The IOF and the organisers of the Nokian Tyres World Orienteering Championships (WOC) in Denmark, which were planned to be held July 7-11, 2020, have agreed to postpone the event to a later date. The postponement is due to uncertainty about the development of the Corona virus (Covid-19) outbreak and being able to guarantee broad participation and the fairness of the competitions.
Now that the decision has been made to postpone, we feel it is important to inform athletes, teams and all other stakeholders even if the new dates for WOC have not yet been set. There are several alternative dates being considered and we will share this information as soon as it becomes available. The full focus of the organisation is currently on identifying the new dates. The most important factor in determining the new dates is being able to guarantee fair competitions where athletes in the national teams have been able to prepare for a World Championships event on an equal basis.
The IOF will also later today be sending out a questionnaire to member federations with some specific questions about the 2020 and 2021 international event calendars. We would like a quick turnaround on this to be able to make the best decisions for our members, athletes, teams and event organisers.
Other IOF Event news
The Orienteering World Cup round 2 and European Orienteering Championships (EOC) which were planned to be held in Estonia August 19-23, 2020 have been cancelled and will not be held in 2020. The IOF and the organiser are looking at potential dates in future years. This is one of the subjects of the above mentioned consultation with member federations.
The World MTB Orienteering Championships (WMTBOC) which were planned to be held in the Czech Republic August 17-23, 2020 have also been cancelled and will not be held in 2020. The IOF and the organiser are looking at potential dates in future years.
The European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) organisers have informed the IOF that they intend to postpone the event from the planned dates June 19-22 to October 23-25, 2020. A final decision about whether the event can be organised in October will be made at the latest August 1, 2020.
With the cancellation of the Orienteering World Cup round 2 and EOC 2020, and the previously announced move of the first round of the Orienteering World Cup in Switzerland to 2021, the IOF also announces that there will be no overall Orienteering World Cup for the 2020 season. This, and the postponement of the WOC, also means that the final round of the Orienteering World Cup which was scheduled to be in Italy October 1-4, 2020 is cancelled.