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 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).
Anne Margrethe Hausken Nordberg is a Norwegian orienteering competitor, World champion and European champion. She took the overall victory in the 2008 World Cup.
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.
Dmitriy Alexandrovich Tsvetkov is a Russian orienteering competitor and past European champion. He received a gold medal in the long distance at the 2008 European Orienteering Championships in Ventspils, and also a gold medal in the relay event, together with Andrey Khramov and Valentin Novikov. Dmitry also won two gold medals at JWOC 2003 in Estonia in a classic distance and relay. On March 5, 2022, Dmitry Tsvetkov supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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.
Virpi Juutilainen is a Finnish ski-orienteering competitor and world champion.
Matti Keskinarkaus is a Finnish ski-orienteering and mountain bike orienteering competitor. He is ski-O world champion and winner of the overall ski-O world cup year 2001.
Erik Rost is a Swedish ski-orienteering competitor, winner of the overall world cup, and junior world 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
Ruslan Gritsan is a Russian competitor and multiple world champion in both ski-orienteering and mountain bike orienteering.
South African Orienteering Federation (SAOF) is the national Orienteering Association in South Africa. SAOF was founded in 1981, and is recognized as the orienteering association for South Africa by the International Orienteering Federation, of which it is a member.
Mervi Väisänen is a Finnish ski-orienteering and mountain bike orienteering competitor.
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.
Ida Bobach is a Danish orienteering competitor who was Junior World Champion in 2009, and became triple Junior World Champion from 2010, when she won the sprint, long distance and the relay. She represents the club OK Pan Århus, and since 2007, has received training from Danish national coach Lars Lindstrøm. In 2015 she won gold medals at the World Championships in the long and Relay.
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.
Venla Niemi is a Finnish orienteering competitor.
Andrine Benjaminsen is a Norwegian orienteer and ski orienteer.
Simona Aebersold is a Swiss orienteering competitor. She is the daughter of Christian Aebersold, who won the World Orienteering Championships 3 times.
Rovaniemi, Finland
Banská Bystrica/Donovaly, Slovakia
Velegozh, Russia
Jundola, Bulgaria
Trentino, Italy
Jablonec nad Nisou/Harrachov, Czech Republic
S-chanf, Switzerland
Salzburg, Austria
Dalarna, Sweden
Miercurea Ciuc, Romania
Lillehammer, Norway
Sumy, Ukraine
Madona, Latvia
Põlva, Estonia
