The IOF World Orienteering Championships Head to Scotland
News Release / 19.06.2015
In just over a month’s time the eyes of international orienteering will be firmly set on Scotland. From 31 July to 8 August The 2015 IOF World Orienteering Championships (WOC2015) and the 20th edition of The Scottish 6-Days, two of the world’s most renowned orienteering events, will be staged alongside each other in the Highlands and Moray. Together they comprise the largest orienteering event ever held in the UK, and one of the largest to be held in Scotland in 2015.
450 of the world's best orienteer athletes from 50 nations and more than 5,000 club competitors and enthusiasts from all over the world will compete on some of the finest, yetphysically and technically demanding orienteering terrain in the UK. At the end of a week of close fought and tactical racing worthy world champions in individual and team sprint, long and middle distance and relay disciplines will have been crowned.
British - and Scottish - athletes are likely to feature highly in the results. The Great Britain team is amongst those at the top of the international rankings and will have real medal chances at WOC2015. Orienteering has traditionally been dominated by the Scandinavian nations, where it is considered the ‘national sport’. However, in recent years, French and Swiss athletes have broken through and have had an impressive series of wins.
WOC2015 will have its base at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness and will run in parallel with the biennial Scottish Six-Days, widely recognised as one of the world's top multiday competitions. Together, both events will deliver an international festival of world-class orienteering aimed at everyone from elite and club athletes and support teams to spectators, families and visitors keen to soak up the great atmosphere and camaraderie the sport generates.
Paul McGreal, WOC 2015 Event Director, said: "I’m really excited about the opportunity that WOC2015 brings, both to help develop the sport at elite and club level and also to help orienteering to achieve the maximum positive exposure from a highly successful and professional event.
“We look forward to presenting our incredible forest, moorland, mountain and urban terrain, along with some fantastic Highland hospitality. The areas and arenas we are using for the races are amongst the finest that can be found anywhere in the world, and will provide a challenging test for the best athletes in the world, and an exciting experience for spectators. WOC2015 and Scotland is going to present the sport in its true competitive and accessible light.”
Scotland is the perfect stage for hosting major international sporting events and 2015 marks the third time that the country has hosted the World Orienteering Championships. The previous occasions were in 1976 and 1999. Darnaway Forest, one of the iconic 1976 venues, is being used again in 2015.
Both the World Orienteering Championships and the Scottish 6-Days are supported by EventScotland, the events team at VisitScotland. Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events at VisitScotland said: “With just over a month to go until the Highlands and Moray welcome the World Orienteering Championships, excitement continues to build with athletes around the globe preparing for their visit to Scotland.
“We have a strong track record and international reputation as the perfect stage for major events and I have no doubt that the Championships will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase the sport and our event delivery credentials.”
The WOC15 courses are bound to test the sport’s most experienced elite athletes. The long, middle distance and relay races are being staged in the forest and mountain areas of Darnaway and Glen Affric with their rugged hilly ancient Caledonian Forest, semi open terrain and intricate ground features. Nairn and Forres, offering the mixed urban landscape of roads and small alleyways mixed with parkland, ornamental gardens and community woodlands, are the perfect locations for the extremely spectator friendly urban sprint races.
The highly successful Scottish 6-Days, the largest orienteering event in the UK, was first held in 1977 as part of the legacy of the first World Championships in Scotland. The public race programme is designed to provide the highest quality orienteering in a relaxed holiday atmosphere, whilst appealing to all ages and skill levels – newcomer to elite; with age classes ranging from 10 years and under to 80 years and above. The 2015 events will be held in Keppernach, Darnaway and Glen Strathfarrar, with the final day staged at Glen Affric.
The eyes of millions will be on the 2015 World Orienteering Championships and on Scotland with world-wide live television coverage, recorded highlights and feature packages being produced at the event.
WOC2015 and Scottish 6-Days have great support from a wide range of organisations including British Orienteering in partnership with EventScotland, the International Orienteering Federation, The Highland Council, The Moray Council, Scottish Orienteering, Scottish6Days Orienteering and many others.
