December Community Conversation Summary: Charting a Safer Course for Orienteering

Last night, we held our December Community Conversation focused on safety within our sport. The meeting was led by the Scottish Orienteering Association Safety Director, Tim O’Donoghue, who shared updates regarding how safety is managed at the British Orienteering Federation (BOF) level and learnings which could be taken from incidents reported.

A New National Focus on Safety

Tim explained that the British Orienteering Federation (BOF) has made a major change in its approach to safety, establishing a dedicated Safety Advisory Group. Importantly, they have actively sought representation from all home countries—a welcome step toward improving reporting and hopefully increased reflection and learning from incidents.

We are delighted to announce that Tim O’Donoghue has accepted the position on behalf of the SOA, ensuring the Scottish voice is at the heart of national safety discussions.

Shifting the Focus: From Claims to Learning

A core part of the new strategy, which Tim is particularly keen to champion, is the overhaul of the national reporting system.

“Previously, the main purpose of reporting was geared towards potential claims for insurance,” Tim noted. “The opportunity to take the learnings was not integrated as part of the process.”

The new, updated reporting system is moving towards removing this barrier. It encourages the reporting of all injuries, incidents, and complaints, regardless of severity. The philosophy is simple: every report holds a potential learning opportunity that can make our sport safer and the next step will be routine sharing of key learnings arising from reports.

● The SOA will be re-sharing the reporting logs and providing clear guidance to all clubs on how to report anything via the new system.
● The SOA aim to work with BOF and have been assured that learnings will be shared with the home nations.
● We urge everyone—planners, controllers, event officials, and competitors—to use this system actively.

Learnings from Scottish 6 Days and Course Planning

The conversation also delved into specific findings, including trends observed at the Scottish 6 Days:

● Overall Injury Risk: The approximate chance of serious injury is 1 in 2000 runs. Most injuries are minor and these occur more frequently.
● Highest Risk Group: Interestingly, the M21 age group was identified as having a higher risk of risk of serious injury at the 2025 S6D relative to other age groups.
● Planning Concerns: It was highlighted that at events below the Scottish 6 Day level, some courses are not always appropriately planned for older age groups. For example, in 2024 some older competitors sustained significant injuries arising from falls on steep slopes. This points to a need for controllers and planners to consider whether slopes on likely route choices for older competitors are appropriate or too steep.

Urban Event Safety

Urban events present their own unique safety challenges:
● Specific Hazards: Concerns were raised about potential issues arising from narrow
routes/ route choice for those retracing their steps and blind corners.
● Mitigation: The importance of using marshals/cones and, crucially, constantly
reminding competitors that safety is their personal responsibility was reiterated.

BOF and SOA Reporting Forms

BOF reporting form can be found on the BOF website in the resources section for planners
and organisers or using the following link BOF incident reporting form

SOA reporting form can be found on the SOA website in the resources section under the
Club Toolkit SOA incident reporting form

Next Steps: Sharing the Knowledge

Tim O’Donoghue stressed the necessity of a dedicated feedback mechanism to ensure these learnings lead to practical improvements. Potential methods discussed include:
● CPD Sessions: Implementing targeted Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions specifically for planners and controllers, focusing on planning for older competitors and for Orange level competitors.
● Quarterly Safety Report: Introducing a regular quarterly safety report in the SOA newsletters. This will supplement articles in CompassSport for those who may not receive the magazine, ensuring wider dissemination of key safety information and trends.
● Removal of SOA reporting form: Once sharing protocols are established with BOF the SOA reporting form will be removed.

The SOA is committed to fostering a culture of continuous learning and safety improvement. We thank Tim O’Donoghue for leading this vital discussion and encourage all members to engage with the new reporting system.