Juniors

Map reading and the ability to navigate are very useful skills to have. Orienteering can help to develop these by offering courses of different levels, alongside being able to socialise with other juniors. Events or training activities, and the possible option to go away for a weekend can offer the opportunity to meet others.

It is useful to read the Beginners' Guide if you are unfamiliar with the sport. Juniors can take part in any of the events listed under Types of Events. For colour coded events you can choose the course for your ability. Some events have age classes. For juniors these start at M10 or W10 for M(men) or W(women) who are 10 or younger on the 31st December. They then go up in 2 year age groups M or W12/14/16/18/20. For example, a girl who is 13 on 1st January has the same age class as a girl who is 14 on 31st December: W14.

Note: There is an age restriction (16) for urban orienteering, but can be undertaken with an adult (normally referred to as ‘shadowing’). Similarly night orienteering is normally for those with more experience, but again, can be undertaken with an adult.

Events specifically for Juniors

There are a few key events where you are encouraged to come along and represent the club:

Jamie Stevenson Trophy
Named after one of Scotland’s top international orienteers, this annual Scottish Junior Inter-Club competition is for Juniors of all ages and standards.

Junior Inter-Area weekend 
This usually happens in the autumn. Interloper juniors compete as part of the East of Scotland team. There is no selection - it is open to all juniors. The weekend involves a relay of three juniors, normally running yellow, orange and light green courses and an individual competition on different days, with a night away, often at a youth hostel or outdoor centre.

Relays
Some of the more major events such as the Scottish, British and JK (held over the Easter weekend) have a competition day for relay teams. The age categories for making up teams for these are all different, so check out each event and, when prompted by our club captain, let the club know if you would like to take part.

Scottish Schools Festival
There is information on Orienteering in Schools on the Scottish Orienteering Association (SOA) website:https://www.scottish-orienteering.org/get-involved/orienteering-in-schools/

The Scottish Schools Orienteering Competition normally takes place early in June and often utilises country parks or established estates where the easier courses for younger children can make use of a good path network or parkland, whilst also providing a challenge for the secondary school children. Courses are normally offered from Primary 5 up to S6, separately for boys and girls. Children can compete as individuals or as pairs. As well as mementos for the top 3 in each year category, there are trophies for the top school teams (of 3 girls, or 3 boys) in each year. Schools also accumulate points depending on the success of the individuals. Children from Interlopers have been successful in this competition both as individuals and as teams. Entries are via schools with permission granted for attendance at the event. (Note: check for any clash with the tail end of the exam schedule for those in S4-6!)

Junior Training

Junior training for juniors from Interlopers is organised with other clubs in the East of Scotland Orienteering Association: ESOC, ELO, INT, RR, KFO and TAY, and takes place about 4 times a year (see How to improve your orienteering). Members of these Clubs should be getting regular updates and reminders about these.

For older juniors, generally M/W 14 upwards, there may be more advanced training options available.  Juniors can be selected to train as part of the Scottish Junior ‘O' Squad (SCOTJOS) based on their performances in the main Scottish events such as the Scottish O League or Scottish Championships. They have a number of training weekends and there may be an opportunity to train with juniors from other regions. There are also British junior training camps, again requiring selection depending on performances which may include British Championships or the JK.  Currently, we have some very successful Interløpers in SCOTJOS.

Awards and Incentive Schemes

Scottish Orienteering administers several incentive schemes which are described on the SOA website to encourage members to participate and develop their orienteering skills.

These include: 

• Star Awards
• Participation Badges. Interlopers Event Record cards can be collected at any Interloper event.
  There are badges for 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 courses completed.
• Colour Coded Awards (some criteria applies)

British Orienteering also runs the performance based National Badge Scheme, as well as two incentive schemes:

• the Navigation Challenge
• the Racing Challenge

Visit the British Orienteering website – www.britishorienteering.org.uk/page/incentives – for more details.