Road to WOC accelerates
Another important step on the road to the World Orienteering Championships has been completed with the recent training week held in the La Spezia area. The week brought together several national teams and concluded with two training races at Montemarcello and Brugnato. Athletes competed in both a sprint relay and an individual sprint, providing valuable race-like conditions and technical challenges. The competitions featured strong performances from many teams, highlighted by a Norwegian double in the sprint relay, while the individual races were won by Kasper Harlem Fosser and Ida Agervig Kristiansson.
Results and data: https://woc2026.com/training-races/
Here is the 30-minute feature broadcast on Rai Sport, showcasing images, race highlights, and interviews from the two Gold World Ranking Events held in Pietra Ligure and Albenga on March 14–15.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all participants — from Italian clubs, national teams, and international athletes — for being part of these competitions.
The feedback we received has been extremely positive, and we are pleased to share some of the comments that meant a great deal to us, especially considering the significant effort invested in organizing these events.
- "I just want to thank you for the training opportunities and competitions last week. The job (maps, trainings, competitions) you are doing to give possibilities for training and racing in relevant areas is the best by far when it comes to sprint-WOC. I wouldn't be surprised if we would come to Liguria again before WOC 2028. So keep up the good work and looking forward to our precamp in July!"
- "Last October camp was already very good, and when I planned our 2026 season, I was sure I have to rely on the official training camps to get the best possible preparation to the WOC. Getting several months before some details, such as program and locations, was a great help to plan our dates and accommodation. Then, several weeks before we get the courses, allowing to fine tune our program, between sessions with official time and “free” ones. You were even ready for some flexibility. Courses themselves are very good, and in particular I appreciate the variety, different kind of exercises, different types of terrain (flat/steep, parks/centres/residentials, etc.). Low speed sessions were interesting, which is often difficult. Route choices’ lengths are also very appreciated, among other analysis opportunities (Livelox). I was also great to have those WREs, making the week even more attractive. Here also, same feedbacks, very high-quality events. Awarding Elites first during the prize giving is also appreciated, so that we don’t lose time in recovery. Registration / maps command (+ invoicing) is very easy, and also flexible . Printing is top quality. Well… what else to say?! You are doing a great and very helpful job. I’m looking forward to come back soon!!!"
- "We just wanted to thank you for the last week with official camp + WRE races in the weekend. We have been very happy about the possibility to train in relevant terrain with relevant mapmaker & course setting. The trainings offered fulfilled our needs and it was very cool that it was possible to use our “own” session in Alassio which you use also in the official package. Also WRE Weekend was a good test for us and the runners have been very happy about it. Even weather was shitty on Saturday all worked out well without incidents. Thanks a lot and see you in June for the official WOC simulation week."
- " I want to drop you a message before I forget.The first one is "Grazie mille"! I have a bit of experience in organizing training camp, and I must say it has never been that easy than this time to get the quality we require in national teams. The communication and work oare invaluable and really appreciated. It saves me many hours of work. We used the WRE as our test races for the first World Cup of the year, and of course I was a bit tense as we know how hard it is to get a problem-less organization in sprint. But I got zero complain from any of my runners, so thanks for that. And I also think the races were extremely fair despite the number of starters. So thanks for all of that. The maps and courses were provided for a long time in advance, so it really helped us in term of planning. Quick communication thru WhatsApp was also really appreciated."
- "We are now participating in our fifth training camp here in Italy. It has been a great help that we could participate in well-organized camps. Good sprint camps are very difficult to organize yourself and especially when you live in the other end of Europe. It has been crucial that your team has made good courses and are checking everything several times before. We have been traveling all times with a quite small team of sprint specialists and only one coach and we would not have been able to organize such good camps ourselves. Your team has also been listening to our wishes for the training courses and a great help with checking our own courses the few times we have wanted to do something ourselves. We have also participated in Coppa Italia twice, times, world cup and other WRE competitions. It has been good and well-organized events and even special happenings such as a wedding in the middle of the start have made you shake!! "
Looking ahead
The next key milestone will be the test races in May (16-17/05). These will be complemented by additional training sessions and model events in the Genoa area, providing further opportunities for athletes to fine-tune their preparation. In June, the focus will shift to a full WOC simulation week, designed to replicate competition conditions as closely as possible.
Teams and athletes are encouraged to regularly check the training page for the latest updates. In the coming weeks, Bulletin 3 will also be published, in line with the official schedule.
Info: https://woc2026.com/trainings/ 