Orienteering on a Different Scale
Not scale of map – but scale of event!
With hundreds of events each year in Scotland – from local come and try it formats to the Scottish Championships there are a wealth of orienteering opportunities available on our doorsteps. However, many of our members venture further afield each year to sample large orienteering events around the world and meet others from the orienteering family. We highlight some of these opportunities so you can follow what your club mates may be up to this summer and to help you plan for future adventures.
O-Ringen
Scandinavia hosts a number of orienteering events on a completely different scale to anything we see here in the UK. This weekend O-Ringen – the largest Orienteering event in the world kicks off with approximately 20,000 participants, from Elite athletes down to those trying the sport for the first time.
O-Ringen is a 5 stage (day) event with Elite races, Mountain Bike Orienteering, Pre-O (Trail) Orienteering, Indoor-O as well as the standard event. Day 5 is typically a chasing start based on the results from the previous 4 days with the fastest person starting off first and the first person over the line the winner. The sheer scale of the event is breathtaking with multiple starts and finish lanes and an event campsite established just for the week with more than 2000 pitches and facilities for all.
There are approximately 100 Scottish orienteers there to take part in the fun and with representatives from just about every Scottish club present. We hope they have a fantastic time. You can follow along and find out how they are getting on at https://oringen.se/ The event starts on Sunday with an opening ceremony followed by the Bagheera junior relay where juniors from Interlopers and FVO will be competing.
This year O-Ringen is based near Gothenburg but if you are interested in trying out this extravaganza of orienteering it will be held in Stockholm next year from 26th – 31st July 2027. (https://oringen.se/tillfallen/stockholm-2027.html)
Jukola
ORingen isn’t the only large scale event in Scandinavia. Each June, Finland hosts Jukola – the world’s largest relay orienteering event – with the focus on Clubs rather than individuals. This consists of 2 relays – the Venla (4 person female only teams) which is run during the day, followed that evening by the seven leg Jukola relay which sets off just as the sun is trying to set and is run throughout the night.
This year there were teams from Interlopers and Edinburgh University taking part as well as a number of Scottish based orienteers competing for Scandinavian Clubs.
The start of Jukola is an amazing sight with runners from almost 2000 teams streaming into the forest with headlamps blazing – it’s like a stampede as runners vie to get to the front – and avoid the queues to punch the first controls!
The top teams compete the 7 legs in around 8 hours – with teams of all abilities continuing to stream into the finish for next 20 hours. The 7 legs are of different lengths – ranging from approximately 7km to 15km.
The Venla is no less impressive but with a focus on female orienteering, with a 4 leg relay with approximately 1500 teams – again of all ages and abilities. For the elite orienteers these are major crowns to win for their club. Some hardy athletes have been known to run the Venla during the day and then go on to run in a Jukula team that same evening!
@Rikhard Metsälä/jukola.smugmug.com/Kotka-Jukola
More information: https://jukola.com/2026/
Tiomila
Not to be outdone by the Finnish, the Swedes also run the TioMila (10Mila) relay – a relay classic which has run since 1945. Although this is one of the most prestigious relays for elite orienteers the event also welcomes all clubs (including those from outwith Sweden) with some intense rivalry between neighbouring clubs.
The core of the 10Mila is and remains the orienteering relay with its three classes: 10Mila, women and youth. The 10Mila takes place during the last weekend of April every year, starting at lunch on Saturday and finishing on Sunday morning.
10mila is a famous overnight orienteering relay in Sweden. It consists of three main events: the Men’s relay, the Women’s relay, and the Youth relay. The men’s relay has 10 legs and totals about 100 km. It begins in the late afternoon and runs through the night. The women’s relay has 6 legs. It also includes night legs and a break before resuming the next morning. The youth relay is for runners ages 13-16. It takes place during the day and has 4 legs.
More information: https://tiomila.se/en/
OOCup
Outwith Scandinavia, the OOCup is being held on July 26-30 2026 in Killarney, Ireland. OOcup has been organized since 2002 with the main vision of offering technically challenging races set in beautiful natural landscapes. Initially, it was a 3-day event based in Slovenia, but over time it expanded to a 5-day format with international venues. So far, OOcup has been staged in Slovenia, Austria, Italy, France, and Sweden, and this year it is being held in Ireland for the 1st time. There are lots of Scottish Orienteers taking part with members from AROS, BASOC, ELO, INT, FVO, MAR and Solway joining in the fun.
More Information: https://oocup.com/
World Masters
The World Masters Orienteering is held every year and incorporates both sprint and forest races. Masters start young – with age classes from M/W35 to M/W100. There are also open races for any ages so the whole family can join in the fun. The event is being held in Poland from 6th to 14th August 2026. However – if you fancy trying orienteering even further afield it moves to Japan in 2027!
Good luck to those from ELO, ESOC, FVO, MOR, RR and STAG taking part this year.
More information: https://wmoc2026.pl/
World Masters Mountain Bike Orienteering
If you would rather let the wheels take the strain rather than the feet – the World Masters Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships are coming to the Moray Coast of Scotland from the 8th to 12th September 2026. The events are open to all and it’s not too late to enter – https://mtbo2026.org/
Holiday Orienteering
Many countries organise multi-day holiday orienteering events on a range of scales – and throughout the year. World of O has a calendar with many of these (https://cal.worldofo.com/) and each December CompassSport Magazine (https://compasssport.co.uk/) publishes a list of all the holiday orienteering events for the coming year.
The Italian and Swiss Orienteering weeks in the summer are always popular with many Scots taking part. In addition, POM (Portugal Orienteering Meeting) held in February is always popular with those hoping for a break from the Scottish winter weather! It will be held 6th – 9th February 2027 in the Algarve.
For sprint fanatics, ASOM – the Antwerp Sprint Orienteering Meeting is an annual sprint-distance orienteering event primarily held in Belgium. The event typically features multiple sprint and city races designed for both elite athletes and all age categories.
However, the list of opportunities is endless: Gran Canaria December? Italy in June? Switzerland in July, Arizona in December … the list goes on.
For all that though don’t forget the holiday opportunities in the UK with the Lakes 5 Day event taking place this August (happens every four years), The Scottish 6 Days taking place in Perthshire in July 2027 (biannual event) and the Welsh Croesco event scheduled for 2028 (happens every four years) to name but a few.