The Equestrian Canada (EC) Board of Directors, in consultation with our Provincial and Territorial Sports Organizations (PTSO’s) and with advice from the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC), is announcing a change to the way coaching is being developed for equestrian sports.

The previous National Coaching Committee that was responsible for all aspects of coaching review and development will be dissolved and in its place two committees will be created to better meet the operational and technical needs of coaching. One will focus on the operational aspects and delivery of coaching services and the other will focus on the technical aspects and developing the pathways to certify coaches.

The new National Coaching Operational Committee (NCOC) will be comprised of PTSO appointed members and EC staff. The NCOC will be responsible for all aspects of delivering coaching services across the country in collaboration with, and on behalf of, EC.

The new National Coaching Technical Committee (NCTC) will be comprised of technical experts who have National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) skills and/or are Master Coach Developers. These experts will review and further develop the coaching certification pathways for each equestrian discipline.

Both committees will have support from the CAC so that expertise on national sporting organization best practices can be incorporated into the Equestrian NCCP.

The Board believes that through the NCOC, with the PTSOs focused on the delivery of coaching services to their participants, they are in the best position to identify best practices and areas of concern and growth with coaching in their regions. EC’s role will be to enable their efforts by providing opportunities to exchange knowledge, resources to overcome challenges, and strategic guidance on how to ensure future coaching requirements are met.

Having the NCTC of coaching experts collaborating and focused on the technical aspects of reviewing and developing the certification pathways will allow committee members to concentrate their efforts on coach education and program development, with initiatives that are relevant and effective in meeting the growth of coaching today and into the future.

It is expected the NCOC will be stood up by the beginning of April and the NCTC will be stood up by the May-June timeframe.

The EC board and staff would like to sincerely thank the members of the former National Coaching Committee for their knowledge, support and the good work that has been done. It is the foundation that the new committees will build on.

More information on the EC Certified Coaching program can be found at www.equestrian.ca/programs-services/coaches. Questions and comments regarding coaching can be directed to:

Jennifer Eastwood
Interim Director, Technical Development
jeastwood@equestrian.ca
1-866-282-8395 x 119