Can I ask why?
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve come across enough “do as I say, not as I do” staff in my time to see that most lack any kind of credibility. On the other hand, the cadets don’t necessarily want staff to get involved with every activity - my lot wouldn’t think any more of me if I played football alongside them, and would probably enjoy the game more if stayed in my office!
And I wouldn’t necessarily want to get involved with everything, but I wouldn’t want them to think I’m not involved because I can’t be.
I don’t advocate that people get involved with everything and you’re quite right, some cadets would rather you didn’t. But some cadets might value there being someone around who’s ‘just giving it a go’.
Some cadets are sporty and that’s great. We give them every opportunity to use their sportiness. But some aren’t. Some are quite intimidated by those who are really sporty and shy away from getting involved.
I read in the thread about trying to encourage the right mindset amongst a youth who are pretty much constantly pilloried as being fat and useless. Couldn’t agree more. And part of that is showing kids that you don’t have to be good at sports to take part.
If only the sporty kids get involved in the activities then we haven’t done our jobs correctly. We can show the rest of them that there’s enjoyment in taking part. But we can show them that much more easily if we join in too.
You don’t want to? Fine. I’m not making you. Just like I’m not making the kids who don’t want to. But there’s a middle ground.
I tend not to get involved with much of the Sqn sports, and a 16.5stone or so of 50yr old, that might be thought as because I can’t.
However, I do enough of the AT activities with them (‘real’ not crawling round muddy fields!) for them to know I am active, and I did take part in the sports competition thing last year with and promptly trounced most of them, even in the skipping rope one.
Totally against compulsory fitness tests though as our job is principally admin and facilitating in my opinion.
Cheers
Dub
Last time I was involved in RAF Fitness tests was at Leuchars in 2000.The cadets were in the gym with the PTIs doing the standard RAF fitness test of the time.I was the only member of staff who took part and managed to get the required grades.Mind some cadets were dropping out at level 2 on the beep tests!
Level 2?? That’s frankly scary
Drop outs at level 2? I’m still chatting at level 7…
My son a very sporty lad never went beyond L3 in PE lessons (much to the teachers annoyance) as he got bored and didn’t see the point, so drop out at level 2 seems a perfectly sensible and intelligent.
I’ve never done a beep test (didn’t exist when I was at school) and can’t really think I missed anything.
yes - that is the “uniform” for the evening.
Can I ask if that is a squadron rule, or just something the staff decide they will do?
I’ve never really considered sports kit as a form of dress, to be honest. Unless every cadet has branded shorts/tracksuit bottoms , t shirts, and hoodies?
I’ve only ever worn sports kit at the Sqn if I was involved in running, demonstrating or coaching sports. If someone else is running the sessions, then I’ll either wear uniform, or civvies (and by civvies, I mean smart casual, not sports wear).
Same here, the dress for the night is dependant on what you are doing. So if you aren’t doing Sports you wear your normal kit. (Same goes for any cadets not taking part).
I do whole sqn sport nights.
When I was a cadet it used to be split and it what was nonsense. Invariably those not doing sport voted with their feet for that night.
those of us at the field overseeing sports dress for the activity much as i/we would for FT
Level 2 is shocking. Mind you the police is level 5.4 and you have to stop, incase you hurt yourself. And it’s only a 15m test. Can’t be cracking no personal bests. Might strain yourself. Just have to hope those criminals don’t get too nasty.
What out the schools doing for sports these days? It’s just embarrassing.
The fitness tests for the public services are a joke aswell. Police and paramedics are pretty much nonexistent and the fire service has been dragged down for “gender neutrality”.
What’s happened to this country.
In fairness, he didn’t say whether they’re dropping out through lack of fitness or through boredom.
I’d drop out through the latter before finishing level 1…
It’s a task. You complete said task. You just get on with it.
Can’t always be updating Facebook or instagram or YouTube or twitter or any other social media nonsense.
It’s not hard. 15ish mins of “discomfort” and then you’re done.
Depends entirely upon your definition of ‘complete’.
You stop when your eyeballs bleed.
School sports was never that much, unless you played for the school, when you did more.
I don’t know if it’s changed when our kids were at school if they didn’t do GCSE then they were pretty much left to themselves and as all subject areas are all about the end results the PE teachers concentrated on those who were doing GCSE PE. Our eldest daughter hated sports with a vengeance, that said she is and always has been the slimmest of the 3 children. Their PE lessons weren’t that different from mine and the wife’s and ours weren’t anymore than game playing in the gym or outside, unless it was the few weeks prior to sports day or the BS of a cross-country run.
As for supposed lack of fitness in the modern era, blame society, ie jobs that are less active, out of town centres forcing town based facilities to close thus making people drive, roads are at best a lottery for meaningful cycling, ie going from one place to another for a real reason (not the riding around in a circle or taking your bike to ride around in a circle), people don’t like the idea of driving to shops. supermarkets etc and just order it it all online and get it delivered, all the other things that have been spawned by the electronic revolution, which mean people sit indoors and one of the biggest things, parents concerned about their kid’s safety driving them to places. Read the thread about the lad who was shot and you can see where they are coming from. Even in their mid to late 20s, we aren’t happy until the kids get home, even if they let us know what’s going on.
Trying to make the ATC some sort of paragon of PE virtue is nonsensical and wouldn’t enhance it, in any way. If people want to do it, they will do it in their own way.
It’s not about being a paragon of PE but encouraging and giving them access to facilities and games halls
And encouraging a healthier outlook and being active.
Rather than letting them be poisoned by social media and this Health at every size crap.
It is society though. Obsessed with paperwork, paper trails, essays and all that rubbish. Just having more
And more generations of people who can talk really well about something but can’t actually do it.
Tin of beans syndrome. They can reel off the ingredients, but they can’t open the tin.
^^^THS
to coin the phrase “kids RAF” we should encourage our members to lead a fit and heathly lifestye in the same way the RAF does to its team.
yes i cannot deny there is an operational need for the RAF to be fit, but if a percentage of our Cadets choose to join up we should offer them a taste of what to expect where we can (ie FT/AT/Camps on stations/rank structure/teamwork and leadership) so why shouldn’t a taste of sports be included?