COMPETING PLANNING FOR YOUR UPCOMING SEASON

Now that the seasonal calendar, including domestic and international events, has been released, it’s a good time to start considering which competitions to enter this season.

Planning a season is an essential part of preparation for any competitive athlete in any sport. This includes putting some thought into what competitions you should attend and why.

It is easy to fall into the trap of only competing in high-stakes events like BRCs and internationals and not allowing yourself events for experience, developing your skills, or even just for fun.

COMPETITIONS

Competitions can and should be used for many things.

Performance

These events are where you set outcome goals for yourself and are likely necessary for selection purposes or fulfilling a personal goal, such as being a national champion or a major championship medallist.

Examples of these could be:

  • BRC events
  • National Championships
  • European U17 Circuit events
  • Junior World Cup events
  • Major Championship events

 

Development

These are the events where you might have some process goals – things you want to work on in a competitive environment to test them. It might be a tactical goal, technical or even a mindset goal where you work on your overall management of the day. It could also be part of your return from injury process.

Examples of these could be:

  • BRC B events
  • LPJS or Opens
  • BYCs
  • European U17 Circuit events
  • Junior World Cup events

 

Experience

These events are where you might go with no goals or expectations other than to experience the next level. What you learn and gain from these competitions will likely inform your training moving forward. Reflection sessions after these events are highly important to capture what you have learnt.

Examples of these could be:

  • BRC A events
  • National Championships
  • European U17 Circuit events
  • Junior World Cup events
  • U23 European events
  • Senior World Cup events
  • Major Championship events

You will notice that many of the types of events are mentioned more than once – and can be attended for many reasons, depending on where you are in your fencing journey.

A cadet attending their first EFC would be better off using that event for experience rather than putting themselves under pressure to perform, whereas an experienced cadet gunning for Major Championship selection would be using the same competition as a performance event.

It is also important to remember that it is not set in stone, and your plans might change throughout the season due to disruptions. If this happens, it is a case of revisiting your plan with your personal coach and deciding how to best move forward.

WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

There are many factors you need to take into consideration. These can include:

What is your milestone event?
The event you are working towards: Could it be a major championship? Could it be a national championship? It could be a selection event…

What are your goals this season?
Use your goal sheet to remind you of what you need to do to get there.

Where are you on your journey?
The first/last year is in the age group. Are you in your introduction, development or performance year? What are your previous experiences?

Is performance or development more prominent this year?
Think about the answer above to help you with this question.

What are your barriers?
Financial/coaching support/injury recovery/school or other commitments.

How much do you want it?
Are you willing to do the work to reach your goals?

ADP RECOMMENDATIONS

We know that every person is different, has different goals and lives within different circumstances. This is just a guide for what you should aim for, but know that we are not expecting everyone IADP  to look the same, and you need not stick to this.

New to Cadet Circuit:

Performance: BRC B events. BYCs.  3-4 events with an outcome goal in mind.
Development: LPJS events or similar – 2-3 within the year with a process goal in mind.
Experience: BRC A grade & Nationals – reflection time with your personal coach.
FOR FUN: Home Nation championships, Cadet Winton, Local opens, Club championships, LPJS events etc. Try to have 1-2 events here.

Mid Cadets:

Performance: BRC A grade, Nationals, last 2 EFC events of the season.
Development: BRC B events, first few EFCs of the season. BYCS. 5-6 within the year with a process goal in mind.
Experience: One or Two Junior BRC events. Reflection time with personal coach & ADP coach.
FOR FUN: Home Nation championships, Cadet Winton, Local opens, Club championships, LPJS events etc. Try to have 1-2 events here.

Top-end Cadets:

Performance: All EFC events, Nationals & A Grades. Junior BRC events. Major Championships
Development: BRC B events (including Juniors) however many are necessary.
Experience: Junior Nationals, U23 Nationals Possibly JWCs. 1-3 events here. Reflection time with personal coach & ADP coach/lead.
FOR FUN: Home Nation championships, Cadet Winton, Local opens, Club Championships, BYCS etc. Try to have 1-2 events here.

Transition into Junior:

Performance: Junior BRCS & U20 nationals. 2-4 events here.
Development: Opens, some junior B grade BRCS. 3-6 events here.
Experience: U23 nationals, Senior Nationals. JWCs 2-4 events here. Reflection time with personal coach & ADP coach.
FOR FUN: Home Nation Championships, Cadet Winton (last year), local opens, club championships, BYCs (last year) etc. Try to have 1-2 events here.

Mid Junior:

Performance: Junior BRC events and JWCs and Fencing for Everyone events towards the end of the season. Senior opens/nationals. 3-6 events here.
Development: Early JWC events, Junior B grade BRC events, Opens 2-4 events here.
Experience: U23 events, Major Championship events, Senior events. Reflection time with personal coach & ADP coach/lead.
FOR FUN: Home Nation stuff, local opens, club events etc. Try to have 1-2 events here.

Top end Junior:

Performance: JWCs & Fencing for Everyone events. Major Championships. Large senior events (big opens/nationals).
Development: Opens, BRC events.
Experience: Senior World Cups, U23 events. Reflection time with personal coach & ADP coach/lead.
FOR FUN: Home Nation stuff, local opens, club events etc. Try to have 1-2 events here.

U23

Performance: U23 Euros, Fencing for Everyone events, U23 nationals, Senior Nationals.
Development: Opens, satellites.
Experience: Senior World Cup events, and other international events.
FOR FUN: Home Nation stuff, local opens, club events etc. Try to have 1-2 events here.

Your schedule can be changed and updated throughout the season, you will not be expected to stick to the choices you make at the beginning.

Changes might be needed for a number of reasons – finance is tight so you need to cut back a few events, your goals may have changed, injury causes your whole season to reshape, you have something you want to work on so need to find an event for development, or simply you need a weekend off.

You can use your goal sheet and performance tracker in your IADP to help with these choices.

Using the tracker on your IADP means you can keep everyone in the loop of your changes – your personal coaching team, ADP coaching team and BF staff.

Or contact Steve Kemp, Pathways Director, for any choices you would like support with: [email protected]

We are always on hand to help support this, I am always willing to be a sounding board for any choices you want to run by me.

Inputting this into your IADP

Now you have your calendar set for the season, you can input it into your IADP. Tab 3 is your season planner where you can list the events at the top and what you are using the event for. Then input it into the calendar just below to map out the events.

Once completed, don’t forget to upload the updated version of your IADP here: Athlete Submissions

Remember it is really important that you are constantly updating your IADP and sharing this with BF as a condition of selection for majors, but also so that the GB performance team are better able to support you and understand what path you are on.

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