Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

Azerbaijan will attend European Orienteering Championships for the first time which will be held in Portugal on April 9-16, Azerbaijan's Orienteering Federation said on April 7.

"After joining the European working group on orienteering, Azerbaijan can attend the European Orienteering Championships," the federation reported. "National team with five athletes will attend long and middle distances and sprint competitions," the report added.

The championships will bring together athletes from 30 countries.

Orienteering is a sport that combines both physical and mental elements. The basic idea in orienteering is to proceed from start point to finish line by visiting a number of control points in a predetermined order with the help of map and compass. In order to choose the best possible route, orienteers can look at the characteristics of the terrain, and the winner is determined by the fastest time to complete the course. What is unique to orienteering is that an orienteer must navigate and make quick decisions while running at high speed.

The European Orienteering Championships were first held in 1962. They have been held biennially since 2000. The current championship events are relay - three-person teams in long distance; middle distance and sprint competitions.