No athletics coach without a valid license will be permitted to coach following a ruling made by Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) as all athletic coaches who participated at the coaches training level I course obtained good grades.
The course was conducted by Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) and all of them were presented with certificates of competence by the president of SLA Major General Palitha Fernando who was the chief guest.
The training course lasted twelve days from September 25 to October 6 and SLA plans to conduct more training courses to help elevate the knowledge the coaches.According to the Vice President of SLA, GLS Perera, their officials held discussions with Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa seeking ways of elevating the standard of athletics in Sri Lanka.
They also decided to license all registered coaches and no one without this licence will be permitted to coach from 2021.
“Some athletes who retire from the sport go straight away to coaching without any qualification and license. Some of the athletes use prohibited substances to enhance their skills and win at any cost.
Some coaches encourage this method that only results in the athlete being banned for using drugs,” said Perera.
(DR)