Nopesport

Grant Bluett - World Games Winner in 2001

Next year sees the 7th World Games held in Duisburg, Germany. Orienteering is one of the 32 official sports included in the programme of these games after making its debut in the previous World Games, held in Japan in 2001. Winners then were Grant Bluett of Australia and Hanne Staff of Norway, while Norway also won the mixed relay. Jamie Stevenson was 3rd, Jenny James was 8th while the relay team including Stephen Palmer and Heather Monro took 6th place.

The aim of the World Games is to try and give media exposure and spectator interest to sports which aren't included in the Olympics as well as offering a cultural experience to both competitors and spectators alike. Some of the other sports on display are Frisbee, Korfball, Sumo Wrestling, 10 Pin Bowling, Inline Skating and Lifesaving!

The orienteering competition is organised as a Middle Distance race, followed by a mixed team relay with 2 male and 2 female members. The Middle Distance races will take place on the 16th of July with the relay, interestingly with a 1:5000 map, held the following day.

Allocation of the 40 men's & 40 women's entries to the World Games is decided by the IOF from the WOC results, with guaranteed places given to the current World Champions: Thierry Gueorgiou from France, Hanne Staff & Bjørnar Valstad from Norway, Simone Niggli-Luder from Switzerland, Karolina A. Höjsgaard & Niklas Jonasson from Sweden. In addition to these, 2 men's and 2 women's entries are distributed to the top 11 countries from the WOC relay along with the hosts Germany. Remaining places are given on the basis of the WOC Middle and Sprint results.

Great Britain have therefore been allocated 3 women's and 2 men's entries and will be competing against Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland in the relay with Australia, Poland, Romania and Ukraine all given individual entries.

More information on the World Games is available: here