Scottish Orienteering

SEDS news, Feb 07

This is my plan for the first half of 2007 along with the thinking behind the programme and my reasons for specifying this programme.

In accepting membership of the SEDS group and the support it offers you will be expected to

Promote Scotland as your home nation
Represent Scotland in the Senior Home Internationals. UK based athletes in particular are expected to treat representation as a significant and priority commitment in return for the support provided by SEDS. Keep 22nd October 2007 free.
Contribute to the development/maintenance of competitive orienteering in Scotland through prioritisation of premier competitions in Scotland (SOL SOC and others) (Primarily aimed at Scotland based athletes)

2007 - first half plan:

The main focus is to get people in Scotland making the most of Scotland - the best place for orienteering in Britain.
It is my opinion that our top orienteers are not making best use of the opportunities that are easily available to them, on their doorstep.
This means

racing each other on a regular basis (at minor races, using such racing is the only way to really hone your performances for when it matters)
racing in good terrain close to home.
training and working together to improve (recent SEDS weekend attendance has been a bit thin)

Therefore I want people to race at SOL and the Scottish Champs to encourage this and to avoid overloading the available weekends training will organised in association with races where appropriate.

Dates for the diary are :

Weekend 1

10th/11th February Deeside training weekend. British Squad self help weekend organised by Jon Musgrave. SEDS will finance attendance of SEDS athletes. Contact Jon

Weekend 2

3rd March – Pitlochry (Swiss, Czech and Swedish orienteers will be training and racing courtesy of Helen Palmer)
in association with
SOL 1 Baluain – 4th March

Weekend 3

23rd March - Scottish Sprint champs at Heriot Watt
SOL 2 Gullane - 24th March

Weekend 4

12th May – Speyside
in association with
SOL 3 Newtonmore - 13th May

Weekend 5

26th, 28th May - Morrayshire
SOL 4 Morrayshire coast - 27th May ?? (not in the calendar yet)

Weekend 6

16th 17th June - Scottish Champs - Loch Doon.

Weekends 1, 2, 4, 5 will be SEDS funded.

International Training Camp

Intention is to organise a week of training in the Jicin region of The Czech Republic. This is a great place with something very different in the form of sandstone pillar terrain, it is fast and it is Czech. A camp in Jicin will provide:

Experience of orienteering in an unusual and challenging terrain
Opportunities for fast and challenging orienteering – relevant for WOC 2007
Experience of the Czech Republic – relevant for WOC 2007,

Programme reasoning

SOC clashes with the Jukola, which I recognise is not great, but for this year I want everyone to prioritise their national championships over a foreign relay (plus you'll all want to be there to make sure EUOC win the UK relay League).
Also Scottish Sprint Champs and SOL2 clashes with the Spring Cup. Again I would prefer to see athletes competing in Scotland.

By attending races in Scotland SEDS will help to maintain the standard of races and can hopefully begin to influence the nature of those races. In the 1990s Elite classes were run in SOL races to provide appropriate opportunities for International athletes. Very few elite athletes are attending SOLs currently and until you do we will not be in a position to influence the races offered.

A race is about the competition more than the terrain, so if everyone commits to attend then there will be quality weekends.
I also believe that before you try and take foreigners on abroad you should be able to take on your team mates at home. That is - If you are not the best in Britain what makes you think you’ll be the best in Scandinavia ?

I want everyone to commit to a programme of working together as a team, both in training and in racing, to push each other forward.

This is the domestic programme that I have decided on.
There is a good pot of money to support you in working together to improve your own and Scottish Orienteering.

The alternative is that you all act as individuals and do your own thing, financially and logistically I cannot support that approach. So if you want to tap in to what SEDS is offering you then you need to commit to the SEDS programme.

I hope you all will.

Thanks

Posted by on 05th Feb 07 Filed under: SEDS