The East Ayrshire Learning Outdoor Support Team has been recognised by British Orienteering, the National Governing body for the sport as providing a positive first experience to visiting groups. East Ayrshire Learning Outdoor Support Team is one of a number of accredited centres awarded British Orienteering Recognised Centre status.

Wille White, Education Officer from the East Ayrshire Learning Outdoor Support Team said: 

"Our experienced staff team can offer a tailored orienteering experience that is adventurous, progressive, innovative, challenging and exciting in order to meet a variety of high quality learning outcomes and we support schools with training and resources. We are currently collaborating with local clubs; STAG to install permanent orienteering courses in most Secondary schools to enhance outdoor PE and AYROC, TOPAyrshire & Scottish Orienteering to establish a dedicated local development officer.”

Howard Blackman, Business Development Officer for British Orienteering, said:

“Our Recognised Centre scheme is designed to work with Outdoor Centres to understand how orienteering is used as a tool to deliver a wide variety of educational outcomes. We are pleased to recognise the East Ayrshire Learning Support Outdoor Team as delivering a high quality orienteering experience to visiting groups.”

Recognised Centre status is awarded to Outdoor Centres who can show a consistently high standard of orienteering across a range of criteria that covers orienteering delivery, staffing, resourcing as well as policies and procedures. These are examined in detail by British Orienteering advisors and accredited to outdoor centres only if they meet the standards.

British Orienteering, the National Governing Body of the sport, provide specialist advisors to help Outdoor Centres across the country to provide the highest standards in orienteering delivery.   

For more information about the scheme and how to join visit the dedicated Recognised Centre section on the British Orienteering website. 

Since those announcements, the IOF have been working hard with member federations and event organisers on a revised approach for these major events.  They have now been able to announce some further changes to the international calendar for 2021.

Specifically, the Czech organisers of the Forest WOC for 2021 have agreed to add Sprint WOC races to the overall programme in July.  They will stage the current disciplines of Individual Sprint and Mixed Sprint Relay, with the debut of the new Knock-Out Sprint discipline remaining scheduled for Denmark Sprint WOC in 2022.

In addition, the Swiss organisers of World Cup Round 1 in May 2021 have agreed to re-arrange their programme and incorporate EOC into the competition.  That competition will now include all three Sprint Disciplines of Individual Sprint, Knock-Out Sprint, and Mixed Sprint Relay.

Alongside these changes, IOF have announced updates to the remainder of the 2021 World Cup programme to better balance the overall calendar.  World Cup Round 2 (forest races in Sweden) moves from the previous date of immediately before Jukola in June to take place in August instead, and World Cup Round 3 in Italy will now include a Mixed Sprint Relay.

Further details of the inclusion of sprint competitions within the 2021 World Championships are at https://orienteering.sport/nokian-tyres-world-orienteering-championships-2021-to-include-sprint-competitions/, and more information on the revised World Cup programme is at https://orienteering.sport/world-cup-2021-a-balanced-program/.

These further announcements are good news for international sprint athletes in particular, who were facing the prospect of no World Championships in Sprint until 2022 (the last was in 2018), as well as the uncertainty around Sprint EOC for 2021.  British Orienteering would like to express thanks to the IOF for their perseverance in seeking solutions, and to the various event organisers for their flexibility in making it possible for suitable alternatives to be found.