One of the main skills we use when orienteering is planning. To allow you to plan for the year ahead and develop your skills we have drawn together a list of the current coaching and volunteer training opportunities for the year ahead. To avoid disappointment, get them in your diary now!
Sign up forms can be found on the SOA Website and will be advertised in due course or contact suzanne@scottish-orienteering.org for more details.
Our article “SOA Annual Training Programme” details the annual cycle for our training programme but if there are any courses you would like to see or want to know more contact our Coaching and Volunteer Officer, Suzanne Robins-Bird. It helps us to plan and provide the courses you want if you sign up in plenty of time and communicate your needs to us.
A vital part of SOA’s function is bringing people together across the Scottish orienteering community, and one means of doing this through a series of monthly online evening sessions open to all members. We’re pleased to be running another programme of these in 2025. You can sign up now for the first session, to be held on Monday 6 January, with a focus on communications and marketing.
The Community Conversations programme has been developed to provide opportunities across the year for orienteers to share experiences and ideas around different themes of interest to us all. As well as supporting valuable networking and discussion, these sessions are also a valuable means for SOA to hear views and ideas from across the membership on a regular basis, to help steer its delivery work and onwards development.
With the 2025 calendar having been pulled together slightly later than anticipated due to the World Orienteering Championships having taken all of the focus earlier in the year, controllers are now requested to have a look at the opportunities available. A spreadsheet of opportunities has been prepared which allows controllers to see what organising and planning opportunities may be available in order to keep up their experience.
The spreadsheet is located on SOA website in Resources/ Event officials and rules/Event controllers/Controlling Opportunities
Following feedback on the need for SI training Robin Strain has also offered to answer queries from controllers at an online meeting on the evening of 2nd November. David Rosen has provided advice on the subject on the BOF website Sport Ident Advice for Event Advisers and Controllers. Any queries to be discussed in the meeting should be forwarded to nikki@scottish-orienteering.org before 21st October to allow Robin time to consider the queries.
The Scottish 6 Days is coming to Deeside in 2025..Make sure that you have the dates of the Scottish 6 Days in 2025 in your diary – 27th July to 1st August 2025.
This is a great opportunity to be involved in the planning, controlling or organising the event and build on your experience. There have been difficulties in securing access due to landowner and wildlife restrictions. Now that access has been secured it is vital that we get people into key roles as soon as possible.
The Scottish 6 Days is an incredibly important event in terms of funding and reputation for Scottish Orienteering. This event we have employed an Event Co-ordinator, Nic Crossley, who has an events background but we really need the support of the orienteering community to support her as she delivers the event. There are three types of roles that we need to fill as soon as possible – club day officials, controllers and position on the central organising team . The current allocation of days, areas and clubs is proposed as follows
Clubs have been asked to put forward names of those who would be interested in being involved. You may have been asked already but if you wish to be involved in a planning or organising or assistant controller role, please make sure that you have told your club of your interest as soon as possible. The assistant controller is normally recruited by one of the organising clubs for the day.
If you are interested in being a lead controlling, please remember that controllers can not come from one of the organising cubs on that date. Please let Nikki Howard know if you are interested in controlling nikki@scottish-orienteering.org.
As in some previous years the Central Organising Team will be made up of orienteers from across Scotland. There are a number of roles which remain to be filled including There is also a need for volunteers to act as Day Co-ordinator, Treasurer, Trader Co-ordinator, Event Centre Manager, Merchandising, Information, String course Co-ordinator, Equipment Co-ordinator and Social Co-ordinator. Please let Richard Oxlade know if you are interested or want further information president@scottish-orienteering.org
Responses would be appreciated as soon as possible.
