Orienteering News

Nate headed to Italy?

Well, the US team for the Junior World Orienteering Championships was announced last night, and Nate is listed as the first alternate, in a very heated competition for the spots. The rankings in all "A Meets" over the last year are used to determine the team. Here is how the top 20 & under US orienteers are ranked:
Greg Ahlswede DVOA 96.11
Gabriel Svobodny MVOC 94.20
John Goodwin WCOC 92.95
Jordan Laughlin USMAOC 92.74
Andrew Childs GMOC 91.22
John Hensley Williams GAOC 89.75
Nathaniel Lyons ROC 89.60
Michael Norris USMAOC 89.41
Carl Underwood NEOC 85.89
Huw Stradling COC 85.24

Nate missed the top 6, and an automatic spot on the team by 0.15 points. That works out to be as little as 22 seconds in one of the races over the last year, or about 5 seconds per race, for each of the 6 races that counted in his rating. Ironically, he was 4-0 against John in their common races, but finished behind him.

Last year, the top Junior's rating was 88.32, so the competition has improved tremendously over the past year. Nate was also ranked 7th last year, when his rating was only 76.60.

The good news for Nate is that the rumor is that Jordan Laughlin (a cadet at West Point) has US Army duties to fulfill this summer, and may not be able to make the JWOC competition.


Webster Orienteering Team headed to Buffalo?

Since the team was not quite ready to tackle an Orange course at West Point, in the Interscholastic Championships this year, we have set our sights on the Buffalo Orienteering Festival on May 16th and 17th. Complete information is available here. I am arranging free lodging just a few miles from the Saturday race sites (my father and sisters have a total of 4 houses in East Aurora), and I can provide transportation to/from Buffalo for a decent number of competitors. The Early Bird pricing expires this week, so sign up soon! I can help you sort out how to enter.