Carl Fey.

The 2024 World Ski Orienteering Championships (WSOC) are taking place in Ramsau, Austria from January 23-27. The Junior World Ski Orienteering Championships (JWSOC) and European Youth Ski Orienteering Championships (EYSOC) are being held concurrently on the same maps. The US National Team has skiers competing in all three events.

Ramsau is famous for its Dachstein glacier which is the most famous place in the world for summer skiing and is also a popular place for skiing in the winter with an extensive network of cross-country ski trails and beautiful mountain scenery. The weather conditions have been challenging with warm weather and rain resulting in melting and slow snow making it difficult for organizers and skiers alike. The organizers had to change some of courses less than 24 hours before the races.

US veteran ski orienteer Adrian Owens (GMOC) has had the best US result in the men’s World Championship races this week where he has had a friendly battle with fellow US team member Ari Ofsevit (CSU). To get to the start of the sprint race skiers took a chairlift resulting in fast conditions being mostly downhill through an extensive network of trials requiring quick decisions at high speed. In the sprint race, won by Jörgen Baklid (NOR), Adrian Owens placed 63rd with Ari Ofsevit close behind in 64th separated by a mere 21 seconds.

The grueling pursuit race was a a mass-start long race run as a one-man relay with three loops and Jörgen Baklid once again taking the win. Adrian was 54th and Ari was 55th. When asked about the race Adrian said, “I went and fought and fought on the course and finally made it to the end. There were really a lot of tough climbs today.” In the middle distance Adrian Owens was 59th place and Ari Ofsevit was 61st. When asked about the races in Ramsau US skier Ari Ofsevit replied, “Our hosts here in Ramsau have done an admiral job in somewhat adverse conditions. The long and middle distance races took us through many fields and forests with significant climb before an exhilarating downhill into the stadium”.

The US was represented by Alex Merka (QOC) in the Women’s Junior World Championships. This was Alex’s debut in international ski-o racing. She ended up 33rd in the sprint, 30th in the long race where she showed off great determination and stamina, and had her best race in the middle distance finishing 33rd. When asked about her races she said, “After the sprint race, which was skied in a blinding snowstorm, it was nice to have a sunny day for the long course, but that produce slow snow. I have discovered that long courses in ski-orienteering are really tough physically. I am happy that myself and my skis are durable.

The US was represented by Erik Fey (ROC) in the Boy’s European Youth Ski-Orienteering Championships. While not quite the results Erik had hoped for, he had impressive results for the US with a 14th in the sprint, a 16th in the long, and an 18th in the middle. Erik showed off his skiing speed staying near the front for the first five controls in the long mass-start race, however, he was not able to turn this into the results he had hoped for. Erik said, “This was my first time to race in the hilly Alps which was a good experience but created very different orienteering route choices from what I am used to. It inspires me to be here, and I will train even harder for next year.

The racing concludes with the relay races on January 27th. Races have been covered live on TV in several countries and can also be viewed on IOF TV (live or via replay). The team expressed their thanks to the great cooking by US Ski-O Team Cook and motivator Allison Van Akkeren who is the former US Biathlon Team cook and cooked healthy dinners for a hungry team all week. The team also expressed their thanks to US Team Coach Carl Fey for his long days of waxing, support at the races, attending team leaders meetings, and briefing team members in the evening. The US team has often not had a coach at international ski-o races and several team members mentioned this was much appreciated so that they could focus more on racing.

The US Ski-Orienteering Team would like to say a big thank you to Orienteering USA and other supporters this year. The US Ski-O Team hopes to field an even larger team at international races next year. This is only possible with financial support from Orienteering USA and others. Donations, which may be designated for the US Ski-O Team, can be made at: https://orienteeringusa.org/support/

For more information about the US Ski-Orienteering Team or how to qualify, please contact Adrian Owens, Chairperson of the US Ski-O Team Executive Committee at: aowens@nullsterlingcollege.edu

2024 JWOC & WUOC Team Selection Criteria Announced

In 2024 it will be possible for young athletes of Junior age and of College age to participate in one combined Team Trials event to qualify for two teams if eligible. The Team Trials event for the IOF 2024 Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) as well as for the FISU 2024 World University Championship Orienteering (WUOC) will be all races of the Flying Pig XXVI / 2024 OUSA Masters Nationals, held April 5 – 7 in Ohio and hosted by OCIN. The Team Trials races will be identified accordingly in the EventReg registration process.

At the November 13, 2023 Orienteering USA Board Meeting, the Rules Proposal from the National Team for WUOC / JWOC selections changes was approved, with the final wording of the new rules still to be published. These new rules allow for all FISU WUOC eligible athletes to participate in the races designated for team selection, while the old rules allowed only the athletes eligible to participate in the USA Intercollegiate races to be eligible for selection by races, forcing a significant number of other WUOC eligible athletes to have to rely on petitioning to be selected. Furthermore, the alignment of WUOC and JWOC selection rules to be based on IOF and FISU eligibility, with the courses for the trials being the same for an athlete (e.g. the same Red course for all Team Trials Male athletes, independent of age), makes it possible for athletes eligible for both teams to participate in one combined Team Trials event for WUOC and JWOC.

The 2024 Junior World Orienteering Championships will take place from June 30 – July 7, 2024 in Pilsen, Czechia. An official pre-JWOC training will be hosted the week prior to the championships, with the US Team intending to start training June 24, 2024. Orienteering USA’s combined JWOC/WUOC Selection Committee will choose up to six young male and six young female athletes to represent the USA at JWOC ’24.

The 2024 World University Championships Orienteering will take place from August 1 – 5, in Bansko, Bulgaria, with Team arrival no later than July 30. Orienteering USA’s combined JWOC/WUOC Selection Committee will choose up to six young male and six young female athletes to represent the USA at WUOC ’24.

The full 2024 JWOC Team Selection Criteria and 2024 WUOC Team Selection Criteria documents can be found in the Orienteering USA Library.

Note to Petitioners: Petitioners who can not attend the Team Trials will still be required to register for the Team Trials as Non-Compete and fill in the declaration page, whether for the JWOC team, the WUOC team or both teams. Petitioning information will be collected through EventReg during registration – whether competing in the trials races, or entering as Non-Compete.

Both events have races for accompanying supporters and other orienteers, the Czech O-Tour during JWOC, and the WUOC Tour during WUOC.

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 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 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

43rd Annual West Point NRE Event Recap

including 2023 WOC Team Trials

April 15-16, 2023

  • Host: United States Military Academy Orienteering Club
  • Venue(s):
    • Middle: Lake Popolopen, West Point, NY
    • Sprint: Camp Buckner, West Point, NY
    • Long: Jackie Jones, Harriman SP, NY
  • Event Director: CDT Tyler Wilson
    • Registrar: CDT Gregory Kies
    • Course Setters:
      • Middle: CDT Shawn Mather
      • Sprint: CDT Holden Sopoti
      • Long: CDT Neal Anderson
      • Course Vetting: CDT Paul Bruce
    • Course Consultant: Jordan Laughlin
  • Event Website

Results

Photos & Media

2023 Youth European Summer Trip

This summer young orienteers from both the National Team and the Youth Development Program will be embarking on a three week summer trip to Europe to take part in two major international orienteering events. The trip will run from approximately June 19th through July 10th.

First stop on the trip will be to the European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) in Velingrad, Bulgaria. Since US Youth are not eligible for the EYOC Championships, they will participate in the concurrent EYOC Tour events June 23-25th.

From Bulgaria, the group will travel on to Baia Mare, Romania for the 2023 Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) running from July 2-9th. Twelve US youth were recently selected to compete at JWOC this year. Non-JWOC youth will take part in the JWOC Tour races being held during the same period.

Plenty of opportunities for sightseeing and cultural activities will be built into the itinerary around the competition days as well as time to do what kids like to do – have fun… A series of fund-raising efforts are planned to help raise money to provide stipends to attending youth to offset travel costs for this trip.

First up will be this weekend at West Point! On Sunday, April 16th, juniors will be hosting a bake sale to raise funds for summer youth travel. Stop by to enjoy some delicious cakes and meet our talented juniors. They would also welcome (and appreciate!) any donations of baked goods. If you’re planning to bring any, please email Keegan at keegan@nullharkador.com to let us know.

There will also be a “Control Challenge” where donors can pledge a particular amount based on the number of controls youth participants visit over a fixed time period – April 17th – June 4th. Final details on the control challenge can be found on the National Team Blog.

You can also make a donation directly to support the Junior Summer Trip by using our secure donation form and pay by credit card, bank ACH or PayPal. The future of our sport depends upon youth and we thank you for supporting this amazing opportunity for our National Team and Youth Development Program youth to gain such valuable experiences in Europe this summer.

Below are a few photos from last summers youth excursions in Portugal and Switzerland.