Volunteering

Orienteering needs volunteers like you to help map areas, plan and set up courses, organise and promote events, and generally keep members and participants happy! As such, there are plenty of ways to volunteer outdoors or indoors if you can give a bit of your time.

Roles you can get involved with

If you’re interested in volunteering with your local club, click here for a list of roles with full descriptions and then speak to your local club in the first instance. The SOA provides a number of courses for people wishing to be more involved at club level.

If there’s anything else you feel you could contribute, do let us know!

If you’re keen to be more involved in events, please see our training courses for event officials and do contact us with any queries.

Volunteers’ Weekend

Orienteering in Scotland happens thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who spend thousands of hours every year to make things happen.

Weekends have been held at Glenmore Lodge in the Highlands and usually include a variety of outdoor activities, sessions to share skills and expertise, talks and workshops by visiting speakers, social activities, and of course orienteering.

It’s an enjoyable, relaxed time to get to know people, increase your knowledge, and have a great time in the outdoors. There are many useful guides available in our Resources library which may inspire you.

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Volunteer Recognition

Young Orienteer of the Year

In 2018, as part of Scotland’s Year of Young People, we launched the Young Orienteer of the Year Award which was very kindly sponsored by Tulloch Homes.

The award is open to all our junior members, to celebrate how they’ve contributed to orienteering, in any way. This is to especially recognise the wonderful junior volunteers who contribute to making events happen, help run club sessions, get friends and family involved… the list is endless!

In 2018 we received an exceptionally strong list of nominated members. From the shortlist, the selected winner was Ben Brown (ESOC), who helps with SI at nearly every ESOC/INT/ELO event, has planned courses, helped with remapping, has attended a Coaching Foundation course, is a Young Leader with his local Cub Group and coaches them in orienteering; is always keen, enthusiastic, has an unassuming manner, and is an absolute credit to the club.

SOA President’s Medal

The President’s Medal is awarded annually to a volunteer who has contributed or achieved something exceptional in the last year or over recent years. This may be a club- or sport-related contribution, or athletic achievement.  Click onto the recipients to learn more about their role and contribution to the SOA.

2020 Janet Clark (ESOC)
2019 Jonathan Musgrave (MAROC)
2018 Edinburgh University Orienteering Club (EUOC)
2017 Robin & Sheila Strain (ELO)
2016 Richard Oxlade (GRAMP)
2015 Sally Lindsay (ESOC)
2014 Jessica & James Tullie (BASOC)
2013 Anne Hickling (GRAMP)
2012 Claire Ward (ESOC)
2011 Blair Young (TINTO)
2010 Mike Rodgers (MOR), Dave Prentice (TAY)
2009 Paul Frost (ECKO)
2008 Donald Petrie (CLYDE)
2007 Lynne Walker (ECKO)
2006 Mike Atherton (BASOC)
2005 Robin Strain (ELO)
2004 Jamie Stevenson (ESOC)
2003 Maureen Brown (FVO)
2002 Oleg Chepelin (INT)
2001 Jamie Stevenson (ESOC)

British Orienteering awards

Every year, British Orienteering looks for nominations for the Volunteer Awards. Nominations are taken throughout the year, and the winners announced on the day of the British Orienteering AGM. 

The categories are: 

• Club of the Year

• University Club of the Year

• Young Volunteer of the Year

• Silva Award (special achievement over a number of years)
• Coach of the Year

Nomination forms can be found here: www.britishorienteering.org.uk/awards

sportscotland awards

The SOA encourages clubs and members to recognise outstanding achievement, and local and national awards provide Scottish sport with the opportunity to thank coaches, officials and volunteers for their commitment and dedication throughout the year.

Annually, sportscotland Coaching, Officiating & Volunteering (COV) Award winners are nominated at the UK Coaching Awards, delivered by UK Coaching (formally known as sportscoach UK). These awards recognise the best of the United Kingdom’s coaching talent.

To contribute to the vision of a World Class Sporting System, the COV Awards contribute to the development of people. As part of ‘Raising the Bar’, the nominations for the awards are the enablers; the people who make things happen. They are making an impact locally across clubs, communities, schools and performance sport. Furthermore, the awards ensure that three key areas are at the forefront of ‘Priorities for Improvement’ supporting:

• Equalities & Inclusion – Ensuring coaching can be accessed by everyone

• People Development – Developing capability and leadership within sport
• Collaboration & Improvement – Working in partnership to continue improving how we use the collective resources to strengthen collaboration and connections to communicate the impact of sports coaching, officiating and volunteering

For more information and to nominate, click here.