Road to WOC #7: Training camps

Tove Alexandersson, Olav Lundanes, Simona Aebersold or Frédéric Tranchand. Top world athletes have already done their training session in the Czech forests for the World Orienteering Championships 2021. We are bringing the latest part of Road to WOC: today we will have a closer look at the training camps that have taken place in Czechia since late March. 

After Euromeeting was cancelled at the end of February because of the Czech lockdown, all the training activities in the WOC 2021 had to be cancelled as well. During March, the WOC 2021 organizers, National Sport Agency, Regional Hygienic Station of the Liberec Region, and IOF have reached an agreement and under very strict hygienic conditions, individual training camps could have taken place. Shortly before Easter, first teams (or their parts) arrived. This opportunity was used by a part of team Sweden, team Norway or team Switzerland. 

The COVID Protocol

As mentioned above, each of the arriving teams has to fulfill a number of conditions. The athletes coming from the so called red or dark red regions have to go for a PCR test straight after arrival. “None of the tested team members has been positive so far. It is also because the majority of the athletes get tested already before they come. Moreover, we recommend to all the camp participants to isolate already before arrival and limit their contacts,” says Jana Kubátová, the Event Secretary and the author of the detailed Covid-19 Training Camp Bulletin. Testing is managed by the WOC 2021 organisers together with EMS Liberec whose representatives come to the respective teams’ accommodation.
The teams need to show, apart from the negative test results, also various approvals from their local federation and from the Czech Orienteering Federation. Naturally, they have to respect all the restrictions valid in the Czech Republic like using a respirator or a nano-face mask not only indoors, in public transport but also in the other areas except for the training itself. Accommodation in a single-bed suit is recommended. “I feel very safe here,” described Karolin Ohlsson of Sweden to the Skossport magazine her impressions from the training camp in Czechia. 

Official Trainings

These days, the sport part is often pushed a bit aside, even though this is the actual reason why the teams are coming. For the trainings, older maps were revised. Four of them in scale 1 : 15 000 for the long preparation which is going to be held in the sandstone rock towns of Kokořínsko using this scale. “I am very pleased that we managed, maybe for the first time in the WOC history, to have several model trainings for each of the disciplines from the WOC course setters. I believe that, mainly for the smaller teams, this is a big help and in general, it increases fairness,” explains Radek Novotný, the former head coach of the Czech team and the organising team member responsible for trainings. The organisers also prepared a registration system where each of the teams enters their training in the respective localities. The Czech Police or the Nature Preservation authorities are thus informed about their presence in the area. This system has been appreciated by the national teams. 

Easter with Test Trainings

Thanks to the possibility to arrive before Easter or during the holidays, two test training sessions could have taken place. Both of them were held in the relevant terrains of Selská rokle. Teams Czech, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Spain and Switzerland took part in separate waves. The middle distance winner was Aleksadra Hornik and the young Norwegian Kasper Fosser. Sunday’s long was dominated by the Swiss Simone Aebersold and Matthias Kyburz. You can find complete results as well as photos and GPS tracking in a separate article on the website. 

Fully Packed Diary

The training diary shows that these days you could meet teams France or Germany in the Czech forests, later this week team Slovakia arrives and not long ago team Denmark left the WOC terrains. Unfortunately, not all teams can come to the Czech Republic. Up to May 17th, the British team is not allowed to travel (the exception is only for teams in olympic sports). The Finnish national team should not travel to Czechia during April based on their government and experts’ recommendation and should postpone all the planned travels until May. At the beginning of June, the organisers are going to prepare selection races where many teams should take part, including the locals, team Czech.