Scottish Orienteering Board Opportunities
The SOA Board is responsible for the governance of orienteering in Scotland. Much of the work is behind the scenes, navigating challenges, avoiding issues where possible and managing those that might arise – whilst they can certainly make life interesting at times, resolving them can be very satisfying. Examples since I joined the board 7 years ago have included:
- regularly making the case for the ca. £100,000 pa of government finance that we receive;
- managing through COVID as we became one of the first sports to be allowed to operate again and getting permission to run the first large outdoor event post COVID (the Scottish 6 Days 2021);
- securing, financing and putting on the Sprint World Championships.
The board has a steady turnover as members (usually) have to stand down after 6 years. In particular we look for:
- range of experiences and capabilities;
- balance of age & gender;
- geographical balance;
- representation from large & small clubs.
This year we are very lucky that two new members have volunteered to join but as Liz Orr and I stand down we would still benefit from someone to extend representation outside of the central belt (especially Edinburgh) and to be another voice for small clubs. If you have a passion for the sport, have strong opinions about governance and have some time available please consider standing. You would be very welcome.
The Scottish 6 Days board has also had a number of changes recently with a couple more in the pipeline. In particular Dave Kershaw will standing down in September after 12 years on the board, 8 years as chair. Kevin Reynard is also looking to relinquish his role as Finance Director in the coming year. Please read through the article about the 6 days for more information about the future of the our blue riband multi-day event.
If you are interested and feel you have something to offer please contact Nikki Howard (nikki@scottish-orienteering.org) or me (president@scottish-orienteering.org).
Richard Oxlade, SOA Chair