Ahmet Kacmaz (Turkey) and Csilla Gardonyi (Hungary) have been awarded with “The Orienteering Achievement of 2018″ titles in the men’s and women’s class, respectively! The vote has been decided by the big international readership of WorldofO.com – more than 5500 unique votes from around 60 different countries have been delivered. Read interviews with the winners below the results.

Ahmet Kacmaz  won the award for taking Turkey to a World Orienteering Championships (WOC) final for the first time ever with a fantastic 2nd place in the Sprint qualification – and following up with a 37th place in the final. Compared to Kacmaz’s earlier WOC results, in the 20’s and 30’s in the qualification, this was an incredible transformation, showing that a man from a small orienteering nation like Turkey can achieve big improvement with dedication and targeted preparations.

 Showing that a man from a small orienteering nation like Turkey can achieve big improvement with dedication and targeted preparations

The runner-up Colin Colbe (Germany), who got around 2/3 of the votes of Kacmaz, has a similar story, also showing how an athlete from a small orienteering nation can achieve big results with a Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) gold medal. In third finished Tim Robertson (New Zealand) who took New Zealand’s first ever WOC medal with his Sprint silver medal this summer.

In the women’s class it was tighter for the top positions, with less than 50 votes separating Csilla Gardonyi and Isia Basset (France). Gardonyi’s story is the story of the 17 year old Hungarian who took the first ever Junior World Orienteering Championships gold medal for Hungary in the women’s category this summer, another example of how dedicated athletes from the smaller orienteering nations can get to the top.

 The 17 year old Hungarian who took the first ever Junior World Orienteering Championships gold medal for Hungary this summer

Runner up in the women’s class Isia Basset comes from one of the most successful orienteering nations on the men’s side the last years, France, but her medal at WOC Middle was the first WOC medal for a French woman, and Basset’s WOC result was far above anything she had ever done earlier in her orienteering career. Third in the women’s class was the always successful Tove Alexandersson, again with some truly amazing achievements.

Photo credit: Janis Ligats (WOC2018). Istvan Mathe, Abel Sulyok, Dora Koszta, Dénes Papp (JWOC 2018). Jan Kocbach (WorldofO.com)

Big thanks go to all voters and to the event sponsors  Sardinia 3×5 days (Italy),  WOC 2019 Spectator races (Norway) , Antalya Orienteering Festival 2019 (Turkey), Scottish 6-Days Orienteering Strathearn 2019 (Scotland), Aguiar da Beira “O” Meeting 2019 (Portugal),  Lipica Open (Slovenia), International 24-hour relay (Germany), Danish Spring 2019 (Denmark), Velidken Cup 2019 (Bulgaria), Bubo Cup 2019 (Slovenia), Portugal “O” Meeting 2019 (Portugal), Edinburgh University’s big weekend 2019 (Scotland), Wawel Cup 2019 (Poland), NAOM 2019 (Portugal). See all details about the sponsor in the sponsor section below. Winners of sponsor prizes will be published in the coming days. This might have been the last edition of “Orienteering Achievement of the Year” at World of O – so thanks a lot to all sponsors and voters since the first edition all the way back in 2006 (won by Simone Luder).

Results

In the Men’s class Ahmet Kacmaz won with 22% of the votes ahead of Colin Kolbe with 15% and Tim Robertson with 14%. In the Womens’ class Csilla Gardonyi won with 23% of the votes ahead of Isia Basset with 21 % and Tove Alexandersson with 15 % of the votes. The fascinating stories behind each nomination can be read at the poll page for men and women, respectively.

Interview Csilla Gardonyi

Q: Congratulations on being awarded with “The Orienteering Achievement of 2018″! You really impressed the orienteering world with your great results at the Junior World Championships – did you expect this kind of success ahead of the season? What kind of goals did you have for the season?
From EYOC [European Youth Orienteering Championships] I had some medal results from the last years, so I really looked forward to this season’s challenges, but I never expected the gold medal. JWOC was something new for me, I have never competed in such a hard field, so I have had no idea what my chances were. I wanted to give my best, and see what it would be enough for.

Photo credit: Istvan Mathe, Abel Sulyok, Dora Koszta, Dénes Papp (JWOC 2018)

Q: For those following the youth orienteering championships the last years (EYOC, CEYOC, JEC), it was not surprising to see you perform well at the Junior World Championships on home ground this year. Can you tell us a bit about your orienteering career so far – including the best international results from the last seasons?
The first international championships I took part in was EYOC in 2015, organised in Romania. I was surprised that I could be in the Top 10 during the weekend, and it was also a great feeling to get the bronze medal with my relay team. In the upcoming years, I collected 4 gold medals (2016 relay, 2017 sprint and long, 2018 sprint), and 2 silver medals (2016 sprint, 2017 relay).

Q: You are from an orienteering family – have they been important for your own success in orienteering?
Of course, my family have brought me to orienteering competitions since I was a child, and made me love the sport (it wasn’t hard). It’s also a great and comfortable opportunity that I can train with my brother and aunt.

My family have brought me to orienteering competitions since I was a child, and made me love the sport (it wasn’t hard)

Q: What are your orienteering goals for the next years? Are you already thinking ahead to the elite World Championships, or are your goals still only in the junior class?
Next year will be quite busy for me, as I am going to Belarus to my last EYOC, and a week later to the JWOC in Denmark – similar to this year’s script. I am doing my last year in high-school, so the matura exams are waiting for me as well in May and June. EYOC seems very special, I haven’t been in Belarus yet, but the terrains are quite different from the Central-European ones. I am curious, and hope that I can cope with this challenge. JWOC will be a much harder task. I know home ground meant a lot this year, but I hope that I will have the chance to fight for top positions in next year’s competition. I’m not thinking about the elite championships yet, maybe a year later.

Photo credit: Istvan Mathe, Abel Sulyok, Dora Koszta, Dénes Papp (JWOC 2018)

Q: Many orienteers from central Europe also compete for and train with a Scandinavian club. Have you got any plans in that direction?
I haven’t got a Scandinavian club yet, but I really want to spend some time in Scandinavia. I was there twice, and one thing is clear for me: It is very different from Central-Europe. It was like learning orienteering again.

I was there twice, and one thing is clear for me: It is very different from Central-Europe. It was like learning orienteering again.

Q: What is the most fun you have had during orienteering the past year?
It was an add-on event at the biggest Hungarian competition (Hungaria Cup), called Mobil-O. Pairs compete with each other in this type of orienteering. One person from the pair has the map with the course, and he/she has to navigate his/her pair through the course on a mobile phone. Then they get another course and change roles. It was organised in the city center of Tapolca, and I took part with my little brother (he was just 9 years old). It was just so much fun to listen to his navigation, as he said „go through the second tunnel”, when it was a covered passage. And last but not least, we did beat many other pairs.

Q: Do you plan do to anything differently in your training for the upcoming season?  Can you give an example of one of the key trainings?
Not really. We try to make as many technical trainings as possible. In the winter it is quite hard to make orienteering trainings, because of the temperature, but in exchange we sometimes leave the paths and run in the forest. Personally, I love night-trainings the most, but unfortunately we haven’t got many.

Q: Can you remember any leg which you felt that you executed in a (near) perfect way in 2018? Can you take us through that leg?
I chose a small competition, which was in the Buda castle this autumn. Even I knew the terrain quiet well, this first-leg was really challenging. The Buda castle has several storeys, so it isn’t an easy job to orienteer there. I didn’t find the perfect solution, but I really enjoyed this leg, and the whole competition overall. My route is the red one, but green is clearly better.

My execution: Start! The hardest task is to find the best solution, and start running as soon as you can. It went quite fast in my case: right turn, through the passage into the square, down on the stairs and along the road. Here was my mistake, because I didn’t see the green option. I went down one storey on the stairs, and after this I used the long stairs. It wasn’t the best solution, but my speed was higher than the other’s, so I could win the leg. I think it’s worth to have a look at the whole course, it’s an unique terrain with great legs [Editors comment: Check out the course in RouteGadget here; class W21B – and a headcam-video from the M45-course here or the trailer for the event to understand what this is about].

Q: Any final words to your fans out there? There seem to be many voting for your achievement as the best orienteering achievement of 2018!
Many thanks for all my supporters, for cheering, for voting, for supporting.

Interview Ahmet Kacmaz

Q: Congratulations on being awarded “The Orienteering Achievement of 2018″! You really impressed the orienteering world with your great improvements this year – especially your 2nd place in the qualification at WOC Sprint and the 37th place in the final was a huge step up from where you or any other Turkish athlete has been ever before. Did  you except this kind of success ahead of the season?
First of all, I want to thank you for organizing World of O and informing us about orienteering news from all around the world, and I also want to thank all the people supporting my story wholeheartedly and voting for me. It is true that I gained a historic success both for me and my country. I planned this success before the season. I prepared my training and camp programs by which I could cover up my deficiencies which I realized in the previous years. I was faced with many obstacles, but I never gave up. Furthermore, I managed to keep my motivation. Just a few days before the race, I was certain that I would run this race with a good result.

Q: Some months ago you wrote the following on your Instagram-account: “Success is not a coincidence. If you want to be the best you need to find best and join them”. Can you tell more about your preparations for the World Championships? Who helped you, and how did you get from a position around 25-30 in the WOC qualification to nearly the top position in a year?
Yes, this sentence is one of the best statements I have ever written. I want to answer this question in detail. I participated at WOC for the first time in 2008. We came by our own means, and it was a touristic championship for us. More ironically, I thought at the last control that the race was over, that is why I didn’t run to the finish, which can be seen in photos on your website :)

Success is not a coincidence. If you want to be the best you need to find best and join them

Everybody thinks that I started doing orienteering at the age of 22. But the truth is that I started doing orienteering “professionally” in 2010. In my [early] twenties, I just learned orienteering and participated in some races. In 2010 [at age 25] I had the chance to meet with Valentin Novikov, and offered him to train my club in Turkey. As a result of this, I realized my first professional training (4 months).

Now, let’s talk about this year. My biggest problem [at the World Championships] was that I couldn’t control my excitement because of the fact that I met with the most successful athletes and participated in big races just once a year. I was [always] having some problems in the first two or three controls like in WOC 2017 in Estonia. Thus, not only did I need to be stronger, but I should train with legendary athletes to control my excitement as well. For the first time, I started a really serious training process in Turkey.  I had a tough winter season – over and above, I cleaned the area I would run from the snow with a shovel to not let my training program be disrupted. One month before WOC my friend Arturs Paulins made possible the 2nd stage of my preparation plan, which is training with the best athletes, by accepting me to his home. I will always be thankful to him. I participated in qualification races and again I was slow at the beginning of the race with only one control mistake. The day after, I run the same course and I realized that I have enough running performance to be in the Top 5.

The day after, I run the same course and I realized that I have enough running performance to be in the Top 5.

I had nearly one month to control my excitement. With the help of Arturs I participated in the trainings of strong countries such as France, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, Latvia and Finland. Thanks a lot to all of them. But ten days before the world championship I had a problem and I had to decide. I had run 98 courses in 42 days. As a result of this, pain in my knee and tendon got worse. I had foreseen this situation but there was no other way of running the final. In these days my wife told me some very good news. I learned that we would have a baby. This was a big motivation source for me.  In the morning of qualification race, while I was stretching, I felt that I would run very good because there was a difference compared to previous years, I wasn’t afraid anymore. The result, perfect for me, 2nd place. A dream come through!

Photo credit: Mareks Gaļinovskis / FotoManLV (WOC2018)

Since nobody [from Turkey] ran the final before, I had not thought further about it, I even hadn’t looked at the old version of the final map once. I hadn’t had enough mental training, nor enough experience. I tried to spend a little time between the qualification and final race in a good way with the help of my teammates. I started to race [the final] in the crowd for the first time, and it wasn’t easy for me. But I think that I overcame the course technically. To me, the course was challenging and I managed to choose the fastest routes in 80 percent of the critical controls. Unfortunately, just at the 2nd control, my toe was aching terribly due to overtraining. I suffered every minute of the course. That prevented me from running very fast. When I came to Turkey, it was diagnosed that my toe had bone enema and a stress fracture.

Q: Running fast is an important part of being a good sprint orienteer. How fast do you run on for example 3000/5000/10000 meter? Did you also improve a lot as a runner in 2018, or are your improvements mainly as an orienteer?
Exactly true! These are my official running times: 3000 m – 8.36. 5000 m – 14.52. 10000 m – 30.58. Half maraton – 69.45. In 2018, I took my running performance very seriously. I couldn’t come to previous championships with the best performance in terms of running, because the race season in Turkey ends in April or May, and after the season the athletes are not included in the camps. If your club doesn’t take you to the camps, then you return to the work life. I, for the first time, managed to show my best running performance at WOC. Before WOC I didn’t run an official race, but I took a try on my own in 3000 m – 8.41. But of course, I gained a serious improvement in terms of orienteering and mental preparation.

Q: Do you plan do to anything differently in your training for the upcoming season?  
My injury lasted longer than I expected. I just started to run softly after WOC. This year the forest discipline of WOC will become of secondary importance, because Scandinavian terrain is very different, which we can not experience in Turkey, and I need more time to train for that type forest. I [therefore] set plans and aims for the WOC 2020  sprint. But because of my injury, I could not to start my planned training yet. I will recover as soon as possible and I will start training to achieve my goals for 2020.

Photo credit: Mareks Gaļinovskis / FotoManLV (WOC2018)

Q: Can you give an example of one of the key trainings?
Near my home I have  special running  route which has uphills and downhills. I like running on this route for my slower trainings. And I also have this in my training program;  1 km uphill training which is essential. Uphill takes around 4 minutes  and downhill takes around 2.30min. Also, stair jumping is one of the key trainings. For intervals, 30 seconds fast/30 seconds slow running is my indispensable training.

Q: Can you takes us through your development as an orienteer throughout the 2018-season?
I didn’t run many races in 2018, but I can see that in every race I was getting better. For instance, in EOC 2018 in sprint race after the spectator control, in the 2nd part of the race,  I made no mistake. Furthermore, when I analyzed my result from the EOC 2018 sprint, I realized that I could have been in top ten in my category.

When I analyzed my result from the EOC 2018 sprint, I realized that I could have been in top ten in my category

For the first time in long distance I managed to complete the course under 2 hours, and I chose the right routes in all long legs. Tallin O-week was the last training for me before the WOC. In the sprint course I had no mistake and finished the course 45 seconds after the first athlete, Artem Popov, and 30 seconds after the second athlete, Arturs Paulins. In that race I was very tired and I couldn’t get warm enough. I feel that I could run better in the world championship.  And of course my best races are; WOC 2018 sprint qualification, WOC 2018 sprint final and WOC 2018 long.

Q: How big is the orienteering scene in Turkey? With your recent success – are there others who can step up behind you and give Turkey more good results in international orienteering?
Doing orienteering in Turkey isn’t easy. The federation hasn’t got a good budget, and the support given is not enough to be successful in the international area. I have talented friends, but they cannot show their potential because they have to manage only with the support given by their clubs and the federation. I became successful by adding to what the federation and my club give me, and making sacrifices. I think my result will be very effective. Turkish athletes realize what they can do if they want. Especially young athletes send me messages like “Thanks for showing us what we can achieve”. That makes me very proud. There are some athletes forcing their means, if they struggle with obstacles, they will eventually be successful. Turkish orienteers did not believe that they could be successful or being in the final, now they see that  it can be possible and they will run more brave and believe from now on.

Photo credit: Janis Ligats (WOC2018)

Q: Have you got ambitions also to become a top forest orienteer, or are you mainly focusing on sprint orienteering?
I never wanted to distinguish between the disciplines. However, I think myself as a fast athlete, and that’s why this year I wanted to be the first athlete running the final, and I studied mostly the sprint discipline. I will also train for the forest, but the terrain in Turkey is not similar. I need more training camps in Scandinavian terrains. I haven’t had a chance to find a Scandinavian club so far. I think I will do better trainings when I have a club. I need more support in the forest discipline, when I get these things I’m sure I will be successful.

Q: What are your goals for the next season – and have you got any even higher long-term goals?
My plans have started to form recently. I want to make a good plan to be in the Top 10 in the final at WOC 2020 in Denmark, and I think the WOC 2021 terrains in Czech Republic can be similar to Turkey, although there may be more slopes and  steep  terrains. I will try to surprise everyone  in the forest discipline this time in 2021.

 I want to make a good plan to be in the Top 10 in the final at WOC 2020 in Denmark

Lastly, I want to thank everyone for voting for me. I am not the best in the orienteering world, but I have a very valuable story behind this achievement. My advice to others is  also as you mentioned “If you want to be the best, you need to find the best and join them”. Also what ever you do as a job, I wish everyone gets their reward.

Sponsors

Event sponsor: Sardinia October 2019 – 3x5days – week 40, 41 and 44 (Italy)

• Prize offered: Package for two persons consisting of entry fee and accommodation with formula bed and breakfast for week 41 in Sardinia (Italy).  Value about 1.240 EUR. Transferable to other persons.
• Follow the Sun in Italy and make your summer longer! Park World Tour Italy is organizing the 8^th edition of Five days Orienteering in October with 3 possibilities: week 40, 41 and 44. For 2019 we chose the beautiful Sardinia. We found a fantastic place, one hour driving from Cagliari airport. A wonderful beach is next to the event center. Read more on www.orienteering.it and www.facebook.com/pwtorienteering.

Event sponsor: WOC 2019. August 12 th – 17th 2019 (Norway)

• Prize offered: Package for two persons consisting of entry fee for all 6 WOC 2019 spectator races and hotel accommodation in one of the partner hotels of WOC 2019.  Value: TBD.  Transferable to other person.
• Description. Use this unique opportunity to watch the World’s best orienteers in the first ever forest World Orienteering Championships while enjoying orienteering in fantastic terrains. More information at https://woc2019.no/en/

Event sponsor: 5^th Antalya Orienteering Festival 2019 – October 27th– November 3rd (Turkey)

• Prize offered: One Big Antalya O-Meeting package consisting of 1 complete Antalya Orienteering Festival package: Accommodation + Entry for all 6 races for one person. Value about 540 Euro. Transferable to other person.
• Antalya Orienteering Festival will be held for the 3rd time in Side by the Mediterranean coast of Antalya, Turkey. We provide 6 different terrains and challenging courses, good maps and good weather for orienteering holiday. See more at www.antalyaofest.com

Event sponsor: Scottish 6-Days Orienteering, Strathearn 2019, 28 July-3 August (Scotland)

• Prize Offered: Entry fees for two adults for all six races plus free entry to Sprint Race.  Additional free entry for two Juniors if required.  Transferable to other persons from same country. Value 500 Euro.
• Description: Strathearn 2019 is the 22nd staging of this very popular multi-day event in Scotland.  The organisers have applied for two World Ranking Events, Middle and Long Distance, and this would be great training just two weeks before WOC.  Strathearn and Highland Perthshire offers a much wider range of terrain types than some previous Scottish 6 Days so will test all your orienteering skills. Website www.scottish6days.com/2019

Event sponsor: Aguiar da Beira “O” Meeting 2019. January 25th– 27th 2019 (Portugal)

• Prize offered: Aguiar da Beira “O” Meeting 2019 Competition Package for 2 persons – including full entries to the event (Model Event, Sprint WRE, Long distance and Middle distance WRE), 5 night accommodation with breakfast and a 4-map package for each person to train around the event area. Value about 500 EUR. Transferable to other persons.
• Description:  After the huge success of ABOM 2019, Aguiar da Beira will again be host the best world athletes to run on one of the best Portuguese terrains. Besides, we are the host County of Junior World Orienteering Championships 2021. If you were born in 2001 or later, ABOM 2019 is a great opportunity to start your preparations! High quality mapmaking and amazing terrains are waiting for you! More info about ABOM 2019 at: http://abom2019.ori-estarreja.pt. If you want to have a training camp in Aguiar da Beira, check out http://orientedforlife.o-portugal.pt. We would also like to present you the “Oriented For Life Podcast”, a English speaking Podcast about Orienteering.

Event sponsor: Lipica Open 2019. March 9th – 13th 2019 (Slovenia)

• Prize offered: 2 packages – each for 2 people – consisting of: Entry to complete 5 Day Lipica Open competition + hard floor accommodation. Value about 320 EUR. Transferable to other persons.
• Lipica open: Popular season starter, with brand new area mapped for stage 5. Enjoy Slovenian karst terrain already in March. Kras region offers also excellent conditions for quality training camps. More at www.lipicaopen.com

Event sponsor: 22. International Thuringian 24-Hour relay. May 31st – June 2nd 2019 (Germany)

• Prize offered: Two packages, each package consists of one 6-person team for the 24-Hour-Orienteering Relay (min age 15) and one 4-person team for the youth relay. Included in the 24-Hour Relay is also opening party, parking, camping and open-air swimming pool.  Total value about 300 EUR. Transferable to other persons.
• Description. Be part of the world’s longest orienteering relay starting on Saturday June 1st 2019 at 9:00 AM and finishing on Sunday 2nd of June 2019 at 9:00 AM. The competition takes place in a typical German low mountain range in the middle of beautiful nature. More information here: https://www.24h-ol.de/en/

Event sponsor: Danish Spring, 29-31 March 2019 (Denmark)

• Prize offered: Package for 2 people consisting of free starts in all three competitions and 2 nights in Hostel Sankt Helene. Value about 280 Euro. Transferable to other persons.
• More information: The international spring opening in Denmark |  Junior and Youth competitions | Three World Ranking Events |Perfect preparation for JWOC 2019 in Denmark, WMOC 2019 in Latvia and WOC Sprint 2020 in Denmark | Cosy hostels, holiday homes, huts and hotels in the whole area. Ideal for your group’s or club’s spring training camp. Get it all at www.danishspring.dk

Event sponsor: VELIKDEN CUP – 26.- 29. of April 2019 (Bulgaria)

• Prize offered: Package for two persons consisting of entry fee and accommodation with breakfast for Velikden Cup 2019 – 4 days of orienteering during Orthodox Easter in Targovishte, Bulgaria. Value about 270 EUR. Transferable to other person.
• Enjoy an orienteering holiday and explore the Bulgarian culture off the beaten tracks. Four races in continental terrain including a WRE event. Velikden is the biggest club orienteering event in Bulgaria with more than 20 years of history. It’s a tradition now that most of the Bulgarian orienteers spend Easter holidays in Targovishte. Besides the orienteering there are many places to visit and explore so you will not regret a trip to Bulgaria. Find out more at http://cup.variant5.org or email us at teamcontact@variant5.org. Visit also our facebook page at: com/velikdencup.

Event sponsor: Bubo Cup 2019. July 17 th – 20th (Slovenia)

• Prize offered: 2 packages, each for 2 people consisting of entries for all 4 days of Bubo Cup 2019, Bubo Cup event T-shirt and training map for each. Value about 250 EUR. Transferable to other persons.
• More information: 4 days of intricate and highly challenging karst terrain up on the Trnovo forest plateau. Possibility to camp right at the Finish area. There are only 3 days between ending date of Bubo cup and starting day of Oocup, which makes it feasible to combine both events. Read more at bubocup.com.

Event sponsor: POM 2019. March 1st – 5th 2019 (Portugal)

• Prize offered: 2 packages – each one for 2 persons – consisting of full entry fees (model events, 4 forest stages, sprint relay, night sprint and Trail-O). Value about 250 EUR. Transferable to other persons.
• Portugal O’ Meeting is already a well-known established international event, perfect for a season start. It’s common to see POM Super Elite winners on the podium of the following EOC and WOC. The 2019 Edition will be held in Figueira da Foz, the central coastline of Portugal. Terrains are typical Mediterranean forests on all stages. More info at www.pom.pt.

Event sponsor: Edinburgh University’s Big Weekend. January 25th – 27th 2019 (Scotland)

• Prize offered: Competition packages for 4 people – including entry to 3 races, the ceilidh and race t-shirts. Value about 250 EUR. Transferable to other persons.
• Description: EUOC invite you to our Big Weekend 2019. This is your chance to orienteer in Scotland’s capital; one of the world’s most beautiful cities and host of the World Orienteering Championships 2022. The three races will test all your orienteering skills, featuring a Night race, a technical Urban and a Classic on an extinct volcano – and the Ceilidh provides a traditional Scottish social evening for all to enjoy! Race website: https://euoc.wordpress.com/big-weekend/

Event sponsor: Wawel Cup 2019. July 10th – 14th 2019 (Poland)

• Prize offered: 2 packages – each for 2 people – consisting of entry to full Wawel Cup 38th edition (competition + additional indoor race + training maps) + accommodation on camping/hard-floor +! Wawel Cup T-shirt. Value about 250 euro. Transferable to other persons.
• Wawel Cup for WKS Wawel centennial! Wawel Cup 38. comprises the exciting indoor race, the possibility of seeing the capital city of Polish kings and beautiful surrounding nature! And foremost challenging terrains and orienteering… on the highest level. Together we will make it a real worldwide orienteering running feast! More info: http://wawelcup.pl/en/

Event sponsor: NAOM 2019. March 9th-10th 2019 / Orievents (Portugal)

• Prize offered: Competition + training package for 2 persons, consisting of: Entry for NAOM 2019 (09 March  2019 –  Middle distance + Night Sprint ; 10 March – Middle Distance WRE) +  training camp (2 trainings) + 2 days of accommodation in half board. Value about 250 EUR. Transferable to other persons.
• Orievents / GD4C’s Training Camps “Alto Alentejo” are an excellent training opportunity for Orienteering of good quality during the winter. Start the new season in training camps in Alto Alentejo, Portugal! More at www.naom.pt and about the training camp at Orievents.