site.btaBulgaria Hosts Balkan Military Orienteering Championship

The mountain resort of Borovets in Bulgaria is hosting the Balkan Military Orienteering Championship between June 10 and June 15. More than 90 military orienteers separated in teams from Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Romania, Slovenia, Hungary and Sweden are taking part in the competition, the Bulgarian Defence Ministry said in a press release on Wednesday.

The championship’s opening ceremony was held on June 11 with the participation of the National Guards Unit of Bulgaria. Brigadier General Stanimir Yordanov, Chief of the Organising Committee, congratulated the competitors and wished them the best of luck.

The best orienteers will be awarded at a ceremony at the Arena Samokov hall in Samokov on Friday.

The Bulgarian national team consists of 10 athletes, including servicemen from various formations of the Bulgarian Army, and elite athletes. Among the names of Bulgarian participants are those of two-time European champion in ski orienteering Stanimir Belomazhev, cross-country skier and three-time Olympic participant Antoniya Grigorova, and European champion in biathlon Krasimir Anev, who is the team’s leader.

Orienteering is an extremely useful military-applied sport and is usually practiced by servicemen. In 2023, Bulgaria was elected to host the second Balkan Military Orienteering Championship by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). The event is held in cooperation with the Bulgarian Defence Ministry and is in relation to the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria's accession to NATO.