Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and artificial ice allow more flexibility. Playing areas and fields consist of either snow or ice.
Bjørnar Valstad is a Norwegian former orienteering athlete who has won 4 World Orienteering Championships gold medals.
Ragnhild Bratberg is a Norwegian orienteering competitor and a cross-country skier. In orienteering, she won the overall Orienteering World Cup in 1988, and represented Norway several times in the World Orienteering Championships relays, winning medals in 1985, 1987 and 1991. In ski orienteering she won four individual gold medals at the World Ski Orienteering Championships, and once in the relay. She was awarded Egebergs Ærespris in 1988.
Anne Margrethe Hausken Nordberg is a Norwegian orienteering competitor, World champion and European champion. She took the overall victory in the 2008 World Cup.
Håvard Tveite was a Norwegian orienteering competitor. He was Relay World Champion from 1987 and 1989, and has a silver medal from 1991 and a bronze medal from 1997. He also obtained bronze in the individual course at the 1989 World Orienteering Championships.
Daniel Hubmann is a Swiss orienteering competitor, world champion in all three individual disciplines and multiple winner of the overall Orienteering World Cup. He is the brother of Martin Hubmann. Daniel also has his own fan club which is run by New Zealand Orienteer Joseph Lynch.
The European Orienteering Championships were first held in 1962. They have been held biennially since 2000. From 2020, the European Orienteering Championships will be held annually, with sprint events and forest events in alternate years.
Ski orienteering (SkiO) is a cross-country skiing endurance winter racing sport and one of the four orienteering disciplines recognized by the IOF. A successful ski orienteer combines high physical endurance, strength and excellent technical skiing skills with the ability to navigate and make the best route choices while skiing at a high speed.
The World Ski Orienteering Championships (Ski-WOC) is the official event to award the titles of World Champions in ski orienteering. The World Championships is organized every odd year. The programme includes Sprint, Middle and Long Distance competitions, and a Relay for both men and women. The first Ski-WOC was held in 1975.
Magne Dæhli is a Norwegian orienteering competitor, ski-orienteer, and cross-country skier. His achievements include five medals in the relay at the World Orienteering Championships, of which three are gold medals. His best individual performances include a silver medal in the long distance from the European Orienteering Championships, and a bronze medal in the middle distance from the 2019 World Orienteering Championships.
The Orienteering World Cup is a series of orienteering competitions organized annually by the International Orienteering Federation. Two unofficial cups were organized in 1983 and 1984. The official World Cup was held first in 1986, and then every second year up to 2004. From 2004 the World Cup has been held annually.
Øystein Kvaal Østerbø is a Norwegian orienteering and ski-orienteering competitor. He finished overall third in the Orienteering World Cup in 2004, and won a silver medal in the relay in the 2004 World Ski Orienteering Championships. He has competed in all fifteen World Orienteering Championships since his debut in 2004 until 2018, obtaining his first two medals in Inverness in 2015; in the relay and mixed sprint relay, respectively. His best individual achievements are fourth places in the sprint in 2005 and 2010.
The World Cup in Ski Orienteering is a series of ski-orienteering competitions organized by the International Orienteering Federation. The first official World Cup was held in 1989, then every second year up to 1999, and then in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, and 2007–2008.
Orienteering Canada, formerly known as the Canadian Orienteering Federation (COF), is the governing body of orienteering in Canada. It is recognized by the International Orienteering Federation, of which it is a member.
The Junior World Ski Orienteering Championships were first held in 1994. Since 1998, competitions have been held annually. Representative countries must be members of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF).
Hanna Kosonen is a Finnish politician and former ski-orienteering competitor. She was Finland's Minister of Science and Culture from August 2019 till August 2020.
The World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships is the official event for awarding World Champion titles in mountain bike orienteering. The World Championships, also known as WMTBOC, were first held in 2002, and since 2004 they have been organized annually – except in 2020. The programme includes Long distance, Middle distance, Sprint, Mass Start, and a Relay for both men and women.
Tove Alexandersson is a Swedish orienteer, ski orienteer, skyrunner and ski mountaineer. She has won a total of 17 gold medals at the World Orienteering Championships and 10 gold medals at the World Ski Orienteering Championships. In 2018, she won the Sky Marathon event at the Skyrunning World Championships, in her second skyrunning race ever. In 2021, she won the combined discipline at the World Championships of Ski Mountaineering. She competes for Stora Tuna OK in orienteering and Alfta-Ösa OK in ski orienteering. Alexandersson holds the record for the number of gold medals in a row at the World Orienteering Championships, winning 11 in a row between 2018 and 2022.
Underwater orienteering is an underwater sport that uses recreational open circuit scuba diving equipment and consists of a set of individual and team events conducted in both sheltered and open water testing the competitors' competency in underwater navigation. The competition is principally concerned with the effectiveness of navigation technique used by competitors to swim an underwater course following a route marked on a map prepared by the competition organisers, a compass and a counter meter to measure the distance covered. The sport was developed in the Soviet Union during the late 1950s and is played mainly in Europe. It is known as Orientation Sub in French and as La Orientación Subacuática in Spanish. Historically, the sport has also been known as Technical Disciplines.
Matthias Kyburz (SUI)
Tove Alexandersson (SWE)
