Following the great success of Climbing’s debut at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and the recent developments within the GB Climbing Coach Development Strategy, we are excited to announce the first annual GB Climbing Coaches Conference.

📅 When: Friday 22nd & Saturday 23rd April 2022
📌 Where: Last Sundance, Leeds
💰 Price: Early Bird £159.00 (Available until 17th April)
💰 Price: Full Price £259.00 (Available 18th - 21st April)

Who is the conference for?

Are you actively coaching within the UK indoor climbing community, supporting athletes across the GB Climbing pathway from Grassroots and Regional Talent through to Performance and High Performance?

Are you putting athlete health, wellbeing and welfare at the heart of your coaching, developing coaching practices and programmes that support athletes as individuals and creating psychologically safe environments where athletes can reach their performance potential?

Are you hard working, passionate about climbing and committed to your own long term development to becoming a highly skilled coach, excited to be part of a community of likeminded individuals exploring the potential of our coaching landscape and aspire to be part of the journey to establish Great Britain as the world’s leading climbing nation by 2032?

Then the GB Climbing Coaches Conference is the event for you!

Conference aims

💡 Inspire coaches through exciting and engaging keynote speakers and break-out sessions, provide an understanding of how they can be applied to develop and enhance your coaching practice and the meaningful impact they can have on athlete support, development and performance.

💪 Support the development of a great Coaching workforce equipped with the skills to take ownership of and accountability for their coaching journey, driving a holistic and athlete centred approach to coaching.

✏️ Offer an opportunity to learn about the evolving GB Climbing Coach Development Strategy and Coach Development Offer, ask questions, offer thoughts and be part of its growth. Provide an understanding of the direction of travel over the next 3-5 years, how you can join us on the journey and the impact this will have on the coaching community.

🏞️ Create a space for a hyper connected coaching community to Explore the coaching landscape and learn collaboratively, answering the question; what does great coaching look like?

How will the conference work?

Join climbing coaches over two days at the GB Climbing Coaches Conference as we explore the coaching landscape together.

Following the opening welcome and keynote the conference will follow a swirl concept as you join 1 of 6 groups circling around breakout sessions; exploring each topic, collaborating to generate questions and discussion points and understanding the application to your coaching practice, before coming back together for keynotes and facilitated ‘listening’ sessions to explore the arising themes.

The conference will cover key topics from each of the 6 elements of GB Climbing’s new Coach Development Framework aimed at supporting a holistic and athlete centred coaching practice.

What's on at the conference?

💭 Keynotes - Friday 22nd April

👋 Open & Welcome
Introduction and welcome to the first GB Climbing Coaches Conference, including reflections from Climbing's debut in Tokyo from Paul Davies (BMC CEO) and Lorraine Brown (GB Climbing Head of Performance).

🗺️ GB Climbing Coach Development; The 2022 Direction of Travel & Introduction to the Coach Development Framework v1.0
An opportunity to read the headlines of GB Climbing's Coach Development Strategy and understand the direction of travel as we begin to explore what being the World's leading climbing nation means for GB Climbing Coaches. Offer your perspective as we set the scene for the conference with the introduction of the GB Climbing Coach Development Framework. Led by Tim Cunnington (GB Climbing Coach Development Manager).

👂 Expert Listening/Facilitated Conversation
On Friday we are joined by Dr Bob Muir from Leeds Beckett University to facilitate conversation on the arising themes and questions from the day.

🏂 Athlete-Coach Transitions (Evening Talk)
For our evening talk we will venture outside of climbing to hear from a special guest to hear how lessons learned competing as an elite athlete have benefitted their transition to high performance coaching.

💭 Keynotes - Saturday 23rd April

🏅 Performance Questions before Performance Standards
We start Saturday with a keynote from Tom Greenall (GB Climbing Head Coach) and Emma Bird (GB Climbing Performance Analyst) as they explore the importance of Performance Questions in the search to identify key Performance Standards and how they contribute to raising the bar.

🔮 Pathway Futurology
Lucinda Whittaker (GB Climbing Pathways Manager) and Lorraine Brown (GB Climbing Head of Performance) share some insights as to how GB Climbing athlete pathways may evolve over the rest of the Paris cycle.

👂 Expert Listening/Facilitated Conversation
We pick up from where we left on Friday with another facilitated conversation on the arising themes and questions from the day.

💬 Panel Reflections Discussion, Q&A
We close the conference with reflections of both days from a presenters viewpoint, offer an opportunity to explore any final questions and look forward to what will come in 2022 as we move towards the Coaches Conference in 2023.

💪 Break Out Sessions (both days)

🌍 Learning Environment
It's easy to think about the holds on the wall, but what else contributes to creating a learning environment that supports athletes to thrive both as individuals and as competition climbers? Delve deeper with Emma Wood, Trainee Sports Psychologist.

🧗 Volume Experience
Grab your shoes and your chalk bag, it's time to get on some comp style blocs! The perfect opportunity to play around with your coaching skills as you coach each other on the comp wall. Discuss how you could adapt your coaching practice in different constraints.

🏟️ Arena Skills Experience; Appeals Skills
Do you know your rule book from your appeals form? Let's get immersed with life in the international coaches pit and upgrade your Arena Skills.

♻️ What is Coach Development
Learn more about GB Climbing's Coach Development Offer and how you can get involved in upcoming programmes being piloted later this year. Start to discuss the importance to your coaching practice and have an opportunity to input into the evolving Coach Development Strategy. Map your journey with Tim Cunnington, GB Climbing Coach Development Manager.

📅 Holistic Planning Processes
Such a big and important topic, but what are the bits we really need to know and why have them in place?

🧠 Warming up the Brain; linking physical warm up with Neuro-dynamics
Considering the ever changing complexity and skills that competition climbing brings with it, how much do we consider the impact of the mind body connection during warm up?
What's Included in your ticket?

All tickets include

✔️ Access to the event over both days
✔️ Lunch provided on both days (please ensure to complete your selection at checkout!)
✔️ Access to the evening talk on Friday 22nd April (Venue TBC)
✔️ Access to the evening drinks and social
✔️ An Event Pack, including Coaches Conference Journal & Resource Cards

BMC Member?

We've done things a little differently at this event. Instead of the usual reduced price we've opted to give even more value and support you and your coaching journey one step further by providing access to even more event content and resources post event. This will include the opportunity to speak to some of our presenters as well early access to the GB Climbing Coach Development Conversations group.

Not yet a BMC Member?

Head on over to the BMC to sign up today.

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👀 VISIT: GB Climbing website and see who's on the team

GB Climbing is supported by the BMC, Mountaineering Scotland and Secur-it. Many UK walls also support the GB Climbing team through free or subsidised entry.

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