Last week was lavish in big events
throughout Europe, having in Swiss Orienteering Week one of the most
relevant and participated. Relevant, because of the courses' technical quality and the stunning natural environment, with the majestic Matterhorn
omnipresent. Participated, because the sum of almost five
thousand athletes present in Zermatt is something really impressive.
Among those “lucky guys” at SOW 2014, we found João Moura, athlete
from the Clube de Orientação de Viseu - Natura, one of five
Portuguese who headed Switzerland last week. The Portuguese
Orienteering Blog talked with him, being now possible to
“drink” in his words the amazing atmosphere of a week to
remember.
Was it difficult to choose between
the O-Ringen and the Swiss Orienteering Week, knowing that both events
were held at the same time?
João Moura (J. M.) - They are
both events with an excellent reputation, but what seems to be
a difficult choice, for me was almost obvious. I didn't even thought
about going to the O-Ringen, since this year I had the good fortune
of SOW in Zermatt, where I have relatives. And this was really
the main reason I came here, because I could combine two very
important things to me, family and Orienteering.
What were the expectations about
SOW? What do you knew - or thought you knew - about this big event?
J. M. - The information I had on
the previous SOW was very limited, I have never followed in detail any
of the previous editions, so I was a little bit anxious. Firstly,
because I have never ran at such high altitude and I wasn't sure about my body's reaction; and also because I was afraid about the terrains and the organization, eventually very different from our
Portuguese events. In tourist terms, I had excellent feedback from my
family living in Zermatt and they convinced me that I would really
like the region. And that's what happened in the end, it is a
place of rare beauty to which I was immensely surprised and
passionate.
How was it, to be in the middle of the crowd?
J. M. - Since I left Sá
Carneiro Airport, in Porto, until I landed in Geneva and traveled to
Zermatt, I felt a true athlete, almost a star. I proudly travelled
with my club's official equipment and I put on it some
badges with the Portuguese flag. I really felt like I was
representing not only my club, but also my country. And this was a
feeling that accompanied me throughout my stay in Zermatt. There was
approximately 5000 athletes from all over the world, and I didn't
felt inferior to belong to one of the nations with fewer participants
in this event. And I made sure, at all stages, to bring with me the
Portuguese flag on the back of my sweater.
But, basically, the “ritual” is the
same as in our Portuguese events, with the difference of being
surrounded by thousands of people from different cultures and
languages. I also had the luck of stay close to the Portuguese
delegation, consisting of four “masters”, despite only knowing Manuel Dias, and shortly after the first day I got to know the
other three athletes and just created an empathy and fantastic atmosphere in the group.
Was it difficult to manage your daily
routine?
J. M. - In this aspect I had the
chance of being with a Portuguese family, which has many
advantages. I never felt alone and always had the support of someone
who knew the peculiar way how to work the town of Zermatt. More
important, my diet didn't varied too much, eating always Portuguese
food. In the first day I arrived, I needed to go to the mountain to
participate in some controlled events that the organization of the
SOW provided to athletes, and try to understand the reaction of my
body to the altitude, so during that time I could manage physically
and mentally my handicaps. And I really felt the difference in this
first contact with the altitude. You quickly lose your breath and you
have to be very careful with the hydration. Fortunately, in the early
days after my arrival, the weather conditions were quite favourable,
but this didn't happen during the event. We could have lots of rain, cold and fog
in most of the mountain stages, and some changes in the program because of the weather. At the 3rd stage, I
had my debut in terrains with snow - actually I never ran under these
conditions -, which affected my performance because, on one hand, the terrain is not so readable and, on the other hand, I clearly
ran like a snail, always afraid of sliding, while the remaining athletes ran
over the snow almost normally.
In organizational terms, I believe that
they were prepared to continue as scheduled under any weather
conditions, although usually in Portugal, when it rains, the
organizations are concerned enough about the well-being of the
athletes and in these cases provides an entire logistics so that, for
example, you can store the belongings in a dry place, which didn't
happen here in Switzerland. I even asked a member of the organization
about tents in arenas where we could store our backpacks, and he
replied that this was a problem of the athlete, and not a problem of
the organization. These answers, normally, do not exist in Portugal.
How do you analyse your performance,
competitively speaking? Was it positive?
J. M. - Yes, I think it was
positive. I was 18th ranked between 125 athletes in my class, HB. I had
the misfortune to injure myself, two weeks before to fly to
Switzerland, with a plantar fasciitis, which caused me great
discomfort and pain during the competition. But, of course, I'm aware that I'm not an elite athlete and that I was competing in a
“lower” class than that I run in Portugal (H21A). Technically,
there was a couple of challenging controls, but now I think that I should
entry in HAK class, more technical than HB.
And what about the "social" part? Judging by the
“selfies” with some of the world's best athletes, we can imagine
that was really fun...
J. M. - Yes, this is true! Maybe
it was because the Swiss athletes were running at “home”, but the
truth is that all top athletes with whom I had the privilege of
talk were very kind and most thought I was joking when I
asked to take the famous “selfie” with them. But this opportunity
to talk and take photos with most of my orienteering references (both
male and female), it was a great feeling and that makes me even more
motivated to continue to train and develop the sport in Portugal.
Have you a funny episode to tell us?
J. M. – Actually, I have two
funny episodes involving the Hubmann brothers. On the first day of
competition (urban Sprint in Zermatt, only for elite classes), I
found Daniel Hubmann in the arena and, of course, I asked if I could
take a picture with him, to which he replies very serious, in English:
“Sure, but it is 5 euro”. I was shocked for a moment, because I
only knew the “serious” side of the athlete, and I replied: “I
already knew that everything is very expensive in Switzerland, but,
at least, you asked me Euros and not Swiss Francs”. And, obviously,
I took a picture with him and even laughed a little. The other
situation occurred on the last day, during the prize giving ceremony.
I went to Martin Hubmann asking for an autograph in my bib and he was
drinking a large glass of a liquid that seemed like beer.
Obviously, I asked about the drink and he explained to me that it was
not beer but a traditional swiss juice, unknown to me. I told him
that I had never tasted, to which he replied that I shouldn't
leave Switzerland without tasting it. And he gave me from his glass
to taste. I felt really well in a great atmosphere, which I
usually don't feel when these athletes came to our events.
Being at the “heart” of some of
the major organizations in Portugal in the last three years, namely
the POM 2012 and the MCO 2014, you certainly looked to SOW 2014 with different eyes? Are there some aspects you experienced and that would
be worth to bring to our organizations?
J. M. - The Swiss are, by
nature, people with a higher organizational capacity and this event
was no exception. There are, actually, a different reality here, and although things are done well both in Portugal and
Switzerland, we can see that the way how the work is organized and jobs are distributed is different. However, I also note that the Portuguese
organizations are more able to solve minor incidents that deviate
from the original “plan”. In my opinion, perhaps the biggest
difference is the number of volunteers working at the event, which
allows to have, for example, elements of the organization in almost
all the access points to the mountain, guiding the athletes. But, what surprised
me the most, was the final bulletin of the event. It was a book with
over 100 pages, which explained everything, even the smallest detail,
such as: the scheme of stages, the time it would take to get to
events, whether or not there would be water in the courses, whether
it was advisable to bring a jacket, etc.
I think that would be great to import
to Portugal this newsletter template / book with all the necessary
information. I also mind some notion of the organization itself,
because in Portugal we need to take advantage of the few human
resources we possess, something that I noticed that work very well in
Switzerland. Each volunteer has an identification with the function,
and a portable radio to communicate on the network and transmit /
receive information. Finally, and given my professional background,
one of the things we have to urgently import for our events is the
planning and management in emergency. Each stage of the SOW had several
aid stations around the map and there was always a helicopter ready
for any evacuation and some adapted vehicles to conditions
of high mountain, not to rely on the medical centre set up in the
arena. Of course we talk about different realities, but we can always
learn how to reach the organizational excellence, in a sustainable way, in our Portuguese events.
For those who haven't yet decided
for a Summer competition in Europe in the coming years, which
arguments would you advance for being at next SOW, in 2016?
J. M. - In 2016, the SOW will be
organized in Engadin St. Moritz and, if the quality of terrains and
the organization were similar, this is an event to be taken into
account and that I highly recommend. Honestly, this SOW 2014 was the
best event I ever have attended, and I am only sorry for not bringing
my athletes from COV - Natura to participate with me. But all this
time lived here, the atmosphere, the organizational quality, the
attention to detail, make of this an event unique.
And what about you, João? Will you
remain faithful to the SOW and continue heading to Switzerland for a
week, every two years?
J. M. - Unfortunately, go to the
SOW demands a very significant amount of money and there is a big
difference between the Portuguese economic reality and the Swiss
economic reality. The prices are too high here, in most of the basic items, for the Portuguese common. I just had the chance to come this year, to
have the facility in terms of accommodation and food provided for my
family living in Zermatt. Hence, I may not be able to compete again, soon, at an event in Switzerland like these. With my very sorry, of
course!
To know in detail the day by day of
João Moura at Zermatt and his experience in Swiss Orienteering Week
2014, please visit his personal webpage at
http://joao-moura.blogspot.pt.
[Photo: Courtesy of João Moura]
Joaquim Margarido
