OUR BLOG

Dear members

This message relates to Freestyle but we are sharing it with everyone because who knows if you may be inspired to have a go.  Freestyle is a lot of fun as well as being a great way to develop your skiing and boarding in other areas.

This message covers:                                               

• Timetable – new sessions for freestyle
• Risk management – keeping things safe (yet fun)
• Coaches – the need for them to be present at sessions and the leadership role they will play
• Conduct – how we should all behave towards each other: inclusivity and respect
• Accountability – the coaches will lead Freestyle but it needs active support from all participants (and their parents) to be a success

This message is just the first step in talking about the future of Freestyle at the Club. A number of the Freestyle coaches have put a good deal of effort into working out a plan for Freestyle so please show your support by getting involved!  We want to see Freestyle at the Club be a raging success, with high attendance at fun and challenging sessions.

Everyone is welcome and, indeed, we would like as many as possible to want to participate.

There is work to be done on our Freestyle programme but we have great foundations, including an experienced and enthusiastic (in fact, passionate!) coaching team and some talented riders and skiers, with plenty more showing potential.

Everyone who participates at the Club should both feel safe and be safe (subject to the natural risks inherent in their chosen activity). They should also feel like they belong here – they are not only welcomed, but wanted. And they should, of course, have fun.

So, the key themes are:

• Safe
• Inclusive
• Fun

Here the key points that everyone involved in Freestyle needs to be aware of.

1. Timetable

We now have two dedicated freestyle sessions a week:

• Saturdays from 6.30-8.00pm – open to all abilities (once signed off for general use of the main slope – no special freestyle sign off process)
• Thursdays from 8.00pm to 10.00pm – for more advanced riders and skiers (the coaches will determine the criteria for participation – if in doubt, please check before booking)

Plus a kicker session on Mondays from 8.00pm-10.00pm – open to all abilities (once signed off for general use of the main slope – no special freestyle sign off process).

Please note that all freestyle sessions are subject to coach availability (as is the case for other supervised sessions at the Club) – see point 3 below.

• Risk management

The coaches have developed SOPs designed to ensure the safe and smooth running of sessions. Please follow the directions and requests of the coaches.

The Club has also updated its Acceptance of Risk to incorporate an additional section relating to Freestyle.

The purpose of this is to ensure that all riders and skiers (and, where relevant, their parents) are informed of, understand and knowingly accept the risks inherent in participation.

The additional section applies principally to freestyle-specific sessions and events. However, it also relates to any sessions or events where features or the kicker (with or without the airbag) are used as a training or development tool (e.g. Junior Club).

• Coaching requirement

All sessions must have at least one coach present.  This is for a number of reasons:

• Safety
• First aid
• Safeguarding
• Parent liaison
• Insurance
• Coaching *

Therefore, if no coach is available to run the session, it will be cancelled (with as much notice as we can reasonably provide). This is aligned with our approach on various other supervised sessions such as Wannabes, Racing, Adaptive, and Junior Club. (By the way, we have a good number of trainee freestyle coaches going through level 1 training at present. Therefore, Freestyle should soon be less susceptible to the pressure points that it has experienced for some time.)

* Coaches are not there to interfere with confident and experienced riders and skiers, but to support and facilitate the development of less experienced participants. If you know what you are doing, you may well spend the whole session without any coaching interaction (unless you want it!).

We also get that Freestyle has its own vibe, which includes a spirit of collaboration. Riders and skiers are free to share tips and pointers between themselves. The Acceptance of Risk makes this clear. It also makes clear that when you participate it is up to you whether to seek out or follow any tips or pointers. If you do, it is a decision that you take as a matter of your own choice, accepting responsibility for your decision accordingly.

• Conduct

• The sessions will be based on principles of safety, inclusivity and fun (i.e. the main focus, but still abiding by the Club’s code of conduct).
• Coaches, participants and parents are expected to support these principles.  
• It is no secret that there has been a degree of friction around Freestyle at the Club for some time. Mistakes have been made on all sides, I believe, but it benefits no-one to bring them up repeatedly.
• Many of us have invested significant time and effort in getting to this point.  I ask everyone to believe in the good faith and best intentions of the coaches, the Executive Committee and the Club in supporting and making a success of Freestyle.
• We must end the ‘them and us’ divisions (i.e. Freestyle versus the Club/Exec or negative comparisons with the Race Team to take two quite common examples). In my view these are artificial and unhelpful.
• Please also refrain from engaging in the sort of negative social media interactions that have previously been in evidence.
• If you are unhappy about anything, we can have an open and frank conversation about what could be done better but it needs to be approached in a constructive and respectful way.

• Accountability and ownership

• The coaching group will lead Freestyle and they (with the active support, we hope, of participants and parents) will be responsible for its success. The Club will provide resources to support. This mirrors our approach with other comparable sessions like Adaptive, Junior Club, Racing etc.
• Consistency will be important.  The success of Freestyle requires a substantial commitment from the coaches. That needs to be reciprocated by participants and parents. As long as it is in good financial health, the Club will support the sessions; but if the Club faces difficult times again, low turnout may place Freestyle (or some sessions) at risk. Equally, repeated cancellations may mean we need to re-examine the timetable. Therefore, we all need to work together to keep moving forward: build and grow.
• Pricing is under review. Some sessions (in particular, where the airbag is used) have higher operating costs. The set up and clear up of Freestyle is also quite labour intensive and may be a factor the Club takes into account.
• We will look to improve communications – especially by employing (as well as Facebook) a WhatsApp channel to share updates etc. Be on the lookout for an invitation to join.
• The coaches are working on a plan for further events, jams and competitions etc. Watch this space!

The purpose of this message is to get us all on the same page.  The Club is fully supportive of Freestyle.  But that support is not unconditional.  It comes with an expectation that all those involved will, in return, support the three main principles I note at the start of this message. As a reminder, Freestyle must be Safe, Inclusive and Fun.

Some behaviours and practices have fallen short of acceptable standards and are not in keeping with these principles or the Club’s values. I understand the historic context and sympathise with the frustrations. I accept that those frustrations rarely arise without provocation. Even so, those behaviours need to stop.

Let’s turn over a clean sheet and start afresh with a shared sense of purpose and optimism for a vibrant and growing Freestyle community!

Thanks and best wishes, Nick

Nick Watson

Club Chairman

Norfolk Snowsports Club

07760 88 69 69

www.norfolksnowsports.com