CANADIAN ORIENTEERING

IOF Championship and WRE Classes

The following classes are official IOF Championship events at the North American Championships, Sprint, Middle and Long events:

• M21 and F21 (North American Championships)

• M20- and F20- (NA Junior Championships)

• M16- and F16- (NA Youth Championships)

The following are official WRE events (World Ranking Events) at the Canadian Championships, Middle and Long events:

• M21 and F21

Notes for IOF Championship and WRE Classes:

• Courses will follow IOF guidelines for difficulty and recommended winning time

• Gender classes shall be as defined by the IOF

• only participants with an IOF ID will be eligible for official placing in any of the above classes; to obtain an IOF ID, (there is no fee) sign up online at IOF Eventor

For more details on the IOF Championship and WRE events please see our WRE page.

Age Class Championships

There are age class championships for all age groups ( 2 year age groups for 20 and under, 10 year age groups for 35 to 75, 5 year age groups for 75 and over) at the Canadian Championships and for all age groups excluding those that are IOF Championships at the North American Championships. There is an F and M class for each age class.

• Junior classes: 10-, 12-, 14-, 16- (COC only), 18-, 20- (COC only)

• Senior class: 21 (COC only)

• Masters classes: 35+, 45+, 55+, 65+, 75+, 80+, 85+, 90+

* Note:

• 16-, 20- and 21 classes at the NAOCs are IOF events, and will follow IOF regulations

• M21 and F21 at the COCs are IOF events and will follow IOF regulations

Notes for COC and NAOC championship age classes:

• Only those identifying as Female can register in F classes.

• M classes are open to all competitors

• Courses will follow Orienteering Canada guidelines for courses and categories

Medal Eligibility

For Canadian Championship events:

• Medal winners of the Canadian Championships must be full members of a provincial/territorial association; and (a) Canadian citizens; or (b) permanent residents as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

For North American Championship classes:

• To be eligible for NAOC medals competitors must be members of a North American Orienteering Federation; and must be citizens or legal permanent residents of the country in which they hold federation membership.

Non-Competitive Classes

For participants wanting a course outside their age class, there are non-competitive options (and no awards).

• Open classes (Open1 through Open 7 for Middle and Long, Open 1 through Open 5 for Sprint) allow participants to choose the course they wish to be on.

• Short courses allow participants to be on a course with their age and gender class

  • 16-S (technically less difficult)

  • 20-S (shorter)

  • 21S (shorter).

Recommended Winning Times and Technical Difficulty

Since the terrain for orienteering courses, and the speed at which the terrain can be traversed, varies significantly from event to event, instead of using distance guidelines for setting courses, a Recommended Winning Time (RWT) is used. Courses will be shorter on slower terrain (thicker forest, more hills) so that winning times remain relatively consistent for a given age class. The recommended winning times are indicated in the table below for the Middle and Long distance events.

Orienteering Canada has set 5 Technical Difficulty (TD) levels for orienteering courses.

• Level 1 is "Beginner"'

• Level 2 is "Novice"

• Level 3 is "Intermediate"

• Level 4 is "Veteran"

• Level 5 is "Expert and Elite"

The table below shows the TD levels for the Middle and Long distance events.

For Sprint events the recommended winning time is 12 to 15 minutes for all classes, the TD level is 3 for all classes

The above information is all from Orienteering Canada's Course and Class Guidelines.