The International Orienteering Federation (IOF) met virtually with the Sports Department of the European University Sports Association on Tuesday, December 8, as the two partner organisations discussed their respective activities.

EUSA and the IOF have been official partners since 2016, when a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the two organisations.

Tuesday’s meeting allowed both EUSA and the IOF to update each other on their activities as well as future plans, ensuring each organisation was well-informed of their partner’s events.

Present in the meeting on behalf of EUSA was Assistant Sports Manager Mr Liam Smith and Sports Assistant Ms Lea Medvesek; IOF Council Member and EUSA Technical Delegate for Orienteering Mr Dusan Vystavel and IOF Event Advisor Mr Jerzy Antonowicz.



Following introductions from both federations, EUSA’s upcoming programme was discussed, following which an update was given regarding the fifth edition of the European Universities Games taking place in Belgrade, Serbia in July next year, where Orienteering features as one of the 21 official sports on the programme.

Orienteering made its debut on the EUSA European Universities Championships programme in 2019, with 151 participants from 50 universities taking part in a very successful Championship hosted in Olomouc, Czech Republic.

The Orienteering competition at the Games in Belgrade will be staged at various locations in the Serbian capital city across various terrain, in what will be an exciting competition for all competitors.



Upcoming milestones were then discussed, as dates for inspection visits, confirmation of venues and further meetings were agreed upon, after which the topic of conversation revolved around the current global COVID-19 pandemic, with possible adaptions and solutions to future events considered.

Both organisations will continually support and engage with each other in future events and activities while promoting Orienteering among students in Europe, especially considering that registrations for next year’s Orienteering competition at the European Universities Games are currently open.

Interested participants should contact their National University Sport Association, or visit www.eug2021.eu.

For more information about the International Orienteering Federation and their activities, please visit https://orienteering.sport.