Alex skis the model...

... and tests the no-touch EMIT, and tastes some snow:

Final Preparations

Today we had a chance to get out on (hopefully) really relevant terrain for the competitions this week. The model event took place on terrain adjacent to the competition terrain, using the same types of trails and the no-touch EMIT punching system. Here's a 1:5000 version of the model area:

We know some of you don't ski-O and are wondering about all the green lines. The dashed green lines are narrow trails (1-1.5m) made by snowmobiles. They're generally too narrow to get in a full skate, so there's a lot of double poling. The green/white boxed lines are established snowmobile trails, which here seem to be almost as wide as the groomed trails you find at resorts. Solid green lines are wide trails. Most of the skiing takes place on the green trails, since they're but you don't have to stick to them.

Tomorrow is the first race - the Sprint! Everyone's racing, so stay tuned for results and reports!

Team USA Ski-o invades Sweden

Ali, Alex, Cristina, Greg, and Nikolay have arrived at Tänndalen, Sweden, for the World Ski Orienteering Championships. The girls and Greg were just in Mora for a couple days, getting rid of the jet lag, and doing some super-secret-swedish-ski-o-training. Nikolay arrived yesterday, and Scott and Adrian arrive later tonight. We had a most delicious dinner of lasagna, and determined that Swedish butter tastes better than American butter.

Meanwhile, we're gearing up for the model:

2011 Standing Team Announced

The U.S. Standing Team Selection Committee (Kris Beecroft, Vladimir Gusiatnikov and Kristin Hall) is pleased to announce the selection of the following orienteers for the 2011 U.S. Orienteering Team (Foot-O):

A - Men: Eric Bone (COC), Ross Smith (CSU)
A - Women: Alison Crocker (CSU), Samantha Saeger (NEOC), Sandra Zurcher (RMOC, OLG Bern)

B - Men: Eddie Bergeron (SVO), Boris Granovskiy (CSU), Jordan Laughlin (USMAOC), Wyatt Riley (DVOA), Matt Scott (DVOA), Sergei Zhyk (HVO)
B - Women: Pavlina Brautigam (WCOC), Erin Nielsen (UNO)

C - Men: Leif Anderson (RMOC), Nikolay Nachev (COC), Mikell Platt (LROC), Ken Walker Jr. (CSU)
C - Women: Hannah Burgess (USMAOC), Alex Jospe (CSU), Cristina Luis (DVOA), Ekaterina Orekhova (CSU), Angelica Riley (DVOA), Karen Williams Middleton (CSU)

Selection is based on A-meet M/F21 performances during the preceding year with preference given to championship events, the Team Trials, and rankings. In the case of potential members living abroad, the committee considers their known competition results and training regimens. It is from this list -- which is sub-divided into A, B, and C -- that orienteers are eligible to represent Orienteering USA in IOF-sanctioned elite events.

The criteria for placement on the A, B and C lists are:

"A" list: Those who, if we were naming a squad now for a major international competition, would almost certainly be included.
"B" list: Those from whom you could reasonably expect the rest of the major international squad to come.
"C" list: Those who lack fitness due to injury, experience, or consistency to regularly challenge those on the "A" or "B" lists, although they can and do on any given day.

Congratulations to all who have been named to the team, especially those who are on the team for the first time! Train hard and win!

Team USA Orienteers of the Year!

Orienteering USA have announced the competitive award winners for 2010. Samantha Saeger, pictured above, was named the Orienteer of the Year based on her awesome results at national and international events. The other winners:

Junior Orienteer of the Year: Hannah Burgess

Comet of the Year: Alison Crocker
Honorable Mention: Jordan Laughlin

Orienteering Team of the Year: Team USA at the North American Orienteer

Read the full announcement on the Orienteering USA page.

Call for nominations for top US orienteer!

Orienteering USA Competitive Awards

The newly-established Orienteering USA Annual Competitive Awards Program is looking for nominations! The Program’s goals are to recognize and reward outstanding competitive accomplishments by US orienteers at the end of every year.

The Program has created a subcommittee that will solicit nominations from Orienteering USA membership for several different awards, listed below and will select a deserving winner of each award by the end of the year. The winners will be announced and receive prizes. Commemorative plaques will be awarded to the winners at a public ceremony at a major US orienteering event.

The awards are:

(a) Orienteer of the Year is awarded to the best USA orienteer in 2010, based on results at national and international events.

(b) Junior Orienteer of the Year is awarded to the best USA orienteer no older than 20 in 2010, based on results at national and international events.

(c) Comet of the Year is awarded to the most improved USA orienteer in 2010, based on results at national and international events.

(d) Orienteering Team of the Year is awarded to the best USA national or club orienteering team in 2010, based on results at national and international events.

Eligibility rules:

To be awarded any of the individual awards a nominee has to be a USA citizen and must be a member of Orienteering USA in good standing during the current calendar year. Additionally, for the Junior Orienteer of the Year award, the nominee must be no older than 20 at the end of 2010. To be selected to the Orienteering Team of the Year award, all team members have to be Orienteering USA members and represent the US or an Orienteering USA member club in competition.
Competitors in any forms of orienteering are eligible, including Foot-O, Ski-O, Mt.Bike-O, Trail-O, and ROGAINE.

The subcommittee making final selections from among those who were nominated consists of:
Michael Eglinski (former US Team member, widely-read orienteering blogger),
Peter Gagarin (former US Team member, coach, ESC chairman),
Boris Granovskiy (US team member, frequent US JWOC team leader),
Linda Kohn (ESC chairwoman, former US Team member),

Peter Goodwin (Orienteering USA VP Competition), committee chair.

Please send nominations (due December 22^nd) for any or all of the awards, along with a brief discussion of why the nominee deserves to win, to the subcommittee chair, presently Peter Goodwin at pgwolfe66 at gmail.com.

Samantha Saeger and Ross Smith win Classic Champs!

Samantha Saeger and Ross Smith dominated the Classic Champs this weekend, both winning decisively on Saturday and Sunday. Final two-day results are here, top three men and women:

Women:

Samantha Saeger

Alison Crocker

Pavlina Brautigam

Men:

Ross Smith

Sergei Zhyk

William Hawkins

Congratulations to all the medalists!

Classic Champs Day 1: Sam and Ross in the lead

This weekend is the US Classic Champs at Moreau Lake State Park, New York. The terrain is glacial and fantastic and the weather has held up, despite early predictions of rain.

The Classic Champs is a two-day combined time event, so the winner will not be determined until tomorrow. Leading the women after the first day is Samantha Saeger, who ran the 6.8km in about 62 minutes, with Ali Crocker just 2.5 minutes back. The men's course was dominated by Ross Smith, who ran the 9.6km course in just under 69 minutes. Sergei Zhyk was just over 3 minutes behind.

WOC Sprint Qualifiers

WOC 2010 got off to a great start for the US women, with Samantha Saeger and Alison Crocker taking places in this afternoon's sprint final after great races in the morning's qualifier. Samantha was 14th in her heat and had to push hard in the end to qualify - she had the fastest time in her heat from the pre-warning to the finish and made the final with just 4 seconds to spare! Alison made the final in her first WOC race ever, coming 13th in her heat. Sandra Zurcher also had a solid race and finished just three places outside the final.

The maps from the sprint qualifying races are available here.

Interview with Keith after the Long