Following the First Minister’s statement on 11th May 2021 it has now been confirmed that mainland Scotland will move to Level 2 on the 17th May (with Moray still under review at the time of publication). Orienteering events and activities have been permitted since Late March: however, the move to level 2 increases the scale and scope of events and activities permitted as restrictions continue to reduce. We are pleased to see events at Level 2 are permitted to accommodate 500 participants (day limit). Please take the time to read the guidance published today as progress towards Level 2.
Being in and around nature can be great for our wellbeing, which is why this Mental Health Awareness Week (10th – 16th of May) we are encouraging everyone to connect with nature. What better way than to get out and enjoy orienteering? We are in a prime position to support and promote the benefits of connecting with nature and the outdoors as a sport for our own wellbeing and that of our communities.
So connect with nature this week, embrace the benefits on your wellbeing and send us some of your favourite images while orienteering for us to share this week.
After the success of last year’s Club Get Together at Birnam which we just managed to fit in before the first lockdown, we were all agreed that this was an event worth repeating to explore the views of clubs and members over a number of current topics. Of course, this year we were forced onto Zoom and ran the conference over six evenings, with introductory and wrap-up plenary sessions surrounding four focussed discussions. These looked at some challenging issues faced by Scottish orienteering and what SOA can do to address them. Thank you to all the members and clubs who contributed to the success of the week’s sessions and also to the informative panel members for sharing their experiences.
Scottish Orienteering has many background initiatives and development projects which are likely invisible to our broad membership. As a development team we have put our energy in to outreach and partnership development, nurturing connections which broaden the interest in orienteering and promote healthy lifestyles. It is a commitment which takes time and ongoing input and impetuous. We are grateful to have a fantastic pool of tutors and wider support network of members who want to be involved and offer their expertise.
David Robertson of ESOC and tutor for the Projekt42 Leith IntrO course shares his experience.
Star Award CPD Workshop for Coaches – Thu 6th May 2021, 7pm
We have recently revamped the Scottish Orienteering Star Award scheme and would like to see much wider use of it by club coaches as a personal performance award scheme to help motivate young people to develop and progress their orienteering skills. We believe that the award could provide a great mechanism to help lead youngsters from participation in school or youth groups towards their local club.
Please contact Sarah with any expressions of interest or to discuss ideas by 30th June at the latest sarah@scottish-orienteering.org
Funding available to support club development, restart of activities and paid coaching opportunity
In anticipation of widening opportunities to organise and participate in orienteering once again, we would like to invite clubs to apply for funding that will help support them with this. Two funding streams are now open for applications as follows
Restart Development Fund
Restart Coaching Support Fund 2021
The deadline for applications to both funds is 30th June 2021.
‘Do you ever find yourself scanning through the websites of neighbouring clubs?’, a question asked by one of the panelists during our recent club conference.
We are truly delighted to be able to publish Level 3 guidance for orienteering events and activities which sees travel restrictions on mainland Scotland removed and the resumption of local and regional events up to 200 people as of April 26th. Go forth and orienteer!
We are continuing dialogue with sportscotland and will publish guidance on event sizes permitted at Level 2,1 and 0 once we have further details.
As part of our support to restart the sport, the SOA Board of Directors last week approved that those joining or renewing their SOA membership as of the 1st May will do so at half price. We hope this will provide some incentive for new families and individuals to join, especially those that have recently started orienteering or those who have sampled it through MapRun activities. The price of adult membership will be £5 and Juniors £1 from 1st May (their membership will run until 31st December 2021). Sign up is easy online here
As part of restarting our sport the SOA Board of Directors felt it imperative that as we emerge from lockdown we also consider our key values as part of our Mapping The Way Forward strategy including Respectful, Welcoming and Inclusive. As we look forward to resuming events and club activities it also crucial for us to ensure volunteers and participants all have a positive experience. We collectively, and as individuals must recognise that we create the culture within the sport. Today we re-launch our SOA Code of Conduct, we hope clubs will share this with their members and event participants. Thank you to Tim O’Donoghue who has worked to help us re-work this document.
