Tag: 2026

Kirsten Strain of Auld Reekie Orienteering Club and Vicky Thornton of Forth Valley Orienteering Club have been appointed as joint managers of the Veteran Home International (VHI) team, following the retiral of Janice Nesbit.

Jason Inman of Forth Valley Orienteering has been appointed as the Scottish Orienteering Squad (ScotJOS) Team Manager following the retirement of Judy Bell.

After 6 years in post as Scottish Junior Orienteering Squad (ScotJOS) manager, Judy Bell decided it was time to step down and last Saturday’s Junior Home International was her final event in post. The Scottish juniors and their parents were keen to show their appreciation for Judy’s efforts and so keen were they that they organised not one but two celebrations!

Last weekend saw Juniors from the Home Nations teams of England, Ireland, Wales and of course Scotland travel to the edge of the Trossachs for the Junior Home Internationals (JHIs). The event used the 5th event of the 2026 Scottish Orienteering League (SOL) calendar at Edinchip (Lochearnhead) for the individuals and a relay event at Lochan Spling near Aberfoyle for the relays. Forth Valley Orienteers (FVO) were hosting both the SOL and provided an opportunity to test themselves against the finest juniors by running the first leg of the relays with a mass start.

Back in June, Scottish Orienteering was excited to announce the brand‑new Junior Volunteer Awards Scheme. A scheme created to recognise and encourage juniors who are taking their first steps into volunteering. Juniors can be nominated for volunteering in four different categories; planning, organising coaching and IT/results/timing. These awards are not about being the best at a role — they are about having a go and learning! The winners of each category will be announced at the Junior interareas at the end of October. 

This scheme was first introduced as a points system whereby juniors could earn points each time they volunteered. The decision has been made to scrap this to avoid over-complicating it. Juniors can be nominated for one or more categories. To nominate a junior we just need their name and it would be helpful if you could provide a note of the volunteer tasks they have undertaken in the past year. Nominations can be made by; the junior, a coach, committee member, area squad official, club fixture secretary. 

We have had some fantastic trophies made up for the award and we hope presenting them at the interareas will encourage more juniors to try volunteering. 

Please contact heidi@scottish-orienteering.org to nominate a junior for one of these awards. Please have your nominations in by Sunday 25th October.

It was announced by Jonathan Molloy at the SOA 2026 Annual General Meeting that the Service to Orienteering Award was being awarded to Janice Nisbet of Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Association (ESOC). The Service to Orienteering Award was previously known as the President’s Award but following the re-organisation of the SOA Board and there being no current President, it has been renamed as the Service to Orienteering Award.

The 2026 Veteran Home Internationals took place down in the Peak District last weekend (19th/20th September) and saw Scotland finishing in third position despite being a very close run thing overnight after the individuals. The date of the VHIs was brought forward to the end of September this year from its normal late October position. This meant that it clashed with Coast and Islands, children starting university and the London City Race among other things.

Thank you to all of those who took time out of their Monday evening to attend the SOA Annual General Meeting. A small group but essential for our governance joined the Board to hear our chair Jonathan Molloy summarise the SOA actions in the last year and have the opportunity to raise queries about the reports contained in the AGM Booklet.

Last weekend Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club (ESOC) hosted the 4th Scottish Orienteering League (SOL) event of 2026 at Cademuir. Cademuir has been described by all involved in this event as a beautiful but quite awkward area to plan on. Along the high ridge of the area the short grass, intricate contours and rock detail provide excellent running whereas the slopes on either side of the ridge become very steep and less enjoyable. Thankfully our planner, Peter O’Hara, endured the wind and weather the day before the event on the exposed area to put out the controls and also managed to plan it so that everyone got to enjoy the intricate contours in the sunshine allowing everyone to take advantage of the fast conditions! The views were worth the climb for those who stopped to soak them and the sunshine in.

Scottish Orienteering, with the support of Sport Scotland Summer of Sport funding have been running an initiative to attract families into orienteering, with taster coaching sessions followed by local events.