Determination: Determination is required especially as a beginner as kayaking is very different to other outdoor activities. Having good determination will allow someone to progress and get better at kayaking.

Communication: Communication while kayaking can be both listening well and speaking well to the people around you. An example of communicating well is telling people there is a boat coming or giving instructions about directions.

Kayaking can be more dangerous for beginners compared to other outdoor activities as if you are unfamiliar with the water it can be scary. Being safe is the number 1 priority while kayaking, being safe includes using the correct equipment and listening to instructors and making sure to look out for warning signs.

Water based activities in a natural vs controlled environment.

Kayaking in a controlled environment is safer than kayaking in a controlled environment. It is safer as the environment is checked and limited to what comes in and out of the environment such as wildlife. Meanwhile kayaking in a natural environment incurs much more risk as the environment isn't controlled and typically you will be alone. Kayaking in a natural environment requires you to be more skilled at kayaking and have a better understanding of rescue techniques and how to control a kayak.

Orienteering requires some skills such as endurance agility and strength. Orienteering benefits your body and mind as it allows you to test you physical and mental strength. Orienteering can improve your navigation, decision making and problem solving.

When i went orienteering i challenged myself physically and mentally whilst using key skills to help make the session easier. orienteering will help me develop towards career in the public services as it tests your mental strength and physical strength. This would translate very well to the armed forces as in the army long expeditions could be part of your deployment to get a tactical advantage without being noticed.

History of orienteering.

https://neooc.com/the-brief-history-of-orienteering/

Indoor climbing is unique compared to other activities such as orienteering or kayaking as it requires much more coordination and strength to be able to hold yourself up and then move up the wall. Indoor climbing is unique as it requires unique technique to be able to be complete the activities and climb the walls.

Indoor climbing has many benefits such as improving endurance/stamina and improving your balance. Also indoor climbing has lots of skills that are transferable to the public services such as problem solving and decision making. These skills are developed through making decisions on where to put your feet and which hold to move to next.

Determination: Determination is required especially as a beginner as kayaking is very different to other outdoor activities. Having good determination will allow someone to progress and get better at kayaking.

Communication: Communication while kayaking can be both listening well and speaking well to the people around you. An example of communicating well is telling people there is a boat coming or giving instructions about directions.

Cooperation: Cooperating while kayaking is mainly while in a kayak with another person. Being cooperative with another person in a kayak allows you to be able to move where you want to go and do it effectively while communicating that to the other person.

Soft skills for orienteering

Team work: Team work while orienteering helps in every aspect. An example of this is map reading, as a team map reading becomes easier when people work together and do it effectively.

Leadership: Being a good leader allows you to enable the people around you. An example of this while orienteering is helping people understand things they are confused about such as the route you are taking.

Motivation: Being motivated is having the ability to push through an activity even when you don't want to. Being motivated while orienteering makes it easier for you to complete the route and motivating team members can help to lift spirts for everyone else even if they are not as motivated as you.

Coordination: Being coordinated in a main priority when kayaking as you have to balance pushing yourself with the paddle whilst maintaining your balance and not capsizing. Having full control over what you are trying to do is the key to coordination.

Physical fitness: Being physically fit is a key skill as it allows you to be able to push yourself in the kayak whilst maintaining a good speed and being able to cover the required distance.

Endurance: Endurance whilst kayaking is the ability to keep going without getting tired enough that you have to stop. Kayaking can be tiring as it requires you to use multiple body parts at once in particular your arms.

Physical skills for orienteering.

Endurance: Endurance involves having stamina to be able to complete long activities even if they are challenging. AN example of this is walking for hours on uneven ground and in bad weather.

Agility: Being agile is the ability to move quickly at a speed often while changing direction. This skill is useful when orienteering as you may have to navigate very uneven terrain or through a challenging area in which being agile will help to do so.

Strength: Strength is about being able to carry things or withstand pressure such as carrying a heavy bag. When orienteering people will usually carry a rucksack that contains necessities and can weigh quite a bit. Being strong will help with this as you can carry a heavier load and hold it for longer.

Fitness routine.

A plan that would help me to develop these skills would be,

Attend gym session 1-1.5 hours 3x weekly

Long walk/ hike every other week

Kayaking/swimming every other week

During high-stress situations a persons skills will be tested such as composure, decision making and problem solving. These skills are then transferable to protective service situations such as being in a war zone in the armed forces or dealing with protesters as a police officer.

Personally kayaking had the biggest effect on me out of all the activities i have completed as at first i was very scared as i am a poor swimmer however i stayed resilient during the session, which for me was high-stress to start with, and eventually i got more confident and remained composed. This activity developed my problem solving as i didn't know how to control the kayak but i figured it out.

In outdoor activities teamwork and communication is essential to having an efficient team that works well together. An example of needing good team dynamics is when you are kayaking in a 2 person kayak. You need to work well with the person you are in a kayak with as if you don't it could lead to one person having to take on more responsibility, therefore each person needs to put in the right amount of effort to be effective. Communication is also needed within a team as it can lead to costly mistakes such as injury if people don't communicate their needs. An example of this is when climbing and someone is controlling your belay device you need to communicate when you are coming down so that the person is ready to let you down.

These experiences helped to develop my communication and teamwork skills by making me use these skills in somewhat stressful situations which is similar to the public services environment. These skills are essential for a future career in the public services as they will make it easier for me to work and communicate effectively with people. A specific example i had to use and develop my teamwork and communication skills was when i was orienteering with people i didn't know and we came to a point where the leader didn't understand where to go next so i offered to help them to read the map to help us decide the right way to go. This experience gave me confidence in my skills in teamwork and communication as i proved that i can communicate well to well other people to complete a common goal.

Team dynamics in outdoor activities help to build a foundation for the skills that are needed in the public services. An example of this is communication and teamwork whilst orienteering will help to develop these skills however they are not a true reflection of what it will be like in the public services. In the public services you are often in high stress situations, these situations can lead to you not thinking as you usually would and can lead to your communication and teamwork skills becoming flawed due to the nature of the situation. Overall the skills you will use are the same however the situations you will be in are vastly different and that can change your ability to be effective in communication and teamwork. Leadership is key to a good team dynamic and orienteering is a good way to develop your leadership however leading a team on a hike and leading a team into a combat zone is very different

Another type of environment is an closed water environment such as a lake or docks. These environments are very different to a mountainous environment and therefore require different precautions for safe participation. In these environments you would complete different activities as well such as kayaking or paddle boarding. An example of this is different type of gear is needed. For example a wet suit/ dry suit is needed as the water can get very cold. Therefore having a wet/dry suit is necessary to keeping your body warm enough and that you don't go into hypothermia. Another key requirement for safety which is unique for water environments is a buoyancy aid.

One time I had to adjust to an outdoor setting was when I was on an expedition with college where we had to complete a route following checkpoints it started to rain heavily and had rained the previous days which then made the ground very soft, slippery and uneven. This made it that I had to be more careful when walking which used my coordination and problem solving skills. I had to use these skills as there were big puddles that had formed in the mud and I didn't want to get my feet wet. To do this I had to think on the spot about the best route to take around these areas and then I had to coordinate myself correctly to navigate around them which sometimes involved stabilising myself using the environments such as rocks and trees. However when completing this activity I was wearing hiking bots that gave me more ankle support and stability to traverse the environment. This experience taught me that it is better to be prepared for rough environments than to be underprepared.

For kayaking there are many pieces if equipment that are necessary such as:

Kayak- suitable for the environment you are in and in good condition. A kayak is the main piece to kayaking and depending on your kayak can determine what level of kayaking you can do, an example of this is a white water kayak.

Paddle- To be able to manoeuvre yourself and the kayak, to control how you want to move.

Buoyancy aid- Device to keep you afloat in water, to help keep you safe if you fall out of your kayak. The buoyancy aid is the most important piece of equipment to keep you safe as it can help to keep afloat if you fall in water and will help everyone whether they are confident or not at swimming.

Dry/wet suit- to keep your body at the correct temperature and stop you getting wet.

Map/Compass- to navigate your way towards your goal. A compass can help to find the direction in which you are meant to go if your are having difficulty reading the map.

Gps- to help with navigation and for safety reasons. A GPS can be tracked to ensure that you can be found if you get lost.

Equipment for orienteering.

Suitable footwear- Hiking boots/ footwear with ankle support is essential for orienteering as it minimises the risk of foot and ankle injuries whilst being comfy as to not cause discomfort or blisters.

Map/compass- A map and a compass is essential to navigating your way from start to finish when orienteering. Being bale to read a map and use a compass is key to fully understanding how to navigate difficult terrain.

Suitable clothing- The type of clothing you need can change depending on the weather. In good weather you could need light and breathable clothes such as shorts, however if there is bad weather you could need a waterproof jacket and pants as well as layers to keep you warm such as an undershirt.

Having the correct equipment is a good start however it isn't useful if you don't know how to use it, an example of this is a map and a compass, if you don't know how to read a map or use a compass they are essentially useless as you will get no value out of them. This is also relevant in the public services as if you don't know how to use your equipment it is useless to you and can lead to a higher chance for something to go wrong. An example of this in the public services is using a map or a gps device whilst in the army as if you don't know how to navigate to your target it could lead to issues for yourself and your team such as being lead to the wrong place and being surrounded by enemies.

In my personal experience when i went kayaking i had no experience and having someone qualified to guide on what to do really helped me to progress quickly as i felt as if i was getting knowledge from a credible source. The guidance from the instructor was extremely valuable as they know how to adapt their ability to teach to different people.

Being led in an outdoor activity by an instructor helps people to be confident and feel safe as they know they are being helped by someone who knows what they are doing. Having an instructor helps to build your skills such as listening and communication as these skills allow you to take in the most information you can to learn to get better.

These skills such as coordination i have developed over the past year through various outdoor and physical activities such as indoor climbing. Skills like this are also applicable in other places such as a career in the public services. An example of where coordination is used in the public services is a police officer chasing a suspect will have to coordinate themselves to keep up with the criminal.

Real life examples of how injuries happen,

Fatigue can lead to mistakes such as not properly securing equipment.

Multitasking/ having too much to do can lead to people becoming confused between balancing tasks and then could make a mistake which affects the safety of someone.

To conduct a risk assessment you must first identify the risk, then you consider the likelihood of that of it occurring such as someone falling over, then consider the consequence of someone falling. After that you will end up somewhere on the chart and if the risk is somewhere towards the red it could be worth not doing the activity due to the risk.

A time when I completed a risk assessment was for kayaking at Liverpool water sports centre. Some of the risks included was slipping on wet surfaces, falling into the water and being hit by other peoples paddles.

Completing a risk assessment allows you to be more aware of the risks around you and how to avoid them. This develops vital skills such as awareness which is vital for a career in the protective services as you are often in situations in which you have to be aware of your surroundings.

Contingency plans are also put in place to know what to do when everything fails. An example is having lifeguards on a beach to safe people who are in trouble.

Being able to plan for contingencies is a clear indication of a persons ability to communicate clearly.

A land-based skill I struggled with is taking bearings on a compass. To overcome this challenge I sought help form people who knew how to take a bearing and asked them to show me what to do, this helped me significantly and I can now take a bearing.