Our coaching iniative
Recognising the disparity between the number of female and male coaches in canoeing, we decided to create a coaching initiative to support aspiring female coaches. From November 2020 - December 2021 we ran Project F.L.O.W (Female Leaders On Water). In a collaborative effort from many individuals, we supported 22 aspiring female coaches for one year.
We paired each coach with an experienced coach as a mentor to enable them to access to a personalised approach to development. We also delivered a coach development program with experts across the field, created opportunities for accessing coach qualifications, and nurtured a sense of community among the coaches. The network created is still strong to this day! Two of our coaches also successfully achieved coaching roles with governing bodies following Project FLOW. Maddy Jennings, one of our coaches on the programme also co-founded our latest project, the C1 Women Academy, after her time on the programme.
Community
In all that we do, we recognise the power of community. For Project FLOW, we centred the initiative around fostering a network of coaches to share experiences, learn from one another and grow together.
Support & Upskill
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We brought in experts in the coach development field to deliver a tailored coach development programme to our coaches.
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Each coach was paired with a mentor; a more experienced coach in paddlesport as someone who can support them in their development and journey​
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Slalom Inspires worked with partners such as British Canoeing to create and share opportunities for coaching courses.
Inspire the next generation
We asked each coach on the programme to take another, less experienced, coach under their wing and act as an 'encourager'. This could've been getting them to co-run a session together once a week or encourage someone to start coaching from scratch. We also encouraged our coaches to start their own project. Maddy Jennings, one of the coaches on Project FLOW went on to co-found the C1W Academy (Slalom Inspires' latest project).