Background

Over the past 8+ years Singapore Gymnastics (SG) has been supporting CoachSG’s in gradually raising the bar for coach accreditation. The primary goals for raising coach accreditation standards are to:

• ensure that coaches provide a safe environment for their athletes
• ensure coaches are properly trained for the environments they operate in
• raise the standard and professionalism of coaching in Singapore
• ensure coaches meet baseline qualifications
• ensure coaches continue to practise and improve.

By attaining an appropriate level of competence through qualifications and committing to ongoing training to ensure safe and correct practice, coaches maximise the benefits and minimise the risk to their participants.

Changes

The most recent changes (as of June 2024) by SG has been for Coaches at National Championships and Singapore Open to require the following 3 criteria:

1. Current Technical Accreditation with SG and CoachSG’s National Registry of Coaches (NROC)
   • Remains a requirement
2. Level 1 Full NROC accreditation
   • Upgraded from Provisional NROC due to the discontinuation of Provisional NROC status by CoachSG
3. Intermediate Coaching accreditation
   • Upgraded from Fundamentals to due the requirements of coaching for a competition
   • Discipline-specific coaching accreditation required for discipline-specific competitions
   • This aligns with the minimum coaching accreditation required for Level 1 NROC ('Full NROC') being Intermediate

Reasons

Intermediate Coaching accreditation teaches the requirements of coaching gymnasts in recreational programmes and those moving into competition whereas the Fundamentals course covers essential foundational movement patterns skills that does not include any discipline-specific acrobatic or flight elements required in national level programme routines. Specifically, Intermediate educates and upskills coaches to properly prepare an athlete for competition including and not limited to: 

• Components of long term planning
• Artistry and routine development
• Sport science knowledge to improve physical performance
• Coaching and spotting knowledge of discipline-specific skills within the competency list defined for an Intermediate coach

Notes

Singapore Gymnastics participation activities such as Gym Challenge and GymFest still require Fundamentals Coaching accreditation as a minimum requirement, as this is relevant for the level of gymnast and activity structure.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the community for their cooperation throughout the past 8+ years while these changes were implemented gradually. As we continue to uphold our commitment to achieving the primary goals outlined earlier, we believe we have now reached a pivotal stage in our accreditation process. This allows us to consolidate our achievements over these past years, aiming to better serve and support our community.