Current state of preparations
It is less than seven months left until the Orienteering World Cup Final Round in Prague. Do you want to know how the preparations go and what can the athletes and spectators expect? Read the following article.
It could be simply said that the preparations are on track. The Czech Republic was appointed to host the competition in January 2017. After that, lots of meeting took place, the main topics discussed were selection of the head organizers, finance, mapping or arrangement and lease of facilities, accommodation and much more. The so-called World Cup Council, which is basically a smaller organizing committee, consists of David Aleš (chairman of the organizing committee, event director), Matěj Suchý (organization director), Daniel Wolf (sport director) and Jan Picek (technical director). During 2017, a requirement from the IOF came in that apart from the 3 events planned one of tests of the 3rd sprint discipline (sometimes referred to as a knock-out sprint) counted in the overall world cup will take place. Therefore, the programme was set as follows:
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- October 4th, 2018 3rd sprint discipline – knockout sprint (Prague), course planner Jan Flašar
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- October 5th, 2018 sprint relay (Prague), course planner Jan Mrázek
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- October 6th, 2018 middle (Turnov area), course planner Jindřich Kořínek
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- October 7th, 2018 sprint, World Cup Final (Mladá Boleslav), course planner Daniel Wolf
By the end of 2017, areas for sprint relay and sprint were mapped by Jan Fátor, middle distance area was mapped by Zdeněk Sokolář. In 2018, there will be a revision of all areas. The map for the 3rd sprint discipline is being mapped during March 2018. That means that most of the course planners have their map almost done so they can start planning the courses under the supervision of Adam Chromý.
In December 2017, a website was launched and Bulletin 1/2 was released. The next Bulletin is scheduled for release in the beginning of August. On the website www.wcup.cz you will gradually find several interesting articles and interviews regarding the national teams or the organization of the event itself. You can also register as a volunteer on the website. The organizing committee is still looking for enthusiastic and helpful people, who want to contribute to the organization of this important international event in the Czech Republic.
Spectator events will also take place – there will be a middle distance regional competition in the Bohemian Paradise on Saturday October 6th and a sprint regional competition in Mladá Boleslav a day later. More detailed information will be published during spring 2018. All of you are cordially invited not only to cheer on the best o-athletes in the world, but also to compete in fantastic terrains.