The relays in the Chlosterwald near Jona are at risk

Media Release No 8 /Press Release No 8

The storm that hit the WM venue Rapperswil/Jona on July 16 ripped right into the heart of the OL WM 2003. The final relay competition in the nearby Chlosterwald, which was intended to conclude the championships, is in danger. For the team competition of Saturday, August 9, 2003, alternatives are under examination.

The unusually fierce summer tempest sweeping across Rapperswil/Jona reached top speeds of 176km per hour. During less than 10 minutes up to 40 millimeters of rain fell per square meter. The enormous wind blow lasted only a few minutes in this very confined area. The forest of the Chlosterwald, which is situated at the upper Lake Zurich between Jona and Schmerikon, was not able to resist this pressure. In the whole region the gale has cut down between 10,000 and 15,000 cubic meters of trees.

The organizers of the OL WM 2003 yesterday used the whole Thursday in order to survey the damage in the competition area. The western part of the forest south of the village Wagen and parts in the east north of Schmerikon were rendered mostly useless. Numerous trees were toppled or uprooted. In some places whole areas lie on the ground. Because of the instable situation of many trees entering the forest is dangerous. The two transit roads from Wagen to Bollingen and from Eschenbach to Schmerikon might have to be closed for several days. The nearby Burgerwald forest, which was included into the planning as an alternate terrain for a possible cancellation of the relays in the Chlosterwald, has also been affected heavily by the storm. Therefore the worst-case scenario just occurred. Notably the OL WM 2003 will start in only 16 days.

Alternatives are under examination

The organizers of the OL WM 2003 are forced to review and change the completed concept of the relays at the last minute. According to the planned schedule the men's and women's relays should include three consecutive legs of 30, 50 and 40 minutes duration each. The inspection of July 17showed that the legs in the Chlosterwald would allow for a maximum duration of some 25 minutes only.

On an emergency meeting yesterday night all possible alternatives have been discussed and weighed. Essentially three possibilities came to the fore, which have to be tested in detail during the next two days. In discussion are an additional use of a terrain already used in a previous WM single event which provides an already available finish arena and its surrounding infrastructure, a combination with a stage of the Swiss O Week, which is a multi-day event with 3,200 participants taking place in parallel to the WM or, as planned, the relay in the Chlosterwald but on shorter legs. Besides the required approvals on short notice there are other aspects to take into consideration as well: The anticipated and desired interest of the public, the special technical requirements of a relay regarding the map, the whole time budget for the integration of the relay into the Night Lake Festival of Rapperswil, access roads or the extremely short time for preparation will have to be considered for a decision. This decision is expected sometimes during this weekend.

Pictures by Hansueli Steinmann

Posted: 2003-07-18 11:42:33