SCOnanza 2026Glasgow, 5 - 7 June
Some enthusiastic ESOC turfers took part in SCOnanza 2026, which had a similar format to previous open events in Scotland. It was a great weekend of events and socials, with plenty of competitors from other parts of the UK and also Sweden.
Friday 5 June
The weekend started with a 60 minute foot Turf "Welcome Event", which took place from 18:30 to 19:30, planned by Dangermous. The zones were placed around the Merchant City and Glasgow Green, with the event centre at the Drygate Brewery, Bar & Kitchen, at the NE edge of the event area. There was socialising before, during and after the event, plus the prizegiving for the welcome event, and Crowdy takes on a new zone there.
Saturday 6 June
The main events of the weekend were on Saturday, a bit further west. There were two 90 minute open events:
Cycle Turf event - 11:00 to 12:30, planned by Dangermous
Foot Turf event - 14:00 to 15:30, planned by granitemike
The base for these events was the Old Schoolhouse pub on Woodlands Road, with its own new Sconanza zone for Crowdies. Zones for the bike event were spread over a long thin area stretching from Maryhill Road along the River Kelvin to the Riverside Museum on the Clyde. The foot event covered much of the West End, including Kelvingrove Park, Hillhead, Byres Road and Partick. In the evening, there was a well-attended dinner plus the prizegiving for that day’s events.
MarkkuEsoc reports:
“This year’s Sconanza foot event took place in dry warm conditions, with a healthy total of 42 competitors including a sprinkling of Scandinavian visitors and many ESOC raiders who had headed West. There were 126 zones set by granitemike covering the Hillhead, Kelvingrove and Partickhill areas West of the city centre. There were some particularly pleasant areas such as the banks of the river Kelvin, Glasgow Botanic Gardens and Kelvingrove Park. Zones were well sited and of a good size, but most came back reporting on how hilly the area was.
Competitor wise, DrWes from the Yorkshire region took an early lead and was never headed, finishing with a total of 1,165 points; second place went to Fashven from Glasgow on 1,071; third was steventon_gang from Cheshire on 1,030. Leading ESOC turfers were MarkkuEsoc in fifth, with Christmas2 taking the leading female prize beating ESOCJeneral by just 10 points. Lead junior was Mathsboy, from Aberdeen, 10th overall and then CoolEsocAds in 12th.
After the event all headed back to a local beer garden to socialise, recover and talk through the various strategies employed. In the evening the majority of competitors headed over to the Brel Belgian bar and restaurant in the quintessential Ashton Lane. This was a superb venue with a great atmosphere, being sat outside under heaters, and served with super platters of food such as mini-burgers, chips and goujons. Dessert consisted of a large piece of specially commissioned cake incorporating the Sconanza 2026 Glasgow logo. The day’s prizegiving took place led by event supremo Dangermous with the prizes given out by the nattily dressed KPD, over from Sweden.”
Sunday 7 June
The final event was based on the Glasgow Subway. It was a closed foot event, from 10:15 till 11:30, planned by Dangermous. The zones were all near one of the 15 subway stations, and competitors were encouraged to use the Subway to travel around the city with a day ticket. The base for the event was The Railyard outdoor food market, near Kelvinbridge, afterwards moving to Coopers pub on Great Western Road for more socialising and prizes. And there was another new Sconanza zone, on the path by the River Kelvin.
At 11am, the new Turf round started, and there were unfortunately some hiccups in the app that caused delays to most people.
The Turf event maps and full results are available on the Turf website:
Welcome event
Open cycle event
Open foot event
Subway event
See this document for a description of how a Turf event works: Participating in a Turf event
Other entries categorised under: Turf