The SSOF returns for 2026 – and entries are now open! The details for this year’s Festival are below:
It has been a strong year for our regional squads, with regular East and West junior training sessions and re-establishing North area training. The regional squads offer valuable coaching opportunities for juniors at TD3 level and above. These sessions allow juniors to develop their skills while connecting with other juniors. Discover more about what our squads have been up to this year.
Club coaching is a great way to introduce new participants to the sport we love or support existing members to be the best they can. Clubs are always seeking new coaches so if you have time to spare and expertise to share then come on a coaching course and find out how to get involved – it’s easier that you think!
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.
2025 has provided some exciting opportunities for our juniors at all levels. With Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club having just hosted the successful 2025 British School Orienteering Championships it seemed like an appropriate time to reflect on the junior year and the opportunities available to our Scottish juniors at all levels in 2026.
The focus can often be on performance as that is easy to measure but when we asked two of our successful juniors to reflect on their year you will see it is not just the competitive elements of our sport which they highlighted.
Read More…Congratulations to the following juniors who have been selected to be part of the Scottish Junior Orienteering Squad (ScotJOS) for 2025/26.
The ScotJOS team are looking forward to working with the new squad members to support their orienteering development and we hope to have a lot of fun along the way as well as plenty of hard work.
On Sunday 16 November, in the stunning grounds of Hopetoun House near Edinburgh, Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club hosted the British Schools Orienteering Championships for the first time in Scotland since 2011. Around 340 pupils competed, with approximately 220 from Scottish schools, making it a fantastic showcase of pupils from across the country. The weather couldn’t have been better, with blue sky for miles and not a cloud in sight, providing perfect conditions for competitors, spectators and volunteers alike.
Having received 4 glowing testaments to youngsters who have contributed a huge amount to the sport through their volunteering, we finally decided to award Young Orienteer of the Year to Finlay McLuckie of Moravian Orienteering Club (MOR). Here he is being presented with this very well deserved award at a Scottish Junior Orienteering Squad (ScotJOS) camp by Roger Goddard, the ScotJOS Lead Coach.
Having already published the full citation, it is sufficient to say that Finlay has impressed members of his club, the staff team and the sport as a whole with his contributions to coaching, welcoming newcomers, serving on the club committee and planning club events, all of which he has tackled with maturity and dedication. The icing on the cake was his contribution to the planning of Day 1 of the Scottish Six Days this year.
Read More…Each year, as part of the Junior Inter Area Weekend, we hold a dedicated Junior Feedback Session, where our junior members have the opportunity to share their thoughts, ideas, and experiences. This session is an important part of the weekend and is part of why we encourage everyone to come together at the overnight accommodation.
Each year a Junior Inter Area event is held over one weekend, generally in October. The event consists of a relay event followed by an individual event with juniors from the three Scottish orienteering areas – East, North and West – coming together to compete as a team representing their area. The Saturday night offers the opportunity for juniors to all stay in a youth hostel or other accommodation, socialise, renew old acquaintances and meet new ones from outwith their own clubs/areas.
With each area taking turns to host the event, 2025 was the turn of the West area to organise and play host to Scottish juniors. And so the Scottish juniors descended on the Stirling area on the last weekend in October to see whose area would raise the Trophies and claim the sweet treats on offer as prizes!
