World Orienteering and Trail-O Championships in Italy. Opening ceremony held in Asiago (Veneto Region).
Trento to host the first Sprint Relay event in WOC tomorrow. Temp-O event scheduled tomorrow

After the first exciting WOC competitions held in the venetian lagoon yesterday, the 2014 World Orienteering and Trail-O Championships continued in Italy’s Trentino and Veneto regions with the official opening ceremony in the city of Asiago tonight. ‘It is my greatest pleasure to declare open the World Orienteering and Trail Orienteering Championships 2014’. The WOC-WTOC 2014 was officially declared open by IOF President Brian Porteous who in good Italian also wished good luck to everyone for the incoming week.
Representatives of 54 nations paraded through Asiago streets and gathered in the main square, in front of the St. Matthew’s cathedral, all shouting and enjoying the warmth of the fans and tourists. Some local authorities took the floor too, among them Roberto Rigoni Stern (Asiago Mayor), Gian Pietro Mazzeni (OC President) and Marino Finozzi (Councillor for Tourism of Veneto region). After the IOF flag was raised, the new Sprint world champions Judith Wyder and Soren Bobach finally wore their gold medals, and the rest of yesterday’s podium was also awarded.
The 2014 World Orienteering and Trail Orienteering Championships will jump back on the saddle tomorrow with two main events, the Mixed Sprint Relay in the town of Trento – the first ever organised in a World Championships – and the Temp-O race in Valsugana area.
Trento main square and the surrounding urban area will welcome the teams of four who will run standard-length Sprint courses in the order woman-man-man-woman.
In the past few months, two Sprint Relay unofficial World Cup races took place in Turkey and Finland and both Denmark and Sweden showed off their muscles winning one race each and sharing the rest of both podiums. Danes and Swedes surely represent the favourite new gold medallists, but teams like Norway, France, Switzerland or Russia will battle it up till the very last control. The flower ceremony will take place immediately after the race, while the medal ceremony is scheduled in Lavarone at 9pm.
After a Model Temp-O event held today in Valsugana area, the first Trial-O World champions will be crowned tomorrow (Qualifications are scheduled at 10am – Finals will start at 3.30pm).
The promo event ‘5 Days of Italy’, held in conjunction with the WOC-WTOC 2014, already welcomed around 2000 participants from all over the world control hunting in Venice yesterday and in the woods around Asiago today. The ‘5 Days of Italy’ continues tomorrow with a Sprint event in Levico Terme (Trentino region) at 10am.