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Note from the President
 OUSA was informed at the end of June that Donna Fluegel plans to retire from the publication of Orienteering North America at the end of this year. Donna has served as the ONA editor for 20 years after taking over from Larry and Sara Mae Berman and has done a splendid job with the magazine. The board will begin discussing our response to this news at our phone conference meeting on August 12th and will continue at future board meetings. As always, your input is welcome. We especially encourage inquiries from anyone interested in helping with the next generation of this important national communication service for our organization. Thank you, Donna, for your exceptional service in this role!
In other news, this is a reminder that OUSA's Annual General Meeting will be held on September 7th in conjunction with the Nationals at Cabrillo College. Make your travel plans now for this premier event. See you then!
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Upcoming BOD Elections
On September 7th, OUSA will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the U.S. Nationals south of San Francisco. At that meeting, there will be voting for four openings on the OUSA Board of Directors. Currently there are three candidates, but more may arise prior to the end of August. Also, candidates can be nominated from the floor at the AGM (with the approval of the nominee).
The three candidates who have announced their intention to run so far are Clai Gardner (Lone Star Orienteering Club), Joseph Huberman (Backwoods Orienteering Klub), and Victoria Campbell (NEOC/UNO/COC). The candidates' bios are posted on the Orienteering USA website.
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Update from the Technology Committee
Thanks to the dedicated help of Jordan and Jennifer Laughlin, we are well on the way to moving OUSA's server over to a better managed and cheaper provider. The Laughlins, together with Bob Forgrave, have also been hard at work moving our website from Drupal to WordPress, and redesigning it along the way. It’s going to much easier to navigate, and we’ll be storing most of the supporting documents in the OUSA library on our Google drive. Don’t worry — everything will be seamlessly linked from the website.
In addition to all of this, Ed Despard has been working on updating and improving Event Register. Much of this work has been focused on this year’s U.S. Nationals in California so BAOC could use it as a testing ground for the 2020 North American Championships. All of the work will also benefit local clubs, as the user experience for using ER at local events will be much improved.
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Recent and Upcoming Board Meetings
- Minutes from the April 13, 2019 meeting of the OUSA Board of Directors
- Minutes from the OUSA Board of Directors teleconference, March 13, 2019.
The next Board meeting will be held via teleconference on August 12, 8:00PM Eastern. You can find the agenda here. General information about upcoming Board meetings is available here.
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Silva Award Nominations
The Annual General Meeting of Orienteering USA will be held on Saturday, September 7th in conjunction with the Nationals at Cabrillo College. One of the highlights of the AGM will be the naming of the recipient of the Silva Award. It’s now time for Orienteering USA’s member clubs to determine whom they would like to nominate for this prestigious honor.
The nomination deadline for the Silva Award is Sunday, August 18th.
Nominations for the Silva Award go to Susan DeWitt.
Silva Award
Call for Nominations
Purpose:
The Silva Award is given annually to an orienteer who, along with being a member of Orienteering USA, has demonstrated outstanding service to orienteering in the United States over the past five years. The recipient need not be a terrific orienteer, and orienteering skill is not considered in determining the award winner. The essential quality of every winner has been service to promoting and sustaining orienteering, to making the sport work in this country, and in helping to build the organizations needed to make orienteering successful.
Eligibility:
Previous winners are not eligible to win again. In addition, the members of Orienteering USA’s Executive Committee are ineligible (the President, the four Vice Presidents, and the Secretary) as they will do the final voting. (Clare Durand, Kris Beecroft, William Jameson, Alex Jospe, Pat Meehan, Barbara Bryant are ineligible.)
Rules for Nominations:
Each Orienteering USA member club may make one nomination. In addition, each member of the Orienteering USA Board of Directors may also submit a nomination. Individual members may not submit nominations, but are encouraged to work with their club to submit a nomination. Any orienteer can prepare a nomination, but the actual submission must come from an Orienteering USA club or member of Orienteering USA’s Board of Directors.
How to Nominate:
There is no required format you should follow when making a nomination. However, should you choose to submit a nomination, please be as comprehensive as possible, as to what your nominee has done during the past five years, and why you feel these accomplishments are important and make the nominee worthy for the Silva Award. The information you provide is the information that will be presented to the OUSA Executive Committee, who will conduct a vote amongst its members to determine this year's winner.
Nominations made in previous years are not automatically carried over, although clubs and Orienteering USA Board members are certainly free to nominate the same OUSA member that they did last year. (Updating a previously submitted nomination is fine; rewriting it from scratch is not necessary). Clubs are not restricted to nominating only their own members but are free to nominate any Orienteering USA member belonging to any club.
A club submits a nomination by having one of its officers or directors send it, by e-mail, to skdewitt@snet.net, indicating that they are a club official and the nomination being submitted is that of the club. Something along the lines of 'As Secretary of XYZ Orienteering Club, I'd like to submit our club's Silva Award nomination' is fine.
Please submit nominations or questions via email to Susan DeWitt.
Nomination Deadline:
The deadline for submitting nominations is Sunday, August 18th. However, it is always appreciated if a club, or Orienteering USA Board member, submitting a nomination does so in advance of that deadline.
See the full announcement and the list of previous winners here.
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Golden Service Award Nominations
The Annual General Meeting of Orienteering USA will be held on Saturday, September 7th as part of the Nationals at Cabrillo College. One of the highlights of the AGM will be the naming of the recipients of the 2019 Golden Service Awards. There are a lot of orienteers who have given a lot of themselves to advance orienteering in this country. The Golden Service Awards program is a wonderful way of honoring these people. We hope that you, and other members of your club, take part this year by submitting a nomination.
The nomination deadline for Golden Service Awards is Sunday, August 18th.
Nominations for Golden Service Awards go to Susan DeWitt.
Orienteering USA Golden Service Award
Call for Nominations
Purpose:
The purpose of the Orienteering USA Golden Service Award is to recognize those individuals who have provided exceptional service to the sport of orienteering that extends beyond the local club level.
Rules for Nominations:
Clubs or individuals may make nominations for the Golden Service Award. One awardee will be selected from among the nominations received from each club. The nominee does not need to be a member of your club; they may be from another club. Nominations from individuals are deemed to come from the primary club of the person making the nomination. In the event that more than one nomination is received from members of the same club, the volunteer recognitions committee will determine which single nomination from that club is the most deserving for that year. There is no limit to the number of clubs that may have an awardee each year. Awards will be presented to one nominee per club provided they meet the award criteria.
Any individual may only receive the Golden Service Award once.
Golden Service Award Criteria:
Please be sure that the description of service for the nominee clearly meets the two following criteria:
1) Service is as a volunteer (no profit was made in performing the service)
2) Service extends beyond the club level
Examples include serving on national board or committees, holding key positions at A-meets, putting on training camps or events that serve a regional or national base, etc.
How to Nominate:
Please submit nominations via email to Susan DeWitt.
Nominations must be received by August 18th to be eligible for a 2019 Golden Service Award.
Include the following information:
- Nominee's name and Club
- Name and Club of person submitting the nomination
- Description of the nominee's volunteer service to orienteering. Please be sure to address both required criteria.
You can see the full announcement and the list of previous winners here.
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OUSA Mapping Clinic at Older Dash
 You can orienteer at the Older Dash in Gunstock, NH and learn more about mapping, too. Friday October 18th, the day before the event, a mapping workshop will be held at a nearby site for those interested in learning how to map. The workshop will use LIDAR data to assist in the mapping process.
The workshop will start at 9:00 AM and end around 4:00 PM (you can probably leave early if you want to run the model event). LIDAR use and how to get it will be part of the discussion.
This workshop is for people new to mapping and people who want to learn a bit more about the process. Experienced mappers may also benefit because of discussions about what and how to map. You can talk with others about the process that is often done in the woods, alone, so feedback and discussion about how to map is always helpful.
At the workshop, attendees will work with a basemap, aerial photos and other data to learn the basics of making field notes with the goal of creating orienteering maps. Discussions will be focused on what and how to map particular areas. This will be hands on and materials will be provided for making field notes. The materials provided will be traditional map boards and colored pencils. There will be no charge for the workshop although you must pre-register so there are enough materials for all the participants.
Email Peter Goodwin to register or to get more information.
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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.
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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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Follow Team USA at WOC
 Follow the US Team at the World Orienteering Championships in Østfold, Norway from 12-18 August! Our athletes are in their final preparations for their races. This year’s team is composed of 4 women (Ali, Alison, Åsne and Syd) and 5 men (Anton, Eric, Greg, Morten, and Jordan). All of the races will feature GPS tracking but no link is currently available.
Follow the team:
https://www.facebook.com/us.orienteering.team/
https://www.instagram.com/teamusa_orienteering/
Race Lineup:
Middle Qualification (13 Aug): Anton, Greg, Eric, Jordan | Syd, Åsne, Alison
Long (14 Aug): Morten, Jordan | Ali, Syd
Middle Final (16 Aug): TBA, based on qualification performance
Relay (17 Aug): Anton, Greg, Morten | Ali, Åsne, Alison (Order to be determined)
Follow an athlete:
Ali Crocker (AttackPoint)
Alison Campbell (AttackPoint and Instagram)
Åsne (Aasne) Skram Trømborg (Instagram and Strava)
Syd Fisher (AttackPoint)
Anton Salmenkyla (AttackPoint and Instagram)
Greg Ahlswede (AttackPoint)
Jordan Laughlin (AttackPoint)
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Team USA at JWOC
 The 2019 Junior World Orienteering Championships took place near Silkeborg, Denmark, from July 6-12, 2019. Team USA had a strong week, with some stable performances from both the boys and the girls. In the sprint, top U.S. finishers were Julia Doubson (BAOC) in 62nd place and Thomas Laraia (MNOC) in 57th. In the long distance, Siri Christopherson (COC) finished 64th and Adrian Vartia (OK Loftan, Sweden) 90th as the top U.S. competitors. In the middle distance Julia Doubson and Thomas Laraia qualified for the A finals by finishing 6th and 13th in their qualifying heats, respectively. In the finals the following day, Julia and Thomas each finished 52nd overall. In the B finals, Siri Christopherson and Adrian Vartia each finished 5th; and Kirsten Mayland (DVOA) finished 4th in the C final. In the relay, the girls (Siri, Julia, Caroline Sandbo [COC]) finished as the 22nd nation, and the boys (Thomas, Adrian, David Runde [Kristiandsands OK]) 24th.
 From Junior National Team coach Erin Schirm: Year 8 in the books! Great all-around performances by the team! Very proud of all these men and women athletes. It takes courage and strength to hit the balance point between managing inner self and meeting and responding to what the terrain and course setters throw at you. This group found their stride and brought it together for some great racing.
When does the learning stop? Never! Where does it start? It starts at home! Who are we? USA!!
Girls' middle distance A final map. Click on the image for larger version and more course maps.
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Team USA at WTOC
 Daniel Heimgartner in action.
Photo courtesy of the USA Trail-O blog. 
Team USA was represented at the World Trail Orienteering Championships in Portugal by Sharon Crawford (RMOC), Clare Durand (LAOC), Daniel Heimgartner (QOC), David Irving (SDO), and Mika Latva-Kokko (NEOC).
The team competed in the PreO, TempO, and Relay disciplines over the course of the week. The top U.S. result was David Irving's 9th place in the Paralympic category in the two-day PreO competition — one of the best US results at WTOC in recent years. Clare Durand was the top U.S. finisher in the Open category, finishing in 41st place. Team USA (Mika, Sharon, Clare) finished 18th in the Open category in the relay.
Learn more about the team's adventures and read interviews with the competitors on Team USA's excellent Trail-O blog.
 
PreO competition maps. Click on the images for full-size maps.
Complete results and all the maps are available on the event website.
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Team USA at WMTBOC
Greetings from Viborg, Denmark! By the time this newsletter is published, the U.S. MTBO Team will have wrapped up the 2019 World MTBO Championship. We will have reconnected with friends from other visiting countries, stories will have been shared of past World Champs, new stories will be told from this year’s races, and many many lessons will have been learned by U.S. team members.
Our team this year consists of 4 veterans of MTBO and 3 new members added to the roster — a total of 3 men and 4 women. Bing Kao (HOC) joined Sarah Ginsbach (RMOC) the week before competition to participate at O-Ringen, gaining some important MTBO practice and learning how to manage the race scene. Mark Thomsen (QOC), Abra McNair (CROC), and myself, Susan Grandjean (CROC) arrived 4 days before competitions to get in some practice on similar terrain and maps, as well as to acclimate for jet lag.
I’m currently sitting here in our accommodations at the Event Center getting antsy to move and ride the Model Sprint course today. Competition officially starts tomorrow morning and our team is ready to rock! And by the time you all have read this story, our legs and minds will be exhausted and hungry for more!
Thanks everyone for all your support for MTBO, looking forward to sharing our race stories to OUSA!
 
Men's sprint course (click on the image for full-sized maps).
 
Left: Sue Grandjean racing in the mass start (photo by Jean-Charles Lalv). Right: Abra McNair in the mass start (photo courtesy of IOF).
Post-event update: Abra McNair consistently had the top results for Team USA, finishing 34th in the long distance, 36th in the mass start, 37th in the sprint, and 41st in the long distance. You can see the full results and split times here.
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World Rogaining Championships
 
An impressive 18 teams partly or completely made up of U.S. orienteers and rogainers competed in the 16th World Rogaining Championships in La Molina in Catalunya, Spain, the weekend of July 27-29.
The team Proceeding On, consisting of OUSA's Sharon Crawford (RMOC) and Australian Robin Spriggs became world champions in the Women's Ultra Veteran category! The silver medal in that category went to a team that included Nadezhda Popova of HVO. Nightcrawlers, composed of CNYO's Eric and Mary Smith, took the bronze medal in the Mixed Ultra Veteran category. In Men's Ultra Veteran, Phast Generation (Ken Walker and Phil Bricker), while John Harbuck of EWOC was on the 6th place team. Some great results from top U.S. veteran rogainers in tough mountainous terrain and challenging weather conditions!
USA's Eric and Mary Smith on the podium (3rd place)
An excerpt from Ken Walker, Sr.'s race report (Team Phast Generation): "At La Molina ski area in the Pyrenees bordering France. Crest of the mountains are open meadow ski fields at 8,000 ft which drop steeply down trails to the lifts scattered all over.
Weather was challenging. Arrived to east coast 90’s and hot sun. By race day it was overcast and threatening. We had a couple hours of fierce thunderstorms, including at the start where lightning was flashing with only 3 sec to thunder (1000 m above us). Then showers until 8 hours into the race, followed by clear skies, high winds and plunging temps.
We got the worst of the weather, spending the night on the open summits with no protection from the 30 mph winds and temps of low 40’s. Both of us were near hypothermic at one point and found refuge (and a party) in the summit house. Hot fire, soup and coffee were great. Back out for another 8 hours above timberline."
World champion Sharon Crawford examining the trophy she is about to receive.
You can see the full map with all the teams' routes here, and full results here.
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World Masters Orienteering Championships
A strong U.S. contingent took part in the 2019 World Masters Orienteering Championships in Riga, Latvia in early July. The competition started off with some controversy, as the majority of competitive classes in the sprint race had to be voided due to a closed gate that impacted route choices for many competitors. Of the classes that did get official results, Sharon Crawford (WMOC) finished in 7th place in W75.
Lovely Latvian terrain
In the middle distance, three Americans qualified for the A final in which Sharon Crawford finished 18th, Sergey Velichko (CTOC, M55) 52nd, and Nancy Neuberger (PTOC, W70) 77th. The long distance had four Americans in the A final: Sharon Crawford in 7th place, Jeff Saeger (NEOC, M70) 36th, Sergey Velichko 38th, Vladimir Gusiatnikov (OCIN, M45) 61st.
The long distance final had its own controversy, as a number of courses had a route choice that rewarded swimming across a lake. For example, in M35A (see below), the "swim option" was up to 3 minutes faster than going around on leg 9-10!
M35A long final map. Click image for full-sized map.
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Orienteering at Swedish-American Museum
On April 6, the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia, PA, debuted 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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2019
Notes:
* = OUSA BOD Meeting; OUSA Annual General Meeting
** = Pending sanctioning
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Preview: California O-Fest 2020
California O-Fest 2020, including the North American Orienteering Championships and the World Rogaining Championships, is taking place in the Bay Area and around Lake Tahoe from July 21 - August 2, 2020.
The spectacular first bulletin for the California O-Fest has been released. Check it out here and get excited!
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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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