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Registration Fees

Registration for the 2026 Ottawa O-Fest is available on Zone4. Our inflation fighter fees are the same as for the 2021 O-Fest!  Note that early-bird pricing ends at midnight EDT on March 31, 2026. The last day to register is April 30, 2026 at midnight EDT.

See below for more info on registration classes, courses and approximate course lengths.

Current members of the Canadian junior and senior national teams are eligible for reduced entry fees by entering a discount code on Zone4. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive the discount code. We look forward to having many of Canada's top athletes joining us at the 2026 O-Fest! 

Categories and Courses

For each race there are two types of class you can sign up for:

• Male / Female age classes
  Race against your peers on the assigned course for your age. The top finishers in each class (based on total time across 2 days) will receive a small prize

• Recreational classes
  Choose the course you want to run - results will be kept and published but no prizes will be awarded.

Age Class Races

If you are registering in the Age Class Races, and you are under 21 you are permitted to "race up" if you wish.  For instance, if you are a 15 year old male, you can register in M16-, M20- or M21.  If you are 35 or over, you can "race down" if you wish. For instance a 47 year old female can register in F45+, F35+ or F21. Anyone between 21 and 34 years old has no choice in the age class.  They will be in F21 or M21, with the exception of the "short" option.  M16-S, F16-S, M21S and F21S  are somewhat shorter ("S" stands for "short") than their counterpart courses to give an option for people who do not want to tackle the full length of their age class course.

Note that you will be required to race in the same class in both the Middle and the Long events to qualify for awards, since they are based on total combined time for the two days.

Short Courses 

If you are in one of the age classes listed in the table below, you can register for the shorter course option as indicated.  Note that there are no awards for the "S" classes, but it does give you the opportunity to participate at your personal level of comfort. 

Assignment of Classes to Courses

For the Middle and Long distance events, there are 8 different courses with age classes assigned to the courses based on the following table. If you wish to run a higher numbered (longer) course you may sign up for a more competitive age class.  Class names ending in "S" (for short) denote shorter versions of the regular age class, as described above.

Approximate Course Lengths and Winning Times

The following table describes the recommended winning time (RWT) and approximate distance of each course, and can help you decide whether to race in your age class, or to race "up" or "down" or select an "S" course.  It may also be helpful in selecting the recreational course that is right for you. Note that these distances are straight line distances; the distance you will need to travel may be significantly further.  The courses will be designed so that the fastest finisher on the course will finish in close to the RWT.  The final course properties (length, number of controls, climb and map scale) will be published once the course planners have finished preparing the courses. The age classes, Technical Difficulty levels and recommended winning times (RWTs) assigned to each course are as per Orienteering Canada's Course and Category Guidelines (updated January 2025).

 *RWT = Recommended Winning Time