NPAJ moving to get international certification for local coaches

Starting next year, Jamaica will be the venue for International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) coaching courses in the Caribbean region. To ensure that Jamaica's coaches are ready for this venture that will allow them to be internationally certified, the National Powerlifting Association of Jamaica (NPAJ) has partnered with the University of Technology (UTech) Jamaica to offer a local powerlifting coaching course.

President of NPAJ, Michael Blair, said this is a part of the organisation's mission to grow the sport in the island.

"We have no IPF certified coach in Jamaica, so what we are doing is getting them ready to take that next step," Blair said. "All IPF coaching courses for the Caribbean will be done here in Jamaica at UTech, so any of our Jamaican coaches who have not gone through the NPAJ Internal Coaching Seminar Programme, will not be recommended for that course."

Blair said it is an amazing opportunity for Jamaica to be hosting IPF coaching courses for the region so he wants to ensure that the Jamaicans who wish to be IPF certified will represent well.

"It's a real great pleasure to know that Jamaica, a small association which has just started, has been selected as the venue for IPF coaching courses in the region, and it must be because we are doing something right in Jamaica," he said.

The NPAJ UTech course which will be done at the Caribbean School of Sport Sciences, a part of UTech's Science and Sport Faculty, will offer Level-one and Level-two coaching certification.

Level one has three modules that will be covered during the first weekends of September, October and November.

The first module will cover the history, development and rules of powerlifting, principles of coaching and ethics, and Principles of exercise physiology in powerlifting. The second module will look at nutrition, as well as the biomechanics of powerlifting and the third module will focus on principles of training and fitness and the periodisation in powerlifting.

The Level-two certification courses will follow after the coaches have completed the first and Blair said all coaches who wish to be IPF-certified must pass both levels.

The NPAJ said it has already certified 23 Jamaicans whom they classify as elite powerlifting coaches, and out of this number, 16 have taken up the offer to participate in the courses to be offered at UTech.

The UTech courses will be sponsored by Carlong Publishers (Caribbean) Limited.