Image: Brian Porteous and Ted Finch finishing the Swedish Fjellorienteering event in 1974, as the first non Scandinavians to take part.

FVO wasn't the first club to be established in the area, with Ochils Orienteers (based in Dollar) and Devon Valley Orienteers (who straddled the boundary between Clackmannanshire, Kinross-shire and western Fife) pre-dating the formation of FVO, but these were smaller groups which generally only competed at a very local level, so FVO can be considered to be the first proper club in Central Scotland.

Those members have gone on to make a huge mark on the sport worldwide. Both Brian and Sue served as President of the International Orienteering Federation; there have only been eight IOF presidents in the history of the sport, to to have two from the one club, particularly one outside the Scandinavian sphere of influence, is unprecedented. Robin was awarded the MBE in 1977 for services to orienteering mapping, and Sue joined him in the MBE club in 2010. Ted went down the Event Advisor route, and after qualifying as a Level A controller in the late 1970s, has gone on to work at more than 100 major events across Europe.

Although many clubs tritely drop the line "we cover everyone from four to 84", this was exactly the case on this evening, with over 80 years of experience between the youngest and the oldest people in the room. However, the one thing that draws them all together is membership in the great Blue and Gold that represents Forth Valley Orienteers.

FVO has had a great deal of success in major British competitions, with nearly 20 wins in prominent team competitions. Their record of wins in the Compass Sport Cup and Trophy stands at 14, one less that SYO, and includes a run of seven consecutive wins in the early part of the millenium. In 2015, when still a “small” club, they stepped up to the mark by winning the Conpass Sport Cup at their first attempt at the title.

Image: Forth Valley Orienteers wins the Compass Sport Cup final for the first time in 2015. 

After club captain Jon Cross welcomed everyone to the function, Brian Porteous delivered a recorded address to the gathered members. Brian was the main speaker at the club's Silver Jubilee function 25 years ago, but was unable to make it this time, due to a pre-booked holiday to Canada, and his reminiscences of the founding of the club set the tone for the rest of the evening.

After a very tasty dinner, Ted Finch was the second of the founders to speak, and proposed a toast to the club, which was warmly received, and then Gareth Bryan-Jones gave a witty and expansive account of just what it means to be FVO, drawing on years of competition, both as participants and as organisers, training camps, social events and mapping expeditions.

There were knowing smiles as he made mention of members no longer with us, and nods of recognition as he reeled off an impressive list of the massive contribution that FVO and its members have made to the sport of orienteering in Scotland and in a wider context since 1973.

There was time for a general knowledge quiz, which was won by the team comprising of Trevor Hoey, Fran Brown, Alasdair and Bryony McLeod, but only after two rounds of sudden death questions.

The evening closed with another chance to mingle, and a big vote of thanks to the club's Social Committee, particularly Heather Fellbaum, Gillian Godfree and Vicky Thornton for making the whole thing possible.

This is only the start of a full month of activities celebrating the Golden Jubilee, which will culminate in a special orienteering event at the end of the month, on the area where FVO was founded 50 years ago.

Image: Attendees at the Golden Jubilee Gala Dinner. 

Congratulations to Forth Valley Orienteers on this milestone occasion!