The International Orienteering Federation (IOF) is the international governing body of the sport of orienteering. The IOF head office is located in Karlstad, Sweden. The IOF governs four orienteering disciplines:

foot orienteering Foot orienteering (usually referred to as simply Orienteering or FootO for short) is the oldest formal orienteering sport, and the one with the most "starts" per year. Usually, a FootO is a timed race in which participants start at staggered in ...

mountain bike orienteering Mountain bike orienteering (MTB-O or MTBO) is an orienteering endurance racing sport on a mountain bike where navigation is done along trails and tracks. Compared with foot orienteering, competitors usually are not permitted to leave the trail ...

ski orienteering Ski orienteering (SkiO) is a cross-country skiing endurance winter racing sport and one of the four orienteering disciplines recognized by the IOF. A successful ski orienteer combines high physical endurance, strength and excellent technical skii ...

, and trail orienteering. After the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

, the International Orienteering Federation suspended the membership of the Russian Orienteering Federation. The IOF also disallowed Russian orienteering athletes from participating in IOF events, even as neutral athletes, cancelled all organising rights for IOF events and activities in Russia, and suspended all Russian members appointed to IOF official bodies.

History

The IOF was founded on 21 May 1961 at a Congress held in Copenhagen,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

by the orienteering national federations of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, Czechoslovakia,

, the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, Sweden and Switzerland. By 1969, the IOF represented 16 countries, including its first two non-European member federations representing Japan and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and in 1977 the IOF was recognised by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

. After the

Membership

As of January 2016, the membership of the IOF comprised 80 national orienteering federations, of which 56 were members, 24 were provisional members, divided into six geographical regions.

Africa

6 Members, 1 Provisional Member

Asia

17 Members, 1 Provisional Member

Europe

40 Members

North America

5 Members

Oceania

2 Members

South America

9 Members

Governance structure

The IOF is governed by an elected Council consisting of a President, a Senior Vice President, two Vice Presidents, and seven other Council members. Day-to-day operations of the IOF are the responsibility of the IOF Secretary General. Several standing commissions of the IOF are responsible for the development of the sport worldwide. These commissions include:

Foot Orienteering Foot orienteering (usually referred to as simply Orienteering or FootO for short) is the oldest formal orienteering sport, and the one with the most "starts" per year. Usually, a FootO is a timed race in which participants start at staggered in ...

, MTB Orienteering,

Ski Orienteering Ski orienteering (SkiO) is a cross-country skiing endurance winter racing sport and one of the four orienteering disciplines recognized by the IOF. A successful ski orienteer combines high physical endurance, strength and excellent technical skii ...

, Trail Orienteering, Environment, IT,

Map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

, Medical, and Rules.

Presidents

* Erik Tobé (1961—1975) * Lasse Heideman (1975—1982) *

Bengt Saltin Bengt Saltin (3 June 1935 — 12 September 2014) was a Swedish professor in exercise physiology, who spent parts of his career in Denmark. After starting his medical studies at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, in the 1950s, he comm ...

(1982—1988) * Heinz Tschudin (1988—1994) * Sue Harvey (1994—2004) * Åke Jacobson (2004—2012) * Brian Porteous (2012—2016) * Leho Haldna (2016—)

Affiliations

Since 1977, the IOF has been recognised by the

. The IOF is also a member of the following organisations: * Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF) *

International World Games Association The International World Games Association, abbreviated as IWGA, is an international association, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that organises every four years, beginning in 1981, the multi-sport event called The World Ga ...

(IWGA) * International Masters Games Association (IMGA) *

SportAccord Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...

Publications

The IOF publishes a wide variety of journals and reference works related to the sport. These include ''Orienteering World'', an annual magazine, ''The Scientific Journal of Orienteering'', the ''OZine'', and official editions of the rules of IOF sanctioned orienteering and specifications for orienteering maps.

References

{{Authority control International sports organizations IOC-recognised international federations Orienteering Orienteering in Sweden Outdoor recreation organizations Sport in Karlstad Sports governing bodies in Sweden Sports organizations established in 1961 1961 establishments in Denmark