JROS

Junior Regional
Orienteering
Squads

Junior Regional
Orienteering Squads

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Generic information about Lagganlia

Location

The Lagganlia training camp is based at the Lagganlia OEC www.lagganlia.com. The centre is close to Feshie Bridge and Kincraig and is located within easy reach of some of the best orienteering terrain in the UK.
The region around the river Spey contains such great areas as Inshriach, Loch Vaa, Anagach and many others. In fact the centre is on the Inshriach map and has its own orienteering map which is used for training.

Accommodation

Accommodation is in small en suite rooms in a number of separate cabins. The tour chef prepares all the meals on site and specific dietary needs are catered for.
There is a washing machine and plenty of room for outdoor games.
Athletes will be expected to assist with minor chores during the camp.

Background

Lagganlia has been used for this tour since 1995 and during that time over 400 juniors have attended the camp. This has included many World Class athletes including most members of the current GB Performance and Talent squads.
The camp is held around the last week of July – in those years when the Scottish 6-days is being held it is the week before and transport is arranged to the event centre at the end of the week.

Terrain

As indicated above there are many top class orienteering areas close by. In addition Lagganlia is only an hour’s drive from the Moray coast and its sand dune areas of Roseisle, Lossie and Culbin.
Recently there have been a number of areas which have restrictions due to the presence of capercaillie but there still remains sufficient areas to satisfy the camps needs.

Attendees

The camp is aimed at M/W14’s who have been nominated by their Region, up to a total of 24. On the occasions when 24 athletes do not qualify remaining places may be allocated to M/W15’s who have not already attended the camp.
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 14 coaches which means that this camp has a high coach: athlete ratio.

Report

Don McKerrow was the initial Tour Manager for Lagganlia 2022 and did all the preparatory work. Unfortunately, he came down with Covid the week before the tour and Tony Carlyle agreed to take over the role of Tour Manager. This resulted in Richard Lecky-Thompson having to make some last minute changes to the coaching team.

Lagganlia Staff

Alex Elliot SYO Junior Coach

Julie Emmerson OD Senior Coach

Alice Tilley OUOC & NWOC Coach

Kirstin Maxwell RR Coach

Barry Jones SO Coach

Mary Nixon SOC Chef

Chloe Cracknell MAROC Junior Coach

Maya Hampshire Wright NN Junior Coach

Dominic Dakin SYO Senior Coach

Lecky-Thompson LOC Lead Coach

Ffion Jones SO Junior Coach

Roger Thetford TVOC Senior Coach

Helen Errington HH Chef

Ryan Elliot SYO Coach

Ian Maxwell RR Senior Coach

Tony Carlyle AIRETour Manager, Safeguarding

Jonny Hooton EBOR Senior Coach

Wendy Carlyle AIRE Pastoral, Safeguarding

Other roles

Julie Emmerson Deputy Lead Coach, Forest team logistics

Dom Dakin SI

Ryan Elliot SI support

Jonny Hooton Video and AVA. Lodge supervisor

Chloe Cracknell Lodge supervisor

Roger Thetford Results and statistics

Wendy Carlyle Photography and First Aid clinic

Minibus drivers Barry Jones, Ian Maxwell, Richard Lecky-Thompson and Roger Thetford

Despite last minute changes, the coaching team for 2022 had a core of very experienced Lagganlia senior coaches who were supported by a team of enthusiastic junior coaches/helpers. I was impressed by the mature way in which the junior coaches interacted with the athletes which no doubt reflected on their own experiences of being coached.

Julie Emmerson and Kirstin Maxwell joined us once again and with the addition of Alice Tilley, a New Zealand International athlete, they were able to share their international experiences with the athletes.

The senior coaches keep on returning and continue to get on with minimum fuss to provide the athletes with a first-class experience. I offer thanks to all concerned on the juniors’ and their parents’ behalf for all the work that was done to ensure a successful week. Feedback from parents this year was highly complementary, and I have included extracts from their thanks with the athlete comments in Appendix 1.

Lagganlia Athletes

Aidan Hilton SN

Megan Brown ESOC

Anna Todd SYO

Olivia Radcliffe SUFFOC

Caspar Reynolds SYO

Oscar Peel SYO

Charlotte Slade SN

Rebecca Hammond FVO

Daniel Glover LEI

Rebecca Mayes CLOK

Ellie Simpson LEI

Robbie Lightfoot SYO

Finlay McLuckie MOR

Ruari Cottier ECKO

Finn Duguid TAY

Scarlett Kelly FVO

Henry Stitson AIRE

Seth Lawson NGOC

Iona Scott INVOC

Sophie Crawford WCOC

Katie Buckley AIRE

Sophie Howard MOR

Luke Bennett DFOK

Toby Heppell WCOC

Fourteen of the athletes came from just two regions this year, eight from Scotland and six from YHOA. I was concerned how this might affect the group but regardless of ability the athletes got on really well together. They were all highly motivated to improve their orienteering and this was reflected in their work rate in the forest and in their interactions with coaches. Domestic duties were also done with a smile and I didn’t have to chase anyone to complete their tasks. They were a great group of athletes to work with.

Travel and Transport

Organisation of transport arrangements to and from Lagganlia was left to parents. Most athletes were met at Aviemore station and transferred to Lagganlia by minibus. Two coaches were picked up from Inverness airport on Friday. One athlete flew into Inverness on Saturday but was picked up and delivered to Lagganlia with a parent of another athlete. Parents also returned a coach to the airport for their journey home. This saved extra journeys to Inverness and so, depending on numbers, worth considering in future as a means of getting people from and to the airport.

For those travelling by train the 16:19 arrival time at Aviemore Station is the best to enable us to get the athletes settled in, fed and then able to make good use of the time on Saturday evening. This year six athletes didn’t arrive until the 19:23 train which meant that mealtime was extended and evening activities were rushed.

1. In future well worth stressing the need for athletes to arrive on the 16:19 train.

With the rail strike on the 30th much time was spent monitoring arrangements for the train journeys home. LNER didn’t run any trains north of Edinburgh. Fortunately, Scotrail were still running a normal timetable but were expecting services to be busy. LNER were late publishing their timetable but by Friday morning I had confirmed homeward travel arrangements with parents. There were a couple of short delays but to great relief most journeys home went smoothly.

Two 15 seat minibuses were hired from Struans of Perth. These were picked up by Roger Thetford and Ian Maxwell. We had 4 designated drivers for the week, two drivers per bus. This gave flexibility for the organisation of forest sessions and ensured that there were at least 2 adults in each bus for every journey. The forest team used one car each session. At least one other car was used each day to ensure a spare vehicle for use in case of an emergency.

Accommodation

We had four lodges allocated:

Sgorans (16 beds); cooking and eating, athlete and coach dormitory.

Caerketton (17 beds); athlete social area, athlete and coach dormitory.

Anderson (11 beds); coach work and social area, coach dormitory.

Ptarmigan (6 beds); coach dormitory.

Main building dining room; Meeting and presentation area.

On arrival there had been changes to Sgorans, Caerketton and Anderson lodges since our last visit. Shower facilities had been upgraded in all Lodges and new beds and mattresses provided. Sgorans had a new drying room that had been built into the common area which reduced the space available. Caerketton had been re-designed with a new kitchen and dining area which reduced the available shared space.

All Lodges now have wifi boosters which gave good internet connection.

The upgrade in facilities was welcome but presented problems. Space for eating and whole group meetings and classroom sessions was reduced from previous years.

Lecky was able to negotiate access to the dining room area in the main building for no extra cost. This gave a good space for presentations and activities.

2. Negotiate a similar arrangement for next year.

Cooking and eating space presented more of a problem. Helen and Mary worked out a seating arrangement that worked well. Space previously used as a social area for athletes was now lost and Caerketton became the main athlete social area.

Catering

Helen and Mary proved to be very efficient and organised and continued with the high standard of catering set in previous years. The quality of meals produced was excellent and this was reflected in athlete comments.

Cooking for 42 using 2 domestic cookers is a challenge. Changes had to be made to previous years as space was reduced through refurbishment. Helen and Mary were concerned over space and safety and after discussion came up with an arrangement that worked well. Everyone had room to sit in comfort and passageways were kept clear to allow free movement between the two cooking areas.

Tesco was used to provide food deliveries, but with a limit of 135 items per delivery it meant having daily deliveries. This helped in managing food storage that had been an issue previously. Slots had to be booked in advance and orders submitted by 10-00pm the previous day.

It isn’t easy to ensure that the athletes and coaches are well fed and able to make the most of the days out in the forest, so Helen and Mary have our gratitude for their hard work in keeping us well fed and watered. Not having to worry about the catering side made my job easier so special thanks to Helen and Mary on my part.

Maps

Maps were printed on waterproof paper by BML Printers Ltd. BML continued their sponsorship of the maps by providing a 50% discount on actual cost.

One map per athlete and coach was provided for all the planned exercises so that all had a copy for their files.

All control maps were printed for logistics and use by the forest teams.

Programme and Logistics

Saturday – Evening

Welcome

Brief introductions

Community building activities

Meals & Food

Rotas

Coaching groups

Sunday, all day. Moor of Alvie. Map walk, pacing measurement, compass bearings and contours. Team star relay. Lead coach Chloe Cracknell

Monday, all day. Roseisle. Concentration on compass and contour work. Simplification, relating map to ground, visualisation. Control flow and pick exercises. Line course. Choices race. Lead coach Roger Thetford

Tuesday, all day. Lagganlia. Sketch maps for Culbin exercise.

Creag Beag. Warm up theory and practice. Track and terrain time trials. Further contour and compass work on open Scottish heather covered mountain slope.

Peg race. Lead coach Richard Lecky-Thompson

Wednesday, AM; Glenmore Lodge, sprint qualifier.

Badaguish, sprint semi-finals and final. Lead coach Ian Maxwell

Wednesday, PM: The Rings (Badaguish), swimming Loch Morlich, shops (Aviemore).

Thursday, all day. Culbin. Athlete sketch map courses. Control pick, line, simplification and longer legs exercises. Athlete centered coaching, coaches and athletes decide on skill/technique focus for individuals in their group. Odds and Evens relay.

Lead coach Julie Emmerson

Friday, AM; North Granish. Tour champs classic race. Lead coach Ffion Jones

Friday, PM: Lagganlia. Fun relays. Lead coach Kirstin Maxwell

Friday – Evening; Dinner, prize giving, entertainment, packing and cleaning rooms.

Saturday – Disperse

Comments

During the week the coaches worked with groups of athletes as shown below.

Ian Maxwell

Chloe Cracknell

Roger Thetford

Alice Tilley

Jonny Hooton

Alex Elliot

Richard Lecky-Thompson

Julie Emmerson

Barry Jones

Dom Dakin

Maya Hampshire Wright

Tony Carlyle

Kirstin Maxwell

Ryan Elliot

Ffion Jones

Seth Lawson

Finlay Mcluckie

Anna Todd

Olivia Radcliffe

Finn Duguid

Robbie Lightfoot

Magen Brown

Ellie Simpson

Luke Bennett

Ruari Cottier

Katie Buckley

Rebecca Hammond

Daniel Glover

Oscar Peel

Iona Scott

Rebecca Mayes

Toby Heppell

Caspar Reynolds

Sophie Howard

Charlotte Slade

Aidan Hilton

Henry Stitson

Sophie Crawford

Scarlett Kelly

All coaches/helpers were asked to complete log entries for the athletes they worked with. These contained lots of information and most focused on particular skills and coaching points; and related to how the athletes applied them during exercises. Asking all members of the team to complete log entries gave value to their efforts and enabled the younger and less experienced members of the team to develop their own observational and performance analysis skills. It was left to each group to decide how they collated the information.

Under the guidance of the senior coaches all coaches were responsible for putting together draft reports for athletes in their groups. These were then passed on to Richard Lecky-Thompson as lead coach to ensure consistency across all reports and to distribute to athletes and Regional Squads. All athletes left Lagganlia with three areas to work on in the coming months.

Athletes were expected to work with their group coaches but were also encouraged to talk to and work with the other coaches so that they could access the wide experience available from within the coaching team.

The daily coach de-brief sessions on the day’s activities provided much useful discussion and encouraged all to contribute as well as providing a useful opportunity for coach development.

Julie Emmerson took on the role of forest team management. Using the proforma trialed last year by Lecky, Julie worked out the logistics for each day before the evening briefings began. This saved time in the briefing and preparation tasks could be done earlier. This system worked well and freed up time for coaches.

Having two named drivers for each minibus gave flexibility and allowed drivers the opportunity to hang controls.

Coaching group time was factored into each day. Usually this was between 5-00 and

6-00pm but was kept flexible for days when travel delayed the return time to Lagganlia. This allowed structured time for debrief of the day’s activities, including race analysis. Coaches not only got to know their athletes, but were able to review, build on the day’s activities and set action points for the next day. Being part of the structure for the day it was readily accepted by the athletes. Listening in to the group sessions there was a lot of two-way interaction between the coaches and athletes and often sessions went on longer than planned in response to athlete participation.

We continued operating the First Aid clinic. After training each day anyone with an injury, or who had first aid administered during the day, had to report to Wendy to ensure all details were recorded and appropriate follow up taken. Next morning all who had attended the evening clinic had to see Wendy between 8-15 and 8-30 for any treatment, e.g., blister covering, and to get the OK for training that day. Group coaches were informed of any concerns.

This worked very well in maintaining athlete participation and keeping track of injuries and ensuring that athletes didn’t make any injuries worse.

This were no incidents that required reporting to parents.

Expenditure was over the allocated budget of £11,483 with a shortage of income over expenditure of £211.60. This figure is provisional until all expenses have been confirmed.

Lagganlia accommodation was a known cost when the budget was set and was carried over by Lagganlia Centre from 2020.

Helen and Mary kept within the food budget which worked out at £5-16 per person, per day.

Focus is no longer hiring minibuses, so Don hired 2 x 15 seaters from Struans of Perth whose premises, close to the ring road, provided a convenient location for pickup on the way north. The only downside was that hiring from Inverness was convenient for pick-up and drop-off of coaches/athletes at Inverness airport.

The flexibility of having two named drivers per bus helped with the daily logistics and was well worth the extra insurance premium.

With the current fuel problems the cost of diesel for minibuses was above budget reflecting higher pump prices.

Maps were provided at 50% cost by BML printers, many thanks to Nigel for his continued support.

Lecky liaised with local clubs for areas and access. The only access cost was the Badaguish donation. Many thanks to the local clubs who waived costs and supported Lecky in securing training areas.

Volunteer travel expenses was over budget, thanks to those who shared transport to reduce their travel costs.

A big thank you to TVOC for their support in providing equipment at no cost.

All the First Aid kits were checked and out of date supplies replenished.

Some of the walkie talkie batteries were starting to fail, at least one was unable to hold a charge by the end of the week. I will check out the radios and replace batteries that are no longer reliable.

Conclusions

Coaches, helpers and athletes all put in a lot of effort to make the tour a success. The Programme demanded a lot from both coaches and athletes, but athlete comments showed that they were happy to work hard and that they took much away from the week.

The safe arrival and mid-week e-mails were sent again this year and were well received by parents. Knowing the on-going difficulty of making mobile contact from Lagganlia and that the parents appreciate the contact, I recommend the use of e-mails again next year for the arrival and midweek updates. Putting a daily selection of Wendy’s photographs on line for parents was also much appreciated.

All athletes were provided with a questionnaire at the end of the week which reflected a very positive experience for all athletes.

Minimum transport requirements: two 15 seat minibuses each with 2 drivers; two private cars available each day, 1 for forest team and 1 as an emergency vehicle.

Recommended minimum staffing:

Tour Manager

Cook plus helper

6 experienced coaches, 6 junior coaches/helpers (at least 4 able to drive minibuses).

We were fortunate once more to have a higher ratio of coaches than the minimum and this was beneficial to the athletes as they gained from more individual attention. Extra staffing also allows specific tasks to be allocated to individual coaches without impacting on athlete contact.

Tony Carlyle
Tour Manager 2022

Selections

Luke Bennett DFOK
Ruari Cottier ECKO
Finn Selmer Duguid TAY
Daniel Glover LEI
Toby Heppell WCOC
Aidan Hilton SN
Seth Lawson NGOC
Robbie Lightfoot SYO
Finlay McLuckie MOR
Oscar Peel SYO
Caspar Reynolds SYO
Henry Stitson AIRE

Megan Brown ESOC
Katie Buckley AIRE
Sophie Crawford WCOC
Rebecca Hammond FVO
Sophie Howard MOR
Scarlett Kelly FVO
Rebecca Mayes CLOK
Olivia Radcliffe SUFFOC
Iona Scott INVOC
Ellie Simpson LEI
Charlotte Slade SN
Anna Todd SYO

Selection Policy

Eligibility

The Camp is principally for M/W14s born in 2008, but may include M/W15s born in 2007 (see below)

Numbers

The camp will be for a targeted number of 24 juniors.

Nominations

Each of the 12 British Orienteering Regional Associations may nominate up to 2 eligible M/W14 athletes, as defined above, who have achieved the standard set out below. In addition reserves may be nominated (M/W14 or M/W15) who have achieved the standard. In the selection process M/W14s will take precedence over all M/W15s.

In addition a Region may nominate other athletes, as reserves, who they feel are worthy of selection but who have failed to satisfy the qualifying standard. Such nominations must be supported by a statement from the Regional Coordinator.

Each Region is encouraged to nominate a junior who they believe would benefit from attendance on the tour.

All nominations should be listed in a ranked order by the Region, with number 1 being their top choice.

Download the nomination form

Nomination forms may be sent any time, preferably as soon as possible, to the Secretary of JROS, Steve Kimberley () and by Friday 22nd April 2022 at the latest.

Criteria

Juniors wishing to be selected will have achieved the standards set out below in at least one of the following races;

Scottish Championships 2021 (13th June)

Midland Championships, 2022 (30th January)

Northern Champs, 2021 (6th June) & 2022 (3rd April)

Southern Championships, 2021 (12th December)

JK Day 2, 2022 (16th April)

JK Day 3, 2022 (17th April)

British Long Distance Champs, 2021 (2nd October) & 2022 (26th March)

British Middle Distance Champs, 2021 (5th June) & 2022 (6th March)     

Qualifying standard

M/W14s Juniors being nominated will have achieved championship standard in at least one of the above races.

Nominated M/W15s will have achieved a championship standard at M/W16 or at M/W14 in at least one of the above races.

Selection process

The priority for selection will be (for more detail see below);

2 athletes per Region with qualifying standard
Additional qualifying athletes
Athletes nominated by Regions with no qualifying athletes
Additional nominations

All nominated athletes (without qualifying criteria) must be agreed by the selectors whose decisions will be final.

The two M/W14 athletes from each Region with qualifying standard will be selected first.

They will then be followed by any M/W14s with qualifying standard not yet selected.

If there are still spaces the selectors may select M/W14 athletes nominated by a Region who has no athletes who have achieved the qualifying standard.

If there are further spaces the selectors will then select from the M/W15s, who have not previously attended, with qualifying standard.

If there are still spaces the selectors may select from the remaining nominated athletes who have not achieved the qualifying standard.

At all times selections continue up to the maximum number of athletes on tour or until the selectors deem there are sufficient athletes selected of an acceptable standard.

If there are two or more athletes with equal results and fewer places available, the selectors may seek further information from the Regional squad, with positions attained at British Championships and JK being the differentiator.

The tour selectors are

Susan Marsden (SEOA) Sue Roome (NWOA) Pauline Olivant (EMOA)

Selections will be announced via e-mail by JROS Secretary or Chair. The Regional Coordinators will be informed of all athletes attending a few days before the athletes are informed.

Any disagreement with selections should be addressed to the Chair, not the selectors.

Calculation of Championship time

For details of the calculation of championship standard times refer to;

https://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/images/uploaded/downloads/Competition%20Rule%20N%202014badgescheme.pdf