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Mountain Training Trust and Plas y Brenin Welcome New Chair and Trustees to Advance the National Outdoor Centre

The Mountain Training Trust (MTT), operator of Sport England’s National Outdoor Centre, Plas y Brenin, is delighted to announce the appointment of a new Chair of Trustees, and three new Trustees.

Peter Ashman moves into the role of Chair after two and a half years as a Trustee on the MTT Board, taking over from Sara Mogel OBE, who stepped down this year after serving in the role for five years.

During his career, Peter spent 30 years in healthcare and scientific publishing and was CEO of the international health information and education company BMJ Publishing before retiring early in 2019. He also spent five years as Chair of the publishing trade association ALPSP, which represents the interests of not-for-profit scholarly publishers and which also produces its own training and events.

Passionate about the outdoors, Peter spends much of his free time walking in the Chiltern Hills and, occasionally, open water swimming – one of Plas y Brenin’s more recent programmes.

Joining him on the Board as Trustees are Ben Coates, Lisa Dickinson, and Matthew Tennant, replacing former Trustees Sara Walker and Rona Chester.

Ben Coates is currently Chief of Staff at the Equality and Human Rights Commission and a Trustee of Cardiff-based equalities charity, Diverse Cymru. Lisa Dickinson has led a wide range of people, cultural and IT change and transformation projects and programmes in the private sector, and is a #ShePaddles ambassador for British Canoeing as well as a qualified whitewater leader. With a career working in educational organisations and professional bodies, alongside various non-executive roles within charities, Matthew Tennant is currently Chair of the Trustee Board for OutdoorLads, a UK-wide charity running outdoor activities for the LGBTQ community.

The new roles commence in a pivotal year for the Centre as it begins to emerge from the Covid pandemic, which severely impacted outdoor education and the wider outdoor industry. Peter’s leadership, supported by the Trustees, will be instrumental in shaping the future of the Centre as it welcomes new partnerships, bolsters its offering, operates more sustainably and boosts participation in outdoor activities from all communities.

Commenting on his appointment, Peter Ashman said: “I’m delighted to be appointed as Chair of Mountain Training Trust, operating Sport England’s National Outdoor Centre at Plas y Brenin. The Board of Trustees and I look forward to supporting CEO Ruth Hall and her team through a very exciting period of growth, as we implement the strategy to offer world class outdoor training in our stunning location in North Wales and beyond. We will also work to encourage a greater number and wider variety of people to experience the benefits of being outdoors. Over the last two and a half years, there has been an enormous growth in the number of people exercising outdoors and the physical and mental health benefits are well documented.

“I look forward to working with Sport England, our wide range of stakeholders across the outdoor sector and many more like minded organisations which share our passion for the outdoors.

“I encourage anyone to come and visit us in North Wales and experience the benefits, thrill and hospitality which Plas y Brenin has to offer.”

Ruth Hall, CEO at Plas y Brenin, said: “Firstly, I wish to thank Sara Mogel for her tremendous help and support over the last five years. Her insights and direction have been invaluable and I will miss her guidance and leadership.

“At the same time, I’d like to warmly welcome Peter as incoming Chair and Ben, Lisa and Matt as Trustees. Peter’s experience and knowledge of both the corporate and non-profit sectors will equip him well for his new role as Chair. We look forward to his contributions towards shaping the future of Plas y Brenin. We’re delighted he is joined by three new members, all of which have fantastic and varied experience that we believe will create a strong Board, comprising a variety of backgrounds and perspectives that can only benefit the future of the Mountain Training Trust and Plas y Brenin as it cements its position as a leading provider of training in the outdoors.”

The Board of Trustees, all of whom are volunteers, oversee the activities of the charity (Mountain Training Trust and Plas y Brenin). The Board shapes the strategic development of the charity, providing creative, insight-led and constructive input.

The new Trustees

Ben Coates

Ben is a public servant with a range of experience in central government and the public sector. He is currently Chief of Staff at the Equality and Human Rights Commission and prior to that worked at the Foreign Office, leading their major international education programmes. He is also a Trustee of Cardiff-based equalities charity, Diverse Cymru, an executive coach and a mentor with the Social Mobility Foundation. Ben is a keen climber, hiker and runner, making the most of the stunning outdoors on his doorstep in Cardiff.

Commenting on his appointment, Ben said: "Plas y Brenin is a special place – it's impossible to spend any time there and not be energised and inspired to get outdoors. I'm thrilled to have an opportunity to contribute to its future as a Trustee. The outdoors should be for everyone, not just a privileged few, and I want to see more people having their own adventures. Plas y Brenin, as the National Outdoor Centre, equips climbers, mountaineers, paddlers, mountain bikers and more with the skills they need to thrive outdoors. It's a privilege to be part of this.”

Lisa Dickinson

Lisa has nearly 15 years of experience working in the private sector, leading a wide range of people, cultural and IT change and transformation projects and programmes including a focus on strategy definition as well as Diversity and Inclusion.

With a background in Scouting and Guiding, Lisa has always had an interest in spending time in the outdoors. Most recently, she focussed her efforts on whitewater kayaking. She went from hating water and not being able to swim to becoming a qualified whitewater leader in 2021 and has spent the last year helping support other women who want to build their confidence in whitewater as a #ShePaddles Ambassador for British Canoeing. She is now working towards her whitewater coach award. Outside of paddling, Lisa is also a keen climber and walker and has recently completed her Mountain Leader training.

Lisa has first-hand experience of courses at Plas y Brenin and is excited about the opportunity to use her corporate and outdoor experience to help the MTT further grow their mission of helping people get active in the outdoors.

Commenting on her appointment, Lisa said: “I discovered Plas y Brenin last year and have been on a few courses since and loved them, so PYB has grown close to my heart as an outdoor organisation. When I saw the opportunity come up to join the board I just had to apply. I’ve got a lot of experience in the private sector across HR, IT, change and transformation and felt that I could apply that to help PYB in the next stage of its growth and evolution.”

Matthew Tennant

Matt’s career to date has been in Education, working in both Higher and Professional Body organisations, alongside various non-executive roles within charities. He is currently Chair of the Trustee Board for OutdoorLads, a UK-wide charity running outdoor activities for the LGBTQ community.

Commenting on his appointment, Matt said: “I am very excited to be joining the MTT Trustee Board. I have a lifelong passion for outdoor activity and Education, and my love for the outdoors is mainly involved in hill walking, mountaineering and more recently Paddlesports. MTT and Plas y Brenin have a fantastic offering ranging from professionals wanting to improve their skill sets to widening participation in the outdoors. A particular interest of mine is around developing, implementing and monitoring strategies to improve diversity and inclusion, while increasing engagement of under-represented groups in outdoor activities.”

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Working Together to Make the Outdoors More Inclusive

A recent survey of 4,000 adolescent girls and boys suggests girls are more likely to disengage from sport and exercise in their teens compared to boys. The survey of 11-18 year olds conducted by Women in Sport identified a number of barriers contributing to the drop off, including a lack of confidence, fewer perceived opportunities, periods, body image and feeling unsafe outdoors.

The study alludes to a huge missed opportunity to encourage more girls to stay active after Primary School, especially with girls that say they used to be sporty but have become gradually disengaged.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic we have seen an increase in the number of people taking up outdoor activities and spending more time outdoors, yet more needs to be done to empower girls to overcome avoidable barriers that prevent them continuing with sports and exercise.

As Sport England's National Outdoor Centre, we are aware of the role we have to play in making the outdoors more inclusive, accessible and diverse.

To this end, we recently joined forces with seven other leading outdoor institutions to commission comprehensive research to understand current levels of participation in outdoor activities. The insights informed a plan of action - starting with the group agreeing to a number of commitments designed to improve diversity within the sector, including:

• Educating ourselves and our workforce – to gain greater insight from the lived experiences of those who are underrepresented
• Improving the diversity of people – within all levels of our organisations and in the imagery used to promote walking, climbing and camping
• Developing collaborative relationships – with community groups and individuals who can help us effect change and improve pathways for people to access walking, climbing and camping
• Holding ourselves accountable – for our actions and setting targets to improve equity, diversity and inclusion

There is a long way to go - as identified in the Women in Sport report - but for our part, we have already started investing more time and resources welcoming diverse groups. We are running a pilot training scheme with the Muslim Scout Fellowship (MSF), which, if successful, will be rolled out on a wider scale.

In partnership with Experience Community, we will be delivering residential weekends that will support people with disabilities to get outdoors and participate in activities which allow them to get to places they may have never been able to access before, following a successful first weekend last year.

This coming weekend. we’re also hosting #ShePaddles - a specialist canoeing and kayaking event to encourage more women to try paddlesports in partnership with Canoe Wales.

While we’re making progress, it’s clear there is a lot more to do - both collectively and as individual organisations. From hiring staff from different backgrounds to creating initiatives and offerings that will help make outdoor learning more welcoming and accessible, so that more people can experience the often life-changing benefits associated with outdoor learning.

* This post first appeared in Horizons Magazine.

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Plas y Brenin Climbing Wall Opens to the Public

It’s been a long and rocky road from the completion of the new Plas y Brenin climbing wall build, to its recent opening. Its completion coincided with the start of the global pandemic, which not only quashed any thoughts of opening, but also stopped play in terms of any real development of the facility generally, with all non-essential workers in a national lockdown.

As restrictions eased, we have been able to use the wall for our courses, and residential customers have had access to it in the evenings, but we are now pleased to be open daily to the general public.

Climbing Instructor Dave Evans describes the history of the Centre’s climbing wall and its significance in terms of the history of British climbing wall development...

The original wall, made famous by its appearance in the “dream” sequence in the epoch making Johnny Dawes climbing film “Stone Monkey”, actually still exists hidden behind the panels in what is now the equipment store.

Our wall was one of the earliest of its kind anywhere, with moulded concrete blocks in the brickwork to mimic features on real rock but in an indoor environment. Fast forward to 1992, when major British climbing wall builder, Bendcrete, came in, and produced the infamous Plas y Brenin “Arch” bouldering wall and adjacent lead wall in “The Tower”. This wall really was cutting edge at the time, featuring as it did, a moulded, textured fibreglass surface, feeling and climbing like rock on a crag outside. Opened by the great British climber and mountain guide Pat Littlejohn, this wall would remain in place until 2018, and many people in the UK climbing community, including myself, were sad to see it dismantled. One well-known local climber even used to refer to the bouldering arch as “the finest indoor climbing feature in Britain”!

So here we are today. The old, featured panels are no more, replaced with clean, flat textured plywood panels which are much easier to set an infinitely varied array of problems on. The wall is now more open and much lighter as a result, and actually feels more spacious. We have a much broader area for roped climbing as the tower has been opened up with some crack volumes courtesy of the Wide Boys. There is also a fantastic digital training board with wooden holds only, perfect for more elite level climbers training finger and core strength for performance climbing.

Ahead of its grand reopening to the general public, we thought we would get things started by asking one of the current stars of British rock climbing and route setting, and Llanberis local, Emma Twyford, to come and fully reset the bouldering wall for us. This will be followed up with a reset of the lead wall in the Spring.

So, if you’re in the area and the weather isn’t great for climbing outside, don’t forget to pop in for a session and maybe treat yourself to a hard-earned drink or some food in the Snowdon Bar afterwards.

The climbing wall is open every day 9am until 10pm, for more information pop in and speak to reception or call us on 01690 720214.

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National Outdoor Centre and Canoe Cymru Host Specialist Paddlesports Weekend for Women

• #ShePaddles weekend comes to Wales - bringing together world-leading female coaches, beginners and enthusiasts for skills workshops and masterclasses
• Initiative hosted in Snowdonia aims to encourage more women to progress their passion

National Outdoor Centre, Plas y Brenin is, for the first time, joining forces with Canoe Cymru to host #ShePaddles - an initiative that aims to inspire and encourage more women and girls into paddlesports.

Marking the event’s debut at Plas y Brenin in Snowdonia, it will take place on 7th and 8th May 2022. The two-day event will bring together beginners, enthusiasts, inspiring instructors, coaches, ambassadors and brands with some of Great Britain’s most accomplished, talented and inspiring coaches.

Split across the two days, the weekend has something for everyone from skills development workshops to masterclasses with the professionals and entertainment on Saturday evening as well as gin tasting with Aber Falls.

Attendees will be able to learn from the very best coaches and leaders across canoeing and kayaking - including those who have previously competed at Olympic level. The event will see a jam-packed itinerary including workshops on kayak, canoeing and SUP coaching and leadership as well as safety and rescue, navigation, planning and kit preparation.

Workshops will be hosted by elite athletes including Lowri Davies, Sian Sykes, Lizzie Harrington, Chris Evans and Dave Janes.

Helen Barnard, Chief Instructor, Plas y Brenin commented: “We’re excited to be hosting #ShePaddles in association with Canoe Cymru. The weekend will bring together the best and most inspiring coaches in the paddlesports world to share insights and tips to inspire current and future generations of female paddlers whatever their ambition. Together, we have developed the ideal environment to introduce, encourage and support any female that wishes to participate in Paddlesport safely and responsibly - and we hope for this to be the first of many more.”

#ShePaddles was started by British Canoeing to even things up - even in 2020, only 3 in 10 members are female. The ambition is to keep them progressing to where they want to be - whether that's paddling with family, volunteering as a coach at a local club, becoming an instructor or competing at a national level.

Tickets are available from £175 and must be booked in advance from the Plas y Brenin website. Limited capacity accommodation is also available on site.

Full itinerary

Saturday workshops

• Kayak Coaching Workshop with Plas y Brenin instructor, Chris Evans or Laura Wynne
• Canoe Coaching Workshop with Lizzie Harrington, holder of the highest canoeing coaching and leadership awards offered by British Canoeing
• SUP Coaching Workshop with Sian Sykes, Stand Up Paddleboarding Adventurer and Environmental Ambassador
• Safety and Rescue Workshop with Plas y Brenin instructor Matt Giblin
• Navigation, Planning and Kit Preparation Workshop with Plas y Brenin instructor Dave Janes
• Children’s Paddlesport Fun Session
• The complete beginner Workshop (opportunity to try all crafts and get a taster for life on the water) ​(Please confirm if this is definitely a workshop option)
• Freestyle Masterclass with Lowri Davies

Sunday workshops

• Children's Paddlesport Fun Day
• Kayaking Journey
• White Water Kayak Journey
• Sea Kayak Journey
• Canoe Journey
• Stand up Paddleboard Journey

- ENDS -

About Plas y Brenin

Plas y Brenin National Outdoor Centre was founded in 1955 and is a world-renowned provider of adventure sports training. From a base in the scenic heart of Snowdonia, Plas y Brenin’s work is focused on developing inspiring coaches, instructors and leaders in adventure sport, be they volunteers or working professionally in the sector, to better support people, from all backgrounds, to get active in the outdoors.

The centre also offers an extensive programme of personal skill development courses in rock climbing, hillwalking and mountaineering, kayaking, canoeing, sea kayaking and mountain biking. The centre also delivers a diverse and vibrant events programme, with adventure talks, environmental lectures, mountain safety lessons and sector-leading conferences.

Owned by Sport England, Plas y Brenin is operated on their behalf by the educational charity, the Mountain Training Trust (MTT); a not-for-profit charity founded by the British Mountaineering Council, Mountain Training UK and Mountain Training England. The charity was formed specifically to run the centre and ensure delivery of world-class training and encourage more people to get active in the outdoors, regardless of their abilities or experience.

To find out more about Plas y Brenin’s comprehensive course programme, facilities, business and educational services please visit www.pyb.co.uk

About #SHEPADDLES

#ShePaddles Cymru is Canoe Wales's own #ShePaddles initiative in Wales. We asked our Development Officer to explain how #ShePaddles Cymru started and where it's heading:

Here at Canoe Wales, we have a real desire to have gender balance in paddlesport in all settings.

Only 29% of Canoe Wales members are female, and so we knew we wanted to do something to balance things out. The Sport Wales' 2018 School Sport Survey highlighted that participation in paddlesport is relatively gender equal at school age - and in fact demand for paddlesport is higher among females at secondary school age - but this is not currently translated into memberships.

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