EVENT INVITATION

The international orienteering relay competitions, the 76th Jukola Relay and the 47th Venla Relay, will be held in Mikkeli 14.-15.6.2025. The event organizer is Navi ry.

The competition instructions for the Mikkeli-Jukola competition, as well as the event programme and a “Guide to Mikkeli-Jukola” will be published as electronic versions. All competitors are asked to download these beforehand.

47. Venla Relay

An orienteering relay competition with four legs for women’s teams from orienteering clubs and other associations. The winning team will be awarded the challenge trophy “Lintukoto” (“Bird home”) donated by the Kaukametsäläiset association.

Forking is used in all legs. The race starts with a mass start at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, 14th of June 2025.

76. Jukola Relay

An orienteering relay competition with seven legs for teams from orienteering clubs and other associations. The winning team will be awarded the challenge trophy ”Havuoksa, rauhan viiri” (“conifer branch, a pennon of peace”), donated by the Kaukametsäläiset association.

Forking is used in all legs. The sun sets at 11:01 p.m. on Saturday, 14th of June and rises at 3:21 a.m. on Sunday, 15th of June.

The race starts with a mass start at 11.00 p.m. on Saturday, 14th of June 2025.

General information

The event is regulated by the rules of the Suomen Suunnistusliitto (the Finnish Orienteering Federation (FOF)). The rules of FOF are available on the FOF website at www.suunnistusliitto.fi. It is forbidden to use spiked shoes, but shoes with studs are permitted. GPS trackers will be allocated to chosen teams and must be worn throughout the competition. The chosen teams named by the organizers will use numbered vests.

The embargoed (forbidden) area can be found on the Mikkeli-Jukola’s website: https://jukola.com/2025/en/competitors/training-ban-area/

Competition Map and Punching System

Digi printed orienteering map with a scale of 1:10 000 and a contour interval of 5 meters (ISOM2017). Mapped by Jussi Silvennoinen. Maps are sealed in plastic. The electronic Emit punching system will be used.

Eligibility to Participate

Participants are not required to obtain a Finnish Orienteering Federation license. It is the responsibility of the clubs and the competing members to ensure that all personal data is correct. Both men and women can participate in the Jukola Relay, including any women competing also in the Venla Relay.

The teams of associations (meaning teams other than orienteering clubs) are allowed to have no more than two first class orienteers aged between 17 and 39 years. To women this applies only when competing in the Venla Relay, not in the Jukola Relay. Only teams affiliated to organized orienteering clubs are eligible to compete for podium positions or points for the challenge trophy.

Foreign orienteers in particular are reminded of the fact that they are allowed to compete for only one club in Finland during the competition season (1st January – 31st December).

Only competitors born in 2010, or earlier, are allowed to compete in the relays. Running an underage participant will result in the disqualification of the team.

Registration and Payment

The registration process opens on December 2st, 2024 on Mikkeli–Jukola’s website https://jukola.com/2025/en. The contact person for the club will do the enrolment and pay for the teams in the electronic enrolment system.

Registering the teams happens as follows:

• The contact person for the club creates a personal Jukola-account on the website jukola.com
• The contact person logs in to the enrolment system with his/her Jukola-account
• The contact person enrols the teams and pays for the teams and extra services the same way as before

NB: Event invitation link and detailed instructions for enrolment will be sent through e-mail in November 2024 to all the clubs and associations who participated in Lakia-Jukola 2024.

Each team must have at least four (4) Emit cards in Jukola relay and three (3) in Venla relay. The same Emit cards may not be used by two different teams in the same relay. However, the same Emit card can be used in both the Jukola and the Venla Relays. Emit cards can be rented from the organizers. Renting an Emit card costs 20 euros per card until May 9th, 2025, after this date the price will be 40 euros per card. The amount of rental cards required must be indicated in the registration form when making the entry. Numbers of Emit cards do not need to be reported in advance, as they will be registered into the electronic result system at the competition centre when runners enter the start and changeover area.

The schedule for registration, entry fees and other payments made in advance are shown in the table below. Payment must be made online at the time of an entry or a reservation. If a reservation is not paid within the date range of the price category when the reservation was made, the fee of the next price category will be charged.

All clubs are asked to check all the details carefully when entering a team and paying. Once the registration has been paid, all changes require extra work from the organizers and if changes need to be made, a fee of 20€/change will be charged.

Entry fees

A team has the right to cancel their participation before May 9th, 2025 at 11.59 p.m. The entry fee will be returned, but the processing fee of 20€ per a cancelled team will be charged. If a team cancels its participation after May 9th, 2025, the entry fee will not be returned. Participation and cancellation of extra services can be made by sending an e-mail to the general secretary, to the email address sami.leinonen@jukola.com.

Starting order of the teams registered before May 9th 2025 is determined by the results from last year’s Jukola. All teams registered and paid later will find their starting position at the end of the starting list. The teams that are disqualified or did not finished in the Lakia-Jukola will be drawn at the end of the starting list. The organiser reserves the right to place teams that have been disqualified on smaller free starting numbers.

All questions regarding the starting lists should be sent to the technical advisor, to the email address teijo.oksanen@jukola.com.

Other fees

Running Order

The running orders of teams are entered into the electronic enrolment system either during the entry or later. The running order can be entered as public or non-public; in the latter case, it will become public on Thursday, 13th of June 2024 at 6.00 p.m.

The running orders for both relays, the Jukola and the Venla, must be entered into the electronic enrolment system by

• teams number 1-100 on Thursday, 12th of June 2025 at 6.00 p.m.
• other teams 6.00 p.m. on Friday 13th of June 2025 at 6.00 p.m.

The running order can be entered as public or non-public; in the latter case, it will become public

• for teams number 1-100 on Thursday 12th of June 2024 at 6.00 p.m.
• other teams on Friday 13th of June 2025 at 6.00 p.m.

Late registration of the running order will result in a penalty of 100€. After entering into the electronic enrolment system changes can only be made in exceptional circumstances. Changes will be approced by Jukola´s TA. More specific information on this will be published in June 2025 in the Competition Information on the website of Mikkeli-Jukola.

Number bibs (note: no safety pins are provided by the organizers) and other team specific competition material will not be available until the running order has been submitted and all fees have been paid.

Accommodation

All accommodation located within the competition centre area has to be booked and paid for through the electronic enrolment system which opens at the same time with the registration, on December 2nd, 2024. Accommodation will be confirmed after the organizers have received the payment. Prices for accommodation can be found from the table above (Other fees).

Camping areas for tents are located on the fields near the competition centre and the size of each tent pitch is 10 x 10 m. The tent areas are located 750-2600 metres from the competition centre.

The organisers will provide 300 non-heated tents (16 persons each) which are located at a distance of 150-1300 metres from the competition centre. In the first phase, 100 tents will be reserved for foreign teams and 200 tents for domestic teams. The tents will be reserved on a tent-by-tent basis.

Tents for domestic teams can be booked through the Jukola registration system until 9.5.2025. Foreign teams should reserve their tents by emailing sami.leinonen@jukola.com by 9.5.2025 and payment will be done via Jukola registration system. Any accommodation tents set up by the organiser that may become available from foreign teams will be allocated to domestic teams on an order of reservations of domestic teams, reservations to sami.leinonen@jukola.com.

Please see other accommodation options on the website of Mikkeli-Jukola.

Parking and accommodation areas for campers and camper vans are located at the HK Foods Oyj factory site in Tikkala and Kalevankangas in Mikkeli. Places are limited and distributed in the order of registration. Places must be reserved and paid in advance through the registration system before May 9th, 2025. There is no electricity available for the campers and/or camper vans.

Wind Shelter Area

Competing clubs have an opportunity to book a place for a wind shelter near the changeover and finish area. There are 250 wind shelter places. All competing clubs making an entry for at least four (4) teams (Jukola and Venla combined) will have the right to book three (3) wind shelter places. All the competing clubs that wish to have a wind shelter place must book it through the electronic enrolment system. The top 25 teams from Jukola 2024 have the right to reserve wind shelter places 1-50.

Competition Centre

The competition centre is located in the village of Tikkala in Mikkeli, at the SBS Betoni Oy factory site, about 11 kilometres south-west of Mikkeli city centre. The competition centre will open on Friday 13.6.2025 at 10.00 a.m. Facilities located at the competition centre include, for example, a canteen, first aid services and an information desk as well as shops and exhibition areas. No accommodation is allowed at the competition centre or at the camping areas before the official opening time of the competition centre!

Arrival

Detailed instructions for arrival and other information can be found in the “Guide to Mikkeli-Jukola” which will be published on the Mikkeli-Jukola’s website in May 2024. Road signs directing to the parking areas will be in place by June 13th, 2025, by 8.00 a.m. The driving instructions issued by the organizers must be strictly adhered to.

Information on other means of transportation to the competition centre will be published later at Lakia-Jukola’s website https://jukola.com/2025/.

Parking and Parking Fees

All cars will be parked in the parking areas according to the guidance and instructions given by the organizers. Parking at Mikkeli-Jukola will be in remote parking areas, there are no parking spaces near the competition centre.

Parking for passenger cars is located in the fields of Otava and at Mikkeli Airport. The distance from the parking areas to the competition centre is 8-12 km. Walking distance to the shuttle buses to the competition center is 300-1200 metres in the parking area.

Parking for invited guests will take place in the above-mentioned passanger car parks, there is no separate parking area for invited guests.

From the passanger car parks, there is a shuttle bus service to the bus stop of HK and Kariniemi. There is 1500-2000 m walk from bus stops to the competition centre. The shuttle bus service from the passenger car parks is free of charge. More detailed shuttle bus information/timetables and routes can be found in the competition instructions and ”Guide to Mikkeli-Jukola” in May 2025.

Participants should reserve significantly more time to arrive to Mikkeli-Jukola.

Parking and accommodation areas for campers and camper vans are located at the HK Foods Oyj factory site in Tikkala and Kalevankangas in Mikkeli.

Parking for the media and special groups is located near the competition centre.

Parking fees can be found in the table above.

The bus stop for unloading and pick up of club buses

The stop (unloading and pick-up points) for the club buses is located at the bus stop of HK in Tikkala 1500 metres from the competition center.

Showers and Changing Rooms

Changing facilities are not provided. There will be showers with warm water as well as a sauna (entrance fee to sauna 5€) at the competition centre.

Photos and Filming

During the event, photos and videos will be taken. By registering and participating in the event, you confirm that photos or videos taken of you may be used for event-related marketing and other purposes. The material will not be sold or given to third parties in any other way.

Training

Pre-race trainings are available using the training maps of Mikkeli-Jukola. More information on trainings can be found on Mikkeli-Jukola’s website https://jukola.com/2025/kilpailijat/harjoittelu/. Training outside the official training terrains is prohibited.

Competition officials

Chairman of Organizing Committee              Juho Siikilä
Competition Director                                        Heikki Tonteri
Director of Support Functions                        Niina Liukkonen
Secretary General                                               Sami Leinonen, sami.leinonen@jukola.com, +358 50 557 8003
Technical Advisor: (TA)                                    Teijo Oksanen, teijo.oksanen@jukola.com, +358 50 526 1024

Saimaasti welcome to 76. Jukola and 47. Venla relay!

Mikkeli-Jukolan office: sami.leinonen@jukola.com
Registration and detailed information: www.jukola.com/2025/en
The rules of FOF: www.suunnistusliitto.fi
Training ban area: https://jukola.com/2025/en/competitors/training-ban-area/