Did you know that athletes competing in the shot put are not allowed to tape two or more fingers together?
Or that long jumpers are forbidden from doing a somersault during their run up, take off or landing?
For anyone wanting to know more about our sport, World Athletics today launches an innovative eLearning platform designed to educate everyone from newcomers to experts.
World Athletics eLearning platform
The creation of this platform is part of World Athletics’ continuing drive to make the sport more accessible to our global community.
The platform, hosted by the World Athletics website, will provide educational courses and webinars for those with a general interest in our sport, such as school teachers and club volunteers, as well as key stakeholder groups, including Member Federations, technical officials, coaches and medical professionals.
The initial courses available include those for budding technical officials, organisers of athletics at club and community level and anyone who wants to know more about the rules of the sport.
Over the next year, modules to be introduced include: sustainability and gender leadership training for Member Federations, health and science courses for medical specialists, and coaching certification.
The eLearning platform will push boundaries and go beyond a simple online experience. It aims to be a unique education hub, improving peoples competencies through self-regulated learning.
“This platform will provide a window into our world,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said. “Among other objectives, it aims to provide the answer to any technical question about our sport that people might have wondered about but hesitated to ask.”
“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to learn about our sport and to get more involved, whether as a technical official, elite, club or school coach or fan. Some 2000 people complete technical official and coaching courses in athletics every year, but people have busy lives and having to attend a course in person can be a barrier to participation.
“This online knowledge centre will give many more people around the world the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of our sport, and to complete courses at their convenience and in an easily digestible format. I am confident that this platform will prove to be an invaluable resource for everyone interested in our sport over the coming years.”
Elite coach and educator, Professor Cliff Mallett of the University of Queensland and the Technische Universität München, added that the digital platform was “a significant development for the sport’s learning systems”.
“This eLearning platform, which is a significant investment, will contribute in substantive ways to the operations of World Athletics, including the ongoing professionalisation of coaches, technical officials, and sports medicine practitioners,” he said.
“A key aim of the digital platform is to increase quality engagement with coaches, officials, and athletes, to build a stronger learning organisation and also to engage meaningfully with the athletics community to bring the sport closer. Two key features of this innovative and engaging system will be increased accessibility across Member Federations worldwide, and quality assurance through standardised delivery.” – World Athletics
