ABOUT PEAK
PEAK is an international project under the leadership of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) with the aim to develop coaching policy recommendations for the use by sport federations, coaching bodies and governments.
The project brought together a unique consortium of expert partners, including the International Council for Coaching Excellence, The German Sport University Cologne, European Elite Athletes Association, Finnish Olympic Committee, Sport Ireland Coaching, Swiss Federal Institute of Sport, and the Foundation of Sport Education and Information, Estonia.
For the first time, PEAK offers a comprehensive picture of coaching and coach education across Europe and beyond.
It tells us about coaching roles, responsibilities, and status, as well as policies, programmes and decision-making processes.
The project ran from January 2019 to December 2021.
Six guiding questions give shape and focus to the project:
- What roles, responsibilities, and statuses does coaching currently hold in the overall sport strategies of national Governments within the European Union?
- What policies, programmes and decision-making processes currently exist in European countries to develop and enhance coaching systems; regulate coaching to improve its quality and ensure the safety of all participants in sport, especially children?
- Do European and National Sport Federations have policies and programmes in place, which aim to regulate or stimulate coaching development?
- What are the best practices currently available for the inclusion of coaching development in an organisation’s strategic plan based on which criteria?
- What evidence-based strategies and practices are available to increase opportunities for women in coaching?
- What evidence-based strategies and practices are needed to enhance the effectiveness of good governance measures (such as transparency of decision-making, democratic and inclusive decision-making processes) in the practice of sport coaching?
FINDINGS
The PEAK project resulted in a series of findings that answer and go beyond the six guiding questions. A total of seven documents were produced that provide an evidence based foundation for the project; determine criteria for inclusion of good practice examples; gather examples of coaching policies in European countries; present model policies related to the different elements of a coaching system and a set of policy recommendations; support organisations to assess the current status of their coaching system and related policies; provide European sport federations, governments and coaching organisations with a recommended process to collaboratively develop coaching policy.
The Findings section includes the project findings and documents for download!
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