The Jukola 2012 relay start had 1600 men with their headlamps350 half-platoon tents provided by
Finnish Defense forces were used to host the teams in Kuopio-Jukola.[1]Video of building the tent village.The Jukola 2016 relayJukola 2012: 1250 maps waiting Venla orienteers from the first leg
The Jukola Relay is an
orienteeringrelay race held annually in
Finland since 1949. Jukola is the biggest orienteering relay event in the world.[citation needed] The race takes place on a Saturday between 13 and 19 June in sites around Finland. The northernmost location has been 50 km north of the
Arctic Circle. The name Jukola is a family name in the classic
Finnish novel, "
Seven Brothers". The women's relay, known as the Venla Relay, is a daytime race on the Saturday afternoon. It is named after the main female character from the novel.
The Jukola relay has seven legs with distances varying from 7 to 15 km. The starting time is around 11 pm when the sun sets. Runners for the first three legs usually wear headlights, depending on the geographical site (north or south of Finland) of the relay and the weather conditions. The winning team crosses the finishing line early on Sunday morning, around 6 or 7 am, and the last teams finish just before the finish is closed in the afternoon. Women can participate in the Jukola relay in non-official teams (non-sports club teams, like company, family or other teams).[2]
For the women, an individual race with a mass start was organized in 1951. This was turned into a three-leg relay race in 1978 and then a four-leg relay race in 1981.
In 2012 the Jukola relay attracted close to 1700 teams and the Venla relay more than 1250. Clubs from 20 countries took part.
The "Kaukametsäläiset"[3] association is the founder of the Jukola relay and it is also the owner of the rights to the Jukola event.
The Youth Jukola relay
Since 1986, a Jukola relay event for young orienteers has been organized as a separate event in August each year. The Youth Jukola relay[4] is the world's most attended junior orienteering relay.
Helsingin Suunnistajat
IFK Hedemora
Lyn
OK Pan Århus
