Hi, my name is Cooper Horley. I'm a 17 year old from Northern Sydney and have been given the honour to represent Australia at the World Orienteering Championships (WOC) in Scotland and the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) in Czechia in July.

I began orienteering when I was 11 in February 2018 when a local club event was held at my school and I loved the mental and physical aspects that are fused together. Since then I’ve been selected for the NSW Schools team since 2019 and represented the NSW Stingers in the National Orienteering League since 2022. I was then able to represent Australia at the European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) and JWOC last year. 

This year through consistency and dedication to training as well as the support from my family, coaches and mentors I’ve managed to be selected for JWOC again and for the first time WOC. JWOC runs from 1st-6th July in Plzen (Pilsen), Czechia and consists of 5 events; sprint relay, sprint, long, middle and forest relay all of which I will be competing in. For WOC I have been selected specifically for the Knockout Sprint on the 16th July in Edinburgh, Scotland. I will be the youngest male in the team by 4 years and the youngest male to compete at WOC since 2018. 

WOC2024 has been a goal I have set my sights on since late 2020 and I am thrilled that all my hard work has paid off. Unfortunately, travel, accommodation and uniform expenses are considerable in attending these championships and I am also currently studying for my HSC, so despite working two jobs I am limited to the number of hours I can work around my study and training schedule. 

Hence, I am seeking your kind support to assist in covering some of these costs and any donation is greatly appreciated.