In the city of Ventspils on Latvia’s west coast, the Orienteering club “Ziemeļkurzeme” organised orienteering events in two disciplines:
– FootO
– TrailO
The small downhill skiing arena was the event centre, and south west of the arena the FootO took place in a lovely section of pine forest. Around the ski slope people carried out TrailO with fun experiences. With this event the organiser from Latvia improved the possibility for Paralympic athletes to take part in World Orienteering Day. The World Trail Orienteering Championships 2017 will be held in Birštonas, Lithuania, the neighbour country to Latvia, and next year the host will be the city Daugavpils in the south of Latvia.
Trail Orienteering is an orienteering discipline centred around map reading in natural terrain. The discipline has been developed to offer everyone, including people with limited mobility, a chance to participate in a meaningful orienteering competition.
Manual or electric wheel chairs, walking sticks, and assistance with movement etc. are permitted as speed of movement is not part of the competition.
/Jānis Bergs
Organiser of TrailO WOD in Ventspils