This weekend it’s the turn of the best M & W 18 and 16’s to be in the limelight: the annual European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) take place at Vilnius, Lithuania with athletes from 29 nations taking part.
377 athletes in all have registered to take part in the event, which consists of a Long Distance race, a Relay and a Sprint. Nations are allowed up to 4 competitors per class in the individual races, and one Relay team per class. Corona regulations are still very much to the fore, with all participants and officials having an obligatory PCR test before accreditation. Accommodation is provided in three neighbouring hotels, and although arrangements will be a bit restricted, there should be plenty of opportunity for making new friends.
First-class competitions are promised in testing terrain – the Long and Relay in a forest area about 18 km NW of Vilnius and the Sprint in Vilnius’s Old Town. Originally the Relay was planned for a different area, but heavy snow in the winter caused too much damage there. Public races will be held in the areas once the EYOC races have finished.
The forest terrain is described as moderate to very hilly, with two distinct areas – the southern part with steep slopes down to a river with many reentrants and erosion gullies, and the northern part less hilly with small hills and depressions: typical moraine terrain. Runnability is reduced by some dense bushy areas and undergrowth of hazel, nettles and grass.
The Sprint is in a typical eastern European old town with many narrow streets, passages and backyards. There are also small parks and gardens, and the NE part of the competition area is a flat public park.
All the EYOC races will be web-streamed on IOF Live. In the forest races there will be arena web-cam coverage plus GPS tracking, and for the Sprint in Vilnius a full professional video production. There is an introductory video on https://orienteering.sport/event/european-youth-orienteering-championship/welcome/.
Event Programme
Friday 20 August 1000-1400 Long Distance
Saturday 21 August 1200-1500 Relay
Sunday 22 August 0900-1200 Sprint
All times local time (CEST + 1)