There has been rather a lot of comment - some people asserting this is derrogatory and ill conceived - recently on coaching, WCS, general paddler support and the like.
I'd be interested to know if people can say:-
1 How the BCU works - for instance, can anyone fathom out their way around the web-site?
2 It's relationship with WCS - what input into the performance of WCS does the BCU have?
3 What percentage of clubs overall benefit from support from the national organisation - or even a regional arrangement
4 Why is it that a lot of paddler's complain about the lack of coaching support but don't seem to get access to the right forums to discuss their concerns - has anyone been successful in filling their requirement after making it known? If so how?
5 Does the BCU have any "lay" representation on their committees or council? If not, why?
Finally, is anyone actually happy with the way the sport is run and supported - if so, perhaps a little positive comment might be in order (and can be conveyed to the appropriate persons by those "in the know").
SATISFACTION SURVEY - Access to coaching and support
These are strictly my own personal replies from experiance
1 With great difficulty, things are hidden and the search engine is rubbish, I have complained to the BCU direct and the answer was "we are working on the problems" that was some 6 months ago and it has not grately improved since!
2 WCS is a law unto itself, I have yet to find out who they are answerable too, the general concensious is no one!
3 All clubs should benefit in some ways if only from the insurance aspect and coaching courses, I would guess that there is more regional support though!
4 Gave up on this sometime ago for my daughters as the goal post keep changing!! and to be honest the cost implications being on WCS outway the benifits!
5 Check out the BCU website for the info,,, oh forgot you cannot find your way around it!!
To be honest, yes I am happy with the way that the sport is presumed to be run, the problem comes with the non-follow up on things like exclusions for under-weight boats not being checked prior to the next scoring event and scores being accepted by the ranking officer, hired in timing systems not being accurate, wrong results posted and the non-ability to protest other competitors results (which in most other competitions is acceptable). At the end of the day you have to consider that everyone in the sport at the grass root level i.e. Div 4 - Prem are volunteers doing what they do for the sport and they should be commended for this rather than shot at all the time, with some more volunteers doing key roles and helping out it would make everyones life easier and promte the sport further and a lot of the niggling problems could be sorted out.
I organise a major weekend canoe polo event every year and I rely on volunteer help so I appreciate how difficult it is for organisers, but I can honestly say that the event always runs to schedule and there are a lot more participants than attend a weekend slalom competition, so why can slaloms not run to schedule? I was still on the bank tonight doing safety for a Div1 slalom event at 6.20 for an event that should have finished and prizes presented at 4.30! (sorry gripe over).
Support initially should come for the paddlers club, coaches and in some cases parents, the slalom committee over the last year or so have done an awful lot on very little resources to help young up coming paddlers and they will get my support as a coach and parent of three young paddlers everytime.
1 With great difficulty, things are hidden and the search engine is rubbish, I have complained to the BCU direct and the answer was "we are working on the problems" that was some 6 months ago and it has not grately improved since!
2 WCS is a law unto itself, I have yet to find out who they are answerable too, the general concensious is no one!
3 All clubs should benefit in some ways if only from the insurance aspect and coaching courses, I would guess that there is more regional support though!
4 Gave up on this sometime ago for my daughters as the goal post keep changing!! and to be honest the cost implications being on WCS outway the benifits!
5 Check out the BCU website for the info,,, oh forgot you cannot find your way around it!!
To be honest, yes I am happy with the way that the sport is presumed to be run, the problem comes with the non-follow up on things like exclusions for under-weight boats not being checked prior to the next scoring event and scores being accepted by the ranking officer, hired in timing systems not being accurate, wrong results posted and the non-ability to protest other competitors results (which in most other competitions is acceptable). At the end of the day you have to consider that everyone in the sport at the grass root level i.e. Div 4 - Prem are volunteers doing what they do for the sport and they should be commended for this rather than shot at all the time, with some more volunteers doing key roles and helping out it would make everyones life easier and promte the sport further and a lot of the niggling problems could be sorted out.
I organise a major weekend canoe polo event every year and I rely on volunteer help so I appreciate how difficult it is for organisers, but I can honestly say that the event always runs to schedule and there are a lot more participants than attend a weekend slalom competition, so why can slaloms not run to schedule? I was still on the bank tonight doing safety for a Div1 slalom event at 6.20 for an event that should have finished and prizes presented at 4.30! (sorry gripe over).
Support initially should come for the paddlers club, coaches and in some cases parents, the slalom committee over the last year or so have done an awful lot on very little resources to help young up coming paddlers and they will get my support as a coach and parent of three young paddlers everytime.
Paddle fast,,,Paddle safe Yorkshire Canoe Coaching
I've been thinking about the questions posed and would like to give a general reply rather than specifics to each question.
I think that there is a lack of clarity about who fits in where and how all the different sub groups within the BCU and Canoeslalom interact. Most organisations have a structure chart that shows who is responsbile for what and how the different areas are related. This type of information may be listed somewhere but it doesn't appear to be easily available.
There is also the issue of funding for the different areas, are they lottery or BCU funded. If lottery funding stopped would certain groups suddenly cease to exist leaving some paddlers without access to coaches?
Giving a least and organisation chart would show how regional coaches, WCS, WCP and WC all fit into the Canoeslalom, SCA, WCA and BCU. I will say that it is not the only sport that appears to be confusing in terms of groups just look at football (PFA, FA, FL etc...) and F1 (FIA, F1Admin, Constructors, Drivers etc...). Having the org chart would allow those upcoming paddlers to see a clear route to success through the coaching system.
Within Canoeslalom there should also be an org chart to show how all the support groups fit together e.g. Slalom Administrator, Timing Team, Judges etc...
At the end of the day we are all contributing members of an large organisation and that large organisation should be able to show all its investors (the members) how it is structured.
On a side note the websites are a joke (although the consistent look and feel does tie them together). When I go onto them I struggle to find the information that I want. This could be related to a poor backend application choice, or poor administration.
I think that there is a lack of clarity about who fits in where and how all the different sub groups within the BCU and Canoeslalom interact. Most organisations have a structure chart that shows who is responsbile for what and how the different areas are related. This type of information may be listed somewhere but it doesn't appear to be easily available.
There is also the issue of funding for the different areas, are they lottery or BCU funded. If lottery funding stopped would certain groups suddenly cease to exist leaving some paddlers without access to coaches?
Giving a least and organisation chart would show how regional coaches, WCS, WCP and WC all fit into the Canoeslalom, SCA, WCA and BCU. I will say that it is not the only sport that appears to be confusing in terms of groups just look at football (PFA, FA, FL etc...) and F1 (FIA, F1Admin, Constructors, Drivers etc...). Having the org chart would allow those upcoming paddlers to see a clear route to success through the coaching system.
Within Canoeslalom there should also be an org chart to show how all the support groups fit together e.g. Slalom Administrator, Timing Team, Judges etc...
At the end of the day we are all contributing members of an large organisation and that large organisation should be able to show all its investors (the members) how it is structured.
On a side note the websites are a joke (although the consistent look and feel does tie them together). When I go onto them I struggle to find the information that I want. This could be related to a poor backend application choice, or poor administration.
1. The website is poor, as is much of the day-to-day organisation of the BCU, but they are getting better. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
2. I think that nowadays WC is fairly transparent, tho not perfect and on the whole, I'd say that their influence is beneficial to the sport. The are accountable to the BCU and GB Canoeing.
3. Not enough, though to be fair the BCU and slalom exec are doing a certain amount to train new coaches. But if you think you can help I'm sure the exec is looking for volunteers!
4. They should talk to the paddlers rep, Ettiene Stott. There is coaching out there for everybody, the BCU coaching department should be able to direct you to a local coach (though don't take this for granted, see 1.)
5. There is a paddlers rep but almost all (if not in fact all) people on the exec have either paddled or are parents of paddlers. A lay person would be a good idea, but who would do it? And how would they find out about it without being involved in the sport?
2. I think that nowadays WC is fairly transparent, tho not perfect and on the whole, I'd say that their influence is beneficial to the sport. The are accountable to the BCU and GB Canoeing.
3. Not enough, though to be fair the BCU and slalom exec are doing a certain amount to train new coaches. But if you think you can help I'm sure the exec is looking for volunteers!
4. They should talk to the paddlers rep, Ettiene Stott. There is coaching out there for everybody, the BCU coaching department should be able to direct you to a local coach (though don't take this for granted, see 1.)
5. There is a paddlers rep but almost all (if not in fact all) people on the exec have either paddled or are parents of paddlers. A lay person would be a good idea, but who would do it? And how would they find out about it without being involved in the sport?