The IOF Council has appointed Russia as organiser of the European Ski Orienteering Championships 2020.
The European Ski Orienteering Championships 2020 will be held in Vershina Tei in central Russia. The proposed dates are in the middle of March 2020. The championships will include Sprint, Middle Distance, Mixed Sprint Relay, Long Distance and Relay. The venue has not been used for any major IOF events but for national championships in Ski Orienteering in 2014 and 2017.
There have been difficulties in finding organisers for major events in Ski Orienteering and 2020 is no exception; Russia was the only bidder for ESOC 2020.
The World Anti-Doping Code valid at the time of the application deadline for ESOC 2020, March 31, 2018, stated that international federations should “do everything possible to award World Championships only to countries where the government has ratified, accepted, approved or acceded to the UNESCO Convention and the National Olympic Committee, National Paralympic Committee and National Anti-Doping Organization are in compliance with the Code.” (Code article 20.3.11).
Since this article in the World Anti-Doping Code was being modified in connection with the release of a the new version of the Code on April 1, 2018, the IOF was in contact with WADA for guidance.
WADA clarified that the new version of Code Art. 20.3.11 is not applicable to cases involving Russia, based in particular on the legal principles of non-retroactivity and fairness (the Russian Anti-Doping Agency RUSADA was declared non-compliant by WADA in November 2015).
Based on the above guidance from WADA, and the difficulty in finding alternative candidates, the IOF Council decided to appoint Russia as organiser of ESOC 2020. In connection with the decision the Council also decided to begin the new program, with World Ski Orienteering Championships every year, from 2021.
Future World and European Championships in Ski Orienteering
2019
European Ski Orienteering Championships Turkey
World Ski Orienteering Championships Sweden
2020
European Ski Orienteering Championships Russia
2021
World Ski Orienteering Championships No applications
There are no applications for either Junior World Ski Orienteering Championships 2020, European Youth Ski Orienteering Championships 2020, World Masters Ski Orienteering Championships 2020 or the World Cup in Ski Orienteering 2020.