Tegan’s trip to Lagganalia

juniors, training

Lagganlia is an Outdoor Education Centre on the banks of the River Feshie, around 10 miles from Aviemore.  Recently, Tegan attended a training camp there, organised by JROS (Junior Regional Orienteering Squads). It was for 24 junior attendees (M/W14) selected from the Regional Squads throughout Great Britain and supported by 18 voluntary staff (coaches, chefs etc).

Here’s Tegan’s own account of the week:

This year I went to the Lagganlia training camp in Scotland.

I had loads of fun and improved my skills a lot, with the help of all the coaches there. I had never been to Scotland and so getting the opportunity to train in such different terrain was great as experience for future races on those kind of areas.

On Saturday morning we travelled by train to Aviemore, where the minibuses met the athletes. In our first evening at Lagganlia we played a few name games to get to know each other and were briefed for the next day. Throughout the week we visited a variety of areas, my favourites being Roseisle (see the map on the left) and Culbin, and did individual and paired exercises, along with some individual races and relays.

Halfway through the week we had a rest day, consisting of some sprint training, a sprint race, swimming in a loch (forgot the name!) and then a visit into Aviemore in the afternoon .  On our last night we did some fun activities and a relay around the Lagganlia site and then, on Saturday morning, we went back to the station to get the train to Perth and, for most of us, to go on to the Scottish 6 Days.

I learnt how to use pacing and developed skills I already had, like accurate bearings and simplification. It was a lot of hard work, but also fun, as I got to know the other athletes in my age class, who I’d never met before. The food was great, especially the sticky toffee pudding! I had an amazing time!

Big thanks to all the coaches and everyone else there who made it such a great experience!
Tegan