As you will have seen highlighted in recent news coverage there are 9 protected characteristics within the UK in terms of Equality legislation. These are Age, Disability, Gender Reassignment, Marriage and Civil Partnership, Pregnancy and Maternity, Race, Religious and Belief, Sex and Sexual Orientation. Within Scotland we must also have due regard to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.
In order to ensure that all sports and physical activity organisations move towards being a more diverse, inclusive and socially responsible sector the five UK Sports Councils (which includes SportScotland) have developed a programme which all Sports Governing Bodies supported by one of the UK Sports Councils must follow.
This programme provides a framework for organisations to work through to ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are incorporated into an organisation’s everyday work. The framework is intended to drive meaningful change in practice, tackle inequalities and lead to sustainable improvements in the representation, diversity and positive inclusive experiences.
As part of the work being carried out by the Scottish Orienteering Association we are looking to appoint an Equality Working Group consisting of staff and representatives of our membership to help review our organisation. This Equality Working Group would help review the current position of the SOA which would then lead to the preparation of a continuous improvement plan to be implemented. Initially it is thought that the working group would be in place for one year but there would likely be a role to review progress made by the SOA thereafter.
We are looking for members who have an interest in this area and would like to be involved in helping to ensure that Scottish Orienteering is the most welcoming and inclusive environment possible which will encourage diversity within the sport and adoption of the sport by under represented groups and communities. If you are interested in being part of this group please get in touch with either our Welfare Director, Ken McDonald at welfare@scottish-orienteering.org or our Chief Operating Officer Nikki Howard at nikki@scottish-orienteering.org
We are hoping to arrange for the Equality Working Group to meet in a central location at the end of April in the first instance for a few hours but thereafter the commitment should be a few group meetings a year.
Masterplan Adventure hosted the first Scottish Orienteering League (SOL) event of 2024 as part of their Scottish Spring Weekend. The weekend saw over 200 hardy souls test themselves against the delights of the Kintyre terrain. Masterplan Adventure provided the opportunity on Saturday for everyone to pit themselves against the knolls, boulders and crags of Torinturk for a middle distance event followed by an ultra sprint round Tarbert before the sun shone on the oak forest of Corranbuie on Sunday for the longer distance of the SOL. Sunday’s event was also the third event in the Scottish Inter-Club Championship.
Orienteering relies on our volunteers as you have heard us say many times. We are always grateful for their help but sometimes people might not be sure how or where to return things or if time is short think they will do it next time and it gets left in a corner. We have all been there.
So in that vein we are putting out a shout for two types of items that may be lurking in your house and asking that you get in touch so we can make sure they find their way home – GPS vests and a timing clock.
You will see below pictures of the items in question and, if you for any reason have one, can you please email nikki@scottish-orienteering.org so we can help it be returned.
10 GPS vests labelled SOA 5,6 and 15 (XS), 25 (S), 32,36,38 and 39 (M) and 48, 49 (L) are currently missingA Scottish 6 Days timing clock in wooden box
The Scottish Elite and Development Squad (SEDS) is an initiative designed to help orienteers in their 20s and beyond to stay in the sport.
SEDS arranges for groups to take part in major events and training. In the middle of February, sixteen orienteers – paying their own way – travelled to Burgohondo, two hours west of Madrid, for a warm weather training camp.
The week in Spain ended with the four-day Maximus O Meeting (MOM) event.
The MOM is a huge and important event with a top field from across Europe. There were 85 in the Women’s Elite and 220 in the Men’s Elite, which had to be split in two to cope with the numbers.
The selection opportunities for 2024 have been agreed by the selectors. With the Senior Home Internationals take place in Scotland this year on 7/8th September in the Stirling area and Veteran Home Internationals take place in Ireland on 5th/6th October in Ireland.
As part of the process of devising a new Strategy for Scottish Orienteering post WOC, for the period from 2025-2029, we are looking to collect the views of the young people involved in our sport.
We have involved board members, staff and those who are willing to engage in one of the three strategy evenings we are holding online but are keen to ensure that we hear the voices of our young people. We have therefore prepared a short google form which should take no more than 5 minutes to complete.
We are asking that forms are completed by Wednesday 6th March. Kudos together with potentially a sneaky prize for the club which gets the biggest percentage of juniors completing the form!
The weather was kind to all those clubs who joined Forth Valley Orienteers (FVO) at Birnam Hill near Dunkeld for the 2024 Compass Sport Cup/ Trophy qualifying competition.
The sun is beginning to find its warmth and those who ventured to the far start up the edge of the mountain bike trails were rewarded (if they remembered to look) by some glorious views out across the Tay valley.
A view from near the summit Photo credit: Colin MathesonRead More…
Over the past 8 weeks, with a break over Christmas, Scottish Orienteering development team with the support of local volunteers have been running a series of events called Orienteering Edinburgh at Festival Square. Orienteering Edinburgh is aimed at newcomers and uses MapRun over SI Punching for simplicity and accessibility benefits. Events have taken place at the same time and place each week. As of February 15th, the event moved to the Meadows with the aim of attracting a new audience and providing a new challenge for our regular participants.
Recently, in the last couple of weeks, we have seen our participation numbers begin to grow. Those who have attended since the start have begun to join clubs, enter local events and encourage their friends along.
The last Scottish Orienteering Strategy document prepared covered the period 2020- 2024 and therefore the Scottish Orienteering Association Board are now spending the next month or two looking to gather your thoughts to allow the development of an SOA Strategy for 2025-2029. This is an important part of securing SportScotland funding for the next four years.
As with the development of any Strategy the SOA Board will be looking to appraise needs of the sport and how you as a community would like to see it develop. These views will then be considered and the Strategy will be presented to SportScotland and to members at the Club Conference to be held in the autumn.
Edinburgh University’s Big Weekend saw the start of this year’s Scottish Inter Club Championships at the first Scottish Orienteering Urban League (SOUL) event of 2024 in Bughtlin.
