Terrain and agenda of the WOC 2003 Switzerland have been published

The Concept
The WOC 2003 represents new exciting forms of orienteering contests on the highest level, that similarly take place in demanding terrain and just outside the town. But WOC 2003 also stands for pleasing the public, the media and sponsors at the same time. With the current concept for the WOC 2003 the Swiss Orienteering Federation explores new paths. The selected WOC regions include difficult and sometimes rough terrain, but also city forests and even suburbs as orienteering terrain.

The concept for the terrain of the WOC 2003 clearly shows where the organizers put their focus for the world championships in the year 2003. The clear aim is to bring orienteering to the people. The WOC 2003 in Switzerland is supposed to demonstrate the peculiarities and the many variations of this sport to a broad public. At the same time, the excitement generated by such a big event should be directly communicated to the public. With the organization of the WOC 2003, Switzerland is poised to prove that orienteering is not a forest-bound minority sport, but a popular and interesting sport indeed, that is equally attractive for media, audience and sponsors as well.

Nowadays, no big event can be organized without sponsors. If an event does not happen to be big, however, it does attract neither a crowd nor the media. Furthermore, the absence of the media means that there is no platform for sponsors, and so on. The strict focus of the WOC 2003 on the needs of the media and the audience made it possible to find sponsors for this main event at a very early stage. Lastly, these events are not possible until such sponsors are found. The organizers find themselves in a situation today where the financing of the WOC 2003 is on the right track.

Credit Suisse, whose activities as the main sponsor for the Swiss Orienteering Federation SOLV has been lasting for years, leads the group of partners as a Presenting Sponsor – followed by the WOC Main Sponsors Swisscom, the official telecommunications partner, BatiGroup, Eternit, Victorinox, Geberit, Meyer Druck, Turmix and Silva, the Official Supplier. Co-sponsors include Squashfit and Walder Schuhe.

A sports-enthusiastic partner could be gained as the hosting city for the WOC 2003, which is Rapperswil/Jona, a centrally located hub of East Switzerland that provides a very good infrastructure. The nearby town of Pfäffikon sports the biggest congress hotel of Switzerland. This hotel Seedamm Plaza will serve as the technical competition and the international media center as well.

Characteristics of the WOC 2003
The second orienteering world championships in Switzerland (after 1981)
Duration of seven days, two rest days included.
Competitions: Two qualifying contests, three individual finals (sprint, short distance, and classic distance), and one relay
Competitors: 400 athletes from up to 50 nations
Audience: A crowd of 5000 to 10000 people is expected at the respective finals
The 600 officials and helpers are volunteers from about fifteen clubs from the WOC regions
The budget of the WOC 2003 includes CHF 1.8 Mio

Agenda of the WOC 2003

Sunday, August 3, 2003
This is the day of the opening ceremony. During the ceremony the sprint, which is the first of the four WOC finals, is going to take place. The sprint is a novel and very attractive discipline of orienteering. Supposedly this event is going to be a first edition for a WOC. The start and the finish will be located in the arena where the opening ceremony is held. The running time of the fastest athletes should not exceed fifteen minutes. The suburbs of Rapperswil/Jona and its old town will make up the terrain for the sprint. This blast is extremely attractive for the media and audience. It is going to be the kickoff for the WOC week.

Monday, August 4, 2003
The qualifying events for the classic distance are scheduled around the area of Zug in rough terrain with pre-alpine characteristics.

Tuesday, August 5, 2003
Rest day and model events for the following competitions.

Wednesday, August 6, 2003
The next highlight will include the finals over the classic distance in the city forest of Winterthur. Winning times of around 95 minutes for men and 75 minutes for women, respectively, can be expected. The widespread-forested area between Winterthur and the Kyburg Castle also includes the topographically challenging valley of the Töss River. Speed stability, endurance and smart route choices will be key for winning or losing. The WOC arena is only five minutes away from the city center of Wintertuhr and offers space for more than 5000 people. The start and finish area as well as the passing of athletes during their run can all be looked over in the WOC arena. Add the latest advances in electronic transmission for pictures and data from the competition area and you get a spectacular sports event that will be offered to the crowd and the media.

Thursday, August 7, 2003
Rest day.

Friday, August 8, 2003
Qualifying runs and finals of the short distance event in the region of the "alps arena" Laax-Trin-Digg, both taking place at the same day. In this difficult pre-alpine terrain with fine contours between Laax and Trin-Digg, the map-related technical qualities will make the difference. The rock-bound region around Flims is considered as an extremely sophisticated orienteering terrain.

Saturday, August 9, 2003
WOC relay in the Chlosterwald near Rapperswil/Jona. This rencontre is both for the public and the media very attractive. It is going to be the culmination of the WOC. A crowd of up to 10000 people can be expected.

The special characteristics of the Chlosterwald with its unique limestone formations will be the framework for a fast but technically demanding relay competition.

At night, the WOC closing event will be included in the annual celebration of the city of Rapperswil at the lake, the "Seenachtsfest". This event drew a crowd of significantly more than 30000 this year. The fireworks will be the crowning finals of the WOC.

Terrain conception for the WOC 2003
The reason, among others, to publish the conception of the terrain at such an early stage should be understood as the commitment of the organizers to fairness for all participants of the WOC. Fairness for all, however, is possible only if an access restriction to likely WOC terrain for potential WOC participants becomes effective at a stage as early as the planning phase. The international orienteering federation, IOF, and the SOLV have approved the present regulation, which forbids all potential WOC participants to stay in the said WOC terrain.

The definition of spare reserved terrain should make it possible to carry out a superior WOC 2003 even in the case if the descendents of the descendents of storm Lothar should hit the chosen WOC regions again shortly before the year 2003...

Fringe activities
Around the WOC there are different projects planned that will make the WOC 2003 an attractive vacation destination. Parallel to the WOC a multi-day orienteering meet is planned, the so-called Swiss O Week. 3500 participants from over 50 nations are going to be expected. The meet headquarters of the Swiss O Week will be a tent camp in Jona at the shores of Lake Zurich. The six race days of the Swiss O Week offer a week of sports, fun and adventure to the international orienteering family around the WOC 2003.

The week before the WOC 2003 the Tour O Swiss will take place: A touristic journey through Switzerland with totally four orienteering events at attractive destinations, surrounded with cultural events. The start will be in Saint Moritz. Thereafter, the Palm Express will carry you to Lugano. From there, the Glacier Express will bring you to Zermatt. The next stop is Bern, where an orienteering event is planned with start and finish on the Bundesplatz in front of the Swiss house of parliament on August 1, 2003, which happens to be the Swiss independence day. You will get back to Rapperswil/Jona right on time for the start of the WOC 2003.

The WOC in the own country should be the base and the platform for a positive development of the sport of orienteering in Switzerland. "sCOOL" is the motto. A thousand school-related orienteering meets shall pick up the idea of orienteering and carry it on during May 23, 2003. The preparation for this big day has been started. Hundreds of school-O maps have been produced already, and a few hundreds more are going to follow soon. "sCOOL" is a fundamental project of the Swiss orienteering federation, because only a focused promotion can secure the growth of a new generation of orienteers.

Competitions to prepare for WOC 2003
Besides the regular schedule of the Swiss orienteering federation SOLV with its some 100 competitions annually, the calendar for the year 2002 contains three World Cup events as the center for attention. On June 7, 2002, a sprint event will be conducted. On June 8, a relay will take place, and finally, on June 9, the classic individual event. The competitions will be held in Friburg, Vaude and Neuchatel, which are three cantons in the western part of Switzerland.

The organizing committee WOC 2003 is convinced that the concept presented here does lay the basis for a new alignment of the sport of orienteering also in
Switzerland.

Posted: 2003-02-01 15:29:04