Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they use to find control points. Originally a training exercise in land navigation for military officers, orienteering has developed many variations. Among these, the oldest and the most popular is foot orienteering. For the purposes of this article, foot orienteering serves as a point of departure for discussion of all other variations, but almost any sport that involves racing against a clock and requires navigation with a map is a type of orienteering.
Veikko Johannes Hakulinen was a Finnish cross-country skier, triple champion in both the Olympics and World Championships. He also competed in biathlon, orienteering, ski-orienteering, cross-country running, and rowing at a national level.
The International Orienteering Federation (IOF) is the international governing body of the sport of orienteering. The IOF head office is located in Karlstad, Sweden. The IOF governs four orienteering disciplines: foot orienteering, mountain bike orienteering, ski orienteering, and trail orienteering.
Hilde Gjermundshaug Pedersen is a Norwegian cross-country skier. Her first Olympic medal was a silver 4 × 5 km relay at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, she took the bronze medal in the 10 km classical interval start event. Pedersen is the oldest woman ever to win a cross country skiing World Cup race, which she did at age 41 in January 2006 in Otepää, Estonia.
Sinikka Kukkonen was a Finnish orienteering competitor. She is World Champion in both orienteering and ski orienteering. She became the first World Champion in ski orienteering, in 1975.
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.
Liisa Anttila is a Finnish orienteering and ski-orienteering champion.
Martin Johansson is a Swedish orienteering, ski-orienteering, and cross-country skiing competitor, a medallist at the orienteering world championships, and a 2004 Junior World Champion in relay. He received bronze medals in sprint at the World Orienteering Championships in Kyiv 2007 and Olomouc 2008. His brother, Lars, is a member of the Rockford Icehogs
Sylvi Riitta Saimo was a Finnish sprint canoeist and politician. She was the first female Finnish Olympic Champion at the Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in K-1 500 m at the 1952 Summer Olympics. She also competed in cross-country skiing, athletics and orienteering. She was a member of the Finnish Parliament from 1966 to 1978.
Ruslan Gritsan is a Russian competitor and multiple world champion in both ski-orienteering and mountain bike orienteering.
Olli-Markus Taivainen is a Finnish ski-orienteering competitor and World Champion. He won a gold medal in the middle distance, a silver medal in the sprint and a bronze medal in the long distance at the 2009 World Ski Orienteering Championships.
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.
Mervi Väisänen is a Finnish ski-orienteering and mountain bike orienteering competitor.
Tove Alexandersson is a Swedish foot orienteer, ski orienteer, skyrunner, trail runner, ski mountaineer and skysnow runner. Alexandersson has won gold medals at world championships in five different sports plus a silver medal in a sixth sport, and has won a total of 21 gold medals at the World Orienteering Championships, making her the second most successful orienteer in history by number of gold medals at World Championships, behind Simone Niggli-Luder. 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.
Competitive cross-country skiing encompasses a variety of race formats and course lengths. Rules of cross-country skiing are sanctioned by the International Ski Federation and by various national organizations. International competitions include the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, the FIS Cross-Country World Cup, and at the Winter Olympic Games. Such races occur over homologated, groomed courses designed to support classic (in-track) and freestyle events, where the skiers may employ skate skiing. It also encompasses cross-country ski marathon events, sanctioned by the Worldloppet Ski Federation, and cross-country ski orienteering events, sanctioned by the International Orienteering Federation. Related forms of competition are biathlon, where competitors race on cross-country skis and stop to shoot at targets with rifles, and paralympic cross-country skiing that allows athletes with disabilities to compete at cross-country skiing with adaptive equipment.
Andrine Benjaminsen is a Norwegian orienteer and ski orienteer.
Events in the year 2021 in Estonia.
Norway 
Estonia 
Sweden 
Finland*
Bulgaria 
Switzerland 
Switzerland 
