This year, the annual coaching conference was held on the 23rd and 24th November 2013 at the Alexandra House conference centre in Swindon. Thank you to all the coaches who got involved in the 2013 Canoe England Coaching Conference. We are delighted with the response we have had to this year’s event and the record number of delegates in attendance.
Energetic presentation and plenty of useful take outs to be added to my coaching toolbox
Delegate, ‘If you are not having fun you are not learning’ lead by Robert Bazeley
A good resource with ideas to help guide my coaching structure and participants ‘wants/needs’
Delegate, ‘Goal setting for recreational paddlers’, lead by Kim Bull
An inspired session showing what can be achieved if you think outside the box
Delegate, ‘Winter Paddling Indoors’ lead by Gilly Mara
This year’s theme Nurturing Lasting Involvement in Paddlesport put the spotlight on retaining paddlers within the sport. The Three keynote speakers supporting the event on Saturday, each explored a different aspect of the theme. Director and Co-founder of Watermark Experiences C.I.C Deb Pinniger got the conference underway by sharing her experiences of working with young people on expeditions, and highlighting the importance of Value, Trust and Cooperation in sustaining their involvement. Senior Research Fellow, Julian North then showcased the participant segments that emerged from the Paddler Development Model and highlighted the key characteristics that shape their coaching preferences. To conclude the first day of the event, Senior Lecturer in Adventure Education, Chris Hodgson, explored the mechanisms by which understanding motivation and rewards can help coaches keep paddlers engaged in the long term
This theme also underpinned the selection of 28 different workshops throughout the weekend. Some workshops offered an opportunity for sharing ideas on what can be done to inspire and challenge participants such that they are truly ‘hooked’ on the sport. Other workshops offered practical ideas for preventing and tackling potential barriers to ongoing participation such as burnout and injuries.
On behalf of the English Coaching Team I would like to thank all of the speakers and workshop leaders for volunteering their time and sharing their experiences and ideas to make it such a memorable event.
The 2014 Coaching Conference is planned for the 22nd and 23rd November and will be hosted by team central, so save the date as we would love to see you there.
Follow Up Notifications
Photos were taken by Paul Taylor our photographer, and will be available on Images Beyond Words and on the Canoe England Facebook page. If you have taken any photos yourself this weekend that you would like to share please do tag Canoe England.
Presentations: We appreciate that there is a lot to take in over the weekend, so have arranged for the slides and resources our workshops to be made available here in the coming days.
Lost and Found: We have also retrieved the following items; a pair of Sunglasses, and a woolly hat. If you are missing any of these items please do [email protected].