While the athletes had a day off from the competitions at the World Orienteering Championships 2026 on Wednesday, delegates from the IOF’s member federations gathered for the XXXIII IOF Ordinary General Assembly at Palazzo della Borsa in central Genoa.
Representatives from more than 40 nations participated either on site or via a remote solution to the assembly, which the IOF holds every other year.
The General Assembly took place in the historical building Palazzo della Borsa, that used to house the Genova Stock Exchange.
Olympic ambitions
The assembly gives member federations the opportunity to set the direction of the IOF in the coming years – among other things by reviewing and approving reports from the IOF Council and approving the proposed strategy and budget, as well as electing members to the IOF Council.
As part of the strategy for the next four-year period, the assembly decided on a new vision for the IOF:
“Orienteering is the ultimate navigation sport worldwide”
Furthermore, the assembly agreed on a new main goal for the IOF:
“Increase global participation in orienteering and work towards inclusion in the Olympic Games”
See the full new IOF Strategic Directions 2026-2030 approved by the 2026 General Assembly here.
The General Assembly was attended by Tania Tchae, Head of Recognised Federations at the International Olympic Committee, who spoke briefly and followed the assembly.
Election results:
The results of the Council elections were as follows:
Blair Trewin (AUS) was elected for the position of vice president for the IOF.
Anne Straube (GER), Daniel Wolf (CZE), Jari Kymäläinen (FIN) were elected for the position of council member.
Eline Gemperle (SUI, FootO) and Jonatan Ståhl (SWE, SkiO) were confirmed as athlete representatives to the IOF Council.
Following the election, IOF President Tom Hollowell thanked the outgoing members of the Council: Senior Vice President Tatiana Kalenderoglu (TUR), Hannu Kottonen (FIN), Dusan Vystavel (CZE) for their work in the past years.
The members of the IOF Council present at General Assembly.
From left: Jürg Hellmüller, Jari Kymäläinen, Laszlo Zentai, Blair Trewin, Tom Hollowell, Linda Take, Takashi Sugiyama and Ildze Straume.
The IOF Council for the congress period 2026-2028:
Tom Hollowell (USA) – President
Laszlo Zentai (HUN) – Vice President
Linda Take (SWE) – Vice President
Blair Trewin (AUS) – Vice President
Daniel Wolf (CZE) – Member
Anne Straube (GER) – Member
Jari Kymäläinen (FIN) – Member
Jürg Hellmüller (SUI) – Member
Ingrid Okkenhaug (NOR) – Member
Ildze Straume (LAT) – Member
Takashi Sugiyama (JPN) – Member
Eline Gemperle (SUI) – Member and Athlete Representative
Jonatan Ståhl (SWE) – Member and Athlete Representative
Honorary awards
As tradition dictates, the IOF also awards pins to a number of people who have worked to promote and develop orienteering over a period of time. Those recognized in 2026 were:
Gold pin:
Finn Arildsen (DEN)
Unni Strand Karlsen (NOR)
Silver pin:
José Ángel Nieto Poblete (ESP)
Tatiana Kalenderoglu (TUR)
Tatiana Kalenderoglu was awarded with the silver pin by President Tom Hollowell for her work in the IOF Council since 2012.
Bronze pin:
Adrian Wickert (AUT)
Jaakko Lajunen (FIN)
Gerardo Garcia (ARG)
Robert Dredge (GBR)
Anne Straube (GER)
Dusan Furucz (SVK)
Eje Andersson (SWE)
Edoardo Tona (ITA)
Zdenek Lenhart (CZE)
Luís Quinta-Nova (POR)
Yasushi Nobuhara (JPN)
Kazuhiro Takashima (JPN)
Robert Dredge was awarded with the bronze pin by IOF President Tom Hollowell for his role as Chairman in the IOF Ethics Panel.
Peo Bengtsson Award
Furthermore, the Peo Bengtsson Award for accomplishments in Global Development were awarded for the third time in history. It was awarded to:
Zoran Milovanovic (SRB)
The award was previously known as the IOF Global Development Award, but it was decided to rename it to the “Peo Bengtsson Award for accomplishments in the global development of orienteering” following Peo Bengtsson’s death in 2025.
The honours list in the IOF homepage can be found here
Voting results
The participating delegates also voted on a number of proposals. Some of the results can be seen below:
• Approved the proposal for IOF Strategic Directions for the period 2026-2030.
• Approved the proposed membership fees for 2027 and 2028.
• Approved the budget for 2027 and 2028.
• Voted to suspend the member of Argentina and provisional member of Mauritius.
• Voted to terminate the memberships of Barbados and India.
• Voted to confirm the provisional memberships of Algeria, Mexico, Iraq and India*.
• Voted to confirm the memberships of Costa Rica and Paraguay.
The minutes from the XXXIII IOF Ordinary General Assembly will be made available at a later date on the IOF website here, where you can also find the agenda and all documents for the General Assembly.
*new organisation in India; Orienteering Sport Federation (India).