Skills School is British Triathlon's first CPD program developed specifically for coaches working with young athletes or for coaches interested in developing a junior section within their club. As you know, Triathlon is a relatively young sport and has developed from mainly adult foundations, yet now the area of children's triathlon is developing quickly. After collating the opinions of coaches from across the pathway as well as children’s coaches from across the country.

As a result the Skills School Framework and Coaches’ Playbook were designed to supplement and support all children’s triathlon coaches. The Framework and Playbook incorporate the ideas of top British coaches as well as the latest research encouraging engaging, athlete-centred approaches. They were created as we are committed to helping our young athletes prepare for a lifetime of sport and physical activity as well as assisting them in becoming the best they can be.

If you are interested in finding out more about this or future days feel free to contact me, Juliet Paterson, Skills School South West Lead on:

skillsschoolsouthwest@britishtriathlon.org or see:https://www.britishtriathlon.org/gb-teams/talent/english-talent/skills-school/coaches

Days Delivered so far:

8 experiential learning days have been delivered across the South West:

1. Torbay Velopark
2. Odd Down Cycle Circuit
3. Bristol and District (BAD) Tri
4. King’s College, Taunton
5. Vale Tridents Tri Club, Faringdon
6. Leweston Tri Club, Sherbourne
7. Torbay Velopark and Leisure Centre
8. Odd Down Cycle Circuit

So far Skills School South West has attracted 46 coaches and 4 parent helpers from 20 different clubs across the South West. We have also engaged and challenged 179 young athletes on the 8 Skills School days, aged 8-16 years.

I would like to thank all the coaches for their hard work, amazing coaching and engagement from:

Plymouth Triathlon Club; Bristol B.A.D. Tri; Vale Tridents; Exeter Triathlon Club; Somerset R.C. Tri; Swindon Phoenix; Swindon Triathlon Club; North Dorset Tri; King’s College, Taunton; Leweston Triathlon Club; Dorset Pentathletes; Tripurbeck; North Bristol Triathlon Club; Cardiff University Triathlon Club; Salisbury Tri; Chippenham Triathlon Club; Marlborough Triathlon Club; Torbay Tri; Trowbridge Hot Chilli Triathlon Club.

We would love to hear from any clubs who are interested in being involved, whether your coaches or clubs have already engaged with Skills School or not – either for a specialist facility day, experiential day or club visit. 

We are here to help the amazing coaches and the brilliant children of the South West region.