*****UPDATE*****

Entries are now open for the Scottish Junior Cup race to be held at Auchingarrich, Perthshire, on Sun May 30th 2021. Entries are now available on the Open classes for all SOA members. If there are any places remaining on Saturday 22nd May then these will be made available to any non SOA members.

As part of our commitment to restarting the sport and supporting coaches, we have organised a partially funded First Aid course for coaches. Due to corona virus, the usually 1 day course will take place by blended learning in 3 parts with self-guided online learning, part tutor led online learning (14 June) and then face to face assessment in Nairn (16 June) The qualification obtained will be Emergency First Aid at Work certificate.

Craig a Barns event on Sunday 13th June 2021 will be opening for entries this week. We continue to plan that this event will be classified as Scottish Championships (individual only) however this will be subject to restrictions both nationally and locally by June. The situation is being closely monitored, Scotland must continue to make progress to Level 1 for this event be viable as a Championship event and that no area of Scotland can be under travel restrictions that would prevent competitors participating and ensuring ‘fairness’ of competition.

Regardless of limits on competitor numbers and whether it is the 2021 Scottish Championships or a SOL this Craig a Barns event will still be a run as a major Scottish event within the Scottish Orienteering League (SOL) Rules and Guidlines.  

**CHANGE OF DATE: 14th June 7.30pm**

Our 2nd Community Conversation is taking place on Monday 14th June at 7.30pm on the topic of inclusion. It is a broad topic area and we are excited to put together an expert panel to answer your questions and for us to explore what can be done in our clubs and across the sport to ensure we are upholding our values of ‘Respectful, Welcoming, Inclusive, Dynamic and Rewarding’. Sign up to be part of the conversation here

The SOA Board of Directors took the decision in February that the SOA 2021 AGM would have to be hosted virtually, for the second year. We, therefore can now formally invite all SOA members to join us for the 2021 AGM on 25th June at 7.30pm on Zoom. You can sign up to attend the AGM here where online voting will be in place. Should you be unable to attend you can utilise your proxy vote either online here or if you prefer you can send in a postal vote (detailed below). The AGM booklet below gives details of the proposals to members as well as progress reports from the Directors and Scottish 6Days. We look forward to welcoming you all to the SOA AGM.

Following the First Minister’s statement on 11^th May 2021 it has now been confirmed that mainland Scotland will move to Level 2 on the 17th May (with Moray still under review at the time of publication).  Orienteering events and activities have been permitted since Late March: however, the move to level 2 increases the scale and scope of events and activities permitted as restrictions continue to reduce.  We are pleased to see events at Level 2 are permitted to accommodate 500 participants (day limit). Please take the time to read the guidance published today as progress towards Level 2.

Being in and around nature can be great for our wellbeing, which is why this Mental Health Awareness Week (10^th – 16^th of May) we are encouraging everyone to connect with nature. What better way than to get out and enjoy orienteering? We are in a prime position to support and promote the benefits of connecting with nature and the outdoors as a sport for our own wellbeing and that of our communities.

So connect with nature this week, embrace the benefits on your wellbeing and send us some of your favourite images while orienteering for us to share this week.

After the success of last year’s Club Get Together at Birnam which we just managed to fit in before the first lockdown, we were all agreed that this was an event worth repeating to explore the views of clubs and members over a number of current topics.  Of course, this year we were forced onto Zoom and ran the conference over six evenings, with introductory and wrap-up plenary sessions surrounding four focussed discussions.  These looked at some challenging issues faced by Scottish orienteering and what SOA can do to address them. Thank you to all the members and clubs who contributed to the success of the week’s sessions and also to the informative panel members for sharing their experiences.

Scottish Orienteering has many background initiatives and development projects which are likely invisible to our broad membership. As a development team we have put our energy in to outreach and partnership development, nurturing connections which broaden the interest in orienteering and promote healthy lifestyles. It is a commitment which takes time and ongoing input and impetuous. We are grateful to have a fantastic pool of tutors and wider support network of members who want to be involved and offer their expertise.

David Robertson of ESOC and tutor for the Projekt42 Leith IntrO course shares his experience.  

Star Award CPD Workshop for Coaches – Thu 6th May 2021, 7pm

We have recently revamped the Scottish Orienteering Star Award scheme and would like to see much wider use of it by club coaches as a personal performance award scheme to help motivate young people to develop and progress their orienteering skills. We believe that the award could provide a great mechanism to help lead youngsters from participation in school or youth groups towards their local club.