March has been a busy month for the Scottish Orienteering development team. Our March has been busy running taster sessions for educators and teachers to increase awareness of orienteering amongst educators.

The SSOF returns for 2026 – and entries are now open! The details for this year’s Festival are below:

• Date: Thursday 4th June
• Venue: Beecraigs Country Park, Linlithgow
• Entries: NOW OPEN
• Deadline: Thursday 28th May

Growing participation in orienteering depends on how effectively we reach and engage new people. The April online Community Conversation (April Club Conversations sign up) will focus on practical ways through which clubs and SOA can improve marketing and outreach.

What’s SOA up to? Participants from clubs around the country found out by quizzing SOA Chair Jonathan Molloy at the first session in the 2026 Community Conversations series.

There are three weeks to go before Scottish Orienteering hosts the biggest annual orienteering event in the UK and anticipation is building. But there are only three days to go before entries close on Sunday 15^th March. 

The 2026 Scottish Orienteering Individual and Relay Championships are being hosted by the WEST Area clubs – AYROC, CLYDE, ECKO, FVO, SOLWAY, STAG and TINTO – who are combining to deliver these events.

Janice Nesbit, our Scottish Veteran Team Manager, has after many years decided that it is time to step back from the role of Scottish Veteran Team Manager after the 2026 Veteran Home Internationals. We are very grateful for her work over the years representing Scottish Orienteering.

Janice has kindly agreed to mentor and pass over her vast knowledge and experience in the run up to this year’s event taking place in Derbyshire on 19th/20th September. We are therefore looking for a someone to work with Janice over the next few months and then take over after the 2026 VHIs as Scottish Veteran Team Manager.

For many people, joining an orienteering club is the moment when an occasional event participant becomes part of the community. Helping new members feel confident, informed and included at this stage can make a huge difference to long-term retention and increase the likelihood of adoption of the sport

One approach being used by several clubs is newcomer or welcome packs — a collection of information and resources given to new members to help them understand how the club and the sport works and how to get the most from it. These might be physical packs, or a collection of information sent digitally, but the most success comes from personal follow-up.

This article aims to share examples of what clubs are already doing to highlight useful ideas that other clubs may decide to adopt, and also identify areas where support or shared resources from SOA could help. Please get in touch if you have any ideas for resources that we may be able to help with.

Thanks to those clubs that have provided information on their current practices, detailed below.

We are pleased to announce the latest round of funding awards made through the SOA Development Fund. This fund is designed to provide financial support to projects that contribute to the development of the sport and fit within the remit of the SportScotland agreed development objectives for the sport. This time around, we asked clubs to propose projects which support Lifelong Pathways for improvement which is one of our four strategic aims. These Lifelong Pathways within orienteering relate to progression of orienteering skills as well as personal development opportunities for our volunteers. We wanted projects that focused on development of all athletes on either the performance, recreational or volunteer pathways, or continued to focus on the recruitment and retention of young adults aged 18-40.

Congratulations to the clubs and areas that have received awards: GRAMP, INVOC, North Area regional squad and RR.

Scottish Orienteering has been working with Dundee University to introduce third‑year Primary Education students to the benefits of orienteering in schools. Through taster sessions, student teachers are introduced to orienteering and orienteering activities they can do in school. The sessions highlight how easily orienteering can be delivered in schools, dispelling the myth that orienteering is difficult and requires woodlands or specialist equipment. By giving future teachers an orienteering taster, it equips them with ideas they can use during placements and in their future classrooms.