POM Day 1 – Forest Information

Saturday, 14 February — Mira Norte

The first forest stage of the Portugal “O” Meeting 2026 will be a Middle Distance, counting for the Portuguese Orienteering Federation Cup Ranking, and with IOF GOLD WRE status.

Schedule

• Opening of the babysitting service (at the Arena): 09:00
• First start: 09:30 (starts are 850 metres away from the Arena)
• GOLD WRE prize-giving (Women Elite & Men Elite 1): 14:30
• Start window for Open and Beginner classes: 10:00–13:00
• Finish closure: 16:00

Traffic Flow and Parking

• Parking at the Arena Mira Norte will be arranged along a paved road and an unpaved dirt road.
  To ensure that the process runs safely and efficiently, strict rules will be implemented and are mandatory for all POM 2026 participants.

• Access Rules for Mira Norte Arena

  1. Access to Arena Mira Norte must be made exclusively via the village of Barra de Mira (west of the Arena):: 40.4888, -8.7833.

  2. Once in Barra de Mira, drivers must follow the event signs, entering the Arena access road in the West → East direction.

  3. Traffic on the Arena access road is strictly one-way (West → East). As shown in the diagram below, it is not possible to access Arena Mira Norte from the East, South, or North.

  4. Upon arrival at the parking area, drivers must strictly follow the organisers’ instructions. Vehicles will be directed to one of three parking areas:
     a. Paved road before the Arena (west of the Arena);
     b. Unpaved dirt road (north of the Arena);
     c. Paved road after the Arena (east of the Arena).

  5. At the end of the stages:
     a. Drivers parked on the paved road must continue eastwards;
     b. Drivers parked on the dirt road must continue northwards;
     c. U-turns are strictly forbidden. All drivers must comply with the mandatory traffic flow directions.

• Motorhome and Caravan Parking

  • All motorhomes and caravans will be directed to the unpaved dirt road north of the Arena.

  • The first 400 metres of this road are reserved exclusively for motorhome and caravan parking.

  • All other passenger vehicles may only park beyond the area reserved for motorhomes and caravans, as indicated by the on-site signage.

• Bus Parking

  Bus parking will be provided at the junction located near the Arena (approximately 150 metres from the Arena):

  40.4858, -8.7606.

Mira Norte Arena

• Arena location: 40.4846, -8.7587.
• Arena services: Restaurant/Bar (offering a wide range of meals and drinks throughout the day), Event Office, Babysitting, Finish, Speaker service, Toilets, and First Aid
• Refreshments: At the finish, athletes will be provided with water, lemon tea, and biscuits

For more detailed information about the POM 2026 competition map, mapping specifications, and terrain, please refer to the page Mira Norte map – Forest stages

Courses

• Course Setter – Bruno Nazário
• Map Sheet Size – A4+ Portrait

IMPORTANT NOTICES

• Please be aware that there is an active Shooting Range within the Competition area, and gunfire may therefore be heard. Athletes should take this into account; however, there is no cause for concern.
• To the west of the competition area there is a kennel, and barking dogs may be heard. There is no cause for concern.

• Distance from the Arena to the Start – 850 metres

To view the previous Mira Norte map (covering only 5.5 km² of the current 25 km²), as well as the updated Dunas de Vagos map — now partly integrated into the Mira Norte map — please refer to the page Mira Norte map – Forest stages