This instruction is meant for everybody who already is engaged or has planned to participate in competitions organized by the MSS "ERNA". This instruction is the basis for long-range recce and rescue competitions organised by the society in the future. Separately for each competition there will be only appendixes, containing the time and place of the competition, obligatory equipment and other essential information. The competition instruction contains information about different posistions at the competition, their job descriptions and principles as well as obligations/aims and activities of the competitors and support persons at control points and control points.
As regards the contents all these competitions are long-range recce or rescue tasks (according to the scenario of a respective competition), which (depending on the season and landscape) last from 2 days (48) to 1 week. The main activities are:
Besides there may be "show tasks" for spectators as the assault landing of the Erna raid.
The competitions shall be organised and managed by the organizing committee, appointed by the management of MSS "Erna", in co-operation with the Estonian Defence League, the General Headquarters of the Defence Forces and Helsinki’s Blue Berets.
Official working languages of the competition are English and Estonian.
The competitions are financed by the government and sponsors.
MANAGEMENT BODIES, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
Below there is a list of management bodies and key persons, which shall be applied partially or completely depending on the nature of the competitions. The below mentioned position may be filled by a different person at each competition.
Organizing committee of the competition – a committee preparing and organizing the competition, members of the committee are appointed by the management of MSS "Erna".
Competition preparation team – A team preparing the competition, consisting of individuals appointed by MSS "Erna" and representatives of included structures. The competition preparation team shall terminate its activities a day before the competition begins.
Commander of the competition – an officer, invited by the management of MSS "Erna" to lead and control the competition on the basis of principles and instructions devised by the society. The headquarters of the competition is his/her operating body. The tenure of the commander of the competition is 1 year (interval at least 1 year).
"Erna raid 2002" commander of the competition. Lieutenant General Johannes Kert
Chief-of-staff of the competition – an officer from a foreign country, invited by the management of MSS "Erna" to control and co-ordinate the operations of the competition headquarters on the basis of principles and instructions devised by the society. He/she shall organize and conduct introductory meetings of the competition and routine staff meetings during the competition in co-operation with the organizing committee of the competition. Besides, he/she is responsible for distributing the commander's orders and guidelines to addressees. Chief-of-staff can be appointed for two consecutive years (the interval being at least 2 years or one shift).
Headquarters of the competition (thereafter the Headquarters) – a managing body of the competition, leading and controlling the course of the competition on the basis of principles and instructions devised by the society and if necessary adopts operative resolutions necessary for normal conduct of the competition. The Headquarters must not adopt decisions changing the general nature of the competition, the trail and points calculation without the consent of the organizing committee. During the competition the headquarters work round-the clock. Obligations of the headquarters:
The headquarters shall conduct at least one staff meeting a day during the competition, sharing information and finding solutions to problems, which have arisen or might probably arise. All teams, supportive forces, visitors and observers are subordinate to the competition headquarters during the competition. The Headquarters area is a banned area for team members (excluding one support person), observers and visitors.
"Erna raid 2002" headquarters of the competition
Operational commander – an officer invited by the management of MSS "Erna" to control and co-ordinate the work of operational services on the basis of principles and instructions devised by the society. His/her area of subordination includes: trail service, counter action, the rescue unit and safety. Operational commander is a member of the headquarters.
Trail master of the competition– a person appointed by the management of MSS "Erna", who prepares the complete trail of the competition with control points and control points. Determines timings for the trail and checks performance of the trail together with the "0" team. If necessary (according to the information provided by the "0" team) makes changes in control points and movement schedules of the teams in co-operation with the organizing committee of the competition. Trailmaster is subordinate to the operational commander.
Security chief of the competition – a person responsible for security and safety in the main camp and at fulfilling tasks at the control points and on trail. Security chief is subordinate to the operational commander.
Chief umpire of the competition – an officer from a foreign country invited by the management of MSS "Erna", controlling and co-ordinating the activities of umpires in control points, on trail and counter action on the basis of principles and instructions devised by the society. The Chief umpire is a member of the competition headquarters. His/her working body is the umpires' staff. The Chief umpire's tenure in office cannot be longer than two consecutive years (interval at least 4 years or 2 shifts).
Umpires' staff – is a working body of the chief umpire, co-ordinating and controlling the activities of umpires at control points, on the territory of the operational command and counter action. Together with the competition headquarters the umpires' staff shall conduct at least one meeting a day for representatives of teams, to share information and accept probable protests and considerations from the representatives.
"Erna raid 2002" umpires' staff
Umpires of the competition
Umpires and insignias of the competition
"0" team – a controlling team of the competition, starting 2 hours before the start of the competition. "0" team shall be responsible for checking the trail's performance as regards timing, technical aspects and security. They'll provide the trailmaster with current information.
Meeting of support persons – a meeting for support persons of teams. At this competition information shall be provided about probable changes and the general course of the competition. The meeting shall be conducted by the chief-of-staff together with the chief umpire.
Protest Commission – the task of this competition is to solve protests, received during the competition and check the fairness of the umpires' work at control points (form of the report has been developed by the Erna society). Members of the commission shall be elected at the support person's meeting on the day of registration and it consists of:
Commanders of different services, who do not have the right to vote may be invited to the protest commission meetings if necessary.
Logistic center – supports the competition logistics. Chief of logistics is a member of the competition headquarters.
Commander of counter action – an officer invited by the management of MSS "Erna", who controls and co-ordinates the work of counter action on the basis of principles and instructions devised by the society. Commander of counter action is subordinate to the operational commander. His/her working body is the counter action headquarters (located on trail).
Counter action headquarters – the headquarters co-ordinating and organizing counter action. In reality the counter action headquarters is located on trail.
Counter action
Counter action
Communications – a service, responsible for accurately performing radio, data and phone communication in the camp as well as on the whole territory of the competition. Chief of communications is a member of the competition headquarters.
Commander of foreign and public relations – co-ordinates and organizes foreign and public relations. Commander of foreign and public relations is a member of the competition headquarters.
Foreign relations – forwards and gathers information from foreign visitors about their arrival, departure, accommodation etc. Co-ordinates the work of liaison officers with teams and visitors. The commander of foreign relations is subordinate to the commander of foreign and public relations.
Liaison officer – a person appointed to deal with one (not more than two) foreign teams. Receives the team upon its arrival to Estonia, accompanies the team during its stay in Estonia and upon departure to customs zone. Assists the team in solving routine problems and issues.
Public relations – gather and distribute information about the course of the competition to mass media and visitors of the competition. Commander of public relations is subordinate to the commander of foreign and public relations.
Commandant service – an institution guaranteeing order at the main camp and other locations related to events during the competition. Chief of commandant service is a member of the competition headquarters.
Objectives of the competition:
Participation:
The quota and size of teams differs at each competition.
The foreign country, whose team has gained the best results at the competition, may apply for the participation of two teams at the next competition. The best Estonian unit may apply for the participation of two teams the next year, whereas one team has to consist of the competitors, who participated the year before and shall be entered in the list of competitors automatically. A unit, which has withdrawn from the competition two consecutive years, shall not be allowed to participate the next year, however, the unit may compete on general basis the year after the next. One mixed team (consists of competitors from different units or different countries) shall be allowed to participate.
"Erna raid":
| Regular armed forces | 3 teams | (according to the order of registration) |
| Sub-units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs | 3 teams | (1 border guard, 1 rescue board, 1 police) |
| Military educational institutions | 2 teams | |
| Reserve structures | 1 team | |
| The Defence League | 3 teams | + 1 team (NKK if completes "Eel-Erna") |
| Last year's best Estonian team | 1 team | |
| Foreign teams | 15 teams | + 1 team (last year's best) |
| TOTAL | 30 teams |
15 + 1 foreign teams are allowed to participate in "Erna Raid". It means that one team from each country shall be allowed to participate, excluding cases in which the management of the society has decided otherwise. If less than 12 foreign teams have registered, foreign countries are allowed to participate with another team within the limits of the quota on the basis of their applications. If a country has been represented with two teams the right about the best foreign team shall not be extended to this country (this would mean yet another team). Thus the maximum number of teams per a foreign country is two.
"Utria dessant":
| Estonian teams | 12 teams | (according to the order of registration) |
| Mixed teams | 1 team | |
| Foreign teams | 3 teams | (according to the order of registration) |
| TOTAL | 16 teams |
A new separate teams' quota shall be established for each new competition.
Everybody can fulfill the number of places, planned for them according to their own discretion, arrange a preliminary tests etc. If they do not take this opportunity the "Erna" society shall fulfill the planned places according to the order of receiving the applications. The rest of the received applications shall be entered in the waiting list. If a team registered in the list of participants announces that it does not participate, it will be substituted with the first team in the waiting list. A team shall be excluded from the list of participants if they submit respective application in writing in time or if the required documentation does not arrive in time. Members of the team (not more than 2) can be changed not later than two weeks before the beginning of the competition. Specific deadlines shall be established separately for each competition.
Teams
Teams, consisting of four real competitors (recce/rescue groups) and obligatory three support persons i.e. the total of seven people , are allowed to participate in the competition. If two teams participate from one country or subunit, each team must have three support persons. Upon registration the support persons have to determine if they are support persons of the first or the second team. A team must consist of the members of one and the same subunit (excluding one allowed mixed team). Following the fair play principle of the competition it is recommended that one of the three support persons of a team would participate as an umpire, subordinate to the chief umpire of the competition. This person should also be identified upon registration. The position includes losing the status of a support person, thus two support persons remain for a team. The support member registered as an umpire shall become a subordinate of the chief umpire from the moment of registration and from then on can communicate with teams only as an umpire. The same holds true for the press representative, accompanying the team, to whom all obligations and rights of the press shall be extended.
CONCEPT
Competitions organized by MSS "Erna" provide an opportunity to the teams to apply their skills in the "enemy" environment, created by the organizers to be as real as possible. The teams have to move tactically correctly, be camouflaged and use hidden paths to avoid contact with the "enemy". Movement on roads marked on the 1:50000-scale map (excluding roads marked by an interrupted line i.e. paths) is prohibited. These may only be crossed. The competitors move on trail as individual recce/rescue groups on foot, making use of the peculiarities of the landscape to hide from the "enemy". This means that teams from one and the same (or different) subunit and from one and the same (or different) countries must not join their forces and help each other to solve problems, which might arise. Radio communication between teams and communication with support persons is also prohibited. If one competitor withdraws, the team may continue with three members. The continuing members may take along only the remaining rations and ammunition of the withdrawn competitor. The minimal size of a team on track is three people, thus after the second competitor withdraws the team cannot continue.
THE TRAIL
Conditionally the trail can be divided in three parts. .
1. Control points – Control points are points on terrain, designated according to the scenario and time schedule of the competition, where the teams show their skills in weapon handling and performing different soldier's tasks. Information about control points shall be disclosed to the teams as well as to observers and visitors the day before the competition starts.
Shooting an assault rifle at control point
Activities of control point instructors – control point instructors are specialists of a specific area, who establish boundaries of a territory, which are necessary for fulfilling a specific task, different task areas and take care of the technical needs (tents, targets, mines etc) at control points and if necessary in other places on trail. They'll man the control point with personnel necessary for performing the task, support secure fulfillment of the task, observe that the task would be performed correctly (if not provided otherwise). Control point instructors can test their task-readiness on the "0" team arriving two hours before the real competitors. According to the results they'll make respective changes together with the trailmaster and inform the umpires thereof.
Activities of umpires at control points – at control points umpires check the correctness of performing tasks, the fairness of conditions, send teams to perform tasks and withdraw teams if they exceed their designated time limit on the basis of principles and instructions devised by MSS "Erna". If necessary they take time used for fulfilling the task and may act as instructors for tasks. Umpires receive documents necessary for their work from the chief umpire. Umpires have to be at control point by the time of the "0" team's arrival to test the point together with the trailmaster before the real teams arrive.
Activities of teams at control points – each team has its own time schedule for arriving at control points. They’ll receive the schedule at registration.
When a team enters the control point they'll register their time of arrival either at the task's umpire (at control points with only one task) or at control point co-ordinate (at control points with several tasks). If a team approaches the control point from direction, not designated for that purpose, it has to exit the control point area and enter the control point from the designated place. While moving there the team has to guarantee that their route would not go through dangerous sectors (e.g. the shooting sector) areas of the control point and the tasks performed by other teams at the control point would not be observable by them. Deviation from the time schedule for entering the control point, for which penalty points are not awarded, is +/– 5 minutes. Teams must not be late for performing their tasks.
If the team is late for performing the task at start line it'll not be permitted to perform the task, but will be sent to continue on trail or to perform the next task, where they are supposed to arrive in time. If the team has got a permission to perform a task they have 10 minutes for preparation and moving to the location of the task (in case they have arrived in time, if they are late they'll definitely have less time). At the preparation area the team shall make necessary preparations for fulfilling the task and will then wait for a command. At the designated time the umpire will give the command "Start" and the team starts performing the task. They have 10 minutes for performing the task (if it has not decided otherwise). If they are not able to perform the task in time, their action shall be interrupted and the team shall receive its penalty points respective to the task. After finishing or interrupting a task the team shall move immediately to the next task (or to the trail). In control points movement is allowed only on designated path. Fresh water is available at control points. Completing and changing the team's supplies and other assistance from third parties (including information about fulfillment of the forthcoming task, carrying equipment etc) is prohibited. At larger control point there is resting area for teams. On this area the team can tidy their equipment before going on track and if necessary contact their support person (with the umpire present). Any arguments arising from the team's (or competitor's) mistake shall be solved against the team.
Activities of the support person at control point – at control points the support person is allowed to be at the task-performing area only while his/her team is performing the task. It means that if another team from the same unit or country is still coming the support person does not see their performance. That is the reason why all teams must have their own support persons. The task of the support person at the control point is observing his/her team and if necessary making contact with the team (e.g. forwarding protests or other issues) on the designated territory (with the umpire present). According to the character of the task (if the scenario provides) help his/her team to make preparations for fulfilling the task (e.g. preparing the boat). It is permitted to make contact with the team at rest area, located on separately designated territory by the border of large control points.
Name of control points – Control points are named in alphabetical order. NATO phonetic alphabet is being used:
Solving unpredictable situations – unpredictable situations are situations, which might arise independent of the organizers work (e.g. short-time extreme weather changes). If this situation might arise and this would impede the competitors, instructors and umpires to fulfill their tasks promptly and equally the proposal to interrupt the fulfillment of the respective tasks shall be made by an instructor or umpire of the respective task. The final decision shall be adopted by the commander of the competition together with the organizing committee.
NB! Passing through control points is obligatory even in case of being late! Teams shall get additional penalty points if they do not show up at control points.
Checkpoints
Between control points there may be located checkpoints, which the teams have to pass through in full. A team shall get respective penalty points for not passing through a checkpoint. All checkpoints are manned with umpires. The trailmaster and umpires have to be at checkpoints with the "0" team. Checkpoints shall be numbered on the basis of the previous control point. For example the name of the first checkpoint after control point "Charlie" is "Charlie 1" (PK "C 1"). Checkpoints have been placed trail in order to provide the teams with additional information/task is necessary and direct them away from dangerous zones (e.g. shooting sectors) and guide the teams to the direction where the trail has been prepared and controlled by organizers.
Protests
If a team has a controversial issue or situation they can submit a protest. Protests can be submitted on the teams' rest area at a control point or if the rest area is missing the waiting area. The protest has to be submitted in writing in Estonian or in English and it will be submitted to the control point's umpire. The protest has to include the content, time, place and witnesses of the event. It is recommended to mention the violated provision of the competition instruction.
In order to start the protest you have to pay the bail of 500.- EEK to the competition headquarters and ask for a receipt of having paid the bail. If the protest is satisfied, the money will be refunded to the team. A protest commission has been established for solving protests. The latest deadline for submitting protests is 30 minutes after the last team has finished or the finish has been closed.
Basis for determining penalty points
Results of the competition are evaluated on the basis of penalty points and the winner of the competition is the team, who has the smallest number of penalty points.
In principle two different types of situations are being imitated at the competition:
We have made an exception in case of two tasks. In case of first aid task the maximum number of penalty points is 48, in case of military equipment test each wrong answer will give you 1 penalty point. Maximum penalty points may also change if the essence of a particular task requires changes.
Tasks in the performance of which speed is counted, the following formula shall be used:
(the team’s time – the best time) x N
the worst time – the best time
N – maximum possible number of penalty points from a task. According to the complicacy of the task this number may be 24, 48 or 72.
If the team has three (3) members (minimum size) one third (1/3) of the real time used for performing the task shall be added to the team’s performance time. This shall be done if the competitors perform the task one by one.
Penalty points for not fulfilling the operational order (recce or rescue task) are approximately equal to the total amount of adding up maximum penalty points for all other tasks. In case of partial fulfillment the complicacy of the task and accuracy of fulfillment shall be calculated.
The umpires shall give detailed instructions about all tasks to competitors at control points.
A specific time has been designated for teams to arrival at control points. Deviation from the designated time can be 5 minutes.
| Earlier arrival more than | 5 minutes | 6 penalty points |
| 10 minutes | 12 penalty points | |
| 15 minutes | 18 penalty points | |
| 20 minutes | 24 penalty points |
If the team is more than 5 minutes late to the control point, they’ll be awarded 12 penalty points. If the team is more than 10 minutes late, it will not be permitted to perform the (first) task and in addition to the maximum number of penalty points for this task it’ll be awarded extra 24 penalty points. In case of being late to a control point where more than one task have to be completed, those task, the starting time of which has passed shall not be performed and the team shall receive maximum penalty points for these tasks plus additional 24 penalty points. Despite that a team is late for the control point, it still has to go through the control point (i.e. register at respective umpire of the control point). Otherwise the team shall receive maximum penalty points for all unperformed tasks plus extra 48 penalty points.
If a team reaches a control point more than 5 minutes before the time designated in their time schedule, they are not allowed to wait for "their timing" at the neutral zone of the control point, but have to report to the control point umpire immediately. Delaying is allowed outside the neutral zone (risk to meet the "enemy").
All competitors have to pass through the checkpoints on trail. Each competitor, who did not pass through a checkpoint, shall bring 6 penalty points to his/her team. Thus for skipping a checkpoint on trail the team shall get total 24 penalty points. The competitor, whose withdrawal has already been reported and who has already left the trail shall not count.
Each competitor shall get 10 counter action checks with the value of 6 penalty points each. For losing the checkbook the competitor (i.e. team) shall get 60 penalty points. Competitors shall be provided with detailed instructions concerning counter action at registration.
If one competitor withdraws the team shall receive 24 penalty points. In case of withdrawal of 2 competitors the team cannot continue.
Each lost item of personal equipment (including the team’s number) means 3 penalty points. For losing weapons, ammunition (incl the signal pistol and cartridges), the team’s first aid kit, radio station and maps the team shall be punished by 12 penalty points. Six (6) penalty points shall be awarded for an unclean weapon. For intentional destruction of equipment and auxiliary means necessary for fulfilling a task shall be awarded 24 penalty points. Equipment check might take place several times during the competition.
For insufficient camouflage the maximum number of penalty points is 3 per competitor (assessed at equipment check).
Upon being caught for moving on roads marked by a double line on a topographic map (1:50 000) for the first time , penalty points shall be given according to the number of competitors on the road – 12 per competitor. If a team has repeatedly been discovered moving on roads, it might be disqualified.
In case of violations, not considered in this section chief-of-staff of the competition shall appoint a penalty on the basis of the chief umpire’s proposal separately for each violation. .
2. Territory of OPPORD – it is a territory on terrain on which the operational order (recce/rescue task), received at registration has to be performed in reality .
Activity of instructors in the territory of OPPORD – the task of the instructors is to establish a main camp (or any other object, according to the competition scenario) of the conditional enemy and guarantee real action on the object, imitating the situation mentioned in the scenario. Instructors of the task must not leave the object before the last team has reported about fulfilling the task and left the territory.
Activities of umpires in OPPORD territory – in this territory the umpires have to identify mutual contacts of teams and counter action units, controlling the correctness of the activities of both sides and if necessary solving contradictory issues on site.
Activities of teams in OPPORD territory – Major part of the area on terrain is classified, i.e. unknown to teams. They have been given approximate grid reference, but they have to find the object themselves. The time for fulfilling the task varies from competition to competition (depending on the level of complicacy). If the competition is longer than 4 days and nights the time for performing the operational order includes up to 4 hours obligatory resting time.
As the operational order has been compiled as close to reality as possible, it is almost impossible that the competitors would complete it 100% within the given time limits. The organizers have determined a specific "price" for each object on the territory. Thus the completion of the operational order shall be assessed on the basis of the totals of "the prices" of objects not found and mapped by the competitors. Immediately before leaving the operational order’s territory a team is obliged to report over the radio about completion of the performance of the task and departing from the territory.
It is strictly prohibited to teams’ support persons to be present on the territory of the operational order or its immediate vicinity (up to 1 km). If this command is ignored, even disqualifying will punish the team.
3. The rest of the territory – it is the territory, which remains outside the territory of control points (and checkpoints) and the operational order, or this part of the trail, which the organizers (directing by checkpoints) have designated or a team has chosen for moving from one control point to the other. This territory is also an essential part of the competition and marks the conditional "enemy" territory, where exists real opportunity to meet counter action forces. Skillful movement on terrain and making use of its peculiarities enables to avoid these contacts. Competitors may choose their speed of movement themselves, but it depends on the time schedule, established by the organizers.
DESCRIPTION OF TERRAIN
Depending on your navigation skills and the route you choose, you will cover peculiar, but hard-going terrain. 10 – 15 meter differences in height are pretty common. On the northern coast the differences might sometimes be even up to 30 meters (especially river valleys on the coast). The widest rivers to cross are about 15-20 m wide and 3-4 m deep. Riverbanks and shores may be muddy. Swamp areas are approximately 4-5 km wide. Road network is quite dense.
Swamp
There are quite a lot of swamp areas, however more often you’ll come across bogs and swamp forests.
Swamp forest
Bog
You may also come across quicksand. Watch out!
As a rule they it is so to say "bottomless".
Quicksand
Forests are mainly mixed forests of pine, spruce, birch etc.
Mixed forest
While on trail you may meet such predators as bears, wolves, lynxes and considering other bigger animals – elks and deer.
Wolf
Lynx
Brown bear
You have to pass through a great amount of cultivated land and drainage ditches (width up to 5 meters and depth up to 3 meters).
The weather in Estonia can be very changeable. Despite of the season temperature fluctuations may be 5–15 degrees and rain, fog and ground frost are also common.
Frosty bog
Fog in the bog at dawn
Fog at night
You have to pay attention to the variable terrain. You may pass from one environment to the other without noticing.
Transition of a bog into a lake
This is the beginning of a swamp
On the northern coast you may have to cross steep cliffs or upright walls and come across waterfalls.
Jägala – the largest waterfall of Estonia
Watch out! Poisonous snakes!
Viper
It is also recommended to have you vaccinated against tick bites.
MAIN CAMP
Usually main camp is arranged for a competition lasting longer than 30 hours. The main camp is controlled by the commandant and his/her service. The main camp is divided into the following zones:
Competitors’ camp
ADMINISTRATION AND LOGISTICS
Transportation - all Foreign Teams are responsible for their own transportation to and from Estonia. Upon request they’ll be provided with transportation for the time of the competition, but this has to be co-ordinated with the "Erna" society before. More and more foreign teams have chosen to bring their own transportation. Estonian Teams report straight to the Main Camp. EDF's and Defence League's vehicles come with drivers. Vehicles of teams are to be left at the Main Camp (excluding the one, which has been registered as a means of transportation for support persons to control points and back). Control points can also be visited in vehicles meant specially for that purpose. Police will inspect all other vehicles on the roads.
Fuel and lubricants – according to necessity fuel and lubricants will be provided for all vehicles used for organizing the competition.
Catering – everyone, identified by the competition identification card, will be provided with food as follows:
Communications – the competition headquarters’ communications service shall install all necessary means of communication for organizing and supporting the competition. Communication necessary for the teams shall be organised either by the competition headquarters or respective to the separate communications’ instruction for each competition, containing working frequencies and other necessary issues. Teams are not allowed to use cell phones and pagers (if the communications’ instructions of a specific competition does not prescribe otherwise).
Medical aid– first aid teams and paramedics are available at all control points and other dangerous spots. Besides we have a mobile first aid brigade, moving on the trail as a whole according to necessity. (on events lasting more than 30 hours) teams can also use first aid of the counter action camp (emergencies). Whereas such use of first aid shall not be counted as being captured.
Maps – The main map is an UTM-grid basic map, scale 1:50000. However you have to be ready to use maps with different grids and scales on trail. You’ll receive your maps at registration (along with the operational order). The teams have to mark all essential data and the situation on the map themselves.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
Movement on trail – movement on trail shall be on foot (if a task of a particular competition does not provide otherwise) and without assistance from third parties. It means that contact with other teams (incl. Radio communication), the counter action (if not captured) and supplementing and reducing equipment is prohibited. Only one member of the team may withdraw, the competitions headquarters or umpires are to be informed immediately about such event. Movement has to be hidden, making use of the peculiarities of the terrain. All roads are banned for movement (excluding crossing roads or in cases a respective appendix of a competition determines otherwise). Movement is allowed on footpaths, section lines and line bases( i.e. paths and roads marked by an interrupted line on the competition map are allowed). Also separation distance with other team members has to be taken into account because if you come across "booby traps" (located at several places on trail) the rule says that everybody has been hit. If separation distance is considered the chance that counter action will not catch the whole team at a time is also larger. Weapons must be ready to shoot, but without live ammunition. Under no conditions weapons are to be carried in backpack or combat kit in order to facilitate movement. Cleanness of your weapons has to be observed as well, because unexpected weapon cleanness check may be conducted at control points. Upon arrival at control point weapons have to be placed in a pyramid (not loosely on the ground) and the team itself has to guard the weapons. It is prohibited to point a weapon at a person. In case of imitating shooting (or shooting with blank ammunition) you have to aim visibly higher that the target (including machines and others).
Counter action – in order to make the competition more realistic a conditional enemy or counter action has been included. Units of the Estonian Defence Forces, the Estonian Defence League, and if necessary Border Guard and Police will simulate the enemy. Their main role is to control the teams’ movement. It means they check all roads (excluding roads and paths marked by the interrupted line). Counter Action units and their personnel can act as counter action units only if they are marked with counter action markings. Their action is not marked on the teams’ maps. If unit is functioning as a unit then it is not necessary for all the unit members to have counter action insignia as long as the unit can be recognized to be a counter action unit. Members of the enemy counter action forces are armed and will wear yellow shoulder boards or yellow double F on their vehicles. In any other situation yellow insignias are a must. If the police have been included in counter action, their insignias are the police uniform, "POLITSEI" written on their vehicles and a blue headlight. Counter Action units can operate only in the predefined Area of Operation. Counter Action unit must have a written or verbal order from the Commander of Counter Action. Counter Action Commander has to forward orders and commands given during the competition to the competition headquarters over the radio to record the contents and time of the order. In order to capture a team the counter action unit has to be at least the same size as the team (thus minimum three people). The only exception is traffic police patrolling on the roads. The size of the police unit is not regulated. Joining teams in order to strengthen forces is strictly prohibited.
A team or its member is captured if:
A team is not captured if :
If the scenario of the competition prescribes a rescue operation the opportunities of counter action are also more complicated as the territory of the conditional country is hostile towards them as well. It means they also have to hide themselves and open patrolling on roads is prohibited. They have to create their activities only on hidden movement and ambush. A common sentry is not an ambush. We are not going to have argument about "who shot who first" as the team has no possibility "to shoot themselves free". If there is an umpire near, he/she will decide on the basis of the developed situation, which actually won the encounter. In case of disagreements the team may have counter action call an umpire, who is obliged to react to such a call. However the team remains where it is and will be wasting its time by waiting for the umpire. Later claims are usually solved in the form of a protest. Each captured competitor is obliged to give away one check at each capture. Competitors who have given away their all 10 checks i.e. being captured 10 times, shall be considered dead and they have to interrupt the competition.
ANY PHYSICAL CONTACT IS PROHIBITED!
ACTION OF UMPIRES
Umpires are military servicemen (or reservists) of other countries invited by MSS "Erna"), who act on the basis of instructions, developed by the society.
The main aims of the umpires’ activities:
In order to achieve the aims established for them the umpires have to :
Umpires do not award penalty points but assess and solve situations and measure physical results respective to the character of tasks performed by the competitors (hits, performance time etc).
If the umpires make a mistake while adopting decisions or measuring results of tasks, the decision shall always be made for the competitor with the aim to compensate for the harm caused to the teams whose results were affected by the umpires’ wrongful activity. The decision about a mistake on the umpires’ side shall be adopted by the chief umpire together with the organizing committee, considering each case separately.
Besides the umpires work shall be controlled by the protest commission, reporting about their findings to the organizing committee of the competition.
Chief umpire shall manage the activities of umpires by umpires’ staff. The staff organizes, coordinates and controls the activities of umpires during the whole competition and provides movement of information between the headquarters and umpires. For this purpose the staff has introduced an operational logbook, reflecting any activities of the umpires and information received by the umpires about the events on trail. Umpires receive all documents necessary for fulfilling their tasks from the umpires’ staff and return them immediately after having finished their task.
On the basis of the essence of their activities the umpires are divided into two major groups on trail:
Control point umpires:
Control point umpires are to arrive at the control point before the "0" team in order to test the possibility of task performance together with the trailmaster and make necessary corrections.
Commander of the control point umpires’ working group receives materials needed for their work (protocols, task descriptions etc) from the umpires’ staff. After the control point is closed he/she will immediately return the protocols to the staff, from where they’ll be forwarded to the computer center at the competition headquarters. Protocols have to be signed by the chief umpire of this task, who will also be responsible for the correctness of data provided therein (instructions for reflecting results and its accuracy shall be provided to the umpires’ staff by the computer center).
Counter action umpires:
Equipment, transportation, and other similar issues of the umpires are a responsibility of a logistics group, subject to the umpires’ staff and co-operating with the logistics unit of the competition. Any logistic services to the umpires are performed at the main camp of the competition with the exception of patrols on counter action and OPORD territory, who’ll be catered at the main camp of the respective unit. Umpires on trail must have on them equipment for coping in field conditions.
COMPETITION SAFETY RULES
Introduction:
As the competition trail is a high-risk area (approximately 50% of the route is over difficult terrain, soft ground and swamps) we urge all competitors (including support personnel) to read and implement these rules. This is necessary to ensure the safety of all competitors en-route.
General:
Swamps and quicksand:
FIRING RANGE PRACTICES:
EXPLOSIVE DEVICES:
Since a large portion of the competition route crosses a former Soviet Army firing range, it is possible (although the range has been previously "swept") that you will still encounter unexploded explosive devices. Be careful!
POISONOUS SNAKE BITES:
While moving along the competition route, teams must be careful, since they may encounter common adders or Viper. In case of a snake bite:
ALL TEAMS ARE PROHIBITED TO:
Teams will be penalized with disqualification for the following infractions of the rules:
Lesser penalty than team disqualification, may be awarded for the following offences:
SUPPORT PERSONS, MEDIA REPORTERS AND PUBLIC SPECTATORS ARE PROHIBITED TO / FROM:
Support persons shall move on trail either by transportation arranged by the organizers or in a previously registered vehicle. Support persons are prohibited from being on trail in the vicinity of control points and control points within the distance of 1 km. Approaching and departing the trail is allowed only on roads, marked on the map by the organizers.
MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE AND UMPIRES ARE PROHIBITED TO / FROM:
MAIN CAMP RULES
On the territory of the main camp everybody is subject to the Camp Commandant’s orders. In the main camp nighttime has been established, starting at 0100 and finishing at 0700 (if the rules implemented by the commandant do not require differently). Nighttime is not valid on areas, which have to work for 24 hours.
General rules of the camp:
HALTING AND SUSPENDING THE COMPETITION
The competition can be halted in cases, which make the continuation of the competition impossible or threaten people’s life and health. Only the organizing committee has the right to halt the competition!
The organizing committee is authorized to halt the competition for example on the following cases:
In case of halting the competition the charts shall be compiled on the basis of the data from last control point, which all competing teams have passed.
Competitions are suspended in cases, which temporarily hamper the conduct of the competition. Commander of the competition has the right to suspend competition upon agreement with the organizing committee.
Competition is suspended for example on the following cases:
ACCESS RULES
During competition access permits have been established for the main camp as well as for the rest of the trail area. This is an identification card with the photo, name, surname, and country of origin and persons role in the competition. Respective to his/her role access to different territories and information is provided. In order to facilitate differentiation of roles, identification cards are of different colour. Below you’ll find the list of the main colours and roles:
| Yellow | competition headquarters, operational headquarters (access to all information and areas) |
| Green | teams and support people (access to information at the press tent and if for a registered support person at the headquarters if necessary) |
| Blue | umpires (access to trail information and all areas) |
| White | press, visitors (access to information at the press tent and to designated areas on trail) |
A complete list and samples of identification cards shall be exhibited at the information tent at the main camp.