Tours in Orienteering Focus

[awk]

Have just enjoyed looking through Focus - some interesting stuff in there, but had to laugh at this:

Talent Fulfilment Training Camp
This coaching camp will focus on the 'Training to Excel' principles that are linked to 'Long Term Athlete Development' (i.e. Level 3/4 as defined in the Orienteer Development Pathway), as well as how to make the jump into top senior orienteering. To achieve this, the athletes will spend the first part of the camp assessing their technical, tactical and physical ability, before competing in 5 days of hard, serious racing. Time will be allocated to reflection on ones performances in order for the athletes to recover and develop the most effective attitude towards performance. This process is important as it will facilitate the necessary change that an athlete needs to make to progress towards the next performance level.

Do they mean that the athletes will be going on a racing tour where they will carry out a series of fitness assessments followed by a week of competitions with reviews to help them move up the elite ladder? Or is there something subtle I'm missing (maybe amongst all those capital letters)?

IMO that is the one huge downside on Focus (amongst much that is excellent) - the liberal sprinkling (soaking more like!) of jargon and management-speak. It makes for some incredibly heavy and unproductive reading, even though much of it makes sense (well, I like to think so, as a lot of it is what we were doing a decade or more ago, with less jargon thrown in, although I'm sure it's been further developed since).

And on the Talent Development Coaching Camp, I do wonder how much development is going on for those who are going for their third or (I gather) fourth time. Strikes this dinosaur as being a bit odd that a talented junior can go all the way through the BOF coaching structure, and get to M/W18, or even 20, without any experience of a tour outside the UK.

[LostAgain]

Strikes this dinosaur as being a bit odd that a talented junior can go all the way through the BOF coaching structure, and get to M/W18, or even 20, without any experience of a tour outside the UK.

I think Nick B has a similar view and has put together a 10 day tour to Sweden in August to address this very issue. He has invited something in the region of 24 juniors (16-17yrs). Initial program looks superb including the Swedish Junior Champs.
I know Zac is really looking forward to it.

[Ravinous]

We are viewing it like a 'bonus' tour. Between a BOF tour and a Regional JS Tour. Later in August to not clash with BOF programme. Athletes will get all the benefits of the BOF programme if they are selected, plus Stockholm 2011 if they have been invited. We have 20 top year 16s/bottom yr 18s and 2 top year 18s. Races at the weekend are Silva Junior Cup Races which aren't Swedish Champs infact but FCC equivalent - high quality competition with all the focus on the H/D18 and 20 Elite classes. Awk I am sure tried to capture what they have in Sweden when he introduced the FCC into the British Programme.

[awk]

Brilliant. What a great idea - I'm sure those going will have a fantastic time.

[Homer]

Many thanks to Ravinous for taking this initative. I really hope it is successful and gets repeated next year (when Bart is second year M16).

I agree there is no real substitute for time spent in scandinavia training on proper TD5 terrain and excellent maps and competing in competitions with real strength in depth.

[Arnold]

Nick's tour is a great idea.

Picking up on a previous comment, I did also notice the amount of management speak on the first few pages of Focus. It's quite impenetrable in parts in particular the Talent Pathway - incomprehensible in my view.

It made me think "shouldn't they be spending time on events instead" but I suppose the quality of events has increased a lot anyway and is generally excellent, so the management speak isn't at the expense of event quality.

Still feels a bit weird though.

[NeilC]

It's quite impenetrable in parts in particular the Talent Pathway - incomprehensible in my view.

It seems to change every year anyway - so probably not much point attempting to fully understand it.

The 2010 version can be found at
http://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/page/programme

[pete.owens]

It looks like the regional junior squads don't fit into the new structure for some reason.

[awk]

It looks like the regional junior squads don't fit into the new structure for some reason.

They're regional squads, so can't control them.