MTBO America

Adrian Jackson kicking ass and taking names at the 2010 WOC.

Maybe it’s the ascent, maybe it’s because we have a soft place in our heart’s for Australia, or maybe its because we feel Australia always gets the shaft in MTBO reporting, but regardless we found the untold story of this year’s World MTB Orienteering Championships to be the continuing ascension of Australia’s top MTBO athlete (and our favorite), Adrian Jackson (AUS). Jackson, with another career best with 3 more WOC Medals (1-Gold, 2-Silver), put Australia in 3rd Place overall with his wins alone. Jackson was unable repeat his Long Distance 1st Place victory in last year’s WOC in Israel, but was able to take 2nd Place with only 2-minutes separating Jackson from Anton Foliforov of Russia.

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Juniors and Beginners are the future of the sport of MTBO.

To expand the sport of Mountain Bike Orienteering, every race director should include beginner courses in each of their MTBO events. Nicknamed “Brownie Events” by Australian MTBO racers, serious riders are known to get “brownie points” by bringing beginner riders to their events.

The concept behind the brownie event is similar to the White courses held during Foot Orienteering meets with junior- or beginner-level courses consisting of an un-timed loop-course of 1- to 1.5-miles, and timed loop-course of 2- to 3-miles. During an event these beginner course are designed to reduce the chance of new riders getting lost, allowing riders come back to the start/finish within a short amount of time, and to allow beginners to have positive experiences to build from.

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The International Orienteering Federation (IOF) is the final authority on all MTBO competition rules.

New Competition Rules for 2010 MTBO Events

The IOF Council has approved new Competition Rules for IOF Mountain Bike Orienteering Events effect 1 January 2010 and replace the July 2008 version. These rules cover the World MTB Orienteering Championships, World Cup, Junior World MTB Orienteering Championships, World Masters MTB Orienteering Championships, Regional MTB Orienteering Championships, and IOF World Ranking Events in MTB Orienteering.

MTBOA shows you what’s changed and why you should (or should not) care!
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Missing: Mountain Bikes in the latest IOF O-zine!

The International Orienteering Federation (IOF) released their latest O-zine (an on-line quarterly newsletter) on October 20, 2009, with one glaring omission: absolutely no coverage of this August’s Mountain Bike Orienteering World Championships! Oh, they provided a small little box titled World ranking, Top 10 (As of 12 October), but that too had ANOTHER glaring omission: No Australians! Now I like Foot Orienteering as much as the next guy, but when the top organization for Orienteering leaves out a World Championship, especially the Mountain Bike Orienteering World Championship, one has to wonder why. So I ask… why? Read the rest of this entry »

MTBO Athlete Alex Randall, Australia cannot receive EOC title even if he wins (Photo by Tage V. Andersen)

The European Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships (EC MTB-O or EOC) — A Regional Championship Event — are set to have the world’s best MTBO athletes face off in Hillerød, Denmark this week. Elite MTBO racers from 23 nations, including two (2) world-class athletes from Australia, Anthony Darr and Alex Randall, will participate in events from June 23-27.

However, There is one interesting side note to this years competition that bears mentioning. According to the EOC Competition Rules, only current EOC Competitors whom represent full or associate member Federations of the IOF, and belong to a country defined by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as belonging to the European continent, are eligible for European titles, medals or diplomas during the EC MTB-O (and Junior EC MTB-O) championships (Section 6. Participation – Rule 6.5 and Section 25. Prizes – Rule 25.5).

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The IOF is looking for organizers of WRE, World Cup, EOC/WMOC, and WOC events for 2010 and beyond.

Every wonder what it costs a MTBO Event Organizer to get their race sanctioned by the International Orienteering Federation (IOF)? Neither did we until we started trolling the various documents on the IOF website!

Part of the MTBO America “Grand Strategy” is a 10-year goal to create a highly successful, competitive MTB Orienteering environment within the United States, that wins us the privilege of hosting the first World MTB Orienteering Championships on American soil. But the road to that day is paved with numerous obstacles, least of which is the overall cost associated with receiving the IOF blessing — AKA “organizing rights”. Read the rest of this entry »