The Jukola relay is the biggest sports event in Finland and the world’s biggest relay competition in orienteering.
In 2019 will take place the 71st Jukola relay and the 42nd Venla relay. In total of two relay competitions will be sent about 20 000 orienteers to forests of Kangasala.
The weekend of Jukola relay will start on Saturday afternoon with the Venla relay, which will be ran in four-member teams. The Jukola relay starts close to midnight on Saturday evening when the Sun has set. The relay is ran through seven legs and the last man will finish early on Sunday morning.
In the Venla relay the teams will be compiled only from four women, in the Jukola relay can start men as well as women. In the both relays is set age limit – competitors must be at least 15 years old. There is no competition licence needed for participating and teams can be compiled from colleagues at work, relatives or friends.
The magic of Jukola
Jukola is the highlight of the summer for orienteers. The unique atmosphere attracts year after year new places over Finland. Jukola’s charm is based on the equal starting point: the world’s elite and enthusiastic hobby orienteers orienteer side-by-side.
The amazing atmosphere can also be enjoyed by being a volunteer or part of public, by cheering to favorite teams or by helping them. The competition center is like a small town itself – in addition to following interesting competition and competing, it is possible to enjoy pop-up cafes, visit sports shops, participate in other events in the program, enjoy the peace in a special church in forest or the art created by endless amount of tents in a magical summer night, and furthermore, even the cheerful bustling crowd is a phenomenon itself.