Sweden was the nation to host the World Orienteering Championships during 2016. The event turned out to be widely appreciated and was broadcasted in many countries around the world, especially in the Nordic countries. SVT, Swedish state television, reported peak ratings of around 200 000 viewers watching simultaneously. WOC 2016 was the 33rd of its kind, and the fourth time it took place in Sweden.
WOC – Dates and competitions
- Saturday, 20 Aug. Sprint, qualifiers and final.
- Sunday, 21 Aug. Sprint
- Tuesday, 23 Aug. Middle distance.
- Thursday, 25 Aug. Long distance.
- Saturday, 27 Aug.
Sprint and sprint relay took place at Strömstad City, while the middle distance was held at Tanum. The place for long distance and relay was Strömstad Öst.
The sites
As mentioned above, different events and formats were held at different sites. Continue reading for more information about them.
Strömstad City
Sprint and Sprint Relay took place in the urban area of Strömstad. Runners would go through narrow streets, lawns and small, forested areas. Around 80 % of the course was on hard surfaces. The major part was rather flat, but some hilly parts challenged the runners.
Tanum
Tanum was the place for middle distance during the WOC. The course contained mainly hilly terrain, with many rocky parts and cliffs. The competitors should have had no problems with the visibility altough some parts, with spruce forest, almost certainly affected the running speed. Roads or paths were not major parts of this course.
Strömstad Öst
Just like Tanum, the course in Strömstad Öst contains mainly of hilly terrain and parts with bare rock. Hills and rocks are not the only similarities the two sites share. Just like Tanum, runners would also encounter cliffs of various sizes and on top of that – spruce forest. One thing that separates the two maps from each other is the presence of roads and paths. While there were very few of those in Tanum, both larger and smaller roads crossed the competition area in Strömstad Öst.