January Newsletter
Mrs Christmas galloping through the forest
Happy New Year to all EckO members and friends. Hopefully, 2022 will be a year full of amazing orienteering adventures and social opportunities which will allow us to really grow as a club.
Christmas Social:
We had a real taste of the fun to be had through being part of an orienteering club at our Christmas Social in December. It was really heartening to see so many happy faces joining in the Christmas frolics. Congratulations to all the teams who wholeheartedly took part in the Team Score event in Sutherland’s Grove. It was fantastic to see how enthusiastically our adults supported the younger juniors so that they could also be part of the team. I’m not sure if licking your length of spaghetti to prevent it from breaking was allowable though – some of the adults led some of the juniors astray there, methinksJbut well done to all those teams who managed to visit every control and come back with a full strand of spaghetti.
How many of you managed to glimpse Mrs Christmas, dressed in all her glory, galloping through the forest wielding 15 red balloons? Mrs Christmas came back having had all her balloons stolen so congratulations to all the teams who managed to steal some balloons. We had an amazing variety of team names from the Team Squirrels, Team Snowflake, Team Tinsel and Pom Pom, the Rudolph Racers, the Santa Pups, the Spaghetti Monsters, Team Fear! and finally the Hares and the Tortoises. (Apologies if I’ve forgotten one or two).
The Social was rounded off nicely at Barcaldine Primary School with an outdoor picnic where everyone was able to chat, sample some of the activities on offer or warm themselves around the firepit. All the contributions of soup, rolls and cakes were greatly appreciated after such antics in the forest. Hopefully, there will be a few more socials throughout 2022.
AGM and Social:
Our combined AGM & Social/ Postponed De-flab Run will be held on Sunday, 6th March 2022 at Taynuilt Sports Pavilion. Details and time to be confirmed. If you have any questions or suggestions that you would like be considered at the AGM please email the secretary at secretary@ecko.org.uk
Committee meeting:
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, 8th February, 2022 via zoom at 7.45pm. As always we extend a warm welcome to any EckO member who wishes to be present. Email John McLuckie secretary@ecko.org.uk if you wish a zoom link.
2022 Membership Renewal
If you were an EckO member in 2021 please rejoin through your account at Scottish Orienteering (SiEntries) or British Orienteering. Otherwise, we'd love you to join EckO via Scottish Orienteering (SiEntries)
Upcoming Events:
1. Inverawe (Local Event 1) – Sunday, January 30th 2022
Our first event of 2022 is at Inverawe and entries are open via the website. The organiser is Andrea Lines and Ross Lilley is the planner There is likely to be an opportunity for an hours coaching/ training from 10.00 – 11.00 which will be open to all EckO members. Keep an eye on the website for further details.
2. Gullane, near Edinburgh – SOL 1 (Scottish Orienteering League)
Gullane sees the start of the 2022 Scottish Orienteering League (Sunday, 13th February 2022). Members of SWAT might like to make a weekend out of this and try a night orienteering event on the Braid Hill’s Golf Course, Edinburgh on the Saturday. See SOA website for entry details. RouteGadget map of Braid Hill
3. Coille Nathais, near Taynuilt (Local Event 2) – SOL 2 (Scottish Orienteering League) - Sunday, 27th February 2022
This is a regional event and upwards of 200 competitors are expected. The courses are planned and organisation is well under way. This is a fantastic opportunity to experience a large orienteering event and EckO will be looking for support and help on the day. Information will appear on the website shortly. The planners are Dave Bleazard and Ross Lilley with Grant Carstairs (Tay) controlling. Jan kersel and Andrea Lines are the organisers.
4. Callander Crags, Callander – CompassSport Qualifier – Saturday, 12th March 2022
Keep this date free – EckO would love our members to dip their toes out of our local events and this is an excellent opportunity for a family day out as well as the chance to be part of Team EckO. We have entered this event as a team and require at least 13 competitors of as many different ages as possible (Courses range from Orange to Brown). There will also be courses provided for families and young juniors. Moredetails later.
5. Ardnaskie, near Taynuilt (Local Event 3) – Sunday, 27th March 2022
Event Organiser/ Planner – Susannah MacMillan, Louis MacMillan
6. Glencoe Lochan, Glencoe (Local Event 4) – Saturday, 9th April 2022
This event is waiting for confirmation but is likely to be a ‘Come and Try’ Event
7. Sutherland’s Grove/ Fearnoch (Local Event 5) – Sunday, 24th April, 2022
Over last winter, 2 EckO Juniors (Ruari and Finlay Cottier) took part in a planning workshop run by Lynne Walker (BASOC/SOA) on zoom and have agreed to have a go at planning this event. Venue is still to be confirmed
8. Creag Mhic Chailein, near Taynuilt (Local Event 6) – Sunday, 22nd May 2022
Planner/ Organiser – John McLuckie
9. Venue TBC (Local Event 7) – Sunday, 26th June 2022
Wow, isn’t that a fantastic number of events for a small club to consider hosting! I would like to take this opportunity to extend a huge thank you to all our volunteers. Without you these events would not happen. To all EckO members, please consider becoming involved with the volunteering side of the club. If you have a particular area of interest eg planning a course or being involved with the event on the day, EckO is very happy to help facilitate this and offer support and mentoring. Either send an email or talk to a committee member at an event. Thank you in anticipation.
Coaching Catch up:
There is a zoom coaching catch up next week (date to be confirmed). We will be looking at a sustainable coaching programme for all EckO members. We will also be looking at developing our current coaches of which we have an ever increasing number which is fantastic news. We are always looking for more coaches. It’s also a great way of improving your own orienteering knowledge and skills. Please get in touch if you would like to be part of an ever increasing team of fantastic coaches.
EckO Lochaber Hub:
Last Saturday, a meeting was held at the Glencoe Inn to discuss the formation of an EckO Lochaber Hub. It was really encouraging to be see so many enthusiastic and interested people keen to establish some regular orienteering in the Lochaber area. See events for the first potential ‘Come and Try’ at Glencoe Lochan.
I look forward to seeing as many EckO members and friends at Inverawe.
kind regards
Jan Kersel (EckO Club Development Officer)