Orienteering
We are happy to inform that the PWT book is hot off the printing house. The deliveries have also started, meaning the first books have already been shipped to those who were the first to order it.
We are sorry for the slight delay caused by the pandemic and we thank you for your patience.
If you have not done so yet, you can order the book here.
25 years ago …
Towards a TV sport
In December 1995, the Finnish broadcasting company Yle started the preparations in Vaskiluoto, Vaasa, with the live-broadcasted Park World Tour premiere 13/6/1996 in sight. Journalist and commentator Leif Lampenius (pictured on the right of TV director Raimo Piltz, on the site two weeks before the event), recalls the first steps of an important evolution:
Long since, it was a major privilege to play a tiny role in the early years of the PWT. I do really think about all that, now and then, and it still feels valuable for me.
I remember how interesting and inspiring it was to work with all the broadcasting productions of a new type. We felt we joined something that certainly was going to be important in the evolution of the sport of orienteering.
It felt like a kind of trend setting. And I think it really was. Especially I remember the early stages in Vaskiluoto in Vaasa, in the fortress island of Suomenlinna in front of Helsinki, and the one in the city centre of Jyväskylä with its ridge. And I recollect them with warmth.
At that time people in general did not necessarily believe in orienteering as a TV sport. But changes of that viewpoint started. And, as we know, during the following decades much more has happened. And that has been a very enjoyable progress. Orienteering is today an exciting TV sport. A happy story.
Leif Lampenius, TV journalist and commentator Borgå, Finland
Find the stories behind the 25 Park World Tour years in the book “Made for loving it”. Order it here.
Unfortunately, it came to this. The Covid-19 situation in Czech has worsened to a point, where the best solution was to cancel the events. See official announcement in Euromeeting web site.
We are hoping to be able to organise the 25 years Celebration & Race next year!
This also means that the PWT book publication event will change form. More info about this will come later. (Shipping schedule stays the same – starts in November).
Park World Tour 25 years memory book is now available to be pre-ordered.
The anniversary book Made for loving it features the history of the Park World Tour, from 1996 to 2020. The book includes close to 350 pages, 1.000 photos, maps from all the 119 PWT events, memories from runners throughout the years, plus a lot more.
Order now at €49 + shipping in our Book shop.
The book will be published during the PWT 25th anniversary celebration & race held in accordance with Euromeeting 2020. The shipping of the books starts in November 2020.
The net proceeds from the book sales will be used to support the PWT idea and international youth orienteering.
Based on the decision to include Sprints in WOC 2021, the organizer has decided to include a Sprint also in Euromeeting 2020. As there were already plans set for the PWT 25th anniversary celebration race (sprint) just before the Euromeeting, the organizer and PWT have decided to merge the two.
Thus, the PWT 25th anniversary celebration race will also be the Euromeeting 2020 sprint event. This means that the race will follow official standards for sprint orienteering event, and there will not be a limit for 25+25 participants but the entry will be according to the Euromeeting regulations.
The PWT / Euromeeting Sprint event will be held in Železný Brod on October 28th. More information about the event can be found in the updated Euromeeting Bulletin: https://woc2021.cz/euromeeting/bulletins/
We are pleased to announce that the plans and organizing of the PWT 25th anniversary celebration race are progressing.
Jaroslav Kacmarcik recently had a meeting with the WOC 2021 and Euromeeting 2020 event director Jan Picek, who will also be acting as the event director for the PWT race. The race is scheduled to be held 28th October, just before Euromeeting.
More detailed information about the PWT race will come later along with the Euromeeting bulletins, but we can already say that a Czech TV sport channel will be producing a live broadcast from the event.
We are continuing the work with the memory book for the 25th years celebration of Park World Tour. We wished to have the book ready for Sprint WOC 2020 in Denmark, but since WOC has been cancelled, we are organizing a separate book release and anniversary celebration event later on this year.
As one of the first PWT races was held in Czech, we will celebrate the 25th anniversary in Czech Republic, in connection with the Euromeeting 2020 and WOC 2021 pre-training camp. So, save the date: 28th October 2020!
A competition for 25 men + 25 women from 25 different countries on a 1:2500 scale map; one course of 2500m for all classes; 25000 CZK for the winners. 25 VIP guests and a special celebration prize by lucky draw: 1 man, 1 woman, 1 VIP guest/team.
More info about the event coming later.
Naturally, we will follow the situation with the pandemic, but we are optimistic that the celebration and the race can be organized. We wish that all countries will be able to participate, according to the upcoming safety regulations for travelling.
ps. We have also updated information regarding other upcoming events, as due to the pandemic situation and different restrictions, the events along with many details are yet to be confirmed.
For more information about Euromeeting and WOC, visit the official WOC2021 web site
Concerning the ongoing pandemic and its influence on international orienteering calendar (IOF events), PWT keeps following the situation. If necessary, rescheduling of PWT events may take place. For longer PWT tours, the aim is typically to keep them after the main international O-season. Thus, we closely follow the decisions made by the IOF, the international orienteering calendar as well as the possible adjustments made to it.
PWT is in contact with its partners and we are prepared to adjust dates of events where possible. More information when the situation updates. Until then, take care.
Dear orienteering friends. Tomorrow, Sunday the 22nd of March 2020, was supposed to take place the third elite orienteering event in Matera, the legendary sprint orienteering city located in the region of Basilicata in Southern Italy. Due to the very unfortunate recent events, the race has naturally been cancelled.
But orienteering in Matera and in Italy will be back again, and the planned event in Matera will take place 2021. PWT would like to present its support for this fantastic event.
Meanwhile, while most orienteering activities are postponed or cancelled, we can always look for positive feelings from good memories. Hence, we would like to present a video from the 2002 PWT event in Matera. Also, if you are interested who were on top that day, you can find the race report from the old PWT web site: PWT Matera 2002.
Have you already visited our Memories gallery? Maybe you can even find yourself there. In the Memories gallery you will find photos, videos, and texts from throughout the different years of the Park World Tour. PWT is constantly looking forward, yet we want to remember where we started off and all those nice moments on the way. Small photos can hold big memories.
The Memories gallery will be updated from time to time. The latest addition is this PWT presentation video from the 1990s.