Promoting Governance through Coaching

The Policy, Evidence and Knowledge in Coaching Project (PEAK), supported by the Erasmus Plus Programme of the European Commission has been successfully launched in Leeds, UK. The three-year project led by ICSSPE will promote and support good governance in sport by preparing coaching policy recommendations for national and international sport federations, coaching bodies and governments.

At present, information about governance in coaching is limited, and focuses on the systems of a small and unrepresentative group of countries. The need for a comprehensive analysis of the situation is evident, hence this project will be the first to develop a Europe-wide picture of governance processes and mechanisms in coaching.

Governance in coaching in Europe will be in the centre of research that will form the first part of the project. ICSSPE member the German Sport University Cologne will lead the research that will focus on four specific areas:

1. The coaching system at organisational & national levels;
2. Voluntarism in Coaching;
3. Opportunities for women in coaching; and
4. The regulation of coaching.

The results of the PEAK Project will potentially be beneficial to:

• Coaches: Enhancement of the coaching programmes they participate in, clarity of their roles and responsibilities in organisational governance, and advancement of coaching towards a regulated profession.
• Sport Federations: Improved coaching leadership at all levels, and improved relationships with coaches and coaches’ associations.
• Governments: Improved coaching systems
  - by improving the recognition of coaching as a profession;
  - increased focus on health, participation and prevention of ethical issues in sport.

Stay tuned for the first project results!