Category: News

The new Score summer issue is here!

Club COVID Officer and COVID supporting team online Information Session Friday 4 Sept 7:30-8:30

Newly appointed COVID officer and support team?

Please join to review role(s) and the updated guidance. Bring your Q’s and let’s discuss. Hosted Denise M and Tim O’D

Sign up here by Thursday 3 Sept https://forms.gle/3kvfL5qBvVyTyecL6

We welcome the First Minister’s statement on 20th August with significant steps forward and dates provided for the wider sport sector. We stand in solidarity with the indoor sports who have yet to return but at least now have a date to plan towards the reopening of facilities.

There will be some changes to be made to the SOA Guidelines. We had a positive discussion with sportscotland today around the relaxing of some event restrictions and will seek approval for amendments to be published early next week.

As part of SOAs response to the Covid-19 situation the staff development team has been exploring new ways of supporting training through delivery of online courses. Over a block of 4 weekly sessions in July and August we were able to deliver our first online Introducing Orienteering course to 18 Leisure and Learning staff from Aberdeenshire Council.

ScotJOS, the Scottish Junior Orienteering Squad, enjoyed their 1st post Lockdown training session on Sunday at Kinnoull Hill.

We welcome you to join us for our online EGM on 25th September at 7.30pm following the deferment of our business at our AGM earlier this year. We have now published our EGM booklet including the proposals for your consideration.

The following document gives guidance to Event Officials and clubs by showing them useful pathways to growing our advanced officials of the future.  We all know how difficult it can be to find an Organiser, Planner or Controller for an event and this just gets harder the bigger the event.  This new document was created to make it as simple as possible, to encourage as much as possible and to support the membership and clubs in general in producing and encouraging orienteers to get involved as volunteers; our most valuable resource and something that we cannot run our sport without!

Want to hear how the first few events have gone? Sign up to our follow up events Q&A session on Tuesday 11th August at 7.30pm. Thanks to GRAMP & FVO who have agreed to share their learning and allow for questions. Sign up here for the Zoom session

Following the First Minister’s announcement on 30th July the SOA has made some amendments to Phase 3 Guidelines on the Reactivation of Orienteering Activities. The changes relate to those who have been shielding and also further advice on coaching.

On 30th July the SOA joined with 34 other Sports Governing Bodies in writing a letter to the First Minister to ask for further support for the sport and leisure sector. We signed the letter as a show of solidarity with other sports, while we are able to get out in the forests and our favourite local terrains, many sports remain ‘in lockdown’ due to closed indoor facilities or the nature of their sport. We stand together as we seek a safe and secure future for sport in Scotland.