Nopesport

The first medals to be decided at WOC2004 will be the sprint races, next Wednesday. The sprint race was first added to the WOC programme in 2001 as an opportunity to make the sport more spectator friendly. It is an event which is continually dogged with controversy and discussion, seen as compromising the orienteering for the media and spectators sake.

In the Finnish town of Tampere, home of WOC2001, the sprint race was a glorified orange course, which spectators were allowed to roam all over. The terrain was simple, fast, urban forest with a clear path network. Further discussion concerned the fact that the competition area was not embargoed, since one of the top Finnish women lived close to the map and trained there regularly.
The sprint race in Rapperswil last year shall always be remembered for Jamie Stevenson’s historic run to become Britain’s first male world champion. But it was also subject to discussion, for it was again not embargoed. This time competitors were free to roam through the historic old town where the race was held, although ‘non-tourist activities’ were forbidden – i.e. no running or testing routes. But this did not stop some runners drawing their own versions of the sprint map based on tourist maps and photos taken while visiting the town.

This year the competition has changed again. Its back in the forest and this time the area is embargoed. But the main change this year is the introduction of heats, held on the same day of the final. In the last two WOCs only two runners from each nation were given starts in the sprint compared with 4/3 in the other disciplines (4 in Finland, 3 in Switzerland). This year each country has three spaces in the qualifiers, the same as the other disciplines.
Perhaps this year controversy will come from the timing of the sprint race. The day before the long distance final means anyone taking the long distance seriously is skipping the sprint, including Jamie. Or perhaps there will be more complaints that the course is too easy, for that is what it seems will be the case. The terrain is a typical piece of urban Swedish forest, with a ‘light-track’ and large path network, and the possibility of a few legs through suburban streets and buildings. Based on the test races it seems the focus will be on picking the fastest routes, rather than finding controls which will be obvious.