Abbreviation | IOF |
---|---|
Formation | May 21, 1961 |
Type | Federation of national sports associations |
Headquarters | Drottninggatan 47 SE-65225 Karlstad Sweden |
Region served | Worldwide |
Membership | 78 national federations |
President | Leho Haldna |
CEO | Henrik Eliasson |
Secretary General | Sondre Sande Gullord |
Affiliations | International Olympic Committee |
Website | orienteering |
The International Orienteering Federation (IOF) is the international governing body of the sport of orienteering. The IOF head office is located in Karlstad, Sweden. [1] The IOF governs four orienteering disciplines: foot orienteering, mountain bike orienteering, ski orienteering, and trail orienteering. [2]
After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Orienteering Federation suspended the membership of the Russian Orienteering Federation. [3] The IOF also disallowed Russian orienteering athletes from participating in IOF events, even as neutral athletes, cancelled all organising rights for IOF events and activities in Russia, and suspended all Russian members appointed to IOF official bodies. [3]
The IOF was founded on 21 May 1961 at a Congress held in Copenhagen, Denmark by the orienteering national federations of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, Finland, Hungary, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. [4] By 1969, the IOF represented 16 countries, including its first two non-European member federations representing Japan and Canada, [5] and in 1977 the IOF was recognised by the International Olympic Committee. [4]
After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Orienteering Federation suspended the membership of the Russian Orienteering Federation. [3] The IOF also disallowed Russian orienteering athletes from participating in IOF events, even as neutral athletes, cancelled all organising rights for IOF events and activities in Russia, and suspended all Russian members appointed to IOF official bodies. [3]
As of January 2016, the membership of the IOF comprised 80 national orienteering federations, of which 56 were members, 24 were provisional members, [6] divided into six geographical regions. [7]
6 Members, 1 Provisional Member
17 Members, 1 Provisional Member
40 Members (2 currently suspended), 1 Provisional Member
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5 Members
2 Members
9 Members
The IOF is governed by an elected Council consisting of a President, a Senior Vice President, two Vice Presidents, and seven other Council members. [9] Day-to-day operations of the IOF are the responsibility of the IOF Secretary General. [1] Several standing commissions of the IOF are responsible for the development of the sport worldwide. These commissions include: Foot Orienteering, MTB Orienteering, Ski Orienteering, Trail Orienteering, Environment, IT, Map, Medical, and Rules.
Since 1977, the IOF has been recognised by the International Olympic Committee. [4]
The IOF is also a member of the following organisations: [4]
The IOF publishes a wide variety of journals and reference works related to the sport. These include Orienteering World, an annual magazine, The Scientific Journal of Orienteering, the OZine, [12] and official editions of the rules of IOF sanctioned orienteering [13] and specifications for orienteering maps. [14]
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.
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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).
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