European Foresters Orienteering Championship 2023

”Dear organizers, participants, judges of the European Forestry Orienteering Sports Championship (EFOL), on behalf of all the people of Palanga, I congratulate you and all the enthusiasts of this sport who have come to the biggest Lithuanian resort - Palanga. I am glad that this international event is taking place in Palanga - a city-park, rich in pine forests, famous for its beautiful seashore and the hospitality of the local residents. I have no doubt that you will have more great experiences at our resort than you expected when you came to our city.

The European Foresters' Orienteering Championship (EFOL) held here in Palanga is successful and memorable for all its participants. I wish every orienteer excellent sports results, personal records, and after the sports battles, be sure to find time for rest and health - in Palanga you will find everything to make your stay pleasant, meaningful and memorable.”

- Šarūnas Vaitkus, Mayor of Palanga

About EFOL

EFOL was initiated by Leif Strömquist in 1994 as a summer activity for European foresters following a similar winter activity for European foresters, EFNS, which was founded in Germany already in 1969. Mr. Strömquist met understanding for his proposal when he was working in Latvia, and together with Mr. Martins Gaigals, Latvian State Forest Service, the first EFOL was organized in Strenci, Latvia, in August 1994. EFOL follows the concept of EFNS, thus, allowing forestry employees, forestry-educated individuals, forest owners, forest contractors, and their respective closest family members to participate. The statutes of EFOL require a forest organization to financially support an EFOL arrangement. The lead organization of EFOL, the International Committee (IC EFOL), and its Board do not take any financial responsibility for EFOL events, though they facilitate the local organizer in his efforts. The Annual Meeting of IC EFOL decides on organizers for EFOL events based on received applications. The Annual Meeting takes place at the annual EFOL championships.

www.efns.eu

www.efol.eu

EFOL arrangement

Training day is the first offer to the participants prior to the competitions.
Team Leaders’ meeting at the beginning of the event.
A Forest Information Evening for further professional forest training purposes.
A full day with forest and culture excursions for the purpose of further professional forest training.
An evening with a joint dinner/party for the participants.

Championships in orienteering:
- Sprint
- Middle distance
- Relay

Annual Meeting of IC EFOL.

EFOL history

1994 Latvia
1995 Estonia
1996 Sweden
1997 Finland
1998 Hungary
1999 Slovakia
2000 Czech Republic
2001 Norway
2002 Lithuania
2003 Poland
2004 Hungary
2005 Latvia
2006 Finland
2007 Estonia
2008 Germany

2009 Czech Republic
2010 Denmark
2011 Norway
2012 Lithuania
2013 Poland
2014 Switzerland
2015 Hungary
2016 Sweden
2017 Lithuania
2018 Latvia
2019 Czech Republic
2020 Corona Break
2021 Latvia
2022 Italy

Normally around 350 foresters participate every year at EFOL. The number of countries varies, but as an average there are between 11 and 14 countries at each event.

The competitions follow the rules of the IOF, the International Orienteering Federation, however, EFOL has its own distribution on age classes both for men and women.

Quality of competition

It is regarded extremely important that the competitions will be organized by experienced orienteerers representing an OL club with substantial experience from the previous professional championship so that it will be safeguarded that the competition will meet the highest quality standard regarding new and not previously used maps in the right scales covering appropriate terrains for the EFOL participants, regarding the competition tracks and controls, and regarding the electronic timing system. Furthermore, there are high expectations for the forest professional further training program (see above) and the possibilities for international forest networking.