It turned out to Arto Hakola at the Wailing Wall that the 17th control was not punched. Photo: Ilkka Metsälä.
After the orienteering leg, the leg time is checked at the Emit card check-up. At the same time it is seen, if the orienteer has punched at all control points. If there are problems in the punching, the orienteer is guided to so called Wailing Wall to clear the situation.
The person responsible of the Wailing Wall, Ismo Kuokkanen, tells that the Jukola relay has run well at the Wailing Wall. In Venla relay at the Wailing Wall there were quite a few customers. There were all together less than 20 disqualifications in the Venla relay. In Jukola relay there have been customers at a calm pace, certainly at the early hours there was even a rush. By now, about thirty teams have been disqualified in the competition.
– The problems are often due to the punching at a wrong control; the orienteer has, for example, punched at a forking control nearby and not checked the code, Kuokkanen says.
There have been a few cases that the competitor has run out of the battery of the Emit card. In that case the carton control sheet is used. Sometimes the control sheet is lost in the terrain and don’t arrive to the finish with the competitor.
– We do everything to get a result to the orienteer, but if the Emit card is empty and the control sheet is lost, nothing can be done. It would be good to tape the control sheet to the Emit card, Kuokkanen advises.
So far, there has been only a few competitors who have taken the wrong map at the changeover. Errors of wrong maps in the plastic covers due to officials have not occurred.
At the Wailing Wall came Arto Hakola from the second leg of the Sweco 4th team from Tampere. He had missed to punch the 17th control. The situation is checked both on the result and map screens.
– I must admit, I have passed the control. Cannot help it, Hakola states.
