Melanie McCann sets out on coaching pathway in Canada

The roll-out of the UIPM Coaches Certification Programme has continued with a Level 1 course offered to aspiring coaches in Canada for the first time.

The course, held from July 5-7 at Mount Royal University in Alberta, was attended by 13 students representing the regions of Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Guelph.

The participants came from diverse sporting backgrounds, including coaching newcomers, current high-performance coaches, advanced coaches in an individual sport, and current and former national team athletes in modern pentathlon and fencing including two-time Olympian Melanie McCann.

Beijing 2008 Olympic pentathlete Joshua Riker-Fox, who delivered the training, said: “The course syllabus covered training programme design and coaching fundamentals as well as physiology and event management. The high level of pentathlon knowledge and experience among the group stimulated a very productive environment of interaction and idea-sharing.

“Mount Royal University in Calgary is a historic institution which offered a great site for class work and practical education in the pool. This course will serve the coaches and community well going forward as it formalized a lot of shared knowledge into consistent themes and practices.”