March 29, 2023
4 minutes reading time
World Sailing kickstarts next stage of global coaching with first development course in Egypt
World Sailing recently concluded its first Coach Developer Training in Soma Bay, Egypt, with 11 Coach Developers taking part – including World Sailing’s first female Coach Developers.
The aim of the course was to train each Coach Developer to be able to lead World Sailing’s Technical Courses for Coaches across a range of levels from Sailing Instructor to Race Coach and Performance Coach in their region. This will then provide World Sailing with the resources to assign a local Coach Developer to lead future Technical Courses in several languages and able to address the specific requirements in each region.
The course was supported by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through its International Federation Development Fund and Olympic Solidarity.
Female Coach Developers from Brazil, Mexico, Great Britain and Samoa took part alongside male counterparts from Argentina, Brazil, Cyprus, Türkiye, Great Britain, Egypt, and United Arab Emirates. All participants were nominated by their Member National Authority (MNA).
Former Olympian in the ILCA6 class and current coach for the Mexican ILCA6 women’s team, Tania Elías Calles, said, “This week we have been working on how to teach coaches in emerging nations. We have learned a lot from each other, there are a lot of experienced sailors and now coach developers able to pass on their expertise. The effort to develop coaches will make the network of sailing coaches bigger around the world and help to encourage more women to become coaches.”
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Maria Hackerott from CBVela in Brazil, added, “We are sharing knowledge and gaining new skills about how to create a good environment for learning. Being able to practice how to communicate and engage with coaches, and design and run sessions are very important for the growth of the sport. I see that, in the future, sailing will be more accessible to all parts of the world, to more people, particularly with more women involved in the sport.”
Focusing on how to organise and plan a coaching course, participants were able to complete Level 1, 2, and 3 courses, develop team building skills and further understand both the role of the Coach Developer and how to maximise the learning experience for coaches.
Raema von Reiche, President of the Samoa Sailing Association, commented, “I have been involved in coaching sailors and starting a yacht club in Apia, and it has been an honour to be invited here to Egypt by World Sailing. It has been very informative. I was very impressed with the level of expertise within the group, and I can really see a positive outcome from this workshop. In Oceania, we are so far away from the world and we do rely upon the larger nations to assist us, but World Sailing’s Emerging Nations Program has helped elevate our sailors so they can compete in the bigger nations. I will be taking home a lot of information to share with our coaches, and I am now more confident that I can help more islands in our region by starting more yacht clubs, helping more people to become coaches, and encouraging more females to be part of the evolution happening in the sport.”
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Classroom sessions were complemented by sessions on the beach and on the water where the Coach Developers were able to put in practise everything taught during the week. Coaches were encouraged to use their experience and knowledge when developing activities to further the learnings of the instructors and coaches they will teach.
The Coach Developers will now continue to meet regularly to further develop the content of the Technical Courses as well as continuing their development before organising and delivering courses themselves.
Koray Ezer, Head of International Development at World Sailing, said, “We started our project with an excellent selection of coaches representing nine MNAs and in multiple languages. Our goal is to deliver sustainable development programmes for our national federations – their instructors, coaches, youth and senior athletes and race officials. I would like to thank International Olympic Committee for their IF Development fund and Olympic Solidarity for their continued support of our development programmes and we look forward to delivering more coaching courses like this to build confidence and enrich the development of sailing on all continents.”
World Sailing has prioritised the development of female coaches and race officials. The first ever all–female Coaches Course took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in February, where 15 female coaches from across the country took the next steps in their careers.
Further Female Coach Development Programmes are scheduled for St. Vincent’s and the Grenadines in April with 16 coaches already registered, and in South Korea later in the year.
There are two additional programmes planned and World Sailing encourages all interested MNAs to submit an application. Please contact Koray Ezer, Head of International Development, at koray.ezer@sailing.org for more information.