With fall officially starting, we have so many great orienteering activities in store for you! Here goes!
Noon Hill (Medfield, MA): Come enjoy the beginning of fall at Noon Hill in Medfield, MA. This BYOM event runs through Oct 1 and includes beginner (yellow), intermediate (orange) and advanced (brown and green) courses. Participate on your own schedule! Use QR code timing or self-report that you participated. If we know you are going to the BYOM events, then we will continue to keep them on the schedule!
New England Champs 2023 - Oct 7 and Oct 8 at Wells State Park in Sturbridge. This event will have standard club event courses (white/yellow/orange) and National Ranking event courses (currently over 160 people registered!). Recreational Courses = just like a regular club event, but with a brand-new map. You can come one day or both, and you can register on the day (free for club members). White, Yellow, and Orange courses are offered. These courses are the same as the White, Yellow, and Orange courses being offered for the National Ranking Event. National Ranking Event Courses = a wider range of courses, divided into age and gender categories. Competitors receive national ranking points. Start times are pre-assigned (with 1-2 minute intervals). Awards for the top three finishers in each competitive category based on two-day total time. These courses require pre-registration, and there is a registration fee. Register Here to get regular event entry fees.
NEWS FLASH! New England Champ EVENT VOLUNTEERS RECEIVE A REGISTRATION DISCOUNT! National Ranking Events require lots of volunteers to run smoothly. Sign up to help SATURDAY and/or SUNDAY, and the event director will send you a coupon code for $20 off for each day you volunteer (pre-running excluded, unless you also sign up for another shift). For volunteers who have already registered and paid before this announcement, we can work out a way to refund your discount. Previous experience is not required for most volunteer slots - there are job descriptions listed on the signup sheet.
There are still spots available in the Group Camping at Wells. $10 per person (for the weekend, not per night). Email the event director if you would like to reserve a spot.
Fall Series 2023: The Fall Point Series was off to a great start at Great Brook Farm this past weekend. Participants need to run the same color course for at least 3 of the 5 events listed below. No special registration required. Scores are tallied by course (white, yellow, orange, brown, green, and red).
2023 Travel Stipend Awards: NEOC awarded travel funds to 5 local athletes to support their travel to competitive orienteering events around the country and abroad. Read about their adventures, their orienteering history, and how they balance their training and everyday life! Go TEAM!
Great Brook Farm (Sep 17, 2023) in Carlisle is one of the great locations to orienteer in MA. The courses are set, and there's always a good vibe here. Get out on a course and then enjoy ice cream at a working dairy! If you can, sign up as a volunteer for registration and download, or let us know on the day if you can help collect controls. We appreciate you: NEOC Event Volunteer Sheet (2023). This event is also the first of five events that make up the Fall 2023 Series.
Noon Hill (Medfield, MA): For those asking for BYOM events, our first fall event opens on Sept 16th and runs through Oct 1. Participate on your own schedule!
New England Champs 2023 - Oct 7 and Oct 8 at Wells State Park in Sturbridge. Register by Sunday 9/17 to avoid late fees! There will be both competitive and recreational classes each day. Come and experience the top-level map and courses, meet orienteers from around the U.S. and Canada, and spend some quality time with fellow NEOC members. Starts are 10:00-12:00 on Saturday, 9:00-11:00 on Sunday. Recreational = just like a regular club event, but with a brand-new map. You can come one day or both, and you can register on the day (free for club members). White, Yellow, and Orange courses are offered. These courses are the same as the competitive White, Yellow, and Orange. Competitive = a wider range of courses, divided into age and gender categories. Competitors receive national ranking points. Start times are pre-assigned (with 1-2 minute intervals). Awards for the top three finishers in each competitive category based on two-day total time. These courses require pre-registration, and there is a registration fee. Register Here to get regular event entry fees (prices increase after Sept 17). NEWS FLASH! New England Champ EVENT VOLUNTEERS RECEIVE A REGISTRATION DISCOUNT! National Ranking Events require lots of volunteers to run smoothly. Sign up to help SATURDAY and/or SUNDAY, and the event director will send you a coupon code for $20 off for each day you volunteer (pre-running excluded, unless you also sign up for another shift). For volunteers who have already registered and paid before this announcement, we can work out a way to refund your discount. Previous experience is not required for most volunteer slots - there are job descriptions listed on the signup sheet. There are still spots available in the Group Camping at Wells. $10 per person (for the weekend, not per night). Email the event director if you would like to reserve a spot.
Fall Series 2023: The Fall Point Series is back again for 2023 - Mark your calendars! This series provides a bit of light-hearted competition for the fall season. Scores are tallied by course (white, yellow, orange, brown, green, and red). Participants need to run the same color course for at least 3 of the 5 events listed below. No special registration required. Mark your calendars now!
Sept. 17: DCR Great Brook Farm (Carlisle, MA)
Oct. 7: Wells State Park (Sturbridge, MA)
Oct. 8: Wells State Park (Sturbridge, MA)
Oct. 22: DCR Boojum Rock (Stoneham, MA)
Nov. 12: DCR Mt Wachusett (Princeton, MA)
Join/Renew your NEOC membership (½ year rates apply). Didn’t get to orienteer in the spring but plan to join events in the fall, sign up for half-year membership. Membership gives you free entry to NEOC local events and allows you to skip the queue at registration.
The NEOC Board awarded five junior and national OUSA team members with travel stipends: Bridget Hall, Keegan Harkavy, Mori Finlayson-Johnecheck, Anna Campbell, and Izzy Bryant. Read on to learn more about each recipient, their orienteering adventures, and how they balance training with the rest of their activities.
1. Please provide some background into your orienteering experience.
Bridget: I am lucky enough to have grown up orienteering: both of my parents do it, so it’s always been a part of my life. 2018 was the year that I decided to take it more seriously, however, and that is when I joined the Junior Development Team. From there I was on the Junior National Team from 2019 through last year, and this year I have made the transition to the Senior National Team! I have done a significant amount of international travel in past years, including the 2019 JWOC in Denmark, and JWOC last year in Portugal (both the summer sprint races and the extra fall forest races that were added due to summer forest fires).
Keegan: In sixth grade Barb Bryant, through Navigation Games, came into my middle school and taught a six-week introduction to orienteering class. The class was fun and engaging and before I knew it I had fallen in love with the sport. Pretty soon I was traveling to meets all over New England and the country, dreaming of representing the US at international meets. And very slowly, over years of practice and dedication, I made this goal a reality. In 2018 and 2019 I represented the US as an alternate on the JWOC team and in EYOC. Due to COVID, I took a hiatus from orienteering internationally in 2020 and 2021. In 2022 however, I competed at both JWOC and WUOC and finished as the top American in many races including the JWOC sprint and the WUOC middle and long. In 2023 I returned once again to JWOC and achieved some of my proudest results, finishing as the top male American in every race and ending the first leg of the forest relay with the top pack in 9th place. At NAOC this summer I also had some impressive results, finishing in the top 6 for every race and debatably finishing 3rd overall among Americans. According to world rankings, I am currently the 6th best American for forest races and 596 in the world and the 3rd best sprint orienteer and 252nd in the world.
Mori: I've been orienteering since I was born, apparently being carried around on my parents' courses until I was old enough to do String-Os and white courses independently. I'm unsure when I first signed up as a NEOC member, but it was probably close to 10 years ago. In that past decade, I have orienteered primarily in New England, going to UNO, NEOC and CSU events but I have also ventured as far as Wyoming and Scotland to compete. This year I was named to the US Junior National Team and selected for Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) in Romania.
Anna: I've been orienteering for longer than I can remember. I've been an actual NEOC member for the past 5 yrs, but it's possible that I may have been taken to some NEOC meets earlier, as I was born in Massachusetts. My greatest orienteering achievements include: acquiring a black rat snake of comparable height to myself while pulling controls for QOC, mapping theTremont School in Concord, and getting to be part of the US Junior Team.
Izzy: I started orienteering before I can even remember! From a very young age my parents started taking my brother and me to local orienteering events. Once I reached high school, I was encouraged by members of the national O community to try out for the 2012 JWOC team, and I made it! That summer was a turning point in my orienteering career. I fell in love with the sport, was in awe of the competitive atmosphere in Europe, and developed close friendships with my teammates and others in the orienteering community. I went on to compete at JWOC five more times. I also had the privilege of representing the US at the 2016 WUOC in Hungary. I trained with a group of very talented orienteers in France for four months during my gap year, and when I studied abroad at the University of Edinburgh. This sport has allowed me to travel the world, but I feel most at home in the beautiful forests of New England!
Sept. 8- 10: Up North Orienteers' Pawtuckaway Camping Weekend (Nottingham, NH) is just around the corner. This event is not to be missed! It offers standard orienteering courses, a vampire-O, canoe-O and more. Join for a single day or for the entire camping weekend. Pre-registration via Event Reg closes on Tuesday, September 5 at 11 p.m.
Great Brook Farm (Sept. 17) in Carlisle is one of the great locations to orienteer in MA. The rocky section brings back memories of mis-punches, the meadows provide easy running, and the transition into wood and wetlands reminds us we are in the heart of New England. The courses are set, and there's always a good turnout here. So, if able, please sign up as a volunteer for registration and download, or let us know on the day if you can help collect controls. We appreciate you: NEOC Event Volunteer Sheet (2023). This event is also the first of five events that make up the Fall 2023 Series.
New England Champs 2023 - Oct. 7 and Oct. 8 at Wells State Park in Sturbridge. There will be both competitive and recreational classes each day. Come and experience the top-level map and courses, meet orienteers from around the U.S. and Canada, and spend some quality time with fellow NEOC members. Starts are 10:00-12:00 on Saturday, 9:00-11:00 on Sunday. Recreational = just like a regular club event, but with a brand-new map. You can come one day or both, and you can register on the day (free for club members). White, Yellow, and Orange courses are offered. These courses are the same as the competitive White, Yellow, and Orange. Competitive = a wider range of courses, divided into age and gender categories. Competitors receive national ranking points. Start times are pre-assigned (with 1-2 minute intervals). Awards for the top three finishers in each competitive category based on two-day total time. These courses require pre-registration, and there is a registration fee. Register now to get regular event entry fees (prices increase after Sept. 17).
NEWS FLASH! NRE VOLUNTEERS RECEIVE A REGISTRATION DISCOUNT! National Ranking Events require lots of volunteers to run smoothly. Sign up to help SATURDAY and/or SUNDAY, and the event director will send you a coupon code for $20 off for each day you volunteer. For volunteers who have already registered and paid before this announcement, we can refund your discount. Previous experience is not required for most volunteer slots - there are job descriptions listed on the signup sheet.
There are still spots available in the Group Camping at Wells. $10 per person (for the weekend, not per night). Email the event director if you would like to reserve a spot.
Fall Series 2023: The Fall Point Series is back again for 2023 - Mark your calendars! This series provides a bit of light-hearted competition for the fall season. Scores are tallied by course (white, yellow, orange, brown, green, and red). Participants need to run the same color course for at least 3 of the 5 events listed below. No special registration required. Mark your calendars now!
Sept. 17: DCR Great Brook Farm (Carlisle, MA)
Oct. 7: Wells State Park (Sturbridge, MA)
Oct. 8: Wells State Park (Sturbridge, MA)
Oct. 22: DCR Boojum Rock (Stoneham, MA)
Nov. 12: DCR Mt. Wachusett (Princeton, MA)
Join/Renew your NEOC membership (½ year rates apply).. Didn’t get to orienteer in the spring but plan to join events in the fall? Sign up for half-year membership. Membership gives you free entry to NEOC local events and allows you to skip the queue at registration.
Wanderings - Medford start (Aug. 27 - Sept. 4): This annual BYOM event is off to a great start. You can bike or hike/run! Or both! The foot-O only section will be in Lawrence Woods (Medford, MA).
Sept. 8- 10: Up North Orienteers' Pawtuckaway Camping Weekend (Nottingham, NH) is just around the corner. This event is not to be missed! It offers standard orienteering courses, a vampire-O, canoe-O and more. Join for a single day or for the entire camping weekend. Pre-registration via Event Reg closes on Tuesday, September 5 at 11 p.m.
Great Brook Farm (Sept. 17, 2023) in Carlisle is one of the great locations to orienteer in MA. The rocky section brings back memories of mis-punches, the meadows provide easy running, and the transition into wood and wetlands reminds us we are in the heart of New England. The courses are set, and there's always a good turnout here. So, if able, please sign up as a volunteer for registration and download, or let us know on the day if you can help collect controls. We appreciate you: NEOC Event Volunteer Sheet (2023). This event is also the first of five events that make up the Fall 2023 Series.
Fall Series 2023: The Fall Point Series is back again for 2023 - Mark your calendars! This series provides a bit of light-hearted competition for the fall season. Scores are tallied by course (white, yellow, orange, brown, green, and red). Participants need to run the same color course for at least 3 of the 5 events listed below. No special registration required. Mark your calendars now!
Sept. 17: DCR Great Brook Farm (Carlisle, MA)
Oct. 7: Wells State Park (Sturbridge, MA)
Oct. 8: Wells State Park (Sturbridge, MA)
Oct. 22: DCR Boojum Rock (Stoneham, MA)
Nov. 12: DCR Mt Wachusett (Princeton, MA)
New England Champs 2023 - Oct. 7-8: More to Come on the club's National Ranking Event! In the meantime, register now to get regular event entry fees (prices increase after Sept 17)!
Join/Renew your NEOC membership (½ year rates apply): Didn’t get to orienteer in the spring but plan to join events in the fall? Sign up for half-year membership. Membership gives you free entry to NEOC local events and allows you to skip the queue at registration.
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