Could the format of Scottish Inter Club Championships be improved?

As many of you will know the Scottish Inter Club Championship has taken many forms over the years from a one day event run along side the Scottish Individual Championships to the current format. The aim of the event is to help clubs foster a feeling of club comradery and contribution towards the success of a club within their membership. We want to improve its impact in 2026 and are looking for your help/ input to do so.

There is of course the Compass Sport Cup/ Trophy event which since 1982 where clubs from around the UK compete with each other through qualification in February events with the final held in September. However with the circulation of the final event around the UK this has meant that some of the locations which qualifying clubs require to travel to can be overwhelming and expensive for any but the most determined. As such this competition for the majority of clubs only provides one opportunity a year for clubs pull together as a team to compete with rivals rather than as individuals in the same club.

When the Scottish Inter Club Championships was held alongside the Scottish Individual Championships it was often unnoticed by all but the trophy winners. As such it was decided to constitute it as an event which took place over the year via points obtained by clubs through a series of events. Initially there were 5/6 events included within the series but this evolved to be one every month and then these events were selected to try and provide a geographic spread of events to allow those who do not travel to have the potential to score points for their club.

We believe that the number of events and their geographic spread allows for every club to be involved, however we are aware that in its current format it still focuses on club members who are successful in their age categories as it is based on a club member placing within their age group at an event. We would like to find a way to make the competition more inclusive/ based on participation so that everyone feel like they are contributing towards their club’s success.

As such we are asking anyone with suggestions as to how this is achieved to let us have their views by Thursday 27th November. Should we change the events selected? Award only a certain number from each age class? Award points by the percentage of membership attending events? Email either Nikki Howard nikki@scottish-orienteering.org or Steve Scott fixtures@scottish-orienteering.org with your thoughts to allow us to consider and allocate events for 2026 before Thursday 27th November.