Slovenia delivered on all fronts with some tough orienteering and wonderful settings. 5 races in 5 days, 3 middle distances in some of the world famous karst terrain, 1 long distance in the mountains and a sprint in the small town of Cerkno.

I’ve had some time to reflect on another WOC and form some ideas about what I’m trying to achieve.

Stable runs from the New Zealand men’s relay team got us a 17th, 1 place down from the our good result in Scotland 3 years ago. We were very happy with the 16th at that World Champs because it was much better than previous years. This year felt somewhat different though, maybe because the expectations were higher. However, 17th is good, looking at the incredible strength of the competition, and reflects 3 stable runs, far different to last year’s disaster. Our Women’s team placed similarly, 19th.

After the National Championships earlier this year and with the Master’s completed I made the decision to have another crack at WOC. The objectives of this WOC project focused on seeing how an NZ based campaign compared to others I have done; in terms of the experience, the feelings, and the performances.

French Orienteering Federation published a special edition magazine, dedicated to Thierry Gueorgiou after his retirement from the national team at the end of 2017.