New concept for World Cup Round 1

New concept for World Cup Round 1

The new World Cup round begins on World Orienteering Day, 24^th May with a Sprint Relay in the very centre of the Finnish city Turku. The round continues with a brand-new concept of three individual competitions, designed so that the first to finish in the last of these races is overall winner of Round 1.

28 nations have entered teams for this round, with 123 women and 131 men taking part. Many nations’ teams have come from training camps and selection races in Estonia, preparing for this round and also for the World Championships, now just 5 weeks away.

The Sprint Relay takes place in Turku’s city centre and nearby parks, and the mapped area includes many flights of steps and the steep slope down to the river which has some dense undergrowth and some open rock areas. There will be plenty of pedestrians and spectators, but no cars! Nations can enter up to 3 teams of 2 women and 2 men. The winning team gets a money prize of 1000 Euros.

On Thursday the Sprint Qualification and Final take place, both in urban residential areas. The 40 best in the Qualification take part in the early-evening Final, with the fastest in qualification starting last.

The event moves to the forest for Saturday and Sunday, with a Middle Distance race on Saturday in undulating coniferous forest with a low density of paths and tracks. Then on Sunday there will be a Long Distance race in similar terrain, with chasing start based on the combined results of the Sprint Qualification and the Middle Distance. The first athlete to finish on the Long Distance will be the overall winner of Round 1, with a prize of 800 Euros.

Worldwide coverage
For the full experience, follow the event on LIVE Orienteering.

The LIVE Orienteering broadcast will offer expert commentary by David Brickhill-Jones for the Sprint Relay, and Mikko Reitti for the Sprint, Middle and Long Distance.

Tickets will be available for purchase using PayPal directly on LIVE Orienteering from Monday 22 May. It will cost 4 EUR to watch each race, but a special offer means you can watch all races for just 12 EUR! The payment is linked to the LIVE Orienteering user and only this user will be able to access to the premium content. Only 1 device can be logged on the same user simultaneously.

Schedule

24^th May, 1550 – 1700, Sprint Relay

25^th May, 1000 – 1230, Sprint Qualification

25^th May, 1800 – 2000, Sprint Final

27^th May, 1215 – 1345, Middle Distance, Women

27^th May, 1515 – 1645, Middle Distance, Men

28^th May, 1000 – 1230, Long Distance with chasing start