Back Чэмпіянат свету па спартыўным арыентаванні Byelorussian Mistrovství světa v orientačním běhu Czech VM i orientering Danish Orientierungslauf-Weltmeisterschaften German Tutmondaj ĉampionadoj pri orientiĝado Esperanto Campeonato Mundial de Orientación Spanish Orienteerumise maailmameistrivõistlused Estonian Suunnistuksen maailmanmestaruuskilpailut Finnish Championnats du monde de course d'orientation French Campionati mondiali di orientamento Italian
| World Orienteering Championships | |
|---|---|
 Sprint event at WOC 2013 in Vuokatti, Finland | |
| Status | active |
| Genre | sporting event |
| Date(s) | July–August |
| Frequency | annual |
| Location(s) | various |
| Inaugurated | 1966 |
| Previous event | 2023 |
| Next event | 2024 |
| Organised by | IOF |
The World Orienteering Championships (or WOC for short) is an annual orienteering event organized by the International Orienteering Federation. The first World Championships was held in Fiskars, Finland in 1966. They were held biennially up to 2003 (with the exception of 1978 and 1979). Since 2003, competitions have been held annually. Participating nations have to be members of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF).
Originally, there were only two competitions: an individual race and a relay. In 1991, a short distance race (roughly 20–25 minutes) was added and a sprint race was added in 2001. The middle distance (roughly 30–35 minutes) replaced the short distance in 2003. In 2014, a sprint relay was added with two men and two women participating and with starting order woman-man-man-woman.