The world's largest orienteering competition at Jönköping University
On 23 July, there was a lot of running in the corridors at the School of Education and Communication (HLK) at Jönköping University (JU), when about 1,600 orienteers competed inside the premises. The stage at HLK is part of the world's largest orienteering competition, O-Ringen, which is taking place in Jönköping from 20 to 26 July.
"The special thing about O-Ringen is that everyone can participate and have a unique experience. I hope that as many people as possible get the chance to experience HLK's fantastic premises today," says Stefan Sandahl, study counsellor at Högskoleservice, who helped organize the competition at JU.
Approximately 13,000 participants from over 40 countries have registered to participate in O-Ringen in Jönköping, and in addition to the competitions in the forests around the city, two extra events are also being organized in the form of indoor orienteering, one at JU and one at Per Brahe Gymnasiet.
"The combination of physical exertion and mental alertness is the big challenge when it comes to orienteering,” says Stefan Sandahl, who has been orienteering since he was a child.
The tracks inside HLK, which were challenging in different ways, contained 40 controls, and participants could choose between four different levels of difficulty, from very easy to difficult.
See what some of the orienteers thought of the day in the video below:
Running in the corridors with a map in hand
Ture Forsberg från Övik hade valt den svåraste banan.
With a map in hand and curiosity in their steps, the orienteers took the opportunity to explore JU in a whole new way. Who said you must go out into the forest to get your heart rate up and sharpen your sense of direction?
One of the participants was 15-year-old Ture Forsberg from Övik. He had chosen to run the most difficult course.
“I like indoor orienteering and thought it was great fun to run. The course was a bit tricky, but it didn't take me very long. The biggest challenge with indoor orienteering is when you've figured out a route, get there and discover that another route is blocking it,” said Ture after the race.
900 people had registered for the race at HLK, but when the day was over, Stefan Sandahl noted that about twice as many had run.
“The HLK premises are perfect for indoor orienteering because there are so many stairs. Hopefully, our beautiful premises have also inspired someone to start studying at JU in the future,” says Stefan Sandahl, echoed by Mona Sörman, coordinator for elite sports-friendly education (EVL) at JU.
“At JU, you have the opportunity to adapt your studies to combine them with elite sports,” says Mona Sörman.
More about Elite Sports (EVL) and studies at JU.
External link, opens in new window.
More information about the O-Ring. External link, opens in new window.
