Start Times

Start times for all three days are available HERE

Middle and Long Details

Welcome Back to Calabogie!

After the resounding success of the North American Orienteering Championships, we’re thrilled to announce: we're back at Calabogie! The legendary terrain, high visibility, and thrilling navigation challenges await you once again for an unforgettable weekend of orienteering.

Our courses have been meticulously prepared, and we’re confident you’ll find them both demanding and rewarding. Whether you're racing for the podium or for personal triumph, this year's event promises to deliver excitement at every control.

The arena at Calabogie will be at the base of the ski hill in front of the main lodge and close to the parking area.

Start Locations

Both the Middle and Long events will use the same call-up location. No toilets are available at the start so please make use of the washrooms in the ski lodge before heading to the start. 

Walk to the Start: 1.8 km with 185 m of climb (from the arena) mostly along a rough dirt road.

Please plan to arrive at the start at least 10–15 minutes early.

Terrain Conditions

The visibility & runnability are exceptional! The forest was leafless during final checks, though light foliage may begin to emerge by race day. Regardless, the terrain will remain fast and open with only minimal areas of heavy debris. Expect some ground litter in spots, but overall runnability remains very high.

Occasional unmarked shallow pools from the spring melt may be present in low-lying areas. These areas appear as indistinct swamps but are unmarked on the map. Similarly, you may encounter unmarked streams. Mapped marshes may appear slightly larger than they did during last year's NAOC.

Some old snow was still visible on the ski slopes during final checks, but it is melting quickly. The short grass on the ski slopes will significantly enhance speed compared to last year's North Americans.

Remote Finish

For the long distance event, some courses finish part-way up the ski hill 1.5km from the arena while others finish in the arena. Please remember to download at the timing table immediately on arrival at the arena. All middle distance courses finish at the arena.

Long courses 7 and 8 may pass near the remote finish - do not punch the remote finish.  It will not be marked on the map but will be clearly visible in the terrain. 

Live GPS Tracking

New this year will be offering live gps tracking via the Livelox Recorder app (iOS and Android) for participants on courses 7 and 8. In order to participate in this, you must have a smart phone with the app and a data plan. Consider using a pouch, pocket with a zipper or a waterproof bag to carry your phone. (The courses are designed to avoid major water crossings.) There will be an official in the arena to help with setting up and using the app. Download the app ahead of time and ensure that your phone is fully charged on race day!  

Watch Party at Arena after races

After your race, bring a chair and stick around the results tent!  Join the Course 7 & 8 viewing party to follow the action live and cheer on the finishers.

Middle Course Properties

There is a 1.8km walk to the start with 185m of climb.  Please allow yourself enough time to reach the start before your start time! 

Long Course Properties

There is a 1.8km walk to the start with 185m of climb.  Please allow yourself enough time to reach the start before your start time!

Long courses 3, 4, 5 and 6 have a remote finish.  For these courses there is a 1.5km walk to arena with 20m of climb.

Long courses 1, 2, 7 and 8 finish at the arena.

Course Closing Times

The middle courses will close 2hrs after the last start time, at 5pm Saturday. The long courses will close 3hrs after the last start time, at 3pm Sunday. On Monday the sprint courses will close 1hr after the last start at 12:15. Please plan to return to the timing table in the arena by the course closing time so that collection of controls can begin. 

Calabogie Map

Calabogie Peaks Resort was used last August to host the North American Middle and Long Distance Championships. The Calabogie map and last years' courses can be viewed at the following links. Use the drop-down box at these links to select a course. 

2024 NAOC Middle map

2024 NAOC Long map

 Here is a cool video showing last year's men's elite course in 3D.

Sprint Details

The Sprint on Monday May 19 will be on a new map in Carleton Place, Ontario.  The arena and parking is at the Carleton Place Canoe Club at 179 John Street in Carleton Place, map

The map is a sprint map at 1:4,000 scale with 2m contours. The area is very flat and all courses have less than 10m total climb. The start and finish are both near the arena.

The courses criss-cross a residential area with streets and parking lots with car traffic. We do not expect much traffic on the Victoria Day morning but please be careful when crossing streets and parking lots.

Please be aware of the sprint orienteering rules concerning map symbols that are forbidden to cross.  Especially important is that private properties, mapped with Olive Green colour, are out of bounds. Also, thick black lines (walls and fences) are forbidden to cross.

Courses 3 and 4 have a double sided map, with a map flip part-way through the course. On the control description the map flip is marked like this

Turn the map over to the second side and the course continues from the control where you are. On the map it looks like this when the map flip is at the second control.

The course lengths shown in the following table are straight line distances. The actual running distance is longer.

Start Procedure

For the competitive (age-group) classes, we'll be using pre-assigned start times and a 3-step pre-start process with a 3-minute call up. Competitors must report to the start 3-minutes ahead of their pre-assigned start time. If your start time is t minutes, then at t-3 minutes you'll be invited to enter the start chute where an official will check and confirm your SI number. At t-2 minutes you will be invited to advance and pick a loose control description (clue) sheet. Then at t-1 minutes you'll be invited to pick up your map, but not look at it, and advance to the start line. The exception is participants on courses 1 and 2 who will be allowed to preview their map at t-1 minutes.  At t minutes participants on all courses may look at their map and follow the marked route to the start flag. Note that no start punch will be used for participants in competitive classes - your pre-assigned start time is your start time.  At Calabogie, both day's starts will be located part-way up the ski hill some distance from the arena. (The actual distance and climb to the start will be posted when the courses are finalized.) Participants should allow themselves enough time to reach the start area at least 10 minutes ahead of their start time. The start official, at his/her discretion, may move someone in a competitive class who has arrived late at the start to the recreational start lane (see below). 

Volunteers and participants in recreational (open) classes may start at their convenience within the designated start window through a special start chute/lane to the side of the regular start lanes. An official will check your SI number and guide you through the pre-start process. Volunteers and participants in recreational classes will be using a start punch.

For safety reasons, all participants are required to carry a whistle with them on course. Three consecutive whistles indicates that you are in need of help. A start official may check that you are carrying a whistle.

Categories and Courses

For each race there are two types of class you can sign up for:

• Male / Female age classes
Race against your peers on the assigned course for your age. The top 3 eligible finishers in each class will receive Ontario Championship medals. To be eligible you must be a member of an Ontario orienteering club OR be an Ontario resident who belongs to any orienteering club affiliated with Orienteering Canada.
• Open (recreational) classes
Choose the course you want to run - results will be kept and published but no prizes will be awarded.

For the Middle and Long distance events, there are 8 different courses with age classes assigned to courses based on the following table. If you wish to run a higher numbered course you may sign up for a more competitive age class. Open (recreational) classes are available on courses 1 through 5.

For the Sprint there are 4 different courses, with age classes assigned according to the following table. Open (recreational) classes are available on courses 1 through 3.

 Course Descriptions

If you are planning on signing up for an open class or are considering competing in an older or younger age class, the following tables list preliminary information about each course to help you decide what class to register in. Note that courses 7 and 8 will be longer than typically encountered at North-American events, and similar to the courses encountered by national team members in high-level international competition. 

Middle and Long

Sprint

* RWT = Recommended winning time.

⁺ Approximate straight line distance. The best route may be longer.