World Masters Mountain Bike Orienteering a great success

Keith Dawson, the SOA former Chair of the Board/ avid Mountain Bike orienteer and Event Coordinator reflects on the 2026 World Masters Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships held in Moray:-

So WMMTBOC26 in Scotland is a wrap! A vision of three years ago became a wonderful reality this week in the beautiful and varied forests of the Moray coast. Thank you so very much for all your kind and immensely enthusiastic comments about the races and your wonderful smiles.

Thank you to all the fantastic volunteers and organising teams and the landowners for their fantastic cooperation and support. Four varied courses with a Long Long planned by Emily Benham Kvåle and organised by Alistair Powell yesterday and a great Ceilidh organised by James and Elspeth Stewart last night. It was wonderful to hear your stories about how much you enjoyed the efforts we put in to make your  “beep to beep” experience “one of the best ever”. Thanks to SOA and BMBO for their support and to Tiago Fernandes our great SEA. Special thanks to Steve Smirthwaite for all his superb efforts on maps, controlling and a thousand other jobs over the last three years. Thanks also to Bob Cherry Karena Hanley, Mark Stodgell and Linda Cairns for their immense efforts in key roles.

Two things made me happy this week as Event Coordinator. The first were all your smiles and enthusiasm and great compliments for our race and forest efforts-Thank you!

The second was the obvious and enthusiastic adventure tales you experienced and told of in our wonderful Scottish landscape and the cultural experiences you enjoyed and relished. A land I have loved for the last 45 years. Some of you were here for the first time and others discovered Scotland anew on the Sunshine Coast of Moray (and also their whiskies and Highland coos). I told you the weather would be good here.

I am glad you experienced such a wonderful mix of MTBO and Scottish landscape and Welcome. Thank you for making the huge effort and expense to journey across the cold North Sea to the Warm Welcome and Sunshine of the Moray Coast. A safe and easy journey home to your 29 nations. You are welcome Anytime and Always our MTBO Family.