Coaching day update 2020 / 2021
Credit: Wendy Carlyle
We had been hoping to hold another coaching day in November 2020, but have taken the decision to postpone it. The earliest it will now be is Autumn 2021.
Previous coaching days have been well attended and well received for example in November 2018 and November 2019. We had been hoping to hold another one in Autumn 2020, but took a decision last summer to postpone to 2021, due to the Covid-19 situation. We have further decided it would be impossible / impractical to hold one in Spring 2021, so the earliest we may hold one is now Autumn 2021. We will review the situation again around June 2021.
There are various factors we need to take into account with any deicision:
- Even if restrictions ease, and British Orienteering announce a return to orienteering again, there will likely remain significant limitations and safety measures in place, which may not be conducive to coaching, for example a high degree of coach / participant communication (e.g. briefing / debriefing).
- When restrictions have eased previously, the government guidance on personal training and coaching in England limited sessions to a maximum of 5 participants per coach. Multiple coaching groups could be spread out through the terrain, but it still limits what can be done.
- A key theme we've heard in surveys from previous coaching days is that people enjoy making a weekend of it, with an event the next day, and for clubs / squads to stay together as a group. Groups also like plenty of advance notice, so they can drum up support and book accommodation. We will aim to give as much notice as possible, but equally recognise clubs may be reluctant to commit to booking accommodation while uncertainy remains.
We hope that we can return with another great coaching day later in 2021. One thing is for sure - after months of restrictions everyone's orienteering skills will be rusty, and when the time comes we hope there will be strong demand for another coaching day!