As an organisation we take our safeguarding obligations seriously. We believe that everyone should stay safe and have fun while orienteering! Safeguarding is not just about children but applies to everyone within the SOA.

Over the weekend a full team of 24 juniors and 4 coaches travelled to East Anglia for the Junior Inter Regional Championships (JIRCs). This annual event sees teams of juniors from all twelve British Orienteering Regions compete in individual races and relays whilst having the opportunity to socialise and build friendships with other junior orienteers from all over the United Kingdom.

In very uncharacteristic weather for the Scots with clear blue skies and temperatures in the 20s, the Scottish team were victorious in the individuals, relays and overall – returning with lots of silverware. Read on to find out more about their weekend.

It was announced by Jonathan Molloy at the SOA 2026 Annual General Meeting that the Service to Orienteering Award was being awarded to Janice Nisbet of Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Association (ESOC). The Service to Orienteering Award was previously known as the President’s Award but following the re-organisation of the SOA Board and there being no current President, it has been renamed as the Service to Orienteering Award.

The 2026 Veteran Home Internationals took place down in the Peak District last weekend (19th/20th September) and saw Scotland finishing in third position despite being a very close run thing overnight after the individuals. The date of the VHIs was brought forward to the end of September this year from its normal late October position. This meant that it clashed with Coast and Islands, children starting university and the London City Race among other things.

Our September Community Conversation had a theme of using Permanent Orienteering Courses (‘POCs’) to encourage and widen participation, and saw good cross-club discussion with members on experience and ideas.   POCs have loads of potential as means of offering easy taster courses, quick-to-set-up training courses for club sessions), and self-serve ways for individuals to practice skills and progress.  What can help clubs make best use of them to support orienteering development work?

Thank you to all of those who took time out of their Monday evening to attend the SOA Annual General Meeting. A small group but essential for our governance joined the Board to hear our chair Jonathan Molloy summarise the SOA actions in the last year and have the opportunity to raise queries about the reports contained in the AGM Booklet.

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. It was also the finale of the World Masters Series. Over 300 competitors from 29 nations enjoyed the September sun in Moray. Thank you so very much for all your kind and immensely enthusiastic comments about the races and your wonderful smiles.

Last weekend Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club (ESOC) hosted the 4th Scottish Orienteering League (SOL) event of 2026 at Cademuir. Cademuir has been described by all involved in this event as a beautiful but quite awkward area to plan on. Along the high ridge of the area the short grass, intricate contours and rock detail provide excellent running whereas the slopes on either side of the ridge become very steep and less enjoyable. Thankfully our planner, Peter O’Hara, endured the wind and weather the day before the event on the exposed area to put out the controls and also managed to plan it so that everyone got to enjoy the intricate contours in the sunshine allowing everyone to take advantage of the fast conditions! The views were worth the climb for those who stopped to soak them and the sunshine in.

We’ve reviewed the webpages which detail the courses and learning opportunities for all volunteers – check out the new look here. However, we also want to reassess the courses we offer to ensure they meet your needs and are delivered in a format which suits you.

Read on to find out more about how you can help …

Scottish Orienteering, with the support of Sport Scotland Summer of Sport funding have been running an initiative to attract families into orienteering, with taster coaching sessions followed by local events.