Happy Holidays & A Look Back at 2024

Orienteering News from across Alberta

AOA News and Events AOA Facebook AOA Website AOA Instagram Message from the AOA President Hello Alberta orienteers, I realize that many of you will be thinking more of the upcoming holiday season, and winter activities than of orienteering.  But I wanted to let you know of what I consider to be highlights and key developments for Alberta orienteering in 2024.  One of the best accomplishments this year, which the AOA Executive Director, Bogi Gyorfi, will likely mention, are the thousands (literally!) of children that participated in orienteering this year, thanks to the effort of EOOC, FWOC, and, the AOA.  These efforts were in part supported by a grant from the Alberta government, the ‘Every Kid Can Play’ initiative, which Bogi was successful in obtaining again for the coming year.   What also supports the school and junior programs are the funds the AOA receives by our members volunteering at casinos.  The AOA casino alternates between Calgary and Edmonton, and this time it was the Edmonton orienteers turn.  Thank you to all of you who braved the less-than-ideal driving conditions earlier this month to stand your shifts.  Not only do these funds help the various junior and school programs, but also help support the creation or updating of (as the case may be) our forest maps.  This has been especially key this year, and for next, because of the upcoming Canadian Orienteering Festival 2025 (COF25).  Calgary orienteers will be hosting the Western Canadian Championship (August 15-18), and Edmonton orienteers the Canadian Championship (August 22-24).  New maps are being created for both events, and will be a legacy for the local clubs to use for years to come.   For over a year volunteers have been busy with the planning for COF25, from creating the orienteering courses, directing the mapping, planning logistics, running t-shirt design contests, testing the courses (in the heat of summer and bitter cold of November), planning the IT and software needs for the events, working with land owners to obtain permissions, and so on, and so on.  It is a huge and complex effort, especially as two of the races will be World Ranking Events, for which the International Orienteering Federation has stringent requirements.  Hundreds of volunteer hours have already been put in, and even more will be needed, especially as we get closer to the event  - so stay tuned for calls for volunteers. □  Many of the roles do not require an expertise in orienteering, so keep August 2025 in mind if you will be looking for something to do!  And speaking of volunteers, while the AOA recognises key event officials and club organizers, some of who put in many hundreds of hours, including hundreds of kilometres of travelling to sites and walking through forests and over plains to design orienteering courses, there are so many of you who lend a hand, whether offering to pick up controls on a Wednesday night or register participants or mark them in as they finish, hand out maps to school kids, and more – all of which are so welcome to your fellow club member / volunteer who planned and put on the courses.  Thank you, to you all!   All of you have my sincere wish for a safe and happy holiday season, and I hope to see you again on the trails in 2025. Map and compass in hand. Sincerely, Kim Kasperski President, Alberta Orienteering Association Thank You Volunteers! A big thank you! To all our amazing volunteers, your dedication and hard work are the backbone of our orienteering events. Thank you for not only volunteering but for building a welcoming and supportive community. You're the heroes behind the scenes, and we deeply appreciate all that you do. From casino shifts to program coaching, events, and board meetings, every effort contributes to our success. Our gratitude extends to everyone involved—not just those named but all who support orienteering.  (AOA has an official criteria for which we give special thanks each year.) The AOA volunteer recognition criteria  AOA board  members   Auditor of AOA                               Orienteering Club’s presidents                                 Canada Cup (A Meet) main organizers                             Forest event (B-Meet) main organizers       Someone who has done something especially significant for AOA (e.g. OC board involvement, special committees).   AOA Event Highlights: Celebrating Our Achievements FWOC/ AOA training camp         Alberta Training Camp organized by Foothills Orienteering (FWOC) was an incredible experience! Participants enjoyed challenging terrain, fantastic courses and activities, stunning views, fun group camping, and perfect weather. A huge thank-you goes out to our amazing volunteers: main organizer, event planner and coach Marsha, activity planner and coach Finley and Kitty, and race planner, Teresa. AOC 2024 - Alberta Orienteering Championship  Contribution of FWOC newsletter: "Alberta celebrated its 50th anniversary in grand style with a classic combined event on the Sandy McNabb map at the 2024 Alberta Orienteering Championships. The AOCs were a resounding success, thanks to the incredible combination of stellar terrain, stunning views, and the warm camaraderie of the orienteering community. Held in some of the most beautiful wilderness Alberta has to offer, the event featured courses that took full advantage of the landscape, challenging both seasoned veterans and newcomers alike.   It wasn’t just the orienteering that stood out this year. One of the highlights of the weekend was our group campsite, which turned out to be the perfect base camp for the event. Nestled among the trees, it provided an ideal spot to relax after each day's race, share stories, and enjoy the spectacular surroundings. And of course, we can’t talk about this year’s AOCs without mentioning Bogi’s legendary BBQ. As usual, she knocked it out of the park, cooking up a feast that drew everyone together. People lingered long after the meal, enjoying each other's company well into the evening. There’s just something about Bogi’s BBQ that creates a sense of community and connection—it’s a highlight everyone looks forward to year after year." Look at the RETO GEAR! AOA Outreach - Impressive participation growth  This year, AOA-managed programs engaged 5,044 participants across several initiatives. The AOA residency high school program led the way with 2,643 participants, followed by the EKCP Grant program, which reached 1,453 participants. Other highlights include the Red Deer Community programs with 320 participants. We are very thankful to our outreach coaches, Lisa and Karen, who support our programs without a club behind them. Additional programs included the Participation Grant programs (323), the Airdrie youth program (204), and the Calgary TRY IT programs (101). Did you know that seven years ago there was no AOA lead outreach participation? We are proud of our progress and growth in the past few years and hope to continue with this trend. Pathfinders Every Kid Can Play (EKCP) Program Grant A True Collaboration Success: $57,500 Granted to Support Orienteering Programs in Alberta   A huge THANK YOU to the Government of Alberta and the Every Kid Can Play grant we received, which helped us to provide these amazing programs! With FWOC/SOGO and EOOC/KRW support, and AOA Red Deer & Airdrie outreach, nearly 6,000 participants across Alberta had the chance to connect with nature, build skills, and enjoy the outdoors through 30 programs, 14 schools, and 9 communities through trying orienteering. We are so excited to receive next year's support to continue the work we've started with our clubs and partners. Together, we're making outdoor recreation accessible for so many kids. Thank you to the clubs EOOC (Dorothy), SOGO at school (Tiffany, Kim, and Josephina), and the Red Deer coaches (Lisa and Karen) for making this year such a success!     Celebrating our athletes and outstanding results from Albertans   Albertans were highly active in 2024, attending not only local events but also major ones like the Canadian Championships, North American Championships, and Westerns. We know how much work goes into these events, and nothing is more rewarding for the organizers than seeing participants from across Canada. Congratulations to everyone who made the trip and supported the Canadian orienteering community this year. Athletes Highlight   Below are some stories from our Team Canada and Junior Athletes. We are so proud of you and excited to follow your successes next year! We will continue to provide the AOA grants to support these young athletes, enabling them to attend competitions where they represent Canada and Alberta. Andrew McLaren This year marked my first year properly in the M21 class. While I have been running up to M21 in previous years, this was finally the time when I no longer had a choice thus it did not have much of an impact on me aside from the major championship races where I had been running my age class. Given that I was no longer eligible for JWOC and that I didn't have too much of an interest in a sprint WOC or a WUOC without a long I decided to set NAOC as my main races of the season with the COCs the weekend before as also high priority. While I didn't get any medals, I came home with 3 IOF diplomas and felt that I was very consistent across all my races, which I'm quite happy about given that this was 7 races across 9 days and I did not have any substantial blowups. Two highlights of my results from that week were making the knockout sprint final and being a part of the Canadian podium sweep at the NAOC middle. Going forward I want to continue to work on developing my forest speed, as well as maintaining focus at these higher speeds, especially during longer races which I hope will lead me to better results wherever I go in 2025. Robyn Astrige This summer I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to compete at JWOC 2024 in Pilsen, sprint WOC 2024 in Edinburgh, and NAOC 2024 in Ontario. Preparation for my summer of racing began in earnest with the spring running season, where I raced some road races and put together a solid running build, peaking for the end of June. Throughout the spring and early summer, my training partners and I in Vancouver did a lot of sprint-specific training (set by New Zealand elite Gene Beveridge, who was in Vancouver for the last two years), including intervals, line-o’s, race simulations, barrier trainings, and planning ahead exercises. Towards the end of May, a group of four of us from Vancouver went on a week-long training camp in interior British Columbia and Whistler, visiting nine maps in six days, from Kelowna, to Kamloops, to Whistler. We topped off the week with some racing at Sage Stomp in Salmon Arm on the first weekend of June. I was back in Calgary, Alberta for two short weeks before beginning my month-long trip to Europe in mid-June. First stop: Amsterdam for a few days to visit family. Then, a quick flight to Oslo to stay with Team Canada teammate Vegard Jarvis Westergard and race at O-Festivallen in Lillehammer. It was an eye-opening experience to finally race in Scandinavia and I cannot wait to get the chance to do it again. Gavan Winn This year I turned 18, finished high school, and am currently studying chemistry at the University of Calgary and an avid orienteer. This season my highlights were definitely the COCs/NAOCs in Ontario and the WCOCs in Manitoba. The WCOCs in Manitoba started off very well as I finished first in my category (though I was the only person competing in my category) and fourth on my course in the sprint and third on my course in the middle. The long started off well but about halfway through I really crashed and slowed down a lot. I managed to keep my navigation tight and picked good route choices but I couldn't really run so I lost a lot of time. That being said it was the longest course I’ve ever done and I think I did well all things considered. The highlight of my season was definitely the COCs and the NAOCs in Ontario which went pretty well. I got third and fifth in the middle and long respectively which I was racing in U16 for and for the rest of the races I decided to race in U20 to get some more experience running harder courses. The sprint didn't go as well as most of my other races because I made quite a big mistake on one control in a multi-level area but I managed to get fourth. After that was the club relay where our FWOC team won our category and my race went pretty well. Then after that I had definitely my best race of the season which was the knockout sprints. I qualified in 6th place in my qualifier (there were 3 different qualifiers with 12 people qualifying from each) and finished 3rd in my quarter-final which put me in the semis and in the top 18 overall I finished 5th in my semi so I didn't make it to the finals but I did a lot better than I expected. The last 2 races were the middle and long for the NAOCs and I finished 3rd and 5th respectively on some of the most challenging courses I have ever raced. Overall I had an amazing season this year and I’m super excited to keep training for some even bigger races next season! Grace Mahoney This year was my first IOF ranking event, and I had such a great time! The North American Championships were in Ontario this year, in Kingston and Calabogie. My favourite race at this event (and best result) was without a doubt the sprint race at the Kingston Penitentiary, which was such an awesome experience! The course took us inside the grounds of the penitentiary, and was absolutely the coolest map I’ve ever run on. I came second in this race, which was my best result of the week! I also had a super cool opportunity to race in the National Team youth relay, which was my first ever orienteering relay (during which Canada totally crushed the US). Aside from the races, camping with everyone was also so much fun! There were some intense gaga ball games, swimming, and training camp activities that were super great, especially because everyone is super close. In October, I also got to head to Scranton, Pennsylvania for USA Nationals, where I had one solid sprint race, and a couple questionable forest races. It was so nice to see everyone again, especially some of the American orienteerers I met over the summer! Following these (mostly) successful races, I am super excited for next season, and hopefully racing in a couple more big events! On the radar for next year, save the date... Did you know that both clubs are working tirelessly to put on next year Canadian and Western Canadian Orienteering Championships? It will be a very exciting and busy time. Join us as a participant or volunteer to be part of this fun festival.  Enjoy 9 days of thrilling competitive orienteering races, including the Canadian Orienteering Championships, Western Canadian Orienteering Championships, and World Ranking Events. For more details check out the website. Planning to open registration mid-January! COF 2025 Website □ Announcing Our T-Shirt Design Contest Winner! □ We are thrilled to announce the winner of our T-shirt design contest! After much anticipation, the votes are in and the chosen design is the stunning Rainbow Beaver Dam, created by the incredibly talented Amanda Edmunds! Amanda has won a fantastic package for the Canadian Orienteering Festival 2025.   Have a wonderful holiday season & see you back orienteering soon! Copyright ©  AOA.  All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Alberta Orienteering Association Box 1576 Cochrane, Alberta T4C 1B5 Canada Do you want to change how you receive these emails? 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