Kainuu O Week’s competition centre is a lively village in the middle of forest
Published: 17.06.2023
Kainuu O Week’s competition centre is a lively village in the middle of forest
Organized for the 55th time, the Kainuu Orienteering Week will be contested from 2 to 7 July 2023 in the scenery of Jämäsvaara in Kuhmo. Jämäsvaara is one of the finest orienteering terrains in Kainuu.
The competition centre with its services in the middle of the forest, buzzing with people, is already worth seeing in itself. During the six days of the event, thousands of orienteers and spectators are expected to be there.
- The spectators are welcome, for example, just to feel the atmosphere and watch the performances of the top orienteers, says Secretary General Jukka Liuha.
There is plenty to see in the competition centre, and there are many services available: you can get delicious food from the restaurant, grill or the soup of the day restaurant. You can find help for your sweet hunger at the cafe, ice cream and soft ice point, or the Kainuu O Week shop's candy shop, where you can find, among other things, traditional metric licorice. The competition center also has orienteering and sports equipment shops. The KOW shop offers products from local small businesses as well as KOW products as souvenirs.
Kainuu O Week service points offer delicacies for both salty and sweet hunger. Photo from the 2022 Kainuu O Week. Photo: Kauko Keränen.
Orienteering for all levels and ages
The main idea behind the Kainuu Orienteering Week is to offer an orienteering and holiday week in Kainuu suitable for the whole family. In addition to elite, top and competitive orienteers, orienteers of all levels and ages participate in the event: beginners, evening visitors and more experienced open courses (recreational orienteering) orienteers. There are age categories, from the Rastiralli adventure track intended for under-school-aged children to the competition categories for 95-year-olds.
Excitement at the finish line. Photo from the KOW 2022. Photo: Kauko Keränen.
Join to the open orienteering - skill levels for all - first-timers to elite
Orienteering week is a good opportunity to test your own skills, even if you have no previous orienteering experience or it's been a while since the last time.
Jukka Liuha encourages you to boldly participate in the open courses of open orienteering. It’s a little bit cheaper to register in advance, but you can still make the decision at the competition centre.
- Every day, the tracks of all open courses categories can be seen in the competition centre. Based on that, it is easy to make a decision on which track to start.
In Kainuu O Week open courses we have easy-going atmosphere and safe to orienteers as there are many other orienteers on the terrain at the same time
For safety reasons, all orienteers must use an Emit card. This way it can be verified which orienteers have arrived from the terrain to the finish. If necessary, the Emit card can be rented at the competition centre’s open orienteering info point.
You can easily get there with the competition bus
The competition centre is along the Jämäsvaara road about 28 km south of Kuhmo. For those arriving by car, there is guidance from Nurmestie (75) to the competition parking areas, from where customers are transported by non-stop buses to the competition centre.
The most convenient way to get to the competition centre is by bus from the stop of the Event Centre in the Kuhmo Oppimiskeskus, Piilolantie 47. The bus runs on competition days (Kuhmo - competition centre - Kuhmo route) every 45 minutes. It is only a 50-meter walk from the bus stop of the competition centre to the competition centre.
The competition centre is located along the Jämäsvaara road about 28 km south of Kuhmo.
Organized since 1966, Kainuu O Week is the second oldest orienteering week event in the world and the largest orienteering and holiday week in Finland. It is the second largest orienteering event in Finland after the Jukola relay.
The competition centre's guidance post helps visitors to find the service points. Picture from the Kainuu Orienteering Week 2022.
