The 2012 U.S. Orienteering Championships is a three-day orienteering competition sanctioned by Orienteering USA and hosted by Georgia Orienteering Club (GAOC). The event is scheduled for April 13-15, 2012, and will include the National Trail Orienteering Championships; and the trio of U.S. Individual Championships--Sprint, Middle, and Long--which have also been designated as World Ranking Events for the M21+ and F21+ classes, as well as the U.S. Team Trials.

The event is open to the public. Competitive participants who are members of Orienteering USA will earn points toward the annual national competitive rankings. Non-competitive participants are welcome to orienteer on our special Map Hiking courses (see below.)

U.S. Orienteering Individual Championships

The Sprint Event will be held at the University of West Georgia (UWG) in Carrollton on April 13. The UWG campus offers a complex array of buildings, roads, and wooded terrain ideal for the fast, short competition. A new orienteering map will be developed for this event using the International Specification for Sprint Orienteering Maps (ISSOM) 2007 sprint standard: 1:5000 with 2.5 meter contours.

The Middle and Long Distance Events will be held at Chattahoochee Bend State Park on April 14-15. Chattahoochee Bend is Georgia’s newest and 5th largest park. It includes 2,900 acres of varied natural land in western Coweta County, and features seven miles of river frontage along the Chattahoochee River, open forest, farmlands, planted trees, granite outcroppings, large boulder fields, and complex terrain.

U.S. National Trail Orienteering Championships

The U.S. National Trail Orienteering Championship will be held at the University of West Georgia on  April 13. UWG offers excellent terrain for trail-o, a discipline of the sport designed so that people with disabilities can compete on equal terms.

Non-Competitive Events

GAOC will offer non-competitive orienteering, called Map Hiking, on April 14-15 at Chattahoochee Bend State Park. These courses are ideal for family members who attend but do not want to compete competitively.