Discussion: When is too early to start AR?
in: Adventure Racing; General
Jan 21, 2011 3:11 PM
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From AngrySeagull's post on another thread
"Is 9-months old too early to start orienteering/adventure race training?"
My daughter started to learn to read (and orient) a map at the age of 5 or 6 using 'Catching Features' (an orienteering simulation game developed by the brother that set-up Attack Point).
Last year I introduced AdventureRunningKids.ca in Hamilton. The program is designed for kids 8-16 but we will likely drop this to 6 or 7 shortly. It is clear that kids like to be challenged.
Unfortunately the development ladder works against the kids from a variety of directions.
1) In orienteering the development ladder is too slow. Kids get bored. They want to be off trail and racing through the forest.
2) Kids categories are generally limited to 'fun runs' and endurance/adventure events
3) Few kids specific adventure sport programs opportunities. and those that due exist stress survival skills and compass bearings and not the skills of map reading and moving through wilderness quickly.
In AdventureRunningKids.ca we are introducing a lot of kids to outdoor sports and navigation. We have just started a group called ARK Attack! and these kids are doing some tough off trail navigation..AT NIGHT! We had 7 kids teams of 3 in the Salomon Dontgetlost.ca Raid the Hammer last November and some of them gave a team of top int'l triathletes a run for their money when their courses were common.
ARK will be expanding to another city in southern Ontario this spring and then into Halton (and maybe Peel) in 2012. Sure, I'm completely biased but I think this type of program is needed to develop the next generation of adventure racers and adventure runners....and I'm hopeful more race organizers will have some kids categories.
Our ARK Attack kids will be racing in the Salomon Dontgetlost.ca Adventure Running Series, 5 peaks races, LR&S and the MudRun this year.
"Is 9-months old too early to start orienteering/adventure race training?"
My daughter started to learn to read (and orient) a map at the age of 5 or 6 using 'Catching Features' (an orienteering simulation game developed by the brother that set-up Attack Point).
Last year I introduced AdventureRunningKids.ca in Hamilton. The program is designed for kids 8-16 but we will likely drop this to 6 or 7 shortly. It is clear that kids like to be challenged.
Unfortunately the development ladder works against the kids from a variety of directions.
1) In orienteering the development ladder is too slow. Kids get bored. They want to be off trail and racing through the forest.
2) Kids categories are generally limited to 'fun runs' and endurance/adventure events
3) Few kids specific adventure sport programs opportunities. and those that due exist stress survival skills and compass bearings and not the skills of map reading and moving through wilderness quickly.
In AdventureRunningKids.ca we are introducing a lot of kids to outdoor sports and navigation. We have just started a group called ARK Attack! and these kids are doing some tough off trail navigation..AT NIGHT! We had 7 kids teams of 3 in the Salomon Dontgetlost.ca Raid the Hammer last November and some of them gave a team of top int'l triathletes a run for their money when their courses were common.
ARK will be expanding to another city in southern Ontario this spring and then into Halton (and maybe Peel) in 2012. Sure, I'm completely biased but I think this type of program is needed to develop the next generation of adventure racers and adventure runners....and I'm hopeful more race organizers will have some kids categories.
Our ARK Attack kids will be racing in the Salomon Dontgetlost.ca Adventure Running Series, 5 peaks races, LR&S and the MudRun this year.
Jan 21, 2011 6:31 PM
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Yet another reason for me to move to ON.
Our current community of adventure racers in the Maritimes consists of the middle aged who have adult children and the yuppie aged who have infant / toddler children. I suspect that in the coming years we'll at least have a few children of the AR looking to get started. I can't wait to host a race for them! Probably 1/3 of our community has kids 6 and under.
How young is too young? Depends on the course. I started solo orienteering when I was about four in more or less closed course and relatively small Provincial Parks, the kind of spots where you can't miss a main path if you go 50 m in any direction. I'd be comfortable hosting a race for anyone under 12, in such a spot... and of course allowing parental shadowing.
Our current community of adventure racers in the Maritimes consists of the middle aged who have adult children and the yuppie aged who have infant / toddler children. I suspect that in the coming years we'll at least have a few children of the AR looking to get started. I can't wait to host a race for them! Probably 1/3 of our community has kids 6 and under.
How young is too young? Depends on the course. I started solo orienteering when I was about four in more or less closed course and relatively small Provincial Parks, the kind of spots where you can't miss a main path if you go 50 m in any direction. I'd be comfortable hosting a race for anyone under 12, in such a spot... and of course allowing parental shadowing.
Feb 1, 2011 7:45 PM
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AdventureRunningKids.ca is now available in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region! Registration is now open so if you have AR friends with kids in the K-W region let them know.
http://dontgetlost.ca/index.php?option=com_content...
Dontgetlost.ca/GHO is running this 'pilot project' in K-W to test our program outside of Hamilton in leading up to our expansion/franchise of the program to other areas of Canada. If you are interested in ARK in your community contact Patrick Saile at: adventurerunningkids@dontgetlost.ca
http://dontgetlost.ca/index.php?option=com_content...
Dontgetlost.ca/GHO is running this 'pilot project' in K-W to test our program outside of Hamilton in leading up to our expansion/franchise of the program to other areas of Canada. If you are interested in ARK in your community contact Patrick Saile at: adventurerunningkids@dontgetlost.ca
This discussion thread is closed.