Russian championship in orienteering

The town of Valdai, the Novgorod region, will host the Russian orienteering championships among sports clubs and gym teams, that starts on Tuesday.

The competition is being held in the Valdai district, said head of the Srednerusskoye Sportivnoye Oriyentirovaniye /Central Russian Orienteering/ foundation, master of sports Sergei Bessonov.

On Wednesday morning, sportsmen will complete the first routes passing through forests of the Valdai national park.

1,020 sportsmen from 72 regions of Russia, as well as from Belarus are taking part in the competition. Among them are well-know sportsmen, such as three-time world champion Tatiana Ryabkina (Moscow), prizewinner of the World Cup, multiple champion of Russia international master of sports Vladimir Alexeyev (St.Petersburg) and the country's other leading sportsmen.

The length of the routes amounts to 7.5-12.5 kilometres.

The sportsmen who will perform successfully in the country's championship may improve their personal rating in the rating list of the world's leading orienteering sportsmen according to the International Orienteering Federation, Bessonov said.