The Jukola Relay is an

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

relay race held annually in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

since 1949. Jukola is the biggest orienteering relay event in the world. 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 Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

. 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 varying distances. 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 (northern or southern 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). 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" 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 is the world's most attended junior orienteering relay.

History of Jukola and Venla

Winning clubs

Men's winners

Upcoming events

References

External links

Jukola relay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jukola Relay Orienteering in Finland Orienteering relay races Recurring sporting events established in 1949