Kainuu Orienteering Week Annual Report 2024

Published: 06.02.2025

The year 2024 for Kainuun Rastiviikko association was finally more successful after the challenging post-pandemic years (2022-2023):

– We made better route choices, smoother control takings, and reached the finish with a good result, says the Secretary General Jukka Liuha

Start

The start to 2024 remained challenging, as the post-pandemic difficulties of the 2021-2023 period — low participation, soaring costs, and global political instability — still weighed heavily on the organization.

However, there were positive signs as the first registration period, closing on November 30, 2023, set a participation record over the previous 11 years, with 1,248 registered orienteers. The previous highest number was during the 2013 Kainuu Orienteering Week, held alongside the World Orienteering Championships in Vuokatti.

Similarly, Kainuu Trail saw a registration record in the first period, giving hope for a promising 2024.

Control point 1: Partners

In spring 2024, a significant number of partnerships were established, resulting in the largest partnership revenue for the period 2010-2024. A huge thank you to all partners for their trust!

Control point 2: Participants

A record number of participants registered by the end of the final normal-priced registration period for Kainuu Orienteering Week by the end of May: 2,906 registered orienteers, marking the highest number over the last 11 years.

Control point 3: 4th Kainuu Trail

The Kainuu Trail event at Hossa National Park on June 29, 2024, also saw a record number of participants:

• 545 registrants
• 438 finishers

There were dramatic moments during the event when a downburst struck the Hossa National Park area on the afternoon of June 29. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries, but significant material damage occurred.

Read about the downburst on the Kainuu Trail website.

Control point 4: Kainuu Orienteering Week Participants

Kainuu Orienteering Week saw:

• A total of 3,962 registered orienteers
  • 2,295 in competitive categories
  • 1,369 in fitness categories
  • 298 mountain bikers (Kainuu Bike Orienteering Week)
• 1,000 spectators (audience, support teams, and stakeholders)
• 14,605 orienteering performances!

Including Kainuu Trail and Kainuu Bike Orienteering Week, the total number of registrants was 4,507, with 1,325 spectators, bringing the total number of individuals involved to 5,832.

In total, 15,043 sports performances (orienteering, bike orienteering, and trail running) were recorded during the event week.

The cumulative visitor count from June 29th to July 5th, 2024 (7 days) was 31,017 visitors.

Control point 5: Kainuu Orienteering Week Visitor Survey

Sponsor Insight Finland conducted a visitor survey for Kainuu Orienteering Week 2024 (N=455), in collaboration with the Kainuu Regional Council.

• Customer satisfaction was world-class: NPS (Net Promoter Score) was 75!
• Economic impact on the Kainuu region: 3 million euros
• The average customer spent 750–800 euros in Kainuu
• Most customers stayed for 6 nights in the Kainuu region 95% of customers were from outside Kainuu

Finish

The events organized by Kainuu Orienteering Week were also financially successful when compared to the post-COVID years of 2021-2023. The operating profit for Kainuu Orienteering Week was about 20%, marking a return to a "healthier" financial situation after the challenging pandemic years.

The profits from Kainuu Orienteering Week will be used according to the organizing agreement between Kainuu Orienteering Week association (Kainuun Rastiviikko ry) and Kajaanin Suunnistajat ry to support and develop Kajaanin Suunnistajat ry's activities and events in the coming years.

Kainuu Trail also saw a strong operating profit of 20-30%, depending on whether the work of full-time staff (personnel costs) is included in the result. This, too, was at a reasonable level with a more stable foundation.

Speculation on the 2024 Outcome

For the first time since 2019, our organization managed to produce a clearly surplus result. The main contributing factors were the increase in participants for both Kainuu Orienteering Week and Kainuu Trail, as well as the positive attitude of our partners, which translated into a significant number of partnership packages.

Customers also showed increased spending on additional services during Kainuu Orienteering Week, particularly in the restaurant and café areas.

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, Kainuu Orienteering Week association predicted that the event hiatus in 2020 would affect the organization’s finances at least until 2024-2025. In hindsight, it’s clear that we were right. By the end of 2024, we had returned to roughly the same financial position as we were in at the end of 2019.

Fortunately, we had the foresight to start organizing Kainuu Trail at Hossa National Park just before the pandemic began. Thanks to this new event, we were able to navigate the COVID crisis with fewer disruptions.

Looking Towards 2025

In the first registration period on November 30, 2024, Kainuu Orienteering Week had 1,047 registrants, the second-highest number in the last 12 years! This indicates strong registration numbers for the upcoming summer.

It will be interesting to see how the World Orienteering Championships in Kuopio and the associated Fin5 Orienteering Week affect Kainuu Orienteering Week, particularly in terms of the number of foreign participants. Kainuu Orienteering Week will be held in Vuokatti, Sotkamo, during the traditional week 27, from June 29th to July 4th, followed by the World Orienteering Championships from July 7th to 12th, 2025.

The future of Kainuu Trail also looks very promising. In the first registration period, which ended in late October, a new participant record was set. By the end of the year, in the second registration period, there were already over 100 more registrants than at the same time the previous year.

With these directions, we enthusiastically and positively look forward to summer 2025!

Jukka Liuha
Secretary General, Kainuu Orienteering Week association

P.S. The 57th Kainuu Orienteering Week and the 5th Kainuu MTBO Week will be held in Vuokatti, Sotkamo from June 29 to July 4, 2025. The fifth Kainuu Trail will take place in Hossa National Park the day before the start of the Orienteering Week, on Saturday, June 28, 2025.