Moravian club development year 1 report
Last year we awarded a grant to Moravian to support a club development officer, and you can read the interim report from the CDO Will Hall. See below for a report at the end of their first year
1. Introduction
In December 2022 Moravian Orienteers applied for funding to the Orienteering Foundation and Scottish Orienteering to employ a Club Development Officer. This application was set against a background of declining membership, but recognised the potential to raise awareness and develop our club profile in Moray with the imminent Scottish Six Days Orienteering Festival in August 2023. The initial funding proposal was for a 12-month project. As well as funding from the Orienteering Foundation and SOA, the club itself provided half of the funding, drawn from club reserves.
Following interview in March 2023 we were pleased to appoint Will Hall to the CDO position. During the initial contract period Will developed his orienteering knowledge, supported by the club and training activities delivered by SOA. Since then, Will has successfully developed and delivered a variety of orienteering activities across Moray, as well as supporting the club in enhancing our marketing and social media engagement in the local area. Due to other work and personal commitments, the project timescales have been extended, such that the CDO activities are now planned to continue until late Autumn/early Winter 2024.
This report summarises activities and outcomes over the period April 23 - July 24. Whilst the report focuses on the activities of the CDO, key members of the club, particularly the coaching team led by Morag McLuckie, have been engaged in regular parallel coaching activities, usually linked to our local orienteering events. We are very encouraged by the consequent increased attendance at local events, and the upturn in club membership. We hope to extend Will’s CDO contract for a further 12 month period, subject to securing further funding.
Finally, the club were very pleased that the SOA have acknowledged our development efforts with the recent award of Club Mark Silver accreditation status.
2. Club Development Officer role description and outcomes
2.1 Role Description (March 2023)
The Club Development Officer will:
- Be a first contact for new participants to orienteering, presenting a knowledgeable, welcoming and friendly persona.
- Focus on increasing membership from MOR’s five key ‘hubs’ of Forres, Elgin, Lossiemouth, Fochabers and Buckie. The development and training sessions will be distributed across these core communities, supported by local events.
- Encourage participation in orienteering in these hubs through developing relationships with schools, community groups, and through effective communication, advertising and promotion.
- Coordinate communication and publicity of future MOR Club events and activities in order to generate awareness and interest of orienteering in the local community, particularly the key hubs identified above.
Our main project outcomes were as follows.
A. Develop skills through focused orienteering activities and training sessions for schoolchildren, families and new members.
Will Hall is leading developments with Active Schools Moray and local youth groups to raise the profile of orienteering. To date, Will has engaged with 10 primary schools, and around 450 primary students; two Scouts groups as well as other local sports clubs (see Table 1). He has organised and contributed to four successful come and try it (CATI) events catering to more than 300 local people and families. In the future we are looking to establish semi-permanent orienteering courses at primary schools in the east of Moray (e.g. Llanbryde, Fochabers).
Examples of the successful CATI events include one in Cooper Park, Elgin and two at Brodie Castle, and one in Grant Park, Forres. In total we reached over 300 people at these events. Importantly, families have joined in the fun of introductory orienteering courses, learning about maps and the ever-popular Maze. Lorna Leil, the Visitor Services Supervisor at Brodie Castle has been very complimentary about the work that Will and other club members have been doing - see the news article in the local press.
B. Co-ordinate communication and publicity of Club events and activities in order to maintain awareness and interest of orienteering in the local community.
We have used both paid advertising and contacts with local organisations on social media to raise the profile of events. Analysis of data provided by social media platforms indicates that the reach of Facebook and Instagram posts typically exceeds 1000 for local event posters. On many occasions posts have lead to enquiries and then attendance at events.
3. Outcomes for the club
Employment of a CDO supported by the OF, SOA and MOR club funds has been overwhelmingly positive. As a result of the activities described above, we can report the following key indicators of success:
- Attendance at local events - attendance at local events has increased over the last 18 months from typically 50-60 per event to 70-90 per event.
- Membership increase 2024 - club membership has increased during the year, so that we now have 143 members, up 26 on 2023. In summary, BOF +7, SOA +19, with Seniors +11 and Juniors +15. We feel sure that part-year membership (introduced by both BOF and SOA in 2024) will have helped contribute to this increase in membership throughout the year.
- Increased awareness of Orienteering in the local area – With the later start date of the project we were unable to fully capitalize on the publicity developed through Moray 2023. However, we have been able to set up two permanent orienteering courses at Brodie Castle, which is run by the National Trust for Scotland. This initiative was lead by our CDO, working with club members and the staff at Brodie Castle This summer more than 200 maps have been handed out to visitors who have enjoyed exploring the castle estate. Maps are available from the Brodie Castle Welcome Centre, as well as online at Go Orienteering and the Club web pages. Maps contain information about the club, and where to find details of future events.
4. Future plans and sources of funding
Our Club Development Officer, in conjunction with members of the club, have discussed future plans for 2025. Subject to funding, we plan to extend orienteering opportunities for those new to the sport, and will focus on the following themes:
- Establishment of orienteering activity “hubs” at Brodie Castle, Gordon Castle, Logie Steading and Cooper Park, Elgin. These will be the focus for CATI events, which have been found to be very successful during the past 18 months, based not only on attendance but also the numbers of those new to orienteering subsequently attending local events. It is also hoped to organize some ‘Run try it events’ at Buckie, Cullen and Aberlour, targeting local running groups, using existing links previously developed by our CDO.
- Further development of our schools activities throughout our catchment area. This autumn we have been running a block of four weekly sessions for Forres Schools giving an introduction to orienteering. These have been well received, and lead to engagement of new families in some of our local events. This autumn a block of four weekly sessions were run for the Forres active schools group. We had 14-16 children from P4-S1 each week introducing them to orienteering culminating with some courses out in the local woods.
- To develop at least two new Permanent Orienteering courses in Moray and further use of Maprun to extend the range of opportunities for those new to orienteering on a ‘try it for yourself’ basis. Additional developments will include the adoption of Qr codes on Start/Finish posts so that visitors can find out more about orienteering in the local area via our club website (www.mor.scot).
- Explore the opportunities to further develop Mountain Bike Orienteering in Moray for all ages. This summer Steve Smirthwaite, supported by other club members, ran a successful programme of local MTBO events, which engaged a small but committed number of existing and new members. A Highland MTBO weekend is planned for September 2025, leading to the World Masters’ Orienteering Festival in September 2026, which is being hosted in Moray.
In conclusion, Moravian Orienteers are committed to extending the contract of our CDO for a further 12 months (Phase 2), in order to embed the successful activities carried out over the past 18 months (Phase 1) and build a more sustainable future for the club. We are extremely grateful to the Orienteering Foundation and the Scottish Orienteering Association for part funding Phase 1 of this project.
Rob Parkinson, Karen Fraser, Will Hall
Moravian Orienteers
October 2024