BEST Foundation is hosting the 2021 Coach Training in Sofia on October 8-10. The event will take place in-person on October 8-10 at Park Hotel Moskva in Sofia. Unlike previous years, training sessions will span the entire weekend thanks to the generous financial support of the Bulgarian Fulbright Commission. Travel, accommodation, food and PCR testing expenses will be covered by us.
Participants will be styaing in double rooms and in larger suites to ensure enough space for social distancing. New coaches are expected to arrive on Firday (October 8). Returning coaches will join them on Sunday for advanced coaching workshops. The training program concludes at 3 PM on Sunday.
We are keeping a close eye on the development of the epidemic situation in the country. In order to assure everyone's health and safety, we ask all participants to provide a COVID vaccination certificate or a negative antigen test done no earlier than 48 hours in advance of arriving at the venue, as required by the official government safety measures. All testing costs will be covered if participants are able to provide a receipt for their expense. We are also looking into providing an option to join the training virtually, should there be enough requests.
Tentative Schedule
Friday - Oct 8, 2021
16:00-18:00 - New coaches arrive at venue
18:00-19:00 - Introductions & Team Building
19:00-20:00 - Dinner
Saturday - Oct 9, 2021 (New coaches only)
8:00-9:00 - Breakfast
9:00-9:45 - Introduction to BEST
9:45-10:30 - Coach Responsibilities
10:30-10:45 - Break
10:45-13:00 - Speech Events (Duo, Poetry, Prose) & Live performance
13:00-14:00 - Lunch
14:00-15:00 - Speech Events (Original Oratory) & Live performance
15:00-16:00 - Judging Exercise & Feedback
16:00-16:30 - Break- Returning coaches arrive
16:30-17:00 - Team Building (New & returning coaches)
17:00-17:30 - Registration for tournaments
17:30-18:00 - Coaching for online tournaments
18:00-19:30 - Guest speaker: Poetry Interpretation Workshop
(Dr. Olga Nikolova AUBG)
19:30-20:30 - Dinner
Sunday - Oct 10, 2021 (New and returning coaches)
8:00-9:00 - Breakfast
9:00-9:30 - Communication Theories useful for Public Discourse
9:30-10:00 - Introduction to World Schools Debate
9:30-10:30 - Persuasive speaking strategies & argument tactics
10:30-10:45 - Break
10:45-11:30 - Guest Speaker: National Debate Team Coach
(Refutation / Clash / Engagement)
11:30-12:00 - Guest Speaker: Experienced Debate Judge
12:00-13:00 - Lunch
13:00-13:30 - Q&A
13:30-14:00 - Conclusion and Departure
For any additional questions, reach out to info@bestfoundation.bg