North American Orienteering Championships

The North American Orienteering Championships (NAOC) is a biennial orienteering event organized by the International Orienteering Federation.

Statusactive

Genresports event

DateMay—November

Frequencybiennial

Quick facts Status, Genre ...

North American Orienteering Championships
Finish line at the 2010 NAOC in Cranbrook, British Columbia
Status	active
Genre	sports event
Date	May—November
Frequency	biennial
Venue	various
Location	various
Country	Canada, United States
Inaugurated	1971 (1971)
Previous event	2024
Next event	2026
Organised by	IOF, Orienteering Canada, Orienteering USA
Website	https://www.cal-o-fest.com

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Originally, the North American Orienteering Championships consisted of just two forest races. The competition was held in odd-numbered years until 1977, after which it changed to even numbered years starting in 1980. A sprint race was added to the program in 2006. The event's location always alternates between Canada and the United States. The NAOC has been held in conjunction with other orienteering competitions such as the Canadian Orienteering Championships (1990, 1998, 2018, 2024) and the Asia-Pacific Orienteering Championships (1990, 2002).^[1]

The current championship events are a long distance, middle distance, sprint distance, and either a forest relay or sprint relay. The events can take place in any order.^[2] The competition has open age and gender categories as well as an elite category. Throughout the competition, points earned by Canadian and American competitors in the elite categories are added up. The team with the most points is declared the winner and is awarded the Bjorn Kjellstrom Cup, first awarded in 1980.^[3]