Two or three things I know about it...

1. ASUL Sports Nature won the first ever French Orienteering Championships of Sprint Relay. Formed by Juliette, Marian, Lucas and Isia Basset, the “quatour” got the victory over Nature Orientacion Saint Étienne and ACA Aix-en-Provence. The next day, time for the French Orienteering Championships of Middle Distance which were attended by 2,200 competitors. The winners in the Elite classes were Isia Basset (ASUL Sports Nature), with a two-minute advantage over Eva Jurenikova (ACA Aix-en-Provence), and Lucas Basset (ASUL Sports Nature), with nearly three-minute advantage over Olivier Blanc-Tranchant (O’Jura). Finally, NOSE – Nature Orientacion Saint Étienne(with Thibaut Magne, Jasmina Gassner, Odile Perrin, Rémi Baudot, Amélie Chataing, Clement Flori, Corentin Roux and Matthieu Perrin) got the French title of clubs, with GO78 and ACA Aix-en-Provence following on the podium places. Complete results and further information at http://www.ffcorientation.fr/actus/2017/04/26/retour-sur-le-championnat-de-france-des-clubs/.

2. Great scenery, wonderful weather and challenging courses were the best ingredients of a perfect MTBO weekend in Austria. Starting the best way, Tobias Breitschädel (ASKÖ Henndorf) showed his qualities on the shorter distances and prevailed before Bernhard Schachinger (HSV Ried) and Andreas Rief (OLC Graz), achieving the National MTBO title of Middle Distance. Junior and Relay World champion, Andreas Waldmann (OLT Transdanubien), had problems at the Middle Distance, but managed to perform highly on the second day, winning the Long Distance race with more than 5 (!) minutes over Bernhard Schachinger (HSV Ried). In the Women Elite class, foreign guests were very strong on both days, with Algirda Zaliauskaite, Lithuania, winning the Middle Distance and Hana Garde, representing SK Bratislava, unbeatable in the Long Distance. Best Austrian on both days was Marina Reiner (Naturfreunde Villach). She got the Austrian title in the Middle Distance before Sonja Zinkl (LZ OMAHA) and Michaela Gigon (OLT Transdanubia), second and third placed, respectively. The event was attended by 120 competitors from Austria, Hungary, Lithuania, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Germany.

3. The town of Sobotka, onn the foothills of Slesza mountain, Poland, hosted the second edition of the Central European Youth Orienteering Cup and was just as successful as the Event premiere in the Czech Republic, in 2016. More than 100 young runners, from Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany and Slovakia took part in the three-day races in different categories (M/W-16 and M/W-18). The races started with a Sprint event, followed by a Middle Distance race and finishing with an exciting Relay. The Hungarian Csilla Gardonyi (W16) and Ferenc Jonas (M16), and the Czech Tereza Janosikova (W18) won the two individual races and were the biggest names of CEYO Cup. The Czech Vit Horcicka won the Sprint in the M18 class, while Jakub Dekret won the Middle distance race in M1, which was a premiere victory for Slovakia. Relay teams from Hungary were the most successful, beating the Czech Republic in both Men and Women 16 classes. The W18 category turned out to be the most dramatic, with the three best relay teams running for medals and it wasn’t until the final part of the last leg where the results were decided. On the other hand, the two Czech relay teams showed their qualities and easily ranked first and second in the M18 category, while there was a fierce competition for the third place won by Germany. “The event was a good rehearsal for us for the upcoming World Games in July,” said Wojtek Dwojak, the event manager. Hungary will host the Cup next year from 6th to 8th April 2018. Everything to know at http://ceyoc2017.pl/en/.

4. Would you like to create the trailer for the Swiss Orienteering Week 2019 or do you know someone who would be suitable for it? Swiss O Week 2019 has just published an announcement in which organizers are seeking a team that will produce a preview video for SOW 2019. Sought out is a film team that produces a 5- to maximal 6-minute-long preview video highlighting the Swiss O Week 2019. The video will be published on the SOW-homepage as well as other different social media channels that will be covered by SOW 2019. It is planned to use the preview video for the national as well as the international market and will be deployed accordingly. If language and/or text is featured in the video, the English language should be used, if necessary, with sub-titles.The preview video is intended to give first impressions of the used course areas and of the competition centre of the SOW 2019 in Gstaad. It should encourage the viewers to sign-up early for the SOW 2019. Deadline for submitting the offer is 20th May 2017. All information about this subject can be found HERE.

Joaquim Margarido

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

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Six intense orienteering days, two days of training, 6 stages of competition, 169 different courses, 365 controls placed on the terrain, 51 competition and open classes, three municipalities involved and a total of 2,467 participants from 36 countries. These are the final numbers of the biggest Portugal O' Meeting ever. For those who haven't been in Alter do Chão, Crato and Portalegre, from February 25th to 28th, here is the extended summary, in a 25-minute film that was broadcasted on the Portuguese public television last Sunday. A great way to revisit the dream terrains of Alto Alentejo and to re-vibrate intensely with the best that Orienteering has to give us. Everything to see at https://youtu.be/I-VImO1A4_g.

2. It wasn't only in Portugal that MTB Orienteering was in focus last weekend. In Hungary, too, took place the Balaton MTBO, an event organized by the Hangya SZKE club, which brought together to Csopak, on the northern shore of Lake Balaton, almost 100 riders from Hungary, Austria, France and Slovakia. The French Yoann Garde and Hana Garde, both representing Team Elite MTBO, were the big winners in the Elite category in both stages, a Middle Distance on the first day and a Free Order stage on the second day. The fight for the immediate places in the Men's class was tough, particularly on the second day, in which the Hungarians Csaba Bedö, László Rózsa and András Holluby occupied by this order the immediate positions, with only 6 seconds of difference between each other. Hana Garde had an apparently simpler task, winning comfortably both stages, with the veteran Hungarian Veronika Cseh taking the second place, with disadvantages over than three minutes in the Middle Distance stage and eight minutes in the Free Order stage. Results and other information can be seen at http://mtbo.hu/balatonmtbo/en/.

3. With the presence of President Leho Haldna and the counselors, the International Orienteering Federation joined in Madrid, last weekend, having approved a set of measures with effect as of this year. Is in this case the approval of the International Specification for Orienteering Maps ISOM 2017. For IOF events between 1 May and 31 December 2017, both ISOM 2000 and ISOM 2017 could be accepted, but which map standard is used at the event must be clearly stated in the Bulletin(s) for the event. For all events after 1 January 2018, ISOM 2017 should be used unless there are contractual limitations which would prevent this. The Council also approved the program proposed by the IOF Foot Orienteering Commission regarding WOC from 2019 and the proposal from the IOF Ski Orienteering Commission to appoint the European Ski Orienteering Championships (ESOC) 2019 to Turkey during the dates 4–12 February 2019. Other subject discussed by the Council was a positive doping case in an athlete participating in a Foot Orienteering World Ranking Event in Brasília, Brazil, in September 2016. When charged with the Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV), the athlete accepted a provisional suspension whilst awaiting the decision of the hearing body of the CBO. They determined that the athlete had not committed the ADRV willfully, and therefore sanctioned them with a period of ineligibility of six months, starting on 24 November 2016, and the athlete’s results connected to the event at which the ADRV occurred have been disqualified. The council decided not to appeal the decision in this case. The IOF will work with the CBO to offer support in the Anti-Doping education of its athletes. The minutes of IOF Council Meeting can be seen HERE.

4. A new Nokian Tyres World Orienteering Championships WOC 2017 web page was launched a week ago, with an in-depth interview of the Long Distance course-setter Tõnis Erm. So far, you can also read interviews with top athletes Oleksandr Kratov and Marika Teini, Evely Kaasiku, one of the best Estonian orienteers and Meelis Mälberg, Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Member of the Parliament of Estonia. Take a look at http://woc2017.ee/ and see by yourself!

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Santiago do Cacém, one of the five Municipalities of Alentejo Coast, hosts this weekend the third edition of the Costa Alentejana MTBO Trophy. Organized by the Clube de Orientação e Aventura do Litoral Alentejano, Clube da Natureza de Alvito, Santiago do Cacém Municipality, Portuguese Orienteering Federation and International Orienteering Federation, the event has to offer a Middle Distance stage and a Long Distance stage, both scoring for the IOF World MTB Orienteering Ranking, and also a Sprint race (Open) along with the National Championships of Relay. This will be the second round of the 2016/2017 World Masters Series and the 2017 Women Iberian Championships. The start field promises an interesting duel between the best Portuguese and Spanish MTBO'ers. The Portuguese Davide Machado, João Ferreira and Luís Barreiro will face the Spanish Ángel Garcia Garcia, David Toll Clos and David Tarres, in the Men Elite. In the Women Elite, the fight will be between Susana Pontes, Ana Filipa Silva, Diana Moreira and Noémia Magalhães, from the Portuguese side, against the Spanish Maria del Mara Delgado Gonzalez, Luisa Felpeto Gonzalez and Ana Varela. The British Keith Dawson, the Danish Joergen Nielsen or the Estonain Riivo Roose are also names that will attend the event. Further information can be found at http://iiicamtbo.coala.com.pt.

2. Representatives of the different regions of France met last weekend in Paris to elect the new Direction team of the French Orienteering Federation for the next four years. After having voted the members of the director committee, the representatives validated their new President (on the proposal of the Director Committee). Michel Ediar was re-elected for four years as President of the FFCO. Yves Boehm, Agnes Eudier, Marie-Claudine Perrin and Jean-Philippe Stefanini, who followed Bernard Mortellier as Secretary-General. After the announcement of the results, Michel Ediar thanked the representatives of the regional leagues for their confidence and took the opportunity to express his wish to continue his collaboration with the current National Technical Director Marie-Violaine Palcau before to specify the strategic axes of the new four-year term that will be built around high level, youth and development, as well as events, the main objective being to further develop the activity of the Federation throughout the National territory.

3. Orienteering is a sport that Canadians know and are excited about. Knowing this, the Canadian Orienteering Federation has presented his Vision, Mission and Core Objectives in order to develop, promote and coordinate the sport of orienteering in Canada for all ages and at all levels of participation. Inspiring Canadians to embrace the joy of orienteering is the vision, which lies driving growth through innovation, quality programming and partnerships; leading and governing through organizational excellence and sound business practices; developing and delivering high quality events and competitions at all levels; having active, engaged and well-trained officials, coaches, and other volunteers; having viable and active provincial and territorial associations and clubs and supporting the elite athletes in pursuing their goals while they support orienteering as ambassadors and role models for our sport. The full document can be read at http://www.orienteering.ca/2017/03/orienteering-canada-vision-mission-and-core-objectives/.

4. With the accomplishment of the 2017 Lipica TrailO, the first Ranking of 2017 Croatia-Italy-Slovenia TrailO Cup is published. The Swedish Lennart Wahlgren (Rehns BK) leads the standings with a total of 193.05 points. The Italian Remo Madella (ASD Vivaio) follows in the second place with 192.84 points, while the third place is occupied by another Italian, Alessio Tenani (Polisportiva G. Masi), with 188.90 points. Last year's winner of CRO-ITA-SLO, the Slovak Ján Furucz (Farmaceut Bratislava), is in the fifth place with 188.50 points. With a total of 75 competitors, the standings include athletes from Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Portugal, Finland, Latvia, Norway, Lithuania, Hungary, Great Britain and Spain, as well as the organizing countries Croatia, Italy and Slovenia. It should also be noted that, this year, Cro-Ita-Slo TrailO Cup is made up of 15 stages, four in Italy, five in Croatia and six in Slovenia. The complete Ranking can be found HERE.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Ionut Zinca and Andra Cecilia Anghel, both representing CSU Craiova, were the winners of the Olt Cup 2017, the first Foot orienteering competition held in Romania this year. Zinca spent 7:40 to finish off his 1.3 km course, being five second faster than his team mate Blejdea Alexandru. Anghel achieved a comfortable winning in 8:54 against 10:48 from the “veteran” Veronica Minoiu, representing also CSU Craiova. Organised by C.S.Ecosport Rm. Vâlcea, C.S. Aktiv, P.C. Rm. Vâlcea and Romanian Orienteering Federation, the competition took place in early February, in a very special venue: Salina Ocnele Mari, a salt mine located in the heart of Romania, nearly 200 km from Bucharest, the capital. A half kilometer-square salt mine designated to tourism. Salina Ocnele Mari has been compared to a small village, and hosts a restaurant, a cinema, a wine cellar, a coffee shop, some sport areas (handball, volleyball, tennis, mini-football), toilets, showers and changing rooms. The competition was attended by 200 participants, but perhaps most notable was the number of spectators, which was almost 1000. Complete results and further information at http://www.fro.ro/.

2. Richard Y. Ebright (Delaware Valley Orienteering Association) won the 2017 U.S. Trail Orienteering Championships, both in PreO and TempO. Part of the California Orienteering Week, held in Camp Scherman – a Girl Scout camp nestled in the San Jacinto mountains of Southern California -, the Championships were organized by Bay Area Orienteering Club and Los Angeles Orienteering Club, having Clare Durand as Course Setter. With five stations with four tasks each, the TempO Championships were dominated by Richard Y. Ebright, scoring 330 seconds in the end. After a less good start (two wrong answers in the first station), he managed an almost clean race until the end, with an average time of 12 seconds per task. Richard H. Ebright was able to keep close to his son till the last station, but he missed there three out of four tasks, finishing second. Again, a timed station played a key role in the PreO course, in which the young Ebright finished with 15 points after a clean race. Michael Poulsen (Columbia River Orienteering Club) achieved the same number of points, but Ebright was the most accurate in the timed station's three tasks, getting his second gold of the weekend. Detailed information available at http://losangelesorienteering.org/drupal/camp-scherman-national-meet.

3. Danish Spring organizers are looking forward to welcoming up to 1000 runners from more than 20 nations for a vibrant three-day event .The largest starting field for years is coming up and 60 individual athletes have entered Women Elite and 130 in Men Elite (splitting in two classes for Middle and Long). The great starting fields feature athletes like Emily Kemp, Anastasia Denisova and Maja Alm in Women Elite and Tim Robertson - beating Daniel Hubmann at MOC two weeks ago!! - and reigning world champion Olav Lundanes in Men Elite. In Women Junior, the favorites count German Dorothea Müller besides the Danish girl power. And in Men Junior there's last years comet Kasper Fosser, hunted by Carl Bock, Malte Kjær and some other 10 fast guys. The party kicks off today and you can follow it from the arena at Espergærde Gymnasium, on Liveresults Orienteering and facebook - and on TracTrac.com event after the races. Everything to know at http://www.danishspring.dk/.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. The Spanish Orienteering Championship CEO 2017, which will take place from 13th to 16th April, will be a solidarity event, extending its hand to the Foundation Mozambique Sur and Casa Do Gaiato School, Mozambique. Like what is used to do in the Nordic countries, Casa do Gaiato School introduced Orienteering as a curricular discipline and the results have been very positive, revealing an increase in values (teamwork, resilience, decision making, etc.) and also in the performances, both physical and intellectual, that the practise of this sport induces. This is one of the reasons why the Club Gocan Orientación Complutense supports the project, setting up a stand at the Competition Center, in Canencia and Miraflores, in the Sierra de Madrid, with a view to a solidarity raffle. More information at http://ceo2017.es/.

2. Sweden achieved five out of nine gold medals during the World Ski Orienteering Championships held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Despite winning more medals overall, Russia got “only” three gold medals, standing second placed in this particular list. Tove Alexandersson and Erik Rost, both from Sweden, were the stars of the Championships, winning 3 gold and 2 gold and 2 silver medals respectively. However, Polina Frolova, Russian won more medals than anyone else, with one gold, three silver and one bronze medal. A particular word goes to Stanimir Belomazhev, Bulgaria, for the first ever men’s gold medal in SkiO for his country, achieved in the Middle Distance race. Six countries inscribed their names in the medal list, with Sweden getting the lead with five gold and two silver, followed by Russia (three gold, six silver and two bronze), Bulgaria (one gold) and Finland (one silver and four bronze). Norway, with two bronze medals, and the Czech Republic, with one bronze medal, close the list. As already said, Tove Alexandersson and Erik Rost were “queen” and “king” of the Championships, but Polina Frolova, Mariya Kechkina (two gold medals) and Andrey Lamov (one gold and two silver medals), all from Russia, Stanimir Belomazhev, Bulgaria, and the Finn Salla Koskela (one silver and three bronze medals) deserve also a special mention.

3. Almost 1,300 athletes from 26 countries participated in the Lipica Open 2017, Foot Orienteering event that took place from 11th to 15th March in Kras region, Slovenia. Founded on five stages - one of Long Distance, three of Middle Distance and one of Intermediate Distance (“shortened long”), the event had in Bartosz Pawlak and Hanna Wisniewska, both representing the Polish Military Team, the great winners in the respective Elite classes. Winning the first three stages and finishing with a second place, Bartosz Pawlak was the fastest overall, with a final time of 3:48:30. However, tt should be noted that the races were very contested, with the athletes registering very small differences among themselves in each of the stages. That is why Bulgarian Kiril Nikolov (Bulgaria National Team) finished in second place, 5:04 of the winner, even without having won any stage. The Hungarian Áron Bakó (Tabáni Spartacus Sport és Környezetvédö Egyesület) won the final stage, finishing their participation in Lipica Open 2017 in the third place with more 5:08 than the winner. With two wins and three second places, Hanna Wisniewska eventually reached the top spot of the overall standings with the time of 4:13:07. The two immediate positions were reached by her team mates Aleksandra Hornik (two stage wins) and Ewa Gwozdz, with more 27:52 and 30:04, respectively. A final word for the Austrian Rafael Dobnik (OLC Union Viktring) and the Czech Tereza Korpasová (Lokomotiva Ingstav Brno), winners of the Junior category, male and female, respectively. Full results at http://www.orienteeringonline.net/Results.aspx?CompetitionID=2995.

4. With more than 20 years practising Orienteering, Miguel Ángel Garcia met Trail Orienteering in 2015 and decided to go deeper into the subject. He read all the documentation on this subject, participated in a Conference held at the University of Valencia and, one year ago, organized the first ever TrailO competition in Seville, Spain. Surprisingly, he realized that the vast majority of participants had enjoyed the small course at Ribera del Guadaira and wanted to repeat it. It is now time to relive the experience, creating something truly new by organizing the first Trail Orienteering League in Spain. “We have bundled the blanket to the head and we are going to launch a TrailO League in Andalusia, which will consist of four races in 2017”, said Miguel Ángel Garcia to the Portuguese Orienteering Blog. With the participation of the clubs ADOL – Asociación Deporte de Orientación Lince, Seville, COMA - Orienteering Club of Málaga and COHU - Orienteering Club of Huelva, FADO -Andalusian Orienteering Federation and FEDO - Spanish Orienteering Federation, the TrailO South League 2017 will start in Cañete la Real (Malaga), on 30th April, and then will continue in Hinojos (Huelva) on 28th May. On 7th October it will be the turn of Coin (Malaga) to host the third stage of the event, which will end in Aznalcazar (Seville) on 4th November. However, one of the promotion stages of the event has already started with the release of a video where Trail Orienteering is introduced and an invitation to participation is launched. The video can be seen at https://youtu.be/N9FJlHGf7yw.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. The city of Coimbra is ready to host the Rainha Santa Trophy / Beira Litoral O' Meeting BLOM 2017, event that kicks off a sequence of three weekends on a row of the best Orienteering in Portugal, which is completed by the Portugal O' Meeting 2017 and the Aguiar da Beira O' Meeting 2017. The competitive program starts tomorrow with a Sprint WRE, which scores for the IOF Sprint Orienteering World Ranking, followed by an urban Middle Distance stage in the afternoon. The event's second day will be fulfilled by a Middle Distance stage, scoring for the IOF World Orienteering Ranking. The number of entered athletes is close to seven hundred, representing 18 countries. Timo Sild, Oleksandr Kratov, Hector Haines, Mårten Boström, Lucas Basset, Simon Hector or Olli Ojanaho, are just some of the 88 competitors in the Men Elite class. In the list of 44 competitors in the Elite Women class it's possible to see names such as Helen Palmer, Mariia Makarova, Irina Nyberg, Adela Indrakova, Anna Bachman, Karolin Ohlsson or Isia Basset. Everything to follow at http://blom.admondego.pt/.

2. The International Orienteering Federation has been pleased to hear about the development of the sport of orienteering in Costa Rica and has just underlined its satisfaction by recognizing the organisation Asociación Deporte de Orientación (ADO) as an affiliate organisation to the IOF. “The IOF is supporting the work of ADO through our Regional Development Coordinator, Mr Jose Angel Nieto Poblete from the Spanish Orienteering Federation. In this way, the IOF has an official relationship with the organization in Costa Rica. (…) We look forward to continuing to work together with ADO to fully establish the sport of orienteering in Costa Rica”, says Tom Hollowel, IOF Secretary General / CEO, in a letter addressed on February 13th, 2017, to Yeimi Jiménez Oviedo, ADO's President. This is the culmination of 10 stages of work developed over 6 years by Jose Angel Nieto Poblete, who seizes the opportunity to express a note of joy and a thank you on his personal page on Facebook: “All thanks to a group of enthusiasts 'Ticos' of this sport. Our goal, now, is to keep working, keep massing, with the goal of becoming a [provisional] member of IOF in 2018. We keep moving forward!”, he says.

3. There is a black shadow hovering on the recent organization of the European in Ski Orienteering Championships, held last week in Imatra, Finland. The issue was initially raised by Santeri Aikio in his personal blog [HERE], eventually leading to a heated discussion about what is considered an illegality in the Middle Distance race, M21 class, made legal by the jury's decision. The question is simple and can be summarized as follows: After the middle distance at ESOC, the organizers chose to disqualify nine male athletes and one female athlete for going across a forbidden area, a lake mapped with the ISSkiOM symbol 301.2 Uncrossable waterbody (forbidden to cross). By going over the lake you could gain approx. 40-50 seconds. A complaint was handed in against the disqualifications, but it was rejected by the organizers. Then a protest was made against the organizers decision and the jury’s decision was as follows: (1) The nine male athletes were included to the results. (2) Jury cut off the men’s course from control 7 to control 8 and the new results were calculated from start to control 7 + from control 8 to finish. (3) All other classes in the competition were left unchanged. The SkiO Athletes Commission has already ruled on this issue, considering the jury's decision “wrong and unacceptable”. On the other hand, Tom Hollowel, IOF Secretary General / CEO, also came to explain that “it's important to note that, in accordance with the IOF Ski Orienteering rules, the decision of the jury cannot be appealed, not even to the IOF Council.” IN the midst of this embroilment, Santeri Aikio takes the voice of the majority: “For the future of ski orienteering, the best winter sport there is, and for fair play, and for our reputation as a seriously taken sport, please, put an end to this nonsense!”

4. Many important topics were on the agenda for the recent IOF Council Meeting in Warsaw, 20-21 January. From the taken key decisions, we highlight the appointment by the Council of the Czech Republic as host of the 2018 IOF General Assembly; the approval of the proposed World Masters Orienteering Championships program, which will be introduced from WMOC 2018 in Denmark and will consist of Sprint Qualification, Sprint Final, a rest day, Forest Qualification, Middle Distance Final, another rest day, and finally the Long Distance Final; the approval of all principles in the ISOM 2017; and a principle decision, following a presentation from the TrailO Commission, to instate a World Ranking system in TrailO, whose details will now be worked out by the TrailO Commission, with the intention to introduce TrailO World Ranking Events from 2018. For more information, read the complete Council minutes HERE.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Less than 24 hours to the entries' deadline for the Portugal O' Meeting 2017, there are already more than 2,000 athletes looking forward to Alter do Chão, Crato and Portalegre where, from 25th to 28th February, will take place the 22nd edition of the most important FootO competition of the Winter calendar worldwide. Thierry Gueorgiou, Gustav Bergman, Magne Dæhli, Baptiste Rollier, Lauri Sild, Oleksandr Kratov, Gernot Kerschbaumer, Andreu Blanes, Frederic Tranchand, Olav Lundanes, Milos Nykodym, LucasBasset or Johan Runesson , are just some of the two hundred competitors in the Men Elite class. In the list of more than 100 competitors in the Women Elite class it's possible to see names such as Ursula Kadan, Anna Serralonga, Eva Jurenikova, Hollie Orr, Lizzie Ingham, Nadiya Volynska, Helena Jansson, Catherine Taylor or Simone Niggli. Joining the huge demand for the Portuguese competition, also the TrailO lovers make a point of attending the event. Guntars Mankus, Santiago Martin, Koji Chino, Mark Heikoop, Jorge Valente, Remo Madella, Zoltan Mihaczi, Bartlomiej Mazan, Gintaras Mikolavicius, Peter Huzan, António Hernandez and the Portuguese Inês Domingues, Luis Gonçalves, Cláudio Tereso, João Pedro Valente, Edgar Domingues, Jorge Baltazar and Ricardo Pinto are the heads of a list which includes 124 entries so far, the highest number ever registered in Portugal in a TrailO event. Everything to follow at http://pom.pt/2017/en/.

2. For those interested in Orienteering and its historical aspects, Halden SK has published an interesting book describing the club's maps drawing from 1928 to 2016. Here you can read about how Edgar G. Andersen and Kåre Varting signed the first Orienteering maps to the club before the Second World War, their followers Remne Vandet, Steffen Steffensen and Roar Andersen, the maps signed by Fritz Kohn, Larry Erntzen and Hans Kohn for the National Championships, the Bard E. Andersen's work as one of the creators of the modern Orienteering in Norway and the introduction of computer technology, OCAD and Laser Data - a revolution in the manufacture of orientation map! Finally, the book looks on the good and large map production in recent years with the use of skilled foreign mapmakers such as the Portuguese Tiago Martins Aires and Raquel Costa, who signed the maps of Strupeskogen, Venåsmarka, Høiås nord. To work can be seen at http://haldensk.no/dok/filer/kart/Karttegning_i_HSK_1928-2016_20170116.pdf.

3. International Orienteering Federation and International School Sport Federation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to to cooperate with each other for the benefit of youth sport in general and more specifically for the continued growth of youth orienteering. The agreement between both institutions focuses the attention on two main aspects: firstly, on the relevance of the educational element of youth sport. Secondly, on the importance of the cooperation between the two federations in terms of harmonisation of the international calendar and organisation of events. In this respect, the first occasion that will see the fruits of this new cooperation will certainly be the Orienteering World School Championship taking place in Palermo, Italy, on 22-28 April, 2017. IOF and ISF will cooperate and coordinate the way school orienteering events shall be structured and organised. ISF showed great interest in the innovation and success of World Orienteering Day (WOD) in 2016. The coming years ISF will cooperate with the goal of attaining a significant global WOD participation in schools. The original article can be seen at http://orienteering.org/iof-and-isf-have-signed-a-memorandum-of-understanding/.

4. FinTrailO 2017's Bulletin 1 [HERE] has just been published. The event will take place in Espoo, from 29th to 30th April, and will be organised by the orienteering club OK 77. The first day's program includes the TempO competition and the PreO competition's first part. The PreO's second part wil take place on Sunday. There will be a national trail orienteering competition on Monday 1st May in Klaukkala, some 30 km from Espoo. Organiser is Rajamäen Rykmentti. PreO competitions are organised in two different kinds of terrains. PreO 1 will be held in normal Southern Finnish forest terrain with some open areas with very good visibility. PreO 2 is held in detailed terrain with cliffs and many contours. The road surface is on both days very good for wheelchairs. In steep hills there will be extra assistance. TempO terrain is a mix of urban, park and forest terrains with good visibility and good surface for wheelchairs. Athletes from the Czech Republic, Poland, Great Britain, Slovakia and Italy have entered the event so far. You can find all information at http://www.ok77.fi/fintrailo/.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Simone Niggli is the latest star of the World of Orienteering entering for the Portugal O' Meeting 2017. Having achieved 23 World titles, 10 European titles and 9 World Cups, she is unanimously considered the best orienteer of all time and a true ambassadress of the sport of the forest. Privileging Portugal in the winter season, Simone Niggli is back at the POM to remember “the good old days” and, we are certain, to spread her class through the terrains of Alter do Chão, Crato and Portalegre. It's recalled that Simone Niggli won the competition for six times, firstly in 2002 and, more recently, for five times in a row, in the editions from 2010 to 2014. At this moment, the number of entries is about to surpass the one-thousand's barrier. In addition to Simone Niggli, the Swedish Helena Jansson is a strong presence in the Women Elite. In the men's side, Gustav Bergman and Albin Ridefelt (Sweden), Lucas Basset and Thierry Gueorgiou (France), Baptiste Rollier (Switzerland) and Milos Nykodym (Czech Republic) are the greatest names so far. More information at http://pom.pt/2017/en/.

2. O-Ringen, in cooperation with the IOF and the PWT Travel, is presenting a new model of O-Ringen Academy. The goal is to attract young orienteers all over the world, helping their development and competitor skills. The organization is based on a professional leader-team to secure the idea of O-Ringen Academy and to offer to all participants a fantastic week full of positive experiences and knowledge. The invitation is addressed for all federations’ “young runners” in the age between 15 – 25 as well as young runners/leaders in different ages. In this first step, the organizers are inviting one male and one female from each federation, asking for an answer as soon as possible. “There might be possible to send more persons from a nation but we will try to get as many countries as possible represented”, they say. The O-Ringen Academy will take place in Arvika, Sweden, from 20th to 29th July. Entries should be submitted by 31st January 2017 to Jaroslav Kacmarcik, IOF Regional Youth Development Committee, jkpwt@hotmail.com.

3. For the fifth time in its history, the Clube de Montanha do Funchal is organizing the Madeira Orienteering Festival, a Foot Orienteering event scoring for Madeira Cup of the Portuguese Orienteering Federation. Four Municipalities with excellent conditions for Tourism and Nature Sports (Funchal, Porto Moniz, Machico and Santa Cruz) will be joined in an effort to create an unforgettable event. From 9th to 12th February, the Madeira Orienteering Festival has to offer a Night Sprint (9th Feb) at Funchal, a Sprint race (10th Feb) at Porto Moniz and three Middle Distance races (10th, 11th and 12th Feb), respectively at Fanal, Poiso east and Poiso West. All information at http://oricmof.wixsite.com/mof17-ingles.

4. Larger and stronger! So it is the new NORD, Regional Group that includes the four Nordic orienteering federations - Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden -, now reinforced by the three Baltic federations, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. “It was an inspiring meeting in Copenhagen. We got to know each other better and we do hope to contribute to develop orienteering within our seven countries. I look forward to meeting again”, chairwoman Astrid Waaler Kaas said. As well as the admission of the three Baltic countries to the NORD group, the meeting was about exchanging good ideas and cooperating on different projects. It included discussions about regional development, map scale, anti-doping, TV-broadcasting and International Championships. The full article can be seen at http://orienteering.org/nord-group-extended-with-three-new-members/.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. The Spanish Orienteering Federation has just published the final calendar of events for this season, which includes 12 Foot orienteering events, 12 Sprint events, 8 ultrascore-rogaine events, 6 MTBO events and 6 Adventure Races events. As for the FootO, the first event – WRE 15th Costa Blanca Trophy - will take place in Santa Pola (Alicante) on 4th and 5th February. The season lasts until the last weekend of November, when the 2nd Ciudad Rodrigo Trophy will be held. In the meantime, the the Spanish Orienteering Championship WRE, in Miraflores (Madrid), as usual during the Easter period, will attract the attention. Full information at http://www.fedo.org/web/ultimas-noticias/2646-calendario-fedo-de-2017.

2. The Finns Tuomo Istolahti (Kangasala SK) and Tiia Miettinen (MS Parma) were the winners of the 9th Madeira Orienteering Meeting, respectively in Men and Women Elite classes. Organized by the Clube Aventura da Madeira and divided in two Middle Distance stages, the event took place last weekend, with the presence of 138 orienteers from regional clubs of Madeira Island, some continental athletes, as well as athletes from Finland, France and Russia. Istolahti achieved comfortable wins in both stages, finishing with a 6:42 overall advantage over Nelson Baroca (CA Madeira), second placed. Tiia Miettinen did the same as Istolahti, winning clearly in the two days and leaving the second classified, Sónia Silva (GDE), at the distance of 21 minutes. Full results at http://mom.camadeira.com/.

3. It’s time now to vote to the IWGA Athlete of the Year 2016. For the poll, the International World Games Association selected sixteen candidates from sixteen different sports and representing twelve nations. Between the nominated, there's a Water-skier from the United States, a Karateka from Egypt, a Sumo-wrestler from Mongolia, a Roller-skater from Italy, a Floorball player from Finland or an Orienteer from Sweden. We talk about Tove Alexandersson, a 24-year-old athlete, that has had a fantastic orienteering season. She was crowned World Champion in both the Long and Middle Distance at the World Orienteering Championships on home ground in August 2016. She also claimed the Long and Middle Distance titles at the European Championships in the Czech Republic in May. For the third year in a row, Tove won the overall World Cup in Orienteering. In the 2015-2016 season she also won the overall World Cup in Ski Orienteering. Her year has gained her a nomination as Female Athlete of the Year in Sweden. To give your vote to Tove Alexandersson, you just need to enter the IWGA webpage at http://www.theworldgames.org/the-iwga/athlete-of-the-month/36-athlete-of-the-year-2016. Until 31st January, you may vote as many times you want but... just once a day!

4. “To analyze, study and understand the sport tourism from all points of view, inclusive, transversal and universal form”, such was the aim of the Universal Sport Tourism Summit 2017 Costa Blanca, which took place in Alicante, Spain, from 9th to 11th January. The event had presentations of some of the most representative and the most prestigious names in the organization of sporting and tourist events internationally, bringing their ideas and energizing and consolidating the sector. Simon Gravelling, from the Olympic Games organization, Michel Filliau, Senior Advisor to the President of Sportaccord or Jens V. Holm, IMGA's CEO were some of the speakers. All information available at http://universalsportstourism.com/.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Time of peace and harmony, Christmas is Orienteering time, too. In Hong Kong, the Orienteering Association of Hong Kong organized the Annual Orienteering Championships, attended by 73 athletes in the Elite category and 135 in the Open category.With the Middle Distance and the Sprint stages scoring for the IOF World Rankings, the event got the presence of Annika Björk, Swedish Orienteering star, winner of the two stages already mentioned and also the Long Distance stage. Taking place on 26th December, the Sprint race was held at Ngau Chi Wan Park and was dominated by Björk, who won with 14:03 against 14:34 from Wai Lan Iris Lui. The male winner was Tsz Wai Yu with the time of 13:09. Wai Yu had already won the Middle Distance in the previous day, staged in Black Hill, while in the women Annika Björk got a comfortable win in 37:45 and a 4:34 advantage over Iris Lui. Closing the event, Lui Wai Lan Iris achieved her third National Champion title by winning the Long Distance stage, in Pak Shek Kiu, while in the Men Elite class the victory smiled to Lam Aby. Complete results and further information at http://www.oahk.org.hk/.

2. Austria, Belgium DG, Belgium FC, Belgium FL, China P.R., the Czech Republic, England, Estonia, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine have indicated their interest in taking part in the 2017 World Schools Championships in Orienteering. Organized by the International School Sport Federation and the Italian Ministry of Education, the event will take place in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, from 22th April to 28th April 2017. The Long Distance competition and the Middle Distance competition will take place in the Nature Reserve “Bosco della Ficuzza”, in the territory of Corleone. The Model Event will be held in a part of the Bosco della Ficuzza, offering terrain similar to both the Middle and the Long Distance competitions. The Friendship Team Event will take place in the city centre of Palermo. More detailed information on maps and competition areas will be communicated in the 3rd bulletin at the end of January. Find more information at http://www.isfsports.org/sport/orienteering/bulletins/.

3. Mass Start will be the fifth format on the program for the World MTBO Championships from 2017. A growing appetite for more head-to-head racing for the MTBO athletes and the possibility for good media coverage are among the reasons. Mass Start races have been a rather popular format in MTBO, and since 2010 there have been mass start events on the World Cup circuit almost every year. From 2017, it will be an official format at WMTBOC in line with Sprint, Middle, Long and Relay. The Mass Start format will be added to the program for both Masters and Junior World MTBO Championships as well. Mass Start’s winning time is set between 75-85 minutes for both men and women and is roughly between Middle and Long. Typically, the course will start with a long first leg of 3-5 km with different route choice options to shake out the field. Forkings and loops will be essential elements of Mass Start races to separate the riders even more. Everybody rides the same course, but in slightly different order to avoid blind following. The first World MTBO Champion in Mass Start will be decided in Lithuania when the World MTBO Championships takes place from 21st to 26th August 2017.

4. The Columbia River Orienteering Club - http://www.croc.org/ - made a tutorial video on Purple Pen, which can be seen here. Feel free to pass this along to anyone in your club who would like to get up to speed quickly on this helpful software.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. The Calendar of the 3rd edition of the Portugal City Race was announced yesterday. The 2017 Portugal City Race will conquer new cities and will have a set of 13 stages, starting on 5th February, in Esposende, and ending on 1st November, in Sesimbra. The cities of Esposende, Santo Tirso, Vila Real, Tondela and Sesimbra made its debut in the Circuit, in which we can notice the return of Penafiel. Barcelos and Viseu leave the Circuit in 2017 and the cities of Braga, Vila do Conde, Leiria, Águeda, Figueira da Foz, Porto and Aveiro remain. In total, it will count for the Rankings the seven best results out of the thirteen possible. The 2016 Portugal City race consisted on nine stages and counted almost four thousand participants. All information at http://www.cityrace.pt/.

2. Following the election to the Board of Directors of the Spanish Orienteering Federation, celebrated on 10th December, José Enrique Barcia is the FEDO's new Chairman. Cristina del Campo (1st Vice-President), Mercedes Jiménez (2nd Vice President), Raúl Ferra (Technical Director), Marta Armisén (Women and Sport Project), María Isabel Fajardo (Economic Director) and Jesús de Miguel Rey (General Secretary) are the remaining members. Promoting the General Assembly and ensuring its executive functions is the first and foremost goal of Barcia. Resources optimization and transparency are also key words of the new paradigm. Among the priorities, one can found the creation of the General Direction of Marketing and Communication, strengthening and betting on MTB Orienteering as a growth factor of the Sport and also the creation of the Spanish Ski Orienteering Championships (two stages). To the new Board of Directors and its Chairman, the Portuguese Orienteering Blog wishes the greatest achievements and a long and successful campaign.

3. If you like “cool” events and you're a fan of PreO you are not going to miss the coolest PreO event ever. The 4th annual Aurora Borealis PreO Event will take place on January 6th 2017, with the Event Centre located in the Vuosaari Golf course main building, Helsinki, Finland. The course will have 22 – 26 controls to the Elite (12 – 15 controls to the Elite B) and 2.000 meters length, set by Ari Tertsunen on a completely new map with his signature. The winner gets the great “Aurora Borealis PreO Challenge Cup” for the period of one year (get it your own after three victories). The winners so far are Aleksei Laisev (2014), Pinja Mäkinen (2015) and Anna Jakobson (2016). In the case of extreme weather conditions, the Event shall be cancelled only if the temperature falls below - 40 degrees celsius. However, “cancellation is very unlikely, as last year we had only - 26 degrees”, the organizers assure. Please find all the the information at http://www.trailo.fi/?x118281=343966.

4. The first trailer for the Austrian MTBO Days 2017 is online. Enjoy!

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Celebrating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the University of Valencia, through the Chair Divina Pastora of Adapted Sport, promoted a three-day journey where the Trail Orienteering was the main subject. Pointed to teachers of sports physical activities, teachers of physical education, sports technicians related to the natural environment, specialists, persons particularly interested in Trail orienteering, interested in the training of trainers, the Clinic was held on the 2nd and 3rd December having a total of 44 participants. To prepare the participants to design, plan and organize a TrailO event, such was the goal of the Clinic, which had in Joaquim Margarido, assisted by Niclas Gil Nieminen, the responsible for the theoretical and practical panels. In addition to the Clinic, there was also a colloquium under the motto “Inclusive vocation: physical activity and sport in the University", on the 1st December and, in the following day, a workshop of initiation to the TrailO, whose proposal was to disclose to the 118 participants the basic principles and goals of the preparation and development of a TrailO event.

2. To recognize the notation of Orienteering maps, to train your memory, to develop the visual perception, attention and reaction, to improve your concentration levels and to create spacial imagination. All of it at home or in a short break during a competition or a training camp, or while travelling on bus, train, car, ferry or even airplane. Such is the Orient-games' offer when Christmas is approaching. There are four games translated to English: Quartet, Memory, Double and a cardboard game called “Orienteering”. “Quartet” is a legendary game that can be interesting for children as well as for adults. Children get an utterly fascinating process of perceiving the notation of orienteering maps and adults can check their knowledge. “Double” is a fast fun game that develops visual perception, attention and reaction. Undoubtedly suitable for all ages, is recommended for children from 6 years old. “Memory” is a fascinating search for the pair of cards, which promotes the development of concentration and visual memory. The game is suitable for all ages, as the children can play with adults as equals, having a great chance to win. Finally, “Orienteering” is a game for the whole family. Translated in six languages, it's suitable for both athletes and those who are simply interested in Orienteering. The game is presented in the versions “classic”, “night orienteering”, “sprint” and “hunt for the KP”. By playing “Orienteering”, you can also judge distances by planning it for the other participants. Several playing fields allow you to create a huge number of different variants of the terrain and distances. Interested in knowing some more? Please find extra information at http://www.orient-games.ru/english or send a letter to newskill@mail.ru.

3. The organization of a World Orienteering Championships (WOC) has grown significantly over the past years. The requirements and expectations of national teams, athletes, TV, on-line and print media, spectators, sponsors and partners, have raised the standards for quality at the most prestigious of orienteering events. This has increased the requirements not only on the organizing committee, but also upon the IOFs event advising and controlling resources. Traditionally, a WOC has had an appointed Senior Event Advisor (SEA) responsible for advising on and controlling all aspects of the event. As organizational complexity has grew, the appointed SEA became a part-time professional position and an Assistant SEA role was added to control certain aspects. But with the introduction of annual live TV productions, a constantly higher IT content and increased commercialization there is a need to further strengthen the quality controlling organization. The SEA role has evolved into a Project Management role, which involves coordination with the Event Director and the local organizer, and management of an event advising and controlling team. A general description of the team can be found here: New WOC Event Advising structure. As the current WOC SEA, Jørn Sundby, will be taking on the role of event advising focused on TV and Arena aspects, the IOF is now looking for a new Senior Event Adviser/Project Manager for the World Orienteering Championships. The position is part-time and preferably on a contract basis. A description of the SEA/Project Manager position can be found here: Work description WOC SEA/Project manager. Questions about the position can be answered by IOF CEO Tom Hollowell. If you are interested in applying for this role, show interest by mailing a brief personal letter and CV to tom.hollowell@orienteering.org by Sunday December 18, 2016.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Timo Ritakallio, former IOF Council member and soon the President of the Finnish Olympic Committee, is proposing that Finland would apply for organizing the Winter Olympic Games in 2026 with Sweden. In a large interview he gave to Lauri Nurmi and published last 24th November at Turun Sanomat [HERE], Ritakallio talks about the Olympics in the future and its quest for a sustainable development, introducing Finland as being ready to work in an application looking forward the 2026 Winter Games. To start with the project, extending the idea to the sports community, the municipalities and the government and generating a national debate on how to apply for the Games seems to be the priority on Ritakallio's agenda. If the dream will come true, Ritakallio relies on the fact that he would love to see the Ski orienteering among the Olympic sports.

2. Orienteering Australia is looking for candidates who would be interested in coming to the country to help fellow Orienteers both young and old improve their orienteering skills. This is an exciting opportunity for young people to visit Australia and coach orienteering or make maps. To live with local families and have fun orienteering are between the offers. “If you are attracted to beautiful beaches, friendly people and wildlife but most of all orienteering, we would like to hear from you”, can be read at http://scholar.orienteering.asn.au. Applications for this round are open until 30th November.

3. Elite athletes running parts of the courses together is something that harms both athletes and spectators. Longer start interval, better forking or maybe a completely new format are some of the suggested solutions in a beautiful article published last Tuesday by the International Orienteering Federation. Along the article, we can see Ida Bobach, the chairperson of the FootO Athletes' Commission, supporting “a longer start interval” and, at the same time, Jørn Sundby, Senior Event Adviser of the World Orienteering Championships defending that “two minutes start interval is a maximum” because of live TV-broadcasting reasons. The experienced WOC-commentator Per Forsberg, the Long Distance World Champion, Olav Lundanes, or the former coach of the Swedish, Norwegian and British national teams, Göran Andersson, join the debate with interesting opinions. Everything to read at http://orienteering.org/long-distance-for-discussion/.

[Photo: Kari Pullinen / Helsingin Sanomat / hs.fi]

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. One week left to the 49th CISM World Military Orienteering Championships everything is ready to welcome the event. This is the fifth time Brazil organizes the World Military Orienteering Championship, with the competition taking place this time in the magnificent natural environments of Búzios and Rio das Ostras, around 200 km east of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Middle Distance will open the program on 18th November, Friday and the Long Distance will take place the day after, both races in Rio das Ostras and scoring for the IOF World Ranking. The event will finish on 22nd Novembre with the Relay, in Búzios. Lots of fun in Orienteering dreamland and a beautiful weather,combined with the hospitality, culture and gastronomic delights of this places and people, are waiting for near two hundred participants from 19 countries. Further information at http://cism-orienteering.com/.

2. Took place last Saturday in Lisbon, Portugal, the 1st Iberian Ori-Trail/Rogaine Championships. Organized by the Clube Português de Orientação e Corrida, the event was attended by near 180 athletes, representing 73 different teams. In the Men Absolute class, three teams reached the maximum score, with Miguel Silva and Tiago Romão (CMoFunchal/GafanhOri) being the fastest with the final time of 3:26:27. Marcelo Costa and Marco Póvoa (MM April 22 ) and the Spanish Álvaro Para and Aurelio Rodan (Fuby Tierra Trágame) got, by this order, the immediate places on the podium, with more 27:35 and 33:21 than the winner team. In the Women Absolute class, Patricia Casalinho and Susana Pontes (Cachopas Team) were stronger than their opponents, achieving 146 points in 3:47:09. Raquel Costa and Rita Rodrigues (GafanhOri) got the second place and Alice Silva, Margarida Ricardo and Sandra Rodrigues (ADFA) were third, with less 6 and 40 points than the winners. Emilia Silveira, Eduardo Soares and João Real (COAAL / CNAlvito) won the Mix Absolute class with 165 points overall, beating the Spanish Ainhoa Del Campo and Maikel Fernandez (COBI) and Ernesto Osma, Ramiro Rejón and Uolanda Poveda (Tribu Roller Granada), by 7 and 19 points, respectively. Complete results and further information at http://cpoc.pt/eventos.php?ev=rogaine01&op=inicio.

3. The Danish Camilla Sogaard or the Australian Angus Robinson are among the top MTB Orienteers heading to Rotorua for the New Zealand Mountain Bike Orienteering Champs on 18th to 20th November 2016. Overall event organiser, Pete Swanson, from Orienteering Bay of Plenty mentions “125 people entered now” and he's sure that “it’s going to be a great weekend of racing in lots of new and interesting areas.” The events also qualify as part of the World Masters Mountain Bike Orienteering Series and the SportIDENT Air+ punching system will be used for MTBO in New Zealand for the first time ever. The New Zealand Mountain Bike Orienteering Champs consists of four events. There is a Warm Up event on the evening of Friday 18th November in Whakarewarewa Forest. The Sprint Distance is in Tihiotonga-Centennial Park, Waiariki Campus and the Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park on Saturday 19th November in the morning. The Middle Distance is at Tui Ridge Park on Saturday afternoon and the Long Distance is at Cougar MTB Park, Tokoroa, on Sunday 20th November. Orienteering Bay of Plenty is very grateful for all the support they have received from landowners and managers, as well as the Tokoroa MTB Club, in running these events. All the information can be found on the website http://www.mtbochamps.nz.

4. Are you interested in environmental issues? Have you asked yourself: how can orienteering become even more sustainable? Do you have a great interest in orienteering maps? Are you an expert in advanced printing? The IOF Environment Commission and the IOF Map Commission are looking for new members to work with these types of questions. These IOF Commissions meet twice a year, in addition to virtual meetings whenever needed. The IOF Council gives each commission a set of Remits, detailing their working procedure and tasks for the current council period, and the commissions each have a supporting team made up of members of council and the IOF Office. Does this seem like something for you? To be in an IOF Commission you also need the support of your National Federation, and it is they who will formally put you forward as a candidate. Please contact your National Orienteering Federation to gain their support. Not sure how to contact them? To find out more, send an email to iof@orienteering.org.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. The Trail World Championships' 6th edition was held in Serra do Gerês, Portugal, and had an orienteer as the great protagonist of the host nation. Tiago Aires, for many the best Portuguese orienteer of all time, finished in the 13th position, contributing decisively to the 5th place of Portugal in the collective standings. On his Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/corredorcommapa/ -, Aires mentions the 29th October as “the most intense day of a lifetime” and speaks about a “bittersweet feeling” at the end, due the way the race was held. The athlete came rolling in the 9th position, less than 3 minutes of the 7th ranked, but some gastric disturbs eventually conditioned him in the last kilometres. “I've done the first 60 km on the rise, from back to front, overtaking some of the great names in the World of Trail, which allowed me to break a mental barrier and realize that, with more experience and better conditions and opportunities, we can aspire to a place on the Trail World Championships' podium in the coming years”, said the Portuguese, adding that it's time to rest now: “I'll be away from the routines and the training discipline after a too long season.” The male winner was the Spanish Luis-Alberto Hernando, while the fastest woman was the French Caroline Chaverot. The complete results of the Trans Peneda Gerês 2016 / IAU Trail World Championships can be found at http://www.i-tra.org/page/328/Resultats.html.

2. At a time when the 2016 Spanish Orienteering League is coming to an end, took place last weekend, in Puerto de La Mora, Granada, its penultimate round. The 5th Nazaries Trophy was organized by the Club Veleta de Orientación and had two stages - Middle Distance and Long Distance – in the spectacular enclave of Las Mimbres, and also a vigorous Sprint through the roofs and chimneys of the typical village of Guadix. The event had the participation of approximately 750 competitors and Helen Martinsen FEDO) and Raúl Ferra Murcia (Lorca-O) were the overall winners. Ferra Murcia won the Long Distance stage, leaving the victories in the Middle Distance and Sprint to Rune Nygaard (FEDO) and Borja Vila Sempere (Colivenc), respectively. In the Elite Women, Martinsen won the Long Distance stage while Natalia Gurchenkova (Universidad Alicante) was the winner of the Middle Distance and Sprint races, the only ones attended by her. Elmar Montero Cárceles (Godih) and Maria Prieto del Campo (Malarruta) were the winners in the M/W20 classes, while in the M/W18 classes the triumphs fell to Raúl Sanjuan Juan (Colivenc) and Elena Marti Barclay (Fundi-O) . Complete results and further information at http://www.onazaries.es/.

3. The European University Sports Association and the International Orienteering Federation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the goals of increasing the participation among students of higher education in sport and to provide the best conditions for EUSA sports events. Very popular among university students, Orienteering has been a part of the university sports family at the international level since 1978. EUSA is about to appoint the 1st European Universities Orienteering Championship for 2019 and has already nominated Dusan Vystavel as Technical Delegate for Orienteering. “Orienteering is a sport feasible to any enthusiast (…) and enjoys big popularity among youth because it promotes fellowship, team-work and fortitude. We are happy to become partners with IOF as we share common values and history; and will, undoubtedly, hold great events”, said Adam Roczek, EUSA President, upon the signing of the memorandum. Leho Haldna, IOF’S president, added: “There are many orienteers studying at institutes of higher education who will appreciate the opportunities provided by this cooperation. Being able to combine your studies with the opportunity to participate in high-quality orienteering events, and in the context of the strong social values within student sports, should be very attractive. Our organisations share the same values, and we greatly appreciate the successful cooperation we have with FISU. We believe in an equally successful cooperation with EUSA.” The original article can be seen at www.eusa.eu.

[Photo: Tiago Martins Aires / facebook.com/corredorcommapa/]

Joaquim Margarido  

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Davide Machado got the Long Distance gold of the Portuguese MTBO Championships 2016 in the Men Elite class. Finishing his course nearly five minutes after the winner, Luis Barreiro was the second placed, while the third place went to João Ferreira. Crowning a successful season, Ana Filipa Silva was the winner in the Women Elite class with an advantage of more than thirteen minutes over Tânia Covas Costa, the second placed. The Portuguese Champion in 2015, Susana Pontes, finished third. Casa do Povo da Abrunheira and Clube de Orientação do Centrob got the Relay titles in the Men and Women respectively. Organized by the COC – Clube de Orientação do centro, the event took place last weekend in Penela, in the centre of Portugal, with the presence of 97 athletes representing 22 clubs. More information at http://www.coc.pt/as-nossas-provas/vi-ori-btt/.

2. Earlier than usual, the Austrian MTBO season came to an end last weekend in Faak am See, in the Carinthia region. With two stages scoring for the Austrian league in MTB Orienteering, the event caught the attention of 153 participants, having in the National Championships of Sprint one of its highest moments. In the Women Elite, Marina Reiner reached the gold for the first time ever in her career, ahead of the “eternal” Michaela Gigon. Recovering a title that eluded him for the last four years, Tobias Breitschädel was the winner in the Men Elite, ahead of Bernhard Schachinger, second placed. Birgit Eisl and Andreas Waldmann took the third place in the Women and Men Elite, respectively. The complete results can be found at http://www.oefol.at/anne/files/uploaded/event_1778_ergebnissesa.pdf.

3. The upcoming Mountain Bike Orienteering World Cup Final 2016, in Kaunas (Lithuania), it's not only the Elite athletes. There are two hundred Masters competitors entered in the World Masters Series' races 13, 14 and 15 and we can expect a couple of exciting duels. According to Keith Dawson's post on MTBO Public Group on Facebook [HERE] “some interesting head to heads to look out for are the two threesomes Stockmayer vs Conn vs Kilberg in M50 and Lalavee vs Gustavsson vs Kolberg in M55. In the women's races Andersen vs Somers-Cocks in W55 and‎ Bonafini vs Barlet in W60 catch the eye!” Dawson remembers that “one mechanical, one mispunch or even one error or poor route choice could decide who goes home with Gold. The pressure and fun is on!” Latest results going into Lithuania can be seen at http://www.astrois.hu/mtbo/2016/WorldMaster2016Scores.htm.

Joaquim Margarido

  

Two or three things I know about it...

1. This weekend, the Linderudkollen ski centre, 10 km from central Oslo, Norway, will be the epicenter of the Night Hawk’s fourth edition. The popular Relay will be held in 8 legs (4 night + 4 day) for the Men class, and in 6 legs (3 night + 3 day) for the Women class. Night Hawk veteran men and veteran women will have the same courses as men and women, respectively. There will also be a Night Hawk for girls and boys (12 – 16 yrs) with 4 legs (2 night + 2 day), with the possibility of girls and boys running in pairs the night legs. 204 teams have entered for the event, which is a new record. Winner in 2015, both the Men and Women relays, the team of Halden SK is still the favourite, even without some of its stars. On Sunday, after Night Hawk, the program will offer a Middle Distance race, scoring for the IOF World Ranking. LIVE Coverage will be available on www.nighthawk.no/LIVE (from Thursday 11th August). Further information at http://nighthawk.no/.

2. From 12th to 14th August, Druskininkai, Lithuania, will host the Falco Cup 2016 / Pre WTOC 2017. With all courses set by Andrius Jovaiša, the event is organized by OSK “Falco” and has to offer a Relay course on the first day, followed by a PreO course and a TempO course, both on Saturday, finishing with a second PreO course on Sunday. Both PreO courses score for the Unofficial European Cup in Trail Orienteering 2016 (stages #7 and #8). 89 competitors entered the event, being 57 in the Open class, 25 in the Paralympic class and 7 in the junior class. In the Open class it’s possible to see on the list some important names, such as the Slovakian Ján Furucz, the Ukrainian Vitaliy Kyrychenko, the Croatian Ivica Bertol, the Swedish Lennart Wahlgren and Martin Fredholm, the Italian Remo Madella or the Norwegian Sigurd Daehli and Martin Jullum. In the Paralympic class, the current World Champion, Vladislav Vovk (Ukraine) will be present. Everything to follow at http://wtoc2017.lt/2015/07/31/pre-wtoc2017/.

3. Throughout April and May, the FootO Athletes’ Commission surveyed the international women’s elite community regarding their thoughts on the winning time for women’s long distance events. The survey was sent out to all female athletes that have competed in an IOF world ranking level event, or higher, since the beginning of 2015; with a total of 452 athletes, from 46 countries, responding. Based on the results of this survey, the Athletes’ Commission recommended that the winning time for the women’s long distance event (at World Championships/World Cup level) should be increased to 80-85 minutes. Also, the men’s Long Distance estimated winning time should not be decreased to match the women’s estimated winning time. Finally, the new women’s estimated winning time should be reviewed 2-3 years after implementation with regard to increasing it again to match the men’s estimated winning time. Tou can read the full survey results at http://orienteering.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/AC-LD-Survey-report-002.pdf.

4. With the 1st Bizkaya Saria's trophy, came to the end the Spanish MTB Orienteering League 2016. This was a very important round for the top two in the Men Elite class, David Toll Clos (Go-Xtrem) and Angel Garcia Garcia (Brigantia), both with possibilities to ensure the final triumph, but with Toll Clos much closer from achieving that goal, needing just a win. The truth is that Garcia achieved two victories and a second place against two third places and a "mp" from Clos, eventually reaching the top of the table in the last stage and achieving a victory as suffered as tasty. The difference between the two athletes stood at a mere 1.14 points (799.16 to Garcia against 798.02 from Clos), with David Tarrés Villegas (COB) finishing third with 764.17 points. In the Women Elite class everything stayed decided in the 8th stage, after 8 wins in a row of Monica Aguilera Viladomiu (Tierra Tragame). In the final round, Aguilera eventually consolidate the top position by winning two of the three stages, fitting Soler Puig Sea (Tona Bikes) the highlight note by winning the remaining stage and thus breaking an 100% winning series of Aguilera. In the end, Monica Aguilera recorded a total of 800 points, against 734.48 of Mar Soler Puig, second, and 701.62 of Ana Varela Yañez (Brigantia), ranked third. The overall final rankings can be seen at http://www.fedo.org/web/ficheros/competicion/o-bm/ranking/2016/Ranking-OBM-2016.pdf.

Joaquim Margarido