Women and Girls in Sport: Rona Lindsay

Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week runs from September 28 – October 4 and we’re highlighting women and girls who lead in orienteering, and who support other leaders. Today, we look at Rona Lindsay.

How long have you been orienteering and leading?

I have been orienteering since 2002 and started coaching in 2014

How did you get into becoming a leader?

When I was at university I completed a Level 1 Coaching course run by Scottish Orienteering for Edinburgh University students. I then started coaching with the East of Scotland juniors and ScotJOS.

This led on to coaching on the JROS summer camps and Hawkshead, and I completed my Level 2 coaching through JROS. I also started coaching with the British Orienteering Talent Squad. Having been through the system myself I knew both how important it is and also where there might be space for me to add value.

What do you enjoy about leading in orienteering?

I really enjoy coaching and particularly juniors. It’s great to see people improve and grow in confidence over time. The people, both coaches and athletes, are good fun to be around and you do get the opportunity to spend your weekends in some beautiful parts of Scotland and the world!

What would you like to achieve in future?

I’d like to be able to continue coaching whilst finding a good balance with other life commitments. There’s only so much time but hopefully I’ll be able to continue to coach with all of these groups into the future.

What advice would you give to anyone – whatever their gender – about becoming a leader? 

Getting involved in the other side of any sport, whether that be through coaching, volunteering to help at a local event or volunteering on your club committee, is really rewarding. It gives you a chance to give back to our volunteer run sport and to see the other side, giving a bit more perspective on what goes on behind the scenes to make our sport run.