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.
The World Orienteering Championships is an annual orienteering event organized by the International Orienteering Federation. The first World Championships was held in Fiskars, Finland in 1966. They were held biennially up to 2003. Since 2003, competitions have been held annually. Participating nations have to be members of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF).
The Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) are an annual orienteering competition. They were first held in 1990. Entry is open to national teams aged 20 and below as of 31 December in the year of competition. Representative countries must be members of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF).
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.
Merja Rantanen is a Finnish orienteering competitor. She received a silver medal in the middle distance at the 2008 European Orienteering Championships in Ventspils. She also participated on the Finnish team that achieved a bronze medal in the championship relay.
Tatiana Ryabkina is a Russian orienteering competitor. She won the O-Ringen in 2012 and had international success.
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.
Mårten Boström is a Finnish orienteering competitor and long-distance runner. He won a gold medal in sprint at the 2013 World Orienteering Championships in Vuokatti. He reached the podium in the junior race at the Nordic Cross Country Championships in 2001, taking the bronze. He received a bronze medal in sprint at the 2004 European Orienteering Championships in Roskilde. He received a silver medal in the classic distance at the 2001 Junior World Orienteering Championships, and a bronze medal in the relay event in 2000.
The World University Orienteering Championships (WUOC) is a biannual orienteering competition organized by International University Sports Federation (FISU). Entry is open to athletes aged 17 to 25 who are enrolled in university either the year of or the year after the competition. Representative countries must be members of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF).
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
Foot orienteering is the oldest formal orienteering sport, and the one with the most "starts" per year. Usually, a FootO is a timed race in which participants start at staggered intervals, are individually timed, and are expected to perform all navigation on their own. The control points are shown on the orienteering map and must be visited in the specified order. Standings are determined first by successful completion of the course, then by shortest time on course.
Tove Alexandersson is a Swedish foot orienteer, ski orienteer, skyrunner, trail runner and ski mountaineer. She has won a total of 19 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, and in 2023 she won a silver medal in the up and down discipline at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. 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.
The European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) are a competition in orienteering involving competitors either between 14 and 16 or 16 and 18.
Andrine Benjaminsen is a Norwegian orienteer and ski orienteer.
Jan Petržela is a Czech orienteer.
The 2018 Orienteering World Cup was the 24th edition of the Orienteering World Cup. The 2018 Orienteering World Cup consisted of 11 individual events and 9 relay events. The events were located in Switzerland, Latvia, Norway and Czech Republic. The European Orienteering Championships in Ticino, Switzerland and the 2018 World Orienteering Championships in Riga, Latvia were included in the World Cup.
Simona Aebersold is a Swiss orienteering competitor. She is the daughter of Christian Aebersold, who won the World Orienteering Championships 3 times.
The 2022 Orienteering World Cup is the 27th edition of the Orienteering World Cup. The 2022 Orienteering World Cup consists of six individual events and four relay events. The events are located in Sweden, Estonia, and Switzerland. The 2022 World Orienteering Championships in Denmark are not included in the World Cup. But the European Orienteering Championships in Estonia are part of the world cup, and non-European Orienteers can hence participate in the European Championships as well. By winning the fifth race, middle distance in Davos, Tove Alexandersson secured her eight total world cup win. Later the same day, Kasper Fosser secured his second total world cup win.
The 2023 Orienteering World Cup is the 28th edition of the Orienteering World Cup. The 2023 Orienteering World Cup consists of seven individual events and three relay events. The events are located in Norway, the Czech Republic, and Italy. The 2023 World Orienteering Championships in Switzerland are not included in the World Cup, but the European Orienteering Championships in Italy are part of the World Cup program. Non-European Orienteers can hence participate in the European Championships as well. Russian and Belarusian competitors are still banned, but this season saw Natalia Gemperle returning to the world cup, now competing for Switzerland.
Løten, Norway 
Le Brassus, Switzerland 
Truskavets, Ukraine 
Sümeg, Hungary 
Roskilde, Denmark 
Otepää, Estonia 
Ventspils, Latvia 
Primorsko, [2] Bulgaria 
Falun, Sweden [3] 
Palmela, Portugal 
Jeseník, Czech Republic 
Verona, Italy [5] 
TBA, Belgium 
