British Fencing to Run Six Courses in Nineteen Days

August 2016 will be a busy time for Coaching Development with courses from Street, Somerset to Durham, Co. Durham, taking place.

They will include the Introduction to Fencing Course, Level 2 Foil Epee and Sabre (FES) and for the first time in many years, the Level 3 FES.

Following the Coaching Development Review of 2015/16, there have been a number of initial adjustments to British Fencing courses, including:

1)    Stronger emphasis on a participant/athlete centred approach to coaching demonstrated by:

• More practical coaching delivery by the candidates
• On going assessment via a competency based assessment, rather than an end of course practical examination;

2)     The separation of Level 1 and Level 2 FES course in order to allow:

• A more focussed approach to support novice coaches
• 16 year olds to undertake the Introduction to Fencing course;

3)    A stronger on-course reference to the soft skills of coaching;

4)    The provision of flexible delivery models, with courses over a week, residential or over a number of weekends.

Speaking about this revised approach, Steve Kemp, British Fencing’s Coaching Development Manager said; “This is a good starting point.  However to align to industry standards there is need to improve consistency and quality of the British Fencing Coaching Development courses moving forwards.  Increasing and improving the local offer will support the development of local coaches.”

“The research data highlights that the most effective coaches are constantly looking to improve themselves, and how that then supports the development of the athlete.  Coaching Development courses are one way for a coach to improve and where there is a need we can look to meet that need.”

For more information and the booking form visit the Upcoming Courses page on the British Fencing website.