Deeside 2022

The Deeside training camp is normally based at Templars’ Park, Maryculter on the banks of the River Dee near Aberdeen. The camp is for around 18 athletes, the final number being determined by the Selectors and the Team Manager.
In 2022 the Deeside camp will be based at Findhorn on the Moray coast.
The camp ran from Saturday July 23rd to the Friday 29th July
Report now available

Generic information about Deeside

Location

The Deeside training camp is based at the Templar’s Park Scout Camp, Maryculter (http://www.templarspark.org.uk/ ). The site is only 8 miles from Aberdeen and is easily accessible from the A93.
The Deeside valley is rich in excellent orienteering areas such as Glen Feardar, Cambus O’May, Inchmarnoch, Creag Choinnich etc.

Accommodation

Accommodation is in two buildings, the George Smith centre and the White House. Both have a number of dormitories of various sizes and their own showers and toilets.
The tour chef prepares all the meals on site and specific dietary needs are catered for. Athletes will be expected to assist with minor chores during the camp.
The site is 45 acres in size so there is plenty of room for outdoor games.

Background

2013 was the first year that this site has been used for an extended camp, previously having been used by ScotJOS (The Scottish Junior Squad) for weekend trainings.
Although this is the first time that this location has been used for this tour similar camps have taken place since the late 1990’s based at Glenmore Lodge, Badaguish and Lagganlia.
The move to Maryculter has been largely prompted by restricted land access caused by the presence of capercaillie and WOC 2015 in the Spey valley.

Terrain

As indicated above there are many top class orienteering areas along the A93 from Braemar in the east to Aberdeen in the west. In addition to those mentioned above there are the areas of Bogendreip, Glen Dye, Scolty and Allt Cailleach all within easy reach of the centre.
These areas present different orienteering tests to the terrain in the Spey Valley and are seen as a suitable progression for the juniors.

Attendees

The camp is aimed at M/W16’s who have achieved the required standard in the nominated selection races (See Deeside Selection criteria). It is expected that up to 16 M/W16’s will attend
In support of the camp there is a Tour Manager (TM) who has responsibility for such things as travel, accommodation, food etc.
The TM is supported by a chef and a Lead Coach. The Lead Coach has a team of up to 8 coaches, providing an ample coach: athlete ratio.

Report

Deeside 2022 was relocated to Findhorn due to Templars Park, the usual Deeside accommodation being unavailable, and the Deeside forests being damaged by heavy storms in Feb 2022.

What went well

· A fantastic group of athletes, who were all keen to learn and excited by the orienteering

· A wonderful group of coaches

· Two great chefs, who looked after everyone extremely well with huge portions of delicious food on-budget

· Accommodation: the Findhorn Village hostel is perfect for a tour, but it is limited on space.

o Lessons: the garden room (in the hostel) or church hall (adjacent) were booked for £50/day and were required as classroom space and social space for the athletes

o If we had been able to book the ‘Lobster pot’, a small stand-alone part of the hostel, that would’ve been more convenient than 4 of the staff having to stay in pubs / Airbnbs in Findhorn

· Findhorn is a great location, only 20-30mins from all the classic Moray areas

· Nikki Howard and Elizabeth Furness were excellent in helping with access to areas

· The water taxi to Culbin East was worth the effort

o Booked via North 58 Sea Adventures / the Captain’s table café

· Planning effort split between Tom, Pete and Duncan

· Classroom sessions

o The athletes were all engaged, and because of this the 2 x 30-40mins sessions each day extended to 2 x 75mins

· Emailing individual tour reports on the journey home while all the feedback was fresh

What could have been better

· Inexperienced tour manager who underestimated the hours required to chase things ups and make them happen ahead of the tour. The lesson is to book everything as early as possible, as unforeseen things (like getting a new job, moving house, and volunteers needing following-up more than expected to book the hostel / commit if they could help / get maps printed etc)

o Findhorn village hostel was excellent, but it is small. It is only viable with extras (see above). This took a lot more time to arrange than normal.

o Iain Embrey’s mentoring was invaluable. He was very kind and helpful, even letting coaches generously stay at his house the night before.

Finances

The budget was planned at £450 per athlete for 16 athletes. The actual cost was £451.97 per athlete

	Cost	Detail
9-seater (1)	£660.00	Jack's self-drive, Inverness
9-seater (2)	£628.00	Central hire, Warrington. Used to transport several coaches up, which saved cost
Findhorn Village hostel	£3,180.00
Extra accommodation for coaches	£1227.59	Extra accom needed in Findhorn village, as the hostel was not large enough
Water taxi	£130
BML maps	£100.73
Tour tops	£403.50
Food	£707.70	Budgeted for approx £5pp per day
Coaches’ expenses	£1313.95	Petrol for 9-seaters and own cars. Travel to & from Findhorn Parking during the week
Total spent	£8,351.47

JROS contribution	£1,120.00	£70 for 16 athletes
Total minus JROS contribution	£7,231.47

Per athlete	£451.97	Asked for a £300 deposit before the tour, and to expect an approx £450 total

Conclusion

This was one of the best orienteering tours I’ve ever been part of.

A brilliant set of enthusiastic athletes. A great team of coaches. Good food. Engaging orienteering classroom work. Some of the best forests with focused orienteering exercises. Admin and logistics that all went smoothly.

Selection Policy

Selections

Tommy Rollins SN
Laurence Ward INT
James Bryant SYO
Isaac Hunter WCOC
Ben Perry DEVON
Harry Bratcher-Howard WIM
Rory Black INVOC
Jamie Connor FVO

Lyra Medlock WSX
Kate McLuckie MOR
Freya Tryner SYO
Yolanda Hampshire-Wright NN
Ruth Gooch MAROC
Ellie Darlow RR
Grace French WIM
Charlotte Sykes SYO
Myrtle Ashworth WCOC

Eligibility

The camp is for M/W15’s born in 2007

Numbers

The camp will be for around 16 athletes, the final number being determined by the Selectors and the Team Manager.

Criteria

Athletes wishing to be selected will have achieved the standard set out below in the following races;

British Long Distance Champs 2022 (26th March)

Northern Championships Weekend middle distance 2022 (2nd April)

Northern Championships 2022 (3rd April)

JK Day 2 2022 (16th April)

JK Day 3 2022 (17th April)

Standard for selection

The best three results will be considered from the selection races. It is expected that a good silver will be achieved.

The tour selectors

The tour athletes will be selected by Susan Marsden (Chair), Pauline Olivant and Sue Roome.

Illness or injury

All cases of illness or injury which may affect an athlete’s ability to compete in one or more of the above selection races should be notified in writing to the athletes Regional Squad coordinator prior to the running of that race, clearly explaining the reasons for their failure to compete. The Regional Squad Coordinator will make the Selectors aware of such notifications.