The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) was finally able to secure a date from the IAAF Regional Development Centre (RDC) in Santa Fe, Argentina to host an International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) Level 1 course.
The course which will be held over 12 days starting on January 19 next year is limited to 24 participants. The Course Director, Oscar Gadea of Uruguay, is a certified IAAF Lecturer. He is currently a member of the IAAF Editor’s Group producing training manual and other research material in athletics. He comes with the experience of conducting over 160 courses worldwide.
This new Coaches Education and Certification System (CECS) is rated higher than the previous course since it’s a combination of the previous Level 1 and 2.
AAG’s President Aubrey Hutson, who is currently in Argentina, has been lobbying the RDC for over two years for this event to be held in Guyana. Due to several reasons including the IAAF’s conversion of the” 5 level” to the “3 level” system delayed this event.
Stressing the need to have qualified coaches engaged in the development of our athletes is of paramount importance to the AAG. We have many coaches in our system who are doing well with our junior athletes but there is a need for the extra knowledge to get our athletes to the senior international level.
With the level of interest shown nationally by all stake holders of this sport, this breakthrough couldn’t come at a better time.
Negotiations are ongoing for a second such course to be held from February 7. This is primarily due to the overwhelming amount of application the association has received from individuals and educational institutions. While the RDC has agreed to have the lecturer to conduct the second program, it will depend on the financial support of our partners in Guyana to make it a reality. It will be a great boost to our national programme to have 48 new IAAF Certified Coaches functioning nationwide and especially in our schools.
