The ISSF Training Academy is pleased to announce a significant change to the licensing format for all ISSF licensed coaches.
Modern Olympic sport has moved towards treating coaching as a professional vocation requiring the coach to keep current with developments in the sport and in coaching methodologies on a continually on-going basis. The ISSF Training Academy is supportive of this development and has made some significant changes to the licensing format to ensure that shooting coaches are active in their role and continuing to develop their skills.
The ISSF Training Academy is introducing a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) model for all its licensed coaches. This model is designed to offer ISSF coaches the benefit of increased profile and recognition within the sport of shooting whilst ensuring that licensed coaches are actively working within our sport as coaches. The ISSF Training Academy is also compiling a searchable database of ISSF licensed coaches which will be made available through the ISSF website.
A key feature of the CPD model is encourage coaches to keep up to date in their work and in their knowledge of coaching. The coaches license similarly must be updated and keep current and we are introducing a requirement for all ISSF coaches to be renewed on a four-year period. This renewal is based on a short summary of the coaching work and further educational experience that the coach has gained over the previous four-years. This summary must be stamped and verified by the coaches’ national federation.
Previously, ISSF Coach licenses were awarded to participants at the end of an ISSF Training Academy course. In future, all ISSF Training Academy courses will finish with the award of a certificate of participation. If the student has been successful on the course they must apply separately for the license from ISSF HQ by completing the application form and enclosing the appropriate fee. Only then will an ISSF Coaches License be issued and the coach entered into the coaches database register.
From the end of 2015, all ISSF coaches’ licenses, unless previously renewed or issued under the new system, will expire and become invalid. To continue to be recognized as an ISSF licensed coach an application form must be completed.
A downloadable application form is available below and must be submitted to ISSF HQ with the appropriate fee of €50 euro. For this registration fee the coach will receive once their details are verified:
- The ISSF Coaches License ID card with unique ID number.
- The ISSF Coach logo for their class of their license on a flash key.
- An ISSF Coach baseball cap.
- An ISSF Coach jacket patch.
ISSF licensed coaches will be allowed to use the official “ISSF Coach” logo that the ISSF has designed for each license class. This logo can be used on business cards and marketing material to identify the coach as having an ISSF recognized coaching license.
Speaking of the new system, ISSF Training Academy tutor Mr. Kevin Kilty said, “This is one of the most important steps that the ISSF Training Academy has made since its inception. We have had many requests from our students for a method of official international recognition of their license. A key requirement was the need for a license card with their own unique coach ID number. This is very important for coaches who need national verification of their license and I am very pleased to say we can now facilitate that.”
Download the application form here.