Rio de Janeiro – Brazil, Aug 28, 2013: The IJF Academy has been launched with the Coach Qualification Programme revealed as the first project in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday.
Envic GALEA, EJU General Secretary and IJF Academy Coordinator, made a presentation to delegations participating in the 2013 World Championships where he introduced the newly-established academy. Germany, Kazakhstan, USA and Iran were among the delegates who attended the presentation with the pilot project set to run from September to December 2013.
GALEA said: “The IJF has established the academy to help national federations provide educational and professional support in all sectors. This is the wish of VIZER, IJF President, who has championed the creation, development and introduction of the project.”
The new professional qualification for judo coaches will bring the Olympic sport on par with respective leaders in the area such as football and athletics, who have well established programmes which award professional coaching licences at various levels of technical, theoretical and practical understanding.
Judo coaches will be able to take part in the theoretical side of the course from their home as the content is online with a week of practical work taking place at the end of course at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary which is one of the leaders in the field of physical education.
Contributors to the judo academic lectures include Jean-Luc ROUGE, Michel HUET, Mohamed MERIDJA, Daniel LASCAU, Neil ADAMS, Mrs. Lisa ALLAN, Bob CHALLIS, Mrs. Andrea LINO, Attilio SACRIPANTI, Tonino CHYURLIA and coordinator Envic GALEA.
The IJF has joined forces with the acclaimed Hungarian University for the academy which will see coaches develop their scientific and academic knowledge while establishing a network of coaches.
GALEA said: “There will be three levels for coaches. Level one will be an instructor certificate, level two will be a coach certificate and level three will be a pro licence diploma. Criteria for judoka for the level one course for example will be a minimum age of 18, a 1st kyu (brown belt) grade and a technical understanding of the Gokyo and nage-no-kata.”
“Costs are due to be confirmed but we anticipate Olympic Solidarity support. We encourage all interested parties to go through your national federation and with their backing you will be able to apply for the academy subject to you meeting the criteria.”
Daniel LASCAU, IJF Sports Director, has provided technical expertise to the Coach Qualification Programme and believes it will benefit judoka and coaches down the line.
LASCAU said: “Our aim is to improve level of coaching and education. We need judo education to be at a curriculum level to develop the quality of coaches. This is with respect to federations who already have coaching qualification systems in operation. We will work with them to see how the IJF Academy can support their existing frameworks and their own qualifications can be recognised by the IJF. I believe the IJF has made a big step by introducing the academy and ultimately it will lead to the development of judoka at the recreational and elite level.”
Masoud Haji AKHONDZADEH, Iran national coach, said: “I think the academy is a very good idea. The national federations will need to be highly-involved to provide financial support to applicants. It is a new approach for coaches and it’s very important that athletes have the best possible coaches to guide them with long-term plans based on expertise and experience.”
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