City Race Euro Tour 2017: Orienteering in focus in seven big european cities

Between 7th May and 12th November, 2017, Orienteering will be in focus in seven major European cities. Bringing together the efforts and interests of Paris, Antwerp, Bristol, Treviso, Porto, Barcelona and Bilbao, the 4th edition of the City Race Euro Tour puts sport and tourism once more hand in hand.

Paris was the venue chosen for the inaugural presentation of the 2017 City Race Euro Tour. Starting in the French capital on 7th May, the event will take in Belgium (Antwerp, 13th and 14th May), Great Britain (Bristol, 10th and 11th June), Italy (Treviso, 17th and 18th June), Portugal (Porto, 22nd to 24th September) with the finish in Spain (Barcelona, 4th and 5th November and Bilbao, 11th and 12th November). “Think hard, run fast, feel good” stands as the motto of these seven major Orienteering events in seven major European cities. The Tour targets everyone, leading competitors and also beginners.

The idea of creating the Euro City Race Tour was the result of a partnership established in 2012 between the organising groups of the London City Race and Porto City Race. The outcome of combining the social and sporting interests proved indeed heartening, and then to decide to extend the invitation to other organisations took only a brief moment. Edinburgh and Barcelona joined Porto and London in the first edition. Krakow and Seville joined the event in 2015 and Antwerp, Malaga, Firenze and Lille were ‘newcomers’ in 2016. With a good recipe for success, the European City Race gives the public and the media visibility to increase the popularity of Orienteering, attracting crowds to applaud runners in an urban environment.

First races in Paris and Antwerp

Held for the first time ever, the Paris City Race called to Montmartre, one of the main tourist attractions in the French capital, 393 competitors from 15 different nations. It was quite unusual to see people running, maps and compasses in their hands, through the little streets, parks, restaurant terraces and stairs, side by side with painters at Place du Tertre or tourists searching for the places where Georges Seurat, Erik Satie Vincent Van Gogh or Pablo Picasso lived about one century ago. It was in this nostalgic and, at the same time, life-buzzing atmosphere, that the French Juste Raimbault (CLSG Melun) and the British Caroline Craig (North Gloucestershire OC) were stronger than their opponents, achieving clear victories in the Elite category.

One week later, the third Antwerp City Race attracted to Antwerp’s city centre 273 competitors from 18 countries. The event took place on the Het Steen map, a mix of old and new city centre with a passage on the Quay of the Schelde, towards the castle ‘Het Steen’ and the finish on Antwerp’s main square. In the Men’s Elite race, two of the best Sprint specialists fought hard for the victory, with the Belgian Yannick Michiels (TROL) getting a nearly two-minute win over the New-Zealander Tim Robertson (Fossum IF). In the Women’s Elite, the New Zealander Laura Robertson (Edinburgh Southern OC) was 43 seconds faster than the Spaniard Anna Serralonga (TROL) in taking first place.

Results

Paris City Race, 7th May 2017

Men Elite

1. Juste Raimbault (CLSG Melun, FRA) 1:03:23 (+ 00:00)

2. Fleury Roux (NOSE, FRA) 1:04:34 (+ 01:11)

3. Julien Le Borgne (Quimper 29, FRA) 1:04:43 (+ 01:20)

4. Pierre Boudet (Garde Rép., FRA) 1:05:12 (+ 01:49)

5. Maxime Chabance (NOSE, FRA) 1:08:20 (+ 04:57)

Women Elite

1. Caroline Craig (North Gloucestershire OC, GBR) 57:04 (+ 00:00)

2. Celine Finas (T.A.D., FRA) 1:00:13 (+ 03:09)

3. Francesca Taufer (U.S. Primiero, ITA) 1:03:05 (+ 06:01)

4. Clarissa Ricard Borchorst (AC Beauchamp, FRA) 1:03:49 (+ 06:45)

5. Nathanaëlle Gerbeaux (GO 78, FRA) 1:04:28 (+ 07:24)

Antwerp City Race, 14th May 2017

Men Elite

1. Yannick Michiels (TROL, BEL) 31:42 (+ 00:00)

2. Tim Robertson (Fossum IF, NZL) 33:39 (+ 01:57)

3. Tristan Bloemen (C.O. Liège, BEL) 34:21 (+ 02:39)

4. Tomas Hendrickx (K.O.L., BEL) 36:00 (+ 04:18)

5. Benjamin Anciaux (TROL, BEL) 37:30 (+ 05:48)

Women Elite

1. Laura Robertson (Edinburgh SOC, NZL) 35:19 (+ 00:00)

2. Anna Serrallonga (TROL, ESP) 36:02 (+ 00:43)

3. Miek Fabré (Omega, BEL) 36:31 (+ 01:12)

4. Kim Geypen (Omega, BEL) 37:29 (+ 02:10)

5. Caroline Craig (North Gloucestershire OC, GBR) 40:28 (+ 05:09)

All information can be found at http://cityracetour.org/.

Text and photo by Joaquim Margarido

[See the original article at http://orienteering.org/orienteering-in-focus-in-seven-big-european-cities/. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]

Two or three things I know about it...

1. The England team came first in both the overall and Junior Cup competitions at Interland 2017. The event took place on the 2nd April in the Herbeumont Forest, in the Ardennes, southern Belgium. The English Fiona Bunn and Peter Bray, got comfortable victories in the M21 classes, respectively Women and Men. Bunn finished his race with a three-minute advantage over Greet Oeyen, Belgium, while Bray's advantage over the second placed, the French Benjamin Lepoutre, was of five minutes. Overall, England got the first place with 202, Belgium was second with 158 points and France third, with 132 points. The Interland Cup is England’s only international competition outside the British Isles. England competes annually in this five-cornered match against two Belgian teams (Flemish and French speaking), the Netherlands, and the French Ligue des Hauts de France de Course d’Orientation (LHFCO) . The competition is truly a team effort spanning age groups from W and M14 to W and M60+: 42 team members in all. Complete results and further information at http://orienteeringengland.org.uk/2017/04/04/interland-2017-win-for-england-team/.

2. OK Vihor Zagreb organized, on 2nd April, the Vihor TempO Challenge, event that called to the beautiful Bundek Park, in Zagreb, 30 competitors from Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. Third stage of 2017 Croatia-Italy-Slovenia Trophy, the event consisted in six timed stations with five tasks each and was dominated by the Slovakian Ján Furucz (Farmaceut Bratislava), the winner of the Trophy's last edition. Furucz finished with 305 seconds, corresponding to 185 seconds of answering time and 120 seconds of penalty (four incorrect answers). Slower and less accurate than Furucz, the Croatian Ivo Tišljar (OK Orion) got the second position with 350 seconds. The Slovenian Krešo Keresteš (OK Trzin) was third with 357 seconds. Ján Furucz is now the leader of 2017 Croatia-Italy-Slovenia Trophy with 288,5 points, nine points ahead of Ivica Bertol and fifteen points ahead of Tomislav Varnica, both form OK Vihor, Croatia. The results can be seen at http://www.trailo.it/Classifiche%20internazionali/CIS.asp.

3. Would you like to know who are the top 10 most popular orienteering races in the world, open to everyone? The answer is at ALL4orienteering blog [HERE] https://www.all4o.com/orienteering-blog/top-10-orienteering-races-in-the-world. The number of participants it's, surely, an important issue, but it's not the most important. That's why Jukola / Venla Relay (Finland) cames first and O-ringen (Sweden), world's biggest orienteering festival, stands on the second place. Events like Scottish Six Days (Scotland), FIN5 orienteering week (Finland) and Jan Kjellström International Festival of Orienteering (United Kingdom) are also on the list. Probably other events, like Portugal O' Meeting (Portugal) or MTBO 5 Days Plzeň (Czech Republic), would deserve a place on the list, but the presented events can be a good starting point for knowing and living wonderful and exciting orienteering moments.

4. IOF Newsletter of April is now published and there's lots of interesting reading on it. The eyes of the orienteering world turn to Oceania for the next few weeks, to follow the action at the Oceania Orienteering Championships and the World Masters Orienteering Championships, both taking place in New Zealand. An interview with IOF FootO Athletes’ Commission member Lizzie Ingham will get you excited to follow the Oceania Champs this weekend. Excellent terrains, a great atmosphere and fierce rivalry await the Oceania orienteers who will fight for regional titles and bonus WOC spots. Of course, the newsletter also includes important news from the IOF. The IOF Council had a meeting recently, and a summary of the most notable decisions makes it easy to follow the development of orienteering. Most notable from this council meeting is perhaps the approval of the long awaited International Specification for Orienteering Maps. The IOF is also very active on the international sports scene. Make sure to read about what we got up to at this year’s SportAccord Convention. For TrailO enthusiasts, the newsletter offers interesting reading on the European Cup in TrailO. Not heard of it? Dive in and find out all about the exciting competition. Are you missing out? Find out more and subscribe here. Happy reading!

Joaquim Margarido

Sonia Mabel Caminos: From Argentina to Argentina with a stop at WOC

Sonia Mabel Caminos (Argentina) was one of the participants at the WOC Clinic 2016. She travelled to Strömstad, Sweden, with little experience from major events, to represent her country on the big orienteering stage. Today Sonia is trying to improve the events in her country, and trying to set the pace in Argentina.

Was the WOC Clinic as you expected?

– Yes, it was a wonderful experience. Having the opportunity to spend the days with training and sport, with athletes and coaches from other countries was spectacular. It was very interesting to listen to professional sportsmen and I appreciate their willingness to share knowledge and experiences. We also had the opportunity to try new discipline and formats, TrailO and maze orienteering for example.

How was your experience of the atmosphere at WOC?

– In our group, we had a warm and friendly family atmosphere. Our coaches did a great job helping us in the stressful moments around the WOC races. It was a big pressure for all of us competing as such high level.

How has the WOC Clinic affected your way of thinking regarding orienteering, organisation and competition?

– The WOC Clinic was a turning point in my life. Being able to see orienteering at a high level and a professional organisation such as the WOC organising committee has inspired me to develop orienteering in my country. I am really motivated to work to improve the conditions for orienteering here.

How do you want to contribute to the development of orienteering in Argentina?

– The Argentinian Orienteering Federation has been working very well with the development of orienteering during the past years. But it is not easy in a country where everyone is focusing on football. I will try to help and I am available for promotion work with orienteering in different arenas. I will also continue to compete and do some coaching work as well.

Do you want to participate in more development clinics in the future?

– I hope that I and other orienteering friends in Argentina will have the great opportunity to take part in development clinics. I will inspire everyone to take the chance to get to know the sport better and find inspiration in other more developed orienteering countries. To be able to develop the orienteering in Argentina we need more international experiences.

[See the original article at http://orienteering.org/from-argentina-to-argentina-with-a-stop-at-woc/. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]

Central America and the Caribean: A new confederation is born

The 28th May 2016 represents a turning point in the history of Orienteering in Central American and Caribbean region. After several years of preparation, the Central America and Caribbean Orienteering Confederation was founded by Guatemala, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Belize. Elected for a period of two years, the Board of Directors of this new organ has in the Guatemalan Alby Aguilar its first Secretary-General. It is she who tells us a beautiful story, born of the dreams of few and that longs to reach many, about spreading the sweet scent of Orienteering over this vast region of the globe.

Born in Guatemala City where she lives, Alby Aguilar encountered Orienteering in Cuba nearly a decade ago, at a time when she was studying Physical Education at the famous EIEFD, the International School of Sports and Physical Education. Since then she has been caught up in this magical web, fascinated by the appeal of the deep forest and at one with the orienteers’ respect for nature. Through mixing with students from over 80 countries, Alby began gradually to firm up a dream: to unite the efforts of her colleagues at EIEFD and disseminate Orienteering throughout Central America and the Caribbean.

The foundation of the Confederation on 28th May is no more than to realise a dream. In personal terms, “it is the materialisation of my promise to promote Orienteering in all countries of our region,” says Alby Aguilar. She adds: “Cuba has been a member of the International Orienteering Federation since 1978. More than thirty years later, all countries of the Caribbean and Central America are now being asked to join in, helping Orienteering to grow. No country should stay out!” she claims.

A hard task in front of her

Alby Aguilar has now assumed the responsibility to manage the project for the next two years. The Spanish Orienteering Federation, through José Angel Nieto Poblete, has been undertaking a great deal of preparatory work for over five years now. Alby recognizes this important support: “We have to thank José Angel Nieto Poblete as the mentor for this initiative, making it possible to carry forward the founding of the Confederation. We would like also to extend our gratitude to the Spanish Orienteering Federation for the way it has been working on the promotion and development of Orienteering in several countries of the region.”

Conscious of the realities in this region, Alby Aguilar is well aware of the hard task that she has just embraced. “The reception and support provided to Orienteering varies widely from country to country, and has mostly to do with each country’s sports policies”, says Alby Aguilar. She bemoans the difficulty of making contact with the real decision-making centres, and denounces the circuitous pathways that lead to having to work at different speeds in every country. “Despite being a sport that has been practised in the region for several decades, the truth is that its promotion has never been particularly effective and hence there has been a low level of development,” Alby concludes, referring to the major difficulties that the project faces.

Please help us!

In addition to Cuba, there are other member countries of the IOF in the region, such as Barbados, Colombia and the newly incorporated Dominican Republic. Although not members of the IOF, Belize, Costa Rica, Haiti, Guatemala and Mexico are developing countries that will find here a real launching pad for higher flights. It is in these and other countries that Alby Aguilar will invest her efforts, assisted by the Delegate of the Confederation, Yohalis Acosta Albino from the Dominican Republic. They hope to add more countries to the group of five founding countries already by the 2nd Congress, to be held in 2018 in Costa Rica.

One of the newly created Confederation’s dreams relates to the possibility of seeing Orienteering being accepted as one of the sports included in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Cartagena in 2018. This is a multi-sport event that has taken place since 1926, and is held every four years; it is the oldest regional event in the world, recognised by the International Olympic Committee since 1950. “We ask for help from the IOF in joining us on this project, supporting our efforts to see Orienteering in the Games and thus taking the development of Orienteering further, in line with the IOF’s mission and its own goals”, tells Alby Aguilar.

Text: Joaquim Margarido

[See the original article at http://orienteering.org/central-america-and-the-carribean-a-new-confederation-is-born/. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]

ETOC 2016: Two gold medals for Ola Jansson

When the second day of the PreO competition came to an end in Vápenná and the European Champion in the Paralympic class was known, the name of Ola Jansson didn’t surprise anyone. The athlete with more medals than anyone else in the challenging discipline of Trail Orienteering once again didn’t fail at the decisive moments, winning his third individual gold in the last four editions of the European Trail Orienteering Championships and the first gold ever in the TrailO Relay.

Born 50 years ago in Björklinge, 90 km north of Stockholm in Sweden, Ola Jansson has always been interested in sport. A big fan of Cross Country Skiing in his youth, he always aimed for a good race and even ran the Stockholm Marathon. However he devoted most of his sporting career to Floorball, until 2006 when a serious injury in his left knee forced him to stop. At that time Orienteering had already come into his life, and in 1998 he made contact with TrailO. “I was no longer able to run in forests and it made me look to TrailO” he says, adding that the fascination of this discipline has to do with “the challenge of interpreting the terrain through the map-reading.”

Ola Jansson has been tremendously effective in international TrailO competitions so far, winning more gold medals than anyone in both European and World Championships. Those who share a daily routine with him know that he often reacts badly to pressure and can be very nervous, but the person we see while competing is a completely different Ola, particularly at the decisive moments when nerves of steel are the most important requirement for success. “I relish the extra tension that builds up on the second day, when the races are generally decided”, Ola confesses. That’s maybe why we could see him at his highest level in the last and decisive leg of the TrailO Relay that opened ETOC 2016: “I was looking forward to the Relay and I wanted to see how able I would be in handling this new format. I felt motivated to do the last leg and be part of the deal at the last station – a spectator station – although the pressure was increased by knowing that I needed to get it right to win the gold.” And he did it! “It was fun to win a Relay as a team; there, you need to support and encourage each other”, he says.

It was gold again for Ola in the PreO, and he recalls the most impressive moments during the two-day competition: “It was all difficult, and especially hard to read and solve all the slopes and stones in the quarry on the second day”, he remembers. Ola also left some words for the ETOC organisers: “The maps were really good and the terrain was fun, demanding a good standard of map-reading; a bit of a shame with problems in the results of the Relay, but in general the organising work and the information was good.”

The 2016 World Trail Orienteering Championships on home ground is the next big challenge and Ola Jansson can’t wait for it. “I’m looking for fine summer weather, fun courses and challenging map-reading”, says Ola. The goal is, as always, the gold, but… “I’ll be satisfied if I take a medal”, he adds, listing the names of his major opponents: “Michael Johansson, Vladyslav Volk, Jana Kost’ova, Søren Saxtorph …” and others. The last words goes to his biggest dream: “Right now I don’t exactly have a dream, but we never know if I’ll have some soon…”

Text and photo: Joaquim Margarido

[See the original article at http://orienteering.org/etoc-two-gold-medals-for-ola-jansson/. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]

World Cup MTBO: Good start for Benham and Foliforov

Round 1 of the 2016 MTB Orienteering World Cup has finished. Held in France, the event’s programme included two exciting individual stages – Long and Middle – and a tightly contested Mixed Relay. At the beginning of a new season, Emily Benham and Anton Foliforov are the World Cup leaders.

It was an exciting weekend to be in Guebwiller, France for the MTB Orienteering World Cup 2016 Round 1. Starting as defending winners, Anton Foliforov, Russia and Emily Benham, Britain couldn’t have done better. Opening the competition, the Long Distance race was held in terrible weather conditions, with the Swiss Simon Braendli as surprising winner in the Men’s Elite. In what Foliforov called “the muddiest MTBO event of my life”, Braendli was faster than any of his opponents, achieving his first victory ever in a World Cup stage. Foliforov, second, and the Czech Vojtech Ludvík – another good surprise – third, completed the podium. In the women’s race, Emily Benham was the big winner, revealing at the end her great satisfaction over a victory in such adverse conditions. “Maybe I should start liking mud races”, said the winner at the end. Gaëlle Barlet, France, and Renata Paulickova, Czech Republic, occupied the next positions.

After the stormy first stage, the High-Rhine vineyards were quite a promenade for a very technically demanding Middle Distance on the second day of competition. Unsurprisingly, Anton Foliforov was the strongest this time, getting a one-minute victory over the Estonian Lauri Malsroos and taking over the World Cup leadership. “Vineyards are very special terrains, with some really interesting details, and I enjoyed racing through them today”, said the Russian, first-placed in the IOF MTB Orienteering World Rankings since 16th May 2014. Andreas Waldmann, Austria, was third in a race that he tagged as “a little bit like a sprint”. The Elite Women class had the French Gaëlle Barlet and the British Emily Benham as the winning pair. Both athletes had a really tight race, with the final result perfectly showing it. Even their comments in the end were coincident: “There were lots of permitted passages between the vines but these were difficult to see. It was easy to make many small mistakes”, Benham said, expressing the general opinion. IOF MTB Orienteering World Rankings leader Martina Tichovska, Czech Republic got the third place and Benham took the lead in the World Cup standings.

The MTB Orienteering World Cup 2016 Round 1 finished with a home win. In a festive atmosphere, the French trio was unbeatable in the Mixed Relay, with Russia getting the silver and Finland the bronze. With no big chances of getting a top place, the team from Great Britain turned out to have supremacy on the first leg, with Emily Benham showing once again her enormous talent and taking the lead. After the subsequent British ‘disappearance’, attention moved to France and Russia, both fighting hard for victory. First Gaëlle Barlet and then Yoann Garde set the tone, launching Baptiste Fuchs out on the decisive leg with a lead of about three minutes on Anton Foliforov. Despite his huge effort, the Russian couldn’t reverse the course of things, having to settle for the silver medal. Finland was third, ahead of Austria and Switzerland.

Looking at the Table of Honour after the first round, France leads the medals list with two gold and one silver, followed by Great Britain with two golds. Russia and Switzerland shared the remaining gold medals, but the Russians added to their account two silver medals. Estonia also achieved one silver medal, leaving the bronze medals to the Czech Republic (three), Austria and Finland (a bronze medal each). The next round of MTB Orienteering World Cup matches with the World MTB Orienteering Championships and is going to take place in Portugal from 24th to 30th July.

Text: Joaquim Margarido

[See the original article at http://orienteering.org/world-cup-mtbo-good-start-for-benham-and-foliforov/. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]

Looking for good weekend reading? The latest IOF Newsletter is already available

Looking for good weekend reading? The latest IOF Newsletter is already available. On it, you can read about the thoughts and feelings of the world stars as the season gets underway, how mappers are the key to spreading orienteering in Asia, the continued success of World Orienteering Day, and much more.

All around the world, orienteers are preparing for coming challenges. The FootO World Cup is about to start in a couple of hours and Wojciech Kowalski, the best ranked Polish runner currently, seems to be ready to fight among the best and is very much looking forward to it. His words can be read in the article signed by Erik Borg and entitled “Kowalski can’t wait for the World Cup” [HERE]. Another great athlete, Helena Jansson, states: “All I do is related to WOC”. Having ‘home advantage’ as an extra factor this year, Jansson reveals some of her feelings: “I am both excited and anxious; I am both longing for it to happen and at the same time it seems like August is approaching too fast”, she says. The article has the signature of Joaquim Margarido and can be seen HERE.

Traveling to distant places where Orienteering, although less significant, is felt intensively and passionately, the IOF Newsletter of April visits the Dominican Republic - one of the newest IOF Member Federations, gaining its provisional membership in 2015 – sharing José Angel Nieto Poblete's thoughts about the National Student Games, most recently held in Gaspar Hernández in the Espaillat province. “The Dominican Orienteering Federation, with the support of sports institutions in the country, has a wide spread project of promoting orienteering throughout the country, which involves creating and updating orienteering maps in all provinces”, is just one of the subjects that can be read HERE. Talking about maps, we are invited to look upon the successful Asian Mapping Clinic, entered by 30 mappers from five Asian Federations. Organised in tandem with the Asian Orienteering Championships 2016, the Asian Orienteering Mapping Clinic (AOMC), with the support of the IOF, opened on the 22nd April 2016 at the National Chung-Cheng University, Chia-Yi, Taiwan. All to know HERE.

As for the competitive chapter, the Newsletter watches the Unofficial European Cup in Trail Orienteering's first round [HERE]. The article is written by Joaquim Margarido and on it you can read that “for the first time ever, Portugal hosted a round and the big winners of the first two ECTO stages were Erik Stålnacke, in TempO, and Marco Giovannini, in PreO. In the overall standings, Stålnacke is the first leader.” Still to articles to read, the first one, behind the scenes, is about “IOF activities come alive at the SportAccord Convention #SAC2016” [HERE]. The last one highlights the “Overwhelming success for World Orienteering Day” and it leads to WOD's latest folder, at http://np.netpublicator.com/netpublication/n33694006.

Joaquim Margarido

Trail Orienteering: The first steps in Brazil

Trail Orienteering has taken another important step towards its establishment in Brazil. Under the motto “Trail Orienteering is the sport where different are equal” the 1st MB/ADAAN TrailO Cup, which brought together a total of 75 competitors, has taken place in Rio de Janeiro. The event was organised by the Admiral Adalberto Nunes Sports Association (ADAAN) along with the Rio de Janeiro Orienteering Federation and took place at the Admiral Adalberto Nunes Physical Education Centre (CEFAN). The competition was open to all, regardless of age, gender or physical ability – so people with less mobility and lower physical strength could compete on equal terms with everyone else. Key leader of the initiative, Cmdt. Rubens Igreja, says that “the organisation of this event is part of a project aiming to develop Trail Orienteering within the Armed Forces and by extension to the civil environment, providing for the social integration of a specific population. Thus promoting the development of Trail Orienteering is a way of promoting social inclusion, health and leisure, according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Sports in Brazil. In a broader sense, it promotes actions of social integration, environmental awareness and healthy sport and leisure practices.”

The support of CEFAN, which offered its facilities and infrastructure, was crucial to enable the event to take place. Distributed by Paralympic and Open Classes, the competitor group proved to be quite mixed, with some experienced orienteers and also a significant participation of athletes who didn’t know the sport and were having their first contact with Orienteering in this competition. The competition was attended by representatives of the Niteroiense Association of Physically Handicapped (ANDEF), which organises activities in health, education, social welfare, community sports and training prominent Paralympic athletes at national and international level, and representatives of the Association of support for people with disabilities in the West Zone (ADEZO), where the work is aimed at the professional training and inclusion of people with disabilities in the labour market, and their social development.

With the ethos of equality to the fore, the competition was marked by a fraternal atmosphere. In the Paralympic Class the contest was particularly tight between Eloi Mandarino and Mara Davila Oliveira, finishing with a tie in the number of correct answers (8 out of 10 possible). Mara was the fastest on the timed controls, but the penalty for an incorrect answer turned Eloi into the big winner. As for the Open Class, there was an absolute tie for first place between Fabricio Zorzanelli and Geraldo Luciano dos Santos.

The competitors didn’t hold back in their kind words to the organisers and were excited about the next steps. The Paralympic athletes expressed their intention to move forward with the founding of a club having Trail orienteering in their flag. The participation of Physical Education teachers from Rio de Janeiro and Paraná was also very important with regard to the presentation of this discipline at schools, and meanwhile the news came that the Brazilian Orienteering Confederation intends to include a ‘taster course’ of Trail Orienteering during the Brazilian Championships.

Cmdt. Igreja’s last words show commitment and ambition: “Organising a competition of this nature is not simple, requiring planning and hard work before, during and after the event. Bearing in mind the experience of our team, we are satisfied with the final result. The Orienteering team MB/ADAAN is aware that it still needs to learn a lot, but is always ambitious. We organised the MB/ADAAN MTBO Cup that is already going for its 4th edition and now dared to organise the 1st MB/ADAAN Trail Orienteering Cup. And in the course of this year there will be even more!”

[Text: Joaquim Margarido. Photo: Ricardo Lorençato. See the original article on IOF Newsletter's last issue at http://orienteering.org/trail-orienteering-the-first-steps-in-brazil/. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]

Davide Machado and WMTBOC 2016: “I will run searching for a dream!”

Six years ago, the Portuguese Davide Machado called attention to himself by taking 7th place in the WMTBOC 2010 Long Distance race, held in Montalegre, Portugal. This was the first major international competition of his career: an unforgettable experience and from which the athlete recalls “the unexpected results, the fantastic atmosphere within the Portuguese team and all aspects of the event.” In addition to the strong motivation towards building a successful racing career, his achievements eventually opened the doors to higher competition status, which meant inclusion in the Lisbon Training Centre to help his development as an athlete. But also “these results, and the conditions that I have been provided with, allowed the continuation and completion of my academic studies,” he says.

- When you look back, what are the differences that separate the Davide of 2010 from the Davide of 2016?

“The Davide of 2016 is a more “grown up” and fulfilled athlete, with stronger personal goals and other priorities. Oh … and more white hair!” (laughs)

- And what similarities persist?

“The same dreams, the same determination, the same convictions!”

In 2016 the WMTBOC is back in Portugal. Anticipating what will be the highlight of the season, many foreign athletes have trained and competed in Portugal during the early part of March, taking part in the two stages of the 2016 Bairrada O ‘Meeting MTBO event, both of which score for the IOF MTBO World Ranking. Somewhat surprisingly Davide Machado ended up being the big winner, in the presence of star names such as Luca Dallavalle, Jussi Laurila and Baptiste Fuchs. A victory in an event that he was about to skip, as he tells us: “The challenge was deciding to participate in this event, after two weeks marked by having to train and with a little inflammation in my knee.” Davide was eventually convinced, and saw his decision thoroughly justified. Looking back at the two stages of the BOM MTBO event, Davide says that “the biggest challenges were the map reading after a few months of absence, and the difficulty of progression in muddy terrain because of the heavy rain in the days beforehand.”

“It can be said that there is already great anticipation for the World Championships,” said Davide Machado, referring to the festive atmosphere that could already be felt in the Bairrada region, which will host the World Championships at the end of July. A region that Davide classifies as “having great potential for the practice of this discipline and that fulfils two fundamental requirements: terrain that is technically difficult and physically demanding.” Among the great attributes of the Bairrada region, Davide lists “the many good maps with large networks of paths, and the physical difficulty due to the unevenness.” And, of course, the good hospitality, gastronomy and beauty of the region, “all of these conditions for a championships of excellence,” in the athlete’s words.

Four months before the event, Davide Machado’s recent success is giving great joy to the Portuguese and, of course, to himself. “Six years after Montalegre, I am a more experienced athlete, more determined. I have dreams, of course, but I also have my feet firmly on the ground. I know my skills, but time has shown me enough to know that everything can change from one moment to another. However, I will be in the Championships as I ever am, sure that I will give my best and I will run searching for a dream!”

[Text and photo: Joaquim Margarido. See the original article on IOF Newsletter's last issue at http://orienteering.org/davide-machado-and-wmtboc-2016-i-will-run-searching-for-a-dream/. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]

Inside Orienteering: Issue 3, November 2015 is now published

The latest issue of the IOF publication Inside Orienteering is now available on the IOF webpage. On it, you may read about the upcoming SkiO Season, meet the new IOF Office in Sweden, follow the first ever Egyptian Sprint Orienteering Championships and much more.

In the last issue of Inside Orienteering, published in June [HERE], you could enjoy a look back at the years that the IOF Office spent in Finland, and remember the hard work and progress that was undergone there. Since then, a lot has been happening behind the scenes. The entire IOF Office has upped sticks and moved, from Finland’s capital Helsinki, to the regional capital Karlstad, in Värmland, Sweden. This is probably one of the main reasons why Inside Orienteering's third issue is been published so late. Written by Kirsty McIntire, “IOF Office – The Beginning of a New Era” is an informal (and nice) presentation of all staff, from Tom Hollowell, the new Secretary General / Chief Executive Officer, to David Wästlund, the Sports Administrator, Malin Björqvist, responsible for the Global Development & Communications Officer, Hans Jørgen Kvåle, the Marketing Manager, Jörn Sundby, IOF Senior Event Adviser for the World Orienteering Championships, Henrik Skoglund, who works with Eventor, Ed Niland, manager of the IOF's Anti-Doping plans and, of course, Kirsty McIntyre, the Office Administrator.

The Winter is here and Erik Borg talks about Ski Orienteering and the “Great motivations with the big events”. The 2018 World Cup Ski Orienteering races will be at Craftsbury Outdoor Center, in northern Vermont, USA, and the subject deserves his special attention. But also the next European Championships, in Obertilliach, Austria, “A perfect location for a Championship”. We can also read a nice interview with Daisy Kudre, expecting to see her “back in the ski-o world with a smiling face”, and another Interview with Juraj Nemec, IOF Event Adviser for the World University Championships and “a door opener on the Olympic Road”. We may also see in the words of Brian Porteous, the IOF President, a reinforcement of this “Olympic project”: “The International Olympic Committee's Agenda 2020 gives us real opportunities to be included especially in the Olympic Winter Games and it is important therefore that all federations who can support and encourage our skiO discipline.”

“Around the World”, José Angel Nieto Poblete presents the “Women and Sports” project, a program developed by the Spanish Orienteering Federation and the National Sports Council; Zoran Milovanovic invites us to the beautiful Al Azhar Park, in Cairo, for the first ever Sprint Orienteering Championships of Egypt; and Dominic Yue left us a general idea about the sixth World Military Games, in Mungyeong, South Korea. Finally, Daniel Hubmann, the current leader of the IOF World Ranking, describes his favorite map: Irbene, in Latvia. In this interview, conducted by Erik Borg, you can read that “he has been on the map only once. It was on the Long Distance at the European

Championship in 2008. Daniel finished second after Dmitry Tsvetkov. The difference between the Russian and Hubmann was 33 seconds on the 16,9 km long course with 33 controls.”

This and much more to read at http://orienteering.org/edocker/inside-orienteering/2015-3/InsideOrient%203_15.pdf.

Joaquim Margarido