Each year SOA organises a day for club members from across Scotland to come together to share experiences and ideas around developing orienteering. These days are very much for everyone (not just committee members) – if you’re interested in orienteering and supporting your club, then please do come along.
This year we will be running two in-person Club Networking days this year, to widen opportunities for club members across Scotland to participate.
Saturday 12th September – Dunblane (Braeport Centre)
Saturday 19th September – Boat of Garten (Community Hall)
Anyone is very welcome to attend either one (or both!)
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.
Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club (ESOC) has been trialling a new initiative, Ozone, aimed at supporting young juniors at local events through fun, informal activities that build confidence, skills and enables them to meet other children at events.
Although still in its pilot phase, the Ozone has so far provided a strong example of best practice for engaging younger participants and their families, while supporting progression into independent orienteering for juniors that currently participate with their parents.
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.
Within our clubs we know that many hands make light work and more often than not a problem shared is a problem halved. So each year we offer the opportunity for clubs to come together to meet other club volunteers, the SOA Board and staff and share the experiences from their clubs with others who may be a different size or area.
In recent years, orienteering clubs across Scotland have been exploring creative ways to raise awareness of the sport, attract new members, and connect with wider communities. One initiative that’s gaining some traction is the parkrun takeover — where orienteering clubs volunteer to fill key roles at a local parkrun event and host an orienteering taster activity alongside the classic 5k run.
These takeovers offer a unique opportunity to introduce orienteering to an audience that already shares a love for running and the outdoors. By engaging directly with local runners in a friendly, accessible environment, clubs can demystify orienteering and highlight how well it complements existing fitness and adventure interests.
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 20-40 year olds, continued development of participation following WOC 2024 and support for clubs that saw a dramatic decline in membership following the Covid pandemic.
Congratulations to the clubs that have received awards: EckO, GRAMP, INVOC and MAROC. These clubs all provided project proposals that satisfy the above conditions and have committed themselves to helping develop our sport.
The third installment of the 2025 Community Conversation programme is on Monday 3rd March at 1930 and you can now sign up to attend.
The discussion will be once again be on the theme of development, but this time the focus will be on how to retain and progress current members. Mary Williams, the Development Director, will be chairing the discussion. This will be a great opportunity to share experience, and discuss successes, challenges, and ideas for practical support that SOA could usefully provide for clubs. Perhaps you’ve come across some great tools that have helped achieve positive results, or have gained some valuable learning from things you’ve tried that would be of interest to other clubs.
The Club Networking Day held on 14th September together with an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to elect a new Chair of the Board and two new directors.
A late photo of some of the attendees with apologies for those who had to run to catch a train.
The day started briefly with the EGM which saw those present vote to amend the Articles of Association as follows:-
To remove the restriction on a maximum of two directors from one club and replace it with a statement encouraging the Board to encompass representation from as many clubs as possible.
to provide that in the event that there are no candidates for the post of Chair or President the membership may by special resolution appoint a candidate to the post of Chair until the next AGM a candidate who would not otherwise be eligible.
There was discussion about whether a maximum limit on the percentage of the SOA Board should be included in the articles but it was felt that practically this was unlikely and the additional statement obliged the Board to be as diverse as practical.
Following the amendment of the articles Richard Oxlade was elected as Chair until the next Annual General Meeting. Pat Bartlett was then elected as Finance Director and Katherine Ivory as Marketing and Communications Director. Welcome to Pat and Katherine and our thanks to Keith Dawson and Ben Hartman for all their efforts, especially related to WOC 2024 and ensuring its sensible delivery, as Chair and Finance Director respectively.
After completion of the EGM those present then got to the main business of the day – the Club Networking Event. The new Scottish Orienteering Strategy, which will be launched in November, was briefly outlined to those present and the members from 11 clubs got down to the important business of the day discussing current issues and swapping information which all tied into the Scottish Orienteering. The topics of discussion were
how to simplify events
welcoming newcomers
the benefits of club development officers
marketing and social media
volunteer training and
whether we are doing too many events.
All those there felt they gained useful points to take back to clubs and especially from Nic Crossley, the coordinator for the Scottish 6 Day in Deeside 2025 who was able to provide social media/ marketing guidance from the experience she has gained through putting on ultra/ trail events over the years.
We will look to hold another Club Networking Day next year to provide the opportunity for clubs to come together and exchange ideas. Thanks go to the efforts of Suzanne Robins Bird, our Coaching and Volunteer Officer, for organising the event and Clive Masson for providing the lunchtime orienteering activity which tested everyone with false control descriptions and blanked off areas of the map.
Scottish Orienteering is holding a Club Networking Day (rebranded Club Conference) on Saturday 14th September at the North Inch Community Campus, 10am – 4 pm.
2023 conference – Animated discussion was the outstanding feature of the dayRead More…
