Kainuu Orienteering Week Training Maps Now Available at Vuokatti Sport

Published: 11.06.2025

Orienteers can take advantage of Kainuu Orienteering Week training maps, now on sale at Vuokatti Sport during the summer and autumn seasons. Six different training areas around Sotkamo offer a variety of orienteering challenges. The middle-distance trainings are mostly 4–9 km in length.

The trainings have been designed by one of Kainuu O-Week’s course setters, 17-year-old Niklas Hirvilahti. He explains that the goal was to find terrains similar to those used in the upcoming event in Ohravaara, Vuokatti — and suitable areas were found, for example, in Pökkelöperä and Ketunvaara.

In addition to typical pine forest terrain, the trainings also include rocky areas less common for Kainuu. A new orienteering area this year is Solukot, located south of Sotkamo.

“It gives orienteers a taste of Sotkamo’s true wilderness,” says Hirvilahti.

Sotkamon Jymy’s summer training maps have traditionally been popular among both visitors and locals. The trainings are self-guided, allowing participants to explore at their own pace and schedule. All control points, except in Alamaasto, are marked with tape in the terrain.

For the Alamaasto, Pöllyvaara, and Tipasoja trainings, participants can also choose contour-only maps, which Hirvilahti says provide a tougher challenge on the fast pine forest terrain.

“A contour-only map adds extra difficulty in areas like Alamaasto, where there are lots of trails,” Hirvilahti notes.