World of O News
The IOF is planning to renew the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) program – now is your chance to influence the decisions on the future program. Is there a need for qualification or quotas for the long distance or the sprint distance? Should the mixed sprint relay also be introduced at junior level?
Introduction of a possible new programme should take place by 2018 at the latest. Below is the full information from the IOF. What is your perfect JWOC? Either add a comment below to discuss the issue, or write an informal letter by June 23rd to the e-mail address given below.
The picture above is from JWOC 2009 in Italy – Tove Alexandersson after winning the JWOC middle distance.
Information from the IOF
The IOF Foot Orienteering Commission (FOC) was asked earlier this year by the IOF Council to further develop the programme of the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC). The project group’s report should be presented to the Council by October 2014. Introduction of a possible new programme should take place by 2018 at the latest. Áron 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 participants (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 everyone else interested are particularly welcome.
Please write an informal letter to Áron Less (aronless (at) gmail.com) by 23rd June about any ideas you have for developing 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.
It’s good that IOF ask how people want to develop JWOC. They asked team officials some years ago, about long distance for example. The answer was always “let it like this, we don’t care about spending 7h at start or at finish, JWOC is just a competition where all athletes need to gain experience.” I hope this will stay as it is.
About sprint relay, that could be fun, but the program is already tough with 5 races in 6 days (how to remove the MD qual?) and the budgets are suffering everywhere around the world.
@sim: Thanks for the comment!
We need more spectators. It is good that JWOC will keep with existing o-weeks, were is 3-6000 O-people. Program should be such that the O-week participants will have the audience. Like in Italy 2009. The atmosphere is perfect and the young athletes are the on focus. This kind organizing should be economic success, of course.
Spectator races are always nice, I agree. To always combine JWOC with big spectator races might be too limiting though…? Then there are not many places to choose from. But if you lower the number to 1000, there are many possibilities.
JWOC does not need more spectators. Peter N – name any other sport where there are lots of spectators at junior world championships!
Program is fine as it is, and no room for mixed relay.
Why not? What’s wrong with that, if there is an audience? Of course, it may not be a requirement for JWOC.
Lot of audience is allmost all team championchips like
football, valleyball, hockey, basketball. Sometimes the athletics is quite followed.