NEWS RELEASE
Archive document: These videos are no longer available
For Immediate Release
- August 16, 1994
COMMONWEALTH ORGANISATIONS TO PROVIDE COACHING MATERIAL
VANCOUVER - The Commonwealth of Learning (COL), the Commonwealth Games Association of Canada (CGAC) and the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) have agreed to cooperate in providing audio-visual material for use in the training of athletes and sports coaches within the Commonwealth. Recognizing the importance of sport in furthering international understanding and the need to ensure that all member countries of the Commonwealth have access to scientific training techniques, the three organizations are working together to identify, acquire and distribute coaching videos to Commonwealth sport associations.
Marking the holding of the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, this continuing, cooperative effort of sports and educational organizations is intended to enhance performance levels and to promote excellence in athletic achievement throughout the Commonwealth.
The CGAC and CAC will coordinate steps required to acquire the rights for the programs from the various Canadian national sport associations. Through its links with Commonwealth ministries and educational agencies, COL will distribute the materials. The first set in the series of selected videos dealing with coaching techniques and leadership skills will be made available during and immediately following the Commonwealth Games in Victoria.
These and other cooperative ventures form part of a longer term collaborative effort among the three organizations, consistent with the objectives of the Commonwealth Sport Development Program of the CGAC. That Program is supported by a Canadian government contribution of $5 million over five years and is designed to strengthen sporting activities as recommended at the 1991 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Harare. Under the Program, regional centres have already been established in the Eastern Caribbean and in Southern Africa.
The Commonwealth of Learning is an international organization created by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their Vancouver Summit and is mandated to conduct distance education and training internationally. It makes extensive use of communications technologies and its headquarters are located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The Commonwealth Games Association of Canada maintains close working relationships with national Commonwealth Games Associations and Olympic Committees in over 60 countries.
The Coaching Association of Canada administers the National Coaching Certification Program, a Canadian coaching education program that has been a model for similar programs in developing countries around the world.