Azerbaijan to host orienteering tournament
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan will host an international tournament of orienteering, the Azerbaijan Orienteering Federation reported.
The tournament on the Heydar Aliyev Cup will be held in the Nabran village in the northern Khachmaz region on May 30-June 1.
Orienteering is a sport that combines both physical and mental elements. The basic idea in orienteering is to proceed from the start point to the finish line by visiting a number of checkpoints in a predetermined order with the help of a map and compass.
What is unique in orienteering is that an athlete must navigate and make quick decisions while running at high speed.
The competition will be attended by over 20 teams representing various Azerbaijani ministries, law enforcement agencies, organizations, universities, sports clubs, as well as athletes from 12 countries.
The panel of judges also includes foreign specialists.
"One of the main innovations of this competition is that the track will have video checkpoints through which it will be possible to monitor the movement of athletes in the forest online," the federation said.
The competition is taking place in the team and individual championships in a given direction in three categories -"Elite", "Open (beginners)" and "Junior (children)".
Athletes will have to go through these tracks and register in a specific order at checkpoints marked on the sport map.
The event is organized by the Azerbaijan Orienteering Federation and the support of the Executive Power of Khachmaz, Azerbaijan Tax Ministry, Azerbaijan Special State Protection Service, and the State border Service of Azerbaijan.
Earlier this April, Azerbaijani athletes performed successfully in the European Orienteering Championships in Portugal.