Orienteering USA

Orienteering USA

Sport	Orienteering
Jurisdiction	United States
Founded	1971
Affiliation	International Orienteering Federation
Regional affiliation	North America
Headquarters	Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
President	Clare Durand
Official website
orienteeringusa.org

Orienteering USA (OUSA), formerly United States Orienteering Federation (USOF), is the national governing body for orienteering in the United States. It is recognized by the International Orienteering Federation and the United States Olympic Committee. ^{[1] [2]} It was founded on 1 August 1971. ^[3] Orienteering USA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. There are 68 current member clubs and over 1,500 members. ^{[2] [4]}

History

The first known competitive orienteering events in the U.S. were held from 1941 to 1943 in New Hampshire by a Finnish army officer named Piltti Heiskanen. There were military orienteering events at West Point Military Academy in New York state by 1966 and at Quantico Marine Base in Virginia by 1967, where the Marine Corps Physical Fitness Academy's first public event was held on July 12, 1968, on Harald Wibye's color orienteering map, the first such map in the English-speaking world. This was also the origin of the Quantico Orienteering Club, currently the largest and most active club in the US. The Norwegian Wibye also hosted the first known public competitive orienteering event in the U.S. at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania on Nov. 5, 1967. From this event would emerge another large club in the U.S., the Delaware Valley Orienteering Association.

The most influential early benefactor to and promoter of U.S. map and compass use and orienteering, and easily the most well-read author on these topics, was Bjorn Kjellstrom, a 1930s Swedish orienteering champion. From his events with scouts as early as 1946 to his guidance and support in the 1990s, he provided impetus and inspiration. His map and compass events from 1965 to 1967 in Westchester County, NY had competitive orienteering courses added in 1968 by Wibye. Bill Gookin's first events in 1969 in the San Diego area were the earliest known competitive public orienteering events west of the Mississippi. Kjellstrom assisted several Quantico officers is establishing the U.S. Orienteering Federation in 1971. The early 1970s would see the founding, in part, by orienteering book author Hans Bengstsson, of the New England Orienteering Club, the largest in the U.S. from the late 1970s through the 1980s. ^[3]

Organization

Orienteering USA is predominantly a volunteer-run organization. It has a board of directors, officers and numerous committees and task forces. ^[2]

OUSA states ^[5] that its mission is to:

1. Increase participation in the sport.
2. Teach map reading and navigation skills.
3. Promote enjoyment of, and respect for, the environment.
4. Establish world-class competitive excellence within our national team programs.

Affiliated clubs

Club name	Locale	State(s)
Arctic Orienteering Club	Anchorage	Alaska
ARK-LA-TEX Orienteering Club	Ark-La-Tex	Arkansas
		Louisiana
		Texas
Austin Orienteering Club	Austin	Texas
Backwoods Orienteering Klub	Raleigh–Durham–Cary	North Carolina
Badger Orienteering Club	Madison	Wisconsin
Bay Area Orienteering Club	San Francisco Bay Area	California
Bluegrass Orienteering Club	Lexington	Kentucky
Buffalo Orienteering Club	Buffalo	New York
Cambridge Sports Union	Greater Boston	Massachusetts
Capital Region Nordic Alliance	Capital District	New York
Carolina Orienteering Klub	Charlotte	North Carolina
Cascade Orienteering Club	Seattle	Washington
Central Ohio Orienteering	Columbus	Ohio
Central New York Orienteering	Syracuse	New York
Central Virginia Orienteering Club	Richmond	Virginia
Chicago Area Orienteering Club	Chicago Metropolitan Area	Illinois
City of Trees Orienteering Club	Boise	Idaho
Columbia River Orienteering Club	Portland	Oregon
Delaware Valley Orienteering Association	Delaware Valley	Delaware
		Maryland
		New Jersey
		Pennsylvania
Eastern Washington Orienteering Club	Spokane	Washington
Empire Orienteering Club	Capital District	New York
Florida Orienteering Club	Orlando	Florida
Greater Phoenix Orienteering Club	Phoenix Metropolitan Area	Arizona
Gold Country Orienteers	Sacramento	California
Green Mountain Orienteering Club	Burlington	Vermont
Grizzly Orienteering	Missoula	Montana
Houston Orienteering Club	Houston	Texas
Hudson Valley Orienteering Club	Hudson Valley	New Jersey
		New York
Illinois River Valley Orienteering Club	Peoria	Illinois
Indiana Crossroads Orienteering	Indiana	Indiana
Long Island Orienteering Club	Long Island	New York
Los Angeles Orienteering Club	Los Angeles	California
Miami Valley Orienteering Club	Dayton	Ohio
Minnesota Orienteering Club	Minnesota	Minnesota
Nashville Orienteering	Nashville	Tennessee
Nav-X-Sports	Santa Rosa	California
New England Orienteering Club	New England	Connecticut
		Massachusetts
		Rhode Island
North Country Orienteering	North Country	New York
North Eastern Ohio Orienteering Club	Cleveland	Ohio
North Texas Orienteering Association	Dallas	Texas
Orienteering Club of Cincinnati	Cincinnati	Ohio
Orienteer Kansas	Lawrence	Kansas
Orienteering Louisville	Louisville	Kentucky
Orienteering Utah	Utah	Utah
Possum Trot Orienteering Club	Kansas City Metropolitan Area	Kansas
		Missouri
Quantico Orienteering Club	Washington Metropolitan Area	District of Columbia
		Maryland
		Virginia
Rochester Orienteering Club	Rochester	New York
Rocky Mountain Orienteering Club	Denver	Colorado
San Diego Orienteering Club	San Diego	California
Southern Michigan Orienteering Club	Southern Michigan	Michigan
St. Louis Orienteering Club	Greater St. Louis	Illinois
		Missouri
Suncoast Orienteering and Adventure Racing	Sarasota Metropolitan Area	Florida
Susquehanna Valley Orienteering	York	Pennsylvania
Truckee Orienteering Club	Truckee	California
Tucson Orienteering Club	Tucson	Arizona
Up North Orienteers	New Hampshire	New Hampshire
Vulcan Orienteering Club	Birmingham	Alabama
Western Connecticut Orienteering Club	Western Connecticut	Connecticut
Western Pennsylvania Orienteering Club	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania

References

1. "Member Federations". International Orienteering Federation. Archived from the original on 2009-07-17. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
2. "Leadership". orienteeringusa.org. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
3. "The History of Orienteering in the U.S." Archived from the original on 2010-10-24. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
4. "Clubs". Orienteering USA. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
5. "Board of Directors". Orienteering USA. Retrieved 3 October 2015.

External links

• Official website