July 2021 Newsletter   

What's on in July?

Exciting news... Orienteering activities are starting up mid-July!!!  

Tuesday Evening Summer Sprint Series

Thursday Evening Orienteering Practices

These coach-led practices will help you to progress faster towards becoming a better orienteer and are also just another fun opportunity to orienteer.  Suitable for Intermediate and Advanced Orienteers.

Thursday Evenings, mid-July to late-August, Location TBD

Keep an eye on the 'Upcoming Events' sidebar on our homepage for details.

Don't forget to read the COVID-19 Event Modifications for info on registration & participation.  

Sprint Orienteering

Never been to a Sprint Orienteering event before?  Don't let the name scare you!  Sprint events can still be 'just for fun'.  In fact, they are great family and beginner events as they are often held in open urban areas where you can practice matching all the details on the map with what you see in front of you.  The events are shorter and you don't have to worry about getting lost in the forest!

'Sprint' orienteering maps are at a scale of 1:4000 or 1:5000 (1cm = 40 or 50m). The legend for a sprint map is slightly different than that for standard orienteering maps.  

In Sprint maps certain symbols are forbidden to cross or pass into for safety, fairness, and land-owner relations. These forbidden features are: buildings, impassable walls, impassable fences, gardens, hedges, and lakes.

Print this Sprint Orienteering Map Legend to take with you on the course.

Volunteers needed for Fall 2021

Rorry Harding and Tomas Graham have built a very successful collaboration with both the OCSB and OCDSB this past year in our Outreach Program.  Schools have been keen to pursue COVID-friendly outdoor activities.

Volunteers are needed for the Fall to help during school hours.  Please contact Rorry if you can help at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Spring/Summer 2021 Mapping Update

The club’s mappers have kept busy during the pandemic. The new or updated maps you can expect to see are:

• All Saints High School in Kanata, updated and expanded map by Jeff.
• Orleans, new map around Cairine Wilson Secondary School and St. Matthew High School, mapped by Stefan and Tomas.
• Cite des Jeunes map completely redone from LiDAR by Jeff.
• Rockcliffe Park updated by Andrew.
• A new sprint map of Collège La Cité by Andrew.
• Rothwell Woods/Beacon Hill North updates with new LiDAR and field work by Andrew.
• An extended Rideau River/Falls sprint map southwards to include Strathcona Park, Riverain Park and the Adawa Bridge, by Andrew.
• University of Ottawa sprint map updated by Philipe.
• Meredith Centre sprint map in Old Chelsea by Frédéric and Bill M.

Two forest maps are in progress, The Ark in Denholm, Quebec, and Bennies Corner NW of Almonte.

Maps for Schools

Approximately 50 maps that cover schools, from small school yard maps to larger park or forest maps close to schools, have been prepared for the schools as pdf files in a print ready format. The Ottawa Catholic School Board and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board have both agreed on a subscription model where the schools pay for the access to these maps for teaching until 2022.

Bill A. has created a bunch of new schoolyard maps: St. Patrick's HS (update), Hillcrest HS with a big chunk of Greenbelt, Charles Hulse PS, Jack Donohue PS and adjacent W.C. Bowes park, St. Patrick's Intermediate with a big chunk of Greenbelt (almost finished), Pleasant Park PS with a big chunk of Greenbelt (just started). 

World Orienteering Championships 2021, July 3 - 9

The Czech Republic will host the World Championships 2021, July 3-9, with Sprint, Sprint Relay, Long, Middle and Relay competitions. All five competitions will be covered with full TV broadcast on Web-TV.

Unfortunately, Canada is not sending a team to this year’s championship due to the COVID pandemic and travel restrictions, but it will still be exciting races to follow via web-streaming and GPS-tracking.

Web-TV broadcast schedule

Times listed are Ottawa times (EDT)

Sign up for the web-streaming here.

Prices: 20 EURO for all competitions ticket or 6 EURO per competition. (20 EURO = CAN $28.50)

The Middle-distance race terrain has large slopes with lots of rocks and vegetation features. How would you run from 10 to 11 on this Middle-distance training map?

The Long-distance race is using the famous Czech sandstone terrain with deep valleys and spectacular cliffs and rock pillars. It will force the runners to choose between taking lots of climb or long detours around to avoid the hills. What is your route from 5 to 6 on this training map?

Here is a short video that shows the spectacular Czech sandstone terrain:  https://www.facebook.com/dhubmann/videos/449155653124593/ 

Tick Check