It’s all settled for great international fights amongst the juniors during WOC 2019. Two of the spectator races will be part of the national junior series (Norgescupen), and the mass start competion on Friday will use the same inrun as the WOC seniors will use the same day.

-It would be fun if the Norwegian juniors get some extra competition from other countries. I know that WOC work hard to get many Swedes to run spectator races and cheer throughout the WOC week. And I’m sure that junior athletes from several nations will attend, event manager in NOF Jan Arild Johnsen says.

Sweden has a lot of junior runners on a high level that no other nation can show for. If they have what it takes to outrun the Norwegians in their home forests remains to be seen. Norway has a lot of world class juniors as well, with reigning JWOC champion Kasper Fosser in front. Nevertheless: At the same time as best runners in the world fight for the WOC medals, the future big international names of orienteering will have intense fights.

The two races that will be part of Norgescup for the juniors are the middle-distance race at Knatterudfjellet (Sarpsborg) on Tuesday, and on Friday where the seniors fight for the medals in the middle-distance finaI at Mørk. Both of the terrains are inviting and challenging. The junior race on Friday will have a mass start and promises to contribute to the excitement.

- How many juniors are admitted to participate?

- Everyone can enter, and there is no maximum limit at least not on Friday’s mass start. With a starting interval of one minute on Tuesday we will be able to fit in 240 runners over a four hour period in all four junior classes. That should be sufficient, Jan Arild Johnsen thinks.

-We all hope that WOC 2019 will be a great event, and by adding Norgescup juniors NOF want to contribute and make sure that even more find the way to Østfold in August throughout the WOC week, Jan Arild Johnsen says.

There will be spectator races all days from Monday to Saturday.

For the three spectator races at the main arena on Mørk we now can reveal that it will be a maximum of 2 kilometers to the start, on a flat and easily accessible surface.

The program for the WOC spectator races

Monday 12th August: Sprint Kulåsparken, Sarpsborg (Opening Ceremony WOC at Sarpsborg town square)

Tuesday 13th August: Middle-distance Knatterudfjellet, Sarpsborg with Norgescup for juniors (WOC middle-distanse qualifiers)

Wednesday 14th August: Middle-distance Mørk, Spydeberg (WOC long-distance finals)

Thursday 15th August: Coastal middle-distance near Fredrikstad (WOC rest day)

Friday 16.th August: Middle-distance Mørk. The Juniors run long-distance with mass start (WOC middle-distance finals)

Saturday 17th August: Long-distance, Mørk (WOC Relay finals during afternoon/evening)