WOC 2022: All You Need To Know

The first ever Sprint World Orienteering Championships (WOC) starts in Denmark on Sunday June 26th with the Sprint Relay. The championship continues with the first ever WOC Knock-Out Sprint on Tuesday June 28th – and rounds of with the traditional Sprint on Thursday June 30th.

With this being the first year with a pure sprint WOC, several top runners have increased their sprint focus, and we could get the highest level in sprint competitions in the history of the sport. WOC 2022 was originally set to be organized in 2020, but was postponed two years due to the Covid-situation.

Program

Three medal races are included in this year’s WOC:

• Sprint Relay, Sunday June 26th
  • Start 17:30, Finish around 18:30 (WebTV from 17:15)
• Knock-Out Sprint, Tuesday June 28th
  • Qualification 09:30 – 11:10 – No WebTV
  • Quarter Finals 16:00 (Men) and 16:36 (Women) – No WebTV
  • Semi Finals 17:45 (Men) and 18:21 (Women) – WebTV from 17:30
  • Final 19:02 (Men) and 19:22 (Women)
• Individual Sprint, Thursday June 30th
  • Qualification 09:30 – 11:10 – No WebTV
  • Men Finals 17:40 – 18:50 – WebTV from 17:45
  • Women Finals 18:51 – 19:50

All times are CET.

Links & Live: How to follow the races

Use these links to follow the championships:

• Orienteering.sports live page – here you can also buy a LIVE pass for EUR 6 per competition or EUR 12 for all competitions to follow the competitions live on WebTV with English commentary.
• The TV-production is also broadcast in eight countries: Denmark (TV2 Sport), Sweden (SVT), Norway (NRK), Switzerland (SSR SRG), Finland (YLE), Czech Republic (CZ-TV), Austria (ORF), France (TV 8 Mont Blanc).
• WOC webpage & WOC Eventor page
• WOC Bulletin 4 – detailed information
• WoO results archive which includes both EOC and WOC (via WorldofO.com results archive)

 

Race overview

The races will be organized around Kolding and Vejle in Denmark – see the embargoed areas below (open separate map here).

Race details and reigning champions

Sprint Relay

Terrain

The central part of Kolding dates back to around year 1200. In this part, the castle of Koldinghus rises 20 metres above the surroundings. The old town is characterised by an asymmetrical street plan with town houses, shops, café and dining areas, backyards, and narrow passages. Except for the grassy castle park area, the ground surface is hard and sometimes paved with cobblestones. North-east of the castle area, recreational park areas with grass lawns, playgrounds, gardens, and picnic facilities occur. The area south of the old town is cut by a stream and a railway. This area is partly dominated by public buildings and schools, but apartment buildings and office blocks are also common.

 

 

 

Reigning Champions

Knock-Out Sprint

Terrain

Fredericia was built as a military fortification 400 years ago with huge ramparts, now covered by grass and forest. The ramparts are hilly, often with very steep slopes, but in some areas also gentle and flat. They are mostly covered with grass. Inside the fortification, the town has a distinct symmetrical road network with quadrants, often embracing intricate backyards behind the facades. The ground surface here will be hard. The embargoed area to the north comprises a modern residential area with separate family houses, public buildings, and apartment buildings. Here, the ground surface will mainly be hard, but minor areas with grass occur.

Course details and qualification scheme

First there is a qualification race with three heats for each gender. 36 women and 36 men will qualify for the finals in the afternoon 12 from each heat. The start interval is 1 minute. Late changes in the terrain have forced the course setter to extend the lengths of the courses with about 1 min. The courses are therefore slightly longer than specified in the rules (8-10 min).

The heat allocation for the knockzone area approximately at 12:00. If a competitor is not present at the time of the heat selection, the competitor will lose her/his right to select the heat.

Knock-Out Sprint Finals (quarter-final, semi-final and final): For the elimination rounds, the courses may incorporate forking/splitting systems:

1) No forking

2) Forking with loops.

There will be no announcement in advance which method is used in which round.

Reigning Champions

First time organized.

Individual Sprint

Terrain

The embargoed area includes a complex old town area with shopping streets, backyards and narrow alleyways. Modern residential areas with apartment buildings and areas with public buildings and schools are also present. The northern part of the embargo consists of a 90-meters high slope, cut by deep ravines and partly vegetated by deciduous forest. The southern part is nearly flat. The area is cut by two railways and two water courses, both with several bridge passages. The railways can also be passed through tunnels at several places. The eastern part of the embargoed area reaches the harbour area, in which many new apartment buildings have recently been constructed.

Course details and qualification scheme

Sprint distance with 1 minute start interval. The 15 best ranked in each qualification participate. The starting order is determined by the qualification results.

Reigning Champions