ORGANIZERS
Latvian Orienteering Federation in co-operation with the Municipality of Madona
Event Director Gunars Ikaunieks, Ildze Straume
Event Secretary Inese Purgaile

IOF EVENT ADVISERS
IOF Senior Event Adviser -  Staffan Tunis (FIN)
IOF Assistant Event Adviser - Santeri Aikio (FIN)
National Controller - Guntars Mankus (LAT)

CONTACT INFORMATION
Latvian Orienteering Federation
Grostonas iela 6b, Rīga, LV-1013, LATVIA
Inese Purgaile, phone: +371 29751855, e-mail: info@esoc2023.lv
Web: www.esoc2023.lv

MEDIA CONTACT
Gita Sauka gita@pr-pig.com

VENUE
Latvia
Situated in north-eastern Europe with a coastline along the Baltic Sea, Latvia features a temperate climate, with average temperature in February being -6 degrees.
Madona
Madona is the host city of the competitions. It is located in the eastern part of Latvia and there are around 8000 inhabitants. 

EVENT CENTRE
The Event Centre will be located in the Sports Centre “Smeceres sils”, next to the town of Madona, the driving distance from the Riga International Airport to Event Centre is 180km.
In Event Centre there will be Event office, car parking, Wi_Fi, Media room, transport to model, WC.
Competition Centre for all days will be in the Sports Centre “Smeceres sils” ,  Madona.
Sport and recreation centre "Smeceres sils"
Lazdonas pag., Madonas nov., LV-4824
Coordinates: 56084'15"N 26019'55"E

Google maps - Link
www.smeceressils.lv

PROGRAM

CLASSES
All competitors represent a National Federation. A competitor may represent only one National Federation during any one 12-month period running from November to October. Competitors shall have full passport holding citizenship of the country of the National Federation they are representing.

ESOC/WCup                      
ESOC/WCup has 2 classes – men and women. There are also 2 sub-classes in WCup – U23 men and U23 women (born in year 2000 or later).
This event combines the European Ski Orienteering Championships and World Cup stage 2. The classes and participation restrictions are as defined in the IOF Ski Orienteering Competition Rules. On each individual competition, a federation may enter a maximum of 6 athletes in each class and 2 teams in each class in the relay event, consisting of 3 athletes. In adition to that, each Federation can enter two U23 athletes in each class for individual races. The organising federation can enter two extra competitors in each class.  In sprint relay 3 teams, consisting from a man and a woman per country are allowed. Only the best team will be counted in overal ranking per country. If a Federation is unable to make up full relay teams, it may form incomplete teams or teams with competitors from other federations.
Only competitors representing member Federations of the IOF, defined by the International Olympic Committee as belonging to the European continent, can compete in ESOC. Competitors representing other member Federations of the IOF can participate in ESOC/WCup  but will not be eligible for European titles, medals or diplomas.
JWSOC                
JWSOC has 2 classes – M20 and W20, for competitors born in year 2003 or later
A federation may enter a team of up to 14 competitors, up to 7 women and 7 men. On each individual competition, every federation may enter up to 6 men and 6 women. In the relay, each federation may enter 2 teams in each class, consisting of 3 athletes. Only the best team will be counted in overal ranking. If a federation is unable to make up full relay teams, it may form incomplete teams or teams with competitors from other federations.
EYSOC                  
EYSOC has 2 classes – M17 and W17, for competitors born in year 2006 or later
A federation may enter a team of unlimited number of competitiors and officials.  However, on each individual competition, every federation may enter up to 6 men and 6 women. Only competitors representing member Federations of the IOF, defined by the International Olympic Committee as belonging to the European continent, can compete in EYSOC. Competitors representing other member Federations of the IOF can participate in  EYSOC but will not be eligible for European titles, medals or diplomas.
In the relay, each federation may enter 2 teams in each class, consisting of 3 athletes. Only the best team will be counted in overal ranking. If a federation is unable to make up full relay teams, it may form incomplete teams or teams with competitors from other federations.
Additional information
Any athlete (ESOC, JWSOC, EYSOC) may take part in any relay competition where they fulfil the gender and age restrictions. The rules on maximum amount of teams per federation still apply. No athlete may be part of more than one relay team and one sprint relay team.

ENTRY FEES
 
The accreditation fee for competitors covers the right to participate in the event,  the model event and the banquet. The accreditation fee for team officials covers the model event, team leader meetings, competition maps, start- and result lists and the banquet.
Entry deadlines
Entries are to be registered by team managers via IOF Eventor. The following information is required at the latest by December 1:
1. Number of participants (men, women).
2. Number of relay teams.
3. Number of team officials.
4. Team manager’s name, address, e-mail address and mobile telephone number
 The following information is required at the latest by January 21 
1. Name and gender (man, woman) of the participants.
2. Names of the team officials.
Late Entries:
Late entries and changes to registered entries will be possible up until 12.00 on January 30, 2023. These should be sent directly to the event organiser who will  then register the details in IOF Eventor.
Fees for late entry fees and changes to registered entries  
Name change 10 €
Payments
Following the deadline for registering the number of participants and team  officials  (01.12.2022), the event organiser will issue invoices for accreditations,  entry registration and waxing huts. Invoices should be paid in full at the latest by January 5, 2023.   For changes made after this date, the payment/refund of fees is to be made at  the event office  upon arrival at the competitions. A penalty fee will be liable for late payments.

ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation is offered in several categories, with A being a good quality hotel and D being the simplest, a guest house with self service. All prices are per person, per night, including VAT. Accommodation should be booked by sending e-mail to accommodation@esoc2023.lv till December 31.
A; single, full board 85 eur
A; sharing in a twin room, full board 75 eur
B; single, full board 75 eur
B; sharing in a twin room, full board 65 eur
C; sharing in a 2, 3 or 4-bed rooms, shared WC and shower, full board 55-60 eur
D; bed (self-service catering available) – 20 till 35 eur
Budget acommodation with mattress on floor will be available on request.


WAXING FACILITIES AND SKI WAXING SERVICE
Waxing facilities are available at the competition arena. These have electrical connections, are heated, ventilated and lockable. Cabins are 18 m², price is 600€. The indicated prices cover the full competition week and may be used by all the teams (ESOC/JWSOC/EYSOC) from the same nation. Bookings are made by sending an e-mail to info@esoc2023.lv Invoices will be issued together with those for the entry registration fees.  Booking of waxing facilities is possible till December 1.


EMBARGOED AREA
Embargoed area is published in IOF Eventor: Embargoed Areas for IOF Events – ESOC/WCup, JWSOC, EYSOC 2023 (orienteering.org)

TERRAIN, CLIMATE
Smeceres sils. A pronounced relief with maximum height diference of 40 metres. A skiing and biathlon centre with numerous major ski tracks. 20-30% of the terrain is open and semi-open areas. On average, snow is about 30-40cm deep in February.
Old map:

PUNCHING SYSTEM
SI touch free system will be used (SIAC).

MAP SCALES AND SIZES
All maps are A4 size (21 x 30 cm) with a 5-metre contour interval.
Distance and map scale
Sprint   1:5000  
Sprint relay 1:5000
Long   1:15000 or 1:12500
Middle   1:10000
Relay   1:10000

APPROXIMATE COURSE LENGTH, WINNING TIMES
Winning times for  each class will be according to IOF rules:
 
 
 
TRAINING
Currently there is no organised training available. Please follow information on esoc2023.lv about future training information.

OTHER INFORMATION
Visa requirements
You do not need visa if you come from EU or Schengen area country.
Other international travellers may be required to hold a Latvian visa prior to travel to Latvia, depending on your country of residence. For more information, please see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia. If you require further assistance, please send email to info@esoc2023.lv
Travel information
The simplest way to get to Madona is either by car or by air to Riga and a rental car. There is also good public bus traffic between Riga and Madona.
The closest international airport is Riga, 180 km from Madona.
Organisers will offer a transfer bus from Riga to Madona on January 30 and back on February 5 if there will be demand. If you are interested, please let us know by sending request to info@esoc2023.lv as soon as possible but latest by December 15.
Local transport
There will be a transfer bus to model event from Event Centre and Madona. Price is 15 eur per person, please book it before January 3 at  info@esoc2023.lv
If you need transfer from your hotel to Event centre (on competition days), please let us know before January 3 by sending your needs to info@esoc2023.lv.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT DATES
The final dates for registering entries, booking accommodation etc. are summarised in the table below. Please note that additional fees  apply for late entries.