The SOA’s Chief Operating Officer, Fiona Keir, has announced that she will be leaving us at the end of January. Fiona has been with us since 2018, and has been a key figure in steering the organisation as we have transitioned to a full Scottish Government Body. We will be recruiting a replacement for Fiona. To find out more about the COO vacancy, and details of how you can apply, please click here

We are delighted that Edinburgh University Orienteering Club (EUOC) has offered to trial competitive pairs at the Big Weekend in Edinburgh at the end of January.  

Why Competitive Pairs?

Have you ever competed in a Mountain Marathon? If you have, you will know that this is often done in competitive pairs. This event style has a strong following, proving popular with young adults and runners who are new to navigation. It often ends up with a strong navigator running alongside someone who is a strong runner but less confident in their navigational skills. Running in a pair is great fun and has the potential to widen access to orienteering. Could we retain and engage more people in orienteering by introducing a pairs category at orienteering events?

Should our club be a registered charity? What does CASC mean? Is SCIO the same as charity status? What implications are there if we are an unincoporated organisation as a club?

These may be questions which have arisen in your club. We are delighted to be partnering with Club Development Scotland to bring you an online information session to better understand and take forward discussions within your club committees about which legal structure may be best for you. This session will take place on line on Tuesday 17th January starting at 6.30pm. You can sign up here for free

Recently, six young people joined us for a day of training at Stirling University. They will soon be accredited Coaching Assistants – ready, able and willing to support their clubs and local squads.

Well winter has arrived, and caused the last event of the 2022 Inter-Club Championships to be cancelled, but it did not stop our volunteer, Steve Scott, preparing the final Inter- Club Championship tables of 2022. See all the details in  2022 Scottish Inter Club Championship Table 

Our volunteers, Paul Hammond and Paul Caban, have been working hard collating all the results from this year’s SOL and SOUL events. We are very grateful for all their hard work and that of all the volunteers and clubs who made the events of 2022 happen.

Read on to find out how you and your club members have got on in 2022…

The fixtures calendar for next year has been finalised and we are very grateful to all of those clubs who have volunteered to host the key dates in the SOA calendar in 2023.

After the change to the Scottish Inter-Club Championship this year and before we formalise any dates for next years competition, we are looking for any feedback on the format of the event this year/ how it could be improved.  Please email fixtures@scottish-orienteering.org or nikki@scottish-orienteering.org with any comments before 31st December 2022.

Here are the dates for next year, to avoid disappointment, get them in your diary now!

As we enter the season of giving, we would like to remind new and present members that we can claim back Gift Aid against your SOA membership fee. It couldn’t be simpler to ensure your membership fee goes that little bit further please complete this gift aid declaration here

A mapping fund was set up following the 6-Day event in 2013 with the aim being to assist clubs with
mapping expenses, particularly those clubs who do not benefit from new or updated maps prepared
for a 6-Day event. There is currently just under £2,000 left in the mapping fund and the SOA would
like to invite clubs, in particular those who would satisfy the criterion noted above, to put forward
mapping proposals for consideration.

Applications should be sent to Nikki Howard at the SOA (nikki@scottish-orienteering.org) with full
details including the area(s) to be mapped, the estimated cost and the proposed timescale.

We are delighted to announce that Scottish Orienteering and British Orienteering have appointed Baroudeur Consultancy to lead on the ‘Making The Most of WOC 2024’ project. The initial project phase is 6 months to allow for scoping and consultation to identify opportunities and also create a delivery plan towards July 2024 and beyond. Some of the SOA staff and Board met with Baroudeur in Edinburgh earlier this week to identify key stakeholders and agree on the time lines of the project.

More details on the project brief are available here