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. This time around, we asked clubs to propose projects which support Lifelong Pathways for improvement which is one of our four strategic aims. These Lifelong Pathways within orienteering relate to progression of orienteering skills as well as personal development opportunities for our volunteers. We wanted projects that focused on development of all athletes on either the performance, recreational or volunteer pathways, or continued to focus on the recruitment and retention of young adults aged 18-40.
Congratulations to the clubs and areas that have received awards: GRAMP, INVOC, North Area regional squad and RR.
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.
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.
2024 saw Edinburgh hosting elite athletes from across the globe for the Sprint World Championships in an event that has been described by some as potentially being the best ever.
We are looking to ensure that the success of the World Championships is built upon through the new Scottish Orienteering 4 year strategy. This strategy represents a collective vision for the future of orienteering in Scotland which aims to support the vision of orienteering as a thriving sport for all generations through the key themes: changing perceptions, engaging experiences, lifelong pathways and foundations for success. An outline of the Scottish Orienteering Strategy can be found here.
The evolution of the Scottish Orienteering Strategy confirmed that clubs are the essential backbone of our sport. The implementation of this strategy will be a team effort across the Scottish orienteering community with everyone contributing and the SOA development focus being on connecting and supporting clubs. Over the years the SOA Development Fund has supported Scottish clubs wishing to undertake projects with the aim of developing the sport. As we look to continue to build on the new Scottish Orienteering Strategy we are therefore focusing the current SOA Development funding on projects which a) support the expansion of the sport within the 20 to 40 age group b) continued development of orienteering participation following WOC 2024, and c) within clubs who saw a dramatic decline in membership as a result of Covid. We are asking clubs to come forward with any proposals which build on these themes.
To find out more about this year’s fund, head to the SOA Development Fund page where you will also find the link to the application form.
The deadline for applications is 21st March 2025.
Photos from FVO’s work with the Donaldson’s Trust that was funded by the 2024 SOA Development Fund.
ESOC’s ‘Events in a Box’ facilitated easy access into orienteering for newcomers near to where they live and was funded by the 2024 SOA Development Fund.
The Scottish Orienteering Association has a small pot of money available each year for clubs to support the development of grassroots orienteering. These sports development grants are funded by sportscotland to enable clubs to make a tangible difference in their area. Roxburgh Reivers (RR) applied to the SOA development fund last year to support the appointment of a club development officer to initiate and deliver their Earlston High School project. The application was successful. They additionally sourced funding from Build Back a Better Borders, Live Borders, Toddleburn Wind Farm and the Orienteering Federation to make the project possible.
The project involved RR hosting orienteering at Earlston High School during school time which was attended by P7s at each of the cluster primary schools as part of their transition to High School after the summer. This was followed up by ‘Come and Try’ (CATI) events hosted at each of the cluster primary schools. The CATI events would then feed pupils into the RR so they could continue to engage with orienteering.
The cluster Primary Schools session at Earlston High School was very successful. With 158 pupils taking part on a sunny day, activities could take place outside. During the session pupils could try out three different activities including linear, score courses and an orienteering maze. The linear and score courses were particularly well received from pupils, who enjoyed using a dibber and getting a print out of their splits at the end. The maze had mixed feedback as some pupils were too slow creating a queue meanwhile others loved it and raced round. The maze format may work better for smaller groups.
Giving pupils a positive orienteering experience in schools is great, however this needs to be followed up to engage them in the sport and get them involved in the local club. In order to do this the next stage of the project was a series of CATI events at Earlston High Schools cluster primary schools. The events were at the schools to take the activity to the pupils rather than them having to travel. If they did need to travel it wouldn’t be far. Come and try it events were held on a mix Wednesday, Saturday and Sundays to suit a range of availability. The CATI events were free of charge to pupils and their parents.
The CATI events took place throughout August and were promoted through the RR mailing list, Facebook and through posters around the schools where the events were hosted. Two of the schools circulated the information about the events through their Parents Group App. These were also the schools which had the best turn out, highlighting the importance of involving their parents when engaging children in orienteering. Pupils were also given a flyer after the first session about the CATI events.
Apart from the first CATI, they were well attended. Over the month 81 beginners attended the CATI events however, there wasn’t a huge number of P7’s attending. Many people commented that they’d always thought they’d like to try orienteering. At one of the CATI events 26 newcomers came along.
Following on from the CATI series RR have hosted one local event where two people from the series attended and ran an orange. Most people who attended the CATI events gave the RR their email address and are now on their mailing list for more follow up activity and events.
Overall the project has been a success and has increased awareness of the RR and orienteering in the area. Going forward the club is planning on implementing a similar series of events for next year and learning from feedback from teachers, parents and pupils to make next year’s programme even stronger.
The club is planning on implementing a schools league next year between the Earlston High School cluster primary schools. This is where an orienteering training session would occur during school time and out of school pupils can attend local events hosted by the club and compete for their school. Hopefully this will motivate more P7s to come along to the events. Hosting a Schools League has been very successful for other clubs such the South Yorkshire Orienteers. We are very excited to see how the schools league goes next year for RR!
At SOA we are very keen to support the development of grassroots orienteering. If you have a project in mind or want to discuss an idea please contact us or submit your applications to Fran.Loots@scottish-orienteering.org. Applications for financial support for club development projects are welcomed from SOA clubs, groups of clubs, regional associations, or squads. Depending on demand, the likely upper limit for funding is usually around £1000.
