ORGANIZERS
Latvian Orienteering Federation in co-operation with the Municipality of Madona
Event Director        Gunārs 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)

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

MEDIA CONTACT
Gita Sauka gita@pr-pig.com ,+371 28326828

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 in Madona. 

EVENT CENTRE
The Event Centre and Competition Centre for all days 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 the Event Centre there will be Event office, car parking, Wi-Fi, Media room, WC and transport to model available.
On all competition days the finish arena and flower ceremonies will be in “Smeceres sils”.
Sport and recreation centre
"Smeceres sils"
Lazdonas pag., Madonas nov., LV-4824
Coordinates: 56084'15"N 26019'55"E
http://www.smeceressils.lv/
Contact during competition: Inese Purgaile, phone: +371 29751855, e-mail: info@esoc2023.lv

TEAM OFFICIALS’ MEETINGS
Team leader meetings open for team leaders and the IOF representatives will be held at Madona centre, Saieta laukums 1,  the evening before each respective race. For sprint relay the meeting will be on Friday, February 3.


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.
If a federation is unable to make up full relay teams, it may form incomplete teams or teams with competitors from other federations. The results of incomplete teams and teams with competitors from more than one Federation are not considered in determining the placings in relay competitions.
Under no circumstances may persons, other than competitors entered for the competition, participate in the competition.

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. In 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 addition to that, each Federation can enter two U23 athletes in each class for individual races. The organizing federation can enter two extra competitors in each class.  In sprint relay 3 teams, consisting of a man and a woman per country are allowed. Only the best team will be counted in overall 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. In 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 overall 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 an unlimited number of competitors 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 overall 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 and clarifications
Any athlete (ESOC, JWSOC, EYSOC) may take part in any relay competition where they fulfill the gender and age restrictions. The rules on the maximum number of teams per federation still apply. No athlete may be part of more than one relay team and one sprint relay team.
* An athlete must be registered as a participant for all events they are going to participate in before January 30, 2023
* It is not allowed to participate in more than one event per competition day
* All participants in the WCUP must have a valid IOF athlete license.
* Accreditation fee should be paid only once even if an athlete participates in more than one event
In the event of having one athlete participating in more than one championship please send an email to info@esoc2023.lv  about this.


IOF ATHLETE LICENCE
All WCUP participants need a valid IOF Athlete license. To have a valid license, the athlete need to sign an athlete license form and pay an annual fee of 30 EURO. If the athlete has signed the form in previous years they don’t need to sign a new form. Payments of the annual license fee is done in IOF Eventor, please consult the proper IOF Eventor Guide for this. To find the rules and forms and more information, please consult: Athletes licence


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.
Bank details for payments:
Latvijas Orientesanas federacija
Bank: Luminor bank
SWIFT: RIKO LV 2X
IBAN: LV14RIKO0002013111372

reg. Nr. 40008021960
E-mail: lof@lof.lv
Adress: Grostonas iela 6b, Riga, LV-1013, Latvia

SUMMARY OF ENTRIES RECEIVED ESOC/WCUP
 
SUMMARY OF ENTRIES RECEIVED JWSOC

SUMMARY OF ENTRIES RECEIVED EYSOC
 
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. It is important to book your accommodation as early as possible as availability close to Event center is very limited.
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 accommodation 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 20.

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 moderately hilly area with maximum height difference of 40 meters. 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. Average temperature in February is -6 degrees.

PUNCHING SYSTEM
SPORTident AIR+ punching system will be used (SIAC). More information available https://www.sportident.com/documents/information_technical/SI_system_AIRplus/sportident_airplus_information_for_athletes.pdf

NUMBER AND TYPE OF EQUIPMENT CHANGE AREAS
It will not be allowed to make changes of undamaged skies
MAP SCALES AND SIZES
All maps are A4 size (21 x 30 cm) with a 5-metre contour interval.

Distance	Map Scale
Sprint	1:5000
Long	1:12500
Middle	1:10000
Relay	1:10000
Sprint relay	1:5000

APPROXIMATE COURSE LENGTH, WINNING TIMES
 Winning times for  each class will be according to IOF rules 2019:

ESOC/WCup men / women
85-95 min		Long distance
40-45 min		Middle distance
12-15 min		Sprint
30-35 min		Relay for each leg
6-8 min		Sprint relay for each leg

JWSOC W20/M20
65-75		Long distance
25-35		Middle distance
12-15		Sprint
30-35		Relay for each leg

EYSOC W17/M17
40-45		Long distance
20-25		Middle distance
8-12		Sprint
20-25		Relay for each leg

PUBLIC RACE
On Saturday, February 4, and Sunday, February 5 there will be Public race organized. Middle distance will be offered on both days. Public race Bulletin and registration is available on esoc2023.lv.

TRAINING
Currently there is no organized training available. Please follow information on esoc2023.lv about future training information.

VISA REQUIREMENTS
You do not need visa if you come from EU or Schengen area country.
Other international travelers 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 AND TRANSPORT
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. Timetable available at https://www.autoosta.lv/category/news/?lang=en
The closest international airport is Riga, 180 km from Madona.
Organisers will offer a transfer bus from Riga to Madona and back 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 20.
Local transport
There will be a transfer bus to model event from Event Centre and Madona. Price is 5 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.

BANQUET
The banquet on Saturday is included in the accreditation fees for athletes and team officials. Non-accredited persons that wish to attend the banquet are advised to make reservation and payment by sending e-mail to info@esoc2023.lv
Saturday evening banquet fees for non-accredited persons:

Date	Entry
until  31.12.	40 EUR
01.01-30.01	50 EUR
31.01-04.02	60 EUR

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.

Event	Deadline
Entry registration	December 1
Entry registration (names)	January 20
Booking accommodation	December 31
Booking waxing facilities	December 20
Payments	January 5
Booking transfer to model	January 3