Secretary of State for Department of Culture, Media and Sport; the Rt. Hon. Tessa Jowell, and the Minister of State for Sport, Rt. Hon. Richard Caborn, publicly endorsed the UK Coaching Framework and praised the work of sports coach UK and its Chief Executive Pat Duffy at a stakeholder dinner held on Tuesday, 16 January at the Atrium Restaurant, Westminster.
The event was held as part of the process of developing the UK Coaching Framework and set the scene in advance of the Coaching Summit on 17-18 April 2007 – before a launch in June 2007 - bringing together organisations and individuals involved in coaching.
The Rt. Hon. Tessa Jowell noted the inspirational vision of the UK Coaching Framework and urged all agencies involved in coaching and sport to make that vision a reality. She went on to say that the UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC) has seen significant steps made in the development of coaching qualifications.
The Rt. Hon. Richard Caborn spoke about his passion for coaching, echoing many of the points made by the Secretary of State. He added that he would be personally calling for an increase in funding for coaching at the next Sports Cabinet meeting.
Sport England Chairman Derek Mapp, and Sue Campbell, Chair of UK Sport agreed with the Rt. Hon. Tessa Jowell that all agencies should work together to ensure that the innovations encased in the UK Coaching Framework.
This event was particularly significant as it was the first time that the Cabinet Minister and Minister of State had spoken together about coaching and the need to pull together as a country and unite behind the vision of the UK Coaching Framework. sports coach UK’s CEO Pat Duffy was delighted with the excitement and enthusiasm generated from the evening and stated that this is just one of a number of high profile events that sports coach UK will be undertaking in the lead up to the sign-up summit in April. The formal launch of the UK Coaching Framework will take place sometime in June 2007.
