Nick Hale (MAROC) is the Technical Coordinator for Royal Deeside 2025.

Nick’s role is to coordinate the technical quality of the orienteering experience throughout the week.

“My job is to ensure consistency in high standard courses and terrain throughout the week, balanced with the best possible holiday experience for all competitors. I’m in the privileged position of being the only person who gets to see all the courses!

I work closest with the Planning/Controlling teams from around Scotland and the Mapping Coordinator, all of whom have proved to be excellent and flexible under sometimes rapidly changing circumstances.

I have orienteered for 47 years and have competed in every 6 Day event since 1979 (and have the coasters to prove it!). At Lochaber 2021 I planned the Inverlochy Middle-Distance race. I have orienteered at all levels throughout the UK as a member of JOK, GRAMP, CLYDE, GRAMP again, Southern Navigators and MAROC.

In 2019 I represented Scotland at the Veteran’s Home International and my best achievement has been a Silver Medal at the 2018 M60 British Relay Championships. I was also President of MAROC for four years.

I live on Deeside and have been involved with this Event for 2½ years from the very early days of location selection. I know the local forests very well. They suffered extensive windblown damage from the northerly winds of Storm Arwen in November 2021 but much of that has now been removed and they have returned to the orienteering challenge we love.

As a local resident I am thrilled to have so many orienteers running in our forests. I know from personal experience how much our visitors from overseas and the rest of the UK look forward to the orienteering quality and holiday atmosphere of the 6 Days and I am very pleased to be just one of hundreds making it a reality.”