Importing Races
Understanding the IOF XML Format
What IOF XML is, where race results come from, and which formats Contoura supports.
What is IOF XML?
IOF XML is the standard data format used by orienteering software worldwide to store and exchange results, start lists, and course data. It is defined by the International Orienteering Federation (IOF).
When you import from o-l.ch, Contoura fetches the IOF XML file behind the scenes and parses it to extract split times, control codes, athlete names, and statuses.
Supported formats
- IOF XML v2 — older format, used by many Swiss events
- IOF XML v3 — current standard, with and without XML namespaces
Contoura automatically detects the version and parses accordingly. You do not need to do anything differently.
Where does the data come from?
o-l.ch hosts results for Swiss orienteering events. When you paste an o-l.ch URL, Contoura fetches the data server-side and parses it. The data is not cached — it is fetched fresh at the time of import.