News from the Vuokatti-Jukola course setters: what’s up with the courses?

The Vuokatti-Jukola course setters, Marko Uotila and Jarmo Puttonen, already have a good idea of ​​what the Vuokatti-Jukola competition terrain will bring to orienteers. The Venla and Jukola Relay courses are not yet ready, but the two have a rough idea.

“The courses will still change a lot, but we have good suggestions that can be included in the final version,” Puttonen thinks.

Uotila and Puttonen are planning the courses for both the Venla and Jukola Relays together. Both have worked as course setters on a many events, and they acted as course setters together at the 2025 World Orienteering Championships in Kuopio. Uotila has been the course setter for the Jukola Relay before, in Sippu-Jukola in 2005.

“This is the kind of job that it’s hard to say no to. Being the Jukola course setter is a dream job for many,” says Uotila.

 

The duo largely perform their course master duties remotely, with maps at their disposal: Puttonen lives in Jyväskylä and Uotila in Kouvola. As course setters of Vuokatti-Jukola, they have already familiarized themselves with the terrain on a few occasions, and before the actual race weekend they will make five more longer trips to the area. The next time they will head to the terrain of Vuokatti is in the summer of 2026.

According to Puttonen and Uotila, the interestingness and challenge of the Planner pest are increased by many other things to consider in addition to the courses. In September, they toured the terrain, considering possible locations for television and drinking controls, among other things.

Spruce, pine and boulders, is how Puttonen describes the views of the September walk. In their duties, the course setters get to utilize various small and large areas as well as ground with varying speeds.

“In this terrain, the courses automatically become sufficiently demanding. You can’t make them too easy,” Uotila says.

 

During the coming winter, the course plans will be refined together with the course supervisor. The plans will be completed for next summer, when they will be able to tour the terrain with the finished map of Vuokatti-Jukola. The course setters’ work is quite secret, but quite exceptionally, there is a relatively new map of the area.

“Those people who are interested in Jukola have certainly already planned the course themselves, how to go about the terrain,” Puttonen laughs.

Mikkeli-Jukola provided experience for Vuokatti-Jukola

Vuokatti-Jukola responsible persons and volunteers participated in the Jukola Relay weekend in Mikkeli as both volunteers and competitors.

Valuable experience and lessons learned were gathered from, among other things, the construction and dismantling of the competition center, the operation of the information center, the media center, and the orienteers’ food supply from the restaurant.

The upcoming Venla and Jukola Relays were marketed together with next year’s host city, Kotka, and Espoo, which will host the event in 2028. During the hot weekend, visitors were given information and encouraged to come to Vuokatti to experience the first Jukola Relay in Kainuu.

In two years, Vuokatti-Jukola will be over, but there is still plenty to do before then. Do you want to join in the world’s largest orienteer relay competition? Sign up to volunteer!

Pre-Jukola will be held in Sotkamo in the summer of 2026 as part of the Relay League

Pre-Jukola, which will be held in Sotkamo on June 27th, 2026, is one of the Relay League races.

In total, seven competitions will be competed in the 2026 Relay League, of which three competitions will be held in the spring season before the Jukola and Venla relays, one competition in midsummer and two competitions in the autumn.

– The competition program is built according to a familiar formula, but this time Pre-Jukola will be competed at the end of June in Sotkamo, just before the Kainuu Orienteering Week, says Timo Saarinen, the Finnish Orienteering Federation’s event manager and Relay League producer.

According to Saarinen, the Relay League promises diverse terrain, and the aim is to seek a little variety in the competition concepts.
– The starting point is of course the familiar three-leg relays, which get a lot of teams to the line and tight battles, Saarinen summarizes.

Masters World Cup 2024 finished with freestyle long distances races

Last races of the 2024 Masters World Cup in Vuokatti were competed on Friday. More than 250 people were on the start lists to enjoy the freestyle long distance races in beautiful winter conditions. The distances remained the same as yesterday in classic races with them varying between 15 km – 30 km. During the last competition day, we saw gold medal winners from nine different countries as the gold medals went to France, Switzerland, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, USA, Sweden, Ukraine, and Finland.

In the women’s competitions Hilkka Riihivuori was the fastest 15km finisher as she claimed her fifth gold medal of the competitions in F09 category with time 53.04,5. In the women’s 20km competitions the fastest time was seen by Sirpa Pääkkönen, who won the F08 category with time 1.06.05,1 and in the women’s 30km races the fastest competitor was Sini Alusniemi in F03 with time 1.25.11,3.

In the men’s competitions the fastest 15km time was seen by Harri Mäkelä in M10 as he finished the race with time 50.17,5. In the 30 km races, the fastest competitor was in M03 class where the gold medal winner Vesa Tiihonen finished the racecourse in time 1.19.13,9.

The next Masters World Cup will be held in March 2025 in Klosters, Switzerland.

 

Results from the competition week: https://mwc2024.com/results/ 

 

Pictures from the competition week by Roosa Riikola: https://rriikola.kuvat.fi/kuvat/Masters+World+cup+2024/

Särkinen accessible lakeside route

In the summer of 2023 newly built lakeside route is accessible and illuminated. The route is almost 1 kilometer long (crushed structure and stone ash surface) and 5 meters wide.

Accessible ramp from behind Vuokatti Sport’s main building to lakeside of Särkinen:

  • longitudinal slope 5%-6%
  • length 120m
  • width 1,2 m.
  • railings both sides
  • ohitusmahdollisuus tasanteilla
  • wheelchair with an assistant

 

Padanpohja

Padanpohja – starting 25.6.2023

If you wish to compare your results: https://vuokattisport.fi/tapahtumat/juhannusrastit-2023/

Distance 6,7 km / 8,3 km. 

Parking: https://goo.gl/maps/4Gy759irfRtBxTCn8

Scale: 1:10 000 

Type: Relay training

 

Pökkelöperä

Pökkelöperä 

 

Pökkelöperä is located on the southern side of the Vuokatti hills. The terrain of Pökkelöperä was the reserve terrain for the Vuokatti World Orienteering Championships, which was eventually used for training. As for the terrain, Pökkelöperä is a good and small-scale danger terrain, and the surface of the hills resembles the rocky terrain of southern Finland at best. However, the slopes and slow-moving terrain sections make the terrain a full-fledged Kainuu orienteering terrain.

Pökkelöperä offers a challenging middle-distance style exercise, with tight control taking but moderate ascent meters.

Distance: 4.9 km

Scale: 1:7 500

Parking: https://maps.app.goo.gl/2D7RgcTBs6kaQuyW7

 

Solukot

Solukot

A challenging mid-distance training course is available in the Solukot area. The terrain of Solukko promises an unprecedented orienteering treat on a new map. Orienteers will be able to see flat rocky areas as well as challenging hills of spruce slopes.

Distance: 5,9 km

Scale: 1:10 000 

Parking: https://maps.app.goo.gl/BHUdPtyDxniZaeFYA

 

Ketunvaara

Ketunvaara

Ketunvaara offers a challenging middle distance training. The terrain of Ketunvaara is good, but visibility is poor in places. The course offers a precise orienteering challenge, and there is no possibility of straightening the course. The training area is located approximately 15 kilometers from the Vuokatti Sport Resort.

Distance: 4,5 km

Scale: 1:7 500

Parking: https://maps.app.goo.gl/4LmtdUKKaTZpJ4YS7

 

 

 

Naapurinvaara

Naapurinvaara

Parking: https://goo.gl/maps/rQngRgGk7kr2SaGn7

Scale: 1:10 000 

Type: Interval

Tipasoja

Tipasoja

A medium-distance training course is available on the fast-paced Tipasoja. The training area located in the village of Tipasoja in the eastern part of the municipality, about half an hour’s drive from the Vuokatti Sport Resort. When heading to Tipasoja, it is also worth stopping by Hiidenportti National Park, where the rugged gorge landscapes will delight hikers.

Distance: 9,2 km

Scale: 1:10 000 

Parking: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JaTE8aMdHUzedMJ89

 

Pöllyvaara

Pöllyvaara

An extended middle distance training map is available in the fast-paced Pöllyvaara. The training area is located about a five-minute drive from the center of Sotkamo.

Distance: 7,6 km

Scale: 1:10 000 

Parking: https://maps.app.goo.gl/teEPE8QxHNzTjmKj7

Alamaasto

Alamaasto

Alamaasto is a well-traveled, trail-rich ridge terrain that spreads around Vuokatti Sport resort. A network of ski slopes and trails crisscross the area and visibility is mainly good. A contour map is also available, and the orienteering task focuses on orienteering using contour lines. You can spot a large pile of snow in the terrain, under which there is stored snow for the first snow track in the autumn. Remember to watch out for roller skiers in the roller track area! Permanent controls.

Parking: https://goo.gl/maps/ZvXFhScdxgNahYJc8

Scale: 1:7 500

Type: Permanent Controls

Area Map

Vuokatti Sport sijaitsee upealla paikalla Särkisen rannalla, keskellä Vuokatin matkailukeskusta.

Kaikki harjoituspaikkamme sijaitsevat hotellin ja ravintolan välittömässä läheisyydessä, joten sinun ei koskaan tarvitse kulkea pitkää matkaa treeneihin.

Pihapiiristämme löytyy myös Vuokatin Seikkailupuisto sekä Netpark, eikä Vuokatin Rinteillekkään ole matkaa kuin kävelymatkan verran.

AREA MAP >>

Aerial view

Vuokatti Arena – Gym

The Vuokatti Arena gym is designed for trainers of all levels, where training is easy and safe. Gym has a sufficient amount of free weights that bring versatility to your workout.

Vuokatti Areena

Phone : +358 44 414 8811

Email : sales@vuokattiareena.fi

VUOKATTI ARENA >>

Vuokatti Arena – Ice hockey hall

The two ice rinks of Vuokatti Arena enable the success of many types of camps and playgrounds. A large number of changing rooms as well as drying and storage facilities make life easier in the Arena.

The location of Vuokatti Arena is ideal for camps. All the services you need are within walking distance, as Vuokatti Sport’s accommodation and restaurant services can be found right next to the Arena.

Vuokatti Areena

Phone : +358 44 414 8811

Email : sales@vuokattiareena.fi

VUOKATTI ARENA >>

SPORT APARTMENTS

Well-equipped apartments built in 2020 provide excellent services for both tourists and athletes in Vuokatti.  The apartments are in a great and central location near lake Särkinen and some of the apartments have a great view towards lake. The first snow track is only 200 meters away from these apartments.

The services of Vuokatti Sport such as the reception, restaurant O’las  and indoor sport venues are just a stone’s throw away from the apartment.

4 + 2 -person holiday apartment, 46 m²:
Two bedrooms with two separate beds in each one, a combined kitchen/living room, where there is a sofabed (possibility of additional beds for two people). Two drying closets, bathroom (shower, toilet, laundry machine) and a seperate WC.

Kitchen is equipped with refrigeratior, coffee maker, stove, toaster, microwave, kettle, cooking utensils, cuttlery and crockery for 6 persons.

The accommodation prices include bedlinen, towels and final cleaning. Entrance to our hotel saunas, gym, first snow track and roller ski track is at your use free of charge. Minimum booking time 2 nights.

BOOK ONLINE by clicking “MAKE RESERVATION” at the top of the page

or contact directly our sales office:

SALES OFFICE  >> 

 

Customer Feedback

We want to develop our operations and that’s why your opinion is of paramount importance for us. It’s important to us that our customers are satisfied with our products and service!

 

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Terms of Reservation

Check-in is at 4pm. on the day of arrival and check-out at noon.
Reception is open till 9pm. If you arrive after opening hours, please inform beforehand.

CUSTOMER’S LIABILITY
As a customer, you are responsible for any damage that you, your guest or your pet intentionally or negligently cause (e.g. by smoking in the room) to the hotel room or other hotel premises, hotel furniture or other equipment, or to other hotel customers or their property. Liability for damage is determined in accordance with general damage liability principles.

CANCELLATION
Cancellation free of charge up until 24 hours before the arrival date.
High season (weeks 8-10, events, Easter, weeks 42-43 and weeks 52-1)

  • If cancellation is made 3 weeks (21 days) before arrival, paid deposit will be returned
  • If cancellation is made in less than 3 weeks, 50% of the deposit will be returned
  • If the reason for cancellation is you or your family member’s illness, accident or death full deposit will be returned minus 20€ service charge. When asked, you will need a reliable document as evidence of the reason for cancellation. If cancellation is made during your stay Vuokatti Sport is entitled to keep the deposit.

If you leave before the agreed day of departure, you must notify the hotel by 6 pm. on the previous day.

In the event of force majeure Vuokatti Sport has the right to cancel the reservation. In this case the customer will be fully refunded. Vuokatti Sport will inform the customer as soon as possible.

CANCELLATION FOR GROUPS
28 days prior to arrival no cancellation fee will be charged.
14 days before arrival date a 50% cancellation fee applies
7 days before before arrival date a 75% cancellation fee applies
3 days before before arrival date a 90% cancellation fee applies.

After 3 days there will be no refunds for changes or cancellations made within 3 days. If the group booking is cancelled during this time, the full payment will be forfeited. Vuokatti Sport reserves the right to charge the full price if the guest arrives later or leaves earlier than agreed or does not arrive at all.

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Contact – International School Camps

We offer customized packages, based on the group’s unique needs and wishes. It may include either full board or half board with any preferred room type in addition and activities may be selected freely.

For reservations, please contact

Sales Office
sales@vuokattisport.fi

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Christmas full board package programme

Saturday 23.12.

15.00 – Welcome info

Evening

  • Candlelight swimming
Christmas Eve 24.12.

Morning

  • Christmas tree decoration and baking gingerbread cookies for the children
  • A snowshoe trek for the adults and youngsters *

Afternoon

  • Tobogganing for the whole family

Evening

  • Santa Claus visits the house
  • A Christmas sauna in the lakeside sauna
Christmas Day 25.12.

Morning

  • Bat and ball games, as well as exercise games for the whole family *

Afternoon

  • Sleigh-riding with a snowmobile and snow-sculpting for the whole family *
Boxing Day 26.12.

Morning

  • Ice-fishing for the whole family *

Afternoon

  • Temppusirkus (an acrobatics and juggling circus) for the children and youngsters *
  • Stretching and body maintenance for the adults *

Taking part in the programme requires staying at Vuokatti Sport with the family holiday package that contains use of the programme.

Signing up for programmes marked with an asterisk (*) at the reception of Vuokatti Sport on the day before the activity at the latest.
The reception is open every day from 7 am to 9 pm.