2026 US WOC Team Trials

Saturday & Sunday, May 23-24, 2026

Hosted by Delaware Valley Orienteering Association
in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania general region

Saturday at Rutgers Cook/Douglas Campus – NEW: Red and Blue Sprints are NREs
Sunday at Temple Ambler Campus

PHOTOS from the event:
Smugmug Gallery (photos by J Tryson)
Photo/Video Slideshow (N Ahmed)
RESULTS:
Preliminary Results Link for Day 1 – Sprint 1 | Sprint 2
Day 2 – Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final
(eventual Results link including splits, once finalized)

The 2026 US Team Trials to select the athletes to represent TeamUSA at the World Sprint Orienteering Championships in Genova, Italy (6-11 July), will be conducted in a multiple (2-5) event format.

In addition to this Team Trials, the selection committee will also entertain petitions for athletes who are unable to attend a trials event but who wish to be considered. Those who are petitioning should follow the registration process to indicate their interest and select Not Participating. For more details of the selection process, see the 2026 Team Selection Document.

Course Setter and Mapper Notes are posted

This page will serve as the Event Bulletin, and additional information will be added as we approach the race date.
Be sure to check back for updates.

— PAGE NAVIGATION —

Embargos
Race Information
Registration
Travel
Map and Course Notes
Volunteers
Closest Medical Facilities
Acknowledgements

Rutgers photos

Temple Ambler photos

Embargos

The entirety of the following parks/campuses are off-limits to all persons planning to try out for the US WOC Team, unless you are an active student on one of these campuses:

  • Rutgers University – Cook/Douglass Campus, main address 45 Biel Road West, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
    • NOTE: ALL competitors must sign a waiver issued by Rutgers. We will have copies onsite but lines will be shorter if you print and sign the waiver beforehand and bring it to the event.
  • Temple University – Ambler Campus, main address 580 Meetinghouse Road, Ambler, PA 19002

Race Info

The Sprint WOC Team Trials event is (preliminarily) planned as detailed below. NOTE: No spiked shoes permitted on either campus.

Public/Spectators: Note that anyone not trying out for the team (“public”) may also run in most of the same races, immediately after the Team Trialers on Day 1, and after or with Team Trialers on Day 2. Top Day 1 public event finishers (and others at Event Director’s discretion) will be invited to run in the qualifying Knockout Sprints with the Trialers by placing high enough, and the final round of the Knockout Sprints after the Trials competitors finish.

  • After reaching event parking, competitors must stay in the warm-up / parking area except when competing on their course, until they’ve completed their final competitive course of the day.
  • A map, available at check-in, will show parking / check-in / warm-up area, and streamers to start (< 1 km; TBA)
Day 1: Rutgers-Cook/Douglas Campus, near New Brunswick, New Jersey
  • Format is two (2) Individual-start Sprints, more than 3 hours apart. Packet Pickup 9:00-9:45am adjacent to parking area (TBA)
  • For each start window, three courses will be available. WOC Trialers (TT) will run first, with men and women alternating start times, on even/odd minutes. Non-trialers (Open) will start after all WOC trialers have started, and may choose from any of the following courses:
    • Course 1 – TT-M-21+ & Course 1 Open (NRE)
    • Course 2 – TT-F-21+ & Course 2 Open (NRE)
    • Course 3 Open (beginner-appropriate)
  • See Travel below for information to register a vehicle close to the sprint starts
  • DAY 1 SCHEDULE
    • Sprint 1:
      • 9:30-9:45am – Warmup area check-in for Sprint 1 (Team Trialers)
      • 10:00am – TT Sprint 1 starts
      • 10:30am – Public Sprint 1 starts
      • 11:45am – Sprint 1 courses close (controls may be picked up and moved)
    • Sprint 2:
      • 12:30-12:45pm – Warmup area check-in for Sprint 2 (TT)
      • 1:00pm – TT Sprint 2 starts
      • 1:30pm – Public Sprint 2 starts
      • 3:00pm – Sprint 2 courses close
Day 2: Temple University – Ambler Campus, Ambler, Pennsylvania
  • Knockout Sprints (three [3] rounds)
    • All of these sprints will have mass starts (no epunch at start) and “photo” finishes with a finish line monitor, so there’s no need to race others to a box. Stay in line and punch a finish box to get total time.
    • Quarterfinals (where the numbers are placings in terms of total time from the Saturday sprints):
      • 9:15am – Warmup area check-in deadline for Quarterfinalists (QF). Stay in designated warmup area after this time
        9:30, 9:40, 9:50am – Men’s QF starts.
        10:00, 10:10, 10:20am – Women’s QF starts
        • Seeded start list:
        • Based on results (total time) from Saturday sprints, starting with all the Trialers (1st to nth); then Public (1st public finisher will be nth+1 seed, 2nd is nth+2 seed, etc.), with up to 3 slots, at Event Director’s discretion. (A Public MP or DNS from Day 1 could still make it ahead of a Public finisher.) Up to 24 total.
        • If there are fewer than 24 people in the ordered start list in either Men’s or Women’s categories, the remaining start slots will go unfilled.
        • Heat allocation, based on the seeded start list:
          • QHeat 1:  1,6,7,12,13,18,19,24
          • QHeat 2:  2,5,8,11,14,17,20,23
          • QHeat 3:  3,4,9,10,15,16,21,22
      • 10:35am – Public (open) sprint, mass-starting on quarterfinal courses, for anyone who doesn’t make it into the 24 seeded starts (men and women will start together). Course closes at 11:05am.
    • Semifinals: 12 people; top 4 from each QF:
      • 12:15pm – Warmup area check-in deadline for Semifinalists (SF). Stay in designated warmup area after this time.
        12:30, 12:40, 12:50pm – Men’s SF starts
        1:00, 1:10, 1:20pm – Women’s SF starts
      • Top 2 from each M/W heat will move on the Finals. Anyone not in the top 12 Men/Women may race in the Public race at 2:50pm if they so choose.
      • Heat allocation, where (QHx-y means the y placed finisher in QHeat x).
        • SemiHeat 1:  QH1 – 1, QH2 – 2, QH3 – 3, QH1 – 4
        • SemiHeat 2:  QH2 – 1, QH3 – 2, QH1 – 3, QH2 – 4
        • SemiHeat 3:  QH3 – 1, QH1 – 2, QH2 – 3, QH3 – 4
      • !!NEW!! 1:30pm – Mass-start Consolation Semifinal, for everyone who did not make it into one of the SemiHeats above.
      • Semifinal, for everyone who did not make it into one of the SemiHeats above.
    • Finals: 6 men and 6 women; top 2 from each Semifinal
      • 2:15pm – Quarantine/warmup area check-in for finalists
      • 2:30pm – Men’s Final
        2:40pm – Women Final
      • 3:00pm – Public mass start will follow, on the same course NOTE NEW TIME
      • 3:40pm course closes

Registration

Also see the Travel section below for instructions to register vehicles for the campus parking lot(s).

To register for Trials and Public races (or register as a prospective Team member who will not attend), visit this link:
https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/register/start/dvoa-2026-tt

See who’s already registered:
https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/reglist/home/dvoa-2026-tt

NOTES ON REGISTRATION
  • TEAM TRIALS ELIGIBILITY: These Team Trials (for the purpose of selecting the National Team to WOC 2026) are open to anyone who is a current OUSA member AND has a U.S. Passport (or is in the process of getting one and will have it before ). You do not need to be a current U.S. Orienteering Team member to be considered for the Team Trials. If you are chosen for the U.S. WOC Team, you will be added to the U.S. Orienteering Team.
    • U.S. Team members not attending but petitioning for the WOC Team should register and select not-participating (NP) to indicate their interest, even if they won’t physically be at these Trials races.
  • PUBLIC RACES: Everyone else is welcome to run the public/spectator races (Open classes).
  • Knockout Sprint classes are TT Male, TT Female, Open Male, Open Female. For members of the public, choosing Knockout Sprint enters you in one of the Quarterfinal races (with or following the Trialers, as described above), AND in the Final (after the Trialers).
  • Register by Sunday, May 17: Your age is based on age as of 31 December 2026.
    • ADULTS aged 21 and over: $15 for each regular sprint plus $15 for Knockout, or $40 for the weekend package (2 sprints on Saturday, Knockout on Sunday)
      JUNIORS aged 20 and under: $10 for each regular sprint plus $10 for Knockout, or $25 for the weekend package (3 races as described above)
    • Groups may enter; cost is $2 for each additional person in a group (age 11 and above).
    • Late registration (please email registrar to ensure a map), or day-of registration open to the Public non-trialers, $20 per event, while map supplies last.
    • SI-Air card rental, $5 per day. Standard SI rental available at no extra charge.
Course and Class Definitions:
  • Saturday Sprints will include three (3) courses for each start window. Course 1 is the longest sprint (Classes include M-21+ Team Trials and Open); Course 2 is next longest (F-21+ Team Trials and Open); Course 3 will be the shortest and suitable for beginners.
    • NOTE: ALL competitors must sign a waiver issued by Rutgers. We will have copies onsite but lines will be shorter if you print and sign the waiver beforehand and bring it to the event.
    • Courses 1 and 2 are now National Ranking Events and competitors will be awarded ranking points in those classes. (Course 3 is not ranked.)
  • Sunday’s Knockout Sprint classes are M-21+ Team Trials, F-21+ Team Trials, Open-Male, Open-Female
  • See Course Notes below for lengths / number of controls

Travel

Course Notes

Saturday at Rutgers
  • Sprint 1
    • Course 1 (M) – 2.5 km, 15m climb, 18 controls
    • Course 2 (F) – 2.3 km, 15m climb, 13 controls
    • Course 3 – 2.3 km, 15m climb, 13 controls
  • Sprint 2
    • Course 1 (M) – 3.2 km, 25m climb, 16 controls
    • Course 2 (F) – 2.5 km, 25m climb, 14 controls
    • Course 3 – 2.5 km, 25m climb, 14 controls
Sunday at Temple
  • Qualification – 1.8 km, 10m climb, 18 controls
  • Semifinal – 1.6 km, 10m climb, 15 controls
  • Final – 2.1 km, 10m climb, 17 controls

Map and Course Notes: All maps are at Scale 1:4000, Contour Interval 2.0m

!! Updated Map and Course Notes (PDF)

Saturday May 23, Rutgers University: Cook-Douglass Campus

Mapper’s Notes for Competitors by Jon Campbell

The Rutgers map is drawn to the latest IOF sprint map standards (ISSprOM 2019-2, revision 6, Jan 2024) with field checking at the beginning of April 2026 by Jon Campbell. Worthy of comment:

  • There is no use of “Green 4” (IOF 411. Uncrossable vegetation or hedge, dark “black” green).  Instead, the map shows forbidden areas like flower beds, private areas, etc with the more common olive color (IOF 520. Area that shall not be entered).  This symbol always has a black edgeline and may be exaggerated in width to be visible and clear.  There is no “gotcha” mapping of out-of-bounds: it will look like areas where the gardeners would be quite unhappy if you trampled through.  Hedges in the area are on the map as traditional green: slow run, walk, and fight, as appropriate.
  • Light yellow (403. Rough open land) shows slower, mulched areas.  The mulch in some areas consists of loose, grapefruit-sized round river rocks which are quite slow and treacherous underfoot.  When there was space, stony ground black dots augment the light yellow in these areas.
  • Major electrical / utility boxes are on the map as black squares (522.1 pillar symbol) if ~waist high and as min-size buildings if ~head high.
  • The dark brown version of pavement shows only the most heavily travelled, “fast” roads, not every place vehicles may travel.  Use common sense.
  • I made no attempt to map every tree trunk on campus.  If there are no trees, it’s mapped as open land (401, bright yellow).  If there are trees, it’s mapped as white (405 forest) regardless of the ground underneath: leaf litter or grass.   And if it’s navigationally significant, it may be mapped as a prominent individual tree or bush.  This distinction between prominent small bush or tree (418, green dot) and prominent large tree (417, green ring) is subjective, although in general a mapped large tree is big enough to fully obscure an orienteering marker (>~16”), and the symbol has to fit in the area.
  • Mapped fences may be as minor as single chains strung to protect the grass from sidewalk corner cutting.  Since the taglines on short segments of fence or railings (both crossable and uncrossable) cause clutter on the map, I have suppressed these taglines, turning them into walls; as usual, whether they are crossable or not depends on the main line thickness.  Walls with fences on top: mapper’s choice.
  • Finally, what’s not shown, deliberately:
    • small canopies at building entrances: pavement suffices.  Small canopy bus stops are on the map as small buildings, per IOF.
    • benches
    • building and minor campus signs
    • disc golf baskets and tee-off pads
    • short segments of railings and fences avoidable with a few steps of deviation or those that are redundant because they abut olive drab out-of-bounds.
    • saplings and small landscaping trees, particularly if still supported with stakes
    • minor curbside trees or even narrow strips of curbside grass or trees: generally irrelevant to your navigation: there’s a road, there’s a sidewalk, enough shown.
    • powerlines, following other more prominent features.  Naturally, these are all over an urban area.  But, in one place on the map, the power line is shown because it’s prominent (subjective).

Course Setter / Mapper Notes for Competitors

Day 1 – Map of Rutgers University Cook/Douglass Campus, New Brunswick, New Jersey, IOF ISSprOM 2019-2, Scale 1:4000, H 2m, Field survey and drafting by Jonathan Campbell, April-May 2026

  • Widely open typical campus terrain which requires high running speed. Although roads have light traffic, they should be crossed with caution as sometimes individual cars move really fast.
  • George St on the North is marked out-of-bounds. This road must not be crossed anywhere other than on overpass briIMG_5649.heicdge. Any attempt to cross George St will result in disqualification. Running along George St on sidewalks or grass is allowed.
  • NO spiked shoes allowed.
  • Artificial barriers will be used on the course to prohibit some routes. On the map the artificial barriers are marked by purple uncrossable border symbols. In the terrain the artificial barriers will be marked by yellow tape about 3-4 feet above the ground. Crossing the artificial barriers will result in disqualification.
  • Other prohibited areas:
    • Big ravine on the North is marked as temporary out-of-bounds with purple hash.
    • Olive-green is permanently out-of-bounds.
    • Crossing these areas will result in disqualification. Controllers will be standing in different parts of the course to enforce prohibited routes.
  • Warm-up map is shown below (click to enlarge). Printed warm-up maps will be available at the arena before the race.
Sunday, May 24, Temple University, Ambler Campus

Day 2

Map of Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, IOF ISSprOM 2019-2, Scale 1:4000, H 2m. Field survey and drafting by Mark Frank spring 2023, update by Yury Tambasov May 2026

  • Widely open campus terrain with different (from ideally flat to rough) surfaces mixed with dense arboretum garden.
  • The Loop road around the Arboretum has light/no traffic, but competitors should pay attention crossing this road. Meetinghouse Road on the west edge of the map has more traffic, and competitors will not cross. 
  • NO spiked shoes allowed! Running on the grass is allowed.
  • Some places the visibility is reduced in the garden areas, so competitor should pay extra caution to avoid collision with other orienteers or visitors, since Arboretum will be open to the public.
  • There are some short light posts along some pathways that are not shown on the map. See example below.
  • Artificial barriers will be used on the courses to prohibit some routes. On the map the artificial barriers are marked by purple uncrossable border symbols. In the terrain the artificial barriers will be marked by yellow tape about 3-4 feet above the ground. Crossing the artificial barriers will result in disqualification.
short light post along sidewalk
depiction of a temporary barrier on the map
yellow tape in the terrain where artificial barriers are located
  • Other prohibited areas:
    • Olive-green is permanently out-of-bounds.
    • Controllers will be standing in different parts of the course to enforce prohibited routes.
    • Some Arboretum facilities and places for storage will be marked as out-of-bounds on the map, but will be NOT marked on the terrain. Those areas will not affect competitors’ routes.

Temple Ambler Warm-up map is shown below (click image to enlarge). Printed warm-up maps will be available at arena before the race.

For the Knockout rounds, be prepared for forked courses:

  • Maps will be randomly shuffled and handed out at the start line. At download, be sure to show the download crew your map before downloading, so they know which course variant you are on.
  • To get a sense of what this may look like, take a look at this sample course and ensure you understand in what order you’d need to get these controls:

Volunteers

  • Event Director: Wyatt Riley
  • Course Setters: Yury Tambasov & Alexei Azarov 
    • Control Setup Helpers/Vetters: Anders Ryerson, Ralph Tolbert
  • Mapping Consultant: Sam Kolins, Petr Hartman
  • Map Updates: Yury, Alexei & Sam
    • Rutgers Map: Jon Campbell
  • Map Printing and Layout: Fred Kreusi
  • Permissions Coordinator: Mary Frank & Kathy Urban
  • Registrar: Sandy Fillebrown
  • Start Crew: Joey McGarvey
  • Finish / Timing: Sandy Fillebrown
  • Website: Janet Tryson
  • Where needed:
    • Andrew Fisher
    • Michele Fisher

Closest Medical Facilities

Saturday, May 23
  • Urgent Care:
    • AFC Urgent Care, 352 Ryders Lane, East Brunswick, NJ; (732) 638-1990. Open Saturday 8am-8pm
    • Brunswick Urgent Care, 641 NJ 18, East Brunswick, NJ; (732) 955-6765. Open Saturday 8am-9pm
  • Hospitals:
    • Robert John Wood University Hospital, 1 RWJohnson Pl, New Brunswick, NJ (off French St, NJ 27)
    • St Peters University Hospital, 254 Easton Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ
Sunday, May 24
  • Urgent Care:
    • Live Urgent Care, 2019 Welsh Road, Dresher, PA; (215) 966-3040. Open Sunday 8am-4pm
    • AFC Urgent Care Willow Grove, 2848 West Moreland Road, Willow Grove, PA; (215) 495-5455. Open Sunday 8am-5pm
  • Hospital:
    • The Horsham Clinic, 722 East Butler Pike, Ambler, PA; (21) 643-7800.

Acknowledgements

  • Thank you to Rutgers Cook/Douglass for welcoming us to their campus on Saturday!
  • Thank you to Antoni DiBruno and the Temple University Ambler campus for their welcome on Sunday
Scroll to Top