Tag: event officials

Event Safety Workshop – SW Scotland – late May 2026

This in-person Event Safety and Welfare (ESW) workshop is aimed at all who orienteer – whether you are a coach, a competitor, an event official (planner or organiser) or helper. It is a suitable refresher for those who have attended the course before – there are some new materials!
Delivered in person in South West Scotland in late May, this 2.5 hour workshop will cover event safety and is a prerequisite for all event officials with SOA/BOF events and licenced coaches. We will firm up on a date/venue once we know how many people wish to attend and their availability.
  • This workshop is free to Scottish members.
Please complete the  registration form asap – the sooner we know who needs to do it and their availability, the easier it is for us to schedule.

ESW & Planners’ workshops – autumn / winter 2025/26

Planners and future planners – we have offerings for you as well. Our tried and tested Planners’ workshops series ( adult and junior) are being run again this winter by Colin Eades and his team of trainers. In addition we are delighted to say that some experts have volunteered to give existing and new planners the benefit of their experience by hosting 3 planners discussions. We also have a range of ESWs to suit all. All these workshops are free to SOA members.

Read More…

Organisers’ workshops – autumn / winter 2025

We are always looking for ways to help you – our hardworking volunteers – and one of our offerings is organisers’ courses.  Organising can be something that folk find off putting due the seeming enormity of the task.  If you would like to help your club by organising an event but don’t know where to start then one of our organisers’ courses is the right place.

Read More…

Grade C Controllers Course Spring 2026 tbc

A Grade C Controllers’ Course is being run in spring 2026, one day, 10 am – 4 pm in the central belt

As well as attending the course, the requirements for obtaining the Grace C controller licence are:

  • Have organised a competition registered with British Orienteering within the previous 10 years.
  • Have planned a minimum of 3 events, with at least one at Level C, and at least one within the previous 5 years.
  • Completion of mandatory British Orienteering Event Safety & Welfare Workshop.
  • Be appointed to the Grade by their Regional Association.
These can all be completed after the course but a good level of competence at control placement is required for the course.
Please register an interest by filing in the Google form – dates and exact location will be decided depending on requirements of participants.

Grade C Controllers Course Sun 16th Nov 2025

A Grade C Controllers’ Course is being run on Sun 16th November 2025,  10 am – 4 pm, in the Aviemore area

As well as attending the course, the requirements for obtaining the Grace C controller licence are:

  • Have organised a competition registered with British Orienteering within the previous 10 years.
  • Have planned a minimum of 3 events, with at least one at Level C, and at least one within the previous 5 years.
  • Completion of mandatory British Orienteering Event Safety & Welfare Workshop.
  • Be appointed to the Grade by their Regional Association.
These can all be completed after the course but a good level of competence at control placement is required for the course.
Please register by filing in the Google form by Friday 7th November

Organisers’ workshops

Organising seems to strike fear into the hearts of the most stout orienteers but is an essential job for all events. Have you ever wanted to help out your club by organising an event but have been put off by the seeming complexity of the job? Well, help is at hand – 2 levels of courses for adults and juniors (16+) have been devised to demystify the whole process and equip you – yes, You – to organise a Level D or local event.

The first presentation of this course last year was very well received and we are anxious to equip more potential organisers to do a great job.

Read More…

SOA Annual Training Programme

In an effort to assist clubs and individuals to plan training to qualify volunteers and keep them up to date, we have gradually been moving towards a more predictable training programme that will run on an annual cycle. Obviously this will have to incorporate a degree of flexibility to accommodate the events calendar, school and university holidays but on the whole we will try and run the same courses at more or less the same time every year.

Read More…

Upcoming Event Officials courses

Events can’t run without volunteers and some of those volunteering roles require a degree of expertise. Come along to one of our courses, learn new skills and help your club and the sport to put on those events that we all enjoy. Courses coming up in 2025 include:

Read More…

Event Safety Workshop – online – 3rd March 7pm – 9.30

This online Event Safety and Welfare (ESW) workshop is aimed at all who orienteer – whether you are a coach, a competitor, an event official (planner or organiser) or helper. It is a suitable refresher for those who have attended the course before – there are some new materials!

This course will be run online via zoom using Google tools and is free to members.

Please sign up using the registration form or email Suzanne for more details

Young Leaders

Juniors – are you a keen orienteer who would like to start getting involved in volunteering?  Club volunteer coordinators – do you ever struggle to find event officials?  Coaches – do you want a pair of young legs to help you out?

SOA Young Leader courses are all designed to give juniors the knowledge & experience to get involved with volunteering in the club, easing the load whilst giving them new, transferable skills.  Run by experts who have worked in the roles for many years, we have 3 areas of expertise – hopefully something to suit everyone:

Read More…