VENUE DESCRIPTION

WELCOME TO OTEPÄÄ

Otepää is the most well-known winter sports center in the Baltics and the "winter capital" of Estonia. Due the hilly landscape around Otepää, to the climatic features and the necessary infrastructure one can enjoy winter pleasures here from December till April. Otepää is the heart of the tourist area surrounding it and life is active here all the year round. In wintertime the area is a paradise for skiers and to everyone enjoying snow. The location of Otepää is the highest among the Estonian towns- 152 m above the sea level.The rural municipality of Otepää is situated on the uplands of the same name in the southern part of Estonia. Otepää, a town of long and eventful past history is located at 152 m above the sea level: this makes it the 'highest' town in Estonia. Winters rich in snow and warm summers offer wonderful opportunities of active recreation for everybody. Otepää has become famous as a sports and skiing paradise.

Nature plays an important role here, where the landscape consists of innumerable hills and hillocks. From the winter solstice till the beginning of spring Otepää bears the name of the Estonian winter capital. All that skiing fans seek in the Mid-European skiing centres is to be found here in somewhat milder and more miniature scale. The highest peaks of the region are the hills of Kuutsemägi (217m) and Väike Munamägi (207m). Local hill slopes have the thickest and most enduring snow covers of Estonia. 3 downhill skiing centers and ski jumping towers have been built in this area. In January 2008 the brand new K90 ski jumping hill complex was opened in Tehvandi.
Naturally, Otepää can also offer opportunities for sports in summer: Here you can find golf courses and tennis courts, bicycle tracks and hiking trails, adrenaline- raising adventure trails and relaxing saunas. Great sports events take place here. Suverull is a summer-time sports event where the top skiers of the world on roller-skis participate.

COMPETITION SITE

Tehvandi offers the best conditions for training and organizing sport events. For professionals, there are lighted training ski tracks covered with artificial snow, and competition tracks recognized by FIS and used in the FIS WC Otepää competition. All the tracks start at a stadium that was reconstructed in 2007. There is also shooting range with 30 firing places. In January 2008 the brand new K90 ski jumping hill complex was opened. The new jumping hill includes the viewing platform and the highest climbing wall in Estonia. That makes the complex an unique attraction in Nordic Countries.
Tartu ski marathon track with the length of 63 km and Otepää-Kuutsemäe snowmobile track also start from here.

ENTRY

Entry to the competitions is allowed for athletes only with the FIS code. According to the FIS-Rules, Section 10.2, the National Entry with the approximate number of the team members, active competitors and officials has to be made until November 22, 2010 at the latest. Also the Booking Form and Arrival Information have to be sent until this date. (See chapter Accommodation, please use Form A, B).
According to the FIS-Rules, Section 10.3, the Official Team Entry with all names, birth dates and FIS-Codes as well as the names of the officials has to be made until January 7, 2011

HOW TO GET TO OTEPÄÄ

BY AIR: recommended closest airports to Otepää are: Tartu International Airport 35 km, Tallinn International Airport 222km, Riga International Airport 216 km

BY FERRY: Port of Tallinn 226 km

BY RENTAL CAR: reservations for rental vehicles (http://www.tallinn-airport.ee/eng/services/carrental)
must be made in advance.

INVITATION

 Official invitation for the Junior World Ski Championships Otepää 2011