Coaching Feb/March 2005
Coaching for beginners and Juniors – 20th Feb 2005
SLOW will be organising a coaching day for beginners and juniors on Sunday 20th February. This is the week before the Compass Sport cup (see Club Captain’s e-mail) so a chance to polish your skills before then. There will be particular emphasis on relocation skills (translation – finding where you are again after you have got lost).
The coaching day is designed for a range of standards from young juniors just starting to exercises to stretch developing juniors and adult inexperienced orienteers (approximately yellow to light green standard and a bit beyond) The exercises can be tailored to match the people who want to come. You can be shadowed by more experienced orienteers or just talk to a coach after each exercise. We will finish by early afternoon with a fun relay. This is a good chance to talk to people about the areas you want to improve. The area is yet to be confirmed – details to follow. Transport can be arranged for those who need it.
Please let me know by 9th Feburary if you would like to attend.
Coaching weekend – 4th to 6th March 2005
Are you quivering in your boots because you have heard that the British Championships are on a sand dune area (Penhale Sands in Cornwall) this year? Well, rescue is at hand because SLOW is having a training weekend on sand dune areas in South Wales on the weekend of the 4th/5th/6th March 2005.
We will be training on Broughton Burrows on the Gower Peninsula on Saturday 5th March during the day. These are challenging open coastal sand dunes with a limited number of paths and fences so you will have to learn to use ridges and large depressions as line features. For the real addicts there is the Midland Night Championships at Pembrey Forest on Saturday night or a return to our chalets. Then you will have a chance to try out what you have learnt at a regional event at Pembrey on Sunday. Pembrey is also a sand dune area much of it is forested.
The coaching exercises will be designed for people with a reasonable amount of orienteering experience preferably light green standard or above. It would be suitable for older juniors. But please discuss with Chris Fry or myself if you are keen but unsure – we will do our best to cater for everyone that would like to come. We hope that more experienced orienteers will spend at least part of the day going round with the less experienced but will also get a chance to do some coaching exercises themselves. I have made a provisional booking of some chalets (two for 6 people, one for 8 people) at the LA Holiday and Riding Centre “www.lariding.co.uk” near Port Talbot. It would be possible for families to book their own chalets if sharing with the mob does not appeal (there are 13 chalets in all which were still free before Christmas). The cost is £190 per cabin 6 berth or 8 berth for 2 nights with a 3rd night free and a discount is possible if the cabin is not full e.g. £165 per night if only 3 or 4 people.
The chalets are 1 mile from J40 of the M4. Its location was chosen to minimise the length of the drive on Friday night and to allow reasonable proximity to a railway station (Port Talbot). It is about another 30 miles to Broughton Burrows – just over half on motorway, the rest on little roads. Pembrey is also about 30 miles away in a slightly different direction.
I need to know numbers for both land permission for Broughton Burrows (not expected to be a problem) and for the chalets, particularly if the chalets provisionally booked will not be sufficient. I have already had expressions of interest from several people.
Please return the attached form to me, preferably by 31st January to give me an idea of numbers (even if you have to confirm later). Please reply also if you cannot come as that will give a much clearer idea of where we stand with numbers.
Name:
Contact details:
I will/will not be able to attend the coaching weekend on 4th – 6th March 2005.
I do/do not require accommodation at the LA Riding Centre for Fri 4th March
I do/do not require accommodation at the LA Riding Centre for Sat 5th March
Level of orienteering experience:
What you wish to gain from the weekend:
Likely travel plans:
Would you be happy to volunteer to help with any of the following:
Planning coaching exercises (in discussion with Chris Fry)?
Co-ordinating transport arrangements (matching car drivers to those needing lifts or nominating a suggested train; ensuring enough lifts available during the weekend for those arriving by public transport)?
Purchasing communal food for breakfast/lunch if this is what people wish?
Investigating a good place to eat on Saturday night? (There is a clubhouse/cafeteria/restaurant at the accommodation but I have not investigated whether it is open all year/all week, what sort of cost etc)
Hanging out or collecting controls?
Coaching people less experienced than yourself?
Any other comments?
Please return to Heather Walton