Project BOS

Team DVOA Jukola:

• Leg 1. Vadim Masalkov (10,6 – 10,8 km daylight/dusk)


I was introduced to orienteering somewhere in early 80s in the middle school as part of our hiking club activities. At that period of time track and field athletics was my main sport with primary 200-400m distance. I wasn’t the fastest guy, but showed some decent times and speed.

Then there was a long break in orienteering, very long. More than 10 years later one of my friends/co-workers by pure accident mentioned about orienteering. Since then I was hooked once again and ran most of the Thursday night orienteering event around my home town of Vilnius, usually there were 12-14 events per year. Several times I tried multi-day races, including famous and biggest “Takas” competition in Lithuania, where in 1996 I won first place in M-21N group.

In May 2000 I moved to US to San Francisco Bay Area and later that year I joined local orienteering club (BAOC) and participated in mostly all local orienteering meets. Three years later I relocated to the east coast, southern New Jersey, and I joined the glorious DVOA, one of the oldest clubs in US. I have to mention that all those years I didn’t do any specific training to improve my running shape or navigational skills, just occasional runs in the morning or evening. Surprising birthday gift - registration entry for 6th World Rogaining Championships 2004 in Arizona, USA - from my older brother marked beginning of my training. Leaving on the east coast gave me a lot of opportunities to participate in different A-meets accross the country. Since then my navigational skills improved drastically.

Jukola in Finland will be my first orienteering outside US and Lithuania. It’s an exciting way to celebrates 40th DVOA anniversary!

• Leg 2. Christopher Gross (10,6 – 10,8 km dusk)

• Leg 3. Gregory Balter (13,7 – 13,9 km dusk)



The details of my past are quite inconsequential… (in Dr. Evil voice)

My grandmother bought me a sport compass when I was 9 - she thought the magnifying glass was useful and nice, since she did not see well at the time. The magnetic needle in liquid filled container was quite useless to her. 5 years later I found out that this device was highly valued possession in orienteering circles and I had one.

First 2 years I spent playing basketball with orienteers, started to train seriously at the age of 16 in 1979 on a pitch from my first coach. I have all my training logs since than, last 6 years in electronic form on Attackpoint.

I went to College in Moscow and quickly formed our own college team to compete in Moscow Students Orienteering Championships. Relays were common races then: two day event was an individual race on Saturday and a relay on Sunday. In 5 years I ran close to 100 relays, my specialty then was 1-st leg.

Many of my college teammates are still running orienteering Russia, and I am glad to see that.

From 1979 to 1990 I competed in different level events from local races to USSR Championships all over Western part of Soviet Union then: Ukraine, Moldavia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Western Russia.

I had my share of orienteering related injuries and at age of 27 stopped orienteering to do better, bigger things. In 1992 with economy of former Soviet Union deteriorating fast I came to U.S. on an immigrant visa, and started to train again.

In 1995 I won US Champs in M21 in Michigan, in 1997 was on last leg of HVO golden team in US Champs relay in Harriman SP(Patrick Shannon, Boris Granovskiy, Piaras de Clèir, Greg Balter); joined DVOA in 2002, was twice on DVOA winning team in US Relay Champs in 2003 and 2006.

One of the main reasons I still orienteer is that every time I get out on a course I am competing against my weaknesses, trying to do better than last time - the hope for the perfect race is pretty much alive, still…

• Leg 4. Karl Ahlswede (7,5 – 7,7 km dusk/daylight)


Started orienteering in 1998 and got lost on the way to the event.

I have been at the top of the yearly DVOA leader board for distance orienteered, greatest climb, and most controls punched since 1998. I have mispunched at only one A-event. That was at West Point when I was given the wrong clue sheet so I am not sure if that counts.

I have never won a medal at an A-event. I did win the unofficial Greenland Orienteering Championship in 2005 for the “old guys” division. There were two other competitors. I finished the challenging 20km Arctic Midnight Orienteering race held near Ilullisat, Greenland. I came in second to last. I beat the only woman entered in the race. I have orienteered in Sweden at the public events during WOC 2004. I was able to best the visitor from Japan in those races.

How I got selected to be on the DVOA Jukola team remains a mystery to me, but it is an honor and a privilege. I will try my best not to screw up too much.

• Leg 5. Greg Ahlswede (7,5 – 7,7 km daylight)


I have been orienteering for the majority of my life (9 out of 17 years) starting with the white courses and slowly moving on. The reason I started orienteering was because my dad found an article in a newspaper and decided to try it out. The thing I will remember about our first event is how lost we got on the way there. Since then I have competed and ranked highly on the U.S. junior orienteering circuit.

With my JV win in the National Interscholastic Championships in 2005 and 2 top 6 performances the following years I have established a competitive position in the US junior field. Also, in 2006 I was a part of the DVOA team that won the USOF Relay Championship. During high school I have also competed in cross country and outdoor track.

The challenge I like most about orienteering is the necessity to base my decisions on my strengths.

• Leg 6. Tom Overbaugh (9,9 – 10,2 km daylight)


I began orienteering in 1979 as a college freshman with the now-defunct Rose OC in Indiana. I had never heard of the sport before and thought it was a real blast to be able to run unfettered through the woods. Nearly 30 years later, the thrill continues.

Following stints as the sole civilian member of the Penn State Orienteering Club and a couple years with Quantico, I settled in DVOA territory in 1988. Appearances on the leader board have been a rarity with my best results coming at a one day A-event at French Creek North and the recent Foxchaser A-event at Fair Hill. My international experience is limited to several events in Switzerland, including the Swiss Six Days in 1996.

Running in the Jukola Relay will allow me to fulfill a lifelong objective of orienteering in Scandinavia. My individual goals for the race are to train hard, stay healthy, and avoid any major mistakes. For the team performance, I would like to see DVOA finish as the first North American team. Go DVOA! Beat the FWOC’ers!

• Leg 7. Clem McGrath (14,8 – 15,1 km daylight)



Clem McGrath began orienteering in the American O-Eden of the Delaware Valley. Serendipitously growing up within the DVOA Empire afforded him a chance to run early and often. From a B&W map of Robeson Elementary School, to the early Nolde, to Warwick, the ball started rolling.

Sometime in the 80s, in the bronze age of orienteering relays, he got his first taste of gold as part of a DVOA junior relay team at FCN. That was exciting, but the significance of the feat was lost on him at the time.

The years went past, and sometime between 1992 and 1993 (even the soothsayers know not exactly when) Clem became J-Man.

J-Man (né Clem) once he came down from the mountain and out of the wilderness (Penn), attempted to take his O-game to the next level. In 1995, under the nouvelle régime, he was part of the victorious DVOA team at FCC. Then, in one of his proudest orienteering moments, was part of the gold-winning team in 1999 at Mt. Joy.

He spent some more time in the wilderness between 2000 and 2003, but started, slowly and in fits and starts, to claw his way back. This comeback culminated in 2006, when he was part of the DVOA team that prevailed again at the Relay Champs in Ohio.

J-Man likes relays and he likes DVOA. He would really like DVOA to lay the smack down on the competition at Lapua in 2007.

Alternate:

• Sergei Zhyk (injured)