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Note from the President
We recently held a special board meeting to consider competing bids for the 2020 Jr. Nationals. How exciting to have competing bids! The bids from OCIN and COC were both excellent and tailored specifically to the needs of the Jr. Nationals event. The board had a lot to discuss in making their decision. I'd like to thank both clubs for their bids and for continuing to support OUSA's Juniors and Championship schedule. COC was awarded the bid, but OCIN will likely hang on to their plans and bid for 2021 instead. We also awarded the 2019 Trail-O Nationals to NEOC. That event is coming up in June. We're gratified to see increased interest for sanctioned trail orienteering.
I'd also like to apologize for delays in publishing a 2018 end of year financial report. Due to a combination of illnesses and personnel changes, this report is still being prepared. We have also established a committee to do an in-house financial review of the 2018 books. This committee has formed and will begin their work soon. I want to assure all of our members that we are committed to insuring that the books are in order and making reports available to the membership. If you have any questions about our finances, feel free to contact me, president@orienteeringusa.org.
In Memoriam:
Frank Kuhn, a longtime OUSA Board member, has passed away. Frank was a member of FLO and a strong proponent of Trail Orienteering. Frank received the IOF Bronze Pin of Honour for his service on the IOF Trail Orienteering Commission. Our deepest sympathy to Frank's friends and family.
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Recent and Upcoming Board Meetings
- Minutes from the special meeting of the OUSA Board of Directors, January 2, 2019, including a discussion of OUSA's 2019 budget
- Minutes from the OUSA Board of Directors teleconference, March 13, 2019.
Next OUSA Board meeting: Saturday, April 13, 2019 at 3:00 PM EDT, Hampton Inn Dumfries/Quantico, 16959 Old Stage Road, Dumfries, Virginia (at Junior Nationals event)
The Board meeting agenda will appear here.
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Call for Volunteers
Orienteering USA is looking for volunteers to help with a number of key initiatives.
Members for a fee structure review task force
This group will make recommendations to the board for possible changes in the OUSA fee structure to ensure that expenses make sense for the organization and for clubs. Contact president@orienteeringusa.org
Members for Strategic Planning Task force
Contact president@orienteeringusa.org
Members for Fundraising Committee
An ongoing committee to direct OUSA fundraising efforts throughout the year. Contact president@orienteeringusa.org
Call for SafeSport volunteers
OUSA is seeking Compliance Officers and Administrators for its SafeSport program. We would like to have more than one person in each role, to share the burden and ensure coverage. If you are interested in either of these roles, please send an email to safesport@orienteeringusa.org
Call for Youth Coaching Working Group volunteers
OUSA is excited to announce the formation of a youth coaching working group. The focus of this group will be to generate materials to support the large goal of getting more kids and families involved in the sport through schools, clubs and other youth-oriented programs. In order to accomplish this goal there are a few methods that seem to be most effective in attracting more kids to the sport: fun experiences, age appropriate activities, and good coaching. To become involved, contact Erin Schirm, erinschirm@gmail.com and vpyouth@orienteeringusa.org
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OUSA Competitive Award Winners
The annual OUSA Competitive Awards are given to top American orienteers in several categories for outstanding competitive performance over the course of the past year.
This is the ninth year for these awards, and the fourth year that Orienteering USA members had the opportunity to vote for the candidates. The committee thanks all those who submitted nominations and who took the time to vote for your top OUSA athletes. We had a near-record number of votes cast this year! The vote totals were used as the main component in final award selection.
The Orienteer, Junior, and Comet of the Year award winners each receive a $500 travel grant to help them continue to improve their skills. Additionally, the Honorable Mentions in the three individual categories will receive $100 travel grants.
The Awards Committee would like to thank two anonymous donors for their generous contributions to the travel grants.
Here are your winners and honorable mentions. Congratulations to these excellent athletes! See the full announcement with photos and descriptions here.
Orienteer of the Year:
Winner: Greg Ahlswede (DVOA / Escondite Nature Sport, Spain)
Honorable Mention: Alison Crocker (CROC)
Honorable Mention: Anton Salmenkyla (CSU / Helsingin Suunnistajat, Finland)
Junior Orienteer of the Year:
Winner: Tyra Christopherson (COC)
Honorable Mention: Anthony Riley (DVOA)
Comet of the Year:
Winner: Keegan Harkavy (CSU/NEOC)
Honorable Mention: Sydney Fisher (SMOC)
Team of the Year:
Winner: U.S. Senior Team at NAOC
Honorable Mention: U.S. JWOC Men's Relay Team
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2019 Wilson Award Winners
Congratulations to Itzel Barbiere of Suncoast Orienteering and Adventure Racing and Aidan Minto of Indiana Crossroads Orienteering.
 
Itzel and Aidan were chosen to receive the 2019 Iain Wilson Character Through Competition Award. Each athlete will receive $1,000 as reimbursement for travel and training expenses. These awards honor the memory of Iain by recognizing and supporting young athletes and newcomers to the sport. You can see the full announcement here.
For information about the award, visit www.orienteeringusa.org/wilsonaward.
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OUSA Sport Development Group
Erin Schirm has convened a sport development group. Our 2019 goals are to update the OUSA coaching certification, create an intro course, develop a school PE curriculum, and provide clubs with a fun program for kids. We have been meeting weekly. We brainstormed elements of a common philosophy and approach, and agreed on a framework for future work. We had a great discussion about changing the messages that we put out to the public about orienteering. We would love to have additional members as we start to get into the individual tasks for the year. If you are interested in contributing to the work, please contact Erin at 845-364-1752. For details on our discussions to date, please see the full news article at the OUSA website.
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Development of a Third Grade Orienteering PE Curriculum
by Barbara Bryant and Ethan Childs (Navigation Games)
Graphical abstract of Lesson 1: Boundary, Gathering and Direction-Giving
This spring, we will be piloting a four-lesson third-grade curriculum in seven Cambridge, MA public schools. Because many children struggle with map interpretation, the lessons build up slowly to map reading. We also bring in many aspects of orienteering that do not require a map, such as running in terrain, knowing the boundary of the area of play, giving and following instructions about where to go, building a mental map of an area by exploring it, visiting checkpoints in order, and being timed. Above all, we want to keep the children moving and having fun.
Our constraints included:
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Four 45-minute classes
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Minimal set-up on the part of the teacher
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Use materials accessible to any gym teacher, with timing equipment optional
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No need for specialized orienteering knowledge on the part of the teacher
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Be able to deliver the content indoors on days with bad weather
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A wide range of physical and mental abilities and types
Each lesson is documented with SHAPE America standards, objectives, materials, set-up, language for introducing the activity to students, a description of the activities, and suggestions for a wrap-up discussion.
Navigation Games provided a workshop and preparatory meetings for the teachers. During the spring, our staff will attend every PE class (54 in total), in order to support the teachers, with the idea that the program will be able to operate independently of us starting next year. We will gather feedback on the lessons, refine them, and publish them over the summer.
For more on the lessons and our approach, see the full article here. Our lessons have drawn from many sources, and we particularly thank Erin Schirm and Andrea Schneider.
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 The World Ski-Orienteering Chmapionships (WSOC) and World Masters Ski Orienteering Championships (WMSOC) took place in Pitea, Sweden between March 20-24. World Ski Orienteering Championships
In WSOC, Team USA was represented by Adrian Owens (GMOC), Jimmy Burnham (CSU), and Chris Burnham CSU. The highlights for Team USA included Chris Burnham's 41st place in the long distance, and the relay team's 13th place finish.
In WMSOC, Sharon Crawford (RMOC) won the gold medal in the long and middle distances in W75. You can see full WMSOC results here
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noname Uniforms
noname is a genuine Scandinavian sports  brand specializing in the design, production, and sale of custom-made sport textiles for clubs and companies for Nordic Skiing, Orienteering, Track and Field, and Cycling. In addition, noname offers an expanding retail collection with delivery from stock.
The noname head office and warehouse is located in Vaasa, Finland, while national offices are situated in Borlänge, Sweden; Halden, Norway; Moscow, Russia; and Tartu, Estonia. During 2009, noname opened its first brand store in central Tampere, Finland.
 At noname, we live and breathe running, skiing, and orienteering. It’s in our veins and it’s built into our textiles. noname sports gear lives up to the highest standards of every aspect in sports textiles. The excellent function and style is designed by people who love their sport. No matter if you are a world-class athlete or just exercise for fun, we have the products that will help you go all the way. The rest is up to you. Blood, sweat, and tears—that’s all it takes. |
Orienteering
noname offers a complete collection of orienteering textiles. Our collection includes several training and warm-up suits, four different racing shirts, and a huge selection of trousers and pants for every level of orienteering. For many pieces, we use digital printing techniques since it is a superior technology for profiling the club with a great design and high quality sponsor logos.
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QualityNordic
QualityNordic is a Park City, Utah-based clothing distributor that sells noname sport textiles in USA and Canada. All of our products are made with the highest quality materials and available for the lowest prices possible. Shop online (no minimum) or contact us for custom made design for your team/club.
noname is the proud partner of Team OUSA since 2014.
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US Team Winter Training
From February 26th to March 3rd, Junior Development Team Coach Greg Ahlswede organized a training camp for the U.S. senior and junior teams with 4 days of two-per-day training in Hard Labor Creek State Park in Georgia, followed by two days of racing at the meets held by GAOC at Mistletoe State Park. It was a great week of training which would not have been possible without the help of GAOC.
Check out some of the maps. Maybe you can get some ideas for your own club trainings! Click on maps for full-sized images.
  
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World Orienteering Day 2019
World Orienteering Day 2019 is a great opportunity to market orienteering to public and private groups. Being a world-wide event, there is the allure of being a part of a huge international event, similar to the draw of joining a World Book of Records event. OUSA is encouraging clubs and organizations to use this opportunity to reach out to youth especially. As the 2019 coordinator for WOD for OUSA, I am trying to learn all I can about what kinds of events, activities and programs have been and/or will be offered to youth groups around the USA. My hope is to share ideas, understand what works and doesn't work, and then use that info to help clubs increase their activities and participation numbers at their events. So, please take a few minutes to fill out this survey, if you have not already.
As we work on growing orienteering in the USA, outreach to schools and families will be a key component of our strategy. By providing information to OUSA about your activities from 2018 and your plans for WOD 2019, as well as other interactions with schools and youth groups, you will help us in making this growth happen!
We are interested in activities by clubs, club affiliates, non-profits, and for-profits providing orienteering programs to schools and other organizations, so please pass this survey along to any members of your orienteering community who are working with youth.
Thank you again for sharing your experiences. The original deadline was March 21, but since the information will still be useful, please fill it out as soon as possible.
Mary Jo Childs,
OUSA 2019 WOD Coordinator
OUSA Youth Initiatives Committee
Survey Link:
https://goo.gl/forms/fwSIScLTufVErzwf2
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Orienteering at Swedish-American Museum
On April 6, the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia, PA, will debut an exhibition on Nordic navigation centered on the Swedish-American orienteering pioneer Bjorn Kjellstrom and his contributions.
Photo courtesy of Chris Cassone
The exhibit will contain several key prototypes of the first liquid-filled, protractor-based "Silva" compass as well as many from Bjorn's collection that he gave to the Boy Scouts.
As a bonus, the museum is working with DVOA members to make orienteering courses available in adjacent FDR Park.
The exhibit in Philadelphia runs through September 22.
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Highlight Your Club/Event!
Every club is unique and can contribute to the growth and health of orienteering in the U.S. Whether your club had an extraordinarily successful event, is planning something unique or special, or simply wants to advertise quality events that it puts on, we want to highlight it here!
Please contact the editors at newsletter@orienteeringusa.org to add content to the next newsletter!
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February and March NREs
Three NREs were hosted by OUSA clubs and affiliates in February and March. Our thanks to Cascade Orienteering Club (Winter League Championship), Bay Area Orienteering Club (Joseph Grant Park NRE), and Orienteering Cincinnati (Flying Pig XXIII / 2018 U.S. Masters National Champs) for bringing these ranking opportunities to their members.
Thanks to the key volunteers for these events:
Winter League Championship: Meet Director - Jud Kelley, Course Setters - Eric Jones and David Vaisar
Joseph Grant Park NRE: Meet Director - Peter Graube, Course Setters - Derek Maclean and Kim van Berkel
Flying Pig XXIII: Meet Director - Mike Minium, Course Setters - Mike Minium, Ben Hart, Dave Waller, Registrar - Guy Olsen
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2019
Notes:
* = OUSA BOD Meeting
** = Pending sanctioning
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Orienteering Cincinnati hosted the OUSA 2018 Masters National Championships as part of Flying Pig XXIII, March 22-24. The Masters Championships took place on the steep slopes of Carter Caves State Park, a true natural wonder in Eastern Kentucky.
Some of the cool rock formations in Carter Caves State Park
As has become the norm over the past 23 years, Mike Minium and the whole OCIN crew provided a top-notch orienteering experience for competitors from all over the country. The Carter Caves venue is worthy of a championship, and the course setters made sure that competitors got their money's worth while scrambling up and down the park's rocky hillsides. Thanks to OCIN for another great event!
Lyn Walker (WCOC), U.S. Champ in F75 Friday middle distance (green course).
Click image for all maps and courses.
2018 U.S. Masters Champions
Full Results
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Recap: Southwest Spring Week
Southwest Spring Week 2019: a Travelogue
By Stephanie Ross
Day 1: I can see why everyone posts a million photos of cacti when they come to the southwest. Every single one is fascinating. Arrived in Tucson late in the afternoon, checked into a stylish little AirBnB on the north side of town and made it to Saguaro National Park East just in time for a quick drive around the 8-mile loop and sunset. Cyclists everywhere are enjoying the sunshine and cooler weather.
Day 2: Unbelievable drive over Gates Pass and beyond Old Tucson to Ironwood for our first day of orienteering. Short, fun green course. The first control on this technical middle course claimed a few victims, but I had a pretty clean run, and really loved my first experience with desert orienteering. This evening, amazing drive along Mt. Lemmon Scenic Byway - one vista after another for over 20 miles and more than 6,000' of elevation gain - to U of A Mount Lemmon Skycenter for a Valentine-themed dinner and program. Highlight of the evening was the Schulman telescope. Wow! Watching the window of the dome open and the telescope train on the moon was so exciting. And seeing the moon through this huge telescope was such an outstanding experience. Would love to return on a clear night to view some other heavenly bodies. Top Ten Day in the Life.
Day 3: More challenging orienteering training at Catalina State Park. Inadvertently upped the challenge by leaving trail shoes at the house, so I had to run in Merrell clogs. Actually not so bad, and had a good run on the 5k goat course. Biggest issue was sand getting in through the open heel, and the footing was a little sketchy on the rocky fields, of which there were many today. Again I finished just behind COO's Shin Shimizu, which I consider a good placement any day. Ben found his feet were working faster than his brain was able to wrap around the new map and had a poor finish. He got his money's worth on the course, though, and learned some things that should serve him well when we return to this venue tomorrow.
Day 4: Cholla [pronounced choya] Chaser, a handicapped mass start event back at Catalina State Park. Fun, creative course design, and we finished just as the rain started. Enjoyed a really delicious meal, with huge portions, at nearby Pita Jungle. Neither the name nor the location would necessarily recommend the place, but it had good reviews as a healthy, veg-friendly place, and it did not disappoint.
 Day 5: Orienteering in the vicinity of Kentucky Camp. Entirely different terrain than what we've been on. Hilly grassland with lots of small reentrants and twisty, fun courses. I had a slow but steady finish today, as I couldn't do much running in the tall grass and wanted to take some pictures on the course. Ben had an awesome run today, and regained some confidence, I expect. And a roadrunner sighting! The drive to the venue, through the Santa Rita foothills, was beautiful, with snow on the mountains and cacti. This evening we hiked around beautiful Sabino Canyon, gathering inspiration for our own rock and cactus garden back home. Found a high spot to enjoy the sunset and the winter moonrise (aptly named, as we got pretty cold waiting for it to come up over the mountain). After hiking back down, we were ready for dinner, and happily stumbled into Vero Amore - Swan, a terrific Italian place with delicious pasta and wood-fired Neopolitan style pizza. Ben's had a locally made sausage on it he really enjoyed. Another outstanding day in Tucson.
Day 6: Orienteering rest day. Enjoyed the day at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Coyote, Mexican wolves, ocelot, bobcat, javelina, mule deer, big-horned sheep, hummingbirds, raptors, minerals and ... you guessed it, cacti. So impressed by this place. This evening a fun Escape Room with fellow orienteers. We escaped with 1 minute to spare!
Day 7: Sprint practice at U of A. Great campus for a sprint - tons of pass-throughs, walls, stairs, traps ... fun, technical course with two embedded micro courses. After, we enjoyed walking a corridor orienteering exercise from last year's map, as we got to know Amy and John from RMOC and got to see some of campus at a slower pace. Lunch at vegan friendly Tumerico after was terrific.
Day 8: Last day in Tucson. Snowing now. Today's event was aptly named the Snowbird 1-person Relay - five mini courses looping back to the S/F. A few hardy souls went the distance. I opted for 2 of 5 loops, and keeping all 10 fingers and toes. Cold is colder in the desert. Tried to visit Old Tucson (where they film westerns), but it was closed due to muddy conditions, except for the gift shop, which was willing to sell us Tombstone t-shirts and John Wayne shot glasses, even if we couldn't see the O.K. Corral itself. This evening, we drive north to a fancy AirBnB in Mesa, home base for the Phoenix leg of the trip. Enjoyed a quick little hike around "Hole-in-the-Rock" (busy with tourists, but worth a quick stop) and found another escape room in Tempe, "Jail Break" at Escape Zone. Impressive props and room design. We had a great time.
Day 9: Three sprints to be done individually or as a single, looped run. Needle Vista in the Superstition Mountains. The drive out from Mesa is fantastic. Sunny, milder day. Interesting, challenging terrain. So scenic. My first encounter with a cholla. Thankful for J.P. Lande, who had a comb on hand to pry it from my arm. Surprisingly painful. Fun lunch getting to know other orienteers at super kitschy wild west town near the venue. Gunfights on the hour. Afternoon drive into the Superstition Mountains, past Canyon Lake, as far as Tortilla Flats, where we decided not to ford the stream flowing over the road. Good thing we turned around when we did, as the line of traffic heading back out was miles long, at a dead stop. Thousands of locals driving out to see snow! Nearly didn't make it back to Needle Vista in time for Night Score-O. So glad we didn't miss it. What a great time. Scrambling over the red rocks in the dark was outstanding. Falling onto them, not so much. Ben had a fall that left him with a skin flap on one finger and I landed on a rock with my ribs. Maybe a little fracture. Remarkably painful. So, a little worse for the wear today, but I wouldn't give it up. It was a great day.
Day 10: Ben tackled the Red course at First Water. Looked like a challenging one. I didn't regret the decision to give my ribs a break (ha). Enjoyed walking around the beautiful terrain and taking photos of runners and control markers on one of the finest days of the trip. Even at my very slow race pace these days, I don't really get to enjoy the scenery so much as I did today. A relaxing, scenic ending to a worthy trip.
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Recap: NJROTC Nationals
The 2019 Navy National JROTC Orienteering Championship was held February 16-17, 2019 at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area in Agua Dulce, CA, near Los Angeles. This year’s championship, hosted by Troy High School NJROTC in coordination with Los Angeles Orienteering Club (LAOC) saw 29 teams from all corners of the country converge on Vasquez Rocks. The annual competition, now in its tenth year, brings together the very best orienteers from nearly 600 Navy JROTC units nationally. Hillgrove High School from Powder Springs, Georgia is this year’s National Champion! Vasquez Rocks terrain (photo by John Phillips)
The Champions - Hillgrove High School (photo courtesy of Ron Hojnowski)
Vasquez Rocks, famous as a backdrop for numerous movies and television shows over the years, provided one of the most scenic, and challenging, venues the championship has ever seen. The rugged terrain certainly provided courses worthy of a championship and undoubtedly tested every orienteering and map reading skill of each runner. LAOC and Meet Director Clare Durand provided a first class national-style event and a terrific orienteering experience with two very distinct courses over the 2-day competition. Both courses were difficult, yet fun to run.
Day 1 Green course. Click on image for full map.
The coordination of the event by Troy High School and their parent support organization was outstanding, all the way down to event t-shirts and cadet lunches that reflected the local flavor of the area with In-n-Out burgers on Saturday and a local taco truck on Sunday. The weather was chilly, but the skies were for the most part sunny and pleasant which added to the beauty of the area.
Full results and maps here.
Photos here.
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Preview: Junior Nationals 2019
Quantico Orienteering Club (QOC) will host a two-day national orienteering meet open to all age classes—the Quantico Classic—including the 2019 Junior Nationals and Junior Team Trials, over the April 13-14, 2019 weekend.
The Quantico Classic includes a middle distance race and a long distance race, both open to all participants. The 2019 U.S. Junior National Championships is a 2-day classic championship event sanctioned by Orienteering USA, with championship classes for college, high school, middle school, and primary school students. Champions will be determined by their cumulative time for the two main races. In addition, a relay race for Juniors is anticipated on Saturday afternoon.
The races will take place at Marine Corps Base Quantico, 35 miles south of Washington, DC. Registration is open now.
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Newsletter Contributions
If you would like to send content for the next edition of the newsletter, please email it to the editors by the 20th of the month.
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Newsletter Compiled and Edited by Allison Brown and Boris Granovskiy
Banner Photo credits: Cristina Luis, WCOC/HVO, Valerie Meyer, Facebook
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