An interview with Sue Harvey
Ski Orienteering's Olympic Bid
The IOF has submitted to the IOC an application for ski orienteering to be included in the programme of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy. In the light of the desire to reduce - rather than increase - the number of athletes, it would not seem to be easy for any new sport to make it onto the programme.
The IOF President Sue Harvey strongly believes that ski orienteering would be an asset to the Games.
"Ski orienteering could be added fairly easily to the programme of the Games. Firstly, it would not add any significant load in terms of the number of athletes. We have proposed to the IOC a maximum number of 80 competitors, of which 40 men and 40 women", says President Sue Harvey.
"Secondly, the organisers would be able to use the tracks and the arenas used for biathlon and cross-country skiing also for ski orienteering. The main ski tracks can remain the same, and it would just be necessary to somewhat extend the existing network by preparing small cross-tracks of varied quality to suit the needs of ski orienteering. A map of the area would of course also be needed. We have proposed that the events be held at San Sicario in the same venue as the biathlon competitions. Equally, it would be possible to organise the events in the cross-country skiing stadium in Pragelato", Sue Harvey continues.
Fairness high up on the agenda
"People not familiar with ski orienteering sometimes claim that it cannot be fair to organise an event in a terrain which is familiar to the competitors. This, however, is not the case. Though the terrain and the main ski tracks remain the same, the navigation element varies every time because the course is different and the network of small cross-tracks is changed from one event to the next. Therefore, the navigation task is still technically challenging for the athletes and no one will gain significant advantage", explains Sue Harvey.
"The prepared ski tracks vary in quality. The ski orienteer has to make decisions about which route is the fastest between the controls and must take hundreds of route choice decisions at high speed during every race. The route choice is made not only on the basis of the quality of the tracks. The gradient and the length of the alternative routes must also be taken into consideration. The map is designed to give all the information the competitor needs in order to decide which route is the fastest. A lack of concentration for one hundredth of a second may cost the medal".
Ski orienteering is environmentally sound
"Orienteering in all its forms, ski orienteering included, uses no fixed structures - the natural environment is its arena. Because of this, there could be a worry about the potential for environmental damage. There is no need for concern in that regard. The sport is organised in such a way as to minimise or eliminate environmental impact and, because of this, it has gained considerable respect in conservation circles", states Sue Harvey.
"Last year, the organisers of the World Orienteering Championships followed the example of the Olympic Games and designed a two-year environmental programme to cover all aspects of the event. An environmental audit panel comprising members from the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Finnish Environment Institute and the IOF, conducted a rigorous audit of the programme and concluded that the organisers achieved their overall target. In fact, the panel was very impressed by the planning and the implementation of measures for environmental protection. An independent biological survey conducted afterwards in the competition terrain reported no harm to any valuable area and an overall impact rated as minor.
"The inclusion of ski orienteering in the programme of the Winter Olympics would not have negative impact on the environment. On the contrary, I believe that the good reputation of this sport would actually enhance the positive image of the Games", Sue Harvey concludes.
Two Golden Girls from Sweden
Sweden took three gold medals at the recent World Ski Orienteering Championships in Bulgaria. Two women competing in the Swedish colours of blue and yellow won all the available gold medals in the women's class. Lena Hasselstr�m (30) and Stina Grenholm (24) managed their best performances of the season when it mattered the most - at the World Championships.
Despite being a winter sport nation with long traditions and an impressive medal record, Sweden did not manage to win a single gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. But it all changed the week after, at the World Ski Orienteering Championships.
"Are we the saviours of Sweden's winter sports? I don't know about that", laughs Lena. "But it is indeed nice to know that our success attracted the media's attention to ski orienteering", says Lena who is living in the town where she was born - Lule� in the North of Sweden - and where she works at the University of Technology.
Lena Hasselstr�m became the most successful athlete and the Queen of the World Ski Orienteering Championships. She was the only athlete to win a medal, including two gold medals, in all the events. She began the championships in spectacular fashion by winning the sprint distance just two seconds in front of the silver medallist, Erja Jokinen of Finland. This was followed by what was undoubtedly her best performance of the season in the long distance event when she outclassed her competitors by winning the Championship by a margin of three minutes.
A long and successful career
Hasselstr�m made her debut in the World Championships as long ago as 1990. She did not win a medal then, but came fourth in the long distance race. She has been acknowledged as the best woman ski orienteer in the world for quite a number of years now. She had not, however, managed to win an individual gold medal until this year's World Championships in Bulgaria.
"I certainly feel very good about the Champion's titles. It is always nice when you are able to give that little bit extra which means all the difference in an important event. I also feel that it is a reward for all the hours, weeks, and years of hard training", she says.
The goal for 24 year-old Stina Grenholm was to win a medal in one of the individual events. In the middle distance race she showed that she actually even had the capacity to beat all the others. "The more I think about the race, the happier I am about winning gold. The World Championships are the pinnacle event in ski orienteering. The nerves are more on edge and it is therefore particularly rewarding to be able to do so well", she smiles.
Money, money�.
Nowadays, it is common that a world champion is not only competing for glory but also for substantial sums of money. However, this is not really the case though for the winners at the World Ski Orienteering Championships in Bulgaria.
"I compete at ski orienteering because I love the sport, not for the sake of getting money", states Lena. But you must certainly feel that it is unfair when there is so little money involved in ski orienteering? "No, actually I don't. In fact, I feel that our performances are even more valuable because of the small amount of money available to achieve them", Lena says.
Stina will receive some money from her club because of her excellent results at the World Championships. "I do feel that it would be nice to get some prize money when you win a World Championship. However, it doesn't matter too much to me that there is so little money involved in ski orienteering", she comments.
Future plans
Lena Hasselstr�m has been around for many years, but she has not yet decided whether she will continue her career. "I am still hungry to win. I am a competitive individual who always looks ahead. This may have been my last season, though, but I haven't made my mind up yet", she adds.
Stina has already decided to continue at least until 2004, when the World Ski Orienteering Championships will be held on home terrain, in Sweden. "I won't be that old in 2004, only 26 years. The gold medal I won in Bulgaria has just served to whet my appetite. I am not at all satisfied with just this one gold", smiles Stina.
Olympic inclusion would accelerate the growth and the development of the sport
Normally, September is not a very good month for ski orienteering. This year, the situation may be different, though. According to current information, the programme of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games is likely to be finalised in September 2002. The IOF has submitted an application for ski orienteering to be included in the programme of these Games and, providing the application is successful, September may therefore exceptionally be good for ski orienteering.
How big are the chances that ski orienteering will be admitted to the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy? The IOF President Sue Harvey does not want to speculate regarding the odds, nor does K�re Kirkevik, Chairman of the IOF Ski Orienteering Committee. But both of them believe that ski orienteering now has a chance - and a really good one.
"And we have put in 100 % effort in our work to make this happen", smiles Sue Harvey, who claims that ski orienteering has never had a better chance to gain inclusion in the Olympic Games than it has now. Ski orienteering fulfils the formal criteria such as those regarding geographic spread of a new sport.
"An Olympic inclusion would accelerate the development of ski orienteering. To be on the programme of the Olympic Games means that the sport would get additional media attention. In turn, this would assist us in attracting new sponsors and bring more money into the sport. As a result of the raised profile, there would be more countries interested in organising events. It would also enable a larger number of elite ski orienteers to put more time into training", says K�re Kirkevik.
Two events
The IOF has applied for two ski orienteering events to be included in the programme. Providing that the application is successful, ski orienteering might feature in the Olympic Games already in Turin in 2006. Should this become a reality, the ski orienteering committee is prepared to modify the elite events programme and has already submitted such a proposal to the IOF Council for their consideration. If ski orienteering is included in the Olympic Games, there will not be a separate World Championships in that year. Instead, the intention would be to run a World Cup every year and a World Championships every second year, except for in the years of the Winter Olympics.
- What happens if ski orienteering does not make it into the Olympics? "If our Olympic bid is not successful, we propose to have a World Championship in every odd year, alternating with a World Cup in even years. Because of limited financial resources, the elite event programme must be kept at the same level as today. Such a solution will also make it easier for us to find willing organisers for the major events", says Kirkevik.
Work on all fronts
In conjunction with the recent World Ski Orienteering Championships in Bulgaria, the participating federations were updated on the current status of ski orienteering's Olympic project. The IOF representatives underlined the importance of all the national federations participating in the work by spreading information about ski orienteering and the intended event concept to the decision-makers.
According to the representatives of the Ukrainian Orienteering Federation, the Ukrainian Olympic Committee has already declared quite some time ago their support for ski orienteering as an Olympic sport, and the Norwegian Orienteering Federation reported that they are currently trying to fix a meeting with their national Olympic Committee. Positive feedback has also been received from a number of other Olympic Committees and IOC members.
Tough times for winter sports
Twenty-two nations were represented at the World Ski Orienteering Championships in Bulgaria. This is not a record though, and in the past few years ski orienteering activities have declined slightly in many countries. This is mainly due to the unfavourable weather conditions. There have been many winter seasons with little or no snow in large parts of Europe. This has meant tough times for all winter sports, and ski orienteering has been no exception.
"The weather conditions are very important for ski orienteering. In Norway, the number of ski orienteering events has fallen because of the poor snow conditions and the number of people practising the sport has also declined as a consequence of this", says Kirkevik.
If ski orienteering were to be included in the Olympic Games, if would certainly not have any effect on the snow conditions, but it will definitely yield more media attention. More media exposure will raise the profile of the sport. And an elevated profile will, in turn, yield additional sponsorship income.
New technique
K�re Kirkevik does not believe that artificial snow would be a realistic alternative for ski orienteering. He does, however, believe in using smaller competition areas for national level events. Equally, he would encourage organisers to use existing facilities at cross-country skiing and biathlon stadiums.
" It is possible to organise high-quality ski orienteering events in an area as small as one square kilometre", he says. "Even with limited resources there are many ways to make the ski orienteering events more interesting", states K�re Kirkevik.
"A dense network of ski tracks, good course planning, new ways of 'punishing' athletes who make route choice mistakes, new punching technology which does not require the athlete to stop at the control, direct transmission of pictures from the terrain onto a big screen at the event centre and for TV and Internet coverage are just some examples of the opportunities available", Kirkevik concludes.
World Ski Orienteering Championships in a nutshell
Twenty-two nations from three continents were represented at the XIV World Ski Orienteering Championships held in Borovetz, Bulgaria, on 24 February - 3 March 2002.
Medals statistics
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | In total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| Sweden | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Finland | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| Norway | 1 | 1 |
| Points scored | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Finland | 56.5 |
| 2. | Russia | 54.5 |
| 3. | Sweden | 41 |
| 4. | Norway | 17 |
| 5. | Czech Republic | 4 |
| 6. | Switzerland | 3 |
| 7. | Lithuania | 1 |
World Ski Orienteering Championships 2002 Borovetz, Bulgaria
Sprint
Men (66 participants)
1) Andrei Gruzdev RUS 18:44, 2) Viktor Korchagin RUS 18:51, 3) Raino Pesu FIN 18:59, 4) Matti Keskinarkaus FIN 19:04, 5) Edouard Khrennikov RUS 19:10, 6) Bertil Nordqvist SWE 19:15, 7) Kjetil Ulven NOR 19:38, 8) Andreas Edvardsen NOR 19:39, 9) Jukka Lanki FIN 19:44, 9) Anders Hauge NOR 19:44, 11) Bengt Leandersson SWE 19:57, 12) Todor Kalniev BUL 20:02, 13) Claes Turesson SWE 20:03, 14) Peter Dahlberg SWE 20:04, 15) Boris Fisher SUI 20:13.
Women (41 participants)
1) Lena Hasselstr�m SWE 16:49, 2) Erja Jokinen FIN 16:51, 3) Tatiana Vlassova RUS 16:59, 4) Katja Rajaniemi FIN 17:09, 5) Stina Grenholm SWE 17:24, 5) Natalia Tomilova RUS 17:24, 7) Irina Onichtchenko RUS 17:26, 8) Stine Hjernstad Kirke NOR 17:35, 9) Ramune Arlauskiene LIT 18:02, 10) Salla Lehto FIN 18:04, 11) Mervi V�is�nen FIN 18:17, 12) Marte Reenaas NOR 18:21, 13) Ann-Charlotte Carlsso SWE 19:04, 14) Barbora Chudikova CZE 19:13, 15) Natalia Naumova RUS 19:18.
Middle Distance
Men (69 participants)
1) Edouard Khrennikov RUS 46:25, 2) Andrei Gruzdev RUS 46:53, 3) Kjetil Ulven NOR 48:05, 4) Arto Lilja FIN 48:23, 5) Eivind Tonna NOR 48:43, 6) Anders Hauge NOR 48:52, 7) Jakub Vodrazka CZE 49:09, 8) Bertil Nordqvist SWE 49:37, 9) Matti Keskinarkaus FIN 49:40, 10) Peter Dahlberg SWE 50:41, 11) Peter Arnesson SWE 51:21, 12) Roberto Ceol ITA 51:34, 13) Todor Kalniev BUL 51:50, 14) Ondrej Vodrazka CZE 51:56, 15) Peter Mosimann SUI 52:15.
Women (42 participants)
1) Stina Grenholm SWE 45:28, 2) Erja Jokinen FIN 45:38, 3) Lena Hasselstr�m SWE 45:40, 4) Katja Rajaniemi FIN 45:49, 5) Natalia Naumova RUS 46:11, 6) Ida Wirkstr�m SWE 47:25, 7) Tatiana Vlassova RUS 47:26, 8) Stine Hjermstad Kirkevik NOR 47:48, 9) Hanna Kosonen FIN 48:51, 10) Natalia Tomilova RUS 49:34, 11) Marte Reenaas NOR 49:37, 12) Kristin Hasle NOR 50:22, 13) Ramune Arlauskiene LIT 51:23, 14) Natalia Frei RUS 52:37, 15) Marie Lund SWE 53:03.
Long distance
Men (70 participants)
1) Matti Keskinarkaus FIN 1:42:29, 2) Edouard Khrennikov RUS 1:43:05, 3) Raino Pesu FIN 1:45:10, 3) Bertil Nordqvist SWE 1:45:10, 5) Jukka Lanki FIN 1:48:35, 6) Ondrej Vodrazka CZE 1:49:51, 7) Vladislav Kormchtchik RUS 1:50:24, 8) Tomas Lofgren SWE 1:50:45, 9) Andrei Gruzdev RUS 1:50:47, 10) Claes Turesson SWE 1:51:13, 11) Nikolai Bondar RUS 1:51:38, 12) Andreas Edvardsen NOR 1:51:55, 13) Jarkko Urpalainen FIN 1:51:59, 14) Viktor Korchagin RUS 1:52:11, 15) Stefan Lauenstein SUI 1:52:54.
Women (41 participants)
1) Lena Hasselstr�m SWE 1:20:34 , 2) Erja Jokinen FIN 1:23:16, 3) Mervi V�is�nen FIN 1:23:56, 4) Stine Hjermstad Kirkevik NOR 1:26:37, 5) Tatiana Vlassova RUS 1:27:45, 6) Marte Reenaas NOR 1:28:04, 7) Natalia Tomilova RUS 1:29:32, 8) Ramune Arlauskiene LTU 1:31:35, 9) Marie Lund SWE 1:32:17, 10) Liisa Anttila FIN 1:32:53, 11) Irina Oniichtchenko RUS 1:33:16, 12) Elena Karchevskaia RUS 1:33:26, 13) Ann-Charlotte Carlsson SWE 1:34:02, 14) Stina Grenholm SWE 1:34:18, 15) Regula Muhleman SUI 1:35:10.
Relay
Men
1) Russia (Andrei Gruzdev, Ruslan Gristan, Viktor Korchagin, Edouard Khrennikov) 1:56:37, 2) Finland (Jukka Lanki, Matti Keskinarkaus, Arto Lilja, Raino Pesu,) 2:00:44, 3) Sweden (Peter Dahlberg, Claes Turesson, Peter Arnesson, Bertil Nordqvist) 2:00:45, 4) Czech Republic (Ondrej Vodrazka, Lubomir Tomecek, Jan Lauerman, Jakub Vodrazka) 2:06:25, 5) Norway (Andreas Edvardsen, Anders Hauge, Tommy Olsen, Kjetil Ulven) 2:07:14, 6) Switzerland (Christian Hohl, Peter Mosimann, Marc Lauenstein, Stefan Lauenstein) 2:09:30, 7) Bulgaria (Plamen Mestanski, Nikolai Dimitrov, Mihail Mihailov, Todor Kalniev) 2:14:28, 8) Lithuania (Dalius Boguska, Romas Kazimieraitis, Laimis Drazdauskas, Nerijus Sulcys) 2:25:12.
Women
1) Russia (Irina Onichtchenko, Natalia Tomilova, Tatiana Vlassova) 1:21:12, 2) Sweden (Stina Grenholm, Ida Wirkstr�m, Lena Hasselstr�m) 1:21:29, 3) Finland (Salla Lehto, Katja Rajaniemi, Erja Jokinen) 1:23:41, 4) Norway (Marte Reenaas, Kristin Hasle, Stine Hjermstad Kirkevik) 1:24:34, 5) Switzerland (Regula Muhleman, Yvonne Wicki, Yvonne Gantenbein) 1:37:19, 6) Lithuania (Vilma Rudzenskaite, Diana Vosylikte, Ramune Arlauskiene) 1:37:37, 7) Bulgaria (Stefania Belomajeva, Milena Mitkova, Teodora Maltcheva) 1:40:49, 8) Czech Republic (Eva Bohmanova, Barbora Chudikova, Lenka Hasmanova) 1:41:06.
Copyright (c) International Orienteering Federation
Revised: 26 Mar 2002
