Members of our YPF Conference panel (photo by Bobby Gavin)
By Oscar Logan, YPF mentor and Law and District AAC athlete
On March 8 the second Athletics Trust Scotland Young People’s Forum Conference was hosted at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.
Two years after the inaugural conference, the new cohort embraced the day’s theme: Inspiring the Next Generation.
The Conference opened with an address from the chair of Scottish Athletics, David Ovens, who introduced the YPF to the room and set the stage for a productive day.
This was quickly followed by two surprise videos from Laura Muir and Eilish McColgan.
Laura focused on the importance of communication and hard work in becoming an elite athlete, acknowledging the difficulties experienced when transitioning to university.
Subsequently, Eilish candidly discussed the challenges social media presents with respect to an athlete’s body image, pithily pointing out that ‘running fast is not a number on a scale’ . . . rather attention should be placed on sleep and proper fuelling.
Photo by Bobby Gavin
Robert Hawkins then took the stage to give a brief presentation about the development of coaching his sons. Callum then joined his father for a Q & A session led by YPF member Mhairi Ballantyne.
Robert and Callum answered questions regarding typical training load, rehab process, and dealing with setbacks, with Robert memorably answering not to worry too much as ‘you never lose talent’.
After a short refreshment break, the day progressed into a series of workshops. Pamela Robson and Maria Lyle delivered on inclusion in athletics, showcasing the progress made in Scotland for Para athletes being involved in everything from championship races to warm weather training.
Guest presenters from SAMH took point on a talk surrounding stress – both within and outside athletics – offering various grounding techniques to deal with it.
Following on from this were the first focus group sessions. Four different groups variously concerned with changes to competitions, athlete health, transitioning to university, and a round-table discussion with SAMH. These intimate discussions provided invaluable insights into the future of the sport as well as young people’s reactions to this.
Photo by Bobby Gavin
The afternoon continued with another round of insightful workshops and focus group sessions which was followed by an incredible panel of Olympic and Paralympic athletes, featuring Derek Hawkins, Maria Lyle, Lynne MacDougall, and Ben Sandilands.
YPF member Katie Sandilands led a direct Q & A before opening the discussion to the floor. Topics as diverse as good training habits, Derek Hawkins and his rubber duckie menagerie, and Lynne MacDougall relating advice she had received from a training partner – in her best Scouser accent –‘It’s only running!’.
I caught up with Lynne MacDougall after the panel to ask her about her impression of the day.
‘I was really quite impressed with all the young people,’ said Lynne.
‘They really seemed quite knowledgeable.’
Lynne went on to highlight being pleasantly surprised at being surrounded by so many passionate young people who cared about athletics . . . and that it was she who was learning from them.
The full ATS Young People’s Forum meet at Conference with Callum Hawkins, Robert Hawkins and Maria Lyle (photo Bobby Gavin)
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Tags:
ATS Young People’s Forum, ATS Young People’s Forum Conference, Oscar Logan
