Coaching

REGIONAL COACHING ORGANISERS

DEVON AND CORNWALL

Adam Box
Roydon
Alexandra Road
Crediton
EX17 2DZ
Tel 01363 773793

WESSEX

John Sutton
Laurel Cottage
148 Mudeford
Christchurch
Dorset
BH23 4AY
07740 958 475

LOCAL COACHING ORGANISERS

Old Reports

WESSEX REGION REPORT, October 2001

The regional forum held at Bridgwater was attended by 62 coaches, feedback on the whole was very positive. Some comments were aimed at the quality of water and lack of space on the canal. However, we can not have every thing, as a region we do not have a great deal of resource in the way of centres and water at close proximity. The other negative feedback was that coaches required different workshops that was being offered, on the day, 5 workshops were offered, but these coaches have to appreciate that the presenters of these workshops offered their services free of charge and were prepared to "stand in front" of peers to help the forum be such a success. A BIG thank you to the presenters of these workshops, with who the forum could not have been run. When the invitations for the forum was posted to all the coaches inviting them to the forum, I had no presenters for the forum at that stage, so planning was a little difficult, this was manly due to the summer holidays etc.

Wiltshire: Doug Manning the LCO, organised a local forum on 14th October at Corsham, 12 coaches attended. During the forum, Doug was re-elected as LCO.
Dorset: Steve Paice, has be elected LCO, and I'm sure I can count on his support. Another BIG thank you for Nigel Tuffley for the contribution he has given to the Dorset Coaching Panel, in the role of LCO.
Gloucestershire: I 'm still looking for a LCO, any Level 3 coach which is interested, please contact me, I will discuss what the role initials.
I have asked for the LCO's to organise more local forums, as this will count towards the coaches being updated and it allows for coaches to come to together with colleagues and to swap ideas.

Kevin Bowerbank and Lisa Gunter, have both nearly completed their Paddlepower projects. The Child Protection and Paddlepower workshop held at Bath CC on 29th September, was attended by only a few coaches, considering the invitation was sent to 600 plus coaches.

I am putting on regional courses ranging from Level 3 Training and Assessment (Inland), which will happen possibly in January, Assessor training course in March. First Aid, I've collected names and passed to Damien Lockie. White Water Safety, names have been passed to Dave Stevens. Any one else interested in the above courses please contact either myself for the Level 3 courses or Damien and Dave, telephone number and addresses in the rear of this newsletter.

I receive a vast amount of telephone calls from coaches, however, the majority ring during the day time. The best time to catch me in, is between 18.00 and 21.00 weekdays. As at weekends, I'm away paddling.

Gordon Summers RCO Wessex 19 October 2001

WESSEX REGION REPORT, July 2001

During the Foot and Mouth problems we have all experienced, it is good to see the majority of coach development courses have been "run".

The South West Region has employed it's first Paddlesport Development Officer, 4 candidates applied, and all made good cases to why their area should have a PDO position and why it should be them which will drive the scheme forward. However, Simon Hammond was successful and he is based around the North Devon area, well done.

Kevin Bowerbank has arranged for a Child Protection / Paddlesport workshop on 29th September at Bath Canoe Club, cost for the whole day is £10 per person. To apply please contact Kevin on 01225 793735, numbers are limited, so please book early.

The next Regional Forum, has been booked for 23rd September 2001 at Bridgwater. All coaches will receive another mail drop inviting them to attend. I am looking for presenters of workshops for this forum, any one who is interested please contact me.

Gloucestershire, still has no LCO at present, I'm still looking for a volunteer for this position, if you are interested, please give me a call.

I receive a vast amount of telephone calls from coaches, however, the majority ring during the day time. The best time to catch me in, is between 18.00 and 21.00 weekdays. As at weekends, I'm away paddling.

Gordon Summers RCO Wessex 13 July 2001

Subsidised Coaching Courses

A recent survey of Clubs and event organisers has identified a clear need for Clubs to have more qualified coaches in order to train and supervise their novice and young paddlers.

Within the Paddlesport Development scheme for our region funds have been set aside to subsidise a number of Level 1 and Level 2 Kayak Training and Assessment Courses.

If you have suitable paddlers in your Club that wish to gain these awards or you are an assessor who would like to be involved in running these award courses please get in touch with:
Simon Hammond,Paddlesport Development Officer 11a, Crooklets Beach, Bude, Cornwall, EX23 8NE. Tel: 01288 354039.

Coaching and Development Forum Report - Held Sunday 26th March, 2000 at South Cerney OEC

Wessex Draft Coaching Development Plan - Download as a zipped file

Coach Funding Opportunities

The Geoff Good Coach of the Year Award

WESSEX REGION REPORT, January 2001

I've started to plan my paddling for summer 2001 and coaching courses which I intend to organise and participate in, my next available weekend free is in July. So I'm busy, have you thought of what you what to achieve this year, in the way of paddling and coaching? Do not leave it to the last minute to arrange, if you plan to attend a coaching course etc. I have too many telephone calls from coaches complaining the course they want to attend has been cancelled due to the lack of numbers. So please help Course Providers in applying in plenty of time and with the pre-requisites in place.

Since my last report, I've been very busy organising the regional forum on the 11th February 2001. This will be the regions second forum, and this is fully booked with a month to go. It's nice to say, that coaches have booked early, as this makes the organising so much easier to sort out. I can confirm to the presenters of the workshops, the numbers to expect and timings, not forgetting these presenters are voluntary, so thank you for their time and support.

There has been a change of date to the Coaching Processors course at Exeter, this is now the 28-29 April. It is available to all coaches from Level 1 to Level 5. Please apply directly to Pete Whitfield, 62 Woodfield Crescent, IVYBRIDGE, PL21 0FB, enclosing a deposit of £20 to hold your place.

The Dorset Coaching Panel have arranged a full range of courses for 2001, please enquire to the Dorset LCO, Nigel Tuffley. These courses range from Coach Level 2 training and assessments to Disability Awareness etc.

The North Somerset Coaching Panel, are looking to run their own local forums for their coaches to help with re-validation for the BCU. These will be spread over 2 afternoons or one whole day. Please contact Craig Steadman for more details.

Unfortunately, Graham Lodge, the LCO for Gloucestershire has resigned his position. He has been a great help to me, and the coaches in the Gloucestershire area for a great number of years. Thank you Graham for your help support and advice. I will be looking for another coach to take over the position of LCO. I will be placing a vacancy notice in the next available CODE.

In have recently received a copy of the courses the National Coaching Foundation are offering, these are very useful courses and are not too expensive to attend. For a copy of their courses, please ring their regional office on 01225 444823.

I'm also setting up an E-Mail group, to help me cascade information to all coaches in Wessex. If you want to be included, please send me your E-Mail address. See my E-Mail address below. I have started to collect these on the latest forum application forms.

13 January 2001
Gordon Summers
RCO Wessex