The 2014 North American Championships are underway

A quick update for spectators and for racers about this weekend’s North American Orienteering Championships in Ottawa.

Over 600 are here to compete and there are many club members representing Canada. It is going to be a fun weekend of races on some great terrain. And there are some high stakes involved too!

BK Cup – Canada versus USA – men & women’s elite

After a long, long winning streak Canada has lost out the last few times to the USA. Can we win it back this year? A little unlikely since Canada’s top two females (Louise Oram & Emily Kemp) will not be competing. But the men will do well, and perhaps with a strong showing from Kerstin, Tori and the other Canadian women we will be able to claw it back. The top three finishers for each country score points, and more points for higher placing (so even the fourth, fifth, sixth Canadians can help if they can beat the top Americans so that their top three finish lower in the standings and so score fewer points)

Future Champions Cup – Canada versus USA – junior men & women

This cup was started at the 2012 NAOCs and, most appropriately, it was a tie. So will Canada’s up and coming juniors be able to win this trophy for the first time? I think so ;-)

Both Cups will be calculated based on the scores in the Middle (Sat), Long (Sun), and Sprint (Monday), plus the grande finale – the Sprint Relay (Monday) which will have mixed teams of two men / two women. 

World Championship qualification

In addition to the US/Canada competition there is more on the line for the elites. The World Champs have a new qualification systems, and an exciting part of it is that the Middle & Long distance North American Regional Champions automatically qualify for the next WOC final in that discipline. So the elite (M/W21) will be fighting for a treasured spot in next summer’s World Championships. Can the Canadian men win both spots? Can the women make an upset and steal one from the Americans?

Follow all of the great racing at http://www.naoc2014.ca/results-centre where you will be able to find results plus course maps (as soon as the race is over)

Written by Adrian Zissos