International Rogaining Federation

Spain will host the 2013 European Rogaining Championships, a qualifying event for the 11WRC 2013 Russia, the following article regarding the 2011 Catalonian Championships may inspire your attendance in 2013.

 

"25.01.2011 - From Lauri Leppik

The first Catalonian Championship in 24-hour rogaining, hosted by 3rd Wild Boar Rogaining, was held last weekend in Les Garrigues region, the olive cultivation center of the autonomous community of Catalonia in Spain. The first 24-hour rogaine had a remarkable international appeal with 140 participants (59 teams) from nine countries - Spain, Latvia, Estonia, France, Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine, Sweden and Finland taking part. The concurrent 6-hour rogaine attracted 140 teams.

The terrain featured a complex system of ridges and valleys with relative height of some ridges up to 200 meters. The ridges were covered mainly with Mediterranean pine forests with some scrubby undergrowth, while the foothills and valleys featured olive and almond tree orchards, vineyards and crop fields.

The start and finish were in a village of L'Espluga Calba, about 140 km from the 1992 Olympic city of Barcelona. The hash house, providing food during the event was located in a nearby village of Fulleda. Both L'Espluga Calba and Fulleda are beautiful villages with limestone churches, castles and houses.

The course was very well set, offering several strategic options and route choices. The map was very accurate. In fact, it was the most reliable rogaining maps I have even seen at rogaining events. Yet, at the same the map was properly generalised, highly legible with 10m contour intervals and printed on a water- and tear-proof material.

While the days and the night were clear, no clouds, sunshine and moonshine, the temperatures were low, below the freezing point for most of the time and dropping below minus 5C at night. As the nights in January are long, headlamps had to be used for 13.5 hours out of 24. All these natural challenges did not hinder the best teams.

The overall winners were the mixed Spanish team Vilaraid - Iglesias Urtzi, Fraile Uxue, Abril Saül - collecting 334 points (the maximum score was 363).

The food was excellent, both at night in the hash house as well as the meal after the event. The prizes were really nice bottles of local olive oil (one of the best in the country), books and sports equipment. Every participant received a warm hat with the logo of the event (very handy considering the chilly weather) and some further presents from sponsors, which there were many.

Overall, a remarkable achievement by Felip Gili, the IRF observer for Spain, supported by Xinoxano Orientacio and Catalonian Orienteering Federation. Congratulations!"