North

“ORIENTISTS” FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD: TWO THOUSAND ATHLETES, THIRTY-FIVE COUNTRIES

For the first time on stage in Italy, EOC European Orienteering Championships will coincide with the World Cup Finals. For an entire week – the first of the first fully autumnal month – the historic centers of Trento, Verona and Vicenza will be populated by “orienteering” enthusiasts from all over the world, committed to contending for absolute titles during an event dedicated to promotional challenges and special initiatives aimed at encouraging the diffusion of the orienteering course and at the same time enhancing the host tourist locations on the international scene.

The Veneto Region (with the provinces of Verona and Vicenza) and the Autonomous Province of Trento together to celebrate as mentioned an “absolute first” for our country, destined to turn into a great party. A real “passage to the northeast” for running specialists with a keen eye for map and compass, engaged in the hunt for the lanterns that… indicate the straight path (straight, so to speak) to the finish line. Are approximately two thousand athletes expected in Veneto and Trentino representing thirty-five different nationsthe majority of which are from central-northern Europe, the homeland of the discipline.

The event program will put in direct comparison with the best international athletes, but also the amateurs who want to put themselves to the test, driven by their passion and by the possibility of discovering the sport of the woods which for the occasion will also land in the villages of the northeastern provinces of the Peninsula involved in the continental review. The event will stop there thanks to the commitment of FISO (Italian Federation of Orienteering Sports) and PWT Italia (Park World Tour) to get the event assignment from IOF (International Orienteering Federation). Thanks to its reach and resonance, EOC 2023 can also count on the patronage of the Veneto Regional Council, the Province of Vicenza and the Autonomous Province of Trento.

FROM ORIENTEERING ARENA TO EOC TOUR

The Europeans will begin on Sunday 1st October in Verona: the streets and districts of the city of Verona will draw real maps, through which everyone will be able to explore – through fun activities – its stupendous historical and architectural identity. The fulcrum of the event will be the Orienteering Arena itinerant that between games, treasure hunts and spaces for the enhancement of local excellence, will animate the various locations throughout the week. For those who want to experience the emotions of the real competition even more closely, they are foreseen promotional races of the EOC Tourwhich will touch Verona (Sunday 1st October), Peschiera del Garda (Monday 2nd), Malcesine/Monte Baldo (Tuesday 3rd), Soave (Wednesday 4th), to then move to Trentino in the second half of the week with the Sega di Ala/Trento (Thursday 5), Arco and Riva del Garda (Friday 6 October).

For information www.eoc2023.it

THE EUROPEAN SPRINT TITLES AND THE WORLD CUP STAGE UP FOR WIN

Breathtaking departure for the challenges of the professionals in the charming medieval village of Soavein the province of Verona, with the Sprint Relay scheduled for Wednesday 4 October, which will decide the strongest teams of the Old Continent in the relay race. The king and queen of continental orienteering over Sprint distance instead they will be crowned on Friday 6 October in Trentino. To be precise in the historic centers of Arco and Riva del Garda, where the qualifications and finals will take place respectively. The Sprint knock-out individual titles instead they will be assigned on Sunday 8 in the heart of Vicenza, which will once again welcome the discipline for nine years after the 2014 World Cup on the plateaus of Asiago and Lavarone. All distances will also be valid as the third and last stage of the 2023 World Cup. The orienteering community will also be able to count, as a logistical point of reference and more, on the Event Center located in the magnificent scenery of Lake Gardain Peschiera del Garda.

The Championships will not only leave a legacy of absolutely sustainable sports facilities. They will be the driving force of a considerable tourist industry, linked to the presence of the athletes and their respective companions. In fact, a total of fourteen thousand tourist presences are expected which, for the seven nights considered, will generate an induced income of around two million euros. Eight nations will broadcast the EOC live on television: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, France, Switzerland, Estonia and the Czech Republic, equally contributing to the promotion of tourism and sports in the Italian territory. Regions, provinces and local administrations focus everything on the combination of sport and tourism.

SPORT AND NATURE, TOURISM AND COMPETITION: VOICES FROM THE TERRITORY

“As an athlete who tried his hand at hockey in his youth, I have always appreciated the disciplines of the so-called minor sports, which are such only because they have less space in the big mass media, from newspapers to television, certainly not because of the commitment and skills that are put on the field . Orienteering is one of those disciplines that fascinate and grow in terms of practitioners and enthusiasts also thanks to the diffusion in schools and school championships. Cities, countryside, hills and mountain forests in the Veneto region are ideal settings for running and orienteering competitions. In 2023 the European Championships between Verona, Vicenza and Soave (Verona), will also count on the Event Center in Peschiera del Gardathus touching another pearl of our territory, for a sport that combines physical effort, study, intelligence and intuition with the natural and human landscape, allowing sportsmen and practitioners to put themselves to the test and to enjoy the beauty of unique places and panoramas in the world”. (Roberto Ciambetti, President of the Veneto Regional Council)

“Trentino is proud to host this sporting event of international importance, confirming the bond that exists between our territory and sport, especially that which is practiced outdoors. For the athletes involved, for their companions and for the enthusiasts who will follow the event, it will be an opportunity to appreciate the beauty of an area – that of Garda – particularly dedicated to hospitality and competitive practice. The period chosen for carrying out EOC 2023 also contributes to strengthening the commitment of the Trentino tourism system to invest in periods traditionally less characterized by large flows of visitors but which at the same time offer those who choose them a high-quality holiday experience”. (Roberto Failoni, Councilor for Crafts, Commerce, Promotion, Sport and Tourism Autonomous Province of Trento)

“The format of the Sprint Orienteering European Championships is bound to surprise. In fact, he will combine top-level competitive spirit with the discovery of local excellence, tourism, entertainment, sport for all with the Orienteering Arena and solidarity”. (Gabriele Viale, General Manager PWT Italy)

“The Vicenza area has a long tradition in orienteering, thanks to a territory with a high sporting vocation that alternates plains, hills and mountains. Next autumn’s European Championships will arrive in the historic center of Vicenza, offering us the opportunity to show the world what we have to offer in terms of culture, architecture and art. The candidacy for Capital of Culture has allowed us to prepare a program of events that enhance a heritage made up of palaces and villas but also of alleys, arcades, bridges small and big. Even through orienteering, which by its nature leads to the discovery of less known corners of the territory, and for this reason even more suggestive”. (Francesco Rucco, President of the Province of Vicenza)

“Events of this kind have an undoubted sporting value, but they are also an excellent vehicle from a tourist point of view, especially promotional compared to the regions of Northern Europe, where orienteering is widespread and practiced. The goal is to make sport a vehicle of culture, also offering athletes a cultural and tourist experience and making them ambassadors of the beauties of Vicenza in the world”. (Matteo Celebron, Councilor for Sport of the Municipality of Vicenza)