One unavoidable part of Jukola is the “dress rehearsal”, that took place in Louna-Jukola competition center on Wednesday evening. An estimated 500 volunteers from different functions familiarized themselves with their own tasks, mostly guided but also independently.
The most visible event was the actual competition rehearsal where dozens of “competitors” ran through a three-leg relay from start through changeovers to finish. To simulate realistic situations, some runners received instructions to e.g. punch on a wrong control or take a wrong map at changeover. A big group of servicemen were of good help, comprising at least half of the participants.
Many of the volunteers are first-timers and newbies to orienteering and Jukola, who this way got a concrete foretaste of what’s waiting over the weekend and especially the nature of their own tasks. Even some things requiring improvements were identified during the rehearsals.
– Everything seems to have run very well. Even if most things and functions have been done in Jukola year after year and largely stay the same, it’s vital to go through everything so that we catch imperfections and even mistakes, commented Vice Event Manager Erkki Haavisto in the midst of the rehearsal.
Final adjustments to be done, and then Louna-Jukola is good to go!
The rehearsal competitors are on their way. Photo: Jukka Lämsä.
Photo: Jukka Lämsä.
Result service assistant Matti Tahvonen instructs the servicemen acting as “competitors” to punch wrong. The Jukola relay course setter Jukka Oksa (on the right) follows beside. Photo: Antti Veijalainen.
