Lagganlia and Kincraig 2012

Generic information about Lagganlia

Lagganlia Staff

Arthur Vince (KERNO) Chef
Karen Clark (EBOR) Senior Coach
Chloe Haines (AIRE/EUOC) Coach/FT
Nev Myers (EBOR) Lead Coach
Christine Vince (KERNO) Chef
Rebecca Harding (HH/EUOC) Coach/FT
Dave Rogers (BKO) Senior Coach
Richard Leckey-Thompson (LOC) Senior Coach
Don McKerrow (SLOW) Senior Coach
Emily Benham (SARUM) Coach and Physio
Roger Thetford (TVOC) Senior Coach
Florence Haines (AIRE) Jnr Coach/FT
Stuart Thomson (FVO) Coach/FT
Jack Benham (SARUM) Jnr Coach/FT
Tony Carlyle (AIRE) Tour Manager
Jonny Malley (SHUOC) Jnr Coach/FT
Vicky Myers (EBOR) Pastoral

Kincraig Staff

Arthur Vince (KERNO) Chef
John Britton (MDOC) Senior Coach
Bill Stephenson (ESOC) Senior Coach
Jo Shepherd (EUOC) Coach/FT
Chloe Haines (AIRE/EUOC) Coach/FT
Josh Beech (EBOR) Coach
Christine Vince (KERNO) Chef
Kilian Imhof (SUI) Coach
Dave Rogers (BKO) Senior Coach
Nev Myers (EBOR) Lead Coach
Don McKerrow (SLOW) Senior Coach
Roger Thetford (TVOC) Senior Coach
Emily Benham (SARUM) Coach and Physio
Steve Kimberley (DVO) Senior Coach
Hollie Orr (EUOC) Coach
Stuart Thomson (FVO) Coach/FT
Iain Embrey (OD) Senior Coach
Tony Carlyle (AIRE) Tour Manager
Jack Benham (SARUM) Jnr Coach/FT

The mix of coaches/helpers proved very successful and I offer thanks to all concerned on the junior’s behalf for all the work that was done to ensure a successful week.  The experience of the senior coaches and enthusiasm of the younger ones ensured that logistics went smoothly and exercises were ready when athletes arrived at the areas.

All athletes were at the expected standard and came well prepared in terms of appropriate clothing and attitude.  There were no discipline problems and the athletes kept good time.  Briefings, evening sessions and departures for the forest all kept to schedule.

When it came to duties some chasing up had to be done on the Kincraig week but overall the athletes were diligent and polite in carrying out their allotted tasks.

Travel and Transport

Organisation of transport arrangements to and from Lagganlia was left up to parents.  This worked well as parents from within regions and friendship groups, co-ordinated athlete travel including travel on from Aberystwyth for those attending CROESO.

The only transport glitch was the CROESO contingent missed their connection due to late arrival in Edinburgh and didn’t arrive at Aviemore until the 19-28 train.

Athletes were met at Aviemore station and transferred to Lagganlia by minibus.

Two 17 seat minibuses were hired from Focus Vehicle Rental in Inverness and were used for transport to and from the areas.  Each bus had 2 designated drivers and there were at least 2 adults in each bus for every journey.  The forest team used one car each session.  Two other cars were also used each day to transport coaches and ensure a spare vehicle for use in case of an emergency.

Accommodation and Catering

We had three lodges allocated:

Sgorans (16 beds); Social and meeting/presentation area, girls’ and coaches dormitory.

Hillend (18 beds); Cooking and eating, boys’ and coaches dormitory.

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

Once again Christine and Arthur produced a high standard of catering.  The quality of meals produced was excellent and empty plates spoke for themselves.  The use of Anderson and Hillend made cooking arrangements much easier for Christine and Arthur. 

Maps

Maps were printed on waterproof paper by Print 5 and BML Printers Ltd.  The change of ownership for print 5 meant that we did not receive the reduced price for printing and the prizes that Alan Halliday had generously provided for the last 3 years.

One map per athlete and coach were 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

LAGGANLIA

Saturday – Evening                       

Welcome                                          

Brief introductions  

Community building activities                  

Meals & Food                                  

Rotas

Coaching groups

Sunday - AM – Moor of Alvie

Sunday - PM – Uath Lochan

Monday – Inshriach, chequerboard area

Tuesday – All Day – Roseisle

Wednesday – Sprint racing

Sprint Qualifier         Lagganlia

Sprint Final               Badaquish

Wednesday – PM/evening

Trail O                        Lagganlia

The Rings     (Badaguish)

Swimming    (Loch Morlich)                                                                                 

Shops                        (Aviemore)

Bar-B-Que     (Lagganlia)

Thursday – Batten

Friday – AM Loch Vaa

Tour champs classic race

Friday – PM Avie Lochan

Fun relays

Friday – Evening

Dinner            (All)

Prize giving   (Chloe and Jonny)                                      

Begin packing and cleaning rooms.

Saturday – Disperse

KINCRAIG

Saturday – Evening                       

Welcome                                          

Brief introductions  

Community building activities                  

Meals & Food                                  

Rotas

Coaching groups

Sunday - AM – Alvie

Sunday - PM – Timed runs, chequerboard area

Sunday – Night – Night event, Lagganlia

Monday – Balavil

Tuesday – All Day – Roseisle

Wednesday – AM - Lagganlia chequerboard

Wednesday – PM - Low ropes activity (Lagganlia), swimming (Loch Morlich),     shops (Aviemore), Trail O (Lagganlia), Bar-B-Que (Lagganlia).

Thursday – Faskally

Friday – AM Loch Vaa Tour champs classic race

Friday – PM Avie Lochan Fun relays

Friday – Evening

Dinner            (All), prize giving                                          

Begin packing and cleaning rooms.

Saturday – Disperse

Comments

The Lead Coach (Nev Myers) put the programme together and passed on responsibility to the coaches for planning and delivering forest and classroom sessions. 

All coaches/helpers were asked to complete log entries for the athletes they worked with.  These contained lots of information and most focussed 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.  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 Nev Myers as lead coach to ensure consistency across all reports.

Having Kilian Imhof (Swiss National Junior Coach) join us for the second week was also a bonus as it provided a different perspective on the week and gave valuable two way feedback.

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

The daily coach debrief 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.

Logistics for control hanging were worked out each day in the coaches briefing and worked well.  Having two named drivers for each minibus also allowed drivers the opportunity to hang controls. 

Conclusion

Coaches, helpers and athletes all put in a lot of effort to make the tours 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. 

With the World Champs embargo now lifted we had hoped to gain access to areas that were unavailable last year.  However the lengthening and tightening of the Capercaille season prevented access.  New venues were found by Hilary Quick and provided adequate alternatives for planned activities. 

With embargoes and the extended Capercaille season Lagganlia becomes a less attractive venue for the camps, particularly the Kincraig age group.  Some discussion is needed by JROS to look at alternative venues for future years.

The inclusion of the sprint and ultra-races (mazes) was very popular with the athletes.  The ultra-sprint provided many coaching points as well as being good fun and is strongly recommended for inclusion again next year.

The night event was well received and could also be included later in the week for the Lagganlia camp.

Trail O was included for the first time

Culbin was unavailable this year so Roseisle was used for the contour day.  The day proved very successful in spite of the journey time to and from the area.  The ice-cream stop at Forres remains very popular.  Discussion on the day with athletes showed that like Culbin, Roseisle and its contours helped many of the athletes with their understanding and visualisation of contour detail.

Battan was used for training this year and in spite of the midges it provided good quality training.  It is however a physical area and more suited to the older age group.

Balavil was a new area and provided good exercises for use of slopes.  With careful planning this area could also be appropriate for the Lagganlia camp.

Faskally was used on Kincraig and although it provided a useful day it was a poor substitute for the likes of Achlean.

Loch Vaa was used for the Tour Champs race and it was too physical for most of the Lagganlia athletes.  Kincraig athletes coped better but its use needs careful thought for next year.

Avie Lochan was used for the fun relays but could also be used for a training session next year if available.

This year I sent out a mid-week e-mail to parents letting them know how things were going.  I asked the athletes to write down in 10 words their impressions of the week so far.  The comments are included in Appendix 1.  Reply e-mails from parents showed appreciation as many had heard very little from their offspring.  Next year as well as the safe arrival e-mail this mid-week e-mail provides good PR with parents and should be used.

All athletes were provided with a questionnaire at the end of the week which reflected a very positive experience for all athletes.  Comments for improvement conflicted but a key factor appears to be a widening interest in the juniors in all types of orienteering races and an eagerness to give them a try.  There is also a rising interest in fitness based activities.  I will bring all the questionnaire responses to the JROS meeting in November so that managers can read all the comments if they so wish.

Suggestions from coaches include

• A time declared around breakfast for an injuries clinic - so everyone with a problem one day are obliged to turn up for a review the next morning, and they know where and when to do so. Then the coaches can ask what's happened and plan their charges' day accordingly.
• An evening debrief with athletes to be part of the standard day programme. The half-hour spent before the last dinner discussing action points was very valuable. Such a session should be standard every day and the half-hour before dinner spent in the coaching groups with the athletes discussing the events of the day would be a good time for this. 
• Less racing. For some of the athletes there would have been much more benefit doing more exercises and less races (or less time racing).  Racing tires them and possibly just reinforces their bad habits, but importantly, it also prevents the coaches shadowing them - thereby significantly reducing the amount of coaches' observation time.
• Inclusion of small mapping exercises to show the subjectivity of mapping.

From the management point of view it is important that the bulk of the coaching team is in place at least 8 weeks prior to the camp.  This will allow sufficient time for coaching, physical activities and presentations to be allocated and prepared.  This early preparation can then be built into a well-structured programme to be available 4 weeks prior to the camp.  From comments there will be a need to look at the balance between technical, physical and racing for next year.

Minimum transport requirements: two 17 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).

Once again the development grant allowed a higher ratio of coaches to juniors and this was beneficial to the athletes as they gained from more individual attention.  Extra staffing allowed specific tasks to be allocated to individual coaches without impacting on athlete contact.  Having someone available for Pastoral issues was also a great help.

Tony Carlyle

Tour Manager

8^th November 2012

APPENDIX 1

Athlete Midweek Comments

Lagganlia

At Lagganlia, I have seen my weaknesses and worked on them.

Lagganlia is challenging but fun. It is very useful! Banter-full.

Interesting areas, simplification. Midges are hell. Contours. Terrain is great.

Really useful and has helped improve my overall orienteering quality.

Helps you learn new techniques and get better at them.

Lagganlia has been very useful and hard work, but really fun.

Lagganlia has been really fun, but quite hard work.

My Lagganlia thoughts are: exciting, interesting, great fun and tiring.

Fun, interesting, good learning opportunity. Social, tiring, midges are death.

Learnt loads of useful techniques (e.g. simplification), will speed my orienteering up.

Hard work, lots of learning, challenging, fun, useful, technical.

Amazing, challenging, confidence improves, helpful, learn loads, quicker navigation, interesting.

Fun, useful, tiring, painful, midges, lots of food, fast terrain.

It's great, I haven't run in bracken yet... (Sandy shoes)

Tough hard working but learning a lot. Fun, helpful, technical areas.

Challenging but fun, great terrain, midges are annoying, great food.

Confidence improvement. Different skills. Technical and unique areas.

Challenging, banter-full. Good food. Fun. Great friends. Useful. Interesting.

Great friends, learning loads, challenging but amazing fun. Terrain great.

Good banter and hard training, lots of cake, midges.

It's been a fun and engaging week where I've learnt a lot.

I have seen my weaknesses and strengths. Working on simplification (of map).

Learnt loads but very tired.

It's challenging at times but also very helpful and fun.

Kincraig

Awesome, having a brilliant time and its really good training.

Having a great time and improving my orienteering skills too.

Kincraig is very helpful for improving your confidence and skills and meeting new people.

Meeting new people.  Kincraig is very helpful and great food and great fun.

Very helpful for improving my technical ability and great fun.

Bare banter, helpful skills learnt, Killian is a proper lad, learnt some nice ‘O’ things.  It’s nice.  Ninja Iain is a lad too.  Orienteering is f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s

Banterous, learning is fun, lasagne is nice. Ian is monkey, training is man good.

Quality time, good banter and am improving my orienteering.

Exciting, helpful, interesting, fun, learning experience, friendly, food, swimming, SLEEP

Training is great, learning lots.  We went swimming, Katie’s cool.

Top banter, food = yum, training is brill.

Kincraig is great fun, learnt lots.

Having fun, learning lots.  Great training camp with good food.

Having a great time, learning lots and working hard.

Hi Mum, the DON of tours.

Knackered after 45km in 3 days but great fun.  Killian is an orienteering god.

Hi Mum and dad!! It’s great.

Dear Mum I am becoming a lot more confident with my compass + training is bear good and good banter.

Very good.  I am improving and making less mistakes.

Very useful in every sense whilst being fun.

Absolutely awesome!  Learning things and enjoying myself every second.

Has been great fun but tiring.

Great time training and meeting new people.

Hi sis and bro’s, it is an awesome tour.  Would recommend, good food, great.