O-Ringen Magazine, nr 1 2024

STAGE 1
STAGE 2
STAGE 3
STAGES 1–5
TRAIL-O
The Trail-O at O-Ringen Smålandskusten 2024 will be held
over five stages, at five different arenas. The three stages
near Oskarshamn are within cycling distance and there are
buses to Stage 1. For Stage 4 at Berga you will need to
take your own car. All the arenas have car parking nearby. .
How to get to each competition stage
Stage 1 – Monday 22 nd July 2024
Arena MÅLILLA OK:S KLUBBSTUGA
Middle distance
Stage 2 – Tuesday 23 rd July 2024
Arena HAVSLÄTTS FRILUFTSOMRÅDE
Long distance
Stage 3 – Thursday 25 th July 2024
Arena STADSPARKEN
TEMPO for E and A/Middle for B and C
Stage 4 – Friday 26 th July 2024
Arena BERGA IP
Long distance
Stage 5 – Saturday 27 th July 2024
Arena KRISTINEBERG
Long distance
Photo: Peter Holgersson
Stage 1 will be held at Arena Rosenfors, where you can use the
stage bus for the Foot-O, after which Trail-O competitors will be
transported by minibus to the competition area, which is next to
Målilla Orienteringsklubb’s club house. Once you have competed,
take the minibus back to the Arena to download and to join other
Trail-O and Foot-O competitors.
Stage 2 will be held at Arena Havslätt in Oskarshamn, within
cycling distance of O-Ringen City in Döderhultsdalen, in a wonderful
recreation area. The terrain is easily accessible and visibility is
good. This stage will also host “Come and try Trail-O” on the activity
day on 24th July.
Stage 3 will be held at Stadsparken in Oskarshamn and for the first
time at O-Ringen, this will be a TEMPO stage for the classes Pre-
Elit and Pre-A. For Pre-B and Pre-C there will be normal Trail-O.
This will be park terrain mixed with forest. This stage is also within
cycling distance.
Stage 4 will be at Berga sports ground, which has a football pitch
and exercise tracks. This will be a competition area with good visibility
and lovely paths and tracks. Competitors must take their own car
to this stage, as it is around 30 km to Berga from O-Ringen City.
Stage 5 will be held at Kristineberg in Oskarshamn, again within
cycling distance of the campsite. A pleasant arena next to the hilly
terrain and great exercise tracks.
Staying at O-Ringen Campsite Staying in Oskarshamn Other
Etappbussar från
O-Ringenstaden eller
bil till etappens parkering.
Stage bus from O-Ringen City
or car to stage parking.
Stage bus from O-Ringen City
or car to stage parking.
Car to stage parking.
Car to stage parking.
Car to stage parking.
Car to stage parking.
Car to stage parking.
Car to stage parking.
Car to stage parking. Car to stage parking. Car to stage parking.
Stage bus from O-Ringen City
or car to stage parking.
Car to stage parking.
Car to stage parking.
STAGE 4
Photo: Peter Holgersson
Prize money
New for this year, there is prize money for the Pre-Elit class. The
overall winner will take home SEK 5,000, second place will win
SEK 2,000 in vouchers and third place SEK 1,000 in vouchers.
TEMPO for the first time
On the third stage, TEMPO will feature for the first time in
O-Ringen’s history. This type of Trail-O focuses on quick decisions.
There will be six TEMPO stations in Stadsparken in Oskarshamn
for competitors in Pre-Elit and Pre-A. Competitors in Pre-B and
Pre-C will have traditional Trail-O courses. The course setter, Per
Stålnacke from Norway, tells us the TEMPO stage will focus on a
high tempo, where it will be important to assess the shapes in the
terrain quickly, while at the same time staying focused on the map
and the problem to solve. Even though this stage is in a park close
to the town centre, the course setter promises forest terrain for
most of the TEMPO stations. Classes B and C, however, will be in
open park terrain.
STAGE 5
What is Trail-O?
Trail-O focuses on map-reading. Anyone can take part,
however physically mobile they are.
A Trail-O course has a start, controls and a finish, just
like other orienteering courses. At every control there
are up to five flags to choose from. Without leaving the
path/road, you must decide which flag is in the position
indicated on the map and descriptions. Sometimes the
answer might be none of the flags. You score points for a
correct answer and the highest combined score wins.
Everyone competes on the same course regardless of
sex, age and mobility. The course must be accessible for
wheelchairs, bikes and other mobility aids. Anyone needing
help, for example someone to push, can normally
get this help by requesting it on their entry form.
The course length is usually about two and a half
kilometres. Everyone has a maximum time to complete
the course and the problems at the controls. The
maximum time is worked out using the course length and
the number of controls and is usually around two hours.
If more than one competitor has the same number of
points, their final position is decided by their time on one
or more controls.
Timed control
At the timed control, a station visited either before or after
the Trail-O course, you have to be quick to decide which
flag is correct. The timed control can have up to six alternative
flags, and one competitor at a time may go and sit
on a chair from which you can see the flags. From this chair
you must answer which flag is correct on the map handed
out by the official. The timing starts at the moment you see
the new map and control descriptions, and stops when you
give an answer. Answering incorrectly at the timed control
means you will receive a time penalty. There are normally
2-3 maps/problems per timed control.
48 O-RINGEN MAGAZINE NO. 1 • 2024 O-RINGEN MAGAZINE NO. 1 • 2024 49