Recruiting and retaining young adults through support from the SOA Development Fund
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. Specifically at this point we asked clubs to come to us with projects that focus on the recruitment and development of young adults aged 18-40 year olds, supporting and developing young adults to contribute to all aspects of the sport and supporting the opportunities for lifelong learning
Congratulations to the clubs that have received awards: BASOC, CLYDE, ESOC, MOR and the West Area. These clubs all provided project proposals that satisfy the above conditions and have committed themselves to helping develop our sport.
BASOC are looking to streamline their event delivery to be more agile in providing CATIs and taster activities for different local groups. By having the necessary equipment, it will allow them to take orienteering to people, as opposed to relying on them having to come to the club. Example targets are running clubs, highland games, market events and parkrun, with a look to also providing activities for local schools and youth groups such as scouts, brownies and cadets. They aim to increase awareness of their club as well as the sport in their local area, with the end goal of attracting new members thus growing the sport and sustaining the club. These activities will primarily be aimed at those in the young adult category, and especially those that are already engaged in outdoor activities.
CLYDE want to produce a map of the Bar Hill area to enable the club to host events there. The newly opened Twechar Outdoor Pursuits Centre (whose volunteers recently attended an SOA IntrO course) will also be able to use the area for orienteering activities, allowing them to progress beyond their grassy field. This should enable a strong relationship between Twechar OPC and CLYDE, allowing use of the centre for events as well as support for volunteers at the centre in organising orienteering activities.
ESOC are looking to provide regular club nights for adults and TD4+ juniors, as well as providing TD1-3 sessions at local events for those looking to improve beyond beginner level. They are planning to work together with other local orienteering clubs to achieve well attended sessions and increase the pool of coaches who are able to lead these sessions. In order to ensure they have enough coaching capacity, the club has asked all their qualified coaches to commit to 2 sessions a year and will support other members to gain these qualifications by providing them with access to first aid training, child protection and coaching courses.
MOR have an exciting opportunity to work with local charity Outfit Moray to reach a wider audience of young adults and families. Their primary objective is to increase participation in orienteering. Outfit Moray’s aim is to make a difference to the lives of others, by actively developing the potential of young people, their families and communities, through accessible, affordable outdoor learning and adventure: encouraging life skills and improving physical and mental health. MOR will work with Outfit Moray by providing an orienteering activity as part of the Bay to Bay fundraising event in summer 2026, which is expected to attract about 100 people of all ages. Outfit Moray instructors will also be trained in basic orienteering skills through attendance of an SOA IntrO course, which will be led by Suzanne Robins-Bird, to facilitate the inclusion of orienteering in activities delivered by Outfit Moray and hopefully lead to greater participation in future MOR events.
Some photos from ESOC’s recent club training nights.
We wish the best of luck to all these clubs for their current and upcoming projects and look forward to receiving their reports on progress in 6 months time. We hope to offer an opportunity to other clubs to submit funding requests for development funding in January 2026 – so get thinking about what you might want to do! Drop an email to louise@scottish-orienteering.org if you wish to discuss anything.
***West Area have also requested funding to support the recent Junior Inter Area weekend, after costs to the association were higher following new policy stating only adults with a PVG may stay overnight in the hostel, leading to more empty beds than would have originally been expected.