The best junior orienteers in the world will head to New Zealand in 2029 to compete at the Junior World Orienteering Championships.
That decision was taken by the IOF Council during its meetings on July 6 and 8 in Italy.
The races in New Zealand are set to take place in the Canterbury region on the South Island, with Christchurch as the host city and they will most likely be held during the summer in the southern hemisphere – probably in November.
Women’s relay mass start during the recently held Junior World Championships in Sweden.
Varied terrains
Canterbury offers some of the most varied and technically demanding orienteering terrain in the world. The diversity of its landscapes, from alpine tussock hills to forests, dunes, and complex rock areas, has helped develop adaptable orienteers capable of navigating a wide range of terrain.
Christchurch (or Ōtautahi in te reo, the language of Māori) is the main city of the Canterbury region with a city centre in close proximity to wild landscapes. It is often described as the gateway city to the South Island combining outdoor adventure, Māori and European history, with easy access to the mountains and the coast.
Going outside Europe
The year 2029, will mark only the second time that the Junior World Orienteering Championships takes place outside Europe. In 2007, Dubbo on Australia’s eastern coast hosted the championships.
And taking the championships outside Europe again was one of the weighty reasons for the IOF Council’s decision as it aligns well with the Strategic Directions for 2026-2030 recently adopted by the IOF General Assembly.
One of two strategic initiatives here is to: ”Develop and expand orienteering as a global sport” and the updated vision sounds as follows: ”Orienteering is the ultimate navigation sport worldwide”
Find the Strategic Directions in their entirety here
The IOF also received strong bids from Austria and Hungary in the process of finding a host for the 2029 Junior World Championships and would like to thank all bidders for the work they put into it.