Kainuu Orienteering Week, live.

Four stages in the hills of Upper Kainuu

The 59th Kainuu Orienteering Week is held from Sunday 4 July to Friday 9 July 2027 at Paljakka in Puolanka, with the competition terrain right around the Paljakka Resort.

Kainuu Orienteering Week calls itself Finland's largest orienteering week, and it is built as a family holiday as much as a competition. The 2026 edition in Suomussalmi brought more than 4,500 people to Kainuu and 8,793 completed races over the week. In 2027 the event moves to the hills and pine heaths of Upper Kainuu, two weeks after the Jukola relay in Vuokatti, which is about 45 to 60 minutes away by car.

There are four stages. Stage 1 starts on Sunday 4 July at 13:00, stage 2 on Tuesday at 11:00, stage 3 is a middle distance on Thursday at 11:00, and the final stage starts on Friday at 10:00. Monday and Wednesday are rest days with sprint events in Puolanka. The 7th Kainuu MTBO Week runs alongside on the same days, and the Kainuu Trail run in Hossa National Park opens the week on Saturday 3 July.

Classes run from age 8 to age 95. The preliminary course length is 10.0 km for H21E and 7.0 km for D21E, and the older age classes run on maps at 1:7,500. Open courses for recreational orienteers come in A, B and C levels, from 8.0 km on the long A course down to 2.3 km on the short C course, plus a 1.7 km marked route that can be done alone or as a family.

Entries to the competition classes close on 31 May 2027 through the Finnish federation's IRMA service, with late entry until 13 June at a higher fee. Open courses can also be entered on site during the week. Book accommodation early if you want to stay close to the competition centre.

On Livebib, a participant can choose to share their own live position from the phone they carry, so family back at the arena can follow along on the map. This is not the organiser's timing, and the official results come from Kainuu Orienteering Week.