Course planner’s statement
At the time of writing this, the most interesting part of the course laying job has inevitably been done. The course plans are ready, controls are marked in the forest and have been approved by the officials. What is left is only hard work with no mistakes allowed. During July, the control structures are built, final test runs and map checks are done. After that, there is the tedious work of Ocad finalisation of the courses.
The maps and courses are printed in the beginning of August, about 3000 maps will be printed in two days. After that, the maps are placed in plastic bags, a job requiring 20 volunteers. Taking the controls out to the forest just before the competition is just the tip of the iceberg, a one evening’s job. Final checks are made in the morning of the competition and if all goes well, the course laying team is unemployed during the competition.
There are almost 50 controls in the forest and some of them are very close to each other, so I urge everybody to check the control code before stamping the emit. Except for the fifth leg, there is an adequate number of different gafflings on each leg, so following blindly your competitor is not a wise tactic. There are a lot of paths and tracks in the forest, including the fairways of the frisbee golf course, so you should be careful when choosing the right route. There is a steep ascent straight from the competition centre in to the forest, so it is wise to save your energy. Top of the hill Kusiaismäki is 80 metres above the competition centre.
The terrain is mostly fast and good to run, visibility is good. Biggest challenge is probably to adjust your speed according to the tasks ahead. At best, the speed will be faster than 6 minutes per km. I believe that the competition will be very even and exciting at the top. The fastest and most skillful team will certainly win. I wish all Youth Jukola 2018 orienteerers a most joyful and happy competition.
Eero Vartiainen