Ted de St Croix is arguably the most successful elite orienteer that Canada has ever produced. Ted may no longer compete at the elite level, but when he attends a major international orienteering event such as the World Masters Orienteering Championships, he can still produce a podium finish against a gang of former World Champions. DW: How old were you when you first went orienteering? I was given a brief instruction on how to use an induction dampened compass and handed a map, but no plastic map cover.
As soon as I started my race, the skies opened and my map basically turned to pulp. I was not deterred and ran all over the place, finding roughly half of my controls. On the drive home with my four brothers my Mother asked if we wanted to go again. I remember that day like it was yesterday.
My parents drove us all over the place, me and my three brothers; it drove them nuts, but they did it weekend after weekend. DW: When you were young, you had an opportunity to live in Sweden for some time. How did that happen, and what impact did the experience have on your orienteering career? TDS: At a subsequent Spring Festival event in Guelph, a touring team of leaders and international elite orienteers visited from Sweden.
They created a colour orienteering map, got it printed and set some courses, all in a matter of days. He introduced himself to my Father, gifted him with a model Dalarna horse, and invited us to Sweden. We went the following summer and took in several multi-day events. Captain Odell invited me to come back the following summer, and it became a regular summer ritual that I would spend my school break training with his club, OK Kare , in Falun. I know every rock in and around Falun and there are a lot of them.
It was those friends that taught me how to train, how to race, and to never pass up any adventure. DW: One hallmark of your orienteering career has always been your remarkable performance consistency. To what can you attribute this consistency? TDS: Training and lots of it. I learned a systematic approach to racing, and to prepare mentally for handling distractions such as incorrect maps, other runners, or any number of things that influence your ability to focus.
