Training Log Archive: iansmith

Despite some early morning Toronto traffic, I arrived at the Orienteering Canada AGM in time to join the lunch and late afternoon sessions. One of the most interesting parts was the Junior Development discussion led by Kitty Jones of FWOC and Jeff Teutsch.

Briefly:

1. Jeff and Kate Knapp are working on the Athlete Development Matrix - a curriculum for natural orienteering development. Part of this will include a Navigation Skills progression from basics to advanced with fairly high detail. (I'm imagining o-training.net but with lesson plans and in greater detail).
   
2. A big part of the discussion was how people would like to use it. Adrian and I suggested frequent beta testing - get out what you have and see how people interact.
   
3. The discussion turned to mentioning what everyone is doing: Adrian Zissos of SOGO in Calgary has ~500 kids, good advertising, and a neat booklet. Turnover to club events is low (~ 5%).
   
4. Gary from Edmonton has 30-50 kids in his group; bringing parents is paramount. They have a targeted event each season targeting families.
   
5. Kitty has information about researchers studying parent involvement and how it affects kids.
   
6. Meghan Rance of DGL noted that it takes time to migrate kids from the junior programs to regular clubs events - seeing top juniors training and discussion things like JWOC inspires others to greater ambitions. Hamilton has switched to social media in lieu of traditional media. They found getting into recreation guides was useful, as people come looking for activities. Finding parents who are social/network hubs is useful.
   
7. Jenn from Yukon observes that it's important to put a fun spin on each activity with junior dev.
   

C • Athlete Development Matrix 2

A bit of a pitiful little jog around the Perth sprint map doing the touristy scavenger hunt with Jeff Teutsch. Fun times. Total time was about 40 mins.

Afterward, I ate at the banquet, chatted up my Canadian peeps, and listened to a great talk - "Big Dreams for a Little Canadian" by Kempster. The evening was great, though the awards ceremony for the sprint was longer than necessary. I strongly support one applause line per class, and photos of one group while the next is getting called up.