The best ski orienteers in the world will gather in Japan to compete at the World Ski Orienteering Championships 2026.
During a meeting earlier in January, IOF Council decided to appoint Japan as organiser of the championships.
The preliminary dates set for WSOC 2026 are February 28th – March 6th, 2026.
It will be Japan’s second time as WSOC hosts. The first time was in Rutsutsu in 2009, where the athletes competed in Sprint, Middle, Long and Relay.
“We are pleased to appoint Japan as host of the championships. Organizing the World Ski Orienteering Championships in Japan again is an underlining that ski orienteering is a global discipline and we look forward to have another World Championships in Asia. The just finished WSOC in Austria had participants from three continents and the enthralling TV productions from Ramsau showed us that Ski Orienteering has the potential to grow an even larger audience in the future,” IOF President Leho Haldna says.
Photo: Rintaro Abe (JPN) competes at the SkiO World Cup i Beitostølen, Norway in 2023. By Erling Thisted