Meet the 2019 OUSA WTOC Team

SHARON CRAWFORD, from the Rocky Mountain Orienteering Club will be competing in her 12th WTOC. Sharon has represented the US at the elite level in Foot Orienteering, Ski Orienteering, and Trail Orienteering over her long career. She holds numerous US titles along with many international age group awards.
In addition to competing when she can, she trains for trail orienteering by regularly reading over specifications and rules and practicing distance estimation. Sharon says, "Regular foot orienteering is the best training really. Paralympic competitors are at a disadvantage because many have not been off the trail."
Her approach to trail orienteering is do your best--and if you don't win, at least don't be stupid. 
Sharon loves orienteering and thinks the people in orienteering are some of the best people ever. 

CLARE DURAND of the Los Angeles Orienteering Club is competing in her seventh WTOC. Clare not only competes in TrailO, but also serves as Chair of the team Executive Steering Committee and President of OUSA. Clare would like to have two solid PreO days, as it seems she usually manages to do well on only one of the two days. She trains with competition, mapping, and course setting. Most recently she claimed the Bronze medals in both PreO and TempO at Nationals and set the Trail-O course at Anza-Borrego.

DANIEL HEIMGARTNER of Quantico Orienteering Club is competing in his third WTOC. He recently set the course at 5 Rivers in New York and regularly plays online trail-o games to train (trailo.it), as well as doing foot orienteering. His goal for the WTOC is to stay healthy. His degenerative condition means that he is now using two canes on the course.

Trail-O is worth it!

DAVID IRVING of San Diego Orienteering will be enjoying his tenth appearance at the World Trail-O Championships, he also attended the Trail-O World Cup in 1999 before Trail-O was a Championship discipline. He hopes to place in the top half of the Para category. His training primarily consists of vetting Trail-O courses in Southern California and attending competitions when possible.

David will be 80 this year, which makes him one of the oldest competitors at the World Championships.

MIKA LATVA-KOKKO from the New England Orienteering Club is competing at the World Trail Orienteering Championships for the fifth time. Mika has set multiple courses on the east coast over the last year, including the recent National Championships. His goal for the World Champs is to correctly answer at least 90% of the control problems, which he states is a "high goal." 

He especially looks forward to the TempO and hopes that competing in a prior weekend TempO has "gotten rid of the rustiness" so he will be at his best for WTOC.