Become a volunteer

Join us in making Kotka-Jukola happen – as a volunteer, become part of a great story! Do you want to help build an unforgettable experience where thousands of orienteers, spectators and nature lovers meet in the heart of the forest? As a volunteer you are the true hero of the event – an essential part of the community that creates Finland’s largest sports event.

TASKS
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Benefits

  • A hot meal and coffee
  • Certificate upon request
  • Orientation for the task and valuable work experience
  • Networking
  • Event T-shirt
  • Other benefits and offers (e.g., product perks offered by partners)


Not to forget a front-row seat at the world’s largest orienteering relay!

Requirements

  • Positive attitude
  • Participation in training
  • Working for one or two days (for shifts of at least 6 h)
  • Language skills are an advantage

There is strength in club collaboration

Kotka-Jukola 2026 collaborates with various clubs that want to be involved in building Finland’s largest sporting event. Volunteering is an excellent way to unite a club’s forces, strengthen team spirit, and carry out visible and meaningful volunteer work. Are you interested in bringing your club into Jukola’s unique community?

We will provide more information about collaboration opportunities on the website in autumn 2025.

Tasks and inquiries

There are many tasks available, most of which do not require orienteering experience. What matters most is the desire and enthusiasm to help create a major sporting event.

Explore the tasks below and sign up as a volunteer for Kotka-Jukola.

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Numeroitua numerolappua ja karttaa pitelevä naispuolinen juoksija kilpailee ulkoilmasuunnistuskilpailussa. Hän näyttää keskittyneeltä, ja taustalla näkyvät muut osallistujat ja vapaaehtoinen.
Task and service descriptions
We offer great experiences at the vantage points of the world’s largest orienteering relay in diverse tasks. Read more by clicking the tasks below that interest you!
The task of the Arena Production Committee is to enable a pleasant viewing experience of the relay both on site in the competition centre and via television. Examples of volunteer tasks at the competition centre include:
  • Building the infrastructure required for the TV broadcast and the competition centre public address
  • to the competition centre before the event and dismantling after the event (suits people who want and are able to do concrete hands-on work).
  • Assisting tasks for Yle reporters (suits bold people with good interpersonal skills)
  • Assisting tasks for JukolaLive, the international online broadcast (suits people with language skills, an interest in marketing, and enthusiastic people, IT skills are an advantage)
Volunteer tasks at the competition centre do not require orienteering skills. Volunteer tasks in the terrain include:
  • control spotters (report from the terrain to the TV director about the movements of the leading orienteers)
  • control managers (assisting tasks at TV filming controls)
  • radio guides (guiding radio reporters moving in the terrain, the “whisperers”)
Volunteer tasks in the terrain require orienteering skills and age over 15.
The ICT and Results Service Committee provides accurate results for the teams participating in the competition, transfers online split times to the results system, and publishes results in real time on the internet, on television, and on the video and results boards in the competition centre. The committee also provides the data connections required both in the competition centre and in the terrain, as well as connections for the media and the public. Volunteer tasks do not require orienteering skills, nor significant IT skills. The ICT Committee builds the data network in the competition centre, and volunteers are needed for this work. The work consists mainly of pulling cables and does not require special skills. The ICT Committee also serves as the event’s general IT support for other committees and, among others, vendors. For this work we are looking for IT people with above-average skills. Most tasks do not require orienteering skills. Tasks available include, among others, control construction, connections, on-call shifts, and results service. No prior experience is required. We will provide training.
The Map and Course Committee commissions the maps for the competition area and training terrains and handles the course-setter duties for both the event and trainings. Before the event, among other things, the competition maps must be printed, sorted and bagged, control structures prepared, and the technical readiness and functionality of the controls ensured. The committee must also handle control supervision during the competitions and dismantling after the event. The operation of drink stations during the competition also falls under the Map and Course Committee. Orienteering skills are not essential for all tasks. During the competition, the Map and Course Committee runs the drink stations in the terrain and provides water/sports drink to passing orienteers. In total, approximately 80–100 people are needed to staff the drink stations and take care of the orienteers.
Competition Info: Information points for competitors, spectators and volunteers operate under the Office Committee during the competition weekend. Duties include, among other things, preparing and distributing team materials and return maps, as well as advising competitors and spectators in multiple languages.   Programme: The Programme Committee is responsible for arranging the opening ceremony, the Jukola celebration, the award ceremonies, the forest church service and the children’s area.
Medical: The medical team is responsible for first aid operations in the competition centre and in the terrain. Volunteers are needed who are doctors and nurses. The medical team is also partly responsible for the operation of rescue points located in the terrain.
Competition operations within the Competition Committee The tasks of the Competition Committee include emit check-in and zeroing, starts, changeovers, finishes, restarts, distribution of GPS devices and backup map operations. Organising the dress rehearsal during the competition week is also the responsibility of the Competition Committee. These tasks are located at the heart of the event in the competition centre. The tasks do not require orienteering experience and are easy to learn with the training provided.
Marketing and Finance: The Finance and Marketing Committee is responsible for financial management and for acquiring partners for Jukola, and it also oversees the Jukola Shop, which sells Jukola products. The committee maintains communication with the event’s partners and markets the event to competitive and recreational teams as well as to the general public in Finland and abroad. Invited Guests: The Invited Guests Committee is responsible for organising invited guest functions.
Communications and media The Communications Committee is responsible for producing content for Jukola’s website and social media channels, as well as distributing press releases. During the event weekend, the committee is responsible for the media centre’s services (e.g., accreditation) for media representatives, as well as guidance to filming locations and finding interviewees. For communications we need writing journalists, photographers, website expertise, social media support, translators, and customer service staff for the media centre. Responsible persons for the newsroom and the media centre, still and video photographers, filming guides for the media, journalists, social media specialists, and cooperative and language-skilled people for the media centre.
Restaurant The Restaurant Committee’s task is to feed hungry orienteers, spectators, invited guests, and volunteers. At Jukola, about 60,000 meals are served and 60,000 cups of coffee are consumed.
Traffic: The Traffic Committee’s work largely involves cooperation with various authorities and organizations. The committee’s duties include, among other things, traffic signage, traffic control, and parking arrangements. Volunteers are especially needed for traffic control. Ideally, traffic controllers are local, since local knowledge helps serve Jukola visitors as smoothly as possible. Security: The Security Committee is responsible for the event’s safety. Volunteers with a security steward qualification are needed. The committee is also responsible for operating the event’s situation center and for fire and rescue safety.
The Maintenance Committee is responsible for ensuring the operation of showers and saunas in the washing area, preparing accommodation areas, vehicles and their fuel and lubricant servicing, waste management transport tasks and the replenishment of WC supplies as part of the event’s environmental operations. In addition, the Maintenance Committee is responsible for the procurement and storage of event supplies. The committee’s volunteers also include eco-guides who instruct sorting in the heart of the competition center and act as general experts for Jukola’s waste management. The above tasks are located mainly in the heart of Jukola Village at the competition center. The tasks do not require orienteering experience and training is provided before the event. Volunteers are needed for the Maintenance Committee, especially licensed ATV drivers.
The Field Committee is responsible for electricity and water supply. For electrical and HVAC maintenance we need qualified professionals who can ensure operations run smoothly during the Jukola weekend. The Field Committee also takes care of building and dismantling the competition center. Builders are needed at the competition center especially a couple of weeks before the Jukola weekend, and dismantlers a week after the event. There is work for everyone who can handle a drill and a saw! In the Field Committee you get to do carpentry. The volunteer effort really starts at the beginning of June, when construction of the Kotka-Jukola competition center begins. Volunteers are needed to assemble and erect signs, fences, finish structures and tents. During the competition weekend the Field Committee’s repair team is on duty at the competition center and ensures that everything runs smoothly from a structural standpoint. There is plenty to do in this committee even after the competition stint, because dismantling the structures will keep you busy.