Junior World Orienteering Championships underway in Switzerland
Orienteering Canada – The 2016 Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) run from July 9 to 15, 2016 in the Engadin region of Switzerland. Canada is represented by 10 athletes ranging from 16 to 20 years old.
Team Canada is made up of both juniors who have raced in JWOC before, as well as younger athletes new to the international competitive scene.
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Women: Pia Blake (Whitehorse) Emma Sherwood (Calgary) Emma Waddington (Hamilton) Nicole Whitmore (Hamilton) |
Men: Leif Blake (Whitehorse) Robert Graham (Ottawa) Caelan McLean (Whitehorse) Christian Michelsen (Hamilton) Jan Erik Naess (Chicago/Hamilton) Michael Svoboda (Calgary) Alternate: Tomas Graham (Ottawa) |
The team is coached this year by Jeff Teutsch of Ottawa. The team manager is Sabine Schweiger of Whitehorse. Erik Blake of Whitehorse is assisting the team with communications.
Athletes compete in the sprint, middle and long distance races individually as well as the relay race with teams of 3 men or women. Canada will field two men’s teams and one women’s team. The winners are expected to finish the sprint distance in 13 to 14 minutes, the middle distance in 25 minutes, long distance in 60 to 70 minutes and the relay races in a total team time of 105 minutes.
Canada’s best ever result at the Junior World Orienteering Championships was a bronze medal won by Ottawa’s Emily Kemp in 2012 in Slovakia in the long distance race.
“JWOC is an introduction to international orienteering for our young athletes and an important step in their development. This year 70 percent of the team are returning athletes. We are looking for those athletes to improve on their results from last year. For the rookies, it is a matter of soaking up the experience and learn what it is all about,” said Brent Langbakk, High Performance Director of Orienteering Canada.
“This year’s Canadian team has spent the week of July 2nd to July 9th in the Engadin Valley preparing for the world championships, adjusting to the altitude and time-zone change, and learning what the alpine terrain is like here. The team is feeling confident and prepared for the upcoming races and is excited to face the challenge of running 5 races in 6 days this week,” said Jeff Teutsch, Team Coach JWOC 2016.
Schedule
- Sunday 10 July: Sprint – 09.00-12.30 CET
- Monday 11 July: Long Distance – 09.00-16.30 CET
- Tuesday 12 July: Rest day / Model event
- Wednesday 13 July: Middle Qualifications – 10.00-12.30 CET
- Thursday 14 July: Middle Finals – 09.00-13.30 CET
- Friday 15 July: Relay – 10.30-13.15 CET
The World of O website provides comprehensive information about JWOC 2016 including information about watching live streaming of the events:
news.worldofo.com/2016/07/08/jwoc-2016-all-you-need-to-know
The official media bulletin #1 can be found here:
The media image gallery is located here:
www.swiss-o-week.ch/de/sow2016/medien/medienbilder/jwoc-2016-52.html
Results from the races can be found via the event web site www.jwoc2016.ch
About
Orienteering Canada is the national governing body for the sport of orienteering. Orienteering involves cross country running while navigating through unfamiliar terrain. Learn more about Orienteering Canada at:
facebook.com/orienteeringcanada
instagram.com/orienteeringcanada
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For more information, please contact
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Brent Langbakk High Performance Director Orienteering Canada |
Charlotte MacNaughton Communications & Development Director Orienteering Canada (403) 283-0807 |