We appreciate everyone’s patience as the Scottish 6 Days Board and the Scottish Orienteering Board met this week to consider the Scottish Government guidance and to make a decision on Lochaber 2021 event due to take place in early August. The important announcement is Lochaber is on! There has had to be provisional changes to the format of the event since no area in Scotland has moved to level zero at this time. We will not have confirmation of any further changes in a positive direction until mid-July, only 2 weeks out from the event. The SOA would like to thank the team of volunteers who have worked tirelessly over a significant period of time to make the event viable and ensure everything is in place for a fantastic 6 days of events in truly spectacular areas. We extend our thanks to the Scottish 6 Days Board for their partnership working and effective communication throughout the planning process. All participants should have received an email, so do check your inboxes and ensure you read all the detail carefully.
It was always going to be a ‘unique’ Scottish 6 Days experience this year due to Covid however we are delighted that we continue to move forwards and look forward to welcoming everyone to Lochaber in a socially distanced way!
Some really useful research on keeping teenage girls active in sport has just been published. It looks at what really matters to girls in sport. The report uncovered five important anchors which reflect what girls’ value most in their lives that impact who they will become. It then proposes principles to support keeping girls active in support including:
‘No judgement – take the pressure off performance and give freedom simply to play’ and
‘Invoke excitement – bring a sense of adventure and discovery’ .
Take a look and share any ideas your club has about attracting and keeping girls in our sport.
It’s not too late to book a spot at the AGM this Friday 25th June starting at 7:30pm. For more details about signing up and what lies in store check out this link.
We wanted to make clubs aware of a few new funding streams which have become available which may be worth considering, these have been highlighted specifically for their simple application process. Thank you to our new East RDO, Lorna Simpson, for bringing these to our attention and sharing the information here on how to apply and what the grants will support. Building on Lorna’s experience and expertise in this area we hope to run a session in the Autumn on supporting clubs with funding applications and opportunities.
With thanks from ESOC for the sharing this touching obituary to Alastair Lessells who was known, admired and relied upon by many throughout the Scottish Orienteering community over many years. The SOA send our deepest condolences to Alastair’s family, in particular Katy, Ruth and Richard as well as all his friends in orienteering across the country.
Dave Kershaw (ESOC, Scottish 6 Days Chair) said
“Alastair was one of ESOC’s long-standing members and contributed a huge amount to the club, and to Scottish orienteering generally, both as a competitor and as an official over nearly 40 years. He was one of a large group of ‘baby boomers’ in Scottish Orienteering and all members of my age, in particular, will remember him fondly for his competitive spirit and friendly post-event discussions. He will be sadly missed when we get back to orienteering together again. Our thoughts are with Katy and the family.”
Last weekend saw the first national orienteering championships since early 2020 with the British Middle Distance Championships being hosted by Lakeland Orienteering Club at Summerhouse Knott in the South Lakes on Saturday. The weekend was nominated as selection races for juniors and with the Northern Championships also being held in the area the following day, there was a very strong Scottish contingent that made the journey south.
Ahead of our AGM on Friday 25th June, we are able to publish our approved accounts for 2020. Many thanks must be extended to our independent auditor, Brian Miller for his timely and professional communication with us. Also we appreciate the work done by our Finance Director, Ben Hartman to produce the accounts and give us confidence in our financial position.
If you have not already signed up to participate in the AGM on 25th June at 7.30pm you can register to attend here
Should you be unable to attend the AGM please make sure you cast your vote by proxy, you can complete the online proxy voting form here
Full details of the published AGM booklet which outlines the proposals can be downloaded here
As of Saturday 5th June some Local Authority areas move to level 1, some remain in Level 2 and Glasgow move to Level 2. This remains a step in a positive direction and means that all members can now travel across Local Authority boundaries. We ask all members to please check and be aware of the guidance for where you live but also for any area you are planning to travel to.
Given the First Minister’s statement earlier this week which sees all areas of Scotland move into level 2 or below, we can now confirm that next weeks event at Craig a Barns will be classified as Scottish Championships and there are medals and titles to be won! We recognise that local authority levels changes can occur at any time, we hope this is not the case in the coming week however the decision to go ahead with Scottish Championships has now been taken. The SOA would like to thank the volunteers who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to prepare for our largest scale event in some time under much uncertainty, our appreciation to Margaret, Jayne, Roger and Sarah in particular.
