TempO Triumph (sort of)

Anticipation was high among Team USA as they watched the live results at the TempO arena. As competitors completed each Tempo station, the results were remotely transmitted to a system which constantly updated the standings. Clare's results showed her progressing well and in reach of a place in the finals. Unfortunately, a few mistakes on the final station pushed her down the list and out of the finals. For the first time in WTOC history, competitors were split into two separate qualifying heats. Each heat included 36 competitors with the top 18 advancing to the finals. We were allowed only four entrants, so David sat this one out and let Daniel get his feet wet. This year produced our best results yet at a Championship TempO. Clare and Mika both turned in great results with Clare placing 25th in the blue heat and Mika placing 27th in the red heat.

Thoughts from the competitors

Mika: It went well today. I'm still too slow, but getting faster and didn't make any silly mistakes. I wish we had more TempO in the U.S. I really like it.

Sharon: I decided to go slowly and carefully to get more right. I was happy to get most of the controls right, but I was too slow. My accuracy is improving at the expense of speed. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow because I'm stronger at PreO. Today was good preparation.

Clare: I was hoping to make the final, but felt that my times were too slow. I also believed I had missed two controls, but actually missed three. Still, when I saw the results it was a happy moment. I've been putting effort into constant improvement and it was nice to see improved results once again. For the first time I felt that making the final was realistically a possibility.

Daniel: There's room to improve. There were only a few paralympic competitors in the final. They should have a separate class.

Control of the Day:
Red Station 3, Control 5

This control was the most missed control of the day and Mika was one of it's victims. The control circle was on the end of the cliff, but the control itself was on the boulder cluster past the cliff. The difference between the cliff and the other rocks was easy to mistake.

Team USA arrives at 2016 WTOC

The 2016 World Trail Orienteering Championships begins tomorrow with the first model event. Team USA has arrived in Sweden and has been preparing for competition. Let's meet this year's team:

SHARON CRAWFORD of the Rocky Mountain Orienteering Club is competing in her ninth WTOC. She has been a US orienteering powerhouse for decades. Over the years she has competed not only in Trail orienteering, but as a member of the Foot-O and Ski-O teams as well. She thinks it's really fun when she sees the course setter's ruse right away and feels confident about the control.

CLARE DURAND of the Los Angeles Orienteering Club is competing in her 5th WTOC. Clare hopes to continue her past improvement in the Temp-O discipline and would be especially delighted by making the Temp-O finals.

DANIEL HEIMGARTNER of the Quantico Orienteering Club is our newest Paralympic competitor. Daniel has a degenerative condition that has affected his balance. Over time he was gradually tripping more and more on his orienteering courses and he can no longer make it through a regular foot-O course. Daniel is just learning and wants to do the best he can.

DAVID IRVING of the San Diego Orienteering Club is a veteran Paralympic team member and the only USA medalist in WTOC. David won the Paralympic silver medal in 2005 and the Bronze in 2004. David also participates extensively in both caving and geocaching.

MIKA LATVA-KOKKO of the New England Orienteering Club is competing in his second WTOC. Mika wants to do better than last year and especially to eliminate his "stupid" mistakes - picking the correct flag, but saying the wrong name. He also hopes to improve his average time per control in temp-O.

World Orienteering Day TempO

Courtesy of the Hong Kong Orienteering Club. A chance to try some online photo TempO for World Orienteering Day. Thanks, Hong Kong!

2016 U.S. National Trail Orienteering Team Named

Orienteering USA has announced the National Team and Team for the World Orienteering Championships in 2016.

The National Team consists of up to 10 members in each class who are highly ranked and/or agree to promote high standards of excellence in Trail Orienteering. This year's team includes ten members who have previously represented the U.S. at the World Championships. Congratulations to all those named.

OUSA 2016 National Trail Orienteering Team:

Open Class

• Karl Ahlswede (DVOA)
• Steve Beuerman (BAOC)
• Joe Brautigam (WCOC)
• Sharon Crawford (RMOC)
• Clare Durand (LAOC)
• Richard H. Ebright (DVOA)
• Richard Yon Ebright (DVOA)
• Jay Hann (BAOC)
• Mika Latva-Kokko (NEOC)
• Mike Poulsen (CROC)

Paralympic Class

• David Irving (SDO)
• Daniel Heimgartner (QOC)
• Glen Cafferty (CROC)

2016 US National Trail Orienteering Team Application

The rules for naming the U.S. National Trail Orienteering Team have changed slightly. It is now necessary to apply for inclusion on the team. The applicable rules have been copied below. Please note that this is not the same as the team to represent the U.S. at the World Trail Orienteering Championships.

Anyone desiring to be named to the 2016 U.S. National Trail Orienteering Team must fill out the linked application:  http://goo.gl/forms/YjT6o8E64d

Applications are due by Wednesday, March 30th

APPLICABLE RULES

-------------------------------

 G.4.1 The U.S. Trail Orienteering Team  is a designated group of advanced competitors that exists to promote and encourage the highest competitive standards for Trail Orienteering and to represent the United States at international events.
...

G.4.4 The U.S. Trail Orienteering National Team shall be composed of the 10 highest-ranked applicants from each class in the U.S. Trail Orienteering Rankings who meet the following conditions:

a. Have full passport qualifying citizenship for the United States.
b. Regular member of Orienteering USA in good standing.
c. Agree to be an active part of the team.
d. Participate in Team discussions, elections, and fundraisers.
e. Agree to represent the USA in International Orienteering Events.
f. Subscribe to the Official Team communication channel.

G.4.5 In the event that fewer than 10 applicants for the team in a class have a valid ranking, the ESC may, at their discretion, name non-ranked applicants to the team.

Support USA Trail Orienteering

Orienteering USA's Annual Fund Drive is underway. We hope you will consider making a donation earmarked to support the US Trail Orienteering Team.

How to Donate:
Orienteering USA's DONATE page provides information for making both online donations and mailing in a donation. Donations must be directed to "Team USA: Trail O Team" to insure that the team receives your support.

USA Team Member Mika Latva-Kokko focuses on a problem while Italian paralympic competitors look on

Why should I support Trail Orienteering?
Trail Orienteering is a precision map reading competition developed to provide an orienteering discipline for the disabled. The US Trail Orienteering Team fields a squad of both paralympic and open competitors for the World Championships annually. In addition, team members attend National competitions to hone their skills and qualify for the team. Travel and competition costs are born almost entirely by the competitors. Your support helps to defray these costs making it possible for those with limited resources to participate. This is especially critical for those disabled competitors with fixed disability incomes.

We are currently working to recruit new paralympic team members. Funding may be critical to enable potential candidates to afford the travel costs associated with training and competition.

How will my donation be used?
US Trail Orienteering funds may be used for the following purposes:
1) To pay entry and accreditation fees for team members at international competitions.
2) To defray travel expenses for team members at international competitions.
3) To support expenses related to recruitment and training of promising paralympic team candidates.

Thank you for your support!

Sharon Crawford at O-Ringen

Sharon competed in a five-stage PreO competition at O-Ringen, placing 34th of 60 competitors. Sharon's results were fairly consistent over the five days, with some higher scores on the last two days. Her score of 75 compared with a top score of 95 by Jens Andersson. Second and third place went to Vetle Ruud Braten and Marit Wiksell.

I did find a map posted on WorldofO. This map is not from the Elite Class, but still gives an idea of the terrain from this competition.

Congratulations to Sharon on this competition. I'm sure all of this European experience will make her a more formidable opponent in the upcoming year.