The FISU World University Championship season is set to start tomorrow, 22 February, as the 2022 FISU Championship Ski Orienteering gets underway in Jachymov, Czech Republic. Over 95 athletes and officials from 12 countries are registered to attend making it the largest of the three editions of the Championship, the last held in 2018 in Tartu Estonia.

The Ore Mountains, in the Karlovy Vary region of the Czech Republic, will be the site of the competition. With temperatures expected be right around 0°C, and additional snow that has fallen in the region, this sets the stage for the athletes to have excellent conditions in which to compete.

Athletes and officials are expected to start arriving on 20 February, with the following day for training. From there, the competition schedule is as follows:

• Tuesday, 22 February – Sprint race and opening ceremony
• Wednesday, 23 February – Pursuit race
• Thursday, 24 February – Training day
• Friday, 25 February – Sprint relay race
• Saturday, 26 February – Middle race (mass start)

This is a sport full of both mental and physical challenge. Athletes must balance the speed of cross-country ski racing, while navigating a network of trails and making route choices to arrive at control points throughout the competition. Along with the FISU Championship, the sport was also part of the programme at the 2019 FISU World University Games in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and will become a compulsory event starting at the 2027 FISU Games.

The 2022 FISU Championship Ski Orienteering starts off a year that will see 22 FISU Championships and FISU University World Cups take place around the world. To keep up on the action in Jachymov, you can access all the results at https://wusoc2022.cz/wusoc-live.

WRITTEN BY DOUG MCLEAN