World of TrailO

1. With the World Trail Orienteering Championships 2015, in Zagreb and Karlovac, still alive in our memory, the Trail orienteering returned to Croatia for the start of the 2016 season. Having in the island of Cres a beautiful host, the Kvarner Bay Challenge 2016 was organized by club OK Vihor and had the participation of 28 athletes. With 16 points out of 17, the Croatian Zdenko Horjan (OK Vihor) started in the best way on the first day of competition, getting a comfortable lead of two points on his most direct opponents. On the second day, the athlete lost one point for the best in the stage, but eventually reached a much desired victory with a total of 31 points and 163 seconds in the timed controls. Tomislav Varnica (OK Vihor) was second, one point behind the winner, while the third placed was Jasminka Cindric Perkovic, with 29 points. Find the complete results at http://www.vihor.hr/assets/2016_03_05-06_preo_results_all-.pdf.

2. The Slovak Dušan Furucz was the big winner of the Lipica Open 2016's Trail orienteering competition, which took place in Lipica, Slovenia. Offering two stages – the first of Preo and the last of TempO -, the event was organized by club OK Trzin and registered the participation of 51 athletes representing 9 countries. With 19 points out of 20, the Croatian Ivica Bertol (OK Vihor) took the lead after winning the PreO stage that opened the competition, alongside with his teammate Tomislav Varnica, the Slovak Pavol Bukovac (Farmaceut Bratislava) and the Czech Libor Forst (MatFyz Praha) and with a small advantage of one point ahead of a group of six athletes, which included Dušan Furucz and Ján Furucz, representing Farmaceut Bratislava. And it was precisely the Furucz brothers the great protagonists of the second day, imposing clearly to the concurrence and reaching the two top places overall. Ivica Bertol was the third placed. Check everything at http://www.oktrzin-klub.si/sl/lipica-trailo.html.

3. The University of Valencia and the Chair Divina Pastora of Adapted Sports (CDPDAUV) organized a Trail orienteering clinic in the last weekend of February. Attended by 22 participants, the sessions were structured in two days and were aimed to teachers of physical activity sports, teachers of physical education, specialist of sports related to the environment, orienteers in general and people interested in trail orienteering. Looking for better understand the discipline of Trail orienteering and training of technical staff in planning and organizing Trail O events, the CDPDAUV invited once more Joaquim Margarido for talking about this discipline, giving some important ideas about its secrets, as well as how to organize a Trail orienteering event. Ana Belén Calvo, José António Tamarit and Gil Niclás Nieminen were responsible for the practical activities. During the morning of the first day, Joaquim Margarido presented the Trail orienteering to a 130 students group, with a theoretical part in the University and a formal course at Viveiros Park. Presentation, videos and maps related with the practical activities can be seen in the University's Moodle Platform, at http://sefuv.uv.es/moodle/.

[Photo: OK Vihor / facebook.com/OK-Vihor]

Joaquim Margarido

  

Portugal City Race 2016: Rodriguez and Fernandes won the first stage

Barcelos attended the first stage of the Portugal City Race 2016. In a sunny morning, Maikel Rodriguez and Joana Fernandes were the big winners in the senior classes.

In a truly fantastic day for the practice of Orienteering, Barcelos hosted the 1st stage of the Portugal City Race. Organized by the Amigos da Montanha Association, the event called to this beautiful city more than 300 participants, many of them youngster from the school sports or simply curious, trying here the sport for the very first time.

In the Men Senior class, the victory went to the Spanish Maikel Rodriguez (Aromon) with a time of 40:16. Assiduous presence in the Portuguese races organized in the north, the athlete has shown a tremendous consistency along the course, taking advantage of the mispunch of Pedro Torres (VidaActiva), the great leader in the first half. With more 30 seconds than the winner, Victor Barreiro (Individual) would reach the second position, while the third place went to Carlos Viana (.COM), with a time of 42:17. In the Women Seniors class, Joana Fernandes (.COM) dominated from the first to the last control, beating categorically the favorite Carolina Delgado (GD4C), current National Champion of Spint and winner of the 1st edition of the Portugal City Race. Joana Fernandes spent 41:17 to complete her course, against 42:07 of Carolina Delgado. The third place fell to Tânia Covas Costa (.COM), with 2:18 more than the winner.

An attractive certamen

After a successful first edition, the Portugal City Race is back this year with another breath, divided for nine cities in the north and the center of the country. As Barcelos, the cities of Braga, Vila do Conde, Viseu and Porto back to welcome the event, Penafiel being the only “break” in relation to 2015. In contrast, the cities of Leiria, Águeda, Aveiro and Figueira da Foz do, this year, part of the offer, greatly enriching this unique set of events.

Inspired in the City Race Euro Tour, the Portugal City Race bases its philosophy on Foot orienteering events in an urban environment and with courses designed for times of winners matching with the rules of the Portuguese Orienteering Federation for the Middle and Long Distance. The courses cover all ages, can be made individually or in groups, and for the less competitive or to take the first steps in Orienteering, the organizations promote a tourist course, putting on the map the major attractions of each of the sites where the event is perform.

Results

Men Senior

1. Maikel Rodriguez (Aromon) 40:16 (+ 00:00)

2. Victor Barreiro (Individual) 40:46 (+ 00:30)

3. Carlos Viana (.COM) 42:17 (+ 02:01)

4. André Rodrigues (Individual) 42:44 (+ 02:28)

5. Sergio Duarte (.COM) 43:04 (+ 02:48)

Women Senior

1. Joana Fernandes (.COM) 41:17 (+ 00:00)

2. Carolina Delgado (GD4C) 42:07 (+ 00:50)

3. Tania Covas Costa (.COM) 43:35 (+ 02:18)

4. Carla Sousa (GD4C) 48:01 (+ 06:44)

5. Albertina Sá (ADFA) 49:27 (+ 08:10)

Complete results and further information at http://www.amigosdamontanha.com/_barcelos_city_race_6.

[Photo: Portugal City Race / facebook.com/cityraceportugal]

Joaquim Margarido

Mariya Kechkina: "The greatest achievement of ESOC was my victory in the Middle Distance"

The results in the precedent rounds of the World Cup were a good harbinger for some interesting performances in the European Ski orienteering Championships 2016. But not even Mariya Kechkina would be able to guess about the two individual gold medals achieved in Obertilliach, Austria. This is the starting point for today's interview on the Portuguese Orienteering Blog.

Two great races and two fantastic wins in ESOC 2016. Did you expect it?

Mariya Kechkina (M. K.) - To tell you the truth, I had thought I could achieve some good results in ESOC but I couldn’t predict I would win two individual races. Most of all, it’s difficult to get ready for two races one after another in a psychological way. In the past two or three years I was preparing intensively for the main international events (WSOC, ESOC) although I hasn't been able to achieve significant results. I had psychological problems every time. After unsuccessful performances in the last season in the ESOC and WSOC I had a strong wish to improve my results.

Was your preparation as good as it could be or did you feel some difficulties along the months before the European Championships?

M. K. - This season I performed well in the Russian Championships and World Cup rounds in Finland and Germany. Since November, the season was full of competitions and I managed to achieve excellent results. Some weeks before the European Championships I caught a cold. Though there was some time before the competitions, it was psychologically difficult to realize that the main start wasn't close enough because my physical shape was everything but perfect. Anyway I managed to get a good shape by ESOC.

Can you point some strong ideas from your week in Obertilliach?

M. K. - A really nice week, with some ups and downs. Thinking back on the Relay I remember a complicated feeling of discontent when your team is one step behind the victory. The Relay is a hard work of all the team members but at this Championships we were unlucky and didn’t win. I also have to say some words about Russian sportsmen. In Russia there are a lot of athletes who are able to compete at the highest level and they do this. At the same time the qualifying system for ESOC and WSOC is complicated and intensive, the rivalry is high, that’s why not every athlete is able to go through the qualifying rounds showing stable results. That’s very difficult to keep fit in an appropriate way. Probably that is the reason why only few can participate in Russian Championships with high results and after that show their maximum at ESOC and WSOC. There are many strong and perspective junior sportsmen in Russia. Most of them are children of trainers or their parents always did Orienteering. It’s a pity a lot of them leave this sport without taking part in elite competitions. They have to choose between the career of a professional sportsman or another profession. As they realize they have to sacrifice many things, only few are ready to make an attempt to become an elite sportsman.

What was the best and the worse of the Championships?

M. K. - I'm afraid I can’t say what was the best and the worst of the Championships. I could get from all races much experience, both positive and negative, and it helps me to improve.

If I asked you for a moment - the great achievement of the Championships - what would be your choice?

M. K. - The greatest achievement of the ESOC was my victory in the Middle Distance because of my best physical shape and an almost clean race.

You finish the season with the second place in the World Cup and the third position in the IOF World Ranking. Does it fit with your goals?

M. K. - I knew that reaching a great place in the World Ranking would mean stable good results and I did it. I didn’t set a goal to win all the races at the beginning of the season. The main thing was to plan my training process and to get ready for the main competitions . I’m happy that I could manage to succeed and to get a high position in the world ranking, also thanks to my coach.

We have now a time lapse of eight months until the next races. What do you have in mind for keeping your shape during such a long break?

M. K. - After the end of the season I would take a small rest. Then I’m planning to keep practicing in my usual regime.

What are your plans for the future. Are you going to see you doing SkiO at the highest level five years more? Ten?

M. K. - Next season I’m planning to take part in several competitions: ESOC, for sure, WSOC and the World Military games. I haven’t decided my future plans yet as my family (husband and son) need me and I feel I have to devote them more time than I've done so far.

[Photo: Nordenmark Adventure / facebook.com/NordenmarkAdventure]

Joaquim Margarido

Navigational Map Reading: A scientific approach by Amy K. Lobben

Most of us know people who ‘‘cannot read a map’’ and others who seem to navigate intuitively. “Tasks, Strategies, and Cognitive Processes Associated With Navigational Map Reading: A Review Perspective”, by Amy K. Lobben, tries to identify and describe several cognitive processes that may take place in a map reader’s brain while managing the combined task of map reading and navigation. It's worth reading the paper.

In 2004, Amy K. Lobben, Central Michigan University, published in The Professional Geographer, 56(2) 2004, pages 270-281 [HERE], a paper focused on how people read and use navigation maps. Despite its “age”, the document helps us to understand the cognitive processes who are behind a seemingly trivial task to the common orienteer. “Whether in their teaching or research (and likely in their daily lives), all geographers use maps. Because maps are objects involved in nearly every aspect of geography, the researchers who use them should have at least a basic understanding of how they are processed and perceived by the map user (and the map user is not only the public served by the geographer, but also geographers themselves). Cartography is more than a technique, and maps are more than tools”, starts by saying Amy Lobben.

Reading attentively the paper, we find that “understanding what strategies people use, why different people use different strategies to complete the same task, and identifying what cognitive process are controlling those strategies provides the framework for a growing number of geographic research studies. In addition, the questions of why some people can read maps and navigate through an environment better than others holds an answer that has eluded researchers working in both cartography and psychology.”

One of the most interesting parts is related to map reading strategy - “a specific method or tactic employed by a map user to complete navigational map-reading tasks” -, and claim some attention to the fact that “brain structure may lead to strategy differences. But learned behavior may also exert an influence on a person’s approach to the tasks. A significant amount of research analyzing the spatial ability differences between males and females has been published ( for a review of this literature see Montello et al. 1999). Many of the findings discussed in their review suggest that males and females differ in their ability to perform many spatial ability tasks. However, based on their own findings, Montello et al. (1999, 529) are careful to point out that it is incorrect to assume that ‘males in general have better spatial ability than females.’’

Cognitive processes associated with navigational map reading and cognitive mapping – environmental mapping, survey mapping, object rotation, symbol identification, map/environment interaction, visualization, self-location and path integration – are also chapters (and sub-chapters) of the paper with lots of interesting and really useful information. Amy K. Lobben concludes: “We are an increasingly mobile society and while new technologies (such as personal mobile GPS units and in-car navigation systems) provide navigational assistance, map reading still is a task faced frequently by nearly everyone. As such, a person’s ability to complete navigational map reading both efficiently and effectively may exert a profound influence on their mobility.”

Joaquim Margarido

IOF Athlete of February: Lars Hol Moholdt

Name: Lars Hol Moholdt

Country: Norway

Living place: Jyväskylä and Rindal

Club: Wing OK

Date of Birth: 25th March 1985

Discipline: Ski Orienteering

Career Highlights: WOC gold long 2015, WOC bronze relay 2011 and middle 2015, WOC, EOC gold sprint, middle and long, 2016, relay 2013, 2014 and 2015

IOF World Ranking: Second, after Stanimir Belomazhev from Bulgaria

Soon Lars Hol Moholdt will start working. Normal work. That’s what the three times European Champion usually does during this part of the year, in the beginning of March.

– When it felt tough physically at the start of the sprint at European Championship, I liked that. Since I knew my shape was very good, I understood that winning was really a possibility, Lars says.

The sprint was the first competition at European Championship in Austria in the start of March.

For years, Lars has been one of the best in world.

At the pre camp, at 1600 meter over sea level in Anterselva in Italy, the week before the championship in Austria, he felt strong. In Austria got proof that the feeling was true.

– I had the shape of my life.

Three races, three medals

It ended with a victory, 36 seconds before Russian Andrey Lamov, who took the second place at the sprint.

– I was a surprised that it was such big difference, Lars says.

The week continued to be surprising. He also won the middle and the long distance.

– I hadn’t expected results like this.

During the championships, there was a lot of heavy snowfall. About half meter fell during the night before the first race.

– I like soft conditions.

Have missed something

The soon to be 31-year-old Norwegian has been among the very best in the world for some years now, but in some ways he has missed the individual victories.

– I was asked after the victories in Austria if I shouldn’t go for a new sport and other challenges when I had won so much. But I haven’t got so many victories. During my years on top level I had only two big victories internationally before the races in Austria, he states.

The first one was a victory at a World Cup sprint race December 2013 in Finland, as well as at the WSOC long in Norway last winter.

– There’s still a lot to achieve.

Growing up with four sports

Lars grew up in Rindal, in the north western part of Norway. Rindal is a municipality with a bit more than 2000 inhabitants. Close to half of them live in the centre, where Lars grew up and started his life as a sportsman.

– My two older brothers did orienteering. An uncle brought them into the sport, so I started with orienteering because they did it. I also took part in cross country skiing, as well as some football and athletics, he says.

He was a talent in both orienteering and cross country skiing in young ages.

– It was a good place to grow up and perfect for doing sport within short distances. The ski tracks start just 300 meters away, and it is also great for running and roller skiing.

Moved to sports school

When Lars was 16 years old, he moved from home to live in a dorm in Trondheim, about 100 kilometres from home, where the World Orienteering Championships were held in 2010. He entered the school Heimdal, where talents train during school time and get close follow up. Lars studied at the cross country programme, and learnt a lot during the four years. Øyvind Skaanes, a former World Champion in cross country skiing, gave a lot of good advice. In orienteering, Lars joined the club Wing, which had a lot of good juniors and seniors.

– If I’d wanted to go for skiing only I would have maybe gone to Meråker, situated a bit further away, but I wanted to go for both orienteering and cross country skiing.

The start with ski-o

As a junior, Lars had great success both in cross country skiing and orienteering, with medals at Norwegian championships in both sports, gold in cross country and silver in orienteering. During his last year as a junior he also had a very good chance in the fight for a place on the Norwegian team for the Junior World Championships in cross country skiing, but he had problems with his back when the final races were held.

He didn’t qualify for the big goal for that winter, probably because of the problems with his back, but as a result of that he got some extra days without races and a team mate in Wing changed his sports life.

The start of the change came January 15-16, 2005. An older team mate in Wing, Øystein Kvaal Østerbø, brought him into Ski Orienteering. Østerbø wanted Moholdt to take part at the O-treff-competitions close to Lillehammer. Østerbø has been one of the very best sprinters in orienteering for more than ten years. In young senior age he was also going hard and doing well in Ski Orienteering, with gold at the ESOC relay in 2003.

19-year-old Moholdt managed better and better during the course the first day at O-treff.

– On the relay the second day it didn’t go so well, but I wanted to try the sport more. It was so exiting, with something happening all the time. The big difference in skiing technique, due to the big variation in tracks and difference skills needed, was also something that attracted me.

The 30-year-old is glad for the trip to O-treff. He found his sport.

– I have never for a second regretted my choice of Ski Orienteering.

During the first years in SkiO Lars made a few mistakes due to going at too high speed. Former top athlete and national head coach Tommy Olsen saw the potential and gave him chances.

– It has been important for my success that Olsen gave me trust and opportunities even without the best results.

Two places to live

Lars does a lot of travelling between Norway and Finland. In Finland he lives together with Tiia Tallia. They have been a couple since 2010. She also does Ski Orienteering on a high level, but has since last autumn she has being working full time as a teacher.

– Are you good at Finnish?

– I have got something and is getting better, but I am better at skiing than at speaking Finnish.

Tiia and Lars also live together in Norway, and they talk Norwegian together.

There are more competitions for Lars in Finland than in his home country.

– It’s good with much more races in Finland. I hope there can be more races in Norway in the future. Small local races are important to attract more people and get more people to take part. I also hope the sport will become more visible on an international level.

In Norway the terrain is much steeper than in Finland, for example like in his home town Rindal, and he still likes train in Norway.

– In Finland I have to be conscious if I want to train up hill, and it’s also good to have to be conscious on what to do.

Almost full time

Lars is well educated at NTNU in Trondheim. He is a civil engineer. He got his degree in 2013. He completed the five-year long in seven and half years. After he finished his education he has mostly been Ski Orienteering.

– I regard myself as a full time athlete, but in spring time I work full time for two to three months.

So in some weeks’ time he will start to work for one of his main sponsors in Norway.

– When other athletes go to warmer places in the spring, I go in to work, he laughs.

Secret of the success

Moholdt’s personal coach is Erlend Slokvik, who has been top three in World Cup in both orienteering and ski orienteering and has a long career in coaching, for example as head coach both in orienteering and biathlon.

– Lars is doing the same amount of training as more well-known winter sports athletes and he is so wholeheartedly and consciously striving to be even better, Slokvik says.

Year by year the Norwegian has raised his level.

Olympiatoppen, the organisation in charge for the work with Olympic sports in Norway, also supports Moholdt with money.

The first big win

February 12, 2015, was a day Lars had looked forward to for a long time. It was the day of the long distance race on home ground at the WSOC in Norway. The Norwegian had never got an international individual medal before that day, but he did a terrific race at Budor, only about 100 kilometres from where he started with Ski Orientering, and won the gold. The gold was also the 1000th gold won by Norwegian sports athletes and he got extra interest from both media and the heads of Norwegian sport.

All grown up

Moholdt and Øyvind Watterdal have been the only over 25 years olds in the Norwegian team during the last year. After the WSOC on home ground there were more athletes stopping their career, like Hans Jørgen Kvåle.

– Hans Jørgen and I trained so much together and I’ve got so much good feedback from him. So I have missed him and the others who stopped. On the other hand, is it also inspiring with the young ones.

The goals

Now he looks forward to WSOC in Krasnoyarsk next winter.

– There’s a lot I can do better.

– You still have the hunger after the last two big winters?

– Oh, yes. This winter I didn’t achieve my goal that was to win World Cup overall.

– So you have to carry on for more than just the coming winter since there’s no World Cup the coming winter?

– I enjoy the life. It’s the best I can do, but it’s maybe time for doing other things after coming winter, he says.

[Text Erik Borg; Photo Donatas Lazauskas. See the original article at http://orienteering.org/iof-athlete-of-the-month-february-2016/. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]