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About 200 accredited coaches have a better understanding on legal aspects related to sports after attending a seminar on “Legal Aspects in Sports Coaching” under the Hongkong Bank Foundation Continuing Coach Education Programme (CCEP) at the Olympics House on 18 June.

Organised by the Hong Kong Coaching Committee (HKCC), the seminar was conducted by veteran solicitor Herbert Tsoi, former President of the Law Society of Hong Kong between 2000-02, and also a Level 2 accredited coach of the Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association.  Mr. Tsoi shared his experience with the participants on five different aspects including Contractual Relationship, Tortuous Liability, Social Responsibility, Criminal Liability and Disciplinary Proceedings.

“It’s my pleasure to be invited by the HKCC to share some legal information and advice with local sport coaches. There are many occasions where coaches might encounter unexpected legal issues and I took the opportunity to highlight the various aspects to my fellow coaches. The local sports industry is in its embryonic stage.  The emergence of sports agents and the commercial value of star athletes all call for a better understanding of the related legal issues by sports administrators and coaches.” said Tsoi.

It is the CCEP’s first seminar held in 2010/11.  Last year, a total of five seminars with the theme of “Statistical Research Methods in Sports”, “Sports Team Training & Management”, “Tips and Cues from Elite Coaches”, “Ways to Handle Adversity” and “Causes and Prevention of Low Back Injury in Athletes” were organised.

So Chun-nam, coach of the Hong Kong Table Tennis Association and Lee Yiu-kwan, coach of the Karatedo Federation of Hong Kong, China, have attended all the above six seminars and agreed that the information provided is very useful and practical.

“Each seminar has its unique topic which provides me with a good platform to learn different kinds of knowledge including coaching skill, sports injury and legal aspects. Taking this seminar as an example, I have gained a fundemental understanding and updated information on legal aspects which I believe should be beneficial to my future development as a professional sports coach,” said Coach So.

“Lifetime learning applies to coaches as well,” added Coach Lee who echoed So’s views. “Tsoi is a humorous speaker who can successfully maintain our interest throughout the presentation.  I highly recommended this seminar to other coaches as it can provide a lot of useful information, such as how to protect athletes before involving in any commercial activities. Thus, I’ll keep joining the seminars organised by the HKCC.”

Further to coaches’ needs in different coaching aspects, a seminar with the topic of “Sports Vision Training and Sports Performance” will be arranged on 13 August at the Hong Kong Sports Institute, inviting an optometrist to share with the audience how proper training can uplift athletes’ vision ability and further improve their sporting performance.

Solicitor Tsoi, Coach So and Coach Lee have gained continuing coach education (CCE) hours through joining this seminar. In the past, accredited coaches are required to participate in coach education activities to accumulate sufficient CCE hours to maintain a valid accreditation status with the HKCC. With effect from 1 May 2010, three new channels have been offered to accredited coaches for diversely accumulating CCE hours – teaching non Sports-Specific courses, seminars or workshops, serving as coaching committee member in the National Sports Associations, as well as authoring books or peer-reviewed journal articles in non Sports-Specific areas.

Meanwhile, coaches obtained accreditation in 2005 will be arranged to renew their qualifications free of charge from 1 July to 31 August this year through the Accredited Coach Renewal Scheme. For details of arrangement, please visit the HKCC website at www.hkcoaching.com.

The Hongkong Bank Foundation has been supporting the Hong Kong Coach Education Programme with over HK$21 million since 1992. Organised by the HKCC and administered by the Hong Kong Sports Institute, the Programme aims at providing coaches with the opportunity to acquire theoretical and practical knowledge as well as formal accreditation. This CCEP is one of the coach training activities of the Programme, aiming to provide opportunities for accredited coaches to update their theoretical knowledge and practical expertise, maintain the quality of accredited coach and provide a channel for coaches to communicate with one another through a series of workshops and seminars.