Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills 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.
Sport in New Zealand largely reflects the nation's colonial heritage, with some of the most popular sports being rugby union, rugby league, cricket, association football, basketball, horse racing and netball, which are primarily played in Commonwealth countries. New Zealand has enjoyed success in many sports, notably rugby union, rugby league, cricket, America's Cup sailing, world championship and Olympics events, and motorsport.
The International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness (IFBB), headquartered in Las Rozas (Madrid), is an international professional sports governing body for bodybuilding and fitness that oversees many of the sport's major international events, notably the World and Continental Championships.
Rogaining is an orienteering sport of long distance cross-country navigation, involving both route planning and navigation between checkpoints using a variety of map types. In a rogaine, teams of two to five people choose which checkpoints to visit within a time limit with the intent of maximising their score. Teamwork, endurance, competition and an appreciation for the natural environment are features of the sport. Championship rogaines are 24 hours long, but rogaines can be as short as two hours.
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.
The International Dragon Boat Federation is the international governing body for the sport of dragon boat racing. IDBF was founded in Hong Kong on June 24, 1991 by Australia, China, Taiwan, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Norway, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United States. IDBF currently has 75 member countries or territories and is supported by five continental federations.
The International Federation of Broomball Associations (IFBA), formally established in 1998, is the world governing body for the sport of broomball.
The International Luge Federation is the main international federation for all luge sports. Founded by 13 nations at Davos, Switzerland in 1957, it has members of 53 national luge associations as of 2009 and is based in Berchtesgaden, Germany. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, in March 2022 the FIL banned all Russian athletes, coaches, and officials from its events, suspended all Russian officials appointed to its Commissions and Working Groups, and deemed Russia ineligible to host any of its events.
The history of orienteering begins in the late 19th century in Sweden, where it originated as military training. The actual term "orienteering" was first used in 1886 at the Swedish Military Academy Karlberg and meant the crossing of unknown land with the aid of a map and a compass. The competitive sport began when the first competition was held for Swedish military officers on 28 May 1893 at the yearly games of the Stockholm garrison. The first civilian competition, in Norway on 31 October 1897, was sponsored by the Tjalve Sports Club and held near Oslo. The course was long by modern standards, at 19.5 km, on which only three controls were placed. The competition was won by Peder Fossum in a time of 1 hour, 47 minutes, and 7 seconds.
Route choice is a tactic in orienteering and related sports such as rogaining and adventure racing. These sports involve navigation from one control point to the next and, in most cases, the choice of route is left to the competitor. This is provided the rules permit route choice and the course is designed so that a choice exists. In trail orienteering and European style mounted orienteering route choice is not permitted. In United States style foot orienteering, route choice is absent from White courses, limited in Yellow courses, and a crucial element in the design of more advanced courses. Given a choice of route, the competitor evaluates trade-offs among such factors as distance, amount of "climb", degree and extent of "fight", mode of travel, technical difficulty, and the competitor's own preferences.
New Zealand Orienteering Federation is the national Orienteering Association in New Zealand. It is recognized as the orienteering association for New Zealand by the International Orienteering Federation, of which it is a member.
Silver Eensaar is an Estonian orienteer, rogainer and adventure racer. At the 10th World Rogaining Championships in Přebuz, Czech Republic in 2012 he won a gold medal and the title of the World Rogaining Champion in team with his brother Rain Eensaar in Men's teams category. At 11th World Rogaining Championships in Alol, Pskov oblast Russia in 2013 they successfully defended the title of the World Rogaining Champion. At 12th World Rogaining Championships in Black Hills, South Dakota in 2014 they won the third consecutive title of World Rogaining Champions.
The World Rogaining Championships are the championships of the International Rogaining Federation (IRF) and the pinnacle rogaining event in the world. The championships are organised by the national rogaining organisation chosen by the IRF as the host of that particular championships.
World Baseball Softball Confederation is the world governing body for the sports of baseball, softball, and Baseball5. It was established in 2013 by the merger of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and International Softball Federation (ISF), the former world governing bodies for baseball and softball, respectively. Under WBSC's organizational structure, IBAF and ISF now serve as the Baseball Division and Softball Division of WBSC. Each division is governed by an executive committee, while the WBSC is governed by an executive board.
The World Ringette Championships (WRC) is the premier international competition in ringette and is governed by the International Ringette Federation (IRF). Unlike most international competitions, all of the WRC's elite athletes are female rather than male, one of the sport's distinctive features. Competing nations include: Canada, Finland, United States, Sweden, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, with Team Canada and Team Finland having emerged as the sport's top two competing nations. The 2023 World Ringette Championships will be held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and will be the sport's 60th anniversary.
Order of the Geoduck is an international award issued by the International Rogaining Federation for long-term high level contributions to international rogaining. The award takes the form of a replica geoduck, a saltwater clam found on the Pacific coast of North America.
Guntars Mankus is a Latvian orienteer, rogainer and adventure racer.
Rain Eensaar is an Estonian orienteer, rogainer and adventure racer. At the 10th World Rogaining Championships in Přebuz, Czech Republic in 2012 he won a gold medal and the title of the World Rogaining Champion in team with his brother Silver Eensaar in Men's teams category. At 11th World Rogaining Championships in Alol, Pskov oblast Russia in 2013 they successfully defended the title of the World Rogaining Champion. At 12th World Rogaining Championships in Black Hills, South Dakota in 2014 they won the third consecutive title of World Rogaining Champions.
The International Ringette Federation (IRF) is a non-profit amateur sports organization and the highest governing body for the sport of ringette. Today the member countries of the IRF Board includes four member nations: Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States. Initially the organization was called the "World Ringette Council" (WRC), but was changed to the "International Ringette Federation" in 1991. The change is believed to have been made to avoid confusion with the organizing body and the new World Ringette Championships tournament which shared the same acronym, WRC.
International Table Hockey Federation (ITHF) is the world governing body for ITHF table hockey, providing World and European championships, list of biggest international competitions, regulation of game and tournament rules and world ranking. Ranking at 2021 contained about 10,000 players from 70 countries.
