| Born | 1999 |
| Hometown | Salmon Arm, BC |
| Currently living | Salmon Arm, BC |
| Club | Sag Orienteering Club |
| Occupation | Student |
| Training log | Attackpoint |
What was one of the highlights of your 2016 season?
COCs in Canmore were definitely the highlight. I had a couple of solid races and loved the maps and mountains.
Which race/races are you most excited about for 2017?
JWOC, if I qualify. Otherwise, I am really looking forward to the mayhem of the sprint heats at the Seattle Adventure Running Tournament.
What race/event is on your orienteering bucket list?
Jukola
Tell us one fun fact about yourself.
The only time my older brother has beaten me in an orienteering event is when he walked entire course, and I mispunched.
What are some of your 2017 goals outside of orienteering?
Keep my GPA up in university, choose my major, and win a top-three provincial cross country skiing aggregate.
What orienteering technique are you currently working on to improve?
Precise compass bearings. All of the terrain nearby is fairly detailed, so only rough compass bearings are really needed. I really need to work on accurate bearings for other terrain types.
Tell us about other ways you are involved in orienteering (eg, coaching, mapping, organizing events…)
I have made about a dozen maps around Salmon Arm in the past few years, and organize several local events each year. I also manage the Sage Orienteering Club website and Facebook page.
What tip would you give a beginner or intermediate orienteer?
Make an orienteering map! Your school, the forest behind your house, pretty much anything. The process of making a map does wonders for solidifying the relationship between the map and terrain, and has the added advantage of forcing to learn the exact definitions of the different symbols.
How do you use technology tools or gadgets to enhance your training (software, apps, gps watch, Catching Features, GoPro…)? Tell us about your favourites.
I gps track all of my races and trainings. When I get home from the event, I draw out my route before uploading the gps track to Quickroute and seeing exactly where I went. I am also considering purchasing the new Virtual-O orienteering simulator for armchair training, but am waiting to see what more will be developed (currently there is a lack of maps – only two different ones!).
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David is a member of Orienteering Canada’s 2017 High Performance Program