The June session in the SOA’s monthly online Community Conversations series focused on supporting inclusion and wellbeing. The session was introduced by Ken McDonald, the SOA’s Equality, Welfare and Diversity Director, followed by open discussion around aspects of inclusion that clubs and SOA might now focus on.
Ken set the scene by outlining what we mean by inclusion and what Scottish Orienteering wants to achieve. Key to this is developing an understanding of the barriers different people may face and proactively addressing these to maximise access, increase participation across the board, and drive wider benefits around the sustainability of our sport and positive experiences for everyone. Inclusivity is part of the bedrock of the Sport for Life strategy of sportscotland (our major funder), to support a more active Scotland and public health goals as well as Scottish sporting performance.
The 6th event of the 2025 Scottish Inter Club Championships saw Inverness Orienteering Club (INVOC) host a regional event in the delights of the Carse of Ardersier on 29th June. This left it open to the northern clubs to gain points to allow them to make a move on those clubs slightly further south.
Scotland’s junior orienteers turned out in force for the annual Jamie Stevenson Trophy, held this year on Sunday 15th June at Hill of Alyth. With stunning views, great weather, and a fantastic buzz at the assembly, the event celebrated both competition and community — and inspired many new memories for the juniors involved.
The Jamie Stevenson Trophy is a much-loved date in the junior calendar — a chance to represent your club, build team spirit, and enjoy a full day out with friends from across the country. This year, Forth Valley Orienteers (FVO) retained the coveted trophy for the 4th year in a row, holding off a strong challenge from INVOC who were just 4 points behind. Moravian completed the podium.
Strong governance is the essential foundation of the success and sustainability of Scottish Orienteering and so our sport. It’s vital that we now ensure effective succession for Board membership. Two particularly important roles will become vacant at the end of this summer: the SOA Board Chair, and the Scottish Six Days (S6D) Board Chair. In addition there are other Director roles to fill.
Could YOU step forward to join the team taking our sport forward? We are seeking people with real drive and ambition for Scottish Orienteering to ensure future generations continue to enjoy our fantastic sport.
Yearly, at the Interareas weekend SOA gets the opportunity to ask most of the juniors in Scotland for feedback on how we can improve orienteering for juniors. Again, last year at Inverness Youth Hostel we asked juniors for feedback. Responses to this feedback session included: more socials, more area coaching and a junior hangout area at events.
Sunday 15th June saw Scottish juniors for over 10 clubs travel the Hill of Alyth to compete for the Jamie Stevenson Trophy. An event aimed at encouraging participation from juniors of all Scottish Clubs.
It was a day of friendly rivalry with the sun shining after a few days of dreich weather. Face paint was applied and club tshirts were worn proudly.
To start the juniors in time honoured tradition paraded their flags around before a mass warm up which this year saw them all opening the gates, feeding the chickens and giraffes before kicking the badgers out of the farmyard?!?
On our final post of Volunteer Week 2025, it would not be right to finish without saying a huge thank you to those who give up their time to act as Directors of the Scottish Orienteering Association and the Scottish 6 Days. Without their efforts we simply would not be able to function the way we do!
Scottish Orienteering Association Board Meeting April 2025Read More…
Looking back to our fabulous volunteers we had to mention all those involved in staging the 2024 Sprint World Championships (WOC) in Edinburgh last summer. Thousands of hours of volunteering made the vent not only a huge success but also possible! Thank you to everyone involved but special mention to a few – Lindsey Knox (Roxburgh Reivers) who organised the successful WOC Tour event, Lorna Eades (Interlopers) for all her organisational skills in making sure the broadcast/ media was possible and worked at WOC, Jonathon and Rona Molloy (Forth Valley Orienteers) for running the WOC Office and managing the athlete experience and Mark Stodgell (Quantock Orienteers/ Walton Chasers) for his work as IT Director.
The 2025 Scottish Schools Orienteering Festival brought together over 350 pupils from across the country for a day of activity, adventure, and fun. This year, we invited schools to share their own reflections on the event — from training and preparation to the experience on the day itself. Read on to hear from two schools who took part.
In recent years, orienteering clubs across Scotland have been exploring creative ways to raise awareness of the sport, attract new members, and connect with wider communities. One initiative that’s gaining some traction is the parkrun takeover — where orienteering clubs volunteer to fill key roles at a local parkrun event and host an orienteering taster activity alongside the classic 5k run.
These takeovers offer a unique opportunity to introduce orienteering to an audience that already shares a love for running and the outdoors. By engaging directly with local runners in a friendly, accessible environment, clubs can demystify orienteering and highlight how well it complements existing fitness and adventure interests.
