Hi Paul Although I agree with your sentiment and your motives, I'm not sure what you are suggesting.
Firstly: > I'm sure they would go if the sessions were regionalised so > that they were more accessable for us. The main point of GB Training at the moment is to get the players from different teams to gel together so they can function as a team when they get to Worlds. Making training regionalized would be counter productive. Secondly: > supervised by responsible, contactable, police-checked > adults who did not tolerate underage drinking Er - that's you, right? Not the event organiser. GB Training is usually a one day event, so there is no drinking. Obviously there is drinking at tournaments, and we should all be aware that there may be under age people around, and not lead them astray (Sammy is in NZ at the moment). On the other hand, you can't take the drinking culture out of Ultimate. In theory, the Tour events should be more serious than the other events, and therefore 'safer' for under age players. Finding separate accommodation (Youth Hostel, Someone's house) for underage players would also help. I have taken a junior team (The Tornadoes) to a tournament and instead of going to the party, we went back to the Church Hall that was our accommodation, and played tag instead! Everyone likes to see juniors getting into Ultimate, but there should always be somebody responsible who is prepared to skip the party revelry and hang around with them. They should be more than able to amuse themselves anyway, seeing as they don't usually spend Saturday night in the pub. I quite enjoyed myself really - until one of them ran into the altar and cut his leg really really badly.. At the end of the day, it's up to individuals like yourself - there's little the Ultimate community can do as a whole, other than be aware of the situation. Jack PS, They dealt with the situation very well; they found a first aid kit, they washed and sterilised the wound, and they applied a bandage. I suggested he phone his mother, which he did. She was very sympathetic. > > I have at least 5 players who have the talent (and most importantly the > money) to play fo GB Juniors. They are aged between 15 and 18. I would like > to send them to GB training and they would very much like to attend. There > are two main problems. Firstly, the distance they have to travel from Exeter > (parents aren't too keen on sending them on their own especially if there > are no contact details/firm arrangements in place). Also, the booze culture > that sometimes surrounds events like this put parents off. > > It's ok for 18 year olds but not so good for 15 year olds, paricularly as I > am in a difficult position as their teacher trying to convince the parents > to let them go. I did send a couple of kids from my school a few years ago > and they came back from the world champs in Germany with tales of drinking > etc which sounded great fun, but you can see the position it puts me in as > their P.E teacher. > > I love teaching Ultimate to kids and we enjoy a great deal of success and > produce some excellent players. I would always encourage them to go to GB > training and I'm sure they would go if the sessions were regionalised so > that they were more accessable for us. Also if the parents were assured that > they were being supervised by responsible, contactable, police-checked > adults who did not tolerate underage drinking. > > In my view, this is the way forward for junior ultimate. Not to think of all > juniors as 18 year old adults, but to recognise some of them as children > whom we have a responsibilty to look after. A clean, fun, booze free culture > that parents and school teachers alike would be happy to encourage and > promote. > > I would also like to recognise and thank those who do put so much time and > effort into youth Ultimate as I beleive that this game is perfect for kids > (and adults who still belive they are kids). > > Still spreading the word ...a school teachers perspective... > > Paul (Airbadgers) > > _________________________________________________________________ > Let the new MSN Premium Internet Software make the most of your high-speed > experience. http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-us&page=byoa/prem&ST=1 > > __________________________________________________ > BritDisc mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://pootle.near.me.uk/mailman/listinfo/britdisc > Staying informed - http://www.ukultimate.com/informed.asp __________________________________________________ BritDisc mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://pootle.near.me.uk/mailman/listinfo/britdisc Staying informed - http://www.ukultimate.com/informed.asp
