ScotJOS held a sprint themed camp in a sunny Dundee to coincide with Sprint Scotland.

On Friday we shared the updated SOA covid guidance to Club Chairs, Secretaries and Club Covid Officers to reflect the changes in Scottish Government Strategic Framework for Covid-19 which took effect on 21st March. Today we can publish the guidance available here. Our Safety Director, Tim O’Donoghue has also made changes to the risk assessment protocols required for club events and activities, we are pleased to inform you that covid measures are now embedded in the British Orienteering risk assessment template and available here for download.

The 2022 Scottish Sprint Championships were held in Dundee on Sunday, as part of the Sprint Scotland orienteering festival. The races acted as the first international trial for the GB senior national team, and newly-appointed BOF Performance Director Bernie Dietzeig was in town to watch a star-studded field of athletes race on a hilly course at Balgray.

There was a good division of the spoils at the end of the day, with no fewer than 11 clubs having an athlete on the champions podium. Results from all three races at Sprint Scotland can be found here (Scottish Sprint Champs is race 3), and a full list of champions is here

The races also counted for points in the 2022 Scottish Inter-Clubs Championship, and league tables after 13 events are here. There’s no change at the top of the Large Clubs division, although FVO made ground on ESOC’s lead. The Small Clubs division continues to be intriguing, as ELO retook the lead from RR after day 1, only for RR to snatch it back following the championship event.

The next SICC event will be a regional race organised by INVOC on Sunday at Creag Leach and Craig Dunain, although this clashes with the British Championships in England, so many of the top athletes may be occupied elsewhere.

We are notifying all members of our intended Annual General Meeting date of Saturday 28th May 2022 to be held after the Scottish Championship (individual) event in Deeside, we intend on hosting our first ‘in-person’ AGM for 3years and hope members will engage with us on the 28th May. There will be a proxy vote option for those unable to attend. We will confirm location of the AGM in due course. We are in the process of putting together the AGM handbook to outline proposals and matter of business however we welcome any proposals from clubs/members that you wish raised at the AGM please contact Fiona@scottish-orienteering.org to outline any proposals or matters of business for consideration.

We are seeking election of some SOA Board members and request anyone interested in any of the positions to contact Fiona@scottish-orienteering.org or speak to a member of the current Board. All role descriptions can be provided on request. We have received a number of nominations which will be outlined in full in the handbook.

Chair – currently one nomination

Operations Director

Performance Director – currently one nomination

Communications Director – currently one nomination

Secretary – currently one nomination

The Scottish qualification round of the 2022 Compass Sport Cup and Trophy brought more than 400 competitors to Callander Crags for a memorable race in tough underfoot conditions.

FVO brought out a new map of the area, but heavy rain in the hours leading up to the race meant that the steep slopes below the crags, which demarcate the Scottish Midlands from the Highlands, were quite slippery in places.

FVO won the Compass Sport Cup round by 76 points from ESOC, although as FVO is also hosting the final, and has a reserved place, both clubs progress. The Compass Sport Trophy round was the most competitive of any of the eight national qualifiers, with no fewer than 15 clubs chasing one of the three final berths. Three-time winners Interlopers booked their final place by winning the competition, including overall victories on both Open courses, and they are joined in the final by MAROC and Moravian, who were separated by only four points at the end of the day.

Results including WinSplits and Routegadget can be found on the FVO website

The event also counted for points in the 2022 Scottish Inter-Club Championship, and ESOC continues to lead the way in the Large Clubs division from FVO, who closed up slightly on their lead. INT now has more than 100,,000 points logged and remains 3rd.

The overall lead in the Small Clubs division has changed hands once again, as RR got in front of ELO to establish a narrow 400 point advantage. The Junior competition for small clubs is still led by ELO, with TAY moving into second position. Almost all of the clubs are now in play in the Junior Inter-Clubs, with only the student teams and TINTO yet to get off the mark.

Updated SICC tables after 11 events are here

TAY are looking for a self employed coach to support them develop a coaching programme. Checkout their website for more details. Closing date this Friday:
https://www.taysideorienteers.org.uk/paid-pat-time-coaching-position-available

Interlopers hosted a successful East Area Junior Training session, on a gloriously sunny Saturday afternoon at Craigmillar Castle Park in Edinburgh. The training was the first of a planned series of opportunities for juniors in the east of Scotland to get together to learn and practice new skills, and have an opportunity to meet and socialise with youngsters from different clubs.

The 2022 Scottish Inter-Club Championship continues to gain momentum, with a double header of fixures on both sides of the country at the weekend.

CLYDE hosted the second race in the Scottish Urban League at Dumbarton, and ESOC continued their busy start to 2022 with a SoSOL event at Derghorn in the Pentland Hills.

Battle is well and truly joined in the Small Clubs division; RR fought their way to the top of the table following the SOUL races, only for ELO to stage a counter-attack to regain the lead after the Dreghorn event. STAG and TAY also picked up valuable points across the two events, while KFO remains in contention, despite being short-handed.

ESOC’s lead in the Large Clubs division is now more than 27,000 points, and they have the top five points scorers in the entire league, and seven of the top ten. However, the early season fixtures have gone very much in their favour, with six of the nine rounds in the Lothian area, three of them hosted by ESOC themselves. FVO remains in second place, and CLYDE made major ground to get back within touching distance of MAROC in mid-table.

FVO and ELO continue to lead the Junior Inter-Clubs, while ESOC has established a 2nd team in the Large Clubs competition.

The events come thick and fast, and the next SICC rounds will be an FVO double header this weekend, with the Scottish qualification round of the Compass Sport Cup and Trophy at Callander on Saturday, followed by a Middle distance regional race at Falkirk Wheel on Sunday

League tables after nine events can be found on this link

Results have been compiled and we can publish the trophy and medal winners from the Scottish Night Championships. Congratulations to all the medal winners and to those taking home the coveted titles of Scottish Night Champions!

The review of the Performance Pathway for 16-18 year olds resulted in the creation of 3 Super-Regional squads – North, South and Scotland. Last week the 3 squads met together for the 1^st time for a training camp in the Lakes.