Children, LTAD & Competitions »

CHILDREN, LTAD & COMPETITIONS

LTAD resourses: http://www.crosscountrybc.ca/ltad-resourses

Optimal competition calendar planning is critical for all stages of athlete development.  At certain stages, development of physical capacities takes precedence over competition, and at other stages the ability to compete becomes the focus.  Competition schedules should therefore be selected based on the individual athletes’ developmental needs.

A long-term athlete development plan means a system of training and competition that is optimized for the abilities of athletes during the various developmental stages.  The following factors should be considered when planning:

  • An insufficient number of competitions (inappropriate training-to-competition ratio) during the early stages will result in a lack of sport skills to build on in later stages.
  • Optimal training-to-competition ratios should be the objective for all stages of athlete development.  For example, the recommended number of races per season for the following age groups are:

              - six to eight for girls 8-11 and boys 9-12 years of age, and

              - eight to twelve for girls 11-13 and boys 12-14 years of age.

  • Competitions are one of an athlete’s most important development tools.
  • The appropriate level of competition, which is critical to the technical, tactical and mental development of the athlete at all stages.
  • The distance.
  • The format (i.e. mass start, relay, team sprint, interval start, pursuit, individual sprint).
  • The ability and fitness of the skier.
  • The difficulty of terrain (course profile).
  • The elevation (altitude) of the race site.
  • At the end of the L2T stage girls can begin to develop their maximal oxygen consumption rate (VO2max) though racing, as they are entering a Window of Optimal Trainability (WOT) for this performance factor.Race distances that are optimal for this stage - in order to develop VO2max - are in the range of 1.5 to 3 kilometres (5 - 10 minutes).
  • Due to the longer period of pre-adolescent growth for boys (as compared to girls), it is not optimal for boys at the L2T stage to be introduced to VO2max development. Therefore most race distances for at this stage should exceed three kilometres, so that the athletes are optimizing the WOT for aerobic capacity that corresponds to the growth phase they are in.
  • “Unconventional” settings (e.g. obstacle courses, terrain parks) for athletes in the earlier stages of development, where fun, skill and speed should be the emphasis. For example, a mix of competitions that would be suitable for athletes in the L2T stage of development are:
  •      Racing Rocks! (Ski Tournaments, Double Cross, Team Sprints).
  •      Club Races (Club Championships, Club Costume Relays, etc.).
  •      Regional Cup Races, Midget Championships, BC Winter Games, BC Cup Series, BC Championships.
  • Competitions that provide recognition and rewards for athletes for each year of birth during the developmental stages (FUNdamentals to Learning to Compete).

The sport of cross-country skiing has aligned its competition model with LTAD guidelines. LTAD alignment means doing the right thing for the athletes from a developmental perspective (for example, prescribing race distances and race formats that allow developing athletes to take advantage of optimal windows of trainability during the different developmental stages).  Changes resulting from this alignment will be reflected in event technical packages, race distances, racing licences, awards, etc.