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Instructors

Nordic Walking for Health’s Director and Lead Instructor is:

Peter Williamson
International Nordic Walking Association-accredited Nordic Walking Instructor (Instructor Number UK0241), qualified to deliver outdoors exercise safely (accredited by Nordic Walking UK & the UK Register for Exercise Professionals). He holds a Sports first aid qualification (St John Ambulance certificate no. 1100069452) valid until February 2014.

Peter updates his instruction technique on a regular basis. To date, this has included: the 2011 International Nordic Walking Association (INWA) conference (30 September to 2 October - London) including the INWA 10 Step Teaching Method; British Nordic Walking's 2010 Instructor Convention (16 October - Derbyshire) including ways of motivating people to continue Nordic walking in groups on successful completion of a course; and, the 2008 International Nordic Walking Association conference (9 to 11 October - Amsterdam) including how to instruct heathy individuals, overweight people and older people, in particular.

Through a 20 year career in the National Health Service – from hospital nursing to community health education/promotion to public health – Peter is particularly aware of the potential benefits of Nordic Walking to individuals, communities and to society, as a whole:

• not only for keeping fit and staying healthy throughout the lifespan
• but also for managing health and mobility problems, such as being overweight and living with specific conditions that affect posture and gait and restrict the ability to walk, including changes as we get older

Nordic Walking for Health’s Associate Instructor is:

Liz Shaw

International Nordic Walking Federation–accredited Nordic Walking Instructor (Instructor Number BNW 1010000), Liz was first introduced to Nordic Walking by a Swedish friend who said her 94 year old Auntie still Nordic walked every day. She holds an Emergency First Aid qualification from FirstAid1st valid from September 2010 for 3 years.

Keen to lose some weight, Liz successfully completed a Nordic Walking for Health course in 2010. Appreciating what a great way Nordic Walking could be to stay fit and active into later life, she really enjoyed feeling more energised. On finding out that Nordic Walking exercises the whole body without exhausting you, Liz practised enthusiastically.

She then trained as an instructor with British Nordic Walking. Now a stone lighter, Liz works in association with Peter covering the Ashdown Forest and some of the surrounding area.  As a former nurse, her special interest is in helping the over 50s enjoy the delights of learning a new sport that is easy, fun, sociable and available to all.

Her dream is to be Nordic Walking on her 100th birthday with one hundred other 100 year olds !