INTERNATIONAL ORIENTEERING FEDERATION On-line Newsletter Issue 3 June 2014

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Venice welcomes WOC 2014
and the spectator races
In this issue
Inside Orienteering is pub-
lished by the IOF six times a
year. You can receive an email
notication whenever a new
issue of Inside Orienteering is
released: http://orienteering.
org/resources/publications/
inside-orienteering/. For cur-
rent news, reports and inter-
views from IOF Events, please
visit the IOF website:
www.orienteering.org.
Good reading!
Anna Jacobson
Editor-in-chief
ETOC Portugal ...................... 2
Antti Rusanen ...................... 5
IOF XXVII General Assembly 6
North South East West:
Cuba ..................................... 8
Erkki Luntamo has died .... 11
News in brief ...................... 12
2 | INSIDE ORIENTEERING
The 2014 European Trail Orienteering Championships
Finland and Sweden
unbeatable
With attention beginning to turn towards the World Trail Orienteer-
ing Championships, it is time now to recall the best moments of the
European Trail Orienteering Championships (ETOC) recently held in
Portugal. In both of the two formats, TempO and PreO, the Finns
and Swedes won practically everything there was to win.
By Joaquim Margarido
Trail orienteers from all over Europe
converged on Palmela, where ETOC
was held from 11th to 16th April. Vale
dos Barris and the Palmela Village golf
course were the venues for four days of
high-level competition to find the new
European champions in PreO (Open
Class, Paralympic Class and Team
competition) and TempO, in this case
a title assigned for the first time in the
history of the Championships.
To test the qualities and skills of
126 athletes representing 20 coun-
tries, the Portuguese organisational
team worked hard to live up to the de-
mands of an event at this level. Based
on a small core of people Antonio
Amador, the Event Director, Alexan-
dre Reis, responsible for mapping and
course setting and the Senior Event Ad-
visers, Knut Ovesen and Ola Wiksell - a
very young and enthusiastic team had
learnt how to answer appropriately to
all the organisational challenges, col-
lecting the appreciation and thanks of
all who shared this unique period of
wholesome fellowship and fair com-
petition.
The rst moves
Eagerly awaited by everybody, the
Model Event was an important aware-
ness occasion, allowing competitors
their first chance to see the course set-
ters style. It was soon apparent that
Alexandre Reis was not out to compli-
cate things to live up to a maxim of
the SEA, the Norwegian Knut Ovesen:
For many the problems may appear
too easy, but they will always be dif-
ficult for someone. Was there less
map reading and more lining up
than would be expected or desirable?
Maybe. But it is a fact that there were
no tricks under the sleeves and the
Model Event was, as it should be, a
faithful picture of what the athletes
would expect on both days of PreO
competition.
The first day in fact the very first
control was decisive for the compe-
tition. This was a control where the
average of correct answers was around
30 % and would determinate the final
result. Currently the World Champion
in the Open Class, the Finn Jari Turto
began his triumphant passage here,
with a full bag of correct answers at
the end of the first day. This was a feat
equalled only by his compatriot Antti
Rusanen, who was one second slower
Finland, Sweden and Russia were the
three best in PreO Team Competition.
Photo: Joaquim Margarido
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INSIDE ORIENTEERING | www.orienteering.org
at the timed controls and therefore
just second-placed. In the Paralym-
pic Class the Swedes Ola Jansson and
Michael Johansson, respectively cur-
rent European Champion and the sil-
ver medallist at the last ETOC, reached
the end of the first day both with a
total of nineteen correct answers and
separated by three seconds, with the
advantage held by Johansson.
A ght to the end
On the second day of competition, the
number with all answers correct in the
Open Class amounted to sixteen, with
Turto and Rusanen repeating their per-
formance of the previous day. Once
again the timed controls made the dif-
ference, and Turtos advantage became
even more significant, reaching vic-
tory with a total of 29 seconds for all
four timed controls against Antti Ru-
sanens 47 seconds. European Cham-
pion in 2012, the Swede Marit Wiksell
was the fastest among the fastest at
the timed controls. However, to get
the deadly first control wrong on
the first day was even more decisive,
and the young Swede had to settle for
the bronze medal.
In the Paralympic class only two
athletes managed to achieve a full
house of correct answers on the sec-
ond day, one being Michael Johans-
son, the other the Lithuanian Laima
Lazinskiene. Johansson secured the
gold medal, while Ola Jansson took
the silver with one point fewer than
the winner, and a group of five ath-
letes finished two points down on Jo-
hansson. Among these the Finn Pekka
Sepp was the fastest at the timed con-
trols, gaining a place on the podium
by the tiny difference of two and a
half seconds.
Collective triumph of Finland
Finland and Sweden did not betray
their expectations, and they were the
major actors in the fight for the med-
als in the PreO Team competition.
Both teams concluded with a total of
59 points; using the best overall per-
formance of the three Finnish athletes
at the timed controls to break the tie,
Finland took the European title by the
narrow margin of 6.5 seconds. The
fight for third place was just as intense,
and in the end there were three teams
that finished with 57 points. Thanks
to a faster performance on the timed
controls, Russia got the bronze medals
ahead of Latvia and Croatia.
TempO to open and close...
The TempO competition opened ETOC
2014 with two qualifying heats. With
five stations for a total of 25 points,
the course would determine the best
eighteen from each heat to partici-
pate in the Final. Forced to wait for
two hours due to a blanket of fog that
hung over Palmela Village, the 102
competitors were fully aware that the
secret of success lay in being both
quick and right. Just ask the Ukrain-
ian Anton Puhovkin or the German
Anne Straube, two athletes with good
scores, but with too much time spent
they were out of the Final. Or at the
other extreme, the Lithuanian Darius
Gimzauskas, the fastest in his heat but
eventually well down the results list
with a rate of correct answers in the
order of 20 %. With 17 of their ath-
letes qualifying overall, Sweden, Fin-
land and Norway were immediately
placed on the first line, with Portugal
providing a note of sensation on this
first day in achieving the presence of
two athletes in the big Final.
Marit Wiksell at a time control.
Photo: Joaquim Margarido
4 | INSIDE ORIENTEERING
Results
PreO Individual
Open Class
1. Jari Turto (Finland) 40 points / 29 seconds
2. Antti Rusanen (Finland) 40 points / 47 seconds
3. Marit Wiksell (Sweden) 39 points / 21 seconds
4. Stig Gerdtman (Sweden) 39 points / 50 seconds
5. Martin Jullum (Norway) 39 points / 81 seconds
6. Pinja Mkinen (Finland) 38 points / 20 seconds
Paralympic Class
1. Michael Johansson (Sweden) 39 points / 41,5 seconds
2. Ola Jansson (Sweden) 38 points / 39 seconds
3. Pekka Sepp (Finland) 37 points / 133,5 seconds
4. Laima Lazinskiene (Lithuania) 37 points / 136 seconds
5. Ivica Bertol (Croatia) 37 points / 173,5 seconds
6. Rolf Karlsson (Sweden) 37 points / 186 seconds
PreO Team Competition
1. Finland 59 points / 46 seconds
2. Sweden 59 points / 52,5 seconds
3. Russia 57 points / 45 seconds
4. Latvia 57 points / 65 seconds
5. Croatia 57 points / 68,5 seconds
6. Norway 56 points / 42 seconds
TempO
1. Antti Rusanen (Finland) 258 seconds
2. Lennart Wahlgren (Sweden) 293 seconds
3. Marit Wiksell (Sweden) 314 seconds
4. Stig Gerdtman (Sweden) 323 seconds
5. Pinja Mkinen (Finland) 326 seconds
6. Martin Fredholm (Sweden) 365 seconds
The TempO Final filled ETOCs last-day programme. For
this final stage the organisational team had raised the bar,
not only in terms of technical requirements but also in the
number of challenges. They also brought to the Palmela
Village an innovation: the umbrella-escorts, hiding the
controls from the view of the competitors and ensuring, in
this way, equal opportunities for all. Repeating the excel-
lent results of the first day, Swedes and Finns distributed
among themselves the first seven places, with Finland tak-
ing the lions share thanks to the gold medal achieved
by Antti Rusanen, the first TempO European Champion in
history. He used just 168 seconds in providing 30 answers,
and with a penalty of 90 seconds corresponding to three
wrong answers he had a final score of 258 seconds. Five
seconds slower, but with four wrong answers, the Swedish
Lennart Wahlgren was ranked second, while Marit Wiksell,
the fastest of all the finalists, had to settle for third place
due to her six wrong answers and the consequent 180 sec-
onds of penalty.
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INSIDE ORIENTEERING | www.orienteering.org
Antti Rusanen: TempO is about balancing
the speed and the risk of a wrong answer
He was only the second placed in the European
Championships' PreO competition, letting the title go
elsewhere through his time at the timed controls. But
he took revenge in the TempO competition, winning
the gold medal with full justice. For Inside Orienteer-
ing, Antti Rusanen returns to April 16th, recalling the
moments when he was crowned the first TempO Eu-
ropean Champion ever.
By Joaquim Margarido
You are the first person ever to enter their name in gold in the
Hall of Fame of the European Trail Orienteering Champion-
ships, in the TempO competition. What does this title means
to you?
Antti Rusanen (A. R.) The victory feels great, especially af-
ter a disappointing fourth place in Vuokatti last summer.
What is the key for success in a TempO competition?
A. R. TempO is about balancing the speed and the risk of a
wrong answer. In the ETOC final I slowed down compared
to the qualification course, whilst many others speeded up
and made mistakes. Of course everything is based on the
ability to understand the relationship between the map
and the terrain at first glance.
The sum of the seconds led you to the highest place on the po-
dium in TempO, while denying you the PreO title. The way
your brain is formatted - is it different depending on whether
it is a PreO or a TempO competition?
A. R. My brain was far happier with the brand new sprint
map of TempO than the re-mapped old orienteering map
that was used in PreO. Still, I dont fully understand why
I could not solve the ETOC PreO timed controls faster.
I can almost guess the answer, but even so, I would like to ask
you about your preferences: PreO or TempO?
A. R. I love both. In a PreO competition you need to ap-
ply yourself for hours without making a single mistake. A
PreO course is testing your analytical map reading skills
and concentration. When you punch all controls correct-
ly, especially in a multi-day event, you get the feeling of a
perfect performance. TempO allows aggressive map read-
ing and you can compensate for your mistakes with speed.
Thus, tactics are involved in TempO more than in PreO.
Some foresee a great future for TempO and see, at the same
time, PreO in a descending phase, a kind of endangered spe-
cies. Do you share the same point of view?
A. R. PreO is not an endangered species at all. I believe
that most trail orienteers still like PreO more, as it requires
diverse map reading skills. Young foot orienteers are of-
ten keen on TempO, that requires speed of map reading.
The last question leads us to Italy where, within a month, the
World Trail Orienteering Championships (WTOC 2014) will
take place. Doing better than in Portugal means winning three
gold medals. Is that the big goal?
A. R. Yes, I will fight for three gold medals but I will be
satisfied if I can keep the placings at Palmela.
6 | INSIDE ORIENTEERING
Eleven nominations to IOF Council
The IOF Council for 2014-2016 will be elected at the IOF
General Assembly. Member federations were called to nomi-
nate candidates for the Council.
By the deadline of 10 March 2014, 11 member federa-
tions had sent their nominations.
Nominations for Council
To be elected for the Congress period 20142016
For the position of President one person to be elected
Brian Porteous GBR For re-election
For the position of Vice President three persons to be elected
Michael Dowling AUS For re-election
Leho Haldna EST For re-election
Astrid Waaler Kaas NOR For re-election
For the position of Member seven persons to be elected
Owe Fredholm SWE For re-election
Tatiana Kalenderoglu TUR For re-election
Mikko Salonen FIN For new election
Niklaus Suter SUI For re-election
Maria Silvia Viti ITA For re-election
Ting-wang Dominic Yue HKG For re-election
Lszl Zentai HUN For re-election
tions had been submitted for the
IOF General Assembly. Later on, one
of these proposals, namely the one
from the Nordic countries concern-
ing the IOF competition calendar in
all the disciplines, was withdrawn.
The IOF Council is submitting two
proposals to the General Assembly
concerning Statutes changes.
Russian proposal:
rogaining as fth IOF discipline
The Russian Orienteering federation
proposes to add rogaining as a fifth
IOF discipline. The IOF Council,
while understanding the domestic
position of the Russian Orienteering
Federation with respect to orienteer-
ing activities known as rogaining,
does not support the proposal.
However, rogaining types of ori-
enteering competitions can already
now be organised within the IOFs
existing rules structures, and it is
expected that the new harmonised
rules for all orienteering disciplines,
which are currently being prepared,
will add clarity to the ways in which
orienteering activities similar to ro-
gaining can be conducted within
our existing disciplines.
Council proposal:
Extension of the IOF Council
term
The IOF Council proposes two main
changes to the IOF Statutes: exten-
sion of the Council term from two
to four years, and authorisation for
Council to appoint all organisers of
World Championships in all disci-
plines.
The IOF XXVII Ordinary General As-
sembly will be held on 10 July 2014 in
Lavarone, Italy.
The Congress Material has now been
distributed to the national federations
and published online. The material
can be found here: Lavarone 2014
Proposals for the
IOF General Assembly
By the deadline of 10 March 2014,
two proposals from member federa-
IOF XXVII General Assembly
7
INSIDE ORIENTEERING | www.orienteering.org
At the Presidents Conference held
in Vuokatti, Finland in 2013, Council
presented to the member federations
three ideas for changes relating to the
IOF Congress and to the Council term.
On the basis of the feedback received
from the members, Council decided to
continue to develop one of the ideas,
namely, an extension of the Council
term from two to four years.
Working within a two-year cycle
makes it challenging to achieve signifi-
cant sustainable results. An extension
of the term of office from two to four
years would allow Council to work
long-term and more diligently on the
implementation of the strategic initia-
tives and thus help ensuring an effec-
tive realisation of the IOFs key goals.
An office term of four years would al-
so bring the IOF into line with other
major international sports federations.
To ensure institutional knowledge
and smooth succession, the proposed
election model introduces a rotation
system whereby half of the Council
positions are declared vacant every
second year. It also introduces a term
limit policy which identifies the max-
imum number of consecutive terms a
person can serve on the Council.
Council proposal:
Authorisation for Council to
appoint all organisers of World
Championships in all disciplines
In 2006, the IOF General Assembly
resolved to change the procedure for
appointment of World Champion-
ships organisers. It was decided that
the General Assembly would make the
appointments in even years while, in
odd years, the appointments would be
made by the Council. A set of criteria
was developed as a basis for the evalu-
ation of the candidates.
The implementation of this General
Assembly decision meant that, since
2009, Council appoints the organisers
of all IOF events, except for every sec-
ond World Championship organiser
in all four disciplines. The current ap-
pointment procedure makes it difficult
to achieve an appropriate long-term
geographic spread of the events, and
to take into account other significant
Seminars to be held in conjunction
with the WOC and Congress week
16th International Conference on Orienteering Mapping
The 16th International Conference on Orienteering Mapping (ICOM) will
be organised in conjunction with the World Orienteering Championships
2014 in Lavarone, Italy. The more specific date for the conference is Thurs-
day 10 July.
ICOM has become a traditional event where mapmakers and those in-
terested in orienteering maps from around the world discuss and share in-
formation about the latest mapping standards, techniques and develop-
ments in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. The main focus of the 16th
ICOM will be on the use of LIDAR data, and the ongoing revision of the
International Specification for Orienteering Maps 2000 will also be on the
agenda. Suggestions for further topics and presentations can be made to
the IOF Map Commission until 15 June 2014.
For details about registration and more information, please see the in-
vitation.
Technology in Orienteering open meeting
The IOF IT Commission will organise an open meeting Technology in
Orienteering in conjunction with the World Orienteering Champion-
ships in Italy, on 10 July 2014 at 17:00.
The aim of the meeting is to gather orienteers interested in technology
to present and discuss relevant topics timekeeping, GPS, analysis, hard-
ware, software etc. The format will be several short presentations with time
for both Q&A and networking.
If you would like to contribute with a short presentation concerning
technology or orienteering-related IT development, please take contact
with the IOF IT commission (iof.itc@orienteering.org) before 10 June 2014.
Invitation to Sprint Relay Seminar in Italy
The IOF Foot Orienteering Commission welcomes you to the Internation-
al Seminar on Planning for Sprint Relay that will take place in conjunc-
tion with the World Orienteering Championships in Trentino Veneto
in Italy. The Foot Orienteering Commission would like to invite organis-
ers, course planners and others with interest from all around the world to
discuss the latest philosophies of organising Sprint Relay in a relaxed and
informal atmosphere.
The Conference will take place on 8 July 2014 at the WOC Event Centre.
For more information, please see the Invitation to IOF Sprint Relay Seminar.
factors such as optimal dates and the
promotional aspects of the events.
Neither does the present process al-
low the Council to carry out any de-
tailed negotiations to facilitate the
staging of the premier events in the
most effective manner. Authorising
the Council to appoint all organisers
of World Championships in all disci-
plines would facilitate the long-term
planning of major IOF events, and
contribute to the achievement of the
related goals and strategic initiatives
presented in Strategic Directions.
8 | INSIDE ORIENTEERING
North South East West is a regu-
lar feature in Inside Orienteering.
In every issue, we focus on one
of the IOFs 78 member nations.
In this issue we showcase:
Cuba.
North South East West
Orienteering in Cuba: The Path of Hope
Imagination, passion, will. Three words to describe the culture of Orien-
teering in Cuba. And hope! With the help of Fidel Bonilla Machn, Dotma-
ro Valds Camacho and Jos Angel Nieto Poblete, we get to know a little
about the history of orienteering in the Caribbean archipelago since its
beginning in the 1970s up to the present day.
By Joaquim Margarido
It was in 1972 that orienteering first
came to Cuba. Brought by the Bulgar-
ian partisans of the Georgi Dimitrov
brigade and boosted by Atanas Geor-
giev, then President of the Bulgarian
Orienteering Federation, orienteering
quickly enjoyed huge interest from the
authorities of the country who recog-
nised the tremendous value it carried,
both at an educational level and from
a recreational point of view.
In the early 1970s focus on educa-
tion was a priority for the Government
of Cuba, and important steps were
taken with the construction of many
new Polytechnic Schools throughout
the country. The appearance of orien-
teering in Cuba turned out to be ex-
actly the right thing in the right place
at the right time. Orienteering was es-
pecially cherished from the beginning,
and quickly included in the Circles of
Tourist Recreation school course in
1972/1973, so giving the students at
Polytechnic Centres and Pre-Univer-
sities the mission to take forward its
implementation and development.
The early years
As with all other sports in Cuba, orien-
teering went through several stages in
the process of growth and consolida-
tion, in particular regarding improve-
ment of the means employed, the ac-
quisition of technical skills and the or-
ganisation of events. From the initial
moments with the Bulgarian brigade
until the early 1980s we can look back
on a mighty steep development curve
in all these areas.
Looking back to the early days, we
can see that all the events were sin-
gle-day. There were no classes or age
groups, and there was no stepwise in-
itiation programme that made it pos-
sible to get positive results in a con-
sistent way. People trained, its a fact,
but their lack of technical skills put the
competitors at the same level of com-
petence and often the winner was an
honourable unknown.
The first orienteering work in the
Circles of Tourist Recreation was un-
dertaken in August 1973 under the
direction of INDER the National In-
stitute of Sports, Physical Education
and Recreation. 1974 began with ac-
tivity increased in the Circles. At this
time the names of Henry Godofredo
Caballero, Manuel Pimentel and Dot-
maro Valds Camacho, among others,
played a significant role in the promo-
tion and development of the sport.
The desire to do more, to do better,
was huge. One can guess a first impor-
tant landmark.
The zenith
In May 1974, during the Inter-Pro-
vincial Schools of Physical Education
Meeting, Lenin Park was the venue for
the first orienteering course in Cuba
with a minimum of technical require-
ments: maps, compasses and control
points. Two months later, in an event
sponsored by the Circles of Tourist
Recreation, the first Relay event was
held, and in August the first junior
race at national level that was not
part of the Tourist Recreation events
programme took place, with Dotmaro
9
INSIDE ORIENTEERING | www.orienteering.org
Valds Camacho and Alejandro Emil-
io Ramos Rodrguez doing the course
planning. The Cuban Orienteering
Federation was also formed in 1974,
and four years later Cuba joined the
International Orienteering Federation
as provisional member, a status that it
still holds.
The number of events held all over
the country grew exponentially. Com-
petitors became divided into classes,
there was development from one-day
events to events of several days, a sig-
nificant number of maps were created
and electronic time-keeping was intro-
duced. The rivalry between Universi-
ties was huge and unusual in a sport
so young, and the training of the ath-
letes was now organised to provide
work-out plans at different levels. Na-
tional seminars and initiatives for the
development, protection and stability
of orienteering were held. Above all,
there was a huge effort by the Cuban
Orienteering Federation to align their
rules and competition organisation
with IOFs Rules and Guidelines. The
popularity of the sport had reached a
new peak.
The international contact arose logi-
cally in this context of growth of the
sport. This was the golden era, as
defined by Dotmaro Valds Cama-
cho. He recall some highlights: We
went out into the international are-
na, participating in several national
events organised in the German Dem-
ocratic Republic, plus the Bulgarian
Cup, the 5 Days of Jicin in the former
Czechoslovakia, and the O-Ringen in
Sweden, and we organised an inter-
national event in Cuba attended by
athletes from all the military socialist
countries.
The settled period
If the 1970s saw the launch of orien-
teering in Cuba, marked by significant
growth of the sport all over the coun-
try, the 1980s were the consolidation
era. Highly supported by the National
Institute of Sports, Physical Education
and Recreation, five national events
were held each year and international
participation was subject to a selec-
tion process, with about 15 men and
women athletes competing abroad to
represent Cuba in at least four annual
competitions.
Memorable events were staged at
Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Las Tu-
nas and Taguasco. Names such as Edel
Reina, Jos Antonio Medero, Yalay Ra-
mos and Mayelin Gmez stand out
as strong competitors, whilst Enrique
Martn and Ariel Garca Prez did an
extraordinary job in promotion. Obliv-
ious to the apparent contradiction be-
tween competitive practice and recrea-
tional activity, the sport of orienteer-
ing in Cuba continued to grow, pre-
paring for the great leap... that would
not appear.
Regression
Cuba suffered an extended special pe-
riod of economic crisis, resulting from
the collapse of the Soviet Union in
1991 and the resurgence of the U.S.
embargo from 1992. The economic
depression experienced during this
special period was particularly hard in
the first half of the decade, with the
economy contracting by 36% in the
period 1990-93. Orienteering, as with
all activities and services in Cuba, did
not escape the crisis, entering a spiral
of recession which would remain for
many years.
The current President of the Cuban
Orienteering Federation, Fidel Bonilla
Machn, speaks of those times where
the priority was to defend the most
basic principles of a socialist society,
but remembers that the sport was kept
alive during those particularly difficult
Events in Cuba 2013
168 Local Events
3,718 participants
15 Provincial Events
769 participants
1 Zonal Event
86 participants
2 National Events
280 participants
Permanent Orienteering Courses
66,770 participants
Other activities
71,623 participants
10 | INSIDE ORIENTEERING
Jos Angel Nieto Poblete,
Mr. Ambassador
Passionate orienteer and committed leader, the Spaniard Jos Angel Ni-
eto Poblete is a true ambassador of Orienteering, particularly in the South
American continent. Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Uruguay, Guatemala
and Cuba are just some of the countries he visits regularly and in which
we can see, at the level of promotion and development of our sport, his
distinctive mark. Hence, his point of view is crucial in understanding the
present state of Orienteering in Cuba.
By Joaquim Margarido
In Cuba, Orienteering is a very
popular sport, practised in the island
for several years now and part of the
school curriculum. The economic situ-
ation in Cuba, however, has made the
sport slip to very low levels, and it is
currently regarded largely as a recrea-
tional activity. But the lovers of this
sport work with huge enthusiasm,
trying to regain the former levels of
popularity.
My collaboration with the Cuban
Orienteering Federation is focused on
development efforts along new lines
set by the Government. We seek to
take advantage of the work that is de-
veloped in the Provinces, using the
greater numbers of interested people
to achieve the creation of new clubs.
There is a dearth of quality maps, but
the work being done with the sparse
resources available is of great value.
Many of the flags, punches and maps
used are hand-crafted. This way we
can continue to see events happening
everywhere.
All of this means that we continue
our commitment in Cuba, making sure
the country is prepared in the best way
possible to set up any kind of competi-
tion, at any time. In my previous visit
to Cuba, in January and February this
year, I drew the map of La Habana
Vieja and now Im back to do a revi-
sion of the map. Our expectations are
that in January 2015 we can organise
here a competition at international
level, which would of course be a fan-
tastic showcase for our sport and en-
sure its final projection in Cuba. I hope
that all goes well, that the promotion
of the event is a success and that ori-
enteering tourists might enjoy this
truly unique opportunity.
Fidel Bonilla Machn, the President of the
Cuban Orienteering Federation (to the left),
Jos Angel Nieto Poblete and Jos Cedeo
Tamayo, INDERs Physical Recreation Direc-
tor
times thanks to the tremendous en-
thusiasm of those who remained at-
tached to orienteering, recognising the
importance of the sport in the integral
development of teachers, coaches and
students.
Orienteering today
Today, elite orienteers do not exist in
Cuba. It is not a priority for the Na-
tional Institute of Sports, Physical Edu-
cation and Recreation to invest in ori-
enteering for results, as with boxing,
baseball, volleyball and many other
sports. But it is undeniably an im-
portant mass participation sport, and
there is support in developing a large
number of events and promoting edu-
cational activity. Children study, learn,
practice and compete in orienteering
in all primary and secondary schools
in the country.
Today there are about 1,200 regu-
lar orienteering competitors in Cuba,
mainly living in 9 of the 15 provinces.
The people who annually make con-
tact with the sport amount to more
than a hundred thousand through rec-
reational practice, permanent courses,
basic educational courses and teaching
activities. Fidel Bonilla Machn pin-
points the Federations objective: we
aim to see orienteering included in
every Physical Education programme.
The President of the Cuban Orien-
teering Federation makes a laudatory
mention of Jos Angel Nieto Poblete,
Vice-President of the Spanish Orien-
teering Federation, referring to him as
a good friend who, in the past four
years, has put all his interest and dedi-
cation into orienteering in Cuba. He
explains his role: Firstly, acquainting
himself with how the Cuban sports
system works and then through clinics
and seminars, preparing courses and
managing contacts with national and
international organisations. And the
last words: There are many orienteers
in this country who know him and are
grateful for the work he has been do-
ing, he says.
11 INSIDE ORIENTEERING | www.orienteering.org
Erkki Luntamo has died
Veteran orienteer Erkki Luntamo has
died at the age of 99 years. His career
lasted over 80 years, and in recent
years he had good runs especially in
World Masters Orienteering Cham-
pionships competitions in Northern
Europe.
Luntamo won in all more than 15
medals from World Masters Champi-
onships, both in summer and in win-
ter. He began his success in 1994 in
Scotland with a gold medal in the M80
class. After this debut Luntamo became
one of the most well-known Finnish
veteran competitors.
Luntamos last international run
was in Hungary three years ago. He
won the gold medal in the World
Masters Orienteering Championships
Sprint in the oldest class M95. Over
many years in Finland he won dozens
of medals in orienteering, and in vet-
eran volleyball too.
This season Erkki Luntamo was the
first-ever orienteer in class M100, but
he couldnt run in the forest any more.
His club Vakka-Rasti Uusikaupunki
arranged for him and over 500 other
runners a special competition in May.
Luntamo died in hospital only one
week after that celebration.
12 | INSIDE ORIENTEERING
Orienteering
software list
back on the
IOF website
The Software for Orienteering section
is again available on the IOF website.
In this section we have listed com-
monly used orienteering software for
different purposes ranging from event
administration to training. To view the
list, please visit the IT section of the
IOF website.
Ski Orienteering on the
programme of the 53rd
Military World Ski Championships
Following the successful ski orien-
teering event at the the 52nd Mili-
tary World Ski Championships, the
IOF has now received formal infor-
mation from CISM that ski orienteer-
ing will be on the programme of the
53rd Military World Ski Champion-
ships as well.
The event will be held in Boden,
Sweden in March 2015. This is the
second time ski orienteering is on
the programme. This time there will,
however, be two competitions (mid-
dle distance and relay) instead of one
as in this years Championship in
Sodankyl, Finland.
This is very good news, says IOF
Senior Vice President Leho Haldna,
who is responsible for ski orienteer-
ing in the IOF Council. This proves
once more that ski orienteering is a
sport that fits well in international
games organised by other sports or-
ganisations than the IOF. We have
been working on event quality for a
long time, and the work has begun
to bear fruit now.
IOF on YouTube
The two orienteering videos from the
SportAccord Convention have been
published on the new IOF Orienteer-
ing YouTube channel. More videos will
be added in due time.
You can find the channel here: IOF
Orienteering on YouTube
New IOF IT Service System will be
up and running in November 2014
The IOF Council has taken the deci-
sion to sign a contract with the Swed-
ish Orienteering Federation to create
a new IOF IT Service System. The new
system will be based on the Eventor
software owned by the Swedish fed-
eration and currently being used in
Sweden, Norway, and Australia.
We want to make it easier for the
organisers to gather, manage and re-
port event data, says IOF Senior Vice
President Leho Haldna, and contin-
ues: Eventor will make organising
competitions more efficient and of
better quality, and it offers the ath-
letes, federations, media, public and
the IOF an easier way to browse
through data about athletes, federa-
tions and competitions. Also appli-
cations for World Ranking Events will
be submitted through Eventor.
The functions of Eventor include,
amongst others:
A register of all IOF Athletes
and their results and rankings
A register of all IOF member
federations
Application system for World
Ranking Events
IOF Event Calendar
Entry system for IOF Events
Eventor will first be used for some
of the 2015 IOF Events. The new IOF
World Ranking system will be merged
into the new IOF IT Services in No-
vember 2014.
News in brief
13
INSIDE ORIENTEERING | www.orienteering.org
Junior World Championships
Development Project
The IOF Foot Orienteering Commission (FOC) was asked ear-
lier this year by the IOF Council to further develop the pro-
gramme of the Junior World Orienteering Championships
(JWOC). The project groups report should be presented to
the Council by October 2014. Introduction of a possible new
programme should take place by 2018 at the latest.
ron Less, as the FOC member responsible for JWOCs, is
commissioned to form a project group to perform this task.
The project group will be formed of former JWOC partici-
pants (current elite athletes), junior and senior coaches, past
and future JWOC organisers, and other experts.
At the first stage, we are making an open call for ideas from
different stakeholders. Any ideas from Federations, coaches,
competitors, media, former and future organisers and every-
one else interested are particularly welcome.
Please write an informal letter to ron Less (aronless@
gmail.com) by 23rd June about any ideas you have for de-
veloping the Junior World Orienteering Championships (any
aspect of it).
The project group will then shortlist the most viable ideas
and the Federations official opinion will be requested. A very
important stage of the hearing process will be a presentation
of the ideas during JWOC 2014 for the national team coaches.
Junior World Championships
now World Ranking Events
Since the IOF renewed its World Ranking rules for all disci-
plines, all Junior World Championships A finals also count
for the World Ranking. This will make it easier for juniors to
gather World Ranking points, and this will especially benefit
those juniors that are going to be seniors the following year.
As the Junior World Championships are World Ranking
Events, all competitors who are entered for the event must
have an IOF ID. If you will be participating in the Junior
World Championships whether it is in foot orienteering
or MTB orienteering, but do not yet have a WR ID, please
apply for one as soon as possible by sending this form: IOF
Athlete ID request template to the address: new_AthleteID@
orienteering.org.
IOF and FISU signed the
Collaboration Convention
The IOF and the International University Sports Feder-
ation (FISU) signed a Collaboration Convention at the
SportAccord Convention in Belek, Turkey.
The FISU and the IOF have had a good cooperation
for a long time, first in the form of the World Univer-
sity Orienteering Championships, and now also with
the World University Ski Orienteering Championships
(from 2016 on) and Winter Universiade (2019). The Col-
laboration Convention was a natural continuation for
the cooperation between the two organisations. Our
partnership with FISU is really important to orienteer-
ing and I was delighted to confirm that by signing the
Convention, IOF President Brian Porteous commented.
More information about FISU can be found on their
homepage.
Orienteering in
The 2017 World Games
The International World Games Association has an-
nounced the sports that will be part of the official pro-
gramme of The 2017 World Games in Wroclaw, Poland.
After very successful events in Kaohsiung, Chinese Tai-
pei in 2009 and in Cali, Colombia in 2013, orienteering
has been chosen as an official sport for 2017 as well.
The Polish Orienteering Federation has already an-
nounced that it will be very happy to organise the
events in Wroclaw in 2017.
WOC Spectator Races
entry deadline 15 June
Have you already entered to the 5 Days of Italy the
spectator races that compete in same terrains as the
World Orienteering Championships 2014? The entry
deadline is 15.6.2014. For more information, please see
the organisers website: http://www.5daysofitaly2014.
it/en
14 | INSIDE ORIENTEERING
Foot Orienteering Commission Chair on Event Quality
The IOF organises yearly World Cup,
World Championships, Junior World
Championships and World Masters
Championships. This years European
Orienteering Championships (EOC)
raised the question about how to en-
sure event quality in all IOF Events.
The EOC provided high-quality and
fair competition on some excellent ter-
rain, but problems arose in one of the
Middle distance qualification heats
and also with the Long distance final,
where new courses had to be planned
at very short notice when the ones to
be used were, in error, published on
the event website before the race. In
the World Cup in Spain, an unfore-
seeable problem in the Long distance
race led to the mens race having to be
declared void.
We asked Foot Orienteering Com-
mission Chair Mikko Salonen about
his views on ensuring event quality
in IOF Events.
What went wrong in the European Ori-
enteering Championships preparations?
When you are not on site, it is prac-
tically impossible to give a judgement
and say what went wrong. We need to
remember that, when the event is on,
the IOF Senior Event Adviser (SEA) is
the person responsible, hence we need
to wait for his report to make a thor-
ough analysis.
The Senior Event Adviser is the
person appointed by the IOF to en-
sure event quality together with the
national controller and the local or-
ganiser.
What could have been done to pre-
vent this?
As said, first we need to under-
stand why things went wrong. Of
course, we can easily question wheth-
er the organisers had enough resourc-
es and experience, and, if we (the
IOF) were able to provide them with
enough support.
What will be done to prevent this from
ever happening again?
We need to learn from the expe-
riences in Portugal and Spain, review
the role of the SEA and analyse our
organiser selection process. Also, we
need to consider if the current guide-
lines and SEA training processes are
up to date.
In the short term, we will of course
be in touch with all SEAs of future
events and encourage them to ask for
help as soon as they feel that some-
thing is not going as it should. We
will also check that they know exact-
ly whom to contact if they have any
questions or concerns, both before
the event and, in particular, during
the event.
The next foot orienteering IOF
events will be held in countries that
have a long history of organising ma-
jor events, and I am confident that the
quality will be as expected. Also the
first World Cup round in Turkey met
our expectations.
Despite the problems, the Spanish
and Portuguese organisers certainly
deserve thanks for their efforts and
we hope to see them coming back for
more events in the future, concludes
Mikko Salonen, Chairman of the IOF
Foot Orienteering Commission.
Orienteering
Women: 1) Simone Niggli SUI 5900, 2)
Tove Alexandersson SWE 5789, 3) Min-
na Kauppi FIN 5605, 4) Helena Jansson
SWE 5601, 5) Lena Eliasson SWE 5599,
6) Tatyana Riabkina RUS 5493, 7) Ju-
dith Wyder SUI 5407, 8) Anne Margrethe
Hausken Nordberg NOR 5377, 9) Annika
Billstam SWE 5352, 10) Nadiya Volynska
UKR 5338
Men: 1) Daniel Hubmann SUI 5800, 2)
Thierry Gueorgiou FRA 5792, 3) Fabian
Hertner SUI 5750, 4) Matthias Kyburz SUI
5736, 5) Gustav Bergman SWE 5700, 6)
Matthias Merz SUI 5636, 7) Edgars Ber-
tuks LAT 5593, 8) Magne Daehli NOR
5543, 9) Baptiste Rollier SUI 5538, 10)
Oleksandr Kratov UKR 5523
Sprint Orienteering
Women: 1) Simone Niggli SUI 5850, 2)
Annika Billstam SWE 5781, 3) Judith Wy-
der SUI 5628, 4) Tove Alexandersson SWE
5575, 5) Emma Klingenberg DEN 5572,
6) Maja Moeller Alm DEN 5454, 7) Nadiya
Volynska UKR 5361, 8) Rahel Friederich
SUI 5359, 9) Julia Gross SUI 5343, 10) Ida
Bobach DEN 5293
Men: 1) Matthias Kyburz SUI 5800, 2)
Jonas Leandersson SWE 5731, 2) Jerker
Lysell SWE 5731, 4) Daniel Hubmann SUI
5699, 5) Rasmus Thrane Hansen DEN
5645, 6) Andrey Khramov RUS 5595, 7)
Martin Hubmann SUI 5579, 8) Murray
Strain GBR 5575, 9) Scott Fraser GBR
5551, 9) Fabian Hertner SUI 5551
Mountain Bike Orienteering
Women: 1) Marika Hara FIN 5900, 2)
Cecilia Thomasson SWE 5836, 3) Emily
Benham GBR 5822, 4) Susanna Laurila
FIN 5805, 5) Ingrid Stengard FIN 5680,
6) Eeva-Liisa Hakala FIN 5674, 7) Olga Vi-
nogradova RUS 5667, 8) Tatiana Repina
RUS 5595, 9) Maja Rothweiler SUI 5556,
10) Martina Tichovska CZE 5543,
Men: 1) Anton Foliforov RUS 5847, 2)
Jussi Laurila FIN 5827, 3) Tonis Erm EST
5821, 4) Krystof Bogar CZE 5809, 5)
Ruslan Gritsan RUS 5793, 6) Hans Jorgen
Kvale NOR 5750, 7) Jiri Hradil CZE 5733,
8) Luca Dallavalle ITA 5727, 9) Valeriy
Gluhov RUS 5726, 10) Lauri Malsroos EST
5664
World Ranking, Top 10
(as of 4 June 2014)