The event venue of the Alexander Filipenko Winter Sports Center has a worldwide reputation for holding major sport competitions, particularly in biathlon.

But these Championships, which will take place from March 8 to 16, will mark the first time Khanty-Mansiysk has hosted a major ski orienteering event.

The arena was visited by the vice-president of the Russian Orienteering Federation, Aleksandr Bliznevsky, and the International Orienteering Federation's senior event adviser, Sixten Sild.

Different aspects of preparations were discussed, including the cleaning of a narrow ski-tracks network in a nature park, around existing biathlon ski-tracks.

The tracks network will be marked in the terrain by course planners and cleaning of the tracks will start shortly.

The official delegation met with Sergey Artamonov, director of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Khanty-Mansiysk autonomous region, and with leaders of UgraMegaSport, a regional company which organises and conducts sport events.

Artamonov expressed interest in the development of orienteering sport in the Khanty-Mansiysk region, which was supported by Bliznevsky.

"Athletes are showing great interest in Khanty-Mansiysk," said Bliznevsky.

"Not only as a town in Russia, but also as a place where highest level sports events are organised on regular basis.

"We expect around 120 participants from 25 to 30 countries, among them all the best ski orienteerers of Europe and the world."