We have three events to start off the year. 1st Feb – Come and Try It at Northcliff, Johannesburg; 1st Feb – Urban Event at Constantia, Cape Town; 8th Feb – Urban Event at Riversands, Midrand.
Come to any of these and club members will gladly show you how to read a map and orienteer!
This year’s calendar is now available at 2026 Events – Orienteering Federation of South Africa.
Be sure to check it for time to time for the event sheets and additional events.
Applications for membership of the SAOF Junior and Senior national orienteering squads are now open. Please find attached the 2026 Seasonal Policy.
* You will find the application at the back of the document
* The deadline for submission is 31 December 2025
* Please read through the document and familiarise yourself with the contents.
* Please email your application to selection_committee@orienteering.co.za
The Orienteering World Cup round 1 is this weekend in Olten Switzerland. You can follow the liver results and watch the races on streaming. Full details at https://orienteering.sport/…/orienteering…/welcome/
The Orienteering World Cup Round 1 in Switzerland begins on Friday and we hope you will help us promote the event and all the live services on the IOF homepage.
The TV broadcast with English and French commentary is available on our streaming platform IOF TV: https://tv.orienteering.sport/
Start lists, live results and GPS-tracking are available at IOF LIVE:
Timezone:
The Event local time zone is CEST (UTC +2). All printed times in IOF LIVE pages are CEST (UTC +2).
World Cup Round 1 program
Friday, May 24th
14.00 Knock-Out Sprint Qualification begin
Saturday, May 25th
10.00 Knock-Out Sprint quarter finals begin
12.00-14.00 IOF TV broadcast
12.09 Knock-Out Sprint semi-finals begin
13.27 Knock-Out Sprint finals begin
Sunday, May 26th
12.03 Sprint final first start
12.10 – 14.40 IOF TV Broadcast
Price (IOF TV):
9 EUR for one competition, 30 EUR for all four competitions from World Cup Round 1 and 2. Round 2 takes place in Genoa, Italy next weekend. Followers can purchase tickets in advance and the purchase is done on https://tv.orienteering.sport/. It is not possible to transfer the user accounts from the former IOF LIVE-accounts, so it is necessary to create a new account.
The SAOF is pleased to announce that the window for applications to the 2024 Senior or Junior National Squads is now open. The application form is included in the appendix of the 2024 Seasonal Policy lined below. The closing date for applications is the 14th January 2024.
More details around the selection process and the requirements for National Team selection are contained in the two documents below.
Youth and Development Squads
The SAOF’s selection committee will also select younger orienteers for the Youth Squad. Selection is by invitation only.
Development athletes may put forward their names for consideration via the SAOF’s VP Development.
More detail around the selection process and what the athletes can expect are contained in the two documents attached above.
An update constitution and safeguarding policies were approved at the recent SAOF AGM at Maretlwane.
Amendments to the Constitution
The main change to the constitution was the addition of a clause about Public Benefit Organisation Requirements. It was added to comply with the requirements of section 30 of the Income Tax Act. There were some minor changes to other clauses to clarify their meanings.
The Safeguarding Policy
A safeguarding policy serves as a critical document for organizations, institutions, and agencies to outline their commitment to protecting the well-being and safety of vulnerable individuals, particularly children, young people, and adults at risk. The primary purpose of a safeguarding policy is to provide a framework for preventing, recognizing, and responding to various forms of harm, abuse, or neglect that may occur within their setting or as a result of their activities.
Key purposes of a safeguarding policy include:
Overall, a safeguarding policy is a proactive and comprehensive approach to ensuring the safety and protection of vulnerable individuals within an organization’s sphere of influence. It helps create a culture of vigilance, responsibility, and accountability when it comes to safeguarding those who may be at risk of harm or abuse.
The SAOF is pleased to announce that Expedition Africa has been granted Associate Member status of the South African Orienteering Federation (SAOF).
On 24 November 2022, the SAOF received an application from Expedition Africa to become an Associate Member of the SAOF. After due consideration the SAOF’s Management Committee approved Expedition Africa’s application.
There is synergy between the sports of Orienteering and Adventure Racing since both rely heavily on navigation with map and compass. We believe this affiliation will benefit both sports and is aligned with the aim of the SAOF, which is to promote orienteering in South Africa.
In 2010 Kinetic Events was created, organising adventure races under the brand name Expedition Africa. Over more than a decade Expedition Africa has organised more than 60 events of 25 km, 40 events of 120 – 250 km and 12 multi-day Expedition races. Their flagship event is the Expedition Africa 500 km, multi-day race which forms part of the Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS)
Kinetic Events – Expedition Africa was awarded the rights to host the Adventure Racing World Championship in 2023. The race will be the 18th Adventure Racing World Championship, and the first to be held on the African continent.
The SAOF Selection Committee is pleased to announce the selection of the following athletes into the High Performance squads for 2023.
Senior Squad (4): Michael Crone, Brian Gardner, Carl Holmes, Nicholas Mulder, Sarah Wimberley
Junior Squad (8): Connor Bell, Matthew Dos Santos, Cameron Morrison, Connor Morrison, Simon Pienaar, Matthew Venter-Clelland, Oliver Venter-Clelland, Sarah Wimberley.
Youth Squad (5): James Tristan Babcock, Shelby Dos Santos, Piper De Klerk, Danika Gwilliam, Sophia Stegmann.
The Selection Committee and SAOF High Performance manager wish the athletes well in their pursuit of their performance goals in 2023.
Expedition Africa becomes and Associate Member of the SAOF The SAOF is pleased to announce that Expedition Africa has been granted Associate Member status of the South African Orienteering Federation (SAOF).
On 24 November 2022, the SAOF received an application from Expedition Africa to become an Associate Member of the SAOF. After due consideration the SAOF’s Management Committee approved Expedition Africa’s application.
There is synergy between the sports of Orienteering and Adventure Racing since both rely heavily on navigation with map and compass. We believe this affiliation will benefit both sports and is aligned with the aim of the SAOF, which is to promote orienteering in South Africa.
In 2010 Kinetic Events was created, organising adventure races under the brand name Expedition Africa. Over more than a decade Expedition Africa has organised more than 60 events of 25 km, 40 events of 120 – 250 km and 12 multi-day Expedition races. Their flagship event is the Expedition Africa 500 km, multi-day race which forms part of the Adventure Racing World Series
(ARWS)
Kinetic Events – Expedition Africa was awarded the rights to host the Adventure Racing World Championship in 2023. The race will be the 18th Adventure Racing World Championship, and the first to be held on the African continent.
The SAOF is pleased to announce that applications for the 2023 National Senior and Junior Squads are open. Here are the updated Selection Policy and Seasonal Selection Policy.
In the Selection Policy you will find the definition of the various national squads. The Seasonal Selection Policy document outlines our plans for 2023 and includes important dates and information. At the back of the Seasonal Selection Policy document, you will find the squad application form.
If you are interested to be considered for selection to either the Senior or Junior national squads, please complete the application form and send it to:
Nicholas Mulder
The Chairperson of the SAOF Selection Committee
selection_committee@orienteering.co.za
The closing date is 8 January 2023