2026 Events Schedule Published
November 12 2025
Promoting Athletics in Orkney
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| Shapinsay 10k | April 18, 2026 | READ MORE |
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2025 Events Schedule published
January 16 2025
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From 1st January 2026, Scottish Athletics and UK Athletics organised competitions will be moving to even-numbered year age groups: U12, U14, U16, U18, U20 and Senior, rather than odd numbered (U11, U13, U15, U17) as has been the case in previous years.
At OARC, this will not change our training groups at all, but we will align with these age groups for our home competitions. The good news for understanding age groups is that they're no longer splitting mid-year, so it's just about year of birth which makes it a whole lot easier to follow. So, for next season:
- Under 12 born 2015-2016
- Under 14 born 2013-2014
- Under 16 born 2011-2012
- Under 18 born 2009-2010
- Under 20 born 2007-2008
- Senior born 2006 or earlier
- Masters aged 35+ on the day of the Championship
There is also a checker available on the SA website: www.scottishathletics.org.uk/events/age-group-changes/age-group-checker/
๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐: OARC's age group records are based on the previous age groups. Our intention is to archive the U11, U13, U15 and U17 records and count new records in U12, U14, U16 and U18 categories from next year. We will recognise as the record the first performance which beats the previous, lower, age group performance. For example, the current U15 Male 100m record is Zander Scott's 12.23s - the first U16 Male 100m record will be the first performance under this mark. The U15 record can no longer be broken.
We do also intend to split club records between indoor and outdoor performances - more on that in the next week or two.
Spotted at Picky (cabinets upstairs near the café) - this fantastic diorama of the 4x100 women receiving their gold medals. The work of Rebecca Moar for the East Mainland Horticultural Society.
Lindsay Campbell Moar
Nominations are open for the Orkney Sports Awards: we will and have put in club nominations, but it's worth individuals nominating too as part of the consideration is on the number of nominations received as far as we understand. There are a huge number of categories this year covering athletes, volunteers, coaches, officials and even photos!
You don't need to write anything in support of the nomination, just provide the name and sport, so you can do a nomination in less than 30 seconds. Why not submit a nomination in support of someone who you think deserves recognition?
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We're pleased to be able to share our planned event schedule for next year. As always, there's a chance that some events may need to change, and we'll confirm sponsors, details and entry methods closer to the time, but here are some dates for your diary. They are also available on our website events page: www.orkneyarc.org.uk/events/
ScottishAthletics outdoor events dates for the 2026 season have not yet been confirmed to our knowledge.
We’re hopefully not organising the Edinburgh marathon Rob! ๐
Over the weekend, club honorary life member William Sichel finished 19th (and second Briton) in the Abbott World Masters Marathon Championships M70, run as part of the New York Marathon. His finish time of 3:56: was good enough to 18,145th out of 59,141 - yes, the New York Marathon is nearly three times the population of Orkney on its own! Congratulations to William, who was supported by the OARC Travel Assistance Policy for folk competing nationally or internationally (www.orkneyarc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/OARC-Athlete-Travel-Assistance-Form-v6-011124.pdf)
Huge achievement - congratulations ๐
Congratulations - outstanding ๐
Great job William, we are so proud of you!โค๏ธ๐
Well done William ๐ ๐
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Repeated information from the email that went out, just in case anyone hasn't got the email. Secondary training resumes from tomorrow, Thursday 30th October, with Primary training restarting from the following Tuesday, 4th November.
S1 athletes, a rota will be placed on the OARC board in the crush area, however if you wish to join a single group permanently you can now do so with the agreement of the lead coach for that group. If you do this, you will be removed from the rota.
Primary athletes, an email was sent out on 14th October with notification of the term fee payment which is due before training starts back.
Senior track sessions have continued throughout October on Wednesdays 6-7pm and will continue until Picky shuts for Christmas. Please note the Senior team are trialling the use of Spond for communication - you should have already have an invite if you're a club member over 18 or regular attendee. If you're missing the invite, please email seniors@orkneyarc.org.uk
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As well as providing regular athletic instruction and training sessions, one of the key aims of OARC is to promote pathways to performance and as part of this, the Club organises and participates in a range of home and away competitions throughout the year.