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Orienteering USA

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United States Orienteering Federation, or Orienteering USA
Founded1 August 1971
TypeOrienteering club
Area served
United States of America
Websitehttp://www.orienteeringusa.org/
[1]

United States Orienteering Federation or USOF is the national governing body for orienteering in the United States. The group announced in August 2010 that it will change its public-facing name to Orienteering USA. It is recognized by the International Orienteering Federation and the United States Olympic Committee.[2][3] It was founded on 1 August 1971.[1] USOF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. There are 55 current member clubs. There are approximately 1,430 family and individual members.[3]

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. 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 what is currently the largest club in the U.S., the Delaware Valley Orienteering Association, with Caroline and Kent Ringo and others providing leadership from the late 1960s into the 2000s.

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 Boy Scouts of America scouts as early as 1946 to his guidance and support in the 1990s, he provided impetus and inspiration. His map and compass events from 1965-67 in Westchester County, NY saw 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.[1]

Organization

Originally an organization based solely on volunteers, it now employs a paid executive director, Glen Schorr. It has a Board of Directors, officers and numerous committees and task forces.[3]

It states its mission is to:

  1. Provide orienteering as a viable and attractive recreation choice for U.S. outdoors enthusiasts.
  2. Promote orienteering for education, personal development, and environmental awareness.
  3. Improve the competitive performance of U.S. orienteering athletes to world-class levels.

Member clubs

References

  1. ^ a b c "The History of Orienteering in the U.S." Retrieved 2010-10-15.
  2. ^ "Member Federations". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  3. ^ a b c "Leadership". http://www.orienteeringusa.org/. Retrieved 2009-01-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
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