October activities at Cuningar Loop, Glasgow

As part of the ‘Increasing Participation’ project overseen by Clyde Gateway at Cuningar Loop Woodland Park in Glasgow, SOA held another set of 3 sessions in the October school holidays that targeted families looking for a fun, free activity for their kids. SOA are involved at the request of Clyde Gateway and SportScotland. SOA was one of four sport governing bodies asked to help Clyde Gateway in their project to increase local engagement with sport and wellbeing. SOA have tried to ensure that any activity undertaken links to the local clubs and we have been grateful over the years for the assistance of STAG (St Andrew’s Orienteering Club Glasgow) volunteers and for the use of the club map, without which these activities would not be possible.

Activity Overview

The sessions were structured to introduce participants to the fundamentals of orienteering. Initially, participants were familiarised with an orienteering map, followed by a guided map walk that explained map symbols and colours in relation to the environment. A practical exercise using a cone grid allowed participants to navigate a simple orienteering course whilst practising setting the map. The activities progressed in complexity and distance, catering to a wide age range.

Participation

In total, we had over 30 participants signed up across the 3 days of activity. The vast majority of these told us they had never orienteered before. The location also meant that there were plenty of passersby coming over to speak to us and having a go at some of the exercises available. All of the participants said they had fun and enjoyed the challenge. The range of ages was from 4 to 16 and all went away with a flyer containing further information about the local clubs, STAG and CLYDE, and also information about the availability of Permanent or Virtual Orienteering Courses in the local area.

There was plenty of appetite for engaging in further orienteering opportunities and a large amount of interest in a permanent or virtual course being their next step.