President’s Medal Winner Announced

As usual we received a number of very worthy nominations for the President’s medal which is awarded for services to Scottish Orienteering and as usual the award was a difficult decision as all the nominations would have been worthy recipients. This year, as President, I have great pleasure in awarding it to Tim O’Donoghue. Tim probably needs little introduction as an active member of the Scottish Orienteering community owing to the number of roles he fulfills as SOLWAY club chairman, Safety Director on the SOA board and tireless supporter of Scottish Orienteering. Up Until recently he, along with his wife Helen, also carried out the role of Coaching Coordinators on a voluntary basis for a number of years greatly assisting the SOA staff team.

As we all know this has unfortunately been the year of COVID and it feels appropriate to award a volunteer who has really helped us keep the show on the road. On a regular basis we have had to deal with new government guidelines that have had to be translated into practical guidance for our clubs. This takes a lot of thought, time and effort and Tim has been at the heart of this, always ready to use his knowledge and experience to support Fiona Keir (COO) and the Board of Directors in the development of new risk assessments, procedures etc. I think it is safe to say that it would have been much harder to support and guide the clubs through this difficult period without Tim.

This was also the year that Tim and Helen stepped down as Coaching Coordinators and I would like to thank them for their many years of unwavering support, hard work and tireless attention to detail in this role.

At the same time Tim has actively guided SOLWAY through the pandemic, organising events and activities, and attracting new orienteers to our sport.

In summary I have really appreciated Tim’s support to Scottish Orienteering over the last few years and I think his tireless commitment and contributions make him a worthy recipient in this most difficult of years.

Congratulations, Tim!

The President’s Medal is awarded by Richard Oxlade, SOA President