As the Brazilians are to football, the Kiwis are to rugby and the Scots used to be to curling, so are the Norwegians and the Swedes to a little celebrated sport whose world championships arrive in Scotland this week for only their third visit to British shores: orienteering. Or, in layman's terms, the art of running while holding a map the right way up.
The World Orienteering Championships begin in Inverness on Friday. This year's championships feature 353 athletes from 49 countries and among those making their debut are Cameroon, Egypt, Nepal and Uganda. Each is entering just a pair of athletes. Korea, meanwhile, has a single representative. If you want to cheer him on, he's called Kyong Sa Ri.
The UK, however, has a whopping 22 athletes competing, among them Scottish hopefuls like Alasdair McLeod and Hollie Ore, while the Norwegians and Swedes have 15 and 14 respectively. Among the Scandinavian contingent are Annika Billstam (Sweden) and Olav Lundanes (Norway), reigning champions in the women's and men's Middle categories.
Until 1993, no Briton had ever placed in the top three of either the men's or women's competitions but that all changed when Yvette Hague took bronze in the Women's Classic category and the British men bagged silver in the relay. In the following championships, Hague won silver and finally scooped gold on home turf in the 1999 championships, also held in Inverness. There was more glory for the British men's relay team in 2003 and 2008, and two years ago in Finland, Edinburgh-born Scott Fraser took silver in the Sprint. He will be competing this week in Inverness.
Founded in 1966, the World Championships have been held annually since 2003 and in the last decade the Scandinavian stranglehold has slipped somewhat. Dominant until well into the 1990s, they are now challenged by the French and the Swiss. In 2006, for the first time ever, there was neither Norwegian nor Swede in the top three of the men's Classic category.
This year's Middle and Relay events will take place around Darnaway Castle, the Sprint final will be run through the vennels and housing estates of Forres and the Long Distance event will take place in the isolated splendour of Glen Affric, a few miles from the conservation village of Tomich.
The World Orienteering Championships run in Inverness from July 31 to August 8
www.woc2015.org
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