European Forest Orientiering Championships - EFOL
Summer Games for Forest People
Next EFOL will stay:
31th European Foresters Orienteering August 2025
in Tartu - ESTONIA
Results of the 30th EFOL in Poland Olstyn
An overview of all participants at the EFOL from 1994 till 2021
The president of EFOL Martins Gaiglas
EFOL was initiated by Leif Strömquist in 1994 as a summer activity for European foresters following the similar winter activity for European foresters, EFNS, which was founded in Germany already in 1969. Mr. Strömquist met understanding for his proposal when he was working in Latvia and together with Mr. Martins Gaigals, Latvian State Forest Service, the first EFOL was organised in Strenci, Latvia in August 1994.
EFOL follows the concept of EFNS, thus, allowing forestry employees, wood-working industry employees, forestry educated individuals, forest owners and forest contractors, and their respective closest family members to participate.
The statutes of EFOL require a forest organisation to financially support an EFOL arrangement. The lead organisation of EFOL, the International Committee (IC EFOL) and its Board do not take any financial responsibilities for EFOL events, though they facilitate the local organiser in his efforts. The Annual Meeting of IC EFOL decides on organisers for EFOL events based on received applications. The Annual Meeting takes place at the annual EFOL championships.
The competitions follow the rules of the IOF, the International Orienteering Federation, however, EFOL has its own distribution on age classes both for men and women.
EFOL has been organised in:
2020 Corona Break
2025 Estonia 2025 Estonia, Tartu
2026 Hungary
2027 Denmark
2028 Finland
2029 Slovakia
Normally around 350 foresters / wood industry employees participate every year at EFOL. The number of countries varies, but as an average there are between 11 and 14 countries at each event.
It is regarded extremely important that the competitions will be organised by experienced orienteerers representing an OL club with substantial experiences from previous professional championships, so that it will be safeguarded that the competition will meet highest quality standard regarding new and not previously used maps in the right scales covering appropriate terrains for the EFOL participants, regarding the competition tracks and controls, and regarding the electronical punshing system and timing.
Furthermore, there are high expectations on the forest professional further training program (see above) and the possibilities for international forest networking.
Leif Strömquist our president from the first minute of EFOL has left us on the 9th of May 2014. Our thoughts go to his family and in first to his wife.
Leif was the founder of EFOL 1994 together with Martins Gaiglas in Latvia.
We are thankful for the time we were together with him and all the good memories about him.