Ján Furucz: "More Orienteering, less geometric exercises"

Ján Furucz met Orienteering at the age of 10 and the first years were really successful. But six years later I had to stop, because a heart disease. Now, at the age of 44, he is organizer, director, controller, course setter, map maker... and Trail orienteer.

What do you see in TrailO that makes it so special?

Ján Furucz (J. F.) - The fact that you can practice TrailO almost in every age it's amazing. And it’s not only for recreation, but you can do it, also, at the highest level. If someone ever told me that I would be in the World Championships, I wouldn't believe. TrailO represents what I like in Orienteering the most. The mental challenge and the ability to navigate. The physical aspects are not important. For me TrailO is the best way to do Orienteering.

Can you remember your first steps in TrailO? Was it “love at first sight”?

J. F. - I met TrailO a few years ago and, in the beginning, I thought it was only for disabled people. I could get some detailed information from Tomáš Leštínsky and I found it very interesting. Three years ago, I took part in a multi-day Orienteering competition in the Czech Republic which included also a TrailO competition. I was thinking that my orienteering skills were at a high level so it would be easy to succeed. There was about 40 competitors and the goal was pretty clear: I should reach the top 5. Then, the shock came. I was 5th from the end! I didn’t understand why. I was really surprised. I have a brother whose Orienteering skills are similar or even better than mine (we've been rivals our whole life) and we decided that we would try it together. Our first real competition was in Prague. We studied many TrailO materials before this competition. The first steps are everything but easy when you're a beginner and the Czech colleagues sometimes like more geometric exercises (laughs). After the first competition we've been unhappy, but the second day (in the forest) showed us how real fun TrailO can be. And we loved it!

What are your most valuable skills as a trail-orienteer?

J. F. - The navigational part, imagination, good map reading and fast thinking.

What is the most difficult part in TrailO?

J. F. - Concentration is very important. Sometimes I create lots of imaginary mistakes (typically zeros). I have a big mental problem with geometric exercises, I don’t like to solve problems like sighting lines or vegetation boundary by tree branches.

In your daily routine, what part is TrailO? How do you do for training?

J. F. - I think you're going to be surprised. I don’t train TrailO specifically. I love maps and orienteering is my life. The ideal training is to prepare competitions, design maps, set courses and, of course, compete. Many competitions means many practical experience. There, we discover new techniques, new tricks. My only special training, which I invented, is to drill the English answers for TempO. I just look for the third flag and I know that's Charlie. I train flags from left to the right, from right to the left, from center to the left, from center to the right... I have one funny story from my first World Championships, in Italy. First TempO qualification, first station. The correct answer was the first flag from the right. It was so clear that I immediately said “Foxtrot”. But there was only five flags in front of me (laughs). Sometimes I am training TempO on computer simulators, but there is a problem with the 3D vision. Therefore, I'm looking forward to a reallly orienteering simulator, hopefully developed by our third brother, Peter.

Last season, you achieved an amazing 2nd place in Croatia, in the World Trail Orienteering Championships' TempO competition. Did you expect it? Can you point the key for such a great success?

J. F. - I wasn’t expecting a medal. OK, somewhere in the most secret dream, where everyone turn into a beautiful and wealthy prince, maybe I could find the desire for a medal. I remember well those days. In the Qualification stage I was really unhappy, because the day before I had had so many stupid mistakes in PreO. I was really afraid that I could miss the final, which would be a big disappointment. I was very nervous before the start. In the first station I made one mistake and change tactics immediately. I needed to be faster to recover from the mistake and I was satisfied with my performance. Surprisingly, I took the 9th position, just before Marit Wiksell, which was a wonderful feeling for me. I see Marit and the Finnish competitors in the TempO's Olympus. OK, I was in the Final, set satisfaction. Next day we were the first in the quarantine. We studied the demo map and the very detailed terrain. Personally, I don’t like park terrain and map, I prefer a more detailed terrain with many contours. I don’t have problems with map reading so this was, maybe, one of the reasons for the good result. The Final, in the golf course, was difficult (specially the 2nd station) but really nice. The 15 minutes after finishing have been terrible for me but finally I could taste the silver medal, a perfect, amazing, unbelievable feeling. And what about the tactics? Very easy. Of course, the best is the one without mistakes and the fastest. But TempO’s Olympus is not for us, our tactics are different. I have my own rule: Be able to solve problems in 30 seconds or simply forget. A couple of mistakes are acceptable, but speed is essential. This is TempO. Being slowly, even without mistakes, you won't get a victory.
 

How do you feel about your 34th place in PreO?

J. F. - It was a tragedy. Me and my brother specialized to different disciplines. I have rather PreO and he likes TempO. But, when things count, we are more stressed in our favorite disciplines. The pressure of being in the World Championships is enormous and not always easy to manage.

What general ideas do you keep from the competition overall, both technically and organizational?

J. F. - In my opinion, TrailO is a random competition sometimes. Not everyone finds the correct answer by logical reasoning. Of course, this primarily depends on the Course setter. TrailO is inflexible sometimes. I liked the Relay model which could be applied to individuals. The combination between PreO and TempO is very interesting. And I would suggest the Sprint PreO, with half of the regular time limit. Or why not zeros in timed controls? It would turn things more difficult.

Please tell me about Orienteering in Slovakia and, particularly, about TrailO.

J. F. - Slovakia is a small orienteering country. We have about 200-300 registered orienteers. In TrailO we are beginners. For the first time we're trying to join a few TrailO competitions together with Foot orienteering events. We are teaching about TrailO. Many myths, many untruths. It's not an easy way for us.

Is TrailO improving in the best way? How do you see the present moment of the discipline?

J. F. - I do not know. We are only beginners, we are doing it just a little over two years but our opinion could be interesting. Basically, we need to be closer to the classic orienteering competitors. Course settings is very important. My motto is: “More orienteering, less geometric exercises.” No special TrailO techniques, no half-meter Zeros, no sighting lines, no bearing, no measuring, … . Just read the map and terrain. The compass should be used only for right orientation of the map. We should solve only terrain details, contours, … . This is the right thing for classic orienteering competitors. I also defend more generalization to maps. Absolutely accurate maps aren't good for orienteering, it turns things very easy for all. Less time and more stress to PreO. I love PreO because I am building symbiosis with the map, terrain and course. On the other side, dynamics of TempO is amazing. TempO is extreme focus on speed and understanding. The TempO is super, but the competition time is short. A very special problem is the definition of PARA competitors. My (extreme) opinion is that PARA category should be cancelled. The basic idea is still the integration for TrailO. We want to merge, don’t divide these two worlds (OPEN and PARA). Maybe giving them more time and not another category. Different adding time for disabled by disability level. It is my (maybe extreme) opinion, but is better than current status (walking vs wheelchair competitors).

What would you do for getting some more participation and media attention?

J. F. - It's a difficult question. Where to find more competitors? We can look to another orienteering disciplines, but we should be closer to them. More orienteering, less geometric exercises... And don’t doing some isolated races, but combined with the organizers of other disciplines. We are the discipline which integrates disabled with non disabled competitors. This is amazing. Many organizations are focused on helping disabled people, so why don't we focus on it, too. I think we have large reserves from the IOF to individual federations. And maybe that's the way to get media attention. Let us try bring PARA TrailO to the Paralympics. Why not?

Next May, you'll host the European Cup in Trail Orienteering's 2nd round. What kind of event can we expect?

J. F. - We have two major goals. The first, we want to show that TrailO is for everyone, not just for Trail orienteers. “More orienteering, less geometric exercises”, this is our goal. We have selected two different types of terrain. PreO is around the castle Červený Kameň, with a mixture of land form and point objects. Not only TrailO competition, but together with two Foot orienteering competitions. TempO is the classic sandy terrain (flat terrain with a lot of details) on Záhorie (Borský Mikuláš). About the second major goal, we want to show quickly and online results, both in PreO and TempO. For PreO we will use SportIdent and for TempO will use tablets (with Ant software).

How is it going to be your season? What goals did you set, both for European and World Championships?

J. F. - It is difficult to talk about goals for the European Championship, since I spent much time and energy preparing the European Cup. So, the European Championships will be just a way to relax after ECTO. My personal goals are situated around the 15th place. Especially we look forward on the Relay event where we have high hopes. But my personal highlight of the season is the World Championships in Sweden. My dream is orienteering in Nordic terrain. Last year, we visited Sweden (the first time in my life) within the Nordic match and I think it was an important step for the understanding of maps and course setter techniques. The 15th place would be awesome. And the Relay, of course, which we look forward and secretly hoping for a good result.

In the start of a new TrailO season, I ask you a wish to all orienteers and trail-orienteers in particular.

J. F. - I would like to wish everyone good health. I would like to invite all orienteers to try any TrailO competition, exploring the beauties and difficulties of this discipline. What I would like to wish to TrailO orienteers? Let's us be more, let’s have more quality competitions. Let’s be more orienteering and less geometric exercises. I look forward to see you also in Slovakia ECTO 2016 and, two years later, in the ETOC 2018.

Joaquim Margarido

  

Spanish Orienteering Championships CEO 2016: Three titles to António Martinez and Anna Serrallonga

With victories of Andreu Blanés and Anna Serrallonga in the Middle Distance stage, came to an end another edition of the Spanish Orienteering Championships. As in 2015, Antonio Martinez and Anna Serrallonga were the two brightest stars of the Championships.

Pontevedra, in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, hosted the Spanish Orienteering Championships CEO 2016, which took place along the Easter's holidays. Coming from all over Spain - and also from Portugal, Finland, Sweden and Lithuania -, more than 1300 competitors were able to enjoy demanding terrains and challenging courses, but also the availability and welcoming of an extraordinary organization, signed by the Club AROMON, hardly working for high level Championships, despite the harsh rainy weather along the weekend.

Fulfilling the first day's program, the Long Distance stage had in Antonio Martínez (Colivenc) the big winner, with a time of 1:18:25. With a less good performance, Andreu Blanes (Colivenc) would stay out of the podium, unable to defend his title. So, Martinez's big opponent would be Eduardo Gil (Tjalve), losing the title by two seconds. In the Women Elite class, Anna Serralonga (Go-Xtrem) took the Long Distance title for the second year in a row, with the exact time of one hour, and a comfortable lead of 4:43 over the second classified, Ona Ràfols (COC).

Relay, Sprint and Middle

Always spectacular, the Relay and the Sprint courses called the attentions on the second day of the Championships. Particularly tasty, the Men Relay title was achieved for the fourth time in a row by the representatives of the Valencian Community (Roger Casal, Andreu Blanes and Antonio Martinez) against the Catalonia Community's team, with Marc Serralonga, Biel Ràfols and Pau Llorens. The Catalans were stronger in the Senior class, with Ona Ràfols, Amparo Gil and Anna Serralonga imposing themselves to the Valencians Violeta Feliciano, Alicia Gil and Esther Gil by 59 seconds of difference, thus recovering the title lost in 2015. Taking advantage of the excellent conditions in the Pontevedra's Historic Centre, the Sprint would have in Antonio Martinez and Ona Ràfols the great winners. With Blanés being second placed, Martinez repeated the triumph of the last year in the distance, achieving his third consecutive title in these Championships. Ona Ràfols had a much more complicated task since Violeta Feliciano (Colivenc), finishing second, spent more three seconds than the winner.

On the last day of the Championships took place the Middle Distance course in in which Antonio Martinez and Anna Serrallonga started as national titles' defenders. In the women's sector, Serrallonga was once again at her best, winning comfortably in 31:08 against 33:19 from Ona Ràfols. In the Men Elite Class, Antonio Martinez was unable to do better than the 4th place, letting out the triumph for Andreu Blanes, with Eduardo Gil finishing once more in the second position. Still some words to those who leaved from Pontevedra with all the three individual medals in their luggage: Gustav Wirén (Malarruta) in the M14 class, Raúl Sanjuán (Colivenc) in the M16 class and Jesús de Miguel Rey (Navaleno-O) in the M65 class. Along with Alvaro García and David De Miguel Armisén, Raúl Sanjuán was also the winner in the Men Cadets Relay.

Complete results and further information at http://aromon.es/2016/03/clasificaciones-ceo-2016/.

Joaquim Margarido

Trail Orienteering: The first steps in Brazil

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

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

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

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

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

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

Two or three things I know about it...

1. By these days, Göreme is hosting the Cappadocia MTBO Cup, an event that attracts to that region of Turkey more than 100 athletes from 10 different nationalities. The competition started yesterday with the Mixed Sprint Relay, which follows, in a few hours, the Long Distance. In the second half of the event we'll have the Middle Distance and the Sprint, respectively next Saturday and Sunday. With the last two stages scoring for the IOF World Ranking, the event registers 61 athletes in the Elite classes, among which we can see renowned names such as the Austrian Kevin Haselsberger, Andreas Waldmann, Sonja Zinkl or Michaela Gigon and the Swiss Beat Schaffner , Beat Oklé, Maja Rothweiler or Christine Schaffner. This event is also included in the World Masters Series, with the Middle Distance and the Long Distance stages scoring for the respective ranking. More details at http://www.orienteering.org.tr/.

2. Are we on the road to the Winter Olympics? Yes, definitely! For the first time ever, Ski Orienteering will be included in the program of the Winter Universiade. As a pre-competition to the Universiade, the World Ski Orienteering Championships will be held in Krasnoyarsk March 5-13, 2017, the same where, two years later, will take place, the Winter Universiade 2019. Two weeks ago, the IOF Event Adviser team - Event Director Alexander Bliznevsky, Assistant Event Director Sergey Khudik, Assistant Event Adviser Markku Vauhkonen (FIN), Event Secretary Anna Khudik, Senior Event Adviser Sild Sixten (EST), TV-producer Karel Jonak (CZE) and National Controller Arkadiy Vedin – visited Krasnoyarsk and several working meetings were held with representatives from the Russian Orienteering Federation, the Winter Universiades Directorate, the WSOC 2017 Organizing Committee and TV-production team. As a result of the visit a WSOC 2017 TV production plan was elaborated, the final program of the WSOC 2017 was confirmed and Bulletin 2 prepared. Ski Orienteering aims for inclusion to the Winter Olympic Games and the Winter Universiade 2019 corresponds to a giant step towards such big goal. Ski Orienteering is already in the permanent program of the World Military Winter Games and is now joining the FISU Winter Universiade sports, two of the largest winter sports events in the world besides the Winter Olympics.

3. It is less than 50 days until World Orienteering Day, and there is a lot of activity going on around the world, with many schools and clubs in the process of planning their activities for World Orienteering Day. The brand new World Orienteering Day Website is now live and can be seen at http://worldorienteeringday.com/. It will be the central hub for the project, where participants can register their activities, upload maps, download promotional material and material for their events, and much more. The latest WOD Newsletter is just being published and it’s full of information and inspiration. Read it [HERE] to find out more about how to use the website and what materials are available, and to see what other people are getting up to on May 11th. In the meanwhile, the Portuguese Orienteering Federation has been encouraging the clubs in order to join the initiative, but only the Clube Orientação Viseu - Natura has made public its intention to organize an event on World Orientation Day so far. Along with the Centro de Deficientes de Santo Estevão, the COV - Natura will organize an Adapted Orienteering course, a discipline particularly directed to a population with mental intellectual disability.

4. After the major international events of January and February, Abrantes hosted the Orienteering's come back. Organized by the Clube de Orientação e Aventura, the Ribatejo Interior Trophy called to Abrantes, right in the center of the country, a set of 324 athletes for two Middle Distance courses, both scoring for the Portuguese Orienteering Cup Vitalis 2016, and also a Night Sprint course and a TempO event. In the Men Elite class, victories divided up by Tiago Romão (GafanhOri), Manuel Horta (GafanhOri) and Marco Póvoa (ADFA), the last one in the Sprint. As for the Women Elite class, triumphs for Mariana Moreira (CPOC), Carolina Delgado (GD4C) and, in the Sprint, Liliana Oliveira (GD4C). Overall, the victory would belong to Manuel Horta and Liliana Oliveira. As for the TempO event, the victory fell to Edgar Domingues (COC). Everything to check at http://www.orioasis.pt/oasis/homepages.php?action=ev&eventid=1511.

Joaquim Margarido

  

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

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

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

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

- And what similarities persist?

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

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

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

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

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