This last year has seen the development of a new Strategy for Scottish Orienteering to take the sport forward, secure funding and help us all contribute to a thriving sport for allgenerations in Scotland.
Strategy means many things to many people but for us it’s meant to be a framework which will help us work together as a community. At its simplest it describes what we need to do to thrive, and should help us agree plans and actions. And perhaps even more importantly who needs to do what. It recognises that clubs and volunteer networks are the backbone of our sport and are where nearly everything happens. SOA’s role is to be the glue that binds the sport together in Scotland through co-ordination, facilitation and support for clubs and members.
We have shaped this new four-year strategy by listening to you—our members, clubs, and committees. It builds on the strengths of our community, addressing challenges and identifying opportunities to grow and thrive by reflecting and learning from each other. From fostering grassroots participation to supporting elite athletes, from promoting diversity and inclusion to enhancing our impact on local communities, this strategy aims to set a clear path for the future.
Following on from the opportunity to join us in discussing the future Scottish Orienteering Strategy last week, we are providing a final opportunity for everyone to provide us with their thoughts via a google form. The draft Strategy for 2025-2029 is as yet just an outline with the details being added over the summer period before its launch at the Club Conference on 14th September.
As previously indicated this strategy is deliberately looking at the the larger picture of Scottish Orienteering as a whole over the next 4 years rather than just what the Scottish Orienteering Association should be doing. We believe that the SOA, British Orienteering, clubs, members together with Sport Scotland and other partners all have roles to play in ensuring our sport thrives. This Strategy acknowledges this and attempts to outline the pathways within our sport and the actions which we believe should be taken over the next four years.
Before adding the detail to the Strategy we would love to hear the thoughts of those unable to attend last weeks meetings. The google provide a summary of the outline Strategy together with an opportunity to provide us with your thought. Please could responses be submitted before end of April.
Ensuring the future of Scottish Orienteering was at the forefront of the minds of the SOA Board when they met in March to consider the development of the strategy for Scottish Orienteering from 2025 to 2029.
The keen eyed amongst you will have noticed that this strategy is not just laying out what the SOA should be doing over the next four years but looking at the larger picture of what is required for Scottish Orienteering as a whole going forward. The SOA, British Orienteering, clubs and members together with SportScotland all have a part to play to ensure our sport thrives.
Our sport is an inclusive, dynamic sport but like all sports it has challenges with the volunteer load required, the need to expand awareness of the sport beyond our existing participants, retain our existing members as well as being aware of environmental impacts of our sport. However we believe that with us all working together we can develop and grow our sport. On that basis we have drafted an outline strategy which looks at the pathways within our sport and the actions which we believe should be taken over the next four years.
The last Scottish Orienteering Strategy document prepared covered the period 2020- 2024 and therefore the Scottish Orienteering Association Board are now spending the next month or two looking to gather your thoughts to allow the development of an SOA Strategy for 2025-2029. This is an important part of securing SportScotland funding for the next four years.
As with the development of any Strategy the SOA Board will be looking to appraise needs of the sport and how you as a community would like to see it develop. These views will then be considered and the Strategy will be presented to SportScotland and to members at the Club Conference to be held in the autumn.
