JROS young coach support
We are delighted to award the Junior Regional Orienteering Squads (JROS) a grant to support young coaches on their summer tours at Lagganlia, Deeside, Czech Republic and Stockholm.
JROS was established in 2009 with an initial aim to provide summer training camps for M/W14-18 juniors, feeding into the British Orienteering talent program. It now offers five training camps a year: Lagganlia and Deeside in Scotland, one in the Czech Republic (added in 2022 with the support from the Orienteering Foundation), and Stockholm and Gothenburg in Sweden. For all that time JROS has tried to use the camps not only as an opportunity for the juniors, but also for aspiring young coaches taking their early footsteps on the coaching pathway. The Orienteering Foundation has supported the expenses of young coaches at Lagganlia for several of the past few years.
This grant expands that support to help young coaches across 4 if the summer tours. Everyone stands to gain from this:
- The camps enhance junior participants' experience by offering high-quality training in world-class terrains, improving their technical skills and confidence.
- Young coaches benefit from hands-on experience in that terrain, guided by senior mentors, fostering their development and encouraging them to remain engaged in the sport.
- It grows the pool of qualified young coaches, which supports regional squads and sustains the sport’s development. Many young coaches have transitioned into leadership roles within their clubs or regions, feeling energised, inspired, and empowered after gaining confidence and skills through these camps. Some have gone on to be tour leaders in future providing sustainability.
- The funding helps reduce financial barriers for young coaches who are university students or early-career professionals. This includes covering travel, accommodation, and other expenses.
- Younger coaches bring fresh ideas and perspectives to training methods. For example innovative use technology for timing and analysis.
- The camps serve as a network for coaches to share ideas, develop mentoring relationships, and foster innovation in coaching practices.
We look forward to hearing back from the summer tours, and seeing the next crop of young coaches develop!