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More than £3,500 pledged to sports coaches in Derbyshire

23 May 2008

A total of 39 coaches will benefit from cash help as they work towards a variety of coaching qualifications.

This includes 11 people who are coaching on a paid or voluntary basis in South Derbyshire, six people from the Derbyshire Dales, five in Derby City, three each from Amber Valley and Bolsover, two from Erewash, two from High Peak and one from North East Derbyshire.

The latest round of funding has also seen a high number of female coaches being awarded grants, and 25 of the 39 successful applicants are female.

Clive Moesby, Chair of Derbyshire Sport, said: “The Derbyshire Coach Bursary Fund is a great way of supporting coaches to gain accredited qualifications, and we hope that this will result in more young people getting a better, more positive experience of sport.

“We want to see young people taking part in sport regularly and becoming the best that they can be. The Coach Bursary Fund is one way of achieving this.”

The 39 successful coaches work across ten sports, including athletics, badminton, cricket, football, hockey and netball.

Thanks to the funding 24 recipients will work towards assistant coach qualifications (Level 1), with others working towards Level 2 or Level 3 qualifications.

The Derbyshire Coach Bursary Fund aims to encourage and support Derbyshire coaches in their personal and professional development of coaches, through subsidising the costs of coach education.

Anyone who works to encourage and improve the sporting abilities of others through schools or other community clubs, either as a paid staff member or as a volunteer, is eligible to apply for a bursary.

Money can be used to pay for training, or other associated costs such as travel and accommodation, to gain new qualifications or skills through observation and mentoring.

Applications for the next round of funding are now being invited, and must be received by July 31, 2008. These will then considered by a panel of partners from across Derbyshire, and successful applicants are usually notified within three weeks of the deadline.

Derbyshire Sport launched the Coach Bursary Fund 18 months ago, and since then more than £18,000 has been shared between almost 200 coaches in the county, many of whom are volunteers within local sports club or coach developing links with local schools, supporting young leaders and increasing participation in Derbyshire.

Coaches can apply for up to 50 per cent of the total cost of training, up to a maximum of £200.

Priority is given to people who are actively coaching in Derbyshire, and applications are particularly welcome from women, black and ethnic minorities, disabled people and unemployed, who are under represented in coaching.