Due to the forest ban, there have been changes to the program of the youth WC competitions. According to head coach Arttu Syrjäläinen, doubling the number of sprint races is an advantage for the Finnish national team.
The Junior World Orienteering Championships are scheduled to start on Monday in Portugal. On Friday, a week-long forest ban was imposed on the country, which prevents the World Cup from proceeding normally.
Due to the intense heat and drought, forest fires occur in Portugal and the risk of their spreading is high. During the day, the temperature rises to 40 degrees.
Responsible coach of the youth national team Arttu Syrjäläinen told Urheilu that there is currently no immediate danger in the competition area in the region of Aguiar da Beira in northern Portugal. However, the risk of forest fires is always there.
– The forest ban has been issued on behalf of the administration for the whole of Portugal, so the organizers were left with no options in that sense, even though they had prepared to hold the games here in cooperation with the police and fire brigade.
Sprint message for the first time in the program
The World Championships are scheduled to start on Monday with an individual city sprint. On Sunday morning, the organizers announced that the first WC sprint relay for young people will be exceptionally held at the Portuguese Games.
The sprint relay was originally supposed to be part of the youth race program at next year’s World Championships in Romania.
– In that sense, the situation is really interesting and it’s great that they are able to organize the new competition they mentioned at short notice.
The forest ban set in Portugal is currently valid until Friday, July 15. If the Portuguese government does not extend the forest ban, it will be possible to compete in one forest competition on Saturday, the final day of the Games.
In the original program, forest messages are recorded for Saturday.
– However, the organizers did not yet say what the possible forest competition on Saturday would be. Would it be a message or would it be a personal start, Syrjäläinen pondered.
However, temperature forecasts indicate that the heat and drought will continue in Portugal.
Due to the heat alone, going through long distances would be inhumane, and Syrjäläinen does not wish to organize them. However, a personal race of the middle distance would seem possible.
– It’s really a health risk to get, for example, heat stroke. It wouldn’t sound good to send athletes off-road for more than an hour of competition. But time will tell and the organizers will report on the progress of the situation.
The changes are falling on Finland
According to Syrjäläinen, the sudden changes in the competition cause disbelief in the team. During the previous year, the preparations for the games have been very good and the team has camped in the area twice for the games.
– At the same time, there is a really good feeling among the team. The sprint competition is perhaps the start of these competitions for which we have prepared the most.
It is partly the team’s luck that the new sprint relay is contested on the same terrain where Monday’s individual sprint takes place. The team has put a lot of effort into the sprint competitions, e.g. in the form of background work, so it is to the team’s advantage that two separate competitions are now held in the same sprint area.
– There are no old maps of cross-country trips here, because the areas have not been mapped before, so we have not been able to do advance work by looking at old maps. There has been such an opportunity in Sprint and we have prepared for it as a team very well and certainly better than any other team, Syrjäläinen emphasized.
– As a bonus, the fact that the sprint relay will be run in the same area is definitely in our favor in this case.
According to Syrjäläinen, the Finnish team is strong and competitive. According to the coach, my performances will be enough even for the very top places. Competing in the Finnish World Cup team are:
Ladies: Sabina Aumo Kungälvs OK, Hanne Hilo Espoo Suunta, Silva Kemppi Espoo Suunta, Elisa Mattila Lahten Suunnistat -37, Eeva-Liina Ojanaho Ounasvaara Ski Club, Elli Punto Espoon Suunta
Reserve: Elsa Ankelo MS Parma
Gentlemen: Rauli Aho Valkeakoski Haka, Santeri Kirjavainen Kuopio Guides, Aaro Ojala Kouvola Guides, Aarni Ronkainen Jämsä Retki-Veikot, Touko Seppä Turku Guides, Akseli Virtanen Kouvola Guides
Reserve: Sampo Sankelo Lapuan Virkiä