Are you reading this from the Orienteering World Cup 2021 in Idre this weekend, or elsewhere in Sweden? Join Norrsken Urban Orienteering Series Stage 6 Huddinge next Wednesday 18 August at 6pm. Entry through Metvigo or Eventor. Learn more about the series
The sport of orienteering has expanded considerably during the last two decades, with more exciting formats that take place in the city. While the attraction of orienteering in Sweden is largely down to the variety of forest and mountain terrains, urban orienteering formats are starting to get a foothold in Sweden.
Urban Orienteering takes hold in Stockholm
Urban orienteering formats, such as sprint, provide the sport of orienteering with more exciting and visible formats in the city. Even orienteers in Nordic countries, like Sweden and Norway, are ramping up on sprint training to meet these new challenges.
Stockholm is, arguably, the world capital of orienteering with lots of important orienteering events and institutions like 10mila, 25manna, as well as the offices of Swedish Orienteering Federation and O-Ringen. And there are more and more sprint events such as the Stockholm City Cup and others.
But there are more. Beyond sprint, Stockholm clubs are testing more. For example, Norrsken Orienteering launched the Metrunner Stockholm City Race in 2021, which includes Urban Middle and Long Distances up to 16km. The rising popularity of urban orienteering in Sweden can be seen by the fact that even Peo Bengtsson, the founder of O-Ringen, attended it:
Navigating urban places
Sprint as an urban orienteering event became an event at the World Orienteering Championships in 2001, continuing the work of Park World Tour since the 1990s in promoting the sport in urban environments. Since then, many more urban orienteering events have popped up.
Urban orienteering formats have gone in two directions from the standard sprint of 12-15 minute winning time. In countries like China, the Micro Orienteering is often less than 1km in distance and tests runners’ agility and reaction. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, longer formats have gotten hold, like the Urban Orienteering of around 8km with which you can explore the entire town.
Join Norrsken Urban-O in Stockholm
Norrsken Orienteering has started an urban orienteering series with multiple stages of 8km races, exploring different parts of Stockholm. You’ll have a chance to try it next Wednesday (18 August) evening in Huddinge, just 20 minutes by train from Stockholm.
Metvigo is proud to offer entries to this event. With Metvigo, you can pay by multiple methods, such as credit card, Google Pay and others depending on where you are. With a Metvigo account you can even save your personal information to use for your next event entry.
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Join by Sunday 23:59 Swedish time before the price increases!