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

Constance Devillers: "MTBO has made me discover the meaning of training hard and I like it"

Close to the end of the year, the Portuguese Orienteering Blog takes a look on the future and calls a young athlete to the last interview of 2016. Constance Devillers is one of the greatest hopes of the French MTB Orienteering and brings us her story.

I would start by asking you to introduce yourself. Who is Constance Devillers?

Constance Devillers (C. D.) - I'm eighteen, I live in Besançon, France, and I'm in the first year of my studies in sports at University. I enjoy practising sport with my friends and find new passions, like juggling or slacklining, which require concentration and motivation. I like listening to music and watching TV series, like “Pretty Little Liars” or “The 100”.

How did you meet Orienteering?

C. D. - I discovered Foot Orienteering in high school. I was lucky to participate in the 2013 French School Foot O Championships. We were four girls in the team and they were all members of an Orienteering club in Besançon. I think it was this particular first victory, shared with my friends, which made me enjoy this sport. I wanted to keep practising orienteering and improve. When I was fifteen, I started going to that club, named “Balise 25”, where, a few weeks later, I learnt about something I didn't know existed, MTB orienteering.

When did you decide to take MTB Orienteering seriously?

C. D. – At first I mostly practised FootO, which I think it's part of the training for MTBO. The first step was to learn how to ride fast and read the map at the same time, anticipating the route choices. Soon I was able to take part in MTBO competitions, and I improved by attending all the French competitions. In 2014 I was invited to a training session with the French team but it was only in 2015 that I started to train with the aim of reaching international goals, trying to get a place in the French Team in order to attend the Youth European MTB Orienteering Championships, in Portugal, which were my first Championships. One month later I was lucky to join the Junior Team and go to the World MTB Orienteering Championships, in the Czech Republic, where I won the Relay along with Lou Denaix and Lou Garcin. I spent an unforgettable week there.

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

C. D. - I find MTBO special because it has made the past three years unique to me. I’ve so many fond memories... I’ve become more self-confident. MTBO has made me discover the meaning of training hard and I like it. And the most important thing is that I love the people I met in MTBO since the very beginning, not only in my club, but in the French team and also in international teams. Everyone is friendly, gives advice, and it's motivating to see what other people are capable of.

What opportunities has Orienteering brought to you so far?

C. D. - Orienteering has given me the opportunity to travel to Portugal and to the Czech Republic (and maybe next season to Lithuania). Thanks to this sport I've also been able to improve my English.

Looking back on the Junior World MTB Orienteering Championships, are you happy with the results achieved in Portugal. Did you expect them?

C. D. - I'm very happy with my results that I see as a reward for the hard training. In 2015, the participation in the Junior World MTB orienteering Championships was totally unexpected, I didn't know what to look forward to and I was very surprised with what I did. On the contrary, this year I was expecting to be selected and it was more stressful, but very impressive nonetheless.

I would ask you to share some thoughts about the Sprint bronze and the silver in the Long Distance.

C. D. -The Sprint was the first race of the week and I knew I had to be fully focused on it, forgetting the stress and thinking only about the race. It was the first time I used the new SI-R which I think increased the difficulty level because it's a short and fast race, so the rhythm of the race never slows down. I was afraid of riding off the tracks because it’s forbidden in France. I didn't find the orienteering very difficult, but riding at the same time made it complicated; the terrain was flat, so very fast. I must say that I like the Sprint more and more; I find it hard to keep racing because orienteering always slows you.

I found the Long Distance interesting because of the route choices and the beautiful terrain. I didn't want to take risks, so I slowed down and tried not to make big mistakes. In the final part of the race I saw some girls who started before me and I knew that I had to forget about the others if I wanted to keep my self-confidence. I made some mistakes but I kept focused on the race. At the end I was really happy, and I think it was very important that I didn't give up.

Is Veronika Kubínová unbeatable at the junior level? What does she have that you don't (but you'd like to have)?

C. D. - Veronika is very strong. I remember her Sprint victory in the 2015 Junior World MTB Orienteering Championships, which impressed me. I followed what she did last September in the World Cup, in Lithuania, where she achieved great results in the Women Elite class. I’ve heard the step from junior to Elite is quite high, so she must be proud of herself. I think she has more experience than me. It's nice to meet other girls who are motivated and stronger than me; they are like role models.

What are your plans for the next season?

C. D. - I will go to 5 Days of Pilsen. It will be my second time in the Czech Republic and I remember I enjoyed it very much in 2015. My main goal is the World Championships in Lithuania, but we’ll have the European Championships in France before! It will be very exciting to take part in a Championship in my country...

What about your future? What's in store for you in the next five years?

C. D. - I want to have fun during my two years as a Junior but I must confess that I'm looking forward to riding in the Elite; I know the level is very demanding... but I think about it and maybe this is what keeps me motivated: having fun in MTBO and riding in the Elite.

Would you leave a message for those who always wanted to know about MTB Orienteering?

C. D. - If you have always wanted to know about MTBO, I have to say it's a wonderful sport which requires many qualities. The winner is the one who makes the least mistakes, is the most powerful on the bike but also in his mind, while fighting against the watch. In MTBO, you learn every day; every competition is a different one.

Joaquim Margarido

WOC 2021: Brazil prepares application

During the last Congress of the International Orienteering Federation, held in Strömstad, Sweden, the Brazilian Orienteering Confederation revealed its interest in the possible organization of the World Orienteering Championships “in the future”. Proving that that intention is to be taken seriously, we get news from the other side of the Atlantic about Brazil's application to organize the WOC 2021.

Through its Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/www.cbo.org.br/ -, the Brazilian Orienteering Confederation (BOC) made known that its President, Luiz Sérgio Mendes, was recently in Campo Alegre, in the Santa Catarina state, in search of support for the organization of the World Orienteering Championships 2021. The initiative follows the International Orienteering Federation's statement, in the Congress of Strömstad, that World Orienteering Championships should be held in countries outside of Europe, an idea enthusiastically supported by the Brazilian Confederation.

Through its President, Luiz Sérgio Mendes, the BOC expressed its intention to move forward with an application in the future, just not specifying when. We know, now, that the “future” is 2021 and it's Luiz Sérgio Mendes, himself, who confirms it: “We took the initiative to say, during the IOF Congress, that Brazil would be a candidate to organize a WOC in the future. We believe that we have the conditions to go forward with the application as early as 2021 and we understand that, by proposing the coming of this event to Brazil, we will be acting according to the IOF's goal to make our sport Olympic, since it would demonstrate to the World that Orienteering is, in fact, becoming global.” Incidentally, regarding the ideal of “Orienteering's globalization”, Mendes is very clear: “Orienteering can't truly be present on a Continent if there are no major competitions in it. It's based on this premise that we intend to apply. I believe that our sport can't evolve internationally if it doesn't move outside of Europe.”

The search has already begun

The search for places to host the event began in Campo Alegre, in Santa Catarina. “We are still in a preliminary step of the organization and we have several regions in sight. Santa Catarina was the first to be visited because we believe that the region has the potential to host the event.” Luiz Sérgio Mendes also referred Paraná, a neighbouring state of Santa Catarina, “also with great potential and suitable terrains”. But remembers that “the decision will not be made only by the BOC; if the application is accepted, we will have the visit of an IOF representative who will come to check the areas, helping us to take the decision.”

“As for the cartography”, Mendes continues, “these regions have a fairly extensive area that is already mapped. After the decision about the venue, we will start to work on nearby areas to host local and regional events, aiming to offer opportunities for training and competition to those who want to know the types of terrains in the region”. Mendes also advances with the CBO's intention to organize, next to the region considered for the WOC, an international level event in the previous year, “to enable training opportunities to future participants”, he says.

A winning project

The team in charge isn't lacking commitment and resolution, facing the task to carry out the project until the end. “From our point of view, this is a winning project as it offers the IOF an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment in presenting its major events to other continents and recognize that it's necessary to support applications from those countries who are keen on organizing such events”, the BOC's President says.

Recalling the existence of a Working Group for South America and the accomplishment in Chile of the first South American Orienteering Championships recognized by the IOF, Luiz Sérgio Mendes intends to embrace South America as a whole, through the organization of the WOC. On this subject, he says: “The organization of this event in Brazil can boost Orienteering practise growth in South America, as it will show to the South-American countries that the IOF is not a distant institution, but a Federation that really wants to embrace the whole World. This will motivate the national leaders to organize themselves better, to be more competitive and will facilitate the presence of their national teams, since Brazil borders practically all countries, except for Chile and Ecuador”. But he doesn't hesitate to also reflect about the importance of the event, internally: “For Brazil, it would be a unique opportunity to affirm itself as a Regional power, not in the sense of winning Championships, but in the ability to organize events and to show that the sport is totally formalized here. That would also change the internal status of Orienteering, because the coming of such an important event would give us the visibility that we need to increase the number of Orienteering fans in the Country”, he says.

2017, a decisive year

Luiz Sérgio Mendes also reveals the intention to “take this opportunity to improve the general quality of our major internal events, shaping them in the same way as those organized in the countries where Orienteering is fully developed”. Denying the idea of “copying models”, rather than understanding that “we have to learn from the countries that are ahead of us”, Mendes concludes that “isolated in South America we can't grow.”

“The next step is to finish the written part of the project and present it to the IOF”, says Luiz Sérgio Mendes, adding that the BOC is also in touch with the Ministry of Sports, preparing a technical note for the Secretariat of Sport of High-Performance, in order to get support for the cause. “2016 was the year of the Olympics and the country was focused on it. The arrival of 2017 changes this situation and opens up good possibilities”, he concludes.

[Photo: Brazilian Orienteering Confederation / facebook.com/www.cbo.org.br/]

Joaquim Margarido

The Norwegian TrailO Control of the Year 2016: Vote now!

Like every year, the PreOEliten blog is searching for “The Norwegian TrailO Control of the Year”. Since the beginning of December, every of each 12 candidates have been presented on the blog and it's time now to vote.

The blog PreOEliten opened a poll named “The Norwegian TrailO Control of the Year 2016”. This is a private initiative of Geir Myhr Øien and Martin Jullum, the blog's administrators, and it has been organized every year since 2010. According to the promoters of the initiative, the aim of the contest is to give attention to the good work that is being done by the organizers, course setters and event advisors, and it's also a good opportunity to learn from the best and thereby increase the quality of Norwegian events. And, of course, it's also a way to acknowledge those who spend hundreds of hours of work to put up the best possible competitions.

Each of the twelve candidates for this year's “The Norwegian TrailO Control of the Year 2016” have been presented on the blog along December and it's time, now, to vote for the best control. You just need to rank five out of the twelve nominated controls by a scoring scale 6-4-3-2-1. In other words, the one you think deserves most to be named this year's “Norwegian TrailO Control”, holds 6 points, the second most 4 points, etc. It is not allowed to score the same candidate twice. As in the previous editions, the result of the poll will decide which four controls go to the final round. In the final round, a jury will score the final winner.

A person can only vote once and it's required to fill out the e-mail address when voting. It is also possible to add a comment, which will be made anonymous and passed on the jury for the final decision. HERE you can find the twelve candidates. Take a careful look at each of them before voting. Once you've decided, you can vote through the webpage (in the bottom of the article). It is also possible to submit your vote by e-mail preoliten@gmail.com but the blog's administrators encourage to use the form. The poll is open up to and including 5th January. Vote now!

Joaquim Margarido  

Roman Ciobanu: "My main goal for 2017 is the WOC Sprint"

A few days ago, it was possible to see Roman Ciobanu shining brightly, on the one hand for being nominated for The Orienteering Achievement of 2016 and on the other hand for achieving the final third place in the poll. With this subject as the starting point of this interview, we try to know the athlete a little better, as well as the person.

How did you feel, getting the 3rd place in The Orienteering Achievement of 2016 and receiving the acknowledgement of the whole Orienteering community?

Roman Ciobanu (R. C.) - It was a big surprise for me to be nominated and an even bigger surprise to reach the final 3rd place. It’s a wonderful pleasure and it represents the appreciation of my effort and results.

How important is it from a personal point of view?

R. C. - To be known in the world is quite important, not just for me but also for my country. When I talk to people abroad, not everybody knows that Moldova exists or where it is, but now I believe that more people know that we exist and also that Orienteering exists in Moldova. Besides that, it gave me an extra motivation to train harder and to keep on going with my career.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

R. C. - Probably from my achievements. They're my main motivation, giving me the power for my trainings and for setting new goals. And simply because I love the great feeling after a good training or race. I also have many friends in Orienteering and it gives me the possibility to travel a lot and to meet new people.

Looking back on the season, how do you evaluate your performances and achievements?

R. C. - I've set two goals for the season. The first one was to finish my first marathon, which, unfortunately, I missed, giving up at the 28th km. The second one was to win the Sprint at the South East European Orienteering Championships, a competition that involved Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro, which took place in Macedonia, in September. Here I was able to achieve my goal, reaching a two-second win over the strong Ivan Sirakov, from Bulgaria. It was Moldova's first gold ever in this competition.

In the beginning of the season I didn’t have any plans to go to the World University Orienteering Championships in Hungary, but I made an agreement with a friend of mine, from Russia, that if she qualified for the Russian team I would also go to Hungary. In May she qualified and I had two months to prepare myself. There, I got the 9th place in the Sprint, which was my best result ever, and I was very surprised because the Spring period had been very hard, with some results being worse than I expected, both in Orienteering and Athletics. Also, in the Summer, I wasn't at my best physically. Before the WUOC I had had just one international Sprint start (Sochi, Russia, in March). All my preparation was made in my home city, Chisinau, where we have just 5 or 6 Sprint maps, all of them not very technically demanding.

What was the best course you ran in 2016?

R. C. - Definitely the WUOC Sprint. It was a very interesting and technical race. I didn’t do it mistake-free , losing some 10 seconds at one control, going a little bit in the wrong way and another 10 seconds on a bad route choice. I also felt a great pleasure running the 1st leg at WUOC's Relay, in a team with two Canadians. I finished my leg on the 8th position, only 25 seconds behind the leader, having lost contact with him on the last control in the forest, following a small hesitation.

What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?

R. C. - Because we don’t have many Sprint maps in my country and I didn’t have the possibility to travel to many competitions abroad, my main trainings are in the Stadium, while running on high speed and reading maps from other countries at the same time (thank you Mikhail Vinogradov for teaching me this on your website). I also do many trainings with virtual fences and walls on the map.

What does it mean to be an orienteer in Moldova?

R. C. - Orienteering in Moldova is just a hobby. We don’t have support from our Government and we don't have sponsors either. So, we need to work to have money to go somewhere to competitions. We have some good runners but unfortunately we don’t have the possibility to enter many competitions and to show the world the best we can do. Sergiu Fala usually gets the podium at competitions in countries near Moldova. Also the three Fomiciov brothers, two of whom reached the final A at JWOC Middle. We also have many good Juniors, but most of them don’t see a big motivation in training hard to achieve good results.

Are you already looking forward to the next season? What will be the main steps in your preparation during the winter?

R. C. - After my WUOC results, the best Romanian club, Universitatea Craiova, offered me a place in it. Financially, it will be easier to prepare for the next season. The goals I've set for the Winter period are to improve my running speed and reach a new PB on 3.000 meters, which is now of 8:51. In March I will go to MOC Training Camp and Championships in Italy, where I’ll try to improve my Orienteering technique. I'll also attend the Danish Spring (thanks to worldofo.com and Ana Grib, who won this prize and transferred it to me).

Have you ever considered joining a Scandinavian club?

R. C. - Actually, I've been thinking about trying to join a Scandinavian club and maybe moving there. It would be a dream come true. [Hopefully, there's someone reading this Interview in Sweden, Finland, Norway or Denmark...]

What would be your ultimate achievement in 2017?

R. C. - My main goal for 2017 is the WOC Sprint where I hope to qualify to the Final and there, run a fast and mistake-free race.

Last but not least, I would ask you to say something about yourself.

R. C. - I’m 25 years old and I was born and live in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. I finished my University studies in Finances as major-accounting and I’m learning programming. I work as a financial operator from morning until 3 p.m. and after that it's training time.

I started practising Athletics at the age of 7. At the Junior level, I reached the podium in almost every national race and I got some good international results for my country. At the Senior level, my results remained almost the same and I reached the National gold for three times (twice in the 10.000 metres, in 2011 and 2013, and once in the 3.000 metres Steeplechase, this year) and was on a podium for many times.

The first touch with orienteering was in 2005, but I got lost in the forest. From 2005 to 2011 I took part in a few competitions, but I used to run safely, not leaving the paths, and I didn’t know what contours or vegetation meant or how to use a compass. In 2011, thanks to my friend Ana Grib, I met my coach Ivahnenco Serghei. I consider that as my starting point in Orienteering. I've been getting good results in Sprint since then and I was National Champion seven times [three times in Sprint (in 2014, 2015 and 2016), twice in the Sprint Relay (2014 and 2015), once in the Ultra Long Distance (2013) and once in the Long Distance (2015)].

At an international level, I took part in WOC twice: 2013 Finland and 2015 Scotland, but unfortunately without good results, because of injuries, health problems and no experience on nordic terrain. In the South East European Orienteering Championships, I was 5th in the Sprint, 3rd in the Middle Distance and 2nd in the Long Distance, in 2011, in the M20 class. In the Elite, I reached five medals: Three in the Sprint (bronze in 2014, silver in 2015 and gold in 2016) and two bronze medals in the Relay (2013 and 2014).

Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?

R. C. - “If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse”, Jim Rohn.

[Photo: Roman Ciobanu / facebook.com/roma.ciobanu.1/]

Joaquim Margarido