01 June 2012

UKA have today announced plans to extend their offer of free coach education for a year to a further 20,000 eligible coaches, following an ‘outstanding’ response over the last month.

Having announced on 1 May that the Event Group Modules would be provided free of charge to eligible coaches as part of the commitment to a long term coaching legacy, UKA has announced the scheme will now encompass the growing ‘Athletics Coach’ qualification modules, following a flood of interest from all parts of the athletics coaching population.

It means that access to the Athletics Coach Modules will be made available free of charge until May 2013, in a move to ensure as many aspiring coaches in the UK can experience quality coach education in this vital year.

The opportunity to underwrite the cost of the modules,that are available from today (June 1 2012) was taken by UKA’s head of Coaching and Development Kevin Tyler who reflected on a substantial response to last month’s announcement:

“When we announced the Free Coach Education for a year across all the Event Group Modules, we had a simply outstanding response from the sport,” said Tyler. “There was a massive appetite to learn across the entire spectrum of coaching levels.

“Coaches were saying ‘I want a piece of this, how can I get involved, even if I’m not yet at that level?’

“The launch of the new  Athletics Coach modules, means we can increase availability of free Coach education to a further 20,000 coaches this year, which is a superb opportunity for the sport.

“They are the next element in the restructure of coach education, and will not only complement the existing Athletics Coach course, but will provide a stepping stone to the newly launched Event Group modules. It means the UK’s keen and aspiring coaching population can hone their skills and explore the complexity of coaching athletes at this vital stage of the athlete development pathway.”

To find out more about the Coach Education Structure and available qualifications visit
uCoach – www.uka.org.uk/coaching