Update report by Colin Matheson, Assistant Coordinator
Scottish 6 Days, Lochaber 2021

The announcement by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that Scotland would move to Level 0 from the 19th July was great news but it wasn't carte blanche for the organisers of Lochaber 2021 to press ahead with a complete lifting of restrictions. Factoring in the possibility that we could yet see a return to Level 1 and various other risk factors, the decision to stick with the 2 x 3 Day format with a maximum of 1,000 competitors a day was confirmed. Sportscotland, the conduit into the Scottish Government, were supportive of this plan as were the various other parties involved including Local Authorities, PoliceScotland and NHS Highland. Needless to say lots of things have been happening behind the scenes, including traffic management plans, equipment inventories, liaison with third party suppliers, keeping landowners in the loop and most important of all buy-in from the many volunteers who have put in so many hours to make this happen.

The Scottish 6 Days is first and foremost a holiday event, but we will still retain that competitive element with UK Orienteering League (UKOL) events on Day 2, Day 3 and Days 4 and 5 "combined". 

Day 5 at Creag Dhubh will also include a World Ranking Event and thanks go to our International Orienteering Federation (IOF) Advisor Ted Finch for his approval of some slight deviations from the usual protocols.

Thanks to funding from EventScotland we will be pleased to bring you a daily video diary under their "Scotland the Perfect Stage" flag.  Look out for Jason of Poppycock Films out in the forest or open hillside but don't worry about tripping over cables! No live feeds, GPS tracking or live broadcast this time around.