As World Orienteering Week (WOW) celebrates its 10th edition in 2026, the International Orienteering Federation invites the global orienteering community to once again come together and showcase the sport to the world. From local school activities and park events to major competitions, WOW has become a unique platform for introducing new participants to orienteering while highlighting the sport’s strong community spirit, accessibility and international reach.
In the letter below sent Monday to IOF Member Federations, IOF President Tom Hollowell reflects on the importance of WOW for the future growth of orienteering and encourages clubs, federations and organisers everywhere to take part and register their activities during 16–24 May 2026.
PARTICIPATE IN WORLD ORIENTEERING WEEK MAY 16-24, 2026
Dear orienteering friends,
This year marks the 10th time that our annual celebration of orienteering takes place, first as World Orienteering Day and now as World Orienteering Week (WOW). World Orienteering Week has a central role in the strategy and activities of the IOF as an opportunity to focus on marketing and to show off the positive values of our sport to new participants, the media, public bodies and partner organisations.
WOW is very important for our collective Olympic ambitions. In 2016, at the time of introduction of World Orienteering Day, then IOF President Brian Porteous and I were visiting Lausanne and the International Olympic Committee. We presented to the IOC the interactive map of activities that still lives on the WOW website. The response was extremely positive, and the IOC comment was that in no better way could we demonstrate the global reach of orienteering. We weren’t just showing a list of members or flags, but real ongoing activity in countries where we already had member federations and also quite a few that were not yet IOF members. Global reach and global performance are key criteria for becoming a sport at the Olympic Games.
The IOF has created a set of tools for World Orienteering Week with ideas and concepts which have been presented in webinars and newsletters and in social media. These are all available on the WOW website. One of the great things about WOW is that it is an opportunity to be creative and try new things. Anything goes and everything counts. It can be as simple as a maze orienteering at a school or a public park, a recreational orienteering or a full-blown event. And activities can be organized throughout the week.
A key to WOW participation success is that this is a grass-roots project. Anyone can show off orienteering in their own way and show it to the world by registering an activity on the WOW website. If you need help, there are manuals and guidelines on the website or get in touch with the IOF WOW team at [email protected] .
We know that during the period of World Orienteering Week 16-24 May 2026, there are already a lot of events and activities planned. If nothing else, I ask that you make sure these activities get registered on the WOW website. It doesn’t take much extra effort. And include a WOW logo on invitations, meeting notes and bulletins. Let the participants, media and other stakeholders know that this activity is part of something bigger.
Let’s not be shy about showing off our sport across the world. We all know the positive experiences and memories created through orienteering. Let’s share them with the world through participating in World Orienteering Week.
I wish you a successful and fun week with WOW factor!
Yours sincerely,
Tom Hollowell
President International Orienteering Federation
