Main Responsables POM 2026
- Event Director
- Rafael Miguel
- Technical Event Director
- Bruno Nazário
- Portuguese Orienteering Federation Event Adviser
- Alexandre Reis
Event Center
- On Thursday and Friday, 12 and 13 February, the Event Centre will operate at the Palheiros de Mira Museum – Praia de Mira.
- On the remaining days, the Event Centre will be located in the Arenas of each stage, where the Secretariat is also situated.
POM 2026 – Stages, Results and Prizes
Over 5 days, POM 2026 will feature 7 stages, as outlined in the Event Programme.
- Sprint WRE (World Ranking Event) – Friday, 13 February
- This stage has an independent ranking and does not count towards the overall POM 2026 results.
- Prizes will be awarded only to the Elite 1 classes, with the ceremony starting approximately 20 minutes after the last athlete finishes.
- If the Elite classes are split due to a high number of participants, only Elite 1 Men and Elite 1 Women will be eligible for the podium.
- The top 5 athletes in W Elite 1 and M Elite 1 will step onto the podium.
- PreO Sprint – Saturday, 14 February
- The TrailO competition will have its own ranking and a dedicated prize-giving ceremony, held immediately after the end of the race.
- The top 3 competitors in each class will step onto the podium.
- Night Sprint – Monday, 16 February
- This stage has an independent ranking and does not count towards the overall POM 2026 results.
- There will be no prize-giving ceremony for the Night Sprint.
- 4 Forest Stages – Saturday 14 to Tuesday 17 February
- The overall results for POM 2026 are based on the four forest stages.
- To qualify for the podium, athletes must complete all four forest stages.
- In the Competition classes, the overall winners of Portugal “O” Meeting 2026 will be decided in the final stage, with a Chasing Start. See the Classes page for more details about this procedure.
- Podium awards:
- TOP 3 in each Competition class
- TOP 5 Club teams
- TOP 5 in the Elite classes (only Elite 1 athletes receive prizes)
- All young athletes in the Beginner classes (T10, W/M12) will receive a small souvenir
- No prize-giving for the Open classes
Babysitting
- During the Foot Orienteering races (Sprint and Forest), a Babysitting service will be available.
- Those wishing to use this service should select the corresponding option when registering on the OriOasis platform.
Hard Floor
- The organisation will provide free hard-floor accommodation at the Mira Municipal Sports Hall.
- Please do not use Orienteering shoes inside the hall.
- Only use the designated area for preparing meals.
Model Event
- An official Model Event map will be available.
- The technical information on this map is the same as for the other forest stages.
- The Model Event map costs €6.00.
- It will be printed double-sided, with scales of 1:7,500, 1:10,000, and 1:15,000.
- Model Event maps must be collected at the Event Centre, located at the Palheiros de Mira Museum – Praia de Mira.
- Those wishing to train in the Mira area can contact our official training partner, O-Portugal. Training maps can be purchased in advance or at the POM 2026 Event Centre (subject to availability).
Peitoral ABOM 2025
- All athletes must wear the official POM 2026 bib, provided by the organisation.
- The bibs will be available at the Event Secretariat.
- Only athletes with the official bib correctly attached will be allowed to start the stages.
- Elite athletes competing in the Sprint stages will receive two bibs: one for the Sprint races and one for the Forest stages.
GPS Tracking – Escalões de Elite
- GPS Tracking, provided by Loggator, will be available for the Elite 1 classes.
- The list of athletes using GPS devices will be published in the days leading up to the event.
Control Punching System
SPORTident System
- The SPORTident system will be used for timing and punch registration.
SPORTident (SI) Card Rental
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The rental of an SI card costs €2 per stage.
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Rented SI cards must be returned to the organisation after the last day of use.
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Failure to return or the loss of a rented SI card will incur a €50 fee.
SPORTident Card Number Changes
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Any changes to an SI card number must be made at the Event Secretariat before the start of the stages.
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Athletes will not be allowed to start if these changes have not been validated in advance by the Secretariat.
Startlists and Start Times
- No start time changes will be allowed on the event days.
- If you have any constraints regarding start times (for example, requiring a late start on the first day or an early start on the last day), please provide this information during the registration process on the OriOasis platform.
The Open and Beginner classes (T10 and W/M12) will not have fixed start times; they may start within a predefined time window using the ‘START’ box.
Race time limits
- Long Distance stages: time limit of 3 hours.
- Middle Distance stages: time limit of 2 hours.
- Sprint stages: time limit of 1 hour.
- PreO Sprint stage: the time limit will be indicated in the specific technical information for PreO.
Fair Play
- At the end of each course, athletes may keep their maps. Everyone is asked to respect fair-play principles: do not show your map to athletes who have not yet started and do not share information that could help others.
- If one athlete catches another during the race, there must be no communication. Each athlete must complete the course independently.
- In the quarantine zone for the Sprint WRE (Elite classes), the use of mobile phones or any electronic devices that allow communication with the outside is strictly forbidden.
Sport Insurance
By law, all participants must have a sport insurance. Therefore, all will be covered by the Portuguese Orienteering Federation (POF) insurance policy in the following terms:
- Athletes affiliated with the POF are covered by POF sport insurance.
- All remaining participants:
- Open and beginner classes – free insurance
- Competition classes – 2€/stage (included in the entry fee)
- These participants must provide their passport number (preferably) or the national citizen ID number during the entry process in OriOasis. Portuguese must provide their “NIF” number as well.
- The POF insurance and policy is out of scope of the POM 2026 organisers. For complete insurance conditions, please contact POF or consult their documents.
Athletes affiliated with the FEDO are covered by FEDO sport insurance.
Traffic Indications
- The organisation will provide traffic guidance both on the event website and on the ground, using orange-and-white arrows.
- All participants are asked to follow and respect these instructions, for both traffic flow and parking.
- During the Sprint WRE (Friday), parking within the urban area of Praia de Mira is strictly forbidden. Please use the car parks indicated on the Location page and follow the event arrows.
- For the forest stages, traffic will be heavily restricted, including access to the Arena. Do not rely on GPS directions to reach the Arena. Check the mandatory traffic flow on the Location page and follow the event arrows.
Rules and Regulations
- The WRE stages of POM 2026 will be specifically governed by the IOF competition rules applicable to WRE events.
- POM 2026, in general, will be governed by the Portuguese Orienteering Federation (FPO) competition rules in force for 2026.
- In cases not covered by these regulations, the IOF rules will apply.
Fevereiro Weather in Mira
- Temperature
- Maximum: average 15°C
- Daily average: 10°C
- Minimum: average 6°C
- Precipitation
- Moderate rain, with an average of 82 mm accumulated over the month.
- Based on recent years, rain is expected on about 32% of days in February.
- Sunlight
- During POM 2026, sunrise will be around 07:30 and sunset at 18:10.