Are you aged between 19 and 23?? If so, then read below :)
Training Stay in Norway!!
Last year, Damien Renard, a French elite-runner, (ran World Championship in Tondheim/Norway earlier this year ) who lives in Kongsberg, took the initiative to start a project - with the purpose to invite young, foreign orienteers to stay in Kongsberg to learn how to manage Norwegian terrain and orienteering technique.
Kongsberg orienteering club want to continue this project in 2011. If you want to respond to this invitation, please do so before 15th of December. If you have any questions, you can contact: Jörg Luchsinger, luchs.kart@ebnett.no
In 2010 many orienteers from various countries were interested in joining Kongsberg Orienteering Lag (KOL) for a period, but those who got the opportunity were Julia Gross and Severin Howald from Switzerland, Ivan Sirakov from Bulgaria and Laura Vike from Latvia.
In addition to individual races and training camps in Scandinavia in early Spring, they also ran Tio-mila and Jukola for Kongsberg. We hope and believe that they had a good time in Kongsberg. Three of them will continue the relation to KOL in 2011, while Severin Howald is joining his brother in Tampereen Pyrintö, a big club in Finland.
Kongsberg orienteering club has decided to once again invite another 1-3 young foreign runners between the age of 19 to 23 years, to join the club and its activities in 2011, with a programme more or less like 2010.
In Kongsberg you will live with an orienteering family, without any costs for you. You have to pay your own travel-expenses to and from Norway/Kongsberg, and also some expenses connected to some of the activities (same terms as the other KOL-runners participating).
ABOUT KONGSBERG O-LAG
KOL is one of the most active clubs in Norway. Last year the club was 25 years old, but orienteering in Kongsberg has a much longer history, see http://kolhistorien.no
The youth group 12-16 years has about 30 members, juniors/young seniors 17- 25 years are about 15 members, where about 10 women and men are in the category “young elite runners”. Our best runner is 18 year old Ingjerd Myhre who has taken many national titles already, and is member of the Norwegian Junior national team. We also have some very talented 15/16 year old boys, who became juniors next year.
Numerous elder juniors and elite runners are studying in other places in Norway, far away from Kongsberg. Only 5 -6 of them are living in Kongsberg. That means that they meet most often at big competitions and training camps in addition to vacations. This is a challenging situation, but:
through well organised travel-arrangements and high quality training camps both in Norway and abroad, a fundament of long term friendship and a policy in the club saying that extra costs for joining KOL-recommended activities compared to traveling from Kongsberg are refunded
all of these have made it natural for a majority to continue the membership in KOL.
Besides, the opportunity to be inspired by foreign runners and exchanging friendships, orienteering experiences and skills with them, are extras which make the choice even easier.
It is important that new runners get assimilated in our active group ahead of the orienteering season. KOL will organise/participate in two or three training camps this winter and spring, details are not ready yet. You should attend some of these camps, the first one 17–22 March 2011 in Poland.
When the snow has vanished in spring, we have training races and organised trainings for different levels twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday. In addition, there are unlimited possibilities for individual trainings. Kongsberg is the place in Norway with the biggest variety of terrains, with about 200km2 mapped forests within walking or cycling distance from city centre. KOL has invested millions of Norwegian crowns in new maps the last ten years. Also next year we prepare 2 -3 new maps.
KOL had the following international relay results in 2010: Tiomila nr.60, Tvåmila nr.73, Jukola nr.68 and Venla nr.31. These results are not as good as expected, a part of the explanation could be that many KOL-runners were sick this year. They are now back, and with Damien Renard in the team, the ambitions are definitely to climb on the list in 2011.
COMPETITIONS IN KONGSBERG
In 1978, the World Championships were held in Kongsberg. Every year at Whitsun KOL organise a 3-Day’s Event with 1000 to 1500 participants. The income from these competitions is funding all our activities.
ABOUT KONGSBERG
Kongsberg has about 25.000 inhabitants and is a technological center in Norway. Some companies are world leading in subsea technology, military technology (cruise missiles), marine technology (monitoring harbors and oceans), jet engines, gasworks, car parts, information technology etc. Kongsberg is ca. 800km2 large and is placed ca 90km southwest of Oslo on the eastern edge of the Hardangervidda.
More information about KOL you will find at our web site: www.kolweb.no (Aktivitetska-
lender ,Juniorblog)
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED!
If you want to respond on this invitation, please do that before 15th of December. If you have any questions, you can contact: Jörg Luchsinger, luchs.kart@ebnett.no
On behalf of Kongsberg O-Lag
Jörg Luchsinger
